I Can See Your Combat Power
Chapter 1204 - Chapter 1204 Chapter 497 Mediation

Chapter 1204: Chapter 497: Mediation Chapter 1204: Chapter 497: Mediation At the same time, in the front courtyard of the Xiang Residence,

the council hall filled with strategists bustled as precise commands were dispatched to various areas of Chaochang. In dealing with the problems facing the entire Chaochang, Xiang Ange’s perspective was completely aligned with that of Ye Qingcang.

However, in this world, developments seldom follow one’s desires. The powerful members of the Twelve Aristocratic Families were converging on the East City, causing Xiang Ange momentary confusion as to what they were plotting.

The sudden news of the elite troops from the Southern Camp entering the city had caught the Xiang Family head somewhat off guard.

“Who has mobilized the Southern Camp without authorization?”

The chaos that Chaochang was already mired in would not be contained by the appearance of the Southern Camp elite troops; the rampant thugs would only see this as a signal to intensify their cleansing, becoming even more unrestrained. From every angle, Xiang Ange had every reason to be angry.

“It was me!”

The Yanyun Grandmaster burst into the council hall, his urgent demeanor suggesting he had a multitude of things to say. But he restrained himself for some reason, simply uttering, “Clan Leader, please come to the side hall for a discussion.”

Xiang Ange, of course, understood that Xiang Yan’s urgent arrival surely meant there was an important matter at hand; but the pressing crisis in Chaochang was also urgent.

The great fire in the depths of a harsh winter, if not extinguished in time, would ultimately become a catastrophe that engulfed the entire city. Thus, even though he knew Xiang Yan was in a hurry, as the leader of the Xiang Family, he still issued orders to put out the fire first, handed control of the elite troops from the Southern Camp to a group of strategists for suppression, and then turned to enter the side hall.

“Has something unexpected happened with the Divine Artifact?”

“Half an hour ago, we lost contact with the Divine Artifact. Therefore, I led the elite troops from the Southern Camp to rush to South City!”

After briefly summarizing the incident, Xiang Yan questioned discontentedly, “What is going on in this city, why are there such frequent disorders, and how are you fulfilling your duties as the Clan Leader?”

“Ye Qingcang stirred trouble using the South City trade association’s tax issue. Now Long Teng, leading the Black-armored Warriors, is in a standoff with Ye Mo and Luo Xuan outside the South City Office. The situation is still under control. As for the widespread chaos in the Lower City District, it is caused by some night-time rogues taking advantage of the situation to wreak havoc in the city. I have ordered the strategists of our family to plan a suppression; they won’t last long,” explained Xiang Ange, summarizing the events that had taken place in the city before adding, “But I am now pondering whether this series of incidents isn’t too much of a coincidence; Ye Qingcang caused an issue with the South City trade association’s tax, and now the Divine Artifact has vanished…”

“Are you suggesting there may be a connection between the two?”

“Too little information to say for sure,”

Xiang Ange responded with a bitter smile, “Perhaps it’s because Long Teng, Ye Mo, and Luo Xuan have taken action, which made the other side think South City might become chaotic and they should avoid the limelight. But right now, the most important thing is not the whereabouts of the Divine Artifact, but another matter.”

“What could be more important than obtaining the complete Immortal Cloud Whisk Soul?”

“You may not be aware, Grandmaster, that just before the troops from the Southern Camp entered the city, the councilors from the Cloud Summit Tower took refuge with their families. A large number of Fierce Realm powerhouses gathered in the East City. One false move could spark a violent firestorm throughout the city!”

In fact, at this point, Xiang Ange had also realized that the reason for the Cloud Summit Council’s drastic reaction was precisely because of the Xiang Family’s Southern Camp’s sudden movements, which led the opposition to quickly tighten their military deployments around Chaochang, using Cloud Summit Tower as their base, and treating the East City as their battlefield.

Yet, this situation could not be blamed on Xiang Yan; after all, he was anxious about the whereabouts of the Divine Artifact and had no intention of targeting the Cloud Summit Council–it was simply a series of unfortunate events.

After the Clan Leader’s explanation, Xiang Yan also realized the significant impact of his impulsive actions, and in a rare moment of humility, asked Xiang Ange, “What should be done now?”

“I have already instructed the various councilors to take away the tokens for the Southern Camp, so when Ye Qingcang sees us dispatching the elite of the Southern Camp to quell the disturbances in each chaotic district, the impact of this incident will be minimized. We can then slowly look for an opportunity to negotiate,” Tang Luo said as he turned to Xiang Yan, “For now, I implore the Grandmaster to let go of the obsession with the Divine Artifact, to go to South City to mediate the dispute between Long Teng and the Ye and Luo families, and to bring back Liu Qingzong!”

“What about Ye Mo and Luo Xuan?” Xiang Yan, who had just made a mistake, was eager to rectify it, so he asked Xiang Ange, “Do we need to…?”

“No need.”

Xiang Ange waved his hand and said, “To stop the conflict and bring this matter back to the negotiating table, we must control the spread of hatred. Those private soldiers of the house’s guards are merely a small matter of some money, but if you kill a direct descendant of an aristocratic family, you engrave a scar in their hearts. The difficulty of negotiating would then be completely different. Right now, as long as we can recapture Liu Qingzong, we will regain the initiative. There’s no need to complicate matters further.”

“In that case, we’ll do as the clan leader has said.”

The Yanyun Grandmaster nodded and immediately displayed his Xuan Cloud Spirit Escape technique, turning into a fleeting cloud and darting toward South City.

Retrieving Liu Qingzong was just the first step. Next, Xiang Ange had to prepare for how to negotiate with Ye Qingcang and his associates.

Through these past few months of interaction, he had truly realized that these Twelve Aristocratic Families were the real wolves, and what chilled him to the bone was that not a single one of these council members, who had entered the Cloud Summit Council with the support of the Xiang Family, sided with the Xiang Family.

He had no idea what benefits Ye Qingcang had promised, but these powerful merchants who stretched from north to south had all fallen into the Ye Family’s camp, which was why the Xiang Family was at such a disadvantage.

Still, there needed to be a few people in the council who were on his side. Xiang Ange thought it over and over, writing down several names on a piece of paper, only to cross some out with his pen.

After much editing and consideration, only a few names remained on the list in the end.

…

Tang Luo and Yun Xiu, who had used the Spirit World Passage to arrive at Cloud Summit Tower, were somewhat dazed.

When they had just arrived, ninety percent of the rooms were empty, but within just half an hour, a large group of women had gathered from nowhere, breaking their cover several times.

Fortunately, most of these family members from the Twelve Aristocratic Families did not recognize each other, and considering that Yun Xiu and Tang Luo were young, light on their feet, and attractive, when they were discovered, the others simply assumed they were relatives of some other aristocratic family, apologized, and left.

After registering with a paunchy steward, Yun Xiu officially obtained a side chamber on the fifth floor under the name of Qiao San and settled in royally.

“Who is Qiao San? Won’t we get exposed if they look into it?”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Yun Xiu said with a face full of confidence, waving her hand dismissively, “Qiao San is a child born to Master Qiao out of wedlock, raised in Chaochang since childhood. That man suddenly had a whim a few days ago to go overseas to capture slaves, renting a small boat and following our fleet out. We won’t get exposed!”

“So, the person you just transformed into was Qiao San?”

“Exactly.” Yun Xiu snapped her fingers triumphantly, “Cloud Summit Tower is now packed with people, so sneaking around undetected is going to be tough, but now we not only have a place to stay and food to eat, but we can also move around freely without arousing suspicion. Isn’t that great?”