Everyone in the Chu Heavenly Clan was stunned.
Those elders who had been clamoring to punish Chu Youyuan were now trembling in terror, cold sweat streaming down their faces.
And if even they were this shaken, then Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Haoyan's grandfather was naturally even more panicked.
Because no one had ever imagined that this person was not Chu Youyuan — it was their Clan Master.
"A moment ago I said that what I witnessed constitutes irrefutable proof, and some found that laughable."
"Now, I will say it once more — what I witnessed constitutes irrefutable proof. Does anyone still find it laughable?"
The Clan Master of the Chu Heavenly Clan radiated majesty as he spoke in a booming voice.
The moment those words left his lips, everyone lowered their heads in silence. He was the Clan Master of the Chu Heavenly Clan. Whatever he said was law — who would dare raise an objection?
Seeing that no one dared to speak up, the Clan Master offered a faint smile and said, "Rise, all of you."
As he spoke, he swept his great sleeve, and a gentle force radiated outward, lifting every person kneeling on the ground back to their feet.
But immediately after, his sleeve swept once more, and with his overwhelming pressure, he forced Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Haoyan's grandfather, along with Chu Ruoshi and Chu Zhiyuan, back down to their knees.
"You will remain kneeling," he declared.
"Clan Master, what in the world is going on?"
At that moment, Chu Hanpeng looked utterly bewildered.
Yet the Clan Master did not answer him right away. Instead, he turned to Chu Feng and said with a smile:
"Chu Feng, I am not actually Chu Youyuan. The real Chu Youyuan is in the Chu Sacred Realm, taking my place in seclusion."
"Then does that mean you deliberately disguised yourself as Lord Youyuan, Senior?"
"It started all the way back at the Gate of Yin and Yang?"
Chu Feng's eyes widened in sudden realization, but he still voiced his thoughts — he wanted to confirm what he had surmised.
"Exactly. If I hadn't disguised myself as someone else, how would I have been able to make them reveal their true, filthy faces?"
As Chu Youyuan spoke these words, he cast his gaze toward Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Haoyan's grandfather, then toward Chu Ruoshi and Chu Zhiyuan.
Upon hearing this, Chu Ruoshi and Chu Zhiyuan turned deathly pale. Only now did they understand the full picture.
It turned out that the Chu Youyuan they had encountered at the Gate of Yin and Yang that day had not been the real Chu Youyuan at all — it had been the Clan Master of the Chu Heavenly Clan in disguise.
To make the act convincing, the Clan Master had even deliberately allowed himself to be wounded before plunging into that lake of fire with Chu Feng.
Now they were completely dumbfounded. Sure enough, just as the Clan Master had said — what he witnessed constituted irrefutable proof.
Of course it was irrefutable. He was the Clan Master of the Chu Heavenly Clan, the ruler of the Great Thousand Upper Realm, the king of this entire world.
Originally, Chu Zhiyuan, Chu Ruoshi, and the others had believed they had won.
It was only now that they realized they had lost — and that they had been losing from the very beginning.
"Clan Master, I know my mistakes! I know my mistakes! Please, give me one more chance!"
Suddenly, Chu Haoyan's grandfather — the Supreme Elder of the Chu Heavenly Clan — began kowtowing with tears and snot streaming down his aged face, begging for mercy.
He had no choice but to beg. Since everything had been witnessed by the Clan Master himself, he had absolutely no opportunity to argue his case. Begging was his only remaining hope of survival.
"Hmph, you know your mistakes?"
"You know your mistakes? But can those two young members of our Chu Heavenly Clan whom you poisoned come back to life?"
"If the one who had entered the Gate of Yin and Yang to rescue Chu Feng that day had not been me, but the real Youyuan..."
"Then what would have died at your hands that day would not have been just those two young members, but Youyuan and Chu Feng as well."
"All of our Chu Heavenly Clan's exceptional talents would have been buried because of the two of you, and you still have the nerve to tell me that you know your mistakes?"
The Clan Master of the Chu Heavenly Clan roared in fury, his voice shaking heaven and earth. Everyone present could feel the weight of his rage.
"Clan Master, one man takes responsibility for his own actions — this was all my idea. Clan Master, I beg you, spare Zhiyuan, spare Zhiyuan!"
At that moment, Chu Zhiyuan's grandfather also began kowtowing and pleading for mercy.
However, unlike Chu Haoyan's grandfather, Chu Zhiyuan's grandfather did not plead for himself — he pleaded for his grandson, Chu Zhiyuan.
"There is no need for further words. What you have done will be met with severe punishment."
"But this matter is not for me to decide — it is for Chu Feng to decide."
The Clan Master of the Chu Heavenly Clan turned to Chu Feng and said, "Chu Feng, how they are to be dealt with is your call."
"What? This..."
Everyone gasped in shock.
If the Clan Master of the Chu Heavenly Clan had declared those Supreme Elders executed, no one would have objected.
After all, he was the supreme ruler of the Chu Heavenly Clan, and according to clan law, he held the authority to punish anyone.
But Chu Feng was merely a junior. What right did he have to pass judgment on two Supreme Elders?