Everyone in Death Valley was silent. The aura exuding from the Clan Leader 'Gaislesen' made everyone present feel oppressed.
"My right hand is numb, trembling slightly like a chick grabbed by an eagle, unable to resist," Lin Lei thought. Even the wrist where the Clan Leader had grabbed him still faintly ached. The Clan Leader's strength was formidable!
"Clan Leader, this was a life-and-death battle proposed by Elder Emmanuel. The Council of Elders approved it," Lin Lei said, neither humble nor arrogant.
"The Council approved it?" Clan Leader 'Gaislesen' glanced at the elders in the distance. Those elders didn't dare make a sound; their hearts were bitter. Especially the three elders who had reviewed this matter. Who would have known Lin Lei was so powerful before?
"So what if they approved it? Didn't you hear my order?" Gaislesen looked at Lin Lei coldly.
Lin Lei faltered.
Emmanuel also spoke: "Lin Lei, in our Azure Dragon Clan, no one can defy the Clan Leader's command. The Clan Leader can veto anything the Council of Elders approves. How dare you disobey?"
Lin Lei's peripheral vision caught the expressions of the elders in the distance and noticed Emmanuel's look, so he secretly thought: "In this Azure Dragon Clan, the Clan Leader's authority seems extremely high. Far beyond the Council of Elders!"
When a person's strength is extremely strong, a clan easily becomes a one-man show!
The Azure Dragon Clan was Gaislesen's one-man show.
"Clan Leader, I've only been with the Azure Dragon Clan for less than a hundred years and don't know much about the clan's affairs," Lin Lei said directly.
"Oh, less than a hundred years." Clan Leader 'Gaislesen' frowned slightly.
"Lin Lei, what does your time in the Azure Dragon Clan have to do with defying the Clan Leader's command? The Clan Leader's orders cannot be defied... Ignoring his command is the same as looking down on him," Emmanuel reborted angrily.
Having said that, Emmanuel didn't continue. He knew what a grave offense disrespecting the Clan Leader was.
Lin Lei couldn't help but feel a surge of anger.
"Whoosh!" A phantom shadow.
"Slap!" A heavy slap struck Emmanuel's face, sending him flying backward, blood spraying from his mouth. Only then did Emmanuel land, looking at Clan Leader 'Gaislesen' in panic. He didn't understand why the Clan Leader had hit him!
"Shut up!"
Gaislesen looked at him coldly. "You, a mere elder, still haven't realized your mistake by now? Even if he had killed you today, it would have been your own fault. I haven't even punished you yet, and you're still spouting nonsense. Do you think I wouldn't dare kill you?"
Emmanuel shivered and didn't dare make another sound.
Lin Lei was surprised. "It seems this Clan Leader doesn't just blindly protect Emmanuel. Given his temperament, it's best not to offend him, no matter who you are." Lin Lei wasn't reckless.
The only son of the Ancestor Azure Dragon, the Azure Dragon Clan's leader for countless ages! The supreme authority within the clan, the leader of the Four Divine Beast Clans!
How could his authority be challenged?
Gaislesen glanced at Lin Lei and Emmanuel, then at the group of elders in the distance, and let out a cold snort. "You two, and the rest of you elders, come with me!" Saying that, Gaislesen soared into the air.
"You're in big trouble, kid," Emmanuel glanced at Lin Lei. "The Clan Leader hates it most when someone challenges his authority." He then also flew up.
Lin Lei looked into the distance; the elders also didn't dare make a sound and quickly followed, flying up.
"I wonder what kind of person this Clan Leader is." Lin Lei could only follow and fly up. After the brief encounter just now, he could determine that the Clan Leader's strength far exceeded his own. Killing him wouldn't be difficult at all.
Now that he was in the Celestial Mountain Range, with his relatives and friends here, it was better to swallow his pride.
Lin Lei looked back. In Death Valley, Dilia, Bei Bei, Baruch, Tarosha, and others were all looking up, their eyes full of worry.
"Boss, be careful yourself. Don't mess with that Clan Leader; I sense he's not easy to deal with," Bei Bei communicated soul-to-soul worriedly. "Even his gaze makes me tremble. Really."
"I know, don't worry. You all go back first," Lin Lei communicated soul-to-soul.
At the same time, Lin Lei flew along with Emmanuel and the elders. Gaislesen flew alone at the front without a word, and the elders and Lin Lei followed silently behind, feeling oppressed.
"Lin Lei, be careful when you talk to the Clan Leader later. Don't make him angry," the handsome youth 'Elder Jawei' approached Lin Lei and communicated via divine sense.
"Thank you," Lin Lei replied via divine sense.
"Don't take it lightly. I'm telling you, the Clan Leader hates it most when clan members kill each other. Second to that, he cannot tolerate anyone disobying him. Only the Grand Elder can persuade the Clan Leader," Jawei said solemnly. "If you defy him further, even the Grand Elder won't be able to save you."
Lin Lei nodded gratefully.
"Elder Jawei, how do you think the Clan Leader will deal with me?" Lin Lei had no clue, as he had never dealt with this Clan Leader before. Although he could tell from the brief observation that the Clan Leader was domineering, that was all he knew.
"Our clan is currently in crisis. I reckon the Clan Leader probably won't kill you. He'll just punish you," Jawei communicated.
Lin Lei felt slightly relieved.
A moment later, Clan Leader 'Gaislesen' and the elders arrived at a large castle at the very top of the Azure Dragon Clan's 'Dragon Path'. The ancient castle gates were wide open, and the guards bowed respectfully in salute.
Led by the Clan Leader, the group filed into the castle.
In the castle's main hall, the Clan Leader sat high above, while all the elders, including Lin Lei, stood below in the hall.
"It's just like an emperor and his ministers," Lin Lei thought upon seeing this arrangement, understanding even more clearly the Clan Leader's status within the clan. In some clans, the elders might have great power. But in the Azure Dragon Clan, that was not the case at all.
"Hmph!" Clan Leader 'Gaislesen' looked down from above and snorted coldly in anger. "I've said it before: our clan is in crisis. What we need to do is eliminate those eight great families. Our clansmen should not kill each other; if they die, they should die fighting those eight families!"
"A life-and-death battle between two Seven-Star Demon experts in the clan requires the entire Council of Elders' approval, or my approval, to be valid. How was it that their battle was approved by the Council of Elders?" Gaislesen said angrily.