Beast World: A Fragile Beauty Blessed with Many Children-Chapter 414 - 413: Let’s See How He Saves Face
"Clan Leader, that’s not quite right. The Beast World Continent is a dangerous place, and no one can guarantee they’ll live to a ripe old age without incident.
You may be able to serve as Clan Leader for another twenty or thirty years, but that doesn’t conflict with selecting and properly training a successor. This would ensure a seamless transition and prevent a situation where, should some accident occur, our Three-tailed Blue Fox Clan is left without a leader!
We must always be prepared for anything..." the Ninth Elder said, walking over with a cheerful smile.
The Clan Leader was so furious his beard bristled and his eyes went wide. ’What is the meaning of this? Isn’t he just cursing me to have an accident?’
In the past, everyone would have just been spectators, but things were different now!
Xiao Cheng had gathered many young and spirited males—all with good talent, strong work ethics, and decent character—to participate in hunts in the Southwest Forest. For over a month straight, they had been training every night within the Time Law. One night was equivalent to seven days, meaning these forty-some days were equivalent to over ten months of training.
Moreover, the training in the Southwest Forest was progressive, with a balanced intensity. They constantly refined themselves through real combat experience, and as a result, the Three-tailed Blue Fox Clan Members’ strength improved rapidly.
Xiao Bei was one of them. Others only knew that he had taken a Bone Marrow Cleansing and Vein Cutting Pill to break through to Level 13, but in reality, he had been suppressing his cultivation all along. After just one night, he had now stabilized his cultivation at the Peak Level 13 realm!
The other males chimed in, "Clan Leader, we all understand you. Aren’t you just afraid of being outshone by a candidate? But you’ve always put the clan first, so you should be happy to see someone capable of taking your place and shouldering the clan’s heavy responsibilities. That’s what you told the Witch Doctor just yesterday..."
"That’s right, Clan Leader. The younger generation is just fooling around. Why would a man approaching a hundred years of age take them so seriously and get involved?" Xiao Cheng’s Father, the Great Elder Xiao Chun, said with a smile.
"Great Elder, we’re not just fooling around! Whoever has the strength should be the Clan Leader’s candidate!" a young, spirited male shouted. "Everyone should be able to compete fairly. That’s the only way the Three-tailed Blue Fox Clan can prosper. There’s no clan rule that says only the son of the Clan Leader or an elder can run..."
"Exactly! We only recognize the strong. We’ll support whoever earns our respect! One of the conditions for being a candidate for Clan Leader is having everyone’s approval..."
Everyone began to clamor, each of them feeling they had been working hard on their Cultivation lately and could surely compete for the candidacy. A ruckus began to build.
"Clan Leader, I believe everyone’s proposal is quite right." The Second Elder, who had always been silent and neutral, suddenly spoke up. "The Three-tailed Blue Fox Clan is in decline. Blindly relying on other powers will only make them look down on us more. Only by becoming powerful ourselves can we truly win the respect of others and improve the standing of Three-tailed Blue Fox Clan males in their own families."
The Clan Leader was a little surprised. With a cold expression, he said, "Second Elder, haven’t you always disliked fighting and killing? And now you want the younger generation to elect a Clan Leader with their fists?"
The Second Elder chuckled. "Clan Leader, you are mistaken. I never said I dislike fighting and killing. Rather, the Beastmen of our clan, both male and female, lack a certain wildness and ferocity.
Their previous matches were nothing but flashy, useless moves—hardly worth watching. Since their strength was lacking, they had to stand out in other areas to be qualified for the future position of Clan Leader. What I can’t stand are those good-for-nothings who have little real strength but act tough and bully their own kin...
However, things are different now. I can see the younger generation is highly motivated to fight this year. They have an unconcealable determination to win.
This is a wonderful state of affairs. As their elders, we should be supporting them, not discouraging them. Besides, the Three-tailed Blue Fox Clan has always been governed by the Clan Leader and the elders together.
The Clan Leader just needs to be strong. Isn’t that what we elders are for, to do the thinking? I say we let them compete. Surely the Clan Leader can see the will of the clan members?"
For some reason, Xiao Zhuang couldn’t shake the feeling that when the Second Elder spoke of a "good-for-nothing who bullies his own kin," he was talking about him!
The Clan Leader’s expression darkened. He never expected the Second Elder, who was usually neutral and seemingly cowardly, to back him into a corner with a smiling face and pointed words. Although he was curious about the Second Elder’s sudden change, this was the annual Warrior Convention. With everyone clamoring to decide the Clan Leader’s candidate through combat, he had no way to refuse.
However, he was confident in his son. He had personally trained Xiao Zhuang in combat, and he believed that within the clan, Xiao Zhuang’s strength was at least on par with Xiao Bei’s. ’If that’s the case...’ The Clan Leader’s gentle smile returned. "Alright, alright. Since everyone agrees, we’ll use this year’s Warrior Convention as an opportunity. We will select the top three males of the Three-tailed Blue Fox Clan between the ages of twenty and fifty, based on their Combat Power, to be the candidates for Clan Leader!"
After speaking, he smiled and turned his head to the elders. "What do you all think? If we were to truly listen to the younger generation and select only one, that would be a waste of resources.
They said it themselves: accidents are common on the Beast World Continent. If something were to happen to our chosen candidate, wouldn’t we have to start the training process all over again?"
Xiao Cheng coughed lightly and whispered into Si Shuo’s ear, "Sister, I see the Clan Leader is just trying to secure a spot for Xiao Zhuang. Does he still think the Three-tailed Blue Fox Clan is the same as before, with no one who can put up a fight? Does he really think he can let that foolish son of his—who gets smug over the tiniest achievement and loves to suppress others—run wild?
This time, hah, his son won’t even make it into the top twenty. Let’s see how he’s going to save face then!"
Si Shuo chuckled and whispered back, "Indeed. Xiao Zhuang is really just lifting a rock to drop on his own foot. Xiao Bei clearly has the strength but lacked the ambition, yet Xiao Zhuang cut off all his other options and forced him to compete for the Clan Leader’s position. What was he even thinking?"
The elders all revealed knowing smiles at the Clan Leader’s proposal and nodded in agreement.
The Fifth Elder even suggested, "I say, let’s not just pick three. Why not just choose twenty? We can train all the candidates for Clan Leader and elder together, regardless of whether they’re intelligent or powerful in combat. Then, based on their individual talents and inclinations, we can weed some out. The ones who remain will be the candidates for Clan Leader and the elders. We can even expand the pool every three to five years..."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone nodded in agreement. "I think that’s an excellent proposal! More options and greater competition among the younger generation will allow us to screen for more outstanding and suitable candidates!"
The Clan Leader had no objections either. As long as Xiao Zhuang could get into the group, they could slowly plot their next moves.
Everyone came to an immediate agreement, and the new competition rules were announced right away. The visiting Beastmen would still compete according to the previous years’ rules, while the clan’s own males vying for candidacy as Clan Leader and elders would compete in a separate venue.
