Clan Meeting

Standing before the tall tungsten walls –thick and ashen, Ogun Ziyuan could hear the stirring of the clan within. But it wasn't chaotic, it was more like low rumbles of continuous chatter concentrated in a single area. Pushing open the gates that unlatched to his presence, he was met with the entirety of the clan. As he entered the grounds, the crowd split, creating a path to the Elders and Clan Leader standing at the forefront of the assembly.

He took one look at the situation and then sat on the ground and gestured for them to join him. The young man had just run miles at high noon under two suns and witnessed a forced suicide that left behind a pretty serious mystery that still gnawed at the back of his mind. A seat gave him momentary relief.

The Elders eyed each other and Ziyuan rolled his eyes. "It's not like we have chairs to sit in, please," he said. "Unless this isn't a clan meeting and you're all standing around weirdly for no reason at all."

Ziyuan was never a frivolous young master. The elders and clansmen actually respected him and had high hopes for him despite his activities as a part-time vagabond. Even during his silly moments and profane activities he still maintains the grace of the first young master. They understood that Ziyuan would claim the seat of Clan Leader one day, and out of respect for both him and his late father, none of the elders rejected this.

Though, they felt that Ziyuan was too young and his cultivation too low. Right now, Ogun Didi is at the Half-step Adept Warrior. While his great grandparents, the first and second elders, are at the late and peak stage of Unvarnished Warrior –the strongest in the clan.

Once the Elders were seated, Ogun Didi spoke, "Ogun Ziyuan, you wish to claim the seat of Clan Leader of the Ogun Clan as is your birthright. But, are you ready?"

"It's not a matter of being ready!" said Ogun Delan.

'So that's what this is about…' Ziyuan thought, 'What changed?'

"Tempering Marrow and Refining the Blood are the most costly stages of the Initiate realm. They also determine the future potential of a warrior..."

"Delan!" Barked Ogun Shenxiu, "My grandson is just like his father, strong and talented. He will be the spear that shatters barriers normal men cower before. It is a matter of his readiness. Fate will decide the rest."

Delan scoffed and turned her head. As long as Ziyuan wasn't the Clan Leader, she could protect him. But if Ziyuan becomes the head, he would have to become the protector. So much responsibility and a heavy burden that she did not want to give him. Still, they were merely going through the motions and Delan didn't have much to fret over.

Though, just like his grandmother, Ziyuan's mother had similar thoughts.

"Honorable Elders….Clan Leader, how can Ziyuan prove himself?" he asked, humbly.

He figured the old demons were planning something considering his mother had just rejected his initial proposal. Still, she had tasked him to deal with Madame Nyima which meant she wasn't averse to the proposal, simply weary.

'They should also have their test.' he thought in his heart.

"You can fight my Ogun Shui," said the fifth elder, his uncle.

"And my Ogun Boyan." the fourth elder, his aunt, spoke.

'Smoke screen' Ziyuan chuckled internally, 'Besides that sword demon, Yunfei. No pressure at all.'

Ogun Shenxiu and Ogun Delan looked to the third elder of the treasury. "Ogun Ming, your cultivation was crippled fighting alongside your elder brother, your son has as much right to the seat as Ziyuan."

Ogun Ming stared daggers at his nephew. He then exhaled like a bull and his low-pitched voice rumbled. "Ogun Yunfei! Do you wish to fight your cousin for his birthright?!"

Ziyuan prepared to move, then his heart shook.

Ogun Yunfei promptly rose to his feet. Fist to palm, Yunfei bowed and addressed the elders, "Ogun Yunfei will not fight for the seat of Clan Leader."

Some people were confused as to why Yunfei would decline. Yunfei didn't lose out to Ziyuan in any way. Though he was 22 years old, he was in the 4th stage Human realm, a half-foot shorter, and just as skilled with a sword as Ziyuan is with a spear. But what many people didn't know is that the cousins were all very close.

When Ogun Ziyuan wasn't cultivating or running around partaking in debauchery, he spent his time with his cousins.

Ogun Shui then stood on her own accord. "Ogun Shui will not fight for the seat of Clan Leader."

"Ogun Boyan will fight for the seat of Clan Leader," he added haughtily and the crowd began to mumble.

"Oh?!" Ogun Shui stood upright and asked with wide fiery eyes, "How about you fight me first!"

"Hehe, Cousin Shui, I was just joking." Ogun Boyan replied with a shiver rolling up his spine.

Yunfei and Ziyuan shook their heads with light chuckles but Ogun Shui wasn't appeased as she stormed over and swiped her hand across the top of Boyan's head. It was a scene that many clan members were used to.

"Ogun Shui…" Ziyuan spoke promptly after the moment passed, "Enough."

Ogun Shui held her fist up to Ogun Boyan and went back to her position as the boy rubbed the pain from his head.

"Ogun Boyan, shall we do this?" Ziyuan asked.

"Little Prince…"

"Hmm.." Ziyuan knitted his brow.

"First Young Master. Boyan was just joking. It was inappropriate and I apologize."

"So you won't fight this 'little prince'?" Ziyuan asked as the clan snickered.

"Of course not."

Ziyuan had long been nicknamed little prince. Mostly due to his wildlife and shamelessly regal appearance. Despite his actions, he moved unchallenged and gracefully as if only the emperor could chide him. Hence, he's the 'Little Prince of Ogun'.

Ultimately, the three heirs spoke with similar minds because they all held similar dreams, dreams that revolved around the Ogun Clan reclaiming their glory and maintaining it for generations to come.

Ogun Ziyuan looked at his cousins and gave them a nod of appreciation.

'During my first life, Ogun Boyan took up the mantle of Clan Leader when my cultivation was stalled. As goofy as he is, he did a wonderful job until his death.' he thought in his heart. 'But Yunfei…it's not like him to let me go unchallenged. He should have at least tried my hand.'

As the three cousins sat in the lotus position, no one caught the sudden change of light in Ziyuan's eyes as he examined Yunfei. Ziyuan quickly shook the feeling and gave his attention back to the elders.

"It seems that the younger generation is of one mind." Delan chuckled.

"Hmm." Shenxiu stroked his beard with a satisfied smirk.

"Ogun Ziyuan, Why do you want to be Clan Leader now? Why not wait until after you break into the Novice Realm?" asked Ogun Ming.

Ziyuan rose to his feet and looked around at his clansmen.

"Seventy-Five years," he said. "And this is all we have to show for it. Our clan is only a third of what it once was, and our resources are even less. We don't even have what we need to aid our lower novice realm kin in their cultivation, let alone the First and Second elders…

All of this because we were betrayed and now we are under the skirt of some bird princess. Why? The dragon pearl has already been taken, our clan reduced to shambles, and if my father took anything else from the ancestral demon god lands, it is not with us, so why hide?"

In just a short time Ziyuan had softened the clan to his next proposal.

"I want to return to the Broken Spear Sect, fight for resources and glory. Our ancestors lay in those catacombs next to the Gu and the Zhao clan. It is our right! I want to build a business and bring real wealth to our clan. And when we begin to make breakthroughs and rise in power, Human and demon folks alike will stare in awe and envy at our Ogun Clan. I have the mind, I just need the authority."

"Hmm, what's so important about the Broken Spear Sect? Why can't we be great here?" Delan asked. "We can find resources anywhere. We can find a new sect in the Vermilion Empire. Form our own sect."

The Broken Spear Sect is a place of pain and loss for her family, but it was also the Ogun ancestral home. All of it aside, she wouldn't be an elder if she didn't probe his mind.

"I hear that King Huyan has fallen ill," Ziyuan replied with a devious grin.

No one said anything.

'What the hell is he talking about?' Yunfei thought. If it had to be determined, it was Yunfei who knew Ziyuan best.

'It can't be true…' Didi spoke to the elders telepathically.

'If it is, how did we not hear about it first?' Ming asked.

'No…The problem here is the Queen.' the fifth elder added, 'She's been with her servant for years. Who knows who is the rightful heir to the throne.'

'Blood.'

'Fire.'

'Carnage…For years to come.'

The elders shivered contemplating the fate of the Huyan Kingdom. All the while, Ziyuan suppressed his excitement as he watched them squirm.

'King Huyan's injuries will be revealed on the winter solstice in front of the three sects of the Huyan Kingdom. It would spread like wildfire and a battle for the throne would break out of the shadows and become public.' Ziyuan recalled history.

"Ziyuan, where did you hear this knowledge?" Shenxiu asked.

"Mmm, the Mirage Oasis is the most communal place in Morningstar City. But, if I remember correctly, almost two weeks ago." Ziyuan said, nonchalantly, "Huyan Kingdom is the best place for us."

The elder shared looks and their secret conversation went off on a tangent. In a moment, Ziyuan had brought a hidden alternative reason for his days in the brothel and appeared more complicated than everyone originally thought.

Each of them had questions and wanted to peer into his mind, but the elders came to a common conclusion that Ogun Ziyuan was planning to not only take back what they lost in the Broken Spear Sect but possibly…Just maybe…take over the entire sect during a war that would split a kingdom and generate the greatest benefits for them all.

"Ogun Ziyuan, you say you have vision." Shenxiu began.

"But you also need execution," Ming added.

"In five days Morningstar City will hold the quinquennial Demon Hunt and you will join the hunt." Didi declared.