Gaiseresen: A Mere Prefect!

"Terry, how dare you! You're an elder, yet you presume to overstep your bounds and speak so brazenly in front of me, your clan chief!"

Venna roared as he charged forward, his fist radiating terrifying azure Divine Power as he pummeled Elder Terry again and again. Before long, Terry was covered in blood.

"My deepest apologies, Clan Chief Gaiseresen. I have failed to keep my subordinates in line. I will certainly punish Elder Terry severely afterward."

After a long while, Venna raised his head and cautiously addressed Gaiseresen and Gus. Though he put on a show of force, it was clear he wanted to spare Elder Terry's life.

From the moment Venna started attacking, Gaiseresen and Gus had remained silent and composed, as though none of this concerned them. Now, hearing Venna's words, Gus gave a quiet snort and slowly raised his right hand. In an instant, the White Tiger's claws appeared.

"Boom!"

His tiger-transformed fist unleashed a terrifying burst of energy. Azure ripples coalesced into a ball of light and crashed down on Terry's fallen body, leaving behind only two Godheads.

"If you're going to punish him severely, why wait? Wouldn't it be better to deal with him right now? Today, I'll manage your subordinates for you, Clan Chief Venna." The tiger claws slowly faded from Gus's hand, leaving it pale and fair once more. He continued in an even tone.

"Yes, you're right. Subordinates who make mistakes should be executed on the spot!" Venna gritted his teeth, desperately suppressing his anger. He nodded without expression, his gaze sweeping over the other members of the clan in warning.

"Enough, Gus. This is someone else's family matter. Clan Chief Venna should have been the one to execute him." Gaiseresen spoke softly. He didn't think his younger brother had done anything wrong; the two brothers simply had different temperaments. In his place, he would have asked Venna to account for himself directly, confident that Venna would make the right decision.

"Fine, Venna. Now we should deal with your son." Gus shrugged, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with his elder brother, Gaiseresen. He turned to Venna, whose expression remained unchanged, and his eyes flashed white.

"Of course, Clan Chief Gus. Since Shawn has done wrong, he should be punished. Shawn is in the clan prison..."

"Since we know where he is, we won't impose any further. Let's go, big brother." Gus interrupted Venna and turned to Gaiseresen.

"Then we won't trouble you further, Clan Chief Venna. You've made a very wise decision." Gaiseresen rose slowly and spoke in an even tone. He gave Gus a look, and the two of them left the main hall together.

"Thud!"

Venna felt as though all his strength had been drained away. As soon as Gaiseresen and Gus left, he collapsed into his chair, his face filled with anger, grief, and despair. He knew they were going to kill his son, but he could only watch. There was nothing he could do.

"Clan Chief, are we really going to do nothing? The Four Divine Beasts Clan—they, they've gone too far!" After a while, a green-haired elder spoke up, his brows brimming with fury. It seemed that if the clan chief gave the word, he would fight to the death the very next moment.

"Enough. This matter ends here! All of you, leave!" Venna raised his voice several notches, gritting his teeth as he forced the words out. His azure brows rose, and his fists clenched tightly inside his sleeves.

The elders opened their mouths, but in the end, none of them said a thing. They exchanged glances, said their farewells, and left the clan's main hall. They knew the clan chief was the one suffering most right now, but they couldn't even find words to comfort him. All they could do was let him have some time alone.

"Shawn, I'm sorry."

A tear slipped from the corner of Venna's eye. Then he closed his eyes and didn't open them for a long time. At some point, his tightly clenched fists had loosened.

The conflict between the Venna Clan and the Four Divine Beasts Clan was nothing new. With the White Tiger Continent at its heart, the Four Divine Beasts Clan did as it pleased throughout the Wind Divine Plane. No matter how often the Venna Clan backed down, clashes were unavoidable.

In every past conflict, the Venna Clan had ended up yielding. This time, his son Shawn was caught up in it too. Venna was lost. Sometimes he truly wanted to throw caution to the wind, charge out, and fight the Four Divine Beasts Clan to the death. As an Asura, he could at least take down a few of their Seven-Star Demon elders.

But Venna didn't dare. He still had his clan and people he cared about. As clan chief, he had to consider the clan's interests. He couldn't lead them down a path from which there was no return.

"Overgods, Overgods! Hahaha, if one day, the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns..." Venna murmured, but stopped halfway through. He couldn't discuss matters concerning the Overgods. In a sense, Overgods were no longer the same kind of beings as gods. Besides, the Four Divine Beasts Clan had four Overgods.

It wasn't only Venna. Bolin in the Heavenly Realm, Ashcroft in the Netherworld, Edric in the Life Divine Plane, Barbary in the Water Divine Plane, Saint-Nal in the Fire Divine Plane, Deen in the Earth Divine Plane, Rernas in Hell, and countless others who had suffered at the hands of the Four Divine Beasts Clan had all once dreamed that the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns might fall someday.

Unfortunately, their dreams meant nothing. The fall of an Overgod wasn't something gods like them could influence. All they could do was endure the Four Divine Beasts Clan's oppression, protect their clans, and wait for an opportunity—for that illusory day when an Overgod might fall, a day that might never come.

"Big brother, should we go take a look at the White Tiger Continent? Our clansmen there haven't seen us in a long time. We could go encourage them." Outside the Venna Clan's estate, Gus, dressed in a white robe and wearing a stern expression, looked at Gaiseresen and asked.

"Sounds good. Since we've come all this way, let's go see them." Gaiseresen nodded. As clan chiefs, they spent most of their time at the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range in Hell. From time to time, they still needed to visit and encourage their clansmen in the other planes.

"Besides, that kid Beard has been on the White Tiger Continent for nearly a million years. I haven't seen him in ages. This time, when we go to the White Tiger Continent, we'll definitely... Hm? What's going on?"

Gus broke off mid-sentence, his brow furrowing as he looked toward the distant horizon.

"Whoosh!"

A streak of azure light flashed by. A young man with short hair, dressed in a white robe, landed and knelt on one knee. He spoke respectfully:

"Clan Chiefs, a message has arrived from the clan. It concerns Clan Chief Tia."

"Hm? News about Tia? What happened? It's only been a short while. Why have we suddenly received a message? Has something happened to the clan?" Gaiseresen immediately spoke up, his expression turning much colder. He had only just left, and a message had already arrived. Something serious must have happened.

"Yes, well..." The short-haired young man quickly summarized the news he had received, then explained in detail how Tia and the others had responded.

"Good! Good! Good! A mere Prefect dares to kill an elder of the Four Divine Beasts Clan? Even Venna wouldn't have the nerve!" A frigid glint flashed through Gaiseresen's icy blue eyes, and the surrounding air seemed to drop several degrees in an instant.

"Bastard! What sort of fool dares to kill one of our clan's elders? Big brother, let's go too. We have to teach that Ren a lesson and show him that no one gets to provoke the Four Divine Beasts Clan!" Gus cursed furiously, then turned to Gaiseresen.

Gaiseresen said nothing. He simply nodded, and the two of them gave a few brief instructions before transforming into streaks of light and racing toward the teleportation array.