A man looking to be in his early 20s floated down with a light smile touching the corner of his mouth, nodding to them, "Mm"
However, he did not allow them to rise as he would normally do, continuing to speak, "So... as I was saying... now, perhaps this is the perfect chance for to speak. I have retired long ago so I don’t weigh in on the matters in the Sect, usually. But I think that having placed one foot in my grave I’d like to leave a few words to the ones who will carry on the torch after before I place the other one in too"
Despite his young looks, there was an aura of decay around him, the sa one reeking of looming death that once surrounded Zhao Xieren.
"S-sect Ancestor... that was... ehm...", Grand Elder Ro was completely flustered, or rather, petrified by fear.
"Heh, don’t be ashad of having spoken the truth. I’m near death’s door, and that is not sothing debatable, or even shaful to speak of", Sect Ancestor chuckled, "Besides, so of what you said other than that is true as well. It is indeed reckless for one without ans to try and overturn the Heavens..."
Yu Zhen’s expression darkened at these words, though they didn’t bring much comfort or delight to Grand Elder Ro, or his supporters, who were all bathed in sweat.
"...however, what if a Dragon appeared not far from you, tearing the Heavens apart right in front of your eyes with its claws, and scattering the clouds with its roar? Would you still do nothing and not try to obtain so of the blessings?", the Sect Ancestor continued, and then turned his gaze to Yu Zhen.
His words ca out softer next, "One must have courage and vision. Lack of ans is only that, lack of ans. It does not require lack of mind or soul. We may have lacked the ability to stand against the Iron Claw Group, but it didn’t an we had to cut our ambitions or aspirations short, it did not an we had to be subservient even in our hearts and our minds, it only ant it was not wise to blindly run at our opponents without trying to acquire sothing to rely on first"
He then turned his gaze to Grand Elder Ro again, "It seems to , the tides are shifting, Disciple Ro, ah, sorry, you are a Grand Elder now, right..."
"Disciple wouldn’t dare-..."
"Your views, your words, and your vision are sothing I shared. It is also sothing my Disciple, your Current Sect Master shares. Which is not strange as you as the oldest of Grand Elders are almost of our generation. The generation of the past. Those views and vision were right for the ti of our generation, the ti that we spent leading and shaping the path of our Sect, they held true and kept us safe, conserving our strength", the Sect Ancestor slowly floated a bit closer to them, but still remained a bit above and away.
By this ti, other Grand Elders and Sect Master have already appeared on the scene all around them, along with Sect Protectors who stood beside the subordinates that Grand Elder Ro ca with.
"But why do you think your Sect Master didn’t oppose him as you do?", Sect Ancestor then turned to the Sect Master, and then turned to the horizon, as the morning sun rose high already, "I think you know. He saw as I see now, that a new wave is rising, a dawn of a new age"
His eyes once again descended on the Grand Elder, "And in that new age, you, him and I are old and obsolete... our views are too stale, our eyes are too turbid with our own experiences and the truths of our ti to see the full picture as it changes and unravels in this new ti. It is the ti of the new generation. They have the clarity of freedom from our burdens, that allows them to have a vision, to see what we cannot. And thus it is for them to lead our Sect into that future. Whether it is bright or dark depends on them. What we can do is support and protect them as best as we can. That is our role. That...!", the last word was spoken louder and in more grand tone, the Sect Ancestor’s gaze turned colder as he continued to look down at the kneeling Grand Elder Ro, emphasizing every word that followed in a grave tone, "...is our duty"
"Sect Ance-...", suddenly a pressure from the Sect Ancestor descended on Grand Elder Ro who tried to speak up, it was a difference of just one Major Realm, but in the Seven Profound Realms that difference was usually more absolute than in Nine Mortal Realms. In this case, it was enough to make Grand Elder Ro not able to stand up or even raise his head unless he openly released his own Profound Qi which would signal open confrontation.
"You have served our Sect dutifully, Ro Yoyang. It was a long and ritorious service, a valuable service, a very important service. It is sothing you should be comnded for, and for which I was and am grateful. But... you committed a cri that cannot go unpunished, you committed the cri of threatening to cut off our future, not for your beliefs or for the benefit of the Sect itself, but for your personal greed and ambition. And that, I cannot tolerate, nor can I leave that threat to our future to fester"
"Sect Ancestor! Please!"
"Thus, for the last ti, I pay respects to you as our Grand Elder and thank you for the years you gave this Sect", the Sect Ancestor bowed his head, but the pressure coming from him only continued to rise as Profound Qi swirled around him, and as he raised his head his hands began turning darker, imnse amounts of Profound Qi concentrated around them, "The three pillars of our Sect are Body, Spirit, and Mind. You have cultivated the power of your body, and the spirit of Qi, but have neglected the mind, thus you have power, but lack character"
"Aaaargh! I’ll fight you!!!", Grand Elder Ro finally saw there was no way back, no way around it, no way from it, so he chose the only way he had. His Profound Qi exploded out of him, pushing back the pressure, as he sprang to his feet. His eyes full of anger and defiance. His hands that spread to the sides forming fists, similarly turned darker, but did not have as threatening of an aura.
And the next mont the two shot toward each other, but the fist of the Sect Ancestor didn’t seem to encounter any opposition, as the now forr Grand Elder’s darkened fist was badly mangled and deford as the rest of his arm crumbled.
The fist of the Sect Ancestor went straight through the chest of the forr Grand Elder, coming out from the back.
"Khugh...! H-how dare you-...", he hunched over onto the Secr Ancestor’s shoulder, blood gushing out of his mouth as he spoke, his eyes becoming bloodshot, "...a-after e-verything.. Khug.. that I’ve done-.... h-how dare you...?!"
There was anger, hatred, and viciousness in his voice, along with a profound feeling of unfairness and unwillingness.
"If I spared you today, be honest, would you have honestly reconsidered? Would you have changed your mind? And supported Grand Elder Yu’s efforts despite your opposition and ambitions?", a pained expression appeared in the young eyes of the old Sect Ancestor, tinged with sadness as he spoke.
It wasn’t the pretense lant or helplessness that forr Grand Elder Ro showed as he was preparing to strike down Yu Zhen. It was raw pain from doing sothing he didn’t want to do, but saw no other choice.
"Khurrgh... khe-khu ku ku...", a smile appeared on the forr Grand Elder’s bloodied lips as he made a low bitter laugh, and then his eyes filled with mad anger and viciousness, "Never!"
That was the expression his eyes and face froze in as signs of life left them.
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