Chapter 1700 — The First Strike, Part One
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
The Xiao family's situation left everyone present sighing in wonder. A clan that had once been shown no particular regard even at the auctions had suddenly risen to prominence. It seemed that the support of a hidden clan truly made all the difference.
It would not be long, they were sure, before the Xiao family stood on equal footing with the Yu family. And apart from the Yu family, the Xiao family now had the greatest backing of any here — so it was only natural that the Xiao family should speak first.
Of course, the Fire Wolf Gang behind the An family was no weakling either, but An Mingyue was a low-key man — especially since he and the Fire Wolf Gang were engaged in certain unlawful dealings — and so it was best to say as little as possible.
"Our Liu family's fixed assets grew by roughly three billion last year. As for practitioners, we have none for the time being," Liu Zhenhu said. With the Liu family's strength, holding on to their position was no problem, but they would certainly remain one of the Five Minor Clans.
"This old man is an expert of the mid Mystic rank. Our Wu family's business is not large, but we still managed an asset growth of over a billion..." Wu Gonggao felt a pang of sorrow. If nothing had happened to Wu Chengtian, the Wu family would surely have become second only to the Xiao family this time. But as things stood, whether they could even enter the ranks of the Four Great Clans was far from certain.
The Yu family's place among the Four Great Clans was assured, and the Xiao family, rising like a latecomer overtaking the rest, was certain to be one of them as well. As for the Sun family — a clan of the auxiliary healing discipline, to be sure — their position was unique, and so long as Old Master Sun lived, the Sun family would certainly remain one of the Four Great Clans.
As for the final place, Wu Gonggao did not think he had much hope of contending for it. The An family was no weakling either: not only did they have the Fire Wolf Gang behind them, they were also very rich. Before, the An family had not had much money, yet merely with the Fire Wolf Gang's support they had become the foremost of the Five Minor Clans — and now, they would likely enter the ranks of the Four Great Clans.
And even setting that aside — even if the An family gave up the place, there was still the Song family. If they agreed to a marriage alliance with the Yu family, then the Yu family would surely reserve a place among the Four Great Clans for them. In that case, the Wu family would have no hope at all.
One had to understand: though the Four Great Clans and the Five Minor Clans were all clans alike, in the eyes of the world their standing differed by a wide margin. The Wu family would certainly never be as glorious as before.
Afterward, the remaining clans likewise reported their strength, and when it came Old Master Chen's turn, Chen Kuanglan thought of his injured grandson Chen Yuxuan, and his heart twisted like a knife. He could only sigh helplessly and say, "The Chen family has no industry. Chen Yuxuan was originally of the early Mystic rank, but he has been crippled. All we have now is the backing of one ancient sect!"
"An ancient sect? Which ancient sect?" Before Yu Shuixing or anyone else could speak, Divine Physician Kang was the first to open his mouth.