Chapter 376: Geopolitics of the Two Clans
"Thankfully, we have an empty house lying around." Mella said as she brought them to a nearby house, saying, "Are you fine with staying in the same house?"
"Yes," Compass Carburettor nodded. It was safer for him and Grisha to remain together and take turns remaining alert. That'll save them a lot of time and would also not hinder their cultivation.
Moreover, it'll be easier to protect themselves in the case of an emergency. After all, each of them was carrying two spatial bags, enough to garner the greed of anyone in the Opposition Clan. It was not to mention how they'll be making enemies left and right in the future.
"It has been pretty lonely recently once Xuer left." Mella sighed before gazing at the two guests, "I'm happy that you've arrived."
It seemed she was genuinely happy to have more company.
"Lady Mella, a representative from the Occasion Clan has arrived!" Suddenly, a guard arrived at their doorstep, shouting the message.
"Why now...?" Mella frowned, as the timing of their arrival was unsavoury. After all, this was just a day after news of Ranze awakening a Trash Martial Spirit spread around.
"What should I do here?" Ranze suddenly turned around to ask Compass Carburettor, "I feel like I might escalate the situation if I mediate."
'Well, it's not like you'll become better at politics just because you're old. This also concerns the geopolitics of the two Clans.' Compass Carburettor thought before saying, "If they are indeed arriving to break the engagement, then just let it go through."
"What nonsense are you saying?" Mella said in alarm, "This is something their late grandfathers had arranged. It's a prestigious union of both our Clans."
"Sorry aunty, I didn't mean to belittle your Clan." Compass Carburettor smiled wryly before saying, "Actually, the situation is a bit more complicated than you think. Had Ranze awakened an Earth Martial Spirit, the Occasion Clan would have been glad to marry their daughter to him."
"But, Ranze only awakened a Trash Martial Spirit. And considering the fact that his fiancé, Bing has awakened an Earth Martial Spirit and is supposed to succeed the Occasion Clan's Clan Head seat, they wouldn't go through with this marriage proposal." Compass Carburettor said, "Their side would only face tremendous losses by going through with this marriage."
"Had the grandfathers of both the Clans been alive, this wouldn't have happened. But they're not. And the current leaders of the Occasion Clan don't wish to honour an old promise that would severely damage their Clan and weaken it drastically in a mere decade or even cripple them." He spoke.
"Why do you think their Clan would be crippled just because Ranze married Bing?" Mella asked. Even though she felt anger at Compass Carburettor for saying such things about her son, the other party had a certain charisma in his words, causing her to at least hear him out fully before deciding.
"Currently in the Occasion Clan, their most valuable resource is Bing, a tremendously talented cultivator that is guaranteed to become a powerhouse once she reaches the Martial Providence Stage. So, a lot of powerful Clans in and beyond our region would extend a hand for her marriage." Compass Carburettor spoke, smiling.
"And using this chance, the Occasion Clan would be able to establish business deals with various Clans. It's not to mention that her marriage would pull two powerful Clans closer, allowing them to harness the ambition to take over the entire region in the future. Bing's child would be the inheritor of both the Occasion Clan and his/her father's Clan." He said, stressing next.
"That means, he/she can act as the key to merging the two Clans and turn them into a Super Clan. With that, they could slowly begin to swallow up all business and powers in this region." Compass Carburettor smiled.
"That's how the state of things is."
"Then, what do you propose we do now?" Mella asked, feeling like everything Compass Carburettor said made sense. But, she didn't like the fact that her son was being treated as a liability. "My son isn't a liability."
"That's for sure." Compass Carburettor laughed, "But none know about it now."
Upon seeing Mella's eyes widen in surprise at how confident he was about Ranze, Compass Carburettor smiled, saying, "Your son awakened a Trash Martial Spirit, alright. But, it's also the strongest of Trash Martial Spirits with many unique powers. And best of all..."
He said, slowly unleashing the aura of his Martial Spirit, noticing Mella shuddering in response. It was the natural suppression from a higher Tiered Martial Spirit.
Just as Mella was trembling upon seeing how powerful Compass Carburettor was, she noticed him pointing to his side. She gazed in the direction he pointed towards, noticing the figure of Ranze that wasn't even the slightest affected by this suppression.
Her eyes widened as she looked at her son in surprise, "How...is this possible?"
"See, that's the difference. Your son has a Trash Martial Spirit. But he's not weak." Compass Carburettor smiled, retracting the suppression. Of course, he didn't reveal any details about the Divine Martial Spirit, for that was dangerous.
There was a chance the System Hosts would learn of this information through Mella in the future. So, he didn't risk leaking it. That was also why he didn't tell Ranze about the fact that Stencil also had a Divine Martial Spirit.
"Your son's willpower is so strong that he doesn't even flinch at this level of suppression." Compass Carburettor concluded, noticing that Mella sighed in relief, feeling proud at the fact that her son was better than what she had expected.
She didn't mind much about the cancellation of the engagement after that, "It's their loss anyway."
"Yeah," Compass Carburettor nodded, "But, we shouldn't make it seem like that. There's also the fact that the Giant Whale Sect would get rid of him if Ranze displayed any talent. They know that Xuer likes him, but to force her to marry someone from the Giant Whale Clan, he has to be erased first."
"At present, we've used his trash Martial Spirit as the key to make it seem like Ranze wouldn't ever focus on cultivation anymore." Compass Carburettor nodded while looking at Ranze, "And, that's the setting we're going with at present."
"If the Occasion Clan wants to dissolve this engagement, sure." He grinned, saying, "But, we'll milk them dry for that and make it apparent that the fault lay in them."