"So many people!" Ye Xuan was somewhat surprised.
Gongsun Yanran said, "Gongsun Qingyue took nine concubines. Counting his main wife, he has ten wives and concubines in total. Each of them bore him one or two children, so his branch of the family is indeed flourishing. However, most of them are still young. The one you need to pay attention to is the person next to Gongsun Tu..."
"That one?"
Ye Xuan took a look. A young man was standing beside Gongsun Tu. When the youth saw Ye Xuan, a trace of killing intent flashed through his eyes.
"Gongsun Tu, that’s Ye Xuan, right? You’re absolute trash to have your arm severed by an illegitimate child. You’ve completely disgraced our branch. I’ll get rid of him for you during the matches."
Gongsun Tu immediately replied, "Brother, please don’t intervene. I will kill him myself!"
"Hmph. If you were capable of that, you wouldn’t have lost your arm to him."
"That was because I didn’t expect him to have a mid-grade Ghost-tier weapon! Weapons of that caliber aren’t something just anyone can obtain."
"Is that so?"
"Anyway, Brother, stay out of this. I’ll take his life."
...
"Mother, who is he?"
"He is Gongsun Hao, Gongsun Tu’s older brother. He’s four years older than Gongsun Tu, thirty-seven this year, with a cultivation at the 5th Layer of the Demon Spirit Realm. He is also one of the most likely candidates to enter the top three in this grand competition."
"Gongsun Hao... Understood. Who else is there?"
"There’s also..."
Gongsun Yanran introduced them one by one. She made sure to bring Ye Xuan’s attention to anyone from the Gongsun Family’s Direct Lineage who possessed decent strength.
After a while, she pointed at the last two people and said, "See them? That is your sixteenth cousin-uncle, Gongsun Hong. He is thirty-eight years old this year, with a cultivation at the 5th Layer of the Demon Spirit Realm."
"Sixteenth... cousin-uncle?" Ye Xuan was a little bewildered. He wondered why there were even elders participating. A cousin-uncle would be the son of his maternal grandfather’s younger brother.
"What are you so surprised about? Anyone under forty can participate. You even have some cousin-uncles who are younger than you. Oh, right, the woman next to your cousin-uncle is Aunt Thirteen, Gongsun Yan. She is thirty-five this year and had been in secluded cultivation until she finally emerged yesterday. She is a famous cultivation maniac. Aside from Gongsun Po, she is the strongest participant, with a cultivation at the 6th Layer of the Demon Spirit Realm. Alright, that’s just about everyone you need to watch out for."
"Mother, she’s Aunt Thirteen? That sounds older than my sixteenth cousin-uncle, so why is she younger than him?"
"Your Fourth Grandfather was quite open-minded; he took twenty concubines and had a relatively large number of children. Gongsun Yan ranks thirteenth among all the daughters, which is why she is called Aunt Thirteen. In reality, she is your Fourth Grandfather’s thirtieth child, making her slightly younger than Gongsun Hong."
"Oh, so that’s how it is. Never mind, let’s forget it. My head is spinning from all these explanations. Though I must say, this Fourth Grandfather of mine is truly a god to be able to have so many kids."
Ye Xuan suddenly felt that having a lot of people in a large family wasn’t necessarily a good thing. If you called out for a cousin-uncle, hundreds of people might answer you. But this also indirectly reflected the immense power of the Gongsun Family. If someone casually called for an uncle, they could summon hundreds of people. Who would dare provoke that?
Gongsun Yanran smiled and said, "This is the strength of the City Lord’s House. Your Fourth Grandfather is the City Lord’s biological younger brother. With that status alone, do you think he’d ever lack women? The vast majority of women who scramble to become his concubines wouldn’t even qualify."
"Mother, if Fourth Grandfather has so many women, what about my own grandfather? Does that mean I have a lot of grandmothers?"
"Your grandfather is different; he doesn’t have much interest in women. Hmm, are you asking this out of envy? If you’re envious, then focus on your cultivation. Perhaps you’ll also have a chance to become the Young City Lord, the heir to the City Lord’s position. If that happens, you certainly won’t lack women either."
"I have a chance to be the Young City Lord?" Ye Xuan was astonished. The Young City Lord would one day be able to command an entire city.
"Of course. As long as you change your surname to Gongsun, with your talent, it isn’t impossible."
"Change my surname to Gongsun? Forget it, I don’t want my dad to thrash me. The surname Ye is perfectly fine."
While the two were talking, Gongsun Wenjin stood up from the foremost viewing platform. He glanced at the sky and spoke in a clear, ringing voice.
"Quiet!"
The originally clamorous martial arts arena instantly fell silent.
"A minor competition every four years, and a grand competition every ten years. Today marks another grand competition for our Gongsun Family. I don’t need to elaborate on the importance of this event, do I? This applies especially to our clan members from the Side Branches."
Gongsun Wenjin glanced at the group lined up at the very edge. This group was the most distant of the Gongsun Family’s Side Branches. They all lived together in the most remote courtyards. Competition among the Side Branches was exceptionally fierce. Unless a genius emerged, there was virtually no chance for them to make a name for themselves. However, during this once-in-a-decade grand competition, the Side Branches were also eligible to participate. Whether they could amaze everyone with a single brilliant feat depended entirely on this event.
"Following the old rules, I will distribute rewards to the top ten of the grand competition. If a disciple from the Side Branches enters the top ten, then congratulations—your branch will earn the right to relocate from the remote courtyards to the main estate. Even if you no longer bear the Gongsun surname, I will permit you to reclaim the Gongsun name!"
The bloodlines of the Side Branch members were incredibly convoluted. After three or four generations, their surnames had become wildly diverse; over the years, the Side Branches had essentially adopted a hundred different surnames. But as long as they distinguished themselves, they could bear the Gongsun surname once more! To them, this was a supreme honor. At this moment, some clan members from the Side Branches were already swearing in their hearts that they would fight hard, strive to amaze everyone, and reclaim the Gongsun name.
"As for the rewards for the top ten, I won’t disclose them now. I will announce them when we reach the top ten finals. In any case, the rewards will not disappoint. Besides the prizes, the top three rankers will also be allowed to enter the three-star Secret Realm that is set to open soon after."
Hearing this, a light gleamed in Ye Xuan’s eyes! The three-star Secret Realm was exactly where he wanted to go.
"Alright, let the drawing of lots begin. Everyone participating, step up and draw a lot. Those who draw the same number will fight each other."
As soon as Gongsun Wenjin finished speaking, Gongsun Qingyue suddenly appeared on the stage, holding a bamboo cylinder in his hand. The participating clan members went up to the stage one after another to draw bamboo slips. There were eighty participants in total this time: sixty from the Direct Lineage and twenty from the Side Branches.
After everyone had drawn their lots, Gongsun Wenjin spoke once more, "Do you see the circles drawn on the ground?"
There were numerous circles in the middle of the martial arts arena, each about five meters in diameter. Inside the circles were numbers ranging from one to ten.
"The numbers in the circles correspond to your battlegrounds. Now, those who drew bamboo slips numbered one through ten, go to your respective circles and begin your matches. The next batch will be numbers eleven through twenty. Following the old rules, during the battle, you are not allowed to consume any Elixirs or use any Talismans. You must rely entirely on your own strength. If you wish to use weapons, go and select them from the side. We have prepared Spirit-tier and even Ghost-tier weapons for you to choose freely. The only rule is that the tier of the weapon you choose cannot be higher than your opponent’s!"
A row of weapon racks was placed beside each battle circle. Swords, guns, and sticks—they had everything one could need. The participants could choose a handy weapon according to their usual combat habits.