How to Leverage on One’s Own Popularity?

"Gentlemen, have you observed them well?" Grand Elder Watershade spoke to the rest of the Elders. In fact, they were just in an underwater cavern at the bottom of the underwater cave with the artificial air-pocket.

Seeing that Elder Waterfall's dark face had shown simmering anger as he saw his underling being attacked just like that, the Grand Elder sighed deeply. He had advised them not to do anything behind his back, and this young one still did it. So he had to bear the price of losing his subordinate. The only other person who can dispel the ice-poison was, of course, himself, since Lord Tittua was not around. No one else had reached the same height in cultivation in their clan. He had to save that little subordinate sometime soon.

These elders needed to know that the only friendly creature with a warm attitude within that group was the princess' Mistress! So, they really need to care about their manners with her. Her subordinates couldn't permit such insolence, and obviously, they won't tolerate any dodgy movements which could potentially harm their Master!

"The white creature is a half-step Lord! Goodness gracious!" The rest of the Elders talked with each other seriously. They knew, not one of them could contend against the white creature. However, if they worked together, they could barely survive the confrontation. The white creature was as strong as the Grand Elder in front of them! The only other creature stronger than the Grand Elder was Lord Tittua, who was still in closed-door cultivation!

"What's more, observe the obscure little bird well. Its aura, can you all detect it? All of you weren't here yet when it flaunts its aura earlier."

All five Elders present observed the little bird snuggling within Hana's bosom with their spiritual sense. As if detecting that it was being probed, it suddenly jumped upwards. It emitted its monstrous aura to suppress the insolent intruders!

"What are you doing, Pi-chan? Come to Mommy! Don't fly around, Sweetie." A soft indolent voice made the bird retracted its aura as it dived down and started to act cute again, rolling and rolling upon Hana's lap.

The tyrannical suppression was lifted just like that. Just now, all Elders, including the Grand Elder, were being suppressed until they couldn't breathe. Although it was only for a few seconds, the taste of an early-level Lord was evident! This unknown baby bird was an expert at the same level as the notorious snake! Another new unknown expert in their ranks!

"Now, did you know why we should negotiate with them rather than attacking them? The number of experts on their side had increased exponentially just after a month! See those Elemental Fiends? Some of you might not have heard about it since you stayed within your own lake for hundreds of years without knowing outside information. I have a reason to believe Mistress Hana already owns a colony of these Spirit Insects. Although it looked like they weren't strong at all, their Queen would've been at least at the Noble level, and they had hundreds and thousands of them! Maybe millions!"

The faces of all five Elders were as if they were choked with durians in their throats. Extremely uneasy.

"So, what is the conclusion, Elders? Please give me some space to negotiate with her for the sake of our clan's future! No interference!" the Grand Elder exhorted severely.

The Elders looked at each other. After a few seconds of rumination amongst them, they finally nodded.

…

"Mistress, Mistress! Look at this, look at this!" Ara twirled around Hana inside her water bubble. Although there was water just below the platform, she preferred floating around her Mistress. It felt too long! Not seeing the Mistress had made her heart felt full of longing.

"Yes dear, what is it?" Hana patiently smiled while stroking the pink tilapia's head gently. She treated Ara just like how she treated overexcited kids. One only needed to smile, nod, give them occasional praises and hugs. Not to forget to provide them with the attention they needed.

Ara swished her beautiful flowy tail around, and a wave of air currents was generated mid-air. Hana could feel the air undulated in a rhythmic motion like when a stone dropped into a body of water, except that the motion was made from air. At the same time, the little pink tilapia's unihorn glowed with a faint bluish light.

"This is called Ripple. My mentor told me, if I could develop the strength enough, I could manipulate water currents. At the height of my mastery, I could even affect a large-scaled wave at sea!" Ara explained earnestly, eager to impress. It was her dream to travel to sea, though of course, her great-grandpa won't ever allow her! It was a significant development for the young miss, since she had been neglecting training, she could only perform low-level spells. The presence of her aquamarine core had amplified her elemental-based abilities and increased her comprehension with water-related arcane arts.

"Good for you, my dear. Is there anything else that you've learned so far besides making a little air move about?" Hana smiled good-naturedly, not realizing that her words were like a hot knife cutting through butter. Although what Hana said was from her observation, the aunty's careless remarks obviously hurt the over-dramatic Young Miss' heart. To her, the Mistress was insinuating that she learned a useless skill during the time when they were apart!

Ara sniffed a little as her eyes misted. She felt that she had been badly wronged. What should she do to convince Mistress Hana that she'd been extremely diligent? Did Chomper reported on her before? She only lazed around a tiny bit.

[Mistress, teach me how to Soul-link to you. I want to link to you like how my brothers could.] Ara whined sadly as she started to snuggle in a spoiled manner on Hana's lap, wetting her, while simultaneously trying to change the subject. It turned out, Ara did pay attention. During the episodes where the Mistress subjugated the Elemental Fiends colony, she could finally feel the presence of the link between them. It had manifested strongly, and keep on getting firmer as days passed by. After discussing with the Grand Elder to find out what it was all about, she finally realized that she had indeed become a family with Hana. A life and death bond that was as strong as it was named. To this little gullible fish, she only felt happiness and did not felt that her freedom had been taken from her in any way.

[Now? Are you sure? They were waiting for the meeting to start. What if this cultivation session took many days like before? Won't we let the host wait for nothing?]

[Mom, how about me?] Shiro's beautiful voice resounded. [Before, you have specifically linked with Big Bro Ku, the next chance would've been for me. I haven't brought it up because I've seen how busy you have been since we accepted Q into our ranks. How could you skip me and attend to the little fish first?] This time, even Hana could feel the bitterness within the words telepathically sent over.

Hana sighed deeply and pulled Shiro close into her embrace. [You should've said something. I'm so sorry for neglecting you. Let me see what I could do for the both of you. Please let Chomper know that I don't want to be disturbed until all of us exited our cultivation. Tell him that everyone could disperse for the time being. We needed privacy. However, their safety needed to be guaranteed. I want all of them.]

A smile bloomed on Shiro's face as his mood lightened. [Noted.]

...

"Could you repeat again?" The Grand Elder was stumped when even he was barred from entering the underwater cave where the artificial air pocket was located. He had heard that the Mistress had dismissed everyone out except for her own people, the Young Miss, and her attendant. He thought that the lady was preparing for the meeting to start, hence his haste to join them after a little preparation.

"This little one humbly apologize, Grand Elder. The Mistress requested some privacy. She was teaching the Young Miss, though I am not so sure what it is." Chomper repeated again.

"I see. How many hours will it take? I will return once the private tutoring session ends." The Grand Elder nodded knowingly. He was happy when the Mistress put effort into educating the willful Young Miss, regardless of what kind of knowledge imparted to her. The willingness to patiently learn and to listen to the Elders was what counted.

"Er.. This humble one am not too sure. It might need quite some time. Maybe a few days."

The Grand Elder showed a blank look. "Have you checked whether it is as you said trice?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, this humble one did. Exactly five times. Until Lord Shiro was so pissed with me." Chomper bowed low with a servile attitude, with a tinge of fear still reflected in his eyes.

"I see. Did the Mistress said anything else?"

"Yes. She said she wants all the servants once the tutoring session ends. Make sure they are well taken care of."

"All? She wants them? Are that the exact words?"

Chomper nodded.

The Grand Elder nodded slightly after a moment of contemplation. He understood the Mistress' request behind Chomper's word. "Rest assured, this Elder will make sure none of them will be touched."

...

The meeting was postponed indefinitely as an order of the highest level was issued out by the Grand Elder himself. 'The low-leveled servants who have joined the princess' attendant in receiving her Master shall not be touched at all cost' was the decreed passed down to all clansmen. Anyone who did it will be executed! It was that harsh!

The issued order invoked multiple reactions from the Yong Masters and Young Misses of the clan. Most of them were the unhappy 'attendants' who waited for the landbeast Lord for more than ten hours in the sun only to be brushed off in favor of the servants. It had put a stop to all schemes and nefarious plans altogether for the time being. These spirit marine creatures were afraid of the Grand Elder's retaliation once they failed to abide by the new decree.

On the other hand, suddenly, all the servants became overnight celebrities!!

Gramps Alpy, the most popular of them all immediately put forward his plans to popularize the new game! He named it 'The Heavenly Trials of Dam Haji'. He encouraged the masses to try out the 'mind-sharpening arcane techniques' he learned from the elusive landbeast Lord!

Leveraging on his current popularity, within twenty-four hours, 80% of the clansmen started playing the game! However, the shrewd old tortoise began to teach the other servants to wager their Meaty Clams. In the height of the 'Dam Haji' boom, the higher classed Young Masters, Young Misses, and Elders started wagering with real Spirit Crystals! As someone who started the fad and blazed through the challengers, Gramps Alpy and his team, which consisted of the servants who entertained Hana, managed to collect a sizable amount of treasures! It was so lucrative!

Nobody could touch them as they were protected by the Grand Elder's decree. In just two-day's time, all the clansmen had identified these group of lowly servants as Princess Aranyella's personal faction! Additionally, they were backed by the Grand Elder himself, rendering the other from performing any foul play.

The meeting hadn't even started, but Hana's random actions had given rise to a ripple effect, which made the whole clan go haywire! Everyone was either playing or talking about Dam Haji, the most popular mind-sharpening technique taught by the benevolent Mistress. They even stop cultivating or practicing their spells! It was like the clan as a whole stopped functioning at the moment as everyone became addicted to the new two-way technique. Grand Elder Watershade could only slap his forehead and sighed helplessly as he waited patiently for the time to meet the aunty.

...