I picked up the scattered attributes

As for the Ancestral Dragon and the Demon Dragon Emperor, they spent most of their time in their residences, occasionally going out, but no one knew where they went.

With these two deliberately concealing their identities, ordinary surveillance methods would be completely useless.

Apart from that, nothing else of note happened.

"What are the chances that those two have lost their will to compete and only want to stay in my Li family to live out their retirement?"

After a moment of silence, Li Guangji asked slowly, "If you were in this situation, how would you handle it?"

Li Qingmu's heart skipped a beat.

As intelligent as he was, he immediately realized that this was a test from Li Guangji.

More accurately, it was a test from the head of the Li family!

Although Li Guangji is his father, the Li family has been passed down for millions of years. The position of family head is by no means a simple succession from one lineage. Even if he is Li Guangji's biological son, he still needs to convince others in order to eventually sit on the next family head's seat.

The question Li Guangji raised at this moment seemed to be a casual conversation between father and son, but Li Qingmu keenly sensed that it was very likely a test for the successor to the family head!

If he cannot even handle such a matter, then the position of head of the Li family is naturally out of his reach.

What made Li Qingmu even more solemn was...

Li Guangji is still very young and can remain the head of the Li family for a long time, yet he's already focusing on his successor. That implies one thing—

"Father, are you... going to that place?"

"Of course we'll go. Who dares to defy the council's decision?"

Li Guangji remained calm, showing neither joy nor sorrow, and said in a composed manner, "Qingmu, let's hear your thoughts on this matter. I hope you won't disappoint me."

Li Qingmu fell silent for a moment.

Countless thoughts, about his father's behavior and the Li family's situation and current state, all stirred up a terrible storm in his mind!

Finally, this prodigy of the Li family spoke in a deep voice: "If it were me, there would be no need to disrupt the current situation. Although their presence in the Li family might lead some to believe that the Li family is colluding with the remnants of innate gods and demons, but..."

A confident smile appeared on Li Qingmu's face: "Due to the special nature of the Li family's true skills, as long as we don't admit it, plenty of people will automatically fill in the blanks for us, believing that the Li family kept them alive purely for a bigger scheme!"

The Li family's true skill can not only summon the bloodline imprint of their ancestors to empower themselves and greatly enhance their combat power.

Similarly, the Li family's true skills can also refine powerful individuals into bloodline imprints!

Currently, the bloodline imprints that the Li family can control are not all from the Li family's ancestors; some of them come from the powerful individuals who were defeated and refined by the Li family.

You're absolutely right.

Li Guangji nodded upon hearing this: "Our Li family's true skills are special. Indeed, even if we do nothing, outsiders will come up with a hundred thousand reasons to believe it. But are you really planning to do nothing?"

"Of course it's impossible."

Li Qingmu quickly shook his head and laughed, "If these people continue to stay in the Li family, they'll actually be good targets. Without making enemies with them, we can make use of this relationship..."

A little over half a day later, Li Qingmu left Li Guangji's residence.

Li Guangji stood with his hands behind his back, his expression calm and unwavering.

"What do you think?"

Right behind him, a large space suddenly unfolded, and the high-ranking members of the Li family found themselves in that folded space.

While Li Qingmu was answering, they were also secretly observing and evaluating him.

"This kid is quite bold, but unfortunately his judgment is lacking."

One of the Li family's senior members tapped the table and said slowly, "In many situations, vision is far more important than courage. In my opinion, he's still not as good as that kid Jingheng."

"My assessment is similar. He is indeed excellent, but Jing Heng is even more excellent."

"Those three staying in the Li family, whatever their purpose, is ultimately a potential threat, and the official that Jing Heng contacted is already somewhat dissatisfied with this."

One by one, the crowd spoke up, and most of them expressed their pessimism about Li Qingmu.

……

Chapter 1142

The head of the Li family can nominate the heir to the Li family and has considerable say in the matter.

However, the final decision on who would win the prize was made by a vote of all the senior members of the Li family.

After all, for a powerful family like the Li family, the position of family head involves too many interests. If one family becomes too dominant and the lineage is passed down to a single heir, the Li family could easily slide into an abyss of no return.

Yes, the world only sees the glory of the Li family and knows that they are one of the rulers of Ziwei.

Little did they know that the fate of the heavens and the universe was actually in the hands of another group of people.

Even the Li family is merely a spokesperson pushed to the forefront by those people. If they do well, everyone will be happy; if they do poorly, the council will step in and simply replace them with a different spokesperson.

It's a secret to outsiders, but everyone in the upper echelons of the Li family knows it perfectly well.

In fact, there was no need to cover it up.

The selection of the next head of the family must take into account not only the interests of the entire Li family, but also the will of the council!

"I understand what you all mean."

Li Guangji nodded slowly, taking in everyone's words.

It was as if these people were not discussing his own child, but rather talking about a complete stranger.

"Master, we are discussing your own child. Are you really completely unmoved?"

Just then, a high-ranking member of the Li family spoke up.

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's eyes turned to him.

Many people actually have similar doubts in their hearts.

—As Li Guangji's biological son, doesn't Li Guangji hope that Li Qingmu can inherit the position of family head?

In the past history of the Li family, there have been times when the head of the family schemed and plotted to make the Li family one-man rule, and his sons and grandsons would hold power in the Li family!

However, all of those people ultimately failed.

Now that someone has asked the question on their behalf, they are naturally happy to observe Li Guangji's reaction.

"Of course I will not remain indifferent." Facing the intense gazes of everyone, Li Guangji remained calm and responded indifferently, "I will use all my resources to nurture him and make him an excellent successor. If by then you still think my son is unqualified, then he might as well go to fight in Etu."

His words were perfectly watertight.

The Li family executive who had initially wanted to cause trouble was unable to utter a word after hearing these words, his expression changed repeatedly.

Li Qingmu is Li Guangji's biological son. If Li Guangji were to truly put righteousness above family ties and disregard even the slightest kinship, the people would become even more wary.

If they can abandon even their own son, what about the rest of the family?

However, Li Guangji's suggestion was to use his own resources to cultivate Li Qingmu, and then let everyone present judge him. His approach was well-reasoned and skillful, so even if they had a lot to say, they could only swallow their words at this moment.

"As expected of the patriarch."

Another person clapped his hands and exclaimed, "With you in charge of the Li family, we are more at ease than anyone else. It's a pity that the family head has been summoned and will soon be going to fight in Etu."

It's hard to tell whether such words are expressions of admiration or mockery.

Li Guangji is indeed very capable.

Under normal circumstances, he could stay in the position of head of the family for tens of thousands of years without any problem.

If that time really comes, Li Qingmu might actually go further and be groomed into the most outstanding successor.

Unfortunately, time waits for no one.

Li Guangji has been summoned by the council and will soon be relieved of his position as head of the family before heading to Etu to fight!

Throughout history, how many warriors have ever returned from wars in dangerous lands?

"Conquering the land of Ecuador is a mission, and naturally we have no choice but to obey."

Li Guangji said unhurriedly, "Does anyone else have any questions? If not, let's adjourn the meeting now."

The senior members of the Li family then dispersed one by one.

On the other side, Li Qingmu came alone to pay his respects to Feng Xia.

This has become a habit for Li Qingmu over the past year.

Initially, he did recognize Feng Xia as his father out of fear—of course, part of it was also due to a custom passed down in the Li family.

Even when he was on the ship, because he hadn't returned to the Li family's headquarters, his mind was still unsettled, and his interactions with Feng Xia were still more wary than communicative.

However, after spending a year together, Li Qingmu truly realized that Feng Xia was definitely not a simple person.

Regardless of Feng Xia's origins, Feng Xia's vast knowledge alone made him feel insignificant in the face of the vast ocean.

Besides, compared to the Ancestral Dragon and the Demon Dragon Emperor, Feng Xia is better at teaching people!

No matter what doubts he had about cultivation, no matter what obstacles he encountered on the path to enlightenment, those doubts were easily shattered and resolved in front of Feng Xia, just like bubbles!

Before meeting Feng Xia, Li Qingmu had already reached the limit of the Heavenly God realm and was working on breaking through to the God Lord realm.

If he hadn't suffered such severe injuries at the hands of Feng Xia and the others, he might have already stabilized his God Lord realm by now.

However, Li Qingmu is not in a hurry to break through now.

In his interactions with Feng Xia, his seemingly perfect state of mind began to reveal more and more flaws, prompting him to try to fix them. This had been the case for the past year.

Li Qingmu even had a strange feeling that if he had really broken through back then, his strength... might have been almost the same as it is now!