They reached two massive sliding doors, decorated with a painting of a tiger and a dragon locked in combat within a storm. The doors opened silently, revealing the meeting hall of the Council of Elders.
The hall was vast and dark. In its center, seven individuals sat on silk cushions around a low table. Dream's analytical gaze swept over them, recording data with lightning speed.
a calculated and cold aura. Jin Yi, Elder of the Golden Hand.><...and so on, until he had scanned them all.>
At the far end of the room, there was a single elevated seat, a simple but imposing throne. It was empty.
Ling Gu ignored the seated elders and walked confidently across the room, the sound of his footsteps echoing on the polished wood.
He ascended the few steps and sat on the empty throne.
An icy silence fell over the room. Dream saw Li Ho's fist clench and Jin Yi's faint smile widen slightly.
"I do not believe, Ling Gu," said Wu Ji, the First Elder, his voice as calm as the movement of a master's sword, "that we have decided you would sit in that chair."
Ling Gu laughed. "If I am not the one to sit, then who? Will you sit, Elder Wu Ji? Don't tell me you personally hate Master 'Gu' and show your hatred for him publicly.
You are nothing more than a damned, childish brat," Wu Ji replied coldly.
"Stop, both of you," said Feng Lin, Elder of the Flying Dragon, slowly fanning himself. "But I don't believe we agreed to allow 'Inma, Judge of the Underworld' into this meeting."
All eyes turned toward Dream.
"This is Dream," Ling Gu said with a smile.
"My friend, the guardian of the Gu clan... and the Eighth Elder among you."
The air exploded.
"What did you say?!" roared Li Ho, Elder of the Raging Tiger, as he stood up, his explosive red aura filling the room like a firestorm. "Are you telling me this brat, who has not even surpassed the Refinement realm, is at the same level as me?!
"
Beside him, Hu Ran, the young female Elder, stood, her red hair floating around her, her burning aura making the air shimmer.
Dream prepared for battle.
But Ling Gu slowly raised his hand. A dense black aura emanated from him, a massive, crushing energy pressure that was not explosive but heavy as the gravity of a dead star. The auras of Li Ho and Hu Ran immediately shrank, and they fell to their knees, gasping for breath.
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The rest of the elders were shocked.
"Do you object," Ling Gu said with a deadly calm, "to the words of the clan master?"
"No... my lord," Hu Ran said in a choked voice. Li Ho sat down in silence, his face twisted with rage and humiliation.
Yi Yan, Elder of the Luminous Moon, laughed, a laugh as soft as moonlight.
"I cannot believe this, my lord. You have become so powerful at such a young age. You are truly the pride of the Gu clan. You have reached the Sovereign realm! What a blessing!"
She was the first to declare her loyalty.
"Sit, Dream," Ling Gu said. "Beside Elder Yi Yan."
"Let the meeting begin," Ling Gu said after a fragile calm had been restored. "The war against the Yu clan. Currently, the clan faces a serious problem with no heir, especially since I killed theirs. And their clan master is dead. Currently, the clan is ruled by elders, none of whom died in the previous battle.
" He looked at them with a sarcastic gaze. "Song Chen, send a messenger to the 'Yu'. Either they surrender, or we will attack 'Heli' and take control of it."
Everyone was silent.
"Good. Next topic. Enter, Wěn."
Wěn entered, his head held high. He was not a frightened prisoner, but a warrior facing his fate. Ling Gu threw a set of shackles in front of him. "Bind yourself."
Wěn picked them up and bound his own hands behind his back.
"What is happening, my lord?" said Wu Ji. "Why is one of the clan's best talents, a person I personally trained, now in chains?"
"This man," Ling Gu said, "is charged with treason. He was a member of the 'Wings of Dawn' organization that attacked us, and he was leaking information to them.
Do you agree to this charge, Wěn?"
Wěn looked at Ling Gu with pure hatred. "I was never a traitor," he said in a steady voice. "For I, from the very beginning, am not the property of 'Gu'. Even if I die today, even if everyone in the 'Wings of Dawn' dies, our idea will live on!"
Before he could finish, Wu Ji's sword flashed. In a single, swift motion, he cut off Wěn's head.
Ling Gu laughed. "Why did you kill him? I wanted to inform him of something before he died. But it doesn't matter. The idea of the 'Wings of Dawn'... I will fulfill it myself. We will liberate the city of Chang'an to the world and bring it out of its isolation."
Everyone was shocked again. A frightening aura emanated from Wu Ji. "Boy, do you know what you are saying? The isolation of this city is the legacy of 'Gu'! You are destroying the legacy of your ancestors!"
"You are the boy, attached to useless traditions,
" Ling Gu retorted coldly. "I will open the city of Chang'an and declare the beginning of a new era for the Gu clan. The meeting is over. Dream, follow me."
That day was the only day the palace gates were opened to the public. The main square was packed with thousands, their faces a mixture of fear and anticipation. Ling Gu and Dream ascended a high wooden platform.
A masked man appeared, holding a sword with a sky-blue scabbard.
"The ancestors of 'Gu'," he said in a deep voice, "support the sixty-third clan leader, Ling Gu, son of Tai Gu!" He knelt and presented the sword.
Ling Gu took the sword and raised it in the air. "Today, a new era begins! And this will be the greatest era in the history of this place!
" he shouted, and the crowd echoed his cry.
"And with this, I announce a new elder for this clan! The Eighth Elder! Inma, the Judge of Death!"
The warriors erupted in thunderous shouts. "Inma! Inma! The Rogue Prince! The Rogue Prince!"
In the heart of this roaring chaos, stood "Dream," a being born from the void, wearing a dead man's identity, and being granted a divine title by an arrogant demon.
He understood nothing.
But he realized one simple truth.
He had become an important piece in this insane game.