"Long Chen has arrived at Tianhuang!"
Inside a magnificent golden hall, dozens of elders gathered together, seated together. In the main seat was a gaunt old man, almost skin and bones. Without that skin, it seemed as if he could fall apart at any moment.
The old man sat in the center. Though gaunt, his bearing was dignified. His sunken eye sockets revealed a bright and spirited gaze. Deep within his pupils, lightning flashed through his eyes—the voice he had uttered.
In front of him, there were four chairs on each side. The others' chairs were all silver, but this one was made of gold.
On the four armchairs sat three people. One of them was empty, and the first chair was a middle-aged man with thick black hair and thick eyebrows. This man was none other than Long Qihua, the leader of the Four Great Heavenly Saints.
On the second chair was a short, stout old man, about the size of a dwarf. He sat on the chair with his feet off the ground, looking quite strange. This man was the Dragon Family's Second Heavenly Holy Dragon Radiant Court.
The third chair was a woman, whose face was cold and indifferent, her eyes tightly shut, seemingly meditating, yet also uninterested in the outside world.
This woman was none other than the only one among the Four Great Heavenly Saints—Long Qianxue. She was naturally cold and hadn't spoken for hundreds of years—not because she couldn't speak for the sake of cultivating a technique, but because she simply couldn't be bothered to speak.
The fourth seat was empty. That seat originally belonged to Long Zhantian, but since he hadn't returned, it was left empty.
Inside the main hall, besides the four great Heavenly Saints, there were dozens of other powerful Heavenly Saints. They were all high-ranking elders of the Long family, all present. Among them, one person stood out because his cultivation was only that of an Earth Saint. That person was none other than Lord Tiansi, who had once met Long Chen once before.
In short, all the powerful figures in the Long family were present. After the emaciated elder announced Long Chen's arrival, some of the strong figures present were shocked, some cold, some angry, and one elder with a broken arm gritting his teeth, murderous intent surging.
The skinny old man was the current patriarch of the Long family. After speaking, he silently looked at everyone, as if waiting for their response.
Yet not a single person spoke. For a moment, the air in the entire hall froze, and it was deathly silent.
They all knew who Long Chen was. Many couldn't help but glance at an elderly man in the arena, whose face was dark and the murderous intent in his eyes impossible to hide.
That person was none other than Long Zaiye, who was once ranked fourth among the Four Great Saints of the Long family. His arm was severed by Long Zhantian.
He had severed an arm and taken his place. Months had passed, yet the hatred in his heart had not diminished in the slightest; instead, it had grown stronger. He swore to reclaim what belonged to him and to repay all the humiliation Long Zhantian had inflicted on him.
Now, before he could avenge his revenge, he heard that Long Zhantian's son was coming knocking, and murderous intent surged within him.
Previously, Lord Tiansi had proposed at the Long Family Council that the Long family should lower their stance and bring Long Chen back, not letting him go outside. Otherwise, he would have no sense of belonging to the Long family in the future.
However, Long Zaiye fiercely opposed it. Except for Long Zaiye, almost everyone else objected; the rest remained silent and did not express any opinions.
Lord Tiansi, helpless, left only one sentence: "If we don't bring Long Chen back now, when he grows to the level of Long Zhantian, the Long family will completely lose the chance to win him over." However
, despite strong opposition from everyone, the Long family shelved the matter indefinitely, because among the four great Heavenly Saints who could decide the outcome, one was absent, and the other three had not spoken out.
As one of the former Four Great Heavenly Saints, Long Zaiye once again took the lead. Most importantly, Long Zhantian had attacked the Long family in the most brutal and violent way, killing so many people. This was a blatant slap in the face to the Long family, and they all harbored resentment toward him.
But since the ancestor spoke, they could only keep their resentment to themselves and dare not vent it. Not long after Long Zhantian left, his son returned, instantly stirring up hatred in their hearts.
That time, Long Zhantian broke into the Long family alone, killing thousands of strong opponents and injuring countless others. Among those thousands, many were the backbone of their respective branches. How could they not hate Long Zhantian?
Now that Long Chen had arrived, many people felt murderous intent, but they could hold back, unlike Long Zaiye, who was more obvious.
The hall was deathly silent. For the entire time it takes to burn an incense stick, not a single person spoke. Finally, Long Zaiye couldn't help but speak, gritting his teeth and saying,
"What do you mean?" After the old arrogance faded, the younger one became arrogant too? Is this just bullying our Long family because there's no one left to rely on? "
It seems the clan leader didn't say anything, and yet you just labeled him arrogantly. Isn't that a bit inappropriate?" Lord Tiansi said calmly.
Long Zaiye was furious: "You always talk to him, but have you forgotten how arrogant his father is?" Have you forgotten how those powerful members of the Long family died so brutally? Lord
Tiansi curled his lip and said, "I wonder whose subordinate was that idiot, saying he wanted to bleed Long Zhantian, which angered him."
When did Long family disciples need to bleed themselves to acknowledge their ancestors? You're deliberately humiliating Long Zhantian. It would be strange if Long Zhantian didn't kill him.
After Long Zhantian killed someone, you besieged him—did you ever give him a chance to speak? If you can kill, why can't he? "
You..."
Long Zaiye was furious, because that day he had deliberately humiliated Long Zhantian, and it was a branch of his own lineage who stirred up trouble. It was precisely because his descendants were killed that he flew into a rage and tried to kill Long Zhantian, but Long Zhantian cut off one of his arms instead.
If it hadn't been for the arrival of the Holy Dragon Qihua on the first day, the Long family probably would have never had Long Zaiye again.
"Alright, alright, I've gathered you all here to discuss how the Long family should respond to Long Chen, not just to listen to your arguments." The Long family patriarch spoke.
"What's there to discuss? Just tell him to get lost. If he doesn't, just kill him!" Long Zaiye snorted coldly.
Lord Tiansi sneered, "I'm really puzzled. Long Zhantian cut off your arm that day, so did he also cut off your brain?" How can you say something so brainless?
Long Zhantian and his son are members of the Long family, with our blood running in their veins. What right do you have to drive others away?
Besides, the one who cut you was Long Zhantian, not Long Chen. You're venting your anger on a junior—can't you have some shame? "
Huff."
Long Zaiye, furious, stood up from his chair and snorted coldly:
"I'm shameless. I'm going to kill this little bastard right now."
As he spoke, under the shocked gazes of the crowd, he strode straight out of the hall.