The external forces that joined the Smiling Palace were assigned to different mountains. The Smiling Palace's forces had begun to take shape.
At the same time, Ling Xiao accepted Xuan Yao's suggestion. He started to prepare for the trial and recruit some fresh blood to become the first generation of the Smiling Palace's disciples.
Of course, the selection process was extremely strict. Only the most talented geniuses could become the Smiling Palace's disciples.
Ling Xiao and Xuan Yao's principle was to rather have nothing than to use nothing.
As soon as the news was announced, many warriors in the cities around the Wind Cloud City were all excited. They all sent their children to the City Lord's Mansion.
After all, only five thousand people were needed for the first batch. If they were late, they would lose the chance.
The young men who worshipped Ling Xiao were also full of enthusiasm and anticipation.
However, as the Palace Lord, Ling Xiao didn't want to get involved in these things. He arranged for the elders of the three pavilions and the halls to take part in it and then left it alone.
One had to admit that Ling Xiao was too lazy as the Palace Lord.
Three months passed in the blink of an eye. Cruel Leopard, Liu Qun, Yang Xianfeng and Ye Yunfeng all sent people back with good news.
When those forces heard that Ling Xiao was going to establish a force, most of them were willing to surrender and become one of the affiliated forces of the Smiling Palace. They would also pay tribute to the Smiling Palace on time every year.
Only a small part of the forces that still wanted to be independent were directly conquered by the Smiling Palace with force.
In this world, the one with the strongest fist was the boss.
For a time, the territory of the Smiling Palace expanded at an extremely fast speed.
At the same time, the name "Smiling Palace" was widely spread among all the forces in the Central Region.
A newly established sect actually sent out invitations, inviting many famous sects and clans of the fourth rank and above to attend its opening ceremony.
This matter caused quite a stir in the central territory.
Some people thought that the Smiling Palace was too arrogant. How could they invite so many forces to attend the opening ceremony?
When the time came, no one would go and they would become a laughing stock.
Some people also thought that the Smiling Palace had extraordinary courage. With the name of Ling Xiao, it was indeed enough to send invitations to many forces. After all, Ling Xiao was the only disciple of the Evil Emperor, which was enough to make the older generation in the Central Region look up to him.
In the Gu Family, a group of high-level officials gathered in the main hall for a meeting.
As the current Patriarch of the Gu Family, Gu An's expression was extremely ugly as he sat on the main seat. In the past few years, a series of unforeseen events had occurred in the Gu Family. The Grand Elders of the Gu Family had died one after another, causing the Gu Family's strength to plummet. This matter was already enough to make people feel like they were suffocating with anger. However, another faction in the family had singled out him, the Patriarch, for this matter, causing this result. He, the Patriarch, had no way of explaining himself.
Gu Ben, Gu An's cousin, was similar in strength to the Gu Family. They were both high-level Celestial Masters. Of course, the two of them had once fought each other for the position of Master. In the end, Gu Ben lost, and Gu An became the Master.
These years, Gu Ben had been suppressed by Gu An. As a direct descendant of the Gu Family, he didn't think that he was weaker than Gu An. However, the position of Master didn't fall on him.
Now, after many years of competition, Gu An finally lost to a young junior.
First, his own grandson was killed, and then he issued the Ancient Killing Order. Not only did he not kill the murderer, but he also caused the Great Elders to die one after another. This gave Gu Ben a chance to vent his anger.
However, this opportunity didn't appear randomly. He had to seize the most suitable time to give Gu An a heavy blow.
On this day, Gu Ben had a chance to make his move.
Now, there was a golden invitation in Gu An's hand. After reading the golden invitation, his face was extremely pale.
Bang!
He slammed his palm heavily, shattering the armrest of the table and chair beside him.
"Outrageous! Does that little bastard really think that there's no one in the Gu Family?!" Gu An roared.
The invitation in his hand was undoubtedly from the Palace of Arrogant Laughter, and the Palace Leader of the Palace of Arrogant Laughter was undoubtedly Ling Xiao. The man whom the Gu Clan hadn't managed to kill since the Ancient Kill Order was the one who had caused the Gu Clan to lose so many men and horses. He was the one who had humiliated the Gu Clan.
The Proud Smiling Palace was originally a hostile force to the Gu Family, but the Proud Smiling Palace still sent an invitation to the Gu Family. This was undoubtedly a ruthless slap to the face of the Gu Family.
In the main hall, the expressions of the Gu Family's members became complicated.
How many years had it been? When had the Gu Family ever been looked down upon like this? Now, they were being looked down upon by a rising force. It was really hard for them to swallow this humiliation.
However, when they thought about how many Great Elders had left and never returned, they had no choice but to accept this uncomfortable reality.
"What do you think we should do?" Gu An asked the people present.
As soon as he finished speaking, someone immediately responded, "Of course we can't go. With the reputation of the Gu Family, we don't need to participate in the opening ceremony of a small force."
"That's right. The Proud Smiling Palace is nothing. The Black Demon Sect is their neighbor. It won't be long before they disappear in the long river of history."
"That's right. The Black Demon Sect hasn't done anything yet. They are waiting for them to expand, and then we will give them a head-on blow. All we need to do is sit back and watch the show."
"Not only that, we can also hit them when they are down and kill that little bastard!"
…
The elders of the Gu Family spoke one after another. They were all cursing the Proud Smiling Palace, but they were just trying to cover up the fear in their hearts.
After everyone quieted down a little, Gu Ben finally cleared his throat and spoke.
"I think we must participate in the opening ceremony of the Proud Smiling Palace!" Gu Ben said with confidence.
Gu An looked displeased and said, "Elder Gu Ben, what do you mean by this? The Proud Smile Palace is our enemy, and we should kill them. Why are you suggesting that we attend their opening ceremony?"
Gu An didn't know what Gu Ben was thinking, but he knew that since his cousin had spoken, he must be ready to fight against him.
Gu Ben took a step forward and sneered, "The Gu Family is a third-grade force. We have existed for more than thirty thousand years, and we have been famous in the Central Region. Recently, because of our selfish desires, we have lost a lot of people. This is a tragedy for the Gu Family. Now that our enemy has just established a force, they have the guts to invite us, but we don't have the guts to accept it. It seems like we are afraid of them. If this gets out, I'm afraid everyone will laugh at us for being cowards. The ancestors of the Gu Family will jump out and call us cowards."
As soon as Gu Ben's words came out, everyone's expression changed.
Gu Ben's words were undoubtedly a heavy blow to their hearts. His words were direct, but they went straight to the point, leaving them speechless.
The Gu Family was listed as one of the eighteen great forces, but they were scared by a new force. If this got out, they would lose face.
Gu An replied angrily, "What do you mean by that? Gu Ben, what do you mean by that? Could it be that you think that I did something wrong?"
Gu Ben met Gu An's gaze and said, "Patriarch, I originally didn't want to say anything about your decision, but for the sake of the many Grand Elders who died, I have no choice but to speak up." He paused for a moment before continuing, "Does everyone still remember why the Ancient Slaughter Order was issued, killing Ling Xiao?"
The Ancient Killing Order was issued after a unanimous discussion, so they didn't know why Gu Ben brought it up again.
Gu An sneered, "Ling Xiao killed many of our Gu Family's younger generation and even stole our Gu Family's sacred weapon. It's only right that we issue the Ancient Killing Order to him."
Gu Ben looked around at everyone and said, "Patriarch, do you know why our Gu Family's youths were killed?
They were still fine when the Imperial Ranking Tournament ended, but they went to chase after Ling Xiao and were killed by Ling Xiao … "
Gu An didn't wait for Gu Ben to finish and immediately said in a loud voice, "You're saying that our Gu Family brought this upon ourselves?"
Gu Ben lightly shook his head and said, "You've misunderstood my meaning. They were all outstanding youths who participated in the Imperial Rankings Tournament, so it's very normal for them to form enmity during the Imperial Rankings Tournament. But from what I know, the Yufei who was killed should be the Patriarch's grandson. It's also because he was killed by Ling Xiao that you gathered everyone and issued the Ancient Kill Order. If it was someone else's child who was killed, I wonder if the Patriarch would issue the Ancient Kill Order?"
Gu An said without hesitation, "Of course I would!"
Suddenly, Gu Ben revealed a ferocious smile and said, "Haha … Patriarch, you're too quick to respond. Do you still remember that Gu Tianhai was also a rising star of our Gu Family more than ten years ago? He was also killed in the Imperial Ranking. Did you send out the Gu Killing Order at that time?
I remember … you didn't issue it at that time! "
"Gu Tianhai?" Gu An hesitated, a vague memory flashed through his mind.
Gu Tianhai was a direct descendant of Gu Ben, but he was killed by the Black Demon Sect in the Imperial Ranking Tournament. At that time, Gu Ben requested to issue the Ancient Killing Order, but Gu An didn't agree in the end because the Black Demon Sect was too powerful.
"Yes, that poor child. If he hadn't died, he would've become the new leader of the Gu Family," Gu Ben said with a look of regret, then he changed the topic, "Let's not talk about the past, let's talk about the current situation. Ling Xiao is the only disciple of the Demonic Emperor, and he has a lot to rely on. Patriarch, you haven't even figured out the state of Chu yet, and issued the Ancient Killing Order, which led to the death of many of our Supreme Elders. Don't you think that your decision was a failure?"
Gu Ben's tone was aggressive, as if he was trying to force the Gu Family to abdicate!
"Are you accusing me of not handling things properly?" Gu An's expression was extremely ugly as he shouted.
The other elders who supported Gu An also had ugly expressions on their faces, while those who supported Gu Ben seemed to be rejoicing in the Gu Family's misfortune.
Suddenly, an old voice rang out, "Gu Ben is right. Gu An, your Gu Kill Order has greatly damaged the Gu family's vitality. You are no longer suitable to be the head of the family."