The three factions had descended into endless quarreling.
Now that one of the two Grand Elders had departed and the other had largely stepped back from clan affairs, those who had never held particularly prominent positions within the clan suddenly found themselves with a great deal more say.
Among them was Elder Xi, the old man who had once traveled to the human territories. He was one of the Xiahou clan's most die-hard supporters.
He had gone to the human territories in the first place precisely to curry favor with the Xiahou clan. And afterward, the Xiahou clan's people had indeed maintained contact with him, promising to champion his rise to the rank of Grand Elder of the Xiahou clan.
Before Yan Wanjun had departed and Yan Wanzhong had stopped concerning himself with clan affairs, Elder Xi's qualifications and standing had been nowhere near sufficient for the position of Grand Elder.
Yet once the rebellion broke out, the Xiahou clan had arranged for his exceptional promotion. The reasoning was that Elder Xi possessed strong administrative ability — his martial cultivation was somewhat lacking, but that could improve over time. Administrative skill and decisiveness, however, were things that could not be learned.
Under these circumstances, Elder Xi had ascended to the position of Grand Elder of the Xiahou clan. Of course, for the time being, the title still carried the qualifier "Acting" before it.
In other words, he still needed to accumulate seniority before officially becoming a Grand Elder. In practice, however, he already was one.
At this moment, Elder Xi spoke with great satisfaction: "Clan Leader, you really shouldn't have been bewitched by that Shao Yuan back then. Rashly pulling out of the Anti-Sacred Land Alliance was a terrible move. Now that the Xiahou ancestor has returned, the situation is very likely to reverse. The Xiahou clan was already dissatisfied with our Yan clan, and if this continues…"
Elder Xi heaved a long sigh, putting on a look of anguished heartache. In truth, he felt no such distress.
Of course, he did hope the Xiahou clan would turn the tide. If that happened, the Xiahou clan would certainly settle old scores.
That would be bad news for the Yan clan, but for Elder Xi personally, it might not be bad at all.
Once the Clan Leader was dragged out to take the blame, and a batch of senior clan elders were executed, perhaps the Xiahou clan would elevate him — Elder Xi — to the position of Yan Clan Leader. It was entirely possible.
Yan Wanxi harbored no small amount of longing for this prospect.
However, his words immediately drew反驳 from the others: "Elder Xi, the Xiahou clan's fortune is clearly on its last legs. You're the only one still harboring fantasies about them."
Yan Wanxi's eyes turned cold: "What? Are you mocking this Grand Elder?"
Although Yan Wanxi had only recently become a Grand Elder, he had mastered the art of putting on airs with zero instruction — it came to him as naturally as breathing.
The other man sneered repeatedly: "Don't flatter yourself, Grand Elder. Everyone knows perfectly well how you got that Grand Elder title. You're nothing more than a fox borrowing a tiger's might. Waving someone else's banner as your shield — is that amusing? If you're not embarrassed, we're embarrassed for you."
Yan Wanxi flew into a rage: "How dare you! Are we abandoning the hierarchy of this clan? Are we discarding its rules? Clan Leader, this man is insubordinate — what punishment does he deserve?"
The Yan Clan Leader didn't so much as twitch an eyelid. The clan was already in complete chaos, and he had no interest in getting involved in this meaningless war of words.
While the clan's internal argument raged on, a scout came hurtling back at full speed.
"Clan Leader! Clan Leader! Big news — major event! The Tian family has suddenly abandoned the defensive zone they were responsible for and allowed the Sacred Land's army to pass through. After that, the Yunlang Sect also surrendered and let the Sacred Land's forces in. The Xiahou clan has been breached — it's said that most of the Xiahou clan's powerhouses have already been wiped out. Only a handful remain, still putting up desperate resistance. The three Sacred Lords of the Sacred Land, along with several titans, are in the process of hunting down the Marquis of Xiaoyao. He's in dire peril and could be killed at any moment…"
This earth-shattering intelligence barely had time to land before the Yan clan erupted.
Those elders who supported the Sacred Land were jubilant, clapping and cheering.
"Excellent, excellent, excellent — it seems the Sacred Land's fortune is truly indestructible after all. The Xiahou clan turned out to be nothing more than jumping clowns with insufficient destiny."
"Xiahou Zong was hailed as the number one genius, and wasn't he destroyed by that Shao Yuan too? What does that prove? It proves the Xiahou clan never had the foundation to back up their ambition!"
"The Xiahou clan is彻底 done for. What a wonderful thing — truly wonderful!"
"Clan Leader, we've fallen behind again. We didn't join the Sacred Land's army in time. Now we should send the clan's elites to participate in the campaign against the Xiahou clan. Arriving late is still better than not arriving at all."
"Exactly, exactly. Otherwise, how will our Yan clan face the Sacred Land going on? With our flip-flopping back and forth, what will the Sacred Land think of us?"
"It's all because of certain people who insisted on cozying up to the Xiahou clan. Originally, our Yan clan had a perfectly good relationship with the Sacred Land. With the connection between Shao Yuan and Yan Qingsang, we could have become intimate allies of the Sacred Land. It's the black sheep who ruined everything for this clan."
In an instant, the faction supporting an alliance with the Sacred Land had seized complete dominance. Even the neutrals were shifting over to their side in droves.
Those elders who had been close to the Xiahou clan stood slack-jawed, unable to utter a word.
Only Elder Xi, his expression dark and grim, spoke in a low voice: "Everyone, this intelligence might simply be fabricated by the Sacred Land to build momentum. Besides, the Xiahou ancestor, who has reached the Divine Path, is still alive — this battle is far from settled. In my opinion, everyone would do well to remain calm."
"Calm my ass! This is the time for calm? Once the Sacred Land consolidates control, our Yan clan can look forward to having its accounts settled. Even if the Sacred Land doesn't settle scores, our Yan clan will certainly be marginalized. We'll just watch ourselves sink from a first-rate power to second-rate, and then to third-rate!"
"Yan Wanxi, just how many benefits did the Xiahou clan pay you that you're still speaking for them at a time like this?"
"The Xiahou clan had the ambition but not the ability — truly a scourge upon everyone. They should have been destroyed long ago. If they're not, they'll only harm more people."
"Clan Leader, you must make a decision! Otherwise, our Yan clan's standing will be impossible to preserve."