C85 I Refuse to Accept This
C85 I Refuse to Accept This
As for Patriarch Chu Tianyun, he only deals with the more important matters within the family and spends the rest of his time on his cultivation. Thus, the Second Elder would usually handle the smaller matters in the Chu Family, naturally increasing his reputation and influence within the family.
It was precisely of his current identity that Chu Hongwei ended up acting so arrogant and conceited, fully confident that he was capable of being the next heir.
Even so, the Second Elder knew very well that his great power was only a mere facade. He may seem to have a lot of power within the family but that was only under the premise that Patriarch Chu and the Grand Elder did not step in to make a decision. If the two of them expressed their stances at the same time, then his authority would be reduced drastically.
Moreover, there was also that Old Ancestor backing up the Chu Family in the shadows. If that Old Ancestor spoke up, not to mention the Second Elder, but even both the Patriarch and Grand Elder would not be able to oppose him.
It was precisely because he had a good understanding of the internal affairs within the family that Second Elder decided to let Chu Hongwei compete for the position of the successor. However, he had been busy with the ancestral ceremony during this period of time, so he had forgotten to remind Chu Hongwei to give up on his way of thinking about the competition. He hoped that Chu Hongwei would lower his status and try to please Chu Zhongtian.
Looking at the anger and unwillingness in his son's eyes, Second Elder could not help but sigh in his heart. At the same time, he also decided to make his son apologize to Chu Zhongtian.
"My fellow clansmen, don't leave just yet, for I have something very important to announce," Chu Tianyun hurriedly reminded everyone just as they were about to leave the plaza after he announced the end of the ceremony.
"I have stood in the position of the patriarch for twelve years now. I dare not say how much glory I've brought to the Chu Family during those years, but it's fact that I didn't lead the Chu Family to the point of collapse." He first evaluated himself before pausing for a moment to give everyone some time to think.
When everyone had more or less digested the information, Chu Tianyun continued, "Currently, the development of the family has reached a critical period. In order to make the family more cohesive and shine brightly once again, I have, after discussing with the elders, decided to announce the near heir of the family ahead of time!"
As Chu Tianyun's voice gradually faded away, a great shock jolted through the minds of everyone present. According to the tradition of the Chu Family, the heir would usually be chosen five years before the patriarch steps down from their position.
In those five years, the patriarch would nurture the successor so that they can take over the position smoothly. Chu Tianyun had also gone through this process in the past.
Throughout the many centuries of the Chu Family's existence, the patriarch had only ever chosen their successor in advance once before. The reason was that the patriarch three hundred years ago died in an unfortunate accident. Thus, he had no choice but to select the successor in advance.
Could it be that something had happened to Chu Tianyun?
But when they saw Chu Tianyun's current appearance, not to mention that he did not have long to live, he might even live to be a hundred years old. Since he did not come across any accidents, how could he break the tradition and choose the successor ahead of time?
Among the people present, other than the few who had received the news beforehand, the rest of them all revealed expressions of disbelief. There were even a few older clansmen who began interrogating their direct descendants about what had happened.
Chu Tianyun had already expected the shocked reactions of the people in the square. In fact, he had never thought that he would choose an heir ahead of time. This was because in the tradition of the Chu Family that had existed for hundreds of years, there were also people who had broken through to the Qi Transformation Realm and continued to hold the position of the patriarch for as long as ten more years.
This time, the decision to choose the successor ahead of time was decided upon by the Old Ancestor. As such, Chu Tianyun naturally couldn't go against his orders even if he wanted to. Furthermore, the Old Ancestor had directly chosen Chu Zhongtian as the successor, which shocked Chu Tianyun. However, he could nevertheless accept his decision.
"Grand Elder, you will be the one to announce the next successor!" Seeing everyone's high spirits, Chu Tianyun took a step back and let the highly respected Grand Elder announce the name of the successor.
Looking at the chaotic scene down below, Grand Elder knitted his brows and coughed a few times.
After everyone quieted down, the Grand Elder announced, "After discussing the matter with the Patriarch and the other inner court elders, we have finally decided on the next successor."
Speaking up to this point, the Grand Elder suddenly paused for a moment and swept his gaze across the people below before exclaiming, "Chu Zhongtian!"
"Impossible!"
"How could it be him?"
"Great! Young Master Tian has finally become the Young Patriarch!"
"Is there no one else in the family suitable for the position? How could they choose a young brat who is still wet behind the ears as the Young Patriarch?"
"I refuse to accept this!"
After the Grand Elder announced that the heir was Chu Zhongtian, the crowd in the plaza suddenly erupted in an uproar. Among them were voices of opposition, approval, doubt, and even indifference.
The ones who approved of Chu Zhongtian as the sucessor were the disciples of the younger generation while the ones opposing the decision were that of the adolescent generation. As for the one questioning the decision, it was the people of the middle-aged generation.
Having anticipated this type of reaction from the crowd, the Grand Elder and Chu Tianyun came fully prepared and remained calm. In fact, they simply allowed them to bustle in discussion.
"I refuse to accept this!" Seeing that the patriarch and the other elders didn't explain why they chose Chu Zhongtian as Young Patriarch, Chu Hongwei took a few steps forward and strongly opposed their decision.
"And why can't you accept this?" the Grand Elder asked with knitted brows upon noticing that the one opposing was the Second Elder's son. He then questioned him in an unfriendly tone and cast a doubtful gaze at the Second Elder.
After all, the decision to pick Chu Zhongtian as the successor had been discussed with all eleven inner court elders prior to this event. Even the Secon Elder had voted in favor of the decision at that time, so why was his son the first one to object it?
Second Elder was rendered speechless in the face of the Grand Elder's unhappy expression. He could only smile helplessly while lowering his head.
"Grand Elder, then I'll explain to you why I object this decision." Since this matter was related to his future, Chu Hongwei was prepared to throw caution to the wind as he spoke in an intense voice.
"In terms of strength, I am already at the Third Layer Peak of the Body Refining Realm. It will take me at most three months to break through to the Fourth Layer of the Body Refining Realm. As for Chu Zhongtian, he is only at the Sixth Layer of the Qi Refining Period, so how could he possibly surpass me?"
Chu Hongwei's first explanation immediately won the support of many people because they also felt that Chu Zhongtian's cultivation base was too low. If word spread around about how the successor of the Chu Family was but a mere young man in the Qi Refining Realm, it would definitely damage the reputation of the Chu Family.
"I am a direct descendant of the Chu Family while my father, the Second Elder, holds a high position in the Chu Family. On the other hand, Chu Zhongtian is simply a disciple of our branch family and an orphan without any parents. What right does he have to be chosen over me?"