Yan Wanyou felt not the slightest shame. He laughed coldly and said, "All I, Yan Wanyou, know is this: a wise man adapts to the times. Our Yan clan is inferior to the Xiahou family, and we must acknowledge that gap. Must everyone be like you — knowing full well we're outmatched, yet constantly provoking them? That's not backbone. That's asking for humiliation, inviting disaster!"
It had to be said that Yan Wanyou was remarkably skilled at spewing venom.
Yan Wanjun, at this moment, felt a wave of weary disinterest wash through him. He sighed softly and ceased arguing. Instead, he turned to the Yan Clan Patriarch and said, "Patriarch, Wanjun is old and frail, a muddled old man. I fear I can no longer contribute to the clan. Please strip me of the title of Supreme Elder. From now on, I, Yan Wanjun, shall be a free-roaming hermit, retired to the wilderness."
When Yan Wanzhong heard this, he hurriedly said, "Elder Wanjun, you mustn't lose heart! You're still in the prime of your years — where does 'old and frail' come from? Besides, the clan's situation is dire, and we need dependable people like you to share the burden. If you walk away now, the clan's strength will be even thinner."
Many of the clan elders chimed in one after another, urging him: "Elder Wanjun, you can't abandon us! The clan's grand plans ultimately need pillars like you to hold them up. If you leave, we'll lose one more pillar."
"Patriarch, Elder Wanjun was certainly in the wrong, but his actions are understandable. In my view, we should keep matters separate — we can't keep hounding him over one thing. Turmoil within the clan only grieves our friends and delights our enemies."
"Patriarch, you must keep Elder Wanjun! The clan needs upright elders like him. Otherwise, our situation will only grow more desperate!"
After turning the matter over in his mind, the Yan Clan Patriarch did not make a hasty decision. He sighed gently and said, "Elder Wanjun, at the Mending Heaven Grand Gathering, you did go a bit too far. However, considering your years of service, I am willing to let it go on a personal basis. But for the sake of the clan's greater interest, some punishment is necessary. You are fined ten years' stipend."
Ten years' stipend was a considerable sum for a Supreme Elder. But at the same time, for someone of Yan Wanjun's stature, it was not enough to truly wound him.
Yan Wanjun did not respond with gratitude. In truth, he was equally disappointed in the Yan Clan Patriarch — indeed, in the entire Yan clan.
He genuinely wished to resign his position and retire to the wilderness.
It was merely that, as the clan's Supreme Elder, that sliver of responsibility deep in his heart was something he simply could not cast aside.
A moment later, Yan Wanjun sighed. "The Patriarch is so magnanimous — Wanjun cannot be so ungracious as to refuse."
The Yan Clan Patriarch nodded. "Then regarding the matter of Cloud Camel Mountain, Elder Wanjun, you and the others will need to shoulder more responsibility. Times are hard, and the clan needs your strength."
Yan Wanjun nodded. At the thought of Cloud Camel Mountain, his pessimism lightened slightly, replaced once again by that sense of responsibility rising to the fore.
The elder council concluded amid its arguments.
Though the Yan Clan Patriarch had managed to resolve the immediate matter, his mind was anything but at ease. The clan's situation had come to this, and he was deeply vexed — even deeply anxious.
The problem was clearly thorny.
Shao Yuan's sudden marriage proposal had thrown the Yan clan into an extremely awkward position. And the Xiahou family had already made it abundantly clear that they blamed the Yan clan.
At this juncture, should he choose the Xiahou family, or choose Shao Yuan?
How much backing could the Eternal Sacred Land truly offer Shao Yuan?
Or rather, which was better to offend — the Xiahou family, or the Eternal Sacred Land?
In the depths of his heart, the Yan Clan Patriarch actually felt that offending the Eternal Sacred Land might be the lesser evil. The Eternal Sacred Land would probably not sink to their level — at least, they wouldn't crush the Yan clan to the bone.
But offend the Xiahou family, and with their tyrannical ways, they would absolutely destroy the Yan clan without hesitation.
So, deep down, the Yan Clan Patriarch was still more reluctant to offend the Xiahou family.
After returning to his residence, the Yan Clan Patriarch was consumed by inner conflict.
He had just stepped through the door when his brow furrowed abruptly and his heart lurched. There, in a corner of the courtyard, a figure had appeared — seemingly out of nowhere.
The figure seemed to have merged with the very fabric of the world, giving off an aura of profound mystery and unfathomable depth.
"Patriarch Yan." The figure did not turn around but spoke in a calm, even voice.
"You… who are you?" The Yan Clan Patriarch's brow creased slightly.
The man slowly turned around. He wore a long, flowing beard, was of medium height, and had a gaunt, refined face that gave him a distinctly scholarly bearing.
Yet, as his gaze swept about, there was an unmistakable air of authority — the natural, effortless dominance of one accustomed to command.
"I am Xiahou Zhen, Supreme Elder of the Xiahou family."
The man introduced himself, his tone mild, yet carrying a quality that made one's heart skip with foreboding.
Supreme Elder? A Supreme Elder of the Xiahou family?
The Yan Clan Patriarch's composure wavered. In that moment, an almost absurd thought flickered through his mind — he had the distinct feeling that this Xiahou Zhen possessed the power to threaten his very life.
The Yan Clan Patriarch's cultivation, among the leaders of the various great powers, might not rank at the absolute pinnacle, but it was far from weak. Otherwise, how could he have become the patriarch of an entire clan?
Yet, before this Xiahou Zhen, the Yan Clan Patriarch suddenly felt as though his life hung by a thread.
In other words, this Supreme Elder of the Xiahou family had the ability to destroy him.
At the thought of this, the Yan Clan Patriarch's feelings grew ever more complicated.