*Sigh*
Tightening my grasp over a wooden handrest, I let out a deep, frustrated sigh. Opening my eyes, as I looked at the several elders sitting before me in complete silence, I couldn't help but feel enraged.
'How could they?' I asked myself several times, hoping to get a different answer.
"First, we were denied entry in the central plains," I said, suppressing my boiling anger.
"Then, we were ignored at the crucial events." My gaze swept through the suddenly changing expressions of the elders.
Before saying anything further, I took a long pause. The shift in everyone's faces only drove me to lose my temper.
It had been a decade since everything started. Yet, not a single member of this so-called family dared to inform me—the patriarch—of such events.
While I wanted to blame them for everything, I couldn't. After all, at least a part of the blame fell on my shoulders.
How could I not know? I was the patriarch. My job was to look after this clan. And yet, as it seemed, my authority meant nothing to these people.
I wasn't sure what hurt more. Having my authority ignored by these people I called family, or the absurd stunt the six great clans had pulled.
"Now..." My voice wavered greatly as a part of my suppression faded under my welling feelings.
In an instant, a wave of energy was released from my body and enveloped the entire hall in a bright, heavy aura.
The elders, who had been sitting on majestic chairs across the hall, suddenly felt as if their bodies had fallen numb.
The footholds of the chairs broke in unison, causing the elders to fall to the ground. At the same time, their hands instinctively caught their necks. Something apart from their own hands seemed to be constricting their throats as they groaned in pain.
Men and women alike were treated equally. While I simply stared down at them with my eyes open wide—not in surprise, but silent rage.
If I wished, I could end them for this discourtesy. However, something inside of me stopped me from doing so; after all, they still represented the Mo clan alongside me.
Letting out a deep breath, I seize control over my overflowing energy. The air lightens, and the elders gasp in relief.
"They dare strip us of our title?!" I roared at the top of my lungs, my voice reverberating through the entire hall.
This was the first time in the last decade that I regretted my decision to hold back. For a moment, a barrage of memories hit me like a mirror shown to me by fate.
Mo Taixuan—that was the name given to me by my parents upon birth. As the direct bloodline of the Mo clan—one of the seven greatest clans in the world—I was destined to be the patriarch in the future.
To prove myself worthy of such a title, I trained myself day and night and became the first to reach the Void Amalgamation Realm in my era. Of course, there existed those from the previous generation, but I far exceeded their expectations with my unparalleled talent.
Since my childhood, not once have I ever found someone my age that I could call my rival. No, on the contrary, they looked at me with fearful eyes. As if I were a beast of some sort.
Their gaze disgusted me. Why was I seen as such? If my talent was that great, how was it my fault?
But affected by their remarks, I decided to suppress my own cultivation. It was to let them get used to me, not to make them think that I had become powerless.
Even as I ignored their wrongdoings, they continued to stoop lower than before. Even when such a situation had arisen, not a single one of them dared to apologize... No, they don't even look ashamed of themselves.
Clicking my tongue, I rose from my throne and stepped down from the elevated aisle. Heading towards the main gate, I vaguely glanced at their disheveled state.
Even without hearing them, I could tell what they were thinking.
"He dared attack us!?"
"How dare this brat use his powers!??"
"No, I'll make him pay!"
The fake sense of ego and arrogance reflected in their eyes. And it made me think, maybe this wasn't truly the way. Maybe I should've not let my anger get the best of me.
Nevertheless, I continued to move forward. If I had shown any despair in that instance, I knew they wouldn't sit back.
Just as I reached the main gates, they split open in a snap. On the other side, a young woman stood dressed in plain white. Bowing her head, she spoke in a wavering voice.
"G-Greetings Patriarch!" She mumbled, her body trembling as she quickly cupped her hands. "Y-Young master..." She stopped.
Hearing those words, my heart skipped a beat. Widening my eyes, I quickly grabbed her shoulders. "What happened to him?!" I shouted, desperation flickering in my eyes.
Unknowingly, I lost control of my strength and crushed her shoulders with bare hands. But she didn't falter; instead, she only trembled more.
Ignoring the pain, she straightened her hands and revealed a small crumpled piece of paper.
I quickly snatched it off her hands and unfolded it recklessly. On one side, a message was written in crimson ink.
As I read the texts, a whiff of metallic tang filled my mouth. I instantly knew this was blood. But what concerned me more was what was written across the paper.
"Like the gift? It was made through your son's efforts. Come say thanks to him on Mount Qingmao." — it read.
My eyes turned blazing red as veins bulged across my forehead. The energies I had been suppressing unleashed in a single blow. The paper in my hand was incinerated to ashes under a fiery red fire.
While the maid in front was sent flying through several walls. The elders behind widened their eyes in shock as they witnessed the full extent of my powers for the first time.
Even though they were cultivators of the same realm, they couldn't dare look straight in my direction.
Without uttering a word, I simply vanished from the place. While in my absence, unbeknownst to me, the elder's lips curled into a devious grin. Almost as if a prey had fallen into their hands.