It was Elder Ferhan who had been the informant — a revelation that had already stunned many. And now the Grand Elder had abruptly struck, personally killing Ferhan with her own hands. The entire great hall fell into dead silence.
"I never expected it really was him!" A deep sigh echoed through the hall.
The speaker was none other than Gaisleisen. Lin Lei studied the Grand Elder carefully. *The Grand Elder was actually decisive enough to kill her own son!* Even Lin Lei was shaken.
"Brother, Ferhan has already been punished according to the clan rules!" the Grand Elder said coldly and indifferently. "This matter is settled. I shall take my leave."
"Mm, go back and rest." Gaisleisen understood that his sister was feeling wretched inside.
"Wait." A voice suddenly rang out.
The Grand Elder had been about to leave, but now she stopped and turned to look at Berute, who sat in the seat of honor. "Lord Berute, may I ask if there is something else?" Her tone was calm and indifferent, yet Lin Lei could sense the fury concealed beneath that composure.
Her son was already dead, and they were still pressing on?
Lin Lei couldn't help but glance toward Berute. A faint smile played on Berute's lips as he spoke. "According to the rules of your Four Divine Beast Families, those who betray the clan have all their clones executed — is that correct?"
"Yes." The Grand Elder looked up at Berute. "May I ask why Lord Berute raises this?"
"I'd like to know — how many clones did Ferhan have?" Berute said with a faint smile.
The Grand Elder was silent for a moment. She wore a mask that made it impossible to read her expression, but Lin Lei could see her body trembling slightly — she was clearly seething with fury.
"Including his original body, a total of three clones," the Grand Elder said in a low voice. "However, my son's original body was still only at the Saint Realm, so when I killed him, only two divine sparks were obtained. I trust Lord Berute is satisfied with my answer?"
"Sister." Gaisleisen's voice was a low warning.
The Grand Elder's attitude and tone were clearly hostile.
Berute smiled faintly. "It's fine. I can understand feeling wretched after killing your own son with your own hands. However… Gaia, I want you to remember — your son was a traitor to the clan. He deserved to die!" Berute's words showed no mercy.
The Grand Elder's body trembled.
"Good." Berute rose to his feet. "The matter is resolved! Danington, Pusluo, Lin Lei — let's go. We'll head back."
Lin Lei and the others immediately stood up.
Berute descended from the hall and glanced at the bloody corpse on the ground. "Dispose of the body quickly. It's an eyesore here." With that, Berute walked out, and Danington and the others followed.
As Lin Lei was leaving, he glanced back at the Grand Elder. With a sweep of her hand, the corpse on the ground crumbled to fine powder.
"Let's go, let's go. I can't believe Ferhan was actually a traitor." The elders, all indignant and disgruntled, filed out of the hall as well. In a moment, only Gaisleisen and the Grand Elder remained.
The Grand Elder stood in the center of the hall, motionless.
"Sister, Ferhan was a traitor to the clan. He deserved his death!" Gaisleisen walked over and patted the Grand Elder's shoulder. Once someone became a clan traitor, all members of the Four Divine Beast Families would look down on them. Even in death, no one would show pity.
"I know."
The Grand Elder's voice was low. "But I still feel awful. Brother, I'm going back." She said nothing more, turned, and left. Her son had become a clan traitor and she had killed him with her own hands. When it came to the Ferhan affair, perhaps no one in the entire Sky Mountain Range was more grief-stricken than the Grand Elder.
At the Great Gorge, Lin Lei and the others descended from flight.
"Ha! Satisfying, truly satisfying!" Bei Bei laughed out loud. "I've had a bad feeling about that father-son pair for a long time. Back then they were coveting your Coiling Dragon Ring, Boss. I suspected them early this time too. And sure enough, it was them. Good riddance! Good riddance!"
Lin Lei smiled.
He had suspected Ferhan too, but he hadn't been confident enough. But why had Berute been so willing to take such a gamble? Wasn't he afraid that… Ferhan might have been innocent? How would Lord Berute have saved face then?
This had been puzzling Lin Lei all along.
Berute, Danington, Pusluo, Lin Lei, and the others all sat down around the stone table in front of the house. After a moment's consideration, Lin Lei voiced his question. "Lord Berute, how were you so confident that Ferhan was the traitor?"
Berute looked at him, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "You told me yourself!"
"I said I had no evidence, only suspicions!" Lin Lei quickly retorted.
"Ha ha ha…" Danington burst into laughter as if he had just heard something hilarious.
Lin Lei was completely baffled. What was so funny? Bei Bei spoke up beside him. "Grandpa, did you and the Highgod actually know about this in advance?"
"How could I have known in advance?" Berute chuckled. "If I had, I would have sent someone to warn Lin Lei long ago. In truth, even before today, I wasn't entirely certain."
Lin Lei was stunned. He hadn't been certain?
"But Lord Berute, you even brought in Danington and forcibly used 'Soul Bewitchment' on Ferhan. If Ferhan hadn't been the traitor, wouldn't that have been extremely embarrassing?" Lin Lei pressed.
"Ha ha ha…" Danington laughed once more. He glanced at Berute. "Berute, stop toying with Lin Lei and the others. Let me explain!" Danington began to reveal the truth.
Lin Lei listened intently.
"Your Lord Berute here had absolutely no certainty about whether Ferhan was a traitor," Danington said with a grin. "So he asked me to quickly examine Ferhan's memories right after placing him under Soul Bewitchment!"
Under normal circumstances, a god's memories could not be probed.
However, once someone was placed under Soul Bewitchment with no ability to resist, someone as terrifying as Danington could easily sift through their memories.
"In the instant I probed his memories, I knew!" Danington laughed. "He was the traitor!"