New Plans

"Welcome Grandmaster Gu! I take this opportunity, and, I believe with the approval of everyone else present, appoint you as an Elder of the clan!" Ian said, turning his attention from the gnome in front of him to the other Elders, who nodded without exception. Although expected, Ian still had to follow the rules he himself suggested when establishing the Council, as an institution had its own rituals that should be respected.

"Patriarch Ian, this humble scholar would not like to assume such a position." Gu replied somewhat awkwardly.

"May I know the reason, Senior Gu?" Ian asked, furrowing his brow. This was not expected. Could it be some resistance from that old fox?

"This humble member of the clan cannot accept the Patriarch calling him "senior"..." The old gnome humbly retorted.

"This Patriarch is many years younger and of lower cultivation than you. Moreover, I am not from Sombreal. Where I come from, we addressed people, even those of little importance, with titles of respect. I understand that it would be inappropriate here, but I refuse to not show respect to my elders. I hope the Senior accepts this imposed by me." Ian intervened categorically. He was adapting to many local customs in Sombreal, but some of them greatly contradicted his education and values from Earth. He was not willing to abandon everything.

Huaguer shook his head. Once again, their leader was causing cultural confusions. Etri sighed, but she was already used to Ian's eccentricities. In fact, she had even started adopting some of them. As for Shortyty, whether due to his professionalism or the admiration he felt for Ian, he had no other reaction than to take out a notebook and make some notes. Master Gerto was ignoring the matter of addressing. He had been Gu's disciple and had never, to this day, shown the usual respects between master and disciple. What bothered him was that his family was missing the opportunity to have two Elders in the Council, second only to the main lineage. But the Old Devil was wasting this opportunity.

"All right, if that's how it is, I accept! As for my refusal of the position... I have been stuck in cultivation for decades. In terms of knowledge, I can be compared to a Grandmaster, but to officially reach that stage, I need to advance to the Realm of Fantasy. What I lack is the contemplation of the Divine Pattern. Previously, I thought it would be impossible. However, with all these events, I had an enlightenment about my personal Dao. In my previous bitterness, I reached a barrier that has now been broken with the resolution of the knot in my heart. From now on, I would like to focus my life on family and Matrices, nothing more. I hope you can meet and understand the desires of this old man." Gu explained respectfully, with his head lowered and his fists clenched. He was not lying. It was true that from that day on, a weight had been lifted from his soul, and his new resolutions had made him almost reborn from the ashes, ready to reach previously unattainable heights.

Ian did not respond immediately, not because he was disturbed or dissatisfied with Gu, quite the opposite. He was contemplating the new information and how it affected the grand scheme of things. Was Grandmaster Gu actually close to reaching the Realm of Fantasy? A possible third one? Not being in that Realm, would it affect his plans regarding the Encoding Matrice? And how long would it take? Among other sensitive points.

The unintended silence that was generated in the process, left room for diverse interpretations, which with the exception of Etri who knew Ian and knew he would never deny this request, were trying to anticipate scenarios. Master Gerto tried to get his mentor's attention and kept nodding, as if telling him to accept the position. Gu ignored his disciple and pressed his lips together in anxiety. Huaguer smiled slightly, the situation was good for his people, after all, they would be the majority of the clan, and if another Elder appeared, the scales would tip away from them. Shortyty, used to these situations and even had fun trying to see between the lines. Would he accept, losing a little of his leadership respect and influence over the Grand Master? Would he refuse, imposing a position forcefully on the Grandmaster, making him unhappy and likely to hold the position only in name, losing charisma with everyone? Would he find a middle ground or a more unusual response that could calm the unintentional political fire?

Ian's dramatic pause created a tense atmosphere that snapped him out of his contemplations, causing him to observe each person. What would he do?

He laughed, bursting into laughter!

"Ahaha, rise, Grandmaster Gu! A figure like you should not stay in such a position for too long. I understand you perfectly. Being an Elder, despite the status, can be very stressful and divert us from the things we are truly inclined towards. That's why I offer you another position, one that suits your illustrious figure much better: the position of Chancellor." Ian said with a wide smile on his face.

Chancellor? What was that? Ian had created a new position to accommodate Gu and spoke about it as if it were something normal. Huaguer couldn't contain himself and started laughing. Etri placed her hand over her mouth to suppress the urge to join the Lycanthrope. Gerto and Gu were confused, and Shortyty tapped his head with a pen, trying to decipher his boss's wise words. Ian and his quirks.

Realizing the oversight, a slight blush rose on his face. Ian sighed and explained, "Chancellor is the usual position for the Director of a University. It will function as another institution connected to the clan, with the task of training skilled workforce and providing research and development, enhancing and adding to our scientific knowledge. The position itself carries the weight of a vote like an Elder of the Council, but without the obligation to attend all meetings, almost like an honorary position."

"But don't the Guilds already fulfill this role?" Asked Shortyty, curious.

"The University will produce exclusively for us and permitted partners, with a focus on our specific needs and greater interdisciplinarity. The foundation of our clan is, and will probably always be, based on our intellectual properties. Currently, we collaborate with the Guilds, but we end up having to share all or part of the patents and knowledge involved. In the future, we will be able to keep the wisdom within our walls."

"I hope you present new sources of income. I won't even ask about the budget for this new department." Grumbled Shortyty, already feeling a headache coming on.

"What do you think, Grandmaster?" Ian reiterated.

It wasn't exactly what Grandmaster Gu had in mind. Even though he would have relatively more freedom, a director's role still involved much more work and diversion of attention than just focusing on his individual projects. But looking at Gerto, who was devouring him with his eyes, and the expectation in Ian's gaze, he nodded his head and responded with a sigh, "I accept this responsibility, Patriarch."

"Perfect! If you wish, you can start recruiting the necessary professionals and students right away. Also, don't worry about the budget. Although I can't give you exact figures, rest assured that it will be extremely generous. But before that, I'd like to know if the Grandmaster would be able to create a Encoding Matrice for our clan to protect our technology." Ian said, finally getting to the main reason for the meeting.

Grandmaster Gu squinted his eyes, finally realizing what motivated Ian to face the Eternal Night and how precious his Matrix was to his plans. To become a Grandmaster, he needed to create something new within his auxiliary Dao with relative impact, like the doctoral thesis of scientists on Earth. If it were any other occasion or person, Gu would never agree to help. After all, we're talking about the work of his life. But the Haller clan had embraced him, as well as his family. He didn't see it as surrendering his achievements to others but rather contributing to make that collective more notable and worthy. Indirectly, it was the same as producing glory for himself and his descendants. "Uh, it will be relatively easy. I have a pre-made template that I created a long time ago. We just need to make some modifications to adapt it to the clan's level."

"Then I will bother the senior and release you from this meeting from now on." Ian said, dismissing the senior, who certainly would not want to deal with the rest of the Council's boring discussions.

"Then this member takes his leave." Grandmaster Gu said respectfully.

Thus, the crisis was resolved without significant losses. Shortyty, despite his concerns about the funds involved, was deeply moved and satisfied. The others had no reason to complain.

"Starting this week we are going to break into other markets with F11 and set up new factories for this purpose. The investment will be big, but the return even bigger. Huaguer, tell everyone what you thought of the unfinished version of the Spiritual Whiskey."

"It's simply the most incredible drink I've ever had. It doesn't add much in terms of cultivation, but it's extremely useful for leisure moments." Huaguer spoke excitedly while licking his lips.

"How often would you drink it, and how much would you be willing to pay per liter?"

"Up to 1 C, and at least once a week."

"The cost, without considering future improvements and commercial agreements, is around 0.07 C. I also have a project for a popular drink that we could sell for as low as 0.01 C, with a cost not exceeding 30% of that. It's a fermented beverage made from the Purple Plant. It's not as good as the Whiskey, but it's much better than the other options in the market. Based on my past life experience, in a few years, the revenue from these two products alone could very well surpass the armament sector. And these are just a few of the innovative goods I have in mind. With the University, we will continue to add new products to our portfolio. Counting on the Encoding Matrice of Grandmaster Gu, we will maintain our monopoly for many, many years to come. I see a vast blue sea just waiting to be conquered." Said Ian, as he looked somewhere in the future, with flames of ambition flowing through his eyes.