Chapter 485 - Who Is the Clan Leader? (1/2)
Translator: GE_Team
In Tai Chi City, there was a raging gale that was a foreboding of the coming storm.
Ning Fan indifferently scanned countless devil cultivators of the Mist Horn Clan with his spirit sense. His expression only turned slightly calm after checking a guest house somewhere in the devil city.
Ming Que followed Ning Fan’s order obediently and stayed inside the house without taking a step out the door. Since the day when Ning Fan left, she had been gnawing on pills like they were jelly beans and she had not encountered any danger or trouble during this period of time.
Therefore, Ning Fan could now unreservedly settle an old grudge with the Mist Horn Clan without concern.
“I’m never fond of nonsense. Xi Mo, get out here and pay with your life.”
Ning Fan’s bone-chilling voice resounded across Tai Chi City once again. This time, the anger in the eyes of the countless members of the Mist Horn Clan were reignited after seeing Ning Fan challenge their new clan leader for the second time.
Xi Mo was the dignified clan leader of their Mist Horn Clan. From their perspective, Ning Fan was extremely insolent to order him to come out and face him while threatening to kill him!
As the leader of the Mist Horn Clan, Xi Mo could be regarded as someone important even in the Rain World. Moreover, his strength was not something that one could disregard as he had broken through to the Void Inquiry Stage.
Even though Ning Fan’s notoriety was also spread far and wide, he was still inferior to a Void Inquiry Stage expert like Xi Mo. The members of the Mist Horn Clan would without a doubt stand on Xi Mo’s side.
All of a sudden, many devil cultivators of the clan glared at Ning Fan in hostility and barked in fury.
“Revered Ming, respect is a two-way street! Xi Mo is the leader of our clan and has an esteemed identity. You, however, profaned him by making an impudent request and hurling death threats. Don’t you think that is a little too much?! Are you trying to wage war against our Mist Horn Clan using your identity as a revered elder of the Rain Place and a friend of the Zhou Clan?!”
“Zhou Ming! Your pill refinement skills are indeed unparalleled in the world and few can compete with you in pill refinement. But this doesn’t mean anything! In the entire Rain World, our Mist Horn Clan is considered as one of the top ten great forces. If you offend our clan, Clan Leader Xi Mo will certainly teach you a lesson and you won’t certainly be able to bear the consequences of your actions!”
“Zhou Ming, you are just a Half-Step Void Refinement Realm cultivator at the end of the day. You aren’t a true Void Refinement Realm old monster yet. How dare you threaten our Void Inquiry Stage Clan Leader Xi Mo to pay with his life when your cultivation level has yet to even attain the Void Glimpse Stage? You really are self-conceited and have no idea about the immensity of heaven and earth! Do you really think that you, a Half-Step Void Refinement Realm cultivator, are worthy of challenging our Clan Leader Xi Mo?”
Each of the devil cultivators of the Mist Horn Clan subconsciously neglected Ning Fan’s terrifying aura force.
Ning Fan’s aura force was already on par with a Void Inquiry Stage expert. However, everyone thought that Ning Fan was just at the Half-Step Void Refinement Realm.
Ning Fan had made an incredible achievement by killing Shi Kun and Mo Xiu successively. His notoriety was even greater than ordinary Void Glimpse Stage cultivators but in the past, he was still weaker than a Void Inquiry Stage expert.
Mo Xiu might be a Void Inquiry Stage old monster but when he died in Ning Fan’s hands, his cultivation level regressed due to his grievous injuries. Thus, it had not been a fair battle and it could not prove that Ning Fan had the strength to kill a Void Inquiry Stage expert.
As for Shi Kun who had an unrivalled strength among all Void Glimpse Stage cultivators, Ning Fan really killed him with his bare hands. That battle was fair and unbiased but it could only demonstrate that Ning Fan also possessed unrivalled strength among Void Glimpse Stage cultivators. Even so, he might not necessarily be able to defeat a Void Inquiry Stage expert.
In everyone’s eyes, perhaps Ning Fan had the strength to put up a fight against a Void Inquiry Stage expert but his chances of winning would certainly be extremely slim.
No one believed that Ning Fan could attain the Void Inquiry Stage in just a few months let alone defeat Xi Mo.
He was just a Half-Step Void Refinement Realm cultivator after all. In everyone’s mind, he was still unable to truly compare to a Void Inquiry Stage expert.
Hence, everyone only thought that what Ning Fan said was gibberish and he was seeking his own death.
The devil cultivators of the clan did not ask Ning Fan the reason why he let out nonsense as soon as he spoke and they did not even bother to ask. All they did was wait for their clan leader to arrive and teach Ning Fan a lesson.
They paid no attention to Ning Fan but they were concerned about Su Yan. There were rumors inside the clan that claimed that their former clan leader, Su Yan, had already died inside the broken world when it collapsed. They could not understand why she could still appear alive right before everyone’s eyes.
The fact that Su Yan was actually still alive was beyond everyone’s expectations.
The fact that she was being accompanied by Ning Fan made countless people even more confused.
Temporarily setting aside the question why Su Yan was alive, the members of the Mist Horn Clan were vexed by her current actions. She was the former clan leader and her standpoint was supposed to differ from Ning Fan’s.
Now, Ning Fan was initiating a challenge with Clan Leader Xi Mo. As the former clan leader, it was expected of her to take actions to stop him and maintain the Mist Horn Clan’s dignity. However, why wasn’t she doing anything at all to stop Ning Fan? Why did she seem to be taking Ning Fan’s side as if they were both opposing a common enemy instead?
Could it be that Su Yan felt resentful and held grudges towards Xi Mo after hearing that he was succeeding her position as clan leader and had asked Ning Fan to help her rebel against him?
If that was the truth, Su Yan’s actions were really a little too despicable. No matter what her reasons were, colluding with an outsider to fight against the leader of her own clan was treason. Those found guilty of violating the clan’s ten great commandments or had committed treason could be sentenced to death!
“‘Former Clan Leader Su’, is Revered Ming your helper? Did you request his help to rebel against Clan Leader Xi Mo?”
The six esteemed Divine Transformation Realm elders of the Mist Horn Clan walked out from the crowd. Their expressions were cold and arrogant.
They emphasized ‘Former Clan Leader’ in sarcasm. There wasn’t the slightest hint of respect in their tones which filled Su Yan’s apricot eyes with coldness.
“So what if I did? Don’t tell me that clan elders like you are planning on punishing me on behalf of your new Clan Leader Xi Mo?”
“We can’t exactly call it a punishment. However, if ‘Former Clan Leader Su’ has truly colluded with an outsider, we might have to impose the clan rules on you!”
Su Yan’s apricot eyes turned even colder. “Clan rules? Since we’re talking about the clan rules, I really want to ask all of you. Which of the clan’s rules state that the position of the clan leader can be taken over by another when the clan leader has gone missing for three months?!”
Su Yan’s words made the six Divine Transformation Realm elders stutter. Their faces flushed red with none of them having the previous display of fierceness and disdain since they knew they were the ones in the wrong.
According to the Mist Horn Clan’s rules, the respected elders of the clan could only elect the next clan leader when the death of the clan leader has been confirmed. Otherwise, the clan’s leader cannot be replaced.
Of course, there are some exceptions that would allow the clan members to dismiss their clan leader.
If the clan leader whose death is yet confirmed goes missing for more than ten years without establishing any contact, the members of the clan could proceed to elect their next clean leader. After all, someone who has disappeared for more than ten years without any regard for the clan does not deserve to be the clan’s leader.
Unfortunately, not a single rule of the clan’s rules could rightfully dismiss Su Yan from the position of clan leader and elect Xi Mo as the successor.
Su Yan’s expression remained neutral but she was inwardly mocking herself. It had only been three and a half months since she got trapped inside the broken world and the members of the clan had already changed their leader. This was truly beyond her expectations.
To cultivators, going on a single expedition could take approximately three to five years. Therefore, going missing for less than ten years was normally acceptable.
Su Yan did not leave her life plate in the clan and carried it with her. Since nobody could look at her life plate, none would be able to know if she had lived or died. That was why the clan’s members could only consider her as missing when she got trapped inside the broken world.
And thus could only appoint their next clan leader if she does not return in ten years or so.
Being absent for three and a half months was clearly far from enough to become the reason for her dismissal!
Even so, she had indeed been dismissed as clan leader. It was not just up to Xi Mo alone to decide the clan leader’s dismissal and appointment. In fact, it needed general consensus from the entire clan in order to elect the next clan leader without following the clan rules.
Needless to say, a great majority of the clan members silently assented to Su Yan’s dismissal from her position as clan leader.
In other words, even though Xi Mo’s appointment as clan leader was against the rules, everyone in the clan was in favor of it. As for her, she was like an outcast that had been abandoned by nearly all of her clan members…
So this is the Mist Horn Clan that I have been protecting with all my effort…
“Su Yan, there is something you should understand even without us having to state it directly. Even if Xi Mo’s appointment as the new clan leader does not follow normal procedures, everyone in the clan is in favor of him becoming the new clan leader. As for you, if you still have some consideration as part of the Mist Horn Clan, you should accept the entire clan’s decision, accept Xi Mo as the new clan leader and give up on your silly idea of seizing back the position of clan leader by colluding with an outsider!”
Each of the Divine Transformation Realm elders frankly spoke their minds, no longer giving her face.
Su Yan did not say anything back. All she did was maintain her silence. She never knew that she was very unpopular when she was still the leader of the clan in the past.
When she got trapped in the broken world, no one was there to rescue her. All she received was the unanimous agreement of the entire clan to appoint Xi Mo as their new clan leader. Apart from that, no one even bothered to find out why she got trapped in the broken world and who the culprit was.
She had dedicated her entire life to the Mist Horn Clan. She did not ask anything for her great contributions and only hoped to avoid making any mistake. She rarely invaded and conquered other forces. All she hoped was peace and stability for the entire clan.
She was the one with the highest innate potential in the Mist Horn Clan. If Xi Mo and Gui Jiao did not receive her guidance, they probably would not have the chance to break through to the Void Refinement Realm…
She had shared all of her insights about cultivation to countless Nascent Soul Realm and Divine Transformation Realm elders. Could she not gain a bit of support from them for everything that she had done for them?
What she found especially hard to accept was that Xi Mo and Gui Jiao, whom she had trained personally would eventually betray her and try to assassinate her.
“Why…? I really don’t care about the clan leader position at all. All I want to know is the reason why you all betrayed me…?” Su Yan closed her apricot eyes gently, hiding a hint of sadness behind her expression.
“Betray? Former Clan Leader Su is overthinking. We have never betrayed you. We were only thinking of the Mist Horn Clan’s future which is why we didn’t support you. Former Clan Leader Su was coincidentally trapped in the broken world back then. Hence, we took advantage of that opportunity to remove you from your position as clan leader and appointed a new successor. It’s all for the sake of the clan. When you were still the clan leader, you clearly had control over the devil contracts of 15 Void Refinement Realm devil spirits. But you never used these devil spirits to develop our Mist Horn Clan or expand our forces. It’s really detestable that you had allowed our clan to be suppressed by the Ghost Eye Clan! Xi Mo is different. If he’s the clan leader, he will certainly use all of our devil troops and devil spirits to fight against the Ghost Eye Clan and gain some fame for our clan! He is the most suitable candidate to lead our clan!”
The six Divine Transformation Realm elders spoke smoothly. The frankness of their argument made many foreigners in Tai Chi City terrified.
Outsiders never knew that the Mist Horn Clan had 15 Void Refinement Realm devil spirits as a reserved force. When Su Yan was the clan leader, she never advocated acts of aggression. She rarely initiated an invasion and had spent all of her focus on training outstanding clan members.
Su Yan’s policy gave the Mist Horn Clan an opportunity to develop as outstanding experts were appearing from among them one after another. On the other hand, it made countless forces think that the Mist Horn Clan could easily be bullied.
However, who in the outside world would know that the Mist Horn Clan which seemed to be weak actually had 15 Void Refinement Realm devil spirits as their hidden ace. The strength of their forces was actually extremely high!
Su Yan finally understood why she could not gain support from her clan members. It turned out that they had misunderstood her painstaking effort of allowing the clan to recuperate while raising more outstanding individuals to build up its strength…
“Fine. I no longer want the clan leader position, much less cling to it stubbornly. However, there is a personal grudge I must settle. It seems like all of you have no idea about the true reason why I got trapped in the broken world. Very well. It means that none of you have a hand in it. I can spare you all. As for Xi Mo, I must kill him…”
“Impudent! You are a member of the Mist Horn Clan. How dare you speak such rebellious words? Don’t you know that what you are doing is actually treason?”
The expressions of the Divine Transformation Realm elders became less tense after hearing that Su Yan was willing to give up the clan leader position. Even if they did not support her leadership of their clan, she was still a Void Inquiry Stage old monster ultimately. She was the strongest combatant of the Mist Horn Clan. Hence, the elders still needed a strong fighter like her a lot.
However, they did not expect that although Su Yan gave up the intention to seize the clan leader post, she still persisted in killing Xi mo.
Xi Mo was the clan leader whom they all supported. How could they allow him to be killed?!
“Did you say I am impudent?! Ha. Xi Mo should be the impudent one. He plotted against me and trapped me inside the broken world, surrounded by millions of devil spirits… If I am not mistaken, I was still the clan leader that time, wasn’t I? He tried to murder me, who was the leader of the clan. Wasn’t that considered treason? Shouldn’t he be sentenced to death?”
“What?!”
Su Yan’s calm words shocked countless members of the Mist Horn Clan.
According to the rumors circulating within the clan, the reason why she got trapped was because of an accident.. It was said that the broken world had collapsed and that escaping from it would be difficult for the rest of her life.
However, no one actually thought that the so-called accident was actually Xi Mo’s plot!?
Some people believed what Su Yan said but a greater number of them refused to believe such absurd and baseless accusations.
“Su Yan! You’re talking nonsense! Even though Xi Mo had always been on bad terms with you, he is an upright person and wouldn’t do anything like plotting against the clan leader!”
“Su Yan, please use your head when you try to lie! You were the clan leader three months ago. You had the clan leader token so you were the only person who could enter the broken world. There was no way Xi Mo could get in there. How was he supposed to plot against you? Even if Xi Mo really plotted against you, how can you possibly escape from millions of devil spirits that had surrounded you like what you had mentioned? You are just fabricating a lie to slander Xi Mo!”
“Su Yan, I didn’t expect you to be such a despicable woman! You can only consider yourself unlucky to have been trapped inside the broken world! As for the reason for your dismissal, you can only blame yourself for not having the qualifications! No matter how envious you are of Xi Mo, how can you sling mud at him?!”
Countless skeptical voices could be heard from all directions. It made Su Yan go quiet as sorrow intensified in her eyes.
She had spoken the truth but no one believed her. Everyone would rather believe in Xi Mo.
Laughable. It’s truly laughable… Why did I regard such a clan like this as a priceless treasure and carefully protected it in the past…?
“Su Yan, so you managed to survive. This is great. Since you didn’t die, you can become my competent subordinate who will follow me on my future conquests. In that case, I will pardon your sins in slandering me.”
At this moment, Xi Mo finally showed himself in an imposing manner.
Gui Jiao, Yin Gong and three unfamiliar Void Refinement Realm experts followed behind him.
Yin Gong was the previous clan leader before Su Yan who was removed from his position due to his crime. He was an expert at the Void Inquiry Stage.
Having committed a great sin, he could never become the clan leader again for the rest of his life. However, Xi Mo gave him lots of rewards and benefits in order to persuade him into joining him.
“Xi Mo!”
Su Yan’s apricot eyes which had been calm all this while had turned frigid cold at this moment.
She could tolerate him disrespecting her and talking back at her. As for the incident in the broken world, it really made her lose her temper.
She was just gentle and kind to her clan members but she definitely was not a weak and soft-hearted woman. At the very least, she would never be lenient to those who deserved death.
Seeing Su Yan harbor the killing intent towards Xi Mo, every member of the clan stood in front of the latter like they were ready to protect him even at the cost of their lives.
If Su Yan takes any action against Xi Mo, all the devil cultivators of the Mist Horn Clan would spare no effort to fight against her.