Chapter 499: Chapter 499: The Hodge Family in Sea City
The words of Elder Foster brought silence to the scene.

Joshua Hess’s face was full of anger, he coldly glared at Elder Foster and said, “Our Great Saint Sect is going to take the initiative to negotiate? If this gets out, where does our sect’s pride go?”

Elder Foster quickly explained, “Sect Master, there’s quite a lot of unrest in the Great Saint Sect, especially among the clans!”

“They thought the Great Saint Sect could shelter them, but it’s brought them disaster. If this continues, our sect’s reputation will be even more greatly damaged!”

Listening to this, Joshua Hess’s brows furrowed tightly.

Elder Foster’s words weren’t without reason. If this went on, no one would dare to involve themselves with the Great Saint Sect in the future.

Joshua Hess remained silent for a moment, then slowly spoke, “What makes you so sure that Ethan Smith will agree?”

Elder Foster replied, “I’m not sure. So, we can only… try our luck.”

Joshua Hess didn’t speak, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.

After a while, Joshua Hess looked towards Elder Foster.

He spoke gravely, “Alright, let’s do as you suggested, but… do your utmost to keep it a secret; don’t let it leak out.”

Elder Foster nodded, “I understand.”

With that, Elder Foster immediately arranged for someone to contact Ethan Smith.

Getting in touch with Ethan Smith wasn’t difficult; they sent a message to the Divine Alchemist Pavilion.

When the Second Elder learned of this, he was dumbfounded.

“Is the Divine Alchemist Pavilion admitting defeat?” the Fifth Elder also swallowed hard.

The Second Elder spoke sternly, “It must be a trap. Ethan Smith has killed so many people from the Great Saint Sect, there’s no way they would just let it go!”

“I think we should let Ethan Smith make the decision himself.” said the Fifth Elder.

Right after, the Fifth Elder took out his phone and dialed Ethan Smith’s number.

He informed Ethan Smith of the Great Saint Sect’s intentions.

“Ethan Smith, be cautious. I suspect a trap.” the Fifth Elder warned gravely.

On the other end, Ethan Smith responded calmly, “No worries, I have my plans.”

Then, Ethan Smith hung up the call.

At this moment, Ethan Smith was sitting in a restaurant, eating noodles.

He put down the chopsticks in his hand and couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Finally.” Ethan Smith chuckled.

Everything he did was to secure a chance to negotiate with the Great Saint Sect!

If Ethan Smith had made the initiative, the haughty Great Saint Sect would never have given him a chance to speak.

For these sect families, only when they are driven to a dead end would they think about negotiating.

After contemplating, Ethan Smith finally decided to use the media as his ally.

But an ordinary media outlet would absolutely not dare to offend the Great Saint Sect. Therefore, Ethan Smith had to find a media outlet with both power and influence to conduct the interview.

Pyro was vast, and the Great Saint Sect, though powerful, couldn’t suppress everyone.

There were mountains beyond mountains, people beyond people, and there were certainly a significant number who didn’t fear the Great Saint Sect.

Ethan Smith’s first choice was Sea City.

As one of the largest cities domestically, Sea City’s power wasn’t far off from Capital City.

In fact, there were many powerful clans and great families!

“It seems I still need to make a trip to Sea City.” Ethan Smith thought to himself.

The most prominent family in Sea City is the Hodge family.

The Hodge family not only had billions in property, their networking was also extraordinary.

However, compared to the Capital City’s aristocratic families, the martial strength of the Hodge family was relatively weak.

It was rumored that amongst the entire Hodge family, the strongest was only a half-step Martial Marquis.

After thinking it over, Ethan Smith decided to ask Mike Taylor for assistance.

Fortunately, Mike Taylor was an old friend of the Hodge family.

“In the past, the Hodge family received my kindness. If I come forward, they should give me some face.” said Mike Taylor over the phone.

Ethan Smith was silent for a moment, then spoke, “Alright, I’ll await your news.”

Half an hour later, Mike Taylor returned the call.

He said on the phone, “All is well, tonight at eight, Steve Hodge will be expecting you at his home.”

“Alright, thank you.” Ethan Smith replied.

Night has fallen.

Ethan Smith arrived at the residence of the Hodge family.

Inside the Hodge family’s enormous mansion, only a few maids were cleaning.

Ethan Smith quietly sat there awaiting the arrival of the Hodge family members.

About ten minutes later.

A middle-aged man wearing a nightgown walked downstairs. He was none other than the Hodge Family’s Master, Steve Hodge!

As soon as Steve Hodge appeared, many maids greeted him, “Master.”

Steve Hodge gave a slight nod and walked directly to Ethan Smith, looked him up and down, and said, “You’re Ethan Smith?”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Hodge.” answered Ethan Smith.

Steve Hodge faintly smiled, “You’ve been quite the topic recently. Even in Sea City, there are tales about you.”

Ethan Smith laughed, “Mr. Hodge, you’re too kind.”

“Go ahead, what matter brings you to me?” said Steve Hodge indifferently.

Ethan Smith then stated his reason for coming.

After hearing it, Steve Hodge couldn’t help but laugh.

Cigarette snuffed out, he said leisurely, “Ethan Smith, how naive can you be?”

Ethan Smith furrowed his brows, responded with some confusion, “What do you mean, Mr. Hodge?”

Steve Hodge gave a derisive laugh. “Had you been the Mike Taylor of old, I might have been able to help, but now…”

Steve Hodge shook his head without going into detail, but his meaning was clear.

Ethan Smith opened his mouth to say something, but Steve Hodge waved his hand and said, “Just having seen you is already a favor to him.”

Having said that, Steve Hodge waved his hand again, issuing an implicit order to see the guest out.

After a moment of silence, Ethan Smith smiled and said, “Mr. Hodge, perhaps I need to present my case a different way.”

“Oh?” Steve Hodge raised an eyebrow.

Ethan Smith said, “We could perhaps cooperate.”

“Cooperate?” Hearing this, Steve Hodge burst into laughter.

“What kind of cooperation could there be between us? What qualifications do you have to cooperate with me?” Steve Hodge asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ethan Smith was not in a hurry, he smiled lightly, “While the Hodge family is large and prosperous, its martial power has always been extremely weak, with the strongest being nothing more than a half-step Martial Marquis.”

“And regardless of which aristocratic family in Capital City you’re talking about, they not only have wealth, but also control martial power. That is also why the Hodge family can never surpass the Taylor family.”

Steve Hodge’s brows furrowed slightly.

Even though the words were unpleasant, they were indeed factual.

Ethan Smith stood up and spoke with a cold voice, “I can fill this gap for the Hodge family.”

Upon hearing this, Steve Hodge laughed dismissively, “You? If you were a Martial Marquis, I might consider it, but you’re just a half-step Martial Marquis. Where is your confidence coming from?”

Ethan Smith calmly said, “Though I am not a Martial Marquis, I forced the Great Saint Sect, which does have a Martial Marquis, to bow their heads and made the lofty Taylor family frustrated!”

“This is my confidence.”

At his words, Steve Hodge seemed interested.

He stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then rose to his feet and said, “I can help you this time but… we need to have an agreement.”

“Please speak, Mr. Hodge.” said Ethan Smith.

Steve Hodge chuckled lightly, “If you can replace the Great Saint Sect within a month, I’ll acknowledge your ability and agree to all your requests.”