"Old Fang, the match is about to start; aren't you waiting to watch this semi-final before you leave?" Fang Jueyu told Wang Cong that he might need to leave for a few days.
"I have something urgent to take care of, so I'll pass on watching it!" With the tactical guidance provided by Little Yi, Fang Jueyu didn't think the STT team could win against ZZ, "Tell the team to relax and play well. When I come back, I hope to see Jin Zhengzhe wearing the Ahri costume cheering for us in the finals."
"Hahaha, alright, go on with your business, don't worry. I'll take good care of these little guys and won't let you down!" Wang Cong sensed that Fang Jueyu seemed to have something important going on, so he didn't push him to stay.
Fang Jueyu's private plane was already prepared at the Royal Airport of the Sailote Kingdom. It had been dispatched on short notice from elsewhere, but the interior and performance of the plane were still top-notch.
"Sister Ying, have you already made the arrangements?" Fang Jueyu asked. He knew very well that this trip to the Ladinic Family's headquarters was like entering a lion's den. Even if they appeared respectful on the surface, unexpected incidents weren't out of the question.
It was known that the Fang Family was not a gigantic clan. Although they wielded immense power, each generation had only one member. If they could permanently keep Fang Jueyu, the current heir of the Fang Family, there, the Ladinic Family might gain lasting freedom and would no longer need to devote their entire family strength to serve a single person like a dog.
"Gu Yi, do you know about the Ladinic Family's people?" Fang Jueyu asked.
"Yes, they have their own cultivation system for Hidden Elementers. As far as I know, they've trained about 500 Hidden Elementers, but more than half are just at the basic level. Middle-level Hidden Elementers number no more than twenty, and there are probably very few high-level ones."
"Are Hidden Elementers categorized into levels?"
"Yes, sir. However, the Potential Guiding Technique your ancestor left with the Ladinic Family includes only the initial content. Elevating to a high-level Hidden Elementer is already their limit."
"What about you?" Fang Jueyu asked.
"Sir, Gu Yi and the Gu Family have always been the most loyal followers of the Fang Family; my ancestors have already proven this," Gu Yi stated seriously. "A long time ago, my family obtained the second part of the Potential Guiding Technique, so I have transcended the Hidden Elementer level. According to the guiding technique's classification, I am now a Source Energy User."
"That's really complex." Fang Jueyu scratched his head.
"Host, this is a classification system of cosmic civilizations in terms of different degrees of human potential development. Above Source Energy Users, there is a level called Divine Ability User. Your father, Fang Huai, is at that stage. When you reach that level, you can travel the universe."
"So you're saying the strongest in the Ladinic Family are just Hidden Elementers?" Hearing Gu Yi's explanation, Fang Jueyu breathed a sigh of relief. Although he didn't know the specifics of the differences, Gu Yi's calm demeanor almost assured him that Gu Yi didn't take the entire Ladinic Family seriously.
"Gu Yi, are all the people around Aunt Zhuang Xinyan at your level?"
"Not exactly," Gu Yi shook his head. "There are now more than a hundred thousand Hidden Elementers, with about 1,200 Source Energy Users, and each who becomes a Source Energy User is utterly loyal to the Fang Family."
"Wow, it seems that dominating Earth wouldn't be a difficult task for me." Fang Jueyu marveled.
"Host, that's your ambition?" Little Yi said discontentedly. "I am a super-intelligent system leading Earth's civilization by who knows how many years. With enough time and resources, this small star system would be easily within reach, let alone dominating the universe."
"You're insane!" Fang Jueyu cursed, thinking he was just an ordinary Earthling, and yet Little Yi was prompting him to conquer the universe. It must have lost its mind.
Fang Jueyu actually had no emotions towards the Ladinic Family. He believed that most members of the Ladinic Family had no feelings for him either. Continuing to serve the Fang Family was only due to an ancestral rule passed down through generations.
With the loss of the initial batch of absolutely loyal people to the Fang Family, naturally, some discordant voices emerged within the Ladinic Family. The fact that it had persisted until now without being exposed was already quite commendable; it showed that at least each generation of leaders of the Ladinic Family held a certain loyalty to the Fang Family.
The plane slowly landed in a city in France. The Ladinic Family had settled in this city over 500 years ago, and their castle was like a military restricted area that no one dared approach.
The headquarters of the Ladinic Family developed into a miniature city within a city, complete with their own marketplace, school, hospital, and even their own airport. If you set aside the French government, they were practically akin to a mighty nation.
In reality, the leaders of the French government were put into power with the financial support of the Ladinic Family, which speaks volumes in itself.
Fang Jueyu, wearing cool sunglasses, descended from the plane. Two neatly lined rows of people stood beneath it, wearing uniforms emblazoned with the Fang Family's totem. However, with the times changing, they had added some of their own elements to the totem since this totem served as the emblem for six other families as well.
"Why do I feel like a president on a goodwill visit?" A big family was indeed a big family, the etiquette alone was impeccable.
The two rows stretched dozens of meters long, and at the queue's end stood another line of people, composed of men and women, with two men and two women standing at the front, and their respective families behind them.
"Master, from left to right are the next generation of the Ladinic Family's first young master to the second young lady," Zhuang Ying introduced. "The Ladinic Family's young master Reyno is 54 this year, the second young master Moke is 52, the eldest young lady Nasha is 49, and the second young lady Evela is 47."
Fang Jueyu's gaze swept across their faces. Every member of the Ladinic Family practiced the Potential Guiding Technique, so they appeared very youthful, around the appearance of thirty at most, and all were relatively good-looking.
While Fang Jueyu was assessing them, the Ladinic Family members were also scrutinizing them. Although they had always served Fang Jueyu's family, they had only ever viewed it as a task.
Ipol always reminded them that rank should differ; if they ever met Fang Jueyu, they must address him as "Master." Moke and Nasha adhered to this, but Reyno and Evela didn't care for it.
It was no longer the olden days, yet they still used the term "Master." The glory of the Ladinic Family had been entirely created by their ancestors' efforts. Even if they owed something to the Fang Family in the past, it should be repaid by now, right? Why still kowtow and serve as if being subservient?
Fang Jueyu walked to the end of the line and took off his sunglasses. His sharp gaze scanned across their faces.
Moke was the first to break the awkward silence, bowing deeply to Fang Jueyu.
"Master, welcome back!"