Chapter 488 – Walking in Circles is Hereditary
Smith knew that although the Calci Family has a lot of relationships with other clans, they had nobody who could shared the hardships of their family. This was one of the Calci Family's disadvantages.
Now, the Buda Clan appeared, a Clan that has a potential to become a Great Clan. If at this time, the Calci Family gives the Buda Clan a helping hand, the Buda Clan would surely become the Calci Family's true friend in the future. With the two clans helping each other, both of them can become the strongest clans in the continent.
After thinking all of these through, Smith nodded and said, "Alright, Little Hai, I won't bother you with Golden Island. However, I'll go inform father about this. If you need any help, immediately tell us, we will certainly support you. I believe father wouldn't oppose to it."
Zhao Hai nodded and then with a serious voice he said, "Uncle, I have a matter to ask for your opinion. Today, Jason looked for me and sent a message telling me that their Crook family would want to have an Eternal Alliance with my Buda Clan."
Smith became surprised when he heard Zhao Hai, he knew what being in an Eternal Alliance meant. He didn't expect the Crook Family to suddenly propose being an Eternal Ally to the Buda Clan.
When he recovered, Smith's mind suddenly sprang into action. He knows that the Crook Family wasn't simple. A few years ago, they were just an ordinary Great Clan, but now, they already had reached the levels of millenium-old clans. What does this mean? This indicated that the Crook Family's head had the ability, and was very insightful as well.
In this case, for the Crook Family to make an Eternal Alliance with the Buda Clan only meant one thing, they were very optimistic about the future of the Buda Clan. Because of this, they wanted to reach out to the Buda Clan before they reach their full potential. Later on, when the Buda Clan completely grows into being a Great Clan, they would gain a very strong ally!
Good plan! Smith had to recognize the Crook Family's plan. It was pure benefit without disadvantages. At the least, when the Buda Clan doesn't reach the Crook Family's level, Zhao Hai would still be allied with them, bringing good benefits to the Buda Clan.
Smith walked several steps on the ground, he had thought through all the parts of it. Then he turned to Zhao Hai and said, "This is a very good thing for the Buda Clan. You should accept, how about going to the Crook Family tomorrow?"
Zhao Hai smiled and said, "I won't only go to the Crook Family, I'll need to go see Charlie tomorrow as well. Haha, I'm quite busy tomorrow."
Smith looked at Zhao Hai and laughed, "Right, it's also time to visit Charlie. Alright, you get busy, I have something to discuss with father." Zhao Hai nodded and then turned towards his own residence before going to the Space. He wanted to see what Smith would tell Randolph.
Zhao Hai didn't believe that Smith and Randolph would harm him. He had given Randolph the Life Liquid, giving Randolph a good impression of him. Zhao Hai believed that Randolph wouldn't move him, he believed that Randolph would even attach great importance to him.
When Zhao Hai arrived at the Space, he immediately entered the villa. At this time, Laura and the others were reorganizing the documents. They were sorting through documents that might be helpful to the Buda Clan.
Seeing that Laura and the others were very enthusiastic in working, Zhao Hai became happy. Then he went to the living room and turned the monitor on, showing the scene inside Randolph's study.
Randolph's study was very big, this was where he handles his things, and also where he meets the managers of the Calci Family. Because of this, his interior decoration was very good. Although it couldn't compare to Evan's study, it wasn't that much worse. After all, Dark Soldier Fort wasn't as big as a Grand Duke's mansion.
When Smith arrived at Randolph's study, they sat down and drank some tea. Apparently, they still weren't talking about Zhao Hai's matter.
When Randolph saw that Smith came to see him, he knew that it surely has something to do with Zhao Hai. Therefore, he didn't worry too much, so he first sent someone to get them some tea as he and Smith sat and chatted.
At this point, Smith held Randolph's favor. If Smith didn't insist, it would be impossible for Zhao Hai to be married into the Calci Family. If their family actually became Zhao Hai's enemy, he wouldn't be able to imagine the consequences.
Zhao Hai getting married to the Calci Family brought great benefits to them, and this was Smith's doing. Because of this, Randolph placed great importance to Smith.
Randolph drank some tea and sighed, "This time's incident was really breathtaking. Who would've thought that an ordinary attack can lead to so many things. If it weren't for Little Hai, our Calci Family would have surely ended."
Smith nodded and said, "Right, nobody thought that there would actually be a hidden snake in the continent. This Engraved Ark organization is too dangerous. Right, Father, what can you say about Little Hai's Antimagic Powder antidote? Do you think he'll succeed?"
Randolph sighed and said, "I hope that he can succeed, but it seems like it wouldn't be very easy. From the time when Antimagic Powder first appeared, people had only found ways to suppress it, not make an antidote. The powder's original recipe was destroyed as well, with no concrete source being present. This will bring a lot of trouble to Little Hai. You need to figure out the ingredients of a certain drug first before looking for ways to make its antidote. However, I still think that Little Hai's approach is correct. Even though the continent was now aware of Engraved Ark, the only source we got about them came solely from the Robert Family. Now that the method to make Antimagic Powder has disappeared, making its cure much more difficult to achieve, what do you think will the Mages of the continent think when Little Hai manages to make an antidote?"
It would lead to great benefits! Randolph meant that when Zhao Hai manages to make the antidote for Antimagic Powder, his reputation among the Mages would surely skyrocket. As long as he succeeds in making one, the respect that he would gain from the Mage community would surely be colossal. And at this time, the Calci Family would be profiting from it as well.
Both Smith and Zhao Hai hadn't thought about this before. Now that he was reminded by Randolph's words, Smith found it hard to sit still. However, he was currently in front of Randolph, so he was embarrassed to walk around in a circle. Therefore, he can only take his teacup and kept turning it around.
After some time while looking at the ground, Smith looked at Randolph and said, "Father, if Little Hai succeeds, the rise of the Buda Clan would take zero effort."
Randolph nodded and said, "So now, we should give Little Hai our full support. If Little Hai succeeds, the Buda Clan would gain great benefits, but our Calci Family would profit off of it as well. Little Hai doesn't need our help in dealing with Golden Island, but as long as Little Hai needs our help for something else, we must fully support him. Make sure to remember this."
Smith couldn't help but smile when he heard Randolph, then he turned to Randolph and said, "Father, I also came her today for something else. This has a connection to the thing you said about fully supporting Little Hai. This is an important one."
Randolph looked at him and said, "What is it?"
Smith smiled and said, "Just earlier, Little Hai told me that Jason came to look for him and delivered a message from his family. The Crook Family sent a message telling Zhao Hai that they wanted to form an Eternal Alliance with the Buda Clan, making their families eternal allies."
When he heard about this, Randolph couldn't help but stand up and walked around in circles. Smith looked at Randolph,thinking about the matter made him smile. He didn't think that walking in circles was actually hereditary.
After who knows how many circles, Randolph stopped. He turned his head to Smith and said, "Did Little Hai personally tell you this? This isn't a mistake?"
Smith nodded and said, "It's absolutely real. Father should know that Little Hai doesn't say these kinds of things easily. And since he told me, it should be true."
Randolph nodded and said, "The Crook Family is good. Their vision is really good. We really need to completely support Little Hai. If Little Hai became eternal allies of the Crook Family, it would also be good for us."
Smith nodded and then said, "Father, there's another thing. Little Hai told me that he wants to turn Golden Island into a free trading harbor. Pirates and Merchants would be able to trade freely in the island, he only needs to collect some taxes. Moreover, he shall also make a rule forbidding violence in a 1000 li radius outside the island. If this succeeds, then the Buda Clan would surely have great gains."
Randolph nodded and said, "It's a good idea, if it becomes successful, Little Hai wouldn't be worrying about money anymore. However, its early stages would be difficult, he would need enough naval might to shake those people. We shall fully support Little Hai in this matter. But it looks like Little Hai didn't need our support in this. However, you should still go and find some little matters where we can insert ourselves. Also, there’s another point, don't mix in sand."
'Mixing sand' was a type of slang. Randolph used it here to tell Smith that they shouldn't send in some spies towards Zhao Hai's camp. For a Great Clan like the Calci Family, this was something that was rarely seen.
Smith knitted his brows, then after some time he said, "Father, if we do that, wouldn't some people in the clan object? Seeing Third Uncle's stance, it seems like they want to control Little Hai."
Chapter 489 – Family Greeting
"Stupid!" Randolph said after he heard Smith. "Don't listen to them. They're short-sighted, who knows how many people outside the Calci Family died with their tricks."
When Randolph talked about this, he stopped for a moment and then took a deep breath before continuing, "Second, remember this. When you become a Patriarch of a Great Clan, there are some moments where you want to insist your own thoughts, no matter how unordinary they may be. As long as it brings benefits the clan, then we must do it. Even if it fails, we, that Calci Family can still afford to lose some. If we become afraid and don't dare to do anything, then our position of Patriarch might as well be a decoration."
When Smith heard Randolph, he nodded understandingly. At the same time, his eyes turned bright. Why did Randolph tell him this? Smith's mind couldn't help but think of all the implications.
Randolph looked at Smith, he smiled then said, "What is Little Hai's status right now? He's the head of the Buda Clan, he has formidable strength and can command ten 9th rank experts. Do you think that kind people can control him? I would think they're crazy if they actually believed that they can take control of Little Hai. And even if we control Little Hai, what would it give the Calci Family? Little Hai is so strong that his addition is enough to cause instability in the Clan. What the Calci Family needs right now aren't 9th rank experts. What we need is a strong ally. If the Buda Clan becomes the strongest Clan in the continent, then it would be very good for us. With that in mind, we might as well support Little Hai, we can remove some roadblocks from the Buda Clan's road to greatness. This will not only allow us to gain a strong ally, it would also leave a good impression on Little Hai. When the time comes, he will certainly help the Calci Family become greater."
Smith nodded, "Yes father. I understand, you don't need to worry. Right, father, if Little Hai's plan on Golden Island succeeds, will it affect our Sky Water City?"
Randolph smiled faintly and said, "It shouldn't affect it. Even if it brings affects to Sky Water City, it would be good things. If he does well, then the products flowing through there would be pirated goods, so it would surely be cheap. Merchants would go there, buy the goods, and then resell them in Sky Water City. Pirates wouldn't dare come to Sky Water City, but Merchants would. Golden Island will be the hub where pirates discharge their inventories. In the end, it would be a very good thing for Sky Water City."
Smith nodded, "After Little Hai goes to the Crook Family, he would head to Charlie's mansion. What do you say about Prince's Charlie's intentions?"
Randolph smiled faintly and said, "What can Prince Charlie do, Zhao Hai is his man, and His Majesty the Emperor know it. His Majesty rewarding Zhao Hai was equal to making Charlie's influence increase. Naturally, Charlie would be glad. It seems like Charlie has a greater chance of mounting the imperial throne right now. But we still need to hold ourselves back and refrain from interfering, we should maintain our Clan's passive stance."
Smith nodded, "Rest assured, I know what to do. I will not participate in Little Hai's matters." Randolph nodded as well.
After seeing this scene, Zhao Hai decided to stop spying at them anymore. He knew that he now had the full support of the Calci Family . For the Buda Clan, this point was very important.
Zhao Hai let out a long sigh and sat still in the living room. The recent developments were extremely good. Not only did he obtain the title of Marquis, he also obtained the full support of the Calci Family as well as gaining the Crook Family as an Eternal Ally. at this point, he has now unfolded his own web of relationships in Rosen Empire. This web might still be immature, but when the Buda Clan slowly gains strength, this web would get more and more dense and sturdy.
After having rested for a while, Zhao Hai called the Robert Family undead. He wanted to ask them about other matters, for example, their Battle Qi Techniques and so on.
Although the Buda Clan had the Wild Dragon Battle Qi manual, this Battle Qi doesn't suit everyone. So Zhao Hai wanted to look at the Battle Qi techniques of other clans. Even if he couldn't use them, he can have these techniques provided to the schools to have the children study. This was one of the most fundamental things that millenium-old families do.
This time, the most precious thing that he acquired from the Robert Family wasn't money. But instead, it was the Robert Family's internal library.
There were a lot of books circulating in Ark Continent, but the genuinely useful books were all kept within the internal libraries of Great Clans, commoners were unable to see them.
With the Robert Family's standing in Rosen Empire, it was certain that they had their own internal library. This library contained not only the materials of the Robert Family, it also had a lot of manuals for Battle Qi and Magic. These things were very important for Zhao Hai.
Another thing that made Zhao Hai ecstatic was the fact that there were some notes paired with these manuals. These notes were carefully kept in wooden crates and looked more expensive than those books.
After Zhao Hai saw these notes, Zhao Hai knew why the Robert Family placed these things in a secure location. This was because these writings were actually cultivation notes of their 9th rank experts!
Cultivation notes of 9th rank experts were very precious things. For Zhao Hai, these might not be important, but for Green and the others, this was an absolute treasure.
Green, Merine, and Kun were all at the peak of 8th rank, they only need a single nudge to reach 9th. For them, these notes would give them crucial insights that they might be able to use in advancing.
Zhao Hai had now understood why these Great Clans could get 9th ranks easily while general noble clans would still have difficulties. Those common Nobles surely lacked or had little amounts of cultivation notes.
As for those cultivation techniques, Zhao Hai naturally wouldn't remember them. He had the Robert Family undead write those down. After all, they were advanced undead, writing wasn't a problem for them.
While Zhao Hai was thinking about all of these, Zhao Hai summoned all the other undeads that he had and made them write their cultivation methods down. They had nothing else to do anyway, they weren't very needed in fights, so they might as well go and write down their techniques. In the future, these manuals would surely be important for the Buda Clan's development.
While Zhao Hai's day went smoothly, the entire Ark Continent was in a storm. The appearance of Engraved Ark, the Antimagic Powder, the extermination of the Robert Family, Zhao Hai's title of Marquis and his bestowment of Golden Island made the population go into unrest.
Engraved Ark and Antimagic Powder did not have a huge effect on the common folk and was only an enormous matter for the Mages and major influences in the continent.
However, the ownership of Golden Island made the every person go alert. Golden Island was well known among Nobles and commoners.[1]
Golden Island was a sensitive matter between the Rosen and Aksu Empires because there weren't any owners of the island in the past.
And now, a claimant of the island appeared. Moreover, the identity of the new owner was a very interesting matter. The Buda Clan was a family that came from Aksu Empire, however, Golden Island was bestowed onto them by the Rosen Empire. This made the continent look at the situation in interest.
Rosen Empire's bestowment was very thought provoking. The relationship between the Buda Clan and the Aksu Empire was well known among the people of the continent. The Buda Clan was supposed to be finished, but they surprisingly reappeared and was on their way to becoming one of most powerful clan in the continent.
When the Rosen Empire gave Golden Island to Zhao Hai as his fief, the people immediately thought of its ramifications.
The Aksu Empire took a stand immediately, declaring their disapproval of the Rosen Empire's decision. Moreover, they also insisted on their ownership of Golden Island. If Rosen Empire really asserts their influence on the island, the Aksu Empire wouldn't be able to guarantee peace.
This was without a doubt a threat. They were certainly saying that if Rosen Empire doesn't take their bestowment back, then the two empires might get into war.
However, Aksu Empire didn't say anything about Zhao Hai. His title and territory in their empire was made under the authentication of the nations of the continent as well as the Radiant Church, it was irrevocable. Because of this, the Aksu Empire cannot do anything about Zhao Hai at this time.
But all of these commotions were nothing in Zhao Hai's view. In his mind, Golden Island was already his. Before, he doesn't dare occupy any location because he was still not part of Rosen Empire, it would be equal to offending two empires. Now, if he wanted to fight for Golden Island, he can only offend one of them, this made him unafraid to go forward.
Zhao Hai didn't have a favorable impression of Aksu Empire. What they did to the Buda Clan was so terrible that Zhao Hai didn't regard himself as a person of the Aksu Empire anymore. He was now a person of the Black Wasteland, he already considered the place to be his kingdom. Because of this, offending Aksu Empire was not a psychological burden to him.
In the evening, Zhao Hai went to the Space in order to meet Green and the others and tell them todays matters, his new title and new fief.
Green and others didn't oppose to Zhao Hai's decision since they didn't have a favorable impression of the Aksu Empire either. Now that Zhao Hai's title in Aksu Empire was lower than Rosen Empire, Green and the others can now claim that they are people of the Rosen Empire. In the end, they were all natives of the Ark Continent, the only thing that matters to all of them were the titles that they held. But this wasn't the case in Zhao Hai's mind, for him, strength was the most important thing, nobility was less important.
Green and the others agreed to Zhao Hai's procedures. For them, it didn't matter that Golden Island was a goose that lays golden eggs, what mattered was the fact that the Buda Clan has achieved another domain.
After the group discussed this matter, Zhao Hai gave the notes to Green and the others. When the group saw these notes, they immediately acted as though they just had received a treasure. They didn't leave the Space, the just went to their own rooms and proceeded to read.
The environment of the Space was good, it was really suited for cultivation. Because of this, they didn't want to leave. And since there aren't a lot matters left to take care back at Iron Mountain Fort, they chose to close up for several days inside.
After resting the entire evening inside the Space as well as having his morning breakfast, Zhao Hai boarded his carriage and headed towards the Crook Family.
Zhao Hai's arrival at the Crook Family wasn't the same as last time where it was only Jason who came to receive him. This time, along with Jason's grandfather, the senior members of the Crook Family was waiting for him in the entrance. For Zhao Hai, this was a very good respect for his face.
Zhao Hai didn't bring too many people today, only Shue and Shun. Laura and the others were still organizing the documents inside the Space. With the quantity of books that they acquired, a day or two wasn't enough to organize it.
Zhao Hai was still inside the carriage when he saw the Crook Family's arrangement. He didn't think that the Crook family would mobilize these people to meet him. When the carriage stopped, he immediately got down and went to Jason's grandfather and said, "Grandfather, why did so many people come out to meet me? This is too much."
When Jason's Grandfather heard what Zhao Hai said, he couldn't help but show a smile on his face. Then he gave Zhao Hai a salute and said, "Crook Family Patriarch, Jesse Crook, has seen Patriarch Zhao Hai Buda."
Zhao Hai couldn't help but stare at Jesse, then he immediately understood what he was doing. Zhao Hai quickly returned a salute and said, "Zhao Hai Buda has seen Patriarch Jesse!"
After the two parties offered their greetings, Jesse introduced Zhao Hai to the people from his family. Jason's father was named Ron. While Zhao Hai personally remembered Jesse and Ron's names, he didn't do so for the other members of the family, he just had Cai'er record their names and have him be reminded later.
When he finished introducing the people present, Jesse then turned to Zhao Hai and laughed, "Little Hai, welcome to our home. Also, it has already been several days since God's Grace Day, I'm offended that it took you this long to visit."
Hearing Jesse this time, Zhao Hai knew that when he was introducing the family members, he was acting officially as the Crook Family's Patriarch. This time, he was acting as Zhao Hai's friend, thus, explaining his current change of tone.
Zhao Hai naturally preferred this tone of speech, he immediately smiled and said, "I really have too many things to take care of. I attended your banquet a few days ago, but grandfather has a lot to manage and wasn't able to participate, so we didn't have the opportunity to meet."
Jesse laughed and said, "Alright, I'll accept that. However, you have to accompany me to drink today. Right, let's go in and take a seat."
Then, Jesse led Zhao Hai to enter the fort and sat down inside the lobby. While they were walking, Zhao Hai noticed how powerful Jesse was as a Patriarch. The other Crook Family members were walking behind him and didn't even have a lot of chances to speak. Jesse seemed to have full control of the family. However, Zhao Hai can also see that Jesse was open to the opinions of his family members. When it came to decisions, he was too influential that all of his choices went unopposed and final.
Zhao Hai you noob.