Chapter 379 - The Tides Turn
Elder Ling’s throat was dry. He looked at his close friend Elder Song, whom he had known for decades.
Elder Song stood still and expressionless, with no intention to speak up for him.
Elder Ling had given up. If even Elder Song would not help, the others definitely wouldn’t as well.
Yuchi Ba announced, "I think Elder Ling is no longer suitable for his role as an Elder in the guild. As such, I propose to dismiss him from his formal duties."
Yuchi Ba was the leader of the New Citizen Faction, while Elder Ling led the Aristocratic Faction. The two were rivals, so he didn’t feel any guilt about adding insult to injury.
Elder Song momentarily fell silent before suddenly speaking, "I second the motion."
Elder Ling’s face turned ashen. Any proposal required the support of two elders before it could be brought up for voting by the Elders Guild. Although he knew he had little chance of emerging unharmed this time, he didn’t think that the fatal blow would be delivered by his most trusted friend, Elder Song.
Elder Song sat quietly and averted his gaze, deliberately avoiding Elder Ling’s eyes.
The Great Elder said flatly, "We will vote during the next meeting. Elder Ling will have to wait to hear the verdict."
Elder Ling did not resist, as resistance was futile. He and the Ling Residence were finished. The Aristocratic Faction had always been behind him, and Elder Song was someone he trusted deeply. Now, he realized that they had switched sides long ago.
His gaze fell on the dull and plain looking Great Elder. He suddenly had suspicions that the Great Elder was the true mastermind, even though Yelin was the one who’d pulled the trigger.
Only the Great Elder was capable of taking down the Ling Residence without any bloodshed.
Elder Ling trembled slightly when he looked upon the mountain peak floating in the sky. The majestic God-subduing Peak seemed to sparkle brilliantly under the sunlight. This one had yet to have anything written on it, indicating that it had just been constructed.
Beneath the God-subduing Peak was the Ling Residence.
Such ruthlessness!
Elder Ling felt as though he had been stabbed in the heart. He shut his eyes in despair, as all ideas of fighting to the death vanished from his mind.
The God-subduing Peak was like a guillotine hanging ominously over the Ling Residence. If he were to have any thoughts of resistance, the entire Ling family and its legacy would be erased from the Avalon of Five Elements forever.
Elder Ling looked as though he had aged several decades. He said, "Tianjiang is willing to accept whatever decision the guild makes. Considering our many years of working together, I hope that you’ll spare my family."
The other Elders were too shocked to speak. They were taken aback by the Great Elder’s ruthless moves. Nobody had expected the Great Elder to just simply deploy the newly constructed God-subduing Peak like that!
What was more frightening was that no one knew of the Great Elder’s plans to make use of the God-subduing Peak prior to this. They had spies stationed throughout Silver City, yet none of them were able to provide any information.
The Great Elder had appeared to switch to a policy of non-interference over these past few years. He was hardly involved in any of the conflicts between the various factions. The other elders now realized that the Great Elder hadn’t changed one bit.
The tiger was merely taking a nap.
The Great Elder said flatly, "As long as the Ling Residence is willing to cooperate with the Elders Guild’s investigation, we will not treat them unfairly.
The last shred of hope in Elder Ling’s eyes dimmed as his final plea for mercy was turned down.
Elder Song came forward and sealed Elder Ling’s elemental energy. Elder Ling accepted his fate solemnly.
Following Madam Ye’s instructions, Ai Hui stood beside her and XiaoBao.
Having witnessed the cruel fights between the aristocratic families, Ai Hui felt even more compelled to leave. The bright sunshine was unable to give him any warmth, making Silver City feel like an extremely depressing place to be in.
The Avalon of Five Elements only had Silver Mist Sea and Palette Cloud Village left, yet these people were still involved in merciless internal fighting.
Countless other families happily struck at those aristocratic families that had collapsed. Such disgusting and ridiculous behaviour appeared to be driven purely by jealousy and competition.
The Avalon of Five Element’s precious remaining fighting power was constantly being wasted by internal conflicts. If these forces were instead channeled to the front lines, they’d probably be in a much better state.
It didn’t matter much to him.
Ai Hui was increasingly missing his companions in Peace City. He did not like Silver City one bit.
Ai Hui now understood how difficult it was to work with people who had different goals.
Keeping his emotions in check, Ai Hui secretly observed the audience. He was worried about She Yu.
The [Life and Death Flower Sacrificial Art] was going to cause him trouble again.
It would be problematic if She Yu was caught by the Elders Guild.
His head started to hurt.
"No! You can’t do this!" screamed the pale-looking Madam Ling. "They’ve all been fooled by you! Ye Lin! You liar! You skank! I saw that man with my own eyes…"
Madam Ye expressed incredulity.
A commotion broke out.
To think Madam Ling was the source of the rumors!
Two elites from the Sky Edge Division swiftly stepped forward and restrained Madam Ling.
Using elemental energy, they rendered her unable to speak. The scene became all the more dreadful as Madam Ling’s face became twisted with agony from being unable to voice out her grievances.
Just as everyone heaved a sigh of relief, the Sky Edge Division elite who was standing on Madam Ling’s right sprang into action.
Bang!
A flash of silver light, as quick as lightning, smashed into the other elite’s body.
Caught off guard, he had no means of defending himself. Blood splashed everywhere and he died on the spot.
The attacker grabbed Madam Ling and fled the scene.
Everybody was stunned by the events that were unfolding before their very eyes. They were completely blindsided and nobody could even react.
The attacker was incredibly fast, demonstrating power far beyond that of any Sky Edge Division elite.
Recovering from the initial shock, Yuchi Ba snorted, "Let’s see how far you can go!"
He extended his palm towards the figure that was now fairly far away. There were no visible signs, but a slight fluctuation of elemental energy could be felt.
A sharp ray suddenly appeared half a foot behind the attacker.
The ray took the form of a skull with razor sharp teeth. Ghostly cries and haunting howls filled the air, creating an eerie atmosphere.
Ai Hui could not help but shudder in fear when he felt the elemental energy in his body fluctuating uncontrollably.
The Elders had such incredible strength!
Just before the ray could strike him, the "Sky Edge Division elite" swung his right palm behind him.
A thunderous roar resounded through the air.
A silver dragon shot out his palm and rammed head on into the ghastly skull behind him.
Boom!
A dazzling bright light burst forth from the point of collision.
A vast expanse of white washed over the entire area. Nothing could be seen.
After a second, the blinding, silver light disappeared.
However, Madam Ling and the attacker were nowhere to be seen by the time everyone’s vision was restored. What made everyone even more furious was the fact that the mysterious lady and the grass-lotus puppet had taken the chance to flee as well.
"It’s Yang Zhen! Yang Zhen from Dragonrise Training Hall!"
Yuchi Ba was enraged. Dragonrise Training Hall was Silver City’s, as well as the Avalon of Five Elements’ largest training hall. Yang Zhen, a master of combat, was its chief.
The profound relationship between Dragonrise Training Hall and the Ling Residence was not a secret. In fact, Dragonrise Training Hall was close to many families. However, nobody expected that Yang Zhen would dare to risk universal condemnation just to rescue Madam Ling.
Great Elder ordered in a grave tone, "Seal the entire Dragonrise Training Hall and investigate the matter thoroughly. Since the rumors came from the Ling Residence, Yang Zhen is likely to be the accomplice. Send out an order to arrest Yang Zhen and Madam Ling!"
Just as Tong Gui was about to execute the order, Yuchi Ba exclaimed, "You’ll go personally!"
Ling Sheng’s face was drained of all colour.
Earlier, Madam Ling’s hysterical scream had exposed her as the source of the rumors.
The Ling Residence was doomed!
Those who initially still had some compassion for the Ling Residence no longer did.
Such vicious rumors and they turned out to have come from the Ling Residence!
Using unscrupulous means was not uncommon, but getting caught meant losing the trust of all others.
The Ling Residence was now facing such a situation. Nobody would be willing to lend them a helping hand.
Upon seeing She Yu escape, Zhong Houjun felt a burden lifted off his shoulders. However, as his gaze landed on Silver Soldier, his expression turned grave.
The Zhong family had a long history, and Silver Soldier reminded him of some rumors he had gotten wind of. Zhong Houjun was slated to become the next division leader of the Infantry Division, but with the appearance of this guy, things were not looking good for him.
The mysterious lady and the grass-lotus puppet had fled. Old Ling had lost every bit of fight he had in him. He remained listless and passive as the guards led him away.
The battle had ended, and the Ye Residence lay in ruins.
Everyone’s attention was fixed on the Karakorum Savant and Silver Soldier.
The Great Elder smiled, "I’ve seen the Karakorum Savant before, but it’s my first time seeing this hero with such extraordinary skills. Yelin, would you please introduce him to us."
Madam Ye smiled in return and replied, "All of you must be making wild guesses right now. His mentor’s family name is Heng, and the Heng family has many quirky rules. Silver Soldier has inherited the Heng’s Infantry bloodline. The Karakorum Savant is his junior. She has inherited the Heng family’s Sky Edge bloodline. However, she has an innate passion for swordsmanship and is the first ever master swordsman."
Silver Soldier and the Karakorum Savant bowed to the elders in respect.
The Elders quickly returned the gesture.
Elder Song exclaimed, "Ah, disciples of a prestigious family! According to past records, the Sky Edge and Infantry originate from the Heng family. Looks like this is indeed true. The preservation of the Heng’s heritage deserves our utmost admiration. Looking at our young brother here with his Infantry inheritances made me wonder if the Infantry Division actually produced a new talent! But no, his heritage is much purer than that!"
Both Yuchi Ba and Zhong Houjun did not look pleased.
The Sky Edge Division’s division leader had not recovered from his serious injury. At present, the division was led by the two vice division leaders Tong Gui and Yu Jin. As the first ever master swordsman and a disciple of Heng family, the Karakorum Savant was well-qualified to be the head of the Sky Edge Division.
The Infantry Division was in an even worse state. Zhong Houjun was the only one left to take over the division. After seeing Silver Soldier’s strength, however, he no longer had the confidence to do so.
Moreover, this name made Zhong Houjun feel like vomiting blood. According to their practices, only the division leader of the Infantry Division was qualified to be addressed as "soldier".
And here was this guy, calling himself Silver Soldier and possessing such a pure heritage. Zhong Houjun was simply not on par with him.
The Great Elder was about to wrest control of two divisions, but nobody dared to say anything.
The older, the wiser, it seemed. He was still the Great Elder after all!
Ai Hui looked at Silver Soldier up close and was a hundred percent sure that the man hidden behind that mask was Brother Li Wei. He was very sure that Brother Li Wei and the Karakorum Savant’s mentor was the long lost Heng Bingfeng from the Vanguard Training Hall.
He felt extremely vexed. It was as if the threads of fate were linking them all together.
What lied ahead?
Nobody knew.