A moment later!
The great hall was so silent that the crackling of the spirit lamps burning could be heard.
Though the Half-Venerable experts remained silent on the surface, their hearts had long since been churning like storm-tossed seas—
The shadow of the Black Spirit Tiger Shark Clan's army pressing down upon them, along with the unfathomable cultivation of that mysterious clan chief, was like an invisible shackle squeezing the breath from their lungs.
Restless emotions silently gathered and spread, Almost reaching the breaking point.
Suddenly!
An indifferent voice seemed to pierce through layer upon layer of spatial barriers. Devoid of the slightest trace of worldly heat, it rang clearly in every corner of the great hall:
"Since you are all willing to take the field and slay the enemy, why hesitate?"
The voice was not loud, yet it was like a bolt of thunder, striking precisely into the hearts of every Half-Venerable.
In an instant, The long-suppressed irritation, unease, and a trace of embarrassed anger at having their thoughts seen through were utterly ignited!
The Sea Serpent Clan's Half-Venerable elder did not even have time to consider where the voice had come from. Almost instinctively, without raising his head, he blurted out in rebuttal:
"If the Black Spirit Tiger Shark Clan's new clan chief takes action, then who will..."
Halfway through his words, he stopped abruptly.
It was as though this Sea Serpent Clan Half-Venerable had been seized by the throat; his voice suddenly cut off.
He jerked his head up, his eyes instantly filling with boundless shock and disbelief as his stunned gaze shot toward the highest point of the hall—
The throne of the Mystic Turtle Clan's chief, which had remained suspended there, symbolizing supreme authority and power.
Before...
That throne had clearly been completely empty!
Yet