A Dish Best Served Cold (The Man In Rage)
Chapter 1494 Ride on His Coattails?

Mo Wu-Ya was the best person to be sent on such a task.

The others wouldn't be able to hold their own against a supreme grandmaster.

As for the King of Fighters and the other supreme grandmasters, they were the six pillars of the nation and naturally shouldn't be flaunting their presence so easily.

"Wu-Ya has had nothing to do since he returned from Japan. It's time for him to get involved in the matters of the state." The God of War, who had been silent all this while, piped in. "But you should remind Wu- Ya that his mission is to investigate the matter and not cause any conflict or tension. Should anything happen, he is not to act rashly. Return and report the matter to us. We shall deliberate what to do next."

Mo Wu-Ya was a hotblooded young man, after all. Ye Qing-Tian was worried that he might get easily provoked over a slight and get into a dispute with a foreign martial artist.

This wasn't something that the God of War or any of the other supreme grandmasters wished to see.

"Don't worry. My son isn't like other young men who disrespect the law and do what they like. I'll tell him what you said. In fact, I'll head back right now and speak to him immediately. Sword Saint, you can send me the photos and the locations of where they were shot later."

The King of Fighters left Mount Yan after the meeting ended and returned home.

He was to inform his son, Mo Wu-Ya, to look into the appearance of the strange martial artists and find out where they had come from and what they wanted.

"The King of Fighters' temper is getting worse. Qing-Tian was simply giving him a word of advice. He didn't have to give him that sort of attitude." Tang Hao shook his head and smiled wryly after the King of Fighters was gone.

"You can't blame him for that. Some people simply went too far," Sword Saint shot back. Tang Hao shut up immediately.

He knew whom Sword Saint was talking about.

Sword Saint turned towards Ye Qing-Tian. "Qing-Tian, do you really believe that Ye Fan can shoulder the responsibilities of the nation?"

Ye Qing-Tian frowned. "What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing at all. I'm just trying to tell you that I won't agree to your recommendation to admit Ye Fan into War God Castle and grant him lordship. I believe that I'm not the only one who opposes your proposal. The King of Fighters, the Jiangbei martial arts circle and the tens of millions of martial artists in China won't agree too! He's a wildcard and I'm not going to allow a wildcard to join the most powerful martial arts organization in China."

The six great supreme grandmasters of War God Castle possessed the greatest authority in the Chinese martial arts circle.

However, while the Phoenix Empress and Ice Emperor were part of the six pillars of the nation and enjoyed great respect from everyone, they wielded little true authority.

They were away from War God Castle most of the time and would find it challenging to assert their authority even if they wanted to.

Their titles as the six great lords of War God Castle were simply that. A title.

Sword Saint, the King of Fighters and Tang Hao were the lords who wielded true power over the Chinese martial arts circle.

They were the ones who dictated how resources were deployed and allocated to different regions of the country and the ones who determined the path for the Chinese martial arts circle's progress. As for the God of War, Ye Qing-Tian, his incredible strength meant that he held an equally incredible sway over the nation.

That was why Ye Qing-Tian held a unique place in the Chinese martial arts circle.

Even though he had not been made one of the three lords permanently stationed at War God Castle, Sword Saint and the others would seek his advice concerning all serious matters of the Chinese martial arts circle.

In fact, one could arguably claim that Ye Qing-Tian's will represented the will of War God Castle.

In addition, Ye Qing-Tian also possessed the power to exercise a veto against decisions made by the three lords of War God Castle. This was a power put in place to ensure that the lords could not abuse or exploit their authority.

War God Castle could not carry out any plans or missions that Ye Qing-Tian disapproved of.

But that was the only power that Ye Qing-Tian had been granted. He held no other formal powers.

For example, he had to get the approval of Sword Saint and the rest in order to grant Ye Fan the title of supreme grandmaster.

War God Castle was the only authority in China who could grant such a title. Ye Qing-Tian did not possess the authority to do so.

Thus, a delicate balance of power had been struck between Ye Qing-Tian and the three other lords of War God Castle. Nevertheless, their opinions and views on matters had been similar for many years. It had stayed that way until Ye Fan had appeared. His appearance had caused a divide in the opinions regarding the young man in War God Castle.

That divide had persisted from the very beginning when Ye Qing-Tian had wanted to grant Ye Fan the title of supreme grandmaster to when War God Castle had to decide whether they should kill Ye Fan for the bloodbath that he had caused in Jiangbei. They remained divided now over whether they should allow Ye Fan to join War God Castle as one of their primary lords.

Tve explained my reasons to you. Ye Fan might be young and hotblooded, but he's still a principled man with scruples. I recommended making him a lord of War God Castle because I believe that the position and the national duty that came along with it could help rein him in. Once he's part of the system, we'll be able to turn him from a feral horse into a champion warhorse! That's the only way to ensure that Ye Far will work for the greater good of the country." Ye Qing-Tian made another attempt to convince Sword Saint to change his mind.

The latter simply shook his head. "You want to tame him with the burden of responsibility? What if you fail? He'll only know the rush of power but not the responsibility that comes with power after he becomes a lord of War God Castle. A lordship in War God Castle isn't child's play. I won't risk the future of our nation's martial arts circle. You don't have to try and persuade me to change my mind. I won't agree to your recommendation unless I see proof that he's a changed man."

Sword Saint turned and left without giving Ye Qing-Tian a chance for a rebuttal.

He left Ye Qing-Tian and Tang Hao behind him, smiling wryly at each other.

"It seems that it's not going to be an easy feat to get Ye Fan a position as one of War God Castle's lords," Ye Qing-Tian released a long and rare sigh.

The sentiments towards Ye Fan from all levels of the Chinese martial arts circle had been extremely negative since the Jiangbei massacre. Everyone from War God Castle to the provincial martial arts circle loathed the man.

Even Sword Saint had begun to question Ye Fan's character.

"Don't make him a lord then. Why are you so fixated on having Ye Fan join War God Castle? He's still young and inexperienced. He might have courage on his side, but he still has a long way to go before he can deal with important national matters."

Honestly, Tang Hao had been surprised and puzzled at Ye Qing-Tian's recommendation.

After all, Ye Fan was awfully young.

It wasn't wise to grant such a young man such an important and powerful office.

Ye Qing-Tian shook his head and sighed. His voice sounded heavy as he spoke slowly.

"You don't understand what I'm trying to do at all. Ever since I first saw Ye Fan, my instincts have been telling me that he's going to be the one who decides whether the Chinese martial arts circle will rise to glory again. He'll determine if we surpass Chu Sect and establish our supremacy on the world stage. He might just be the person whom I've been searching for nearly a hundred years to lead the Chinese martial arts circle into its age of renaissance."

"I'm not recommending him to join War God Castle because I think the position will serve him well. I'm hoping that the Chinese martial arts circle can ride on his coattails someday in the future. He'll lead us all to glory and prosperity. Chu Sect was able to dominate the world because a

rare prodigy was born amongst the three families. He led the Chu Sect to an age of glory that lasted hundreds of years to the present day."

Tang Hao was dumbstruck.

He stared stupidly at the God of War as the latter's words sounded repeatedly in his head.

"Are you saying that China...has to ride on his coattails?" Tang Hao blurted.