The next day.
Inside a small room with a wooden floor, completely surrounded by walls with only a single door as a decoration. Four people were sitting before the round table, facing each other. The other four decided to stand right next to them as they were only accompanying those who sit.
"Thank you to Family Head Davi for granting this visit despite the short notice." Alex obviously greeted him first by cupping his hands and throwing some flowery words.
"Spirit Nest has been sending letters to me for a few weeks already, and I assume this must be the reason, right?" The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes, observing Alex with his keen eyes. He had spiky long blue hair running down to his waist. His no sleeves shirt exposed his muscular body, causing his skin to release a certain youthful radiance. Yet, anyone could feel a mysterious feeling, telling them not to underestimate a person such as him.
Despite having the cultivation of 9-Star Martial Saint, this person had been sitting on the leader seat for more than two hundred years, only a little bit to reach 10-Star Martial Saint after his father.
"Yes. I apologize if Family Head Davi doesn't like this kind of thing, but we are also bound by our situation, so I hope Family Head can forgive me."
"No need for these pleasantries. Looking at Song Ping from Blackwade Clan and Manness from Drunken Pavilion, I don't think you want to bother with this kind of pleasantry, right? So, let's cut to the chase." Davi shook his head before he released his Spiritual Energy, "Depending on what you say, I will join or not join the alliance with the Fire God Clan."
Song Ping and Manness immediately neutralized the pressure before Davi decided to retract it. They hadn't reached the core of their meeting, so it was better to sit still after getting his momentum from this.
"Certainly. Since Family Head Davi has spoken, I shall not make you wait." Alex smiled upon the pressure and gently placed his hands on the table, talking in a relaxed manner.
"Sure. I am wondering… What does Alexander Sirius, leader of Spirit Nest that is currently in a war with Fire God Clan, have to say." Davi smirked.
"In the business meeting, it's required to know the opposite party personality and characters. Hence, I won't beat around the bush." Alex paused for a moment before slyly grinning as he made the offer. "Family Head Davi, when you met with the Fire God Clan Patriarch Leo… How much did it cost him to buy your loyalty?"
These words shook the entire room. Alex had heard numerous reports about this Davi. His mind might not be filled with business and such, but it didn't mean he thought like a saint. In his perspective, everything would be decided after calculating the pros and cons, including the benefits he would receive. Alex dared to say such a thing because he knew Davi had this personality and had been living in this type of environment for a long time.
However, these words certainly couldn't be taken lightly by the other two on his side. The right one was a male that he had met a few times. Although the beastly aura in his body was still too light compared to Davi, it was refined and had a big room to grow. The man was none other than Rio, the current Patriarch of the family. Unfortunately, he couldn't lead this meeting because his prestige was still not enough.
On the other side, the blue-haired beauty was not light either. Despite her strength only reaching 10-Star Martial Monarch, there was a mysterious aura enveloping her. Alex saw nothing but Spiritual Energy swarming her, signifying the result of her training. It seemed she could almost advance to 1-Star Martial Saint. This beauty was none other than the second young miss of the Ancient Blue Family, the one that almost got married to the Fire God Clan young master, Rena.
"What did you say?"
"You dare insult our father?"
The two roared at Alex before they stopped upon sensing Davi's Spiritual Energy. He raised his hand as if he wanted to slam the table. Yet, the index finger and thumb touched each other, creating an 'O' with three fingers facing the normal way. He gradually rubbed the two fingers against each other and laughed excitedly.
"At the end of the day, warfare is nothing more than a job whose sole purpose is to obtain great riches, wouldn't you say?" These words shook the room once again, changing the tense atmosphere into confusion.
"Certainly." Alex smiled lightly and asked with a serious face. "Hence, I, Alexander, asked, exactly how much was promised to you, Patriarch Davi?"
"Haha… Honestly, I am not too sure either." Davi placed his hand on top of the table and rested his cheek on that palm. He raised his other hand as if he didn't care about this. "But Leo's proposal was to have my daughter marry that guy's second son. It was a good deal considering he was planning to have you spit up that Sacrificial Element of yours.
"At the same time, he also proposed to split all of your treasures, including those Martial Arts that could transform you into half-beasts and change back… Of course, everything will be split 50-50."
"…" Alex closed his eyes for a few seconds and realized the ambition. "You have overestimated me. I don't have anything other than some money that I acquired recently from the Blackwade Clan. This is my offer to you. I will give you one million Spirit Crystals and promise not to harm a single member of The Ancient Blue Family. I am prepared to make a Heavenly Oath for this."
"Are you joking with me?" Davi narrowed his eyes, releasing his killing intent. "The moment you have destroyed the Fire God Clan. Your swords will aim to my neck. Even if you are not, there are others that will do that. Do you think I am a fool that can't discern such a thing? What I want is a long term promise, not a shallow promise like that! Considering your cultivation speed and progress, I assume you are aiming to become a God Stage Expert, right? The moment you are not in this world, there is no guarantee that the Ancient Blue Family will be able to live in peace!"
His short term goal was to stabilize this family that had been weakened due to the Patriarch Selection, while his long term goal was to prosper the Ancient Blue Family. That was why Alex's promise was nothing but empty words.
Alex furrowed his eyebrows but didn't have a change of expression. This was still within his calculation. "I agree with the Patriarch's words. Then, do you want to propose something?"
Davi smirked and slammed the table. "Mine is simple. The Fire God Clan promised me the prosperity of this family by having my daughter marry their successor. I want the same!"
"!!!" Song Ping and Manness were startled at first, never expecting that Davi would propose this bizarre condition. It was obvious that he wanted to make Alex his son-in-law.
'Hmph. Do you think it's easy to pressure me? There are only three of you here… We will only be fighting on equal terms if my family joins the Fire God Clan's side. Rather than a fight that will bring me too much loss with a low probability of winning, I will rather join another side and annihilate the Fire God Clan. Isn't this a perfect solution? Besides, Alexander Sirius is known to be loyal, so my family will get more than the Fire God Clan can give.' Davi snorted inwardly.
"I am afraid that is not possible." Alex smiled and shook his head. "Would you mind changing your condition?"
"Listen here. You might not understand me enough, so allow me to say this, Alexander Sirius. When it comes to doing negotiation, I have never in my entire life budged a single inch from my offered price." Davi's voice was filled with confidence that he had built up since he was a young a.d.u.l.t.
Alex knew that he wasn't lying and turned serious. "Then, I shall reveal one information first. I have given my Sacrificial Element to my wife. Besides, I already have several wives, so it will be too much to take another one. Before I need to get serious, I think it's better for Patriarch Davi to change your condition or else… I might probably let you experience the first time in your life what it means to know your limit."
"Ho! Your words are not light." Davi released his Spiritual Energy and killing intent. "Are you threatening me?"
"An end is just another beginning. The moment the negotiation ends, then there will be a new beginning." Alex's smile caused excitement from Song Ping and Manness, knowing there was a fourth influence in Alex's back.
Davi's expression became colder as he said, "The pointless haggling ends here. Even if there are three of you here, only two of them are capable of fighting me. Unfortunately, you don't have any reinforcement that can help you here. Do you think I haven't checked and tightened my defense? I know you only have these people here… What? Do you want to target my son and daughter? This is always the tradition of the Ancient Blue Family. If they are strong enough, they will be better to run away or die.
"Let's see… You have said something interesting earlier… Since you are threatening me here… Do you think you can escape from this place or even bring me down in the midst of my territory? If I don't get what I want today, you can stop thinking about leaving here." Davi snorted, looking at these people with a solemn expression.
"Ridiculous!" Song Ping and Manness stood up and shouted. They couldn't take this anymore. They had stayed silent this whole time because they believed in Alex. However, they never expected that Davi was this shameless. Not only did he offer a ridiculous condition, but he also threatened them.
Before they could do anything, the applause from Davi stopped them for a few seconds.
"Now the cards are on the table. All that remains are two choices. Will you choose to be my son-in-law and form an alliance? Or will you and the others here fight us?" Davi said with a snort. He knew that it was impossible to kill Alex even in the middle of their territory, so he only planned to get a good grasp of his ability on this occasion. That was why all these talks were necessary.
"It seems this can be turned out this way. I have no choice other than forcing you to submit then." Alex activated his token and smiled as he released his killing intent. "Patriarch Davi. Do you think I need to care for the likes of you? You are overestimating yourself. What? Do you think you can handle us with Fire God Clan and Snow White Mountain?"
"Hmph! You have three influences, while I also have three influences on my side. Although the war will cost me quite a bit, I don't believe you will win." Davi snorted.
Alex would be thinking the same if the Snow White Mountain successfully transferred the soul of their ancestor to that girl, albeit he wouldn't let them succeed. Besides, Davi also didn't know about this fact, so Alex still gained the upper hand. He smirked and slammed the table. "I have three influences? Are you kidding me? Or have you become too old to recognize it? Do you think I am that idiot who will fight you like this? Let me tell you something. I never pick a fight that I can't win!"
The moment he uttered those words, two Spatial Gates were opened not far behind Kai. Two women, 8-Star Martial Saint and 10-Star Martial Saint emerged from the first one while a cool middle-aged man walked through the second one.
"If you think three are not enough, how about four?"
"!!!"