Noon, at Wang Chen's home.
Looking at the intelligence reports from the morning court session, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Wang Chen's lips. Xu Tianran's position as Crown Prince had been revoked; the Wang Clan's crisis was resolved. It was now time for him to become the clan's Patriarch.
The reason he hadn't taken the Patriarch's seat from Wang Yan earlier wasn't due to lack of strength, but because the situation at that time had been critical—right when the Second Prince was attempting to assassinate Xu Tianran. Wang Chen hadn't wanted to stir up any extra trouble.
Now that Xu Tianran, being completely impotent, had lost all possibility of becoming Emperor, no faction would choose to support him or act as his pawn.
After all, rather than supporting a eunuch destined never to become Emperor, it was better to back either the Second or Third Prince—offering greater rewards and far less hassle.
Thus, the Wang Clan's crisis had naturally been lifted. Both the Second and Third Princes were now devouring Xu Tianran's remaining forces, expanding their own power at a rapid pace.
For the moment, there would be no direct conflict between the two princes.
Wang Chen called this period a "time of stability."
However, once both princes finished consolidating their gains, a far more violent struggle would inevitably erupt.
At that time, the Wang Clan—who supported the Second Prince—would not be able to stay uninvolved.
What Wang Chen had to do was take advantage of this period of stability to rapidly increase his own strength, reaching the level of a Rank Nine Soul Engineer, so that he would have the true power to influence events and protect those close to him.
And if he wanted to strengthen himself quickly, the Black Book was, without question, his best option.
As long as he could unlock a new function of the Black Book, his strength would once again undergo a great leap forward.
But to unlock the next ability, he first needed to elevate his status.
Thus—the position of Wang Clan Patriarch was his for the taking.
Wang Chen sat on his bed, gazing at the bright sunlight streaming through the window. Slowly, he stood up and stretched his limbs.
His eyes were deep and radiant.
Becoming the Patriarch required following a certain process. First of all, one needed the support of the clan members. Otherwise, shouting "I want to be Patriarch!" without any backing would just make others see you as a lunatic.
Patriarch meant "the head of the clan." Without the clan's support, what kind of head could you possibly be?
Therefore, the first step toward becoming Patriarch was to gain the support of the clansmen—more precisely, the support of the clan's high-ranking elders.
Each elder controlled a large number of clansmen. If an elder supported you, those under him would naturally follow suit.
If you went around trying to win over ordinary members one by one, that would be pure nonsense—time-consuming, exhausting, and ultimately useless.
The most efficient method was to convince at least six elders to support you. Then, during the clan's general meeting, those six elders could jointly nominate Wang Chen for the position of Patriarch.
Why six? Because the Wang Clan had twelve Soul Sage-level elders. During a clan meeting, if half or more of the elders made a nomination, that candidate would be eligible to become Patriarch.
If the current Patriarch refused to abdicate, then he and the nominated successor had to duel—whoever won would be the new Patriarch.
At that time, as long as Wang Chen defeated Wang Yan, he would officially become the new clan leader.
Leaving his house, Wang Chen went first to visit the elder closest to him—Elder Wang Yuan.
Elder Wang Yuan understood his talent well and would be the easiest to persuade. Once he convinced Wang Yuan, the two of them could then work together to persuade the other elders.
According to Wang Chen's knowledge, quite a few elders in the clan were already dissatisfied with Wang Yan, so finding six supporters wouldn't be difficult.
Moments later, at Wang Yuan's residence—
"What did you say, Chen'er? You want to be Patriarch? Did I hear that right? Are you running a fever?" Wang Yuan stared wide-eyed at Wang Chen, utterly incredulous.
He knew Wang Chen's talent was extraordinary. Reaching the Soul Emperor realm before the age of fifteen was indeed remarkable—but that alone wasn't enough to justify becoming Patriarch.
Wang Yan was a man consumed by ambition and desire for power. After all these years as clan leader, he had never once shown any intention of stepping down.
To become Patriarch, Wang Chen would have to defeat him. But Wang Yan's strength? Peak Contra.
And Wang Chen? A mere Soul Emperor—two whole realms apart. How could he possibly win such a fight?
In Wang Yuan's eyes, even with the Purple Radiant Extinguishing Dragon, a royal inheritance martial soul, and the Solar martial soul, at best Wang Chen could leap one realm in combat. Crossing two major realms? That was absolutely impossible.
Thus, Wang Yuan immediately began to advise Wang Chen not to act rashly.
If he wanted to become Patriarch, he could simply continue cultivating. Once he reached the same level as Wang Yan, he could challenge him then—right now, it was far too early.
Listening to Wang Yuan's advice, Wang Chen smiled and said, "I have confidence in my strength. I've recently developed a secret technique that can greatly enhance my combat ability. With this secret art, I'm confident I can defeat the Patriarch."
Wang Yuan looked at Wang Chen with a face that clearly said: Do you really expect me to believe that?
Wang Chen could only sigh inwardly. Every time he spoke the truth, no one believed him—they always thought he was lying, until the facts were laid bare before their eyes.
He said to Wang Yuan, "Grandpa Yuan, how about we spar? If I win, you'll help me persuade the other elders and nominate me at the clan meeting."
Seeing Wang Chen's determination, Wang Yuan decided to teach the young man a small lesson. He didn't want the boy's exceptional talent to make him arrogant and blind to reality.
Wang Yuan said, "Chen'er, since you're so confident, let's have a match. If you can beat me, I'll take you to see the other elders."
Three minutes later—
Inside the training arena, Wang Yuan lay sprawled on the cold ground, staring blankly at the sky, disbelief written all over his face.
Impossible. Absolutely impossible. He—a seventy-sixth-rank Soul Sage—had been defeated by a mere Soul Emperor. And not just defeated, but utterly crushed, effortlessly.
For a moment, he even began to doubt reality. Am I really the Soul Sage here, or is Wang Chen?
It turned out he was the one who hadn't known the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth—not Wang Chen.
Wang Yuan lay motionless for a long while before finally managing to process the shock.
Looking dazedly at Wang Chen, he opened his mouth as if to speak, but in the end, only sighed deeply. "A monster… truly a monster. Chen'er, your strength has already surpassed mine by far—but there's still a gap between you and the Patriarch."
Wang Chen replied, "Grandpa Yuan, when I fought you just now, I didn't use my secret technique. If I had, I believe I could defeat the Patriarch."
Upon hearing that, Wang Yuan's composure completely collapsed. So you weren't even fighting seriously earlier?! What kind of creature are you?
Such talent—only those legendary figures from the Douluo Continent, like the Sea God Tang San himself, could compare.
The potential to become a god! A divine talent!
Has our Wang Clan's ancestral tomb started emitting blue smoke out of sheer luck?!
For a long time, Wang Yuan stared blankly at Wang Chen. His lips trembled, his hands shook—every sign of his overwhelming excitement.
After a long pause, Wang Yuan finally said, "Come, Chen'er, I'll take you to see the Great Elder. From now on, the Patriarch of the Wang Clan shall be you!"