The Four Divine Beasts Clan's Major Move

The Four Divine Beasts Clan, Vermilion Bird Palace.

More than a hundred Seven-Star Demon elders had gathered here. They were divided into four groups—earth, wind, water, and fire—and exchanged bewildered looks, privately sending one another messages as they discussed what could have happened.

The four people seated at the very front stood apart from the rest of the Seven-Star Demon elders. Three were men and one was a woman. On the far left, a white-haired man wore an indifferent expression, as though nothing had anything to do with him. The red-haired, burly man in the middle exuded authority without anger, strength radiating from his brow. On the right, a black-haired young man narrowed his eyes, his body seeming to merge with the shadows.

The sole silver-haired woman sat by herself to the right of the three men. She looked as though she wasn't familiar with them, and her features gave off a cool, distant air.

Not one of the four had the slightest trace of the Four Divine Beasts' bloodline, yet they could still take part in the Four Divine Beasts Clan's elders' assembly. They were envoys of the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns, honorary elders of the Four Divine Beasts Clan.

The white-haired man was the White Tiger Sovereign's envoy, Partridge, an Asura who cultivated the Edicts of Fate. Cultivators of the Edicts of Fate were rare in Hell, and those who reached the Asura level were rarer still. Partridge was the only Asura-level expert in the Edicts of Fate on Blood Peak Continent, and his attainments in the soul were exceptionally high.

The burly red-haired man was one of the Black Tortoise Sovereign's envoys, Hansen Gary. He cultivated the Laws of Fire, and his true form was a Divine Beast born in a Material Plane: a Star-Moon Flame-Winged Tiger. Though far inferior to super Divine Beasts like the Four Divine Beasts, he was still strong enough to hold his own at the Asura level. Some of the younger members of the Vermilion Bird Clan occasionally sought his guidance in their cultivation.

The black-haired young man was named Felix. An Asura who cultivated the Darkness Law, he was another of the Black Tortoise Sovereign's envoys. Unlike the others, he was an ordinary life-form with not a trace of Divine Beast blood. As a result, he was somewhat weaker, but no one dared underestimate him.

Since there were no publicly known Paragon High-Gods in the darkness element, Felix was already a pinnacle figure among its practitioners. His frontal combat ability was somewhat lacking, but his powerful concealment and escape abilities were enough to leave ordinary Asuras helpless.

The only cool, distant silver-haired woman was Caroline, a female Asura with some elven blood. She was also the Vermilion Bird Sovereign's sole envoy and cultivated the Laws of Life. Skilled in healing, she had saved the souls of injured members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan many times. Her distant nature, however, set her apart from the others.

"Partridge, Felix, what do you think happened? They've summoned so many people at once. Surely we aren't about to go to war with the Venna Clan?" The red-haired, burly Hansen glanced over the Council of Elders below and was the first to send the two men a message. As for the silver-haired woman, Caroline, he decided not to greet her, given her personality.

A hundred years earlier, news had come from the Wind Divine Plane claiming that a Seven-Star Demon elder of the Venna Clan had "bullied" a member of the White Tiger Clan. As a result, Gus, the White Tiger Patriarch, and Gaiseresen, the Azure Dragon Patriarch, had gone together to the Wind Divine Plane.

Seeing how the clan now seemed poised for an all-out war with someone, Hansen grew uneasy and spoke first.

"Probably not. Unless Venna intends to fight the Four Divine Beasts Clan to the bitter end, the two Azure Dragon Patriarchs should be enough to deal with the Venna Clan. Unless Venna's gone mad, he'll kill that Seven-Star Demon elder and apologize."

The black-haired young man, Felix, shook his head slightly and sent his reply with confidence. He knew Venna well enough; he wasn't impulsive and was unlikely to openly clash with Gaiseresen.

Of course, Felix could guess that there was a great deal of exaggeration in the Wind Divine Plane's claim that a member of the White Tiger Clan had been "bullied." But he had no intention of saying anything. After all, the Venna Clan's weakness was itself a crime, and as an honorary elder of the Four Divine Beasts Clan, he naturally wouldn't speak up for Venna.

"Come to think of it, have you noticed that Conofier hasn't arrived? It's been so long; surely he should be here by now. Could he have been killed?" The white-haired Partridge couldn't help sending a message, unease growing in him.

"Hm? Now that you mention it, that does seem..." Hansen paused in surprise, then realized it too. His expression turned grave, and he fell silent, deep in thought.

As an envoy of the Azure Dragon Sovereign, Conofier was an honorary elder of the Four Divine Beasts Clan, just like them. He rarely left the clan. Now, with the clan's elders' assembly underway and all the elders who had been in the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range in attendance, he was the only one missing. Clearly, something had happened.

The Four Divine Beasts Clan had suddenly summoned everyone, which meant they were preparing to go to war with someone. Considering Conofier's death, their opponent might be the person who had killed him. The three men knew Conofier's strength, and since he represented the Four Divine Beasts Clan when abroad, there weren't many people strong enough to kill him who would dare defy the clan's backing.

"Do you think we might be going to war with the Augusta Clan?" Partridge furrowed his brow and asked cautiously.

Given the Four Divine Beasts Clan's backing and Conofier's strength, the three couldn't think of anyone other than the Augusta Clan who could kill him and would dare do so.

At the thought, all three fell momentarily silent. The Augusta Clan was not to be trifled with, as they had all learned firsthand. Back in the day, when the Four Divine Beasts Clan and the Augusta Clan had clashed in the Radiant Divine Plane, several clan patriarchs had taken them with them to the Radiant Divine Realm.

On that occasion, the Augusta Clan's patriarch, Hankin Augusta, had confronted them alongside the clan's Asuras Montero, Uman, Cheerwin, and others. Both sides had nearly come to blows, but in the end, Gaiseresen and the others had suddenly called everyone off and ordered their clansmen to withdraw.

Though they had never explained it publicly, the three could guess that the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns and the Radiant Overlord had reached an understanding. No one knew what they had discussed.

"If we really do go to war with the Augusta Clan, things could get very ugly!" The red-haired, burly Hansen couldn't help sighing inwardly. He didn't want to get involved in this sort of thing, but he had no choice. The so-called honorary elders sounded impressive, but in truth, the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns had recruited them to serve as enforcers for the Four Divine Beasts Clan's patriarchs. They had no room to refuse.

"Creak!"

At the sound of the door opening, everyone who had been sending messages fell silent and looked up.

Four people radiating powerful auras came into view. At their head was Tia Nemo, the Vermilion Bird Clan's patriarch. Following behind her was Gaia Reding, the Azure Dragon Clan's Grand Elder.

Two brown-haired men followed them as well. They looked somewhat alike and both wore brown robes. Their expressions were stern, and a translucent glow shone in their eyes. Earthen-yellow light radiated from their bodies, as if they were one with the ground.

Morey Bowen, the Black Tortoise Clan's patriarch, and Mori Bowen, the Black Tortoise Clan's Grand Elder. With their arrival, all the powerful members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan who had remained in the Heavenly Mountain Range had gathered.