"So all we can do is fight?" Fifth Elder raised his voice slightly, then seemed to realize he was being too loud and lowered it again.
"Whenever those officials in charge of administration run into trouble, the first thing they think of is asking people from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect for help. In their eyes, our Clear Sky Sect is just a bunch of brutes who know nothing but swinging hammers."
Second Elder sat in a corner of the council hall, his figure somewhat blurred by the candlelight. His cloudy eyes were half-closed, as though he were dozing, or perhaps listening to what they were saying.
Fifth Elder's chest rose and fell a few times. He clearly had more to say, but after opening his mouth, he ultimately made no sound.
He realized he had said enough. Anything more would only be the same complaints repeated.
The council hall fell silent for a moment.
At last, Second Elder slowly lifted his eyelids.
His cloudy eyes glimmered faintly in the candlelight, like an old beast awakening from a long slumber and beginning to examine the world before it anew.
"Soul Masters stand on strength alone." Second Elder's voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached everyone in the council hall. "As long as our strength remains, our position will not change."
Fifth Elder frowned. "But the situation now is no longer one where whoever has the bigger fist calls the shots. Ning Fengzhi—"
"Ning Fengzhi is indeed skilled at handling such affairs." Second Elder interrupted him, his tone as steady as ever, without the slightest trace of impatience.
"But we do not need to know what he knows. It is enough that we know our own methods."
He raised his gaze and swept it across those present. "You can