Deliberation

For the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, this recent storm has been nothing short of a splitting headache.

No one expected that the death of a mere ordinary child would stir up such a massive commotion.

A seven-year-old "waste" who hadn't even awakened his martial soul, a peripheral nobody who wouldn't even register on any family genealogy, a child who should have vanished silently like an ant in this world where the strong prey on the weak—

His death, however, was like a massive boulder cast into a deep pool, triggering waves far beyond anyone's imagination.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was being cursed to high heaven.

The scandals of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect's peripheral branches were being turned inside out.

The reputation and dignity that the two Upper Three Sects had painstakingly cultivated for years were torn to shreds in just a few days by a dead seven-year-old child.

This was something they had never, ever anticipated.

Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

Deep within the Yuming Mountain Range in the northern part of the Heaven Dou Empire.

The clan's council hall sat halfway up the main peak. The entire structure was built from dark iron and bluestone, with dragon totems carved into the outer walls, exuding an oppressive coldness under the gloomy sky.

At this moment.

The long table was packed with people.

Clan elders, representatives of the core direct descendants, and the deacons in charge of external affairs were all gathered together.

The atmosphere was stifling to the extreme.

"Bang!"

A hand covered in bulging veins slammed heavily onto the rosewood table, making the teacups jump.

"What kind of mess is this!"

The man sitting closest to the head of the table had a face ashen with rage, his fury practically spilling out from his features.

This man was none other than the second-in-command of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—the Vice Sect Master, Yu Luomian.

He appeared to be in his forties, with a few strands of white in his black hair. His build was not particularly burly, and his attire was opulent, his expression usually suggesting a certain slickness. Yet, at this moment, this very man was incensed, slamming the table as he rose!

"Look at the fine mess you've made!"

Yu Luomian swept his gaze over those present, his voice rough and violent, like an iron hammer striking everyone's eardrums.

"A direct descendant forcibly snatched a woman in the street and beat an old man to death—that was stupid enough! And then what? When handling the aftermath, not only did you fail to suppress the matter, you went and forced a seven-year-old child to his death!"

"And now look!"

He stood up abruptly, his chair screeching harshly against the stone floor.

"It's known to everyone! They're cursing us in the teahouses of Heaven Dou City! They're cursing us in the taverns of the Star Luo Empire! Even the illiterate peasants in the remote villages are cursing us!"

"Everyone is cursing the ancestors of our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan!!"

The last sentence was practically a roar.

Inside the council hall, the clan elders looked at one another.

Some lowered their heads in silence, some had flickering gazes, and others looked grim but dared not make a sound.

Yu Luomian's rage was not without reason.

Though the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was arrogant, they were never truly stupid. Arrogance aside, they understood clearly—as one of the Upper Three Sects, the clan's reputation and dignity were the foundation of their standing.

No matter how strong their power, once their name was tarnished, the impact was real and tangible.

Several noble merchant houses that previously had dealings with the clan had already found excuses to delay their meetings over the past few days. For several resource trade contracts that had already been negotiated, the other parties suddenly claimed they "needed to discuss it further."

These changes were subtle, but to someone like Yu Luomian, who had long managed the clan's external affairs, every signal was glaringly obvious.

He certainly understood that these people weren't doing this for the sake of justice; they were merely finding excuses to squeeze out more benefits.

But with everyone doing it, the impact on the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's business was far from insignificant.

The gazes of the elders at the table drifted, intentionally or otherwise, toward a man sitting in the third seat on the left.

—Yu Kun.

The culprit who had sparked this entire storm was sitting upright in his seat, his aged face so gloomy it could wring out water.

His cloudy, aged eyes were slightly narrowed, his lips pressed into a thin line, and the muscles in his jaw were visibly tense; it was clear he was struggling to suppress some emotion.

It was annoyance.

But it was not remorse for his actions, but rather annoyance that the situation had spiraled out of control.

He remained silent for a moment before finally speaking.

"Vice Sect Master."

Yu Kun's voice was hoarse and low, carrying the characteristic turbidity of an old man, yet there was not a shred of guilt in his tone.

"I didn't expect this matter to develop into such a state."

He raised his head to meet Yu Luomian's glare, his expression grim and sinister.

"I was merely leading men to vent Huan's frustrations at the time. Huan is my own grandson, a direct descendant of our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. He was beaten into that state by a piece of trash with no martial soul—what is wrong with me, as his grandfather, stepping forward to demand an explanation?"

"As for that little beast surnamed Ning—" Yu Kun let out a cold snort, his tone dripping with disdain. "Who could have imagined he would pull such a stunt? Cutting his flesh, scraping his bones, and slitting his own throat with a sword. Who could have predicted a seven-year-old child would do something so insane?"

"If you want to blame someone, blame that little beast for being unable to think straight. What does it have to do with me?"

At this point, a flash of sinister malice crossed Yu Kun's eyes.

"If I had known it would turn out like this..."

His voice dropped, laced with undisguised ruthlessness.

"I should have never given them a chance to speak. I should have killed that little beast with a single palm strike and silenced him then and there. Then none of this subsequent mess would have happened."

As these words left his lips, the atmosphere in the council hall turned several degrees colder.

Several of the younger elders exchanged glances, wanting to speak but holding back.

They wanted to say—Elder Yu Kun, you are still saying such things at this stage; are you worried the public isn't cursing us harshly enough?

But in the end, no one dared to openly challenge the face of this veteran elder.

Yu Luomian's brow furrowed even deeper. He stared at Yu Kun for two seconds, his mouth opening as if to say something, but he ultimately swallowed the words back.

At this point, blaming Yu Kun would not mend the situation.

Besides—

When it came down to it, although Yu Kun's words were harsh, they were not entirely illogical.

It was his good-for-nothing grandson, Yu Huan, who had forcibly abducted a woman and killed an old man in the street; Yu Kun was indeed responsible for failing to discipline his grandson. However, the act of going to demand an explanation itself was not considered an outrageous move under the rules of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

When a direct descendant of one's own clan is crippled, it is only natural for an elder to step forward to seek justice.

It was just that no one had anticipated that the seven-year-old child would use such an extreme and tragic method to completely flip the nature of the entire affair.

Cutting flesh to return to his father.

Scraping bones to return to his mother.

Slitting his throat with a sword.

These three acts combined kicked the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan from a position of "a victim seeking justice" straight into the abyss of "the strong bullying the weak and driving a child to his death."

When the tidal wave of public opinion crashed down, no matter how one tried to justify it, it appeared pale and powerless.

Because the facts were laid bare—

Yu Huan had forcibly abducted a woman and killed an innocent old man in the street first.

Ning Zha had seen an injustice and intervened; no matter how you looked at it, it was a righteous act.

Yet, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had not only failed to reflect on their own descendant's evil deeds, but had instead dispatched a seven-ring Soul Saint to demand the life of a seven-year-old child—

To put it kindly, this was called "lacking a sense of right and wrong."

To put it harshly, it was called "bullying the weak and turning black into white."

The eyes of the common people were not blind.

They might not understand sect politics or clan maneuvering.

But they could distinguish—who was the villain, and who was the pitiable victim.