All the younger generation looked at John Reed upon hearing this, waiting to see how he would respond.

In everyone's eyes, Hugh Reed was at the True Qi stage, his strength improving by leaps and bounds every year, while John Reed had only broken through the limits of physical strength. It would be very difficult for him to continue improving his body, and the gap in strength between the two would only grow wider.

Would John Reed dare to accept the challenge? Everyone was eager to find out.

“Two years. In two years, I’ll compete with you—how about that?” John Reed thought for a moment and said.

John Reed was not afraid of battle; it was just that he knew he was no match for Hugh Reed right now, so he chose not to fight. But given time, he was confident he could surpass Hugh Reed.

The first step is always the hardest, so he had spent quite a bit of time breaking through the physical limits.

Now that he had surpassed those limits, his strength could continue to grow. John Reed believed that his future achievements would leave those who looked down on him utterly stunned.

The two agreed to compete in two years and then went their separate ways.

The other younger members, disappointed that they didn’t get to see a battle between John Reed and Hugh Reed, also left with looks of disappointment on their faces.

What happened today was just a conflict among the younger generation—a common occurrence in any large family, something that happened often and would soon be forgotten.

But this time was different.

The next day, the Supreme Elder Franklin Reed, as the head of the Luo family’s council of elders, invited all the elders to a meeting in the main hall of the Luo residence. The family head, Nathaniel Reed, naturally attended as well.

Only those who had reached the Dao Embryo stage could become elders of the Luo family.

Among them, two had achieved great success in the Dao Embryo stage: the Supreme Elder Franklin Reed and the family head Nathaniel Reed.

Three had reached the intermediate Dao Embryo stage: the Grand Elder Peter Reed, the Second Elder Sean Reed, and the Third Elder Henry Reed.

Seven were at the early Dao Embryo stage, including the sons of the Supreme Elder, Grand Elder, Second Elder, and Third Elder, as well as three other members of the Luo clan.

These were all Dao Embryo stage cultivators from the Luo clan itself. In addition, there were four elders from outside families, who held honorary elder titles and received the same treatment as Luo family elders, but could not participate in family affairs.

“Nathaniel Reed, as the family head, you have abused your power for personal gain, using the family’s resources to nurture your own son. Every day, you consume large amounts of precious food, and every month you use up a spiritual herb. In three years, you’ve used thirty-four spiritual herbs on John Reed, worth over a hundred thousand taels of gold, and the precious food consumed is also worth more than a hundred thousand taels. In just three years, you’ve wasted more than one percent of the Luo family’s assets on John Reed alone. Our Luo family has over a thousand members, with more than two hundred juniors. If everyone wasted resources like you, our family would be ruined in a few years!”

As soon as the meeting began, the Supreme Elder Franklin Reed rebuked the family head Nathaniel Reed.

Franklin Reed was the previous family head. Later, as Nathaniel Reed rose to prominence and his cultivation far surpassed Franklin Reed’s, the position of family head was passed to Nathaniel Reed, and Franklin Reed retired to become Supreme Elder. As the head of the council of elders, he still wielded great power.

“Nathaniel Reed, as the family head, you only care about your own son. That’s not right. The Luo family belongs to every descendant of the Luo clan, not just to you and your son. What right do you have to use so many family resources to nurture your son? If John Reed still had the talent he showed three years ago and was a prodigy, we wouldn’t object. But he’s no longer a genius, and you’re still spending so many resources on him. We absolutely disagree.”

“Nathaniel Reed, you’re too selfish. You’re not fit to be... to be... the family head.”

The Grand Elder and Second Elder spoke up in turn.

The Grand Elder and Supreme Elder Franklin Reed were biological brothers, so naturally they stood together.

The Second Elder, however, was the family head Nathaniel Reed’s own uncle. As he spoke, Nathaniel Reed glanced at him, making him feel guilty, and his words became hesitant.

“That’s right, Nathaniel Reed, you only care about yourself, you’re too selfish...!”

“To nurture your useless son, you’ve wasted more than one percent of the family’s assets in just three years. That’s infuriating...!”

“If this continues, all the resources for nurturing the younger generation will be squandered by John Reed. How will the other juniors grow?”

...

As the Supreme Elder, Grand Elder, and Second Elder spoke, several other elders also voiced their criticism of the family head Nathaniel Reed.

“Are you finished?” Only when no one else spoke did Nathaniel Reed calmly sweep his gaze over the elders.

“Grand Elder, seven years ago, when you were gravely injured by a demon beast in the Cangmang Mountains and barely escaped with your life, who gave you the Soul-Returning Pill that saved you?”

“Second Elder, who brought a large amount of lower-grade spirit stones to the family, allowing your cultivation to advance from the early Dao Embryo stage to the intermediate stage, making you one of the three great elders?”

“Julian Reed, Clarence Reed, without the Embryo-Building Pills bought with those lower-grade spirit stones, would your cultivation have reached the Dao Embryo stage, making you elders?”

“Julian Reed, twelve years ago, when you offended a Soul-Guiding stage cultivator from Jiangyue City, who stepped in to save you and clean up your mess?”

Nathaniel Reed’s gaze swept over each of the elders who had just spoken, and wherever his eyes landed, the person being looked at lowered their head.