Chapter 165: Choosing Sides
Family Head Marcus took several steps forward and positioned himself directly alongside Mr. Yun. His face had transformed into an expression of malicious threat as he swept his cold gaze across Sir Collins, Madam Violet, and the other expedition members who hadn’t participated in their original agreement.
When Marcus spoke, his voice carried an edge of barely controlled violence:
"What exactly is your intention here, Fellow Cultivator Collins? State your purpose clearly. Are you and your allies planning to renege on the agreement we all made before entering this ruin?"
The tension in the room ratcheted upward dramatically. Spiritual energy began to gather around both sides as cultivators prepared for potential combat.
Vogue remained perfectly still, his expression carefully neutral. He made no move to support either faction, simply observing the developing situation with cold, analytical detachment.
’Let them fight. That only makes my escape easier.’
The confrontation was about to escalate.
Sir Collins maintained his calm expression despite the palpable threat emanating from Family Head Marcus. He smiled slightly and replied in a tone that suggested he found the entire situation quite reasonable:
"Brother Marcus, there’s absolutely no need to become so agitated. I have no intention whatsoever of breaking promises or reneging on agreements. However, the current situation with these jade boxes presents practical difficulties that our original arrangement didn’t adequately address."
He gestured toward the three containers resting on the glacial jade bed.
"There are simply too few high-value items here on the second floor to be fairly distributed among so many people. Since these jade boxes cannot be examined with spiritual sense—which strongly suggests they contain the most precious treasures in this entire inheritance, possibly even the cultivation arts or secret techniques of Master Cang Kun himself—it creates an inherently unfair situation."
Sir Collins paused to let his words sink in before continuing:
"Even under these circumstances, you two wish to examine the contents and assess their value before deciding whether to claim them using your priority selection rights. Brother Yun, don’t you think this is somewhat excessive? It gives you an unreasonable advantage over everyone else."
Mr. Yun’s face flushed with anger. He opened his mouth to deliver what was clearly going to be a sharp retort, but Sir Collins pressed on before he could speak:
"Those words simply cannot be accepted as fair! I only recall that you Fellow Cultivators were granted priority selection rights for items—but the agreement said nothing about allowing you to open sealed containers and examine their contents before making your choices. If you’re uncertain about what a box contains, you’re welcome to select a different item instead. For example..."
The dwarf gestured casually toward the magnificent bed.
"This glacial jade bed is itself an extraordinarily rare treasure. For any cultivator practicing Yin-attribute or ice-based cultivation methods, such a bed would be vastly more precious than most artifacts. It would accelerate their advancement by decades. That’s a perfectly valid selection option that doesn’t require opening mysterious boxes."
Before either Marcus or Mr. Yun could respond to this argument, Madam Violet surprisingly stepped forward to support Sir Collins’s position. Her elderly voice carried clearly through the tense chamber:
"I must agree with Fellow Cultivator Collins on this matter. The arrangement as originally stated was for priority selection of items, not unlimited examination privileges. Opening these sealed jade boxes before the rest of us have any opportunity seems to violate the spirit of fair distribution."
Marcus’s expression became increasingly dark and stormy. Suddenly, he released a tremendous pressure—the full weight of his Luminous Realm cultivation pressing down on everyone in the room like an invisible mountain.
Sir Collins and Madam Violet were both forced to take involuntary steps backward from the sheer spiritual force. Their faces showed strain as they resisted the oppressive aura.
At the Luminous Realm stage, Vogue observed carefully, the difference in power between early-stage and mid-stage cultivation is substantial. Marcus and Mr. Yun both possess mid-stage power, while most of the others are only at early Luminous stage. That gap isn’t something to underestimate in direct confrontation.
Marcus narrowed his eyes dangerously and swept his gaze across the assembled expedition members like a sword’s edge seeking targets. His voice dropped to a cold, quiet tone that somehow felt more threatening than shouting:
"If there is anyone else who believes Fellow Cultivator Collins’s arguments are reasonable and wishes to support his position, step forward now. I want to know exactly who stands where in this dispute."
For several heartbeats, tense silence filled the chamber. No one moved or spoke.
Then, after what felt like an eternity of hesitation, another voice broke the quiet. It was one of the Klein Family’s cultivators—a lean man with tan skin who had been relatively quiet throughout the expedition.
The tan cultivator spoke in a measured, diplomatic tone:
"Family Head Marcus, please don’t allow anger to cloud your judgment. Brother Collins’s points aren’t entirely without merit. You must understand that from our perspective, allowing you to examine the contents of all three boxes before making selections does leave the rest of us with potentially nothing of value. There should be some middle ground we can find."
As if this statement had opened a floodgate, the stern-faced cultivator who had been standing silently also moved. He unconsciously shifted his position to stand closer to Sir Collins and the tan man, as though forgetting entirely about his previous unfriendly relationship with the dwarf.
Within moments, a clear division had formed in the room. Apart from Vogue—who deliberately maintained his neutral position near the wall—everyone else had separated into two distinct opposing groups.
On one side stood Family Head Marcus and Mr. Yun, their expressions cold and dangerous, spiritual energy gathering around them in preparation for potential combat.
On the other side stood Sir Collins, Madam Violet, the tan cultivator, and the stern-faced man. They had arrayed themselves in a loose defensive formation, clearly united in opposition despite their individual differences.
Sean remained near his father Marcus but looked increasingly uncomfortable and uncertain, as though he hadn’t expected things to deteriorate this rapidly.
Marcus and Mr. Yun’s expressions underwent dramatic changes as they realized the situation had turned against them far more severely than anticipated. The numerical advantage now heavily favored their opposition—four early-stage Luminous Realm cultivators against two mid-stage ones. While quality might normally overcome quantity in cultivation battles, this gap was substantial enough to present genuine danger.
Marcus’s face cycled through several emotions before settling on icy calculation. After a long, tense moment, he addressed Sir Collins with forced calm:
"It seems you managed to form an alliance with these Fellow Cultivators beforehand. I’m curious—when exactly did you arrange this little conspiracy? You shouldn’t have had the opportunity to coordinate on the journey here."
Sir Collins responded with complete nonchalance, as though discussing something as mundane as the weather:
"It wasn’t formed all at once, Family Head Marcus. These Fellow Cultivators and I had a small, private meeting before we even departed on this expedition. We discussed various contingency plans for self-preservation and strategies for handling unexpected circumstances that might arise during our exploration."
He gestured around the room.
"This particular situation—where the most valuable treasures might be concentrated in just a few items, making fair distribution impossible—was one scenario we anticipated and planned for. We agreed in advance that if such circumstances arose, we would need to stand together and insist on equitable treatment rather than simply accepting whatever scraps you chose to leave us."
The dwarf’s expression remained entirely reasonable and friendly despite the hostile implications of his words.
"So you see, we’re not breaking any agreements or acting improperly. We’re simply exercising our right to insist on fairness when the original distribution plan proves inadequate for the actual situation we’ve encountered."
Family Head Marcus’s face had gone completely rigid. The muscles in his jaw clenched visibly as rage built behind his carefully controlled expression.
His gaze suddenly shifted and landed directly on Vogue, who had been standing quietly and observing the confrontation without taking sides. Marcus’s eyes showed a calculating gleam as he assessed whether this neutral party might be swayed to join his position.
He spoke with grave seriousness:
"Fellow Cultivator Vogue, what is your stance in this matter? Where do you stand?"
This question immediately drew everyone’s attention to Vogue. All eyes in the chamber focused on him with varying degrees of intensity.
As the current situation stood, two mid-Luminous Realm cultivators were facing off against four early-Luminous Realm cultivators plus two late-stage Stellar Knights. From a pure balance of power perspective, Vogue—who possessed mysterious abilities and had demonstrated surprising combat effectiveness—had suddenly become a crucial tipping point.
Whichever side he chose to support would gain a significant advantage in any potential conflict.
Sir Collins didn’t appear worried in the slightest despite this uncertainty. He simply turned his calm gaze toward Vogue and smiled gently, as though completely confident about what choice would be made.
Madam Violet and the stern-faced cultivator similarly glanced at Vogue with emotionless, unreadable expressions. They showed no signs of nervousness or concern.
Interesting, Vogue thought as he observed their reactions. They’re far too confident. Something feels wrong about this entire situation.