Chapter 878: Chapter 878: Gailan Laboratory
On his way to the Jiang Family, Chen Guan was pondering how to persuade them.
For such a prominent family as the Jiang Family, the chances of success using emotional appeals were slim. Moreover, the members of the Jiang Family with whom he was friendly were not the real decision-makers.
The Xiu Family must have already attempted to persuade the Jiang Family’s high-ups, using every possible means, and failing, which is why they sought out Chen Guan.
"I need to figure out what interests the Jiang Family considers valuable enough not to support the Xiu Family," Chen Guan thought, recognizing this as crucial to persuading them.
What Chen Guan didn’t understand was why Xiu Jie Ming believed that as long as he went to the Jiang Family to lobby, they would agree.
In a family like this, the interests of the family—or rather, the high-ups—are paramount, and it would be impossible for them to change their stance on such a significant matter just because of his relationship with Jiang Qiemo and Jiang Tianqing.
Unable to unravel the key to the issue, Chen Guan decided to visit the Jiang Family first and figure it out later.
It was Chen Guan’s first visit to the Jiang Family, and this time, he came openly under the identity of Chen Guan.
Though there were risks, he had no choice.
If he had to hide his identity without expressing sincerity, how could he ever hope to sway the Jiang Family?
Fortunately, Chen Guan was now at the peak of his eighth awakening, with actual combat power surpassing many at the ninth awakening. His survival capabilities were top-notch, so he wasn’t afraid.
Chen Guan arrived at the Jiang Family, announced his name, explained the purpose of his visit, and was quickly attended to.
Shortly after entering the reception room, he saw Jiang Tianqing walking in briskly.
Years of absence had stripped Jiang Tianqing of his youthful aura, even though he wasn’t particularly old and still appeared young.
However, he exuded the maturity of a middle-aged man, making him seem much older than his peers.
"Qiemo has gone to the Great Cave Heaven. I’ve already sent someone to look for him there, hoping he hasn’t gone too far from the city," Jiang Tianqing said as he pulled out a chair to sit next to Chen Guan and scrutinized him, "You haven’t changed a bit over the years."
"You’ve changed quite a bit; I almost didn’t recognize you," Chen Guan replied without formalities.
Although his relationship with Jiang Tianqing wasn’t as close as with Jiang Qiemo, it was familiar enough not to require any pretense.
Jiang Tianqing touched his face and smiled, "I can’t help it. I’m gradually taking over family affairs, which involves untangling a web of relationships and dealing with countless trivial matters. It’s enough to make anyone go gray."
Chen Guan knew Jiang Tianqing’s words were partly true. As a candidate for the future Family Head, he would indeed have to handle many affairs, though they wouldn’t all be trivial.
"I’m afraid this matter of mine will also be a headache for you," Chen Guan stated his purpose directly.
Jiang Tianqing smiled, "When I heard you were coming, I could roughly guess what it was about. Back when you and Xiu Jie Ming fought, I felt something was off. When the Xiu Family nominated Xiu Jie Ming, I understood what was going on."
"It’s not going to be easy, though. Our family originally didn’t mind who became the Chief Judge, but Qi, the Chief Judge, gave our family an offer we couldn’t refuse, making it hard to persuade the Family Head and high-ups to support Xiu Jie Ming."
"Can you tell me what Qi, the Chief Judge, offered?" Chen Guan asked.
"Outsiders naturally can’t know, but you’re not an outsider," Jiang Tianqing paused before saying, "Qi, the Chief Judge, gave our family all the data and results of the Gailan Laboratory."
Chen Guan was somewhat astonished to hear this. The Gailan Laboratory was a crucial laboratory for the Ancestral Court.
It primarily researched Composite Skills, and many of the popular Composite Skills in the Divine Land originated there.
However, those popular Composite Skills were low-end products from the Gailan Laboratory. The truly high-end Composite Skills were reserved for the high-ups aligned with the Chief Judge.
When Chen Guan was in the Celestial Court Army, most of the Composite Skills and Army Skills used by the soldiers came from the Gailan Laboratory.
The Ancestral Court, lacking the foundation of the Ten Great Families, could only take shortcuts to quickly amass enough strength, with Composite Skills being the largest shortcut.
The Gailan Laboratory was established after Chen Xinghe infiltrated the Ancestral Court, as he truly made people realize the power of Composite Skills, whose development wasn’t as explosive before him.
Composite Skills were criticized for their excessive Primordial Energy consumption and issues when used by many, often relegated to use only as big moves.
After that realization, the Ancestral Court integrated several existing Composite Skill laboratories to establish the Gailan Laboratory, introducing many classic Composite Skills since then.
With significant investment from Qi Tianxin in the Gailan Laboratory, its achievements surpassed those of the Composite Skill research by the Ten Great Families, making it the top-notch laboratory of the era.
For Qi Tianxin to use this trump card and give it to the Jiang Family showed that the Chief Judge’s situation wasn’t good.
He probably never anticipated that the Celestial Court Army would fall through his calculations, and the oppressed Xiu Family would stand against him, competing for the position of Chief Judge.
If he had known, Qi Tianxin might have offered the Celestial Court Army’s leadership to the Xiu Family directly.
But even without the Xiu Family, the Qin, Chu, and several other families would likely nominate someone else to compete with Qi Tianxin, as they were already dissatisfied with him and couldn’t allow him to remain in that position—a result that was inevitable.
Chen Guan didn’t know what to say at the moment; he couldn’t provide a bargaining chip like the Gailan Laboratory to persuade the Jiang Family, nor could the Xiu Family.
In truth, the Ten Great Families would struggle to offer anything on par with the Gailan Laboratory.
Jiang Tianqing continued, "The predecessor of this Gailan Laboratory was established by Qi, the Chief Judge, and Commander Ji Changchun when they took charge of the Ancestral Court. After the Great Demon King invaded the Ancestral Court, Qi Tianxin and Ji Changchun placed greater emphasis on Composite Skills, consolidating those laboratories into the Gailan Laboratory."
"A regular Composite Skill laboratory wouldn’t be enough to sway our Jiang Family’s high-ups, but this Gailan Laboratory obtained Composite Skill formulas left by the Great Demon King within the Ancestral Court when it was founded. Many of their research results are related... You know... the Great Demon King’s Composite Skills... are hard to refuse..."
Jiang Tianqing expressed admiration, "That was someone who conquered the Ancestral Court with Composite Skills alone, a legendary figure of one era and a representative of the Composite Skill mastery."
Chen Guan now realized that the Gailan Laboratory even had such a connection with Chen Xinghe.
Even though Chen Guan possessed secret Composite Skills personally taught by Chen Xinghe, he couldn’t present them to the Jiang Family; it would be too risky regarding exposing his identity.
Chen Guan felt something off when Jiang Tianqing mentioned Commander Ji Changchun, though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was.
Commander Ji Changchun was Qi, the Chief Judge’s comrade in building their world, essentially Qi’s right-hand man, always leading the Celestial Court Army. It was only due to old age that he gradually withdrew from the public eye, having retired now to live at home.
