Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1484 - 1484 0851 Great Elder_2

Chapter 1484: Chapter 0851: Great Elder_2 Chapter 1484: Chapter 0851: Great Elder_2 Cheng Daoran looked at Yi Xuwen with disbelief. He had never imagined that his own master would actually ask him to kowtow to Qi Tian. This showed an utter disregard for his dignity, as if trampling his face underfoot and tossing it into a gutter. He instantly felt his whole body heating up, blood rushing to his head, almost boiling over.

“Are you kneeling or not?”

Yi Xuwen’s face darkened. He had asked Cheng Daoran to kowtow to Qi Tian, which might seem heartless, but it was actually a form of protection for Cheng Daoran. He hadn’t forgotten that just a while ago, Qi Tian had repeatedly warned Cheng Daoran, yet Cheng Daoran consistently ignored Qi Tian’s warnings and even provoked him several times. Since Qi Tian had now become the Great Elder, he might well use this incident to establish his authority. If they couldn’t resolve Qi Tian’s dissatisfaction now, and if Qi Tian really sought to settle scores with Cheng Daoran afterward, Yi Xuwen would not be in a good position to interfere. Then Cheng Daoran was very likely to endure a severe beating from Qi Tian for no good reason, and the humiliation experienced would be even greater.

Li Che quickly sent a telepathic message to Cheng Daoran: “Fourth Elder, wisdom is knowing when to bend. Now that Qi Tian has become the Great Elder and the Mansion Master is standing with him, neither I nor the Third Elder have the ability to confront Qi Tian. If you stubbornly resist alone, none of us can speak for you. You’d better kneel sooner rather than later. The sooner you kneel, the better reputation you’ll get for acknowledging and correcting your mistakes, while also preserving the Mansion Master’s face. Everyone can move past this. If you don’t heed my friendly advice, then no matter what happens afterward, we can only stand by and not intervene.”

Cheng Daoran knew that the situation was beyond salvation. In fact, ever since the incident in Tribulation City, when he was knocked down with a single brick in front of so many cultivators, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to even lift his head in front of Qi Tian. But he had still clung to the hope that somehow he could use the influence of the National Master Manor to pressure Qi Tian to yield to him. Now, he truly realized that there would never be such an opportunity again.

Yi Xuwen’s expression had already become very unpleasant. Cheng Daoran’s reluctance to follow his instructions clearly amounted to a disregard for his authority as both Mansion Master and teacher. He had decided that if Cheng Daoran continued to refuse his command, he wouldn’t mind having the Second Elder deal with Cheng Daoran according to the manor’s rules.

At that moment, Cheng Daoran finally turned around to face Qi Tian. Bending his knees, he knelt before Qi Tian and gave three resounding kowtows. Then, with a voice full of suppressed emotion, he said, “I hereby, on behalf of the entire National Master Manor, congratulate you on becoming the first ever Great Elder of the National Master Manor. At the same time, I offer you my apologies. I have done things in the past that have tired you, and I ask you, the Great Elder Sir, to not bear grudges against the petty ones and not to hold it against me.”

Qi Tian raised an eyebrow. He truly hadn’t expected Cheng Daoran to be able to kneel before him in the presence of several Nascent Soul Masters; this was far beyond his expectations. This made Qi Tian feel slightly wary of Cheng Daoran. Cheng Daoran’s ability to go to such lengths indicated that he was either a great villain harboring ill intentions while outwardly submitting, or spineless, having lost his pride. Clearly, the latter seemed very unlikely.

Qi Tian let out a chuckle and extended a hand to feign helping Cheng Daoran up, saying, “I accept the Fourth Elder’s congratulations, as well as your apology. Alright, get up now.”

Cheng Daoran stood up with immense frustration. He hung his head low, a sharp glint flickered through his eyes. He swore to himself that if there ever was a chance, he would repay the humiliation Qi Tian had imposed on him today a hundredfold, a thousandfold.

Up to this point, apart from one issue, everything else had been fairly satisfactory. Yi Xuwen was very pleased and smiled as he said, “Now let’s discuss the benefit distribution plan that everyone is most concerned about. Originally, we could have obtained twelve parts of the benefits from the Fiery Cloud Secret Realm, right? I’ve decided that the benefits for the second, third, and fourth Elders remain unchanged. The five parts that I was originally entitled to, I will reduce to four. The two parts that were supposed to be allocated as public resources of the National Master Manor, plus the one part I’ve relinquished, will all be given for the Great Elder to use. This means that the Great Elder and I will receive the same benefit distribution. What do you all think of this plan?”

Li Che, Sun Xiqi, and Cheng Daoran didn’t rush to express their stance. All of them looked towards Qi Tian, as this plan needed his approval before it could be implemented. Otherwise, their nods would be as useless as a pestle pounding on garlic.

Qi Tian snickered inwardly. Yi Xuwen’s distribution plan seemed to consider his interest, but in reality, it pushed him to the opposite side of everyone in the Manor. Originally, Yi Xuwen was supposed to allocate two parts as the public resources of the National Master Manor. Now he had simply taken that away and handed it all to him. If anyone among the Mansion Masters or Elders, intentionally or unintentionally, leaked this news, wouldn’t it turn the whole National Master Manor upside down? They wouldn’t blame Yi Xuwen, the Mansion Master, nor the other Elders. They would only blame him, the Great Elder.

Qi Tian said, “This plan seems fair on the surface, but it is detrimental to the long-term development of the National Master Manor. Hence, I would like to make a slight adjustment on top of the Mansion Master’s proposal. The Mansion Master, as the mainstay of our National Master Manor, faces a breakthrough in cultivation. It is only right for him to take four parts of the benefits, and I have no objections. Second, third, and fourth Elders, the benefits allocated to you also match your status. I have no objection to that either. As for my four parts, I’ll take only half. The remaining half, which is two parts of the benefits from the Fiery Cloud Secret Realm, I would like to contribute to establish a reward fund within the National Master Manor. This fund will reward disciples who have made contributions to the Manor. In the future, any member of the National Master Manor who has made notable achievements in collective actions, or has done well in various competitions or battles, can apply to me. Upon my approval, they could take part of the reward from the fund for their cultivation. Additionally, the Mansion Master has mentioned that I have made a significant contribution in the struggle for the Fiery Cloud Secret Realm. The Ink Flood Dragon Association and the Wanjie Commerce, the leading forces in Wanjie City, should allocate a part of the benefits from the Fiery Cloud Secret Realm as a reward for me. I would like to entrust the Mansion Master to send capable people to claim it on my behalf. If it can be reclaimed, no matter the amount, I am willing to contribute it to the public treasury of the National Master Manor as a public resource for use by everyone in the Manor. This matter, I hope the Mansion Master takes it seriously. It’s related to whether every disciple in the Manor can have additional cultivation resources in the future. It cannot be taken lightly. With this adjustment, Mansion Master, Elders, do you find it appropriate?” Yi Xuwen instantly felt like he had swallowed two flies that had just flown out from a lavatory, utterly uncomfortable. Qi Tian had adjusted his proposal, and Yi Xuwen knew exactly the intention behind it.

One point was clearly to win the hearts of the people, and more importantly, the hearts of the top disciples in the National Master Manor. If Qi Tian were to implement this plan over the long term, his popularity within the National Master Manor would inevitably soar. Although it would not threaten his position as the Mansion Master, Qi Tian would be well-established in the National Master Manor.

Another point was that Qi Tian had asked him to claim the rightfully due resources and had tied this part of the resources to the direct benefits of everyone in the Manor, essentially forcing him to take this matter seriously. If it were easy to claim, he would have done so long ago, rather than making an empty show of it. Qi Tian was obviously putting him on the spot—one way or another, the credit would largely go to Qi Tian, and if he failed to do well, his face as Mansion Master would be lost among everyone in the Manor.

Yi Xuwen had initially hoped to dampen Qi Tian’s vigour with the revised plan, but it seemed now that Qi Tian was not a simple character.

Despite the dissatisfaction growing in his heart, Yi Xuwen did not wish to create further complications. Stabilizing Qi Tian was now the most pressing matter. Thus, he smiled and said, “Since the Great Elder is willing to make such adjustments, I have no objections. What do you Elders think?”