22. Clan Master Su Hong

A pin-drop silence.

All the elders were scared of Su Hong.

---

Fifteen years ago, when Su Hai, the then Clan Master, died, his son Su Hong and his pregnant wife had just returned to the clan.

At that time, the Su Clan was just a minor clan with no Spiritual Master. Still, intense fights broke out between various factions led by different elders to cease the position of Clan Master.

In such a tense environment, Su Hong called for a clan meeting to elect the next Clan Master. Many elders refused to attend the meeting but consented after he raised the lack of security in the city.

That year, many pregnant women were killed inexplicably. As the dangers from outside increased, the Su Elders agreed to sit and talk before shedding blood.

That meeting was the first time Su Hong participated in a Clan Meeting. For the first few minutes, everyone discussed the situation amicably. After the elders passed some proposals regarding the security within and outside the clan, the meeting descended into chaos.

Someone brought up the issue of electing a new Clan Master. While the elders and their factions sang their own tunes, the situation worsened, with some elders trading blows within the hall.

Su Hong, who was quiet till then, stood up from his seat.

"Silence!"

Su Hong used his Qi to amplify his voice. When the people present in the hall did not stop, Su Hong released his aura.

Everyone stopped. An unknown fear gripped their hearts. It was like being trapped inside a cage with a ferocious hungry beast.

The elders allowed Su Hong to sit at the table as he was the son of the previous Clan Master. He was only 25, while the youngest elder was at least 40 years old. They did not consider him as an equal.

Everyone turned to Su Hong. The Grand Elder at that time was the oldest and the strongest in the clan. He was at peak Lv-9 of Qi Cultivation Realm, second only to Su Hai, who had been a Spiritual Master. He judged that Su Hong was a new Spiritual Master.

"Keep yourself in check, Su Hong. This isn't your place to butt in." The Grand Elder could not stand down. Today was his chance to take the position of Clan Master. Since Su Hong was very young, the Grand Elder assumed that Su Hong had recently become a Spiritual Master. Hence, he felt that he could beat Su Hong.

"Oh really!" Su Hong's aura pressed everyone to bow down while a few weaker elders fainted. The Grand Elder felt the danger of death as Su Hong took a step towards him. He decisively swung his sword, which Su Hong evaded easily.

Then, Su Hong drew his sword.

"[Moon Beheader]!"

The Grand Elder's head rolled off the floor, scaring everyone present.

"Any Objections!"

No one replied, and thus Su Hong became the new Master of the Su Clan.

---

Fifteen Years ago, Su Yue was the Fifth Elder with an Lv-8 Qi Cultivation.

Today, Su Yue was the Grand Elder with the strength of Lv-4 Spiritual Martial Realm, just short of the Clan Master.

Su Hong might have run over his head before, but Su Yue had outclassed everyone else. Though he was a lot older than Su Hong, the Clan Master's cultivation stagnated for years while his increased tremendously.

He thought that Su Hong had exhausted his potential years ago for sudden strength gain. Now, it was his turn to take his rightful place as the Clan Master.

Though Su Hong progressed to Lv-5 Cultivation Realm, Su Yue was confident to challenge Su Hong for the position of Clan Master.

"Su Hong, reign in your horses. Even after being the Clan Master for over a decade, you haven't progressed." Su Yue openly spoke his thoughts.

The recent events with Su Mo had allowed him to sway all the elders to his side. Thus, he became brave with everyone's support.

"Your son, too, is now a waste with Rank 1 Martial Soul. He even suffers from a Heart Devil. Look at my grandson, Su Yu. He is the first genius of The Su Clan." Su Yue taunted Su Hong.

Su Hong chose not to speak in between and let the Grand Elder complete his speech. He clenched his sword tightly to control his anger.

"You also took out a million gold taels from the Clan Bank for Su Mo's cultivation. That wasn't enough for him, so he even fought with the second young master of Wei over a maid. You let the situation worsen further by issuing a death threat to the Wei Clan Master."

Su Yue listed out the recent events to demean Su Hong's prestige and question his authority. Since everyone was present besides the elders, he needed a justifiable reason to overthrow Su Hong.

"Su Hong, you are misusing the authority granted to you by the clan. Hence I propose to remove him from the position of the Clan Master."

The elders also came forward in support of Su Yue and began to criticise Su Hong.

Su Hong stood up from his seat and coldly looked Su Yue in the eye. Su Yue did not back down and released his own cultivation aura.

A tense atmosphere pervaded in the room as the weaker ones backed off against the wall. Everyone moved away from the two.

"You think you can fight me, Su Yue!" Su Hong stood in front of Su Yue. The crowd could see an unusual smoke being released from Su Hong's soles.

"You are no longer unbeatable, Su Hong." Su Yue did not see the smoke and released his martial soul.

Rank 4 Human Class Martial Soul, Fiery-eyed Tiger.

"Fusion!"

Beast-type Martial Souls possessed a unique ability to fuse with its wielder.

Red coloured stripes appeared on Su Yue's body while his nails grew. His face transformed like a tiger, with glowing red eyes and ears over his head.

People present in the hall were scared, but Su Hong could not hold back his laughter.

"Su Yue, are you serious? Can your cat ears save you from me? Hahaha!" Su Hong laughter eased the tension in the crowd as they began to feel that the Grand Elder did not look fierce but cute after Martial Soul Fusion.

Su Yue was affected by the crowd's changing behaviour. He saw amusement instead of respect in the eyes of the public. He trembled in anger.

He did not see the growing smoke in the hall.

"Su Hong!" Su Yue lunged towards Su Hong.

Su Hong easily evaded Su Yue and vanished in the smoke.

A white mist covered the area where the two stood, blocking the view for the crowd.

Su Yue was surprised to find himself surrounded by smoke. He took careful steps as he could not see Su Hong.

"Su Yue, I have not taken any action in years. My Cicada's Wing had been thirsty for a long time." Su Hong's voice came from the smoke, but Su Yue could not pinpoint his location.

"Stop hiding and face me, Su Hong!" Su Yue yelled into the fog.

"Su Yue, Do you know why no one in this city opposed me?" Su Hong's mystified voice rang from the smoke.

The crowd also hear the dialogue between them.

"I am not afraid of you, Su Hong. Come Out!" Su Yue yelled and frantically swung his claws against the fog. He knew that he had not taken more than two steps from his position as the hall was small and crowded. He was still in the room but was still unable to hear anyone from the crowd, nor able to run out.

People grew scared as the complete hall got covered in fog. They could not even see the person standing closest to them.

"Hahaha! Everyone listen carefully. No one opposes me because all my opponents are dead."

The fog dispersed in a blink of an eye. One could see a shocked expression on everyone's faces.

Su Yue had a horrified expression in his eyes. Su Hong stood in front of him, closely inspecting his sword Cicada's Wing.

"Good Sword. Still blood-thirsty without blood." Su Hong sheathed his sword, and Su Yue's head slid off his neck.

Su Hong calmly sat down at his position while all the members of the clan stood stunned. They had just escaped death, but the death god was still sitting before them.

"Who can tell me what happened to Su Mo?"