Starting with a Family System to Become an Immortal Official-Chapter 58: Meeting Hall Tensions

In the meeting hall of Three-Legged Crow Peak.

There was a jarring silence.

Every peak master and prime elder of the Golden Sun Pavilion remained in perfect formation.

At the head of the hall.

Upon the elevated golden throne of the patriarch sat a young handsome man with long, flowing jade-green hair and robes of emerald threaded with gold.

His head was bowed elegantly with eyes shut.

Almost as though he was meditating.

The overwhelming pressure radiating from him made the air in the hall uncomfortably thin.

Beside the throne.

Patriarch Zhen stood with a stiff smile plastered across his weathered face.

The old man looked troubled.

His fists were clenched at his sides.

Position? Dignity? He would surrender them all in a heartbeat if it meant securing this alliance. As long as this terrifying scion agreed to back them in the coming Central Heartland trials and the Immortal Official exams, the old patriarch would gladly lick the soles of the young master’s boots.

He nodded faintly to himself.

Yes... just endure.

However.

The assembled cultivators were utterly lost.

A prime elder with a long white beard leaned slightly toward his neighbor and muttered.

"Could he be some hidden sect ancestor?"

Another shook his head slowly.

"What could possibly make our prideful Patriarch yield the throne so easily? To a man who looks barely twenty summers old?"

A stern-faced female elder whispered.

"That hair... no shade of green like that exists in any of the three great states of the Far-Reaching Continent. And his presence... it feels like a King Realm expert is sitting there not merely Nascent Soul."

A grizzled prime elder stroked his beard.

"If this is truly just a scion of the Gu family..."

He paused to shake off the fear in his voice.

"Then what manner of unbelievable monsters must lurk in their main branch?"

Murmurs rippled outward like waves on a pond.

"Terrifying..."

"The Gu family truly lives up to their reputation."

"I heard even their branch members can cripple an expert with a glance..."

Deeper in the crowd.

Song Yan stood gracefully.

Her eyes narrowed to study the seated youth.

She tilted her elegant head as her white hair fell like fresh snow over one shoulder.

"I want to believe this is the young master the Gu family sent... but his presence eclipses even a peak-stage Nascent Soul cultivator’s. Yet those green robes and that luscious jade hair... surely Gu."

Her ruby lips parted in sudden realization.

Her delicate fingers rose to stroke her chin.

"Wait... isn’t that Gu Linyuan? The supreme genius of the current generation? Rather than a lesser branch scion they sent the strongest of the main family?"

Her heart thudded once.

"What are those demons planning?"

Her smooth temples tightened out of worry.

Patriarch Zhen finally steeled himself.

He cleared his throat and prepared to speak.

At that very moment, Gu Linyuan’s eyes opened and fell directly on Song Yan in the crowd.

His shoulders visibly relaxed as the crushing pressure in the hall eased by a hair’s breadth.

Patriarch Zhen’s words died in his throat as the young master completely ignored him.

Instead, Gu Linyuan calmly spoke out.

"That top-tier beauty with the snow-white hair. Is she one of your peak masters?"

Patriarch Zhen blinked then followed the gaze.

First to Song Yan. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Then to Madam Chen Yuxuan standing nearby.

He turned back, brow raised.

"Which one, Young Master?"

Gu Linyuan’s lips twitched faintly.

"The fat-chested one."

Patriarch Zhen glanced again.

Both women were breathtaking.

Madam Chen had the fuller, heavier bounty.

They were only really noticeable when she took off her robes and undergarments.

On the other hand, Song Yan’s were rounder and perkier even under her loose silk clothes.

The old patriarch swallowed hard once then quickly pulled himself together.

"Young Master... perhaps a few more details?"

Gu Linyuan exhaled softly but you could tell his patience was wearing thin.

"The one named Song Yan."

He hadn’t wanted to name her directly. His purpose here was intelligence, resources, and leverage for the coming trials not chasing skirts.

But the moment he saw her... well.

Discipline could wait a moment.

Patriarch Zhen’s eyes lit up internally like lanterns.

『Song Yan’s beauty saves the sect once again! If this young master is the type who appreciates beauty, this will surely seal the alliance! I should have placed her front and center from the start!』

He clenched his fists in barely contained excitement then leaned down eagerly.

"Young Master, would you like me to summon Peak Master Song for a private audience?"

Bursts of eagerness shot through his body.

"I can arrange it immediately—"

Gu Linyuan raised a single, gentle hand.

"Business first. Women... later."

That alone killed all the old man’s excitement.

Gu Linyuan rose gracefully to his feet.

Every peak master and prime elder bowed their heads at the same time... except one.

Song Yan remained standing with folded arms.

Gu Linyuan stared back with an amused smile.

The elegant beauty felt immediate disgust.

With that, Patriarch Zhen hurriedly led the young master deeper into the hall, toward the private discussion chambers sealed by layered arrays.

The doors sealed shut and the tension vanished.

Cultivators surged toward the long tables laden with tasty fruit biscuits, thousand-year cloud tea, and rare immortal wine from the upper realms.

Laughter and chatter filled the air.

Huo Batian wandered over to a cluster of prime elders already stuffing their faces.

One elder, cheeks bulging with honeyed spirit biscuits, mumbled,

"Did you see Master Chen Yuxuan today? My... what a chest that woman has. And that rear could crush a man’s soul in bed and he’d die smiling."

Another laughed as he held his round belly.

"She’s grown even more beautiful with age. Those mature curves are a distraction!"

Huo Batian chuckled as he poured himself tea.

"Easy, old monsters. You sound like lust-drunk outer disciples, not prime elders."

A bearded elder grinned shamelessly.

"We’re talking about Madam Chen. Never realized she was such a peerless beauty. I have always avoided her eyes because I heard she was a man-hater."

The second elder nodded vigorously.

"Yet today she greeted us! Smiled even! This old man’s heart nearly burst."

They both cackled like mischievous boys.

Huo Batian shook his head as he bit into a biscuit.

"Men who’ve lived five centuries, getting excited because a woman said hello. Tonight your wet dreams will have Master Chen tucking you in like good little boys."

He laughed heartily.

The two elders frowned.

One jabbed a finger.

"You’ve no right to mock. Everyone knows you’re a complete slave to Elder Su Liyue."

The other stroked his chin theatrically.

"Elder, elder, elder... hmm she used to be a disciple so how did she get promoted so fast—oh yes! I forgot you spent half of Zhulong Peak’s resources elevating a woman who doesn’t even love you."

The first wheezed with laughter.

"Bet if she snapped her fingers right now, you’d sprint back like a dog. To think she was stolen by some lucky peasant who hasn’t even built a proper clan compound yet—"

"Enough!"

Huo Batian roared with a reddened face.

The elders grinned wider.

"Then prove you’re over her. Strike up some small talk with beautiful Madam Chen right now."

They pointed across the hall.

There she sat at a small table as she stirred fragrant tea with delicate motions while Gao Yue gently combed and arranged her charming white hair.

Huo Batian straightened his robes, cleared his throat and took a few steps forward.

He was clearly forcing his confidence.

He raised a hand in greeting.

"Madam Che—"

A tiny but firm hand suddenly shoved him aside.

Huo Batian stumbled but struggled to catch himself just before face-planting into a pillar. When he looked up, Song Yan now stood directly in front of a clueless Chen Yuxuan with arms folded beneath her proud chest.

Huo Batian blinked. "What in the—"

Gao Yue immediately stepped protectively in front of her madam.

Song Yan’s ruby eyes sharpened.

"Step aside. I’d like a word with your madam."

Gao Yue’s voice was a calm ocean.

"That’s not—"

A gentle hand settled on Gao Yue’s shoulder.

Chen Yuxuan rose gracefully.

"No, no. There’s no need to disobey a grand elder for my sake, Yue’er."

"Madam, but—"

"Enough."

The mature beauty stepped forward until she stood toe-to-toe with Song Yan.

Their magnificent bosoms pressed softly together.

It was like watching two mountains collide.

Half the men in the hall choked on their tea as their eyes gleamed shamelessly.

Chen Yuxuan narrowed her eyes with quiet pride.

"Peak Master Song... what seems to be the matter?"

Song Yan’s voice was cool wine poured over ice.

"Simple. Li Qingmu belongs to Fenghuang Peak."

That statement made Huo Batian freeze.

『No way... both these heavenly women are interested in that shameless bastard Li Qingmu!?』

He gritted his teeth.

『NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!』