939. Beginning the Reckoning
Yao Dan was now caught in a bind.
He could neither advance nor retreat.
To advance meant Tearing Face, at the cost of completely falling out with the Gu Clan. After all, the Gu Clan's stance was obvious—or rather, Gu Xun'er's stance was obvious, and unwavering. Moreover, that cost was merely a trivial loss among all the possible consequences. The greater loss was that the Yao Clan simply lacked the strength to take down Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan had already proven with facts that he was absolutely no mediocre Dou Saint. On the contrary, he was a peerless genius among Dou Saints. Though only a Three-Star Dou Sheng, he had effortlessly extracted and dissected the soul of Gu Yang, a Five Star Dou Sheng. If Gu Dao intervened, today's matter would likely be impossible for the Yao Clan to settle.
To retreat meant swallowing their anger, at the cost of the Yao Clan losing all dignity and prestige. They would not even need to wait until the next day. That very day, the Yao Clan had been attacked at their doorstep, publicly slapped back and forth before the other Ancient Families, and beaten at the Medicine Ceremony—their most important occasion—before all the Yao Clan's younger generation. Afterward, they would even have to obediently apologize. It could be said with certainty that from now on, no one would take the Yao Clan seriously again. Everyone would believe that the Yao Clan could be bullied.
Thus, no matter how one looked at it, the Yao Clan seemed destined to suffer losses. No matter which choice they made, their outcome was already decided.
For Yao Dan, the clan leader, such an outcome was undoubtedly unacceptable.
Therefore, after a brief moment of contemplation, Yao Dan still chose to gamble on