Chapter 977 - 429: Difficult to Establish Mutual Trust (Part 2)

"Oh?" Chu Xiu raised his eyebrows, finally understanding what the other party was up to.

"So they want to use my parents to hold me back, huh."

"This plan is quite... "

If someone were to threaten Chu Xiu using his parents, he would undoubtedly kill that person without hesitation. But Jiang Family’s reason seemed justified, leaving no room for resentment.

And perhaps worried about displeasing Chu Xiu, Jiang Lingfu added, "If you really don’t want your parents to make an appearance, having a child will also do... "

At this, Chu Xiu was dumbfounded and laughed.

What he didn’t expect was that the other three families had the same idea!

"Chen, as long as you are willing to marry a girl from our Zhao Family, we will fully support you!"

"Your Zhao Family? Zhao Jie, your two beautiful sisters are already married, who among the rest can match Brother Chen?"

"Shut up! Our Zhao Family has plenty of excellent girls!"

"Humph, among the young generation of girls, only that one from Zhang Family can compare with our Jiang Family, but with her cold Daoist-like personality, which man would like her?"

"Jiang Lingfu, have you forgotten? If it’s about talent, which girl can surpass our Song Family’s seventh elder?"

"Song Ya, your family’s old maiden is already forty years old."

"Do you dare say that to her face!"

"..." Jiang Lingfu was a bit guilty, "In any case, they are not of the same generation, they can’t get along."

"How will you know without trying," the Song Family representative snorted coldly, "We awakened have a long life span, forty is just the beginning, and our seventh elder is stunningly beautiful, even Brother Chen might be captivated at first sight."

Watching the representatives of the three families argue, Chu Xiu couldn’t help but laugh and cry.

He had heard of these people, all of whom had plenty of admirers.

There’s no need to mention Jiang Miaoyin, once she successfully advances to Heroic Spirit, she would be groomed as the next patriarch, and she herself was charming and seductive, even if she rarely appeared in public, her online fan count was overwhelmingly ahead.

Jiang Xue was equally impressive, although her development time was slightly shorter, she had already stepped into King Tier, with a special dual talent where marrying one meant getting two, which could stir anyone’s heart.

The other two were also unique in their own ways, talents among talents, and the Song Family’s seventh elder had even entered Demigod rank.

"Could it be time to consider marriage?" Chu Xiu touched his chin.

Chu Xiu hadn’t seriously considered this before; it’s not that he’s indifferent to women, but he doesn’t place much importance on them, to him everything had to give way to his power growth.

He never thought there would come a day when he could profit by "selling charm."

Chu Xiu didn’t really resist the idea; among the four women, whichever he chose was a top beauty, and the accompanying dowry was overly generous, in any case he wouldn’t be on the losing end.

Just...

After struggling for a while, Chu Xiu shook his head and said, "Sorry, I currently have no plans to marry."

The reason was simple. Although marriage was dressed up to feel better, essentially it required Chu Xiu to expose his vulnerability in exchange for mutual trust.

He couldn’t possibly wear a mask on their wedding night, could he?

Chu Xiu does trust that whichever family he chooses would help to conceal his identity, but the current situation is extremely complex.

Among the three pieces of information about the Murder Ghost, one Celestial King is an internal spy, and another Outer Realm Demon has infiltrated into Huaxia.

In essence, Huaxia is filled with enemy hands, who can guarantee Chu Xiu’s chosen family hasn’t been infiltrated?

Of course, the main point is, this battle isn’t crucial.

Ultimately, it merely concerns the survival of Chu Xiu’s civilization.

From the current perspective, the civilization hasn’t provided much support, which is why the government’s aid was only two trillion Huaxia Coins.

If this were a do-or-die decisive battle, for protecting this unprecedented genius, the three Celestial Kings of Huaxia might deploy en masse without hesitation.

Chu Xiu’s acceptance of the battle was more about coveting the chance to simultaneously kill five High Tier Blood Demons and substantially enhance his avatar’s power.

Add more risk for this? To Chu Xiu’s cautious nature, it’s truly not worthwhile. He wouldn’t want his parents to be used as bargaining chips someday.

Seeing his refusal, the representatives of the three families showed disappointed expressions but did not press further.

Everyone’s gaze fell on the three who hadn’t spoken yet: Chen Huang, Duan Yan, and Zhang Zhengdao.

To be honest, the arrival of these three was unexpected for others; Zhang Zhengdao, as the patriarch, personally coming and remaining silent was intriguing.

The other two also made people wonder how Chu Xiu got involved with the Sun King and Mountain View Building.

Chu Xiu was equally puzzled, though he invited Chen Huang, he couldn’t understand why the other two came.

At this moment, Zhang Zhengdao was the first to speak, "Everyone, my visit here is not for recruitment, but for atonement."

Atonement?!

With those two words, everyone looked astonished, even Chu Xiu was taken aback.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Zhang Zhengdao calmly stated, "The world often says our Zhang Family descends from Celestial Master Zhang Daoling, and indeed our family members are prone to awakening Daoist-related talents and professions."

"Thus, our family has always taken ’punishing evil and promoting virtue, upholding the Dao’ as our duty. When I assumed the role of patriarch, my father renamed me Zhengdao, to remind me not to go astray."

"However, even such a Zhang Family produced an evil demon!"

Zhang Zhengdao’s gaze swept over the crowd, his authoritative black eyes filled with candor.

"Two years ago, our sixth elder’s son sadly died in an Abyss invasion, poisoned incurably."

"In his grief, the sixth elder conceived an improper thought, he paid a high price for a Soul-Collecting Treasure Box and stored his son’s soul within."

Upon hearing Soul-Collecting Treasure Box, everyone present changed expressions.

They were all aware of its notorious reputation.

"Could it be..." Jiang Lingfu looked in disbelief.

"Indeed," Zhang Zhengdao nodded, "Our sixth elder managed to obtain Chen’s blood and set the Soul-Collecting Treasure Box’s target on Chen, then conspired with Mountain View Building to initiate an attack on him!"

Upon hearing this, even though everyone had some anticipation, they still looked at each other in amazement.

Zhang Zhengdao seemed prepared and stated solemnly:

"Our sixth elder has been sentenced under Divine Power Daoist’s supervision, and all involved are held accountable."

"As the patriarch, I am undeniably responsible, I will accept no excuses."

"My purpose here is to apologize to Chen face-to-face and offer a trillion Huaxia Coins in resources as compensation."

"Furthermore, if Chen is willing, I as patriarch am prepared to personally defend him, atoning for inadequate supervision!"

With his words, it was like a boulder cast into the water, even several Demigods revealed astonished expressions!

A patriarch apologizing personally and committing to go into danger!

If genuinely sincere, it could only be said that Zhang Family governs with remarkable strictness, deserving of Daoist lineage’s reputation! Zhang Zhengdao deserves the Celestial Master’s legacy!

Even Chu Xiu, witnessing such selfless, righteous figures, couldn’t help but feel incredulous, instinctively raising suspicion.

At that moment, Duan Yan chuckled, "When Mountain View Building’s master invited me, he specially mentioned this matter, half a year ago Zhang Patriarch personally inquired, but based on Mountain View Building’s principles, the master did not disclose the initiator’s identity, yet Zhang Patriarch still found out."

"The Zhang Family numbers over ten thousand; even if Zhang Patriarch descended from the heavens, it would be difficult to ensure none in ten thousand falter. The fault of a Zhang Family member cannot be blamed on the patriarch."

"We all understand this reasoning, but Zhang Patriarch still shoulders this responsibility alone, I am impressed!"

Zhang Zhengdao shook his head at Duan Yan’s words, "Brother Duan need not make excuses for me; as patriarch, I possess the most cultivation resources within Zhang Family, a member’s fault must be borne by Zhang."

Having said that, he looked at Chu Xiu, "May I inquire if Chen possesses the Soul-Collecting Treasure Box?"

After a slight hesitation, Chu Xiu turned his wrist, taking out the treasure box and handing it over.

Accepting it, Zhang Zhengdao infused mana, and, under everyone’s gaze, the Soul-Collecting Treasure Box, containing Zhang Family members’ souls, crumbled into powder.