Gaiseresen: A Mere Prefect!

"Terry, you have some nerve! As an elder, how dare you overstep your authority and spout such nonsense in front of me, your patriarch!"

Venna roared as he lunged forward, his fists radiating terrifying cyan divine power. He rained blows down upon Elder Terry's body, and in moments, Terry was drenched in blood.

"My deepest apologies, Patriarch Gaiseresen. I failed to discipline my subordinates properly. I will certainly punish Elder Terry severely after this."

After a long while, Venna looked up, cautiously addressing Gaiseresen and Gus. Although he maintained a forceful facade, it was clear he was trying to save Elder Terry's life.

From the moment Venna began his assault, Gaiseresen and Gus had remained calm and silent, as if the matter had nothing to do with them. But now, upon hearing Venna's words, Gus let out a soft snort through his nose and slowly raised his right hand. In an instant, the claws of a White Tiger manifested.

"BOOM!"

The tiger-transformed fist erupted with terrifying energy. The cyan ripples coalesced into a sphere of light that instantly descended upon the fallen Terry, leaving behind only two Godheads.

"Since you intend to punish him severely, why wait? Isn't it better to settle it now? I'll handle the discipline of your subordinates for you today, Patriarch Venna." Gus's tiger claws slowly faded, his hand returning to its original fair-skinned state, and he continued in a flat tone.

"Yes, you are right. A subordinate who commits such an offense deserves to be executed on the spot!" Venna gritted his teeth, desperately suppressing the rage in his heart. He nodded expressionlessly while sweeping his gaze over the other family members, his eyes filled with a warning.

"Enough, Gus. After all, this is someone else's family matter; it should be left to Patriarch Venna to execute him himself," Gaiseresen said softly. He didn't see any issue with his younger brother's actions, though the two brothers had different temperaments. If it were him, he would have simply told Venna to give him an explanation, trusting that Venna would make the right decision.

"Alright, Venna. Next, it's time to deal with the matter regarding your son." Gus shrugged, indifferent to his older brother's words, and looked at the stoic Venna, white light flashing in his eyes.

"No problem, Patriarch Gus. Since Shawn is the one who did wrong, he should be punished. Shawn is currently in the family prison..."

"Since we know where he is, we won't disturb you any further. Brother, let's go." Gus interrupted Venna, turning to look at Gaiseresen.

"In that case, we shall take our leave. Patriarch Venna, you have made a very wise decision." Gaiseresen slowly stood up, speaking in a flat tone. He then gave Gus a look, and the two left the great hall together.

"THUD!"

It was as if all the strength had been drained from Venna. After Gaiseresen and his brother left, he collapsed into his chair, his expression filled with rage, grief, and despair. He knew that Gaiseresen and Gus were going to kill his son, yet he could only watch, unable to do anything.

"Patriarch, are we... are we just going to do nothing? The Four Divine Beasts Clan, they—they are going too far!" After a while, a green-haired elder couldn't help but speak up, his brow furrowed with fury, as if he would fight to the death the moment the patriarch gave the order.

"Enough! Let this matter end here! Everyone, get out!" Venna's voice rose several decibels. He squeezed the words out through gritted teeth, his cyan eyebrows arched, his fists clenched tightly inside his sleeves.

The few elders opened their mouths, but in the end, they said nothing. They merely exchanged glances, offered a bow of departure, and left the family hall. They knew that the patriarch was the one suffering the most right now, but they couldn't even offer words of comfort, so they chose to let him be.

"Shawn, I'm sorry."

A tear traced the corner of Venna's eye. He closed his eyes tightly and did not open them for a long time. The fists he had been clenching so tightly had, at some point, gone limp.

This was not the first time the Venna Clan had clashed with the Four Divine Beasts Clan. The Four Divine Beasts Clan, centered around the White Tiger Continent, did as they pleased in the Wind Divine Plane. Even with the Venna Clan forbearing at every turn, conflicts were inevitable.

Every past conflict had ended with the Venna Clan backing down, but this time, it involved his son, Shawn. Venna's heart was filled with confusion. Sometimes, he truly wanted to throw caution to the wind 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 dared not, for he still had his clan and his responsibilities. He was the patriarch; he had to consider the perspective of the clan and could not lead them to total destruction.

"Sovereigns, Sovereigns! Hahaha, if only one day, the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns..." Venna muttered softly, but stopped halfway. The affairs of Sovereigns were not for him to discuss. In a sense, Sovereigns were no longer the same species as gods, and the Four Divine Beasts Clan had four of them.

It wasn't just 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 the Hell, and countless others who had been bullied by the Four Divine Beasts Clan had all fantasized about the day the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns would fall.

Unfortunately, their fantasies were meaningless. The fall of a Sovereign was not something gods like them could interfere with. All they could do was endure under the oppression of the Four Divine Beasts Clan, preserve their families, and wait for an opportunity—waiting for that ethereal, perhaps never-to-come day of the Sovereigns' fall.

"Brother, shall we go take a look at the White Tiger Continent next? The clansmen there haven't seen us in a long time. We could go over and encourage them." Outside the Venna Clan, Gus, dressed in white robes with a stern expression, looked at Gaiseresen and asked.

"That works. Since we're out, we might as well go take a look." Gaiseresen nodded. As patriarchs, they spent most of their time in the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range in Hell, but occasionally they needed to go out to encourage their clansmen in other planes.

"Perfect. That kid Beard has been on the White Tiger Continent for nearly a million years, and I haven't seen him in a long time. This trip to the White Tiger Continent will surely... Hmm? What's going on?"

Gus stopped mid-sentence, his brow furrowed as he looked toward the distant horizon.

"SWISH!"

With a flash of cyan light, a short-haired youth in white robes landed, kneeling on one knee, and spoke respectfully:

"Two Patriarchs, news has come from within the clan. It is a message from Patriarch Tia."

"Hmm? News from Tia? What's going on? It hasn't been long since we left; why is there news so suddenly? Has something happened to the clan?" Gaiseresen spoke immediately, his expression turning much colder. He had only just left, and for news to arrive so quickly, it was clearly a major event.

"Yes, it is like this..." The short-haired youth quickly recounted the news he had received and explained in detail the response from Tia and the others.

"Good! Good! Good! A mere Prefect dares to kill an elder of our Four Divine Beasts Clan? Even Venna doesn't have the guts for that!" A cold glint surged into Gaiseresen's icy blue eyes, and the surrounding air seemed to drop in temperature instantly.

"Bastard! Who does he think he is, daring to kill our clan's elder? Brother, let's go together. We must make that Ren realize that our Four Divine Beasts Clan is not someone he can provoke!" Gus cursed furiously before looking at Gaiseresen.

Gaiseresen said nothing more, merely nodding silently. After giving a few brief instructions, the two transformed into streaks of light, rushing toward the teleportation array at high speed.