Chapter 51: The Patriarch

In the patriarch's wide mansion, the patriarch and the grand elder sat in front of each other in the living room with a table between them.

The patriarch moved his arm slightly to rest his head slightly on the armchair, looking at the grand elder with his icy, dragonic blue eyes.

He moved his stern mouth, and said coldly, "How did an undead get into our sect, Garnet? You were in charge of security as I trusted you the most to do the job, and yet you failed to even stop an undead from getting into this tournament? Explain yourself."

Garnet, Maximus' son, nervously cowered under the sheer pressure of the patriarch. It is impossible to endure this pressure and not cower, only his father could do that.

Garnet looked like a middle-aged man and has his red hair tied behind him fancily and has purple eyes. He wore the grand elder robe, which is a mix between white and gold in terms of color and it doesn't really mix with his appearance because he has a messy lower face and has dark skin due to the martial art he is practicing, which is called "The Phoenix's Flame".

He replied with, "I-I believe that the body of the undead has been in the sect for many years, and my theory is that someone possessed the body and turned it into an undead after the previous owner of the said body entered the tournament, therefore we didn't notice it on time. But either way, it is my fault why this incident still happened!"

The patriarch nodded slightly, and said, "Then, are you saying that the ancient terror managed to survive after all these years? Or he had an apprentice to pass his techniques on? Because this type of necromancy is only available to those who've achieved the highest state of necromancy, a lich. An immortal being who has the power to destroy or conquer the entire world."

Garnet nodded, "I believe so, sir."

The patriarch smiled, and said, "Are you mocking me, Garnet?"

"N-No, sir!" He stuttered.

"The ancient terror died, I personally witnessed his soul get destroyed into thousands of pieces and you say that he is alive or has an apprentice!? Outrageous! If other older sects heard you say that, you would've been beheaded on the spot for such ignorance! The ancient terror has been vaporized and had his soul destroyed! No one, and I mean, NO ONE could revive something like that! HE IS DEAD!"

The patriarch, Yule Atlas, said with so much anger.

Yule is 10,000 years old, and he's definitely seen some stuff in his lifetime. So, 4000 years ago, he was able to see the ancient terror himself, face to face. Many imprisonment and nascent soul cultivators died back then, numbering thousands! And Yule's brother was one of the unfortunate victims of the great terror, that's why he is furious that somebody would claim that his brother's killer is still alive.

Or worse, has an apprentice or a descendant.

And you might be asking, "How does a nascent soul cultivator live for so long?" Well, he is not just some random cultivator; he is a dragon. A true dragon, descendent from two elder dragons. He is powerful, capable of battling the ancient terror for a few minutes to stall him.

A dragon's longevity is millions, so those that have lived for millions of years are called, "Elder Dragons." And as you can guess, they are also powerful. It was stated that the dragons were once friends and allies to the great founder himself, so most cultivators out there respect the dragons.

He could, in all likelihood, advance to the nascent soul stage quite easily but he doesn't want to because it wouldn't affect his strength much and would only hinder him.

"But sir, please believe when I say this; I, myself, can't believe that he is still alive but I had to because all of the evidence I am seeing only directs to him. No one in this world could become a lich ever again because the imprisonment cultivators had placed talismans all over at the border to envelop the entire world, just so they could sense if a necromancer like the ancient terror would appear again! But no report has been said to us, so, likely, he is still alive!" Garnet tried to convince Yule, desperately trying to make him see clearly what he says.

"ENOUGH NONSENSE!! You are dismissed!" Yule coldly said to Garnet.

Gritting his teeth, he just stood up and bowed slightly, "Understood, sir," and promptly left.

Yule only had cold eyes, staring at the leaving figure of Garnet.

The dragons are the ones maintaining the order in the world, for the fear that another being capable of mass destruction appears again. No one in this world can go against the dragons but themselves, and if the ancient terror is indeed alive, then mass panic would ensue.

Because, the ancient terror killed 3 elder dragons back then, and killing a dragon can acquire the rage and wrath of the dragons.

Dragons breed slowly, only every decade can they birth a new dragon.

It is by the rules of nature that the longer lifespan a being has, the lower chance that they can breed and produce offspring.

Yule knew this, that's why he's been doing everything in his power to keep his daughter with him. The elders have been trying to steal his only daughter from him because she could die rather easily in this world, and they wanted for her to be relocated to the mainland of the dragons.

And if rumors spread that the ancient terror is indeed still alive, then the elders would find a good reason to take his daughter away from him for the sole reason of protection.

But protecting her is not the only reason they want his daughter, no. They want her in the mainland because females are scarce in the dragons, and they are the only ones who can give birth to another dragon.

He doesn't want his daughter to just be forced to other males, he wants her to choose for herself. If it is to protect her, he would exterminate the entire dragon clan to get rid of anyone danger to her. But alas, he is too weak to do that.

As he was having a headache, it all went away, however, when his daughter, Frostine, walked into the room with a worried face.

Frostine has the same light blue eyes as her father, platinum blond hair like her mother, and a beauty that can even surpass that of the fairies. Her clothing consisted of nothing but a white flowing dress, with her hair flowing down to her shoulders, and lips so red that it resembled the half-moon of the red twilight.

"Father, I just saw Garnet walk out of the house a bit mad. Is there something wrong?" She asked as she sat down in front of her father, with only a table between them.

Yule shook his head, and said, "No, nothing is wrong. It's just that, the grand elder said some questionable things earlier. It was so absurd that I got a bit mad at him."

"Is it about the ancient terror?" She asked, her face growing a bit serious.

"Yes, how do you know that?" He asked.

"I was a part of the investigation group along with the ninth elder, sixth and seventh elders. And yes, even if it is so absurd, we can't ignore that the ancient terror is, indeed, still alive, father. I know of the consequences but I am willing to discard all of that to protect our sect, so let us spread the news before it is too late," She said, her voice growing serious as the seconds went by.

Honestly, he is too stressed out right now. She doesn't know the real consequences if she decides to spread the news. But he also knows of the consequences if the ancient terror is still alive.

Millions would die if this is real, and they'd only recovered from the catastrophe that he caused thousands of years ago.

The regular mortals may have forgotten about the ancient terror but they, the old fogies, haven't forgotten about him.

Not.One.Bit.

"Are you sure of what you're going to do, Frostine?" He asked for her confirmation.

"Yes, I am sure," She stated firmly.

He just rubbed his forehead, and sighed, "Fine, I'll allow it. But you'll have to extend the investigation period and get in contact with the victim of the undead. To be that strong at such a young age, it is a blessing from the heavens that we got him in our sect."

"Of course, father! I'll take him to you tomorrow." She said.