153: Council Hall Incident

Three days later.

Inside the Gu Clan's Council Hall, the atmosphere was solemn, and an invisible pressure condensed in the air.

Leng Yue and Su Li sat upright in the primary seats at the head of the hall, their expressions calm.

In the seats on both sides of the hall, the Nine Great Elders sat in order.

Leng Yue looked around and said clearly, "Everyone, there is still one year before the Heavenly Pride Battle begins. It is truly unfortunate that such a mishap has occurred in our Gu Clan."

"But time waits for no one. For the sake of the Heavenly Pride Battle a year from now, we must select a general person-in-charge to oversee the overall situation."

"This person's status cannot be low, and their identity cannot be ambiguous. Do you have any suitable candidates?"

As her voice fell, the hall instantly fell into a dead silence.

Everyone knew in their hearts that whoever this task fell upon would surely see a significant increase in their say and status within the Gu Clan.

Originally, this should have been the responsibility of Clan Chief Gu Feng, but since Gu Feng was now unconscious, someone else had to be chosen.

Many Quasi-Emperors would be present at this Heavenly Pride Battle, and there might even be appearances by Great Emperors.

If the Nine Great Elders were to be in charge, given their status and cultivation, they were clearly insufficient to handle such a high-profile scene.

As for Leng Yue and Su Li, they should have been in a state of semi-seclusion since Gu Qingtian's Ascension.

In terms of identity and status, they were naturally sufficient, but at the moment, it was not suitable for them to step forward.

But with the Clan Chief now unconscious, looking across the clan, there seemed to be no suitable candidate.

The Elders' gazes instinctively turned toward Leng Yue.

Since they had been summoned this time, she must have already finalized a candidate.

Sure enough, seeing everyone remain silent, Leng Yue spoke, "Since no one is speaking, then I shall nominate someone."

As she spoke, her gaze turned toward Cao Bu at the end of the Elders' seats.

Immediately after, the eyes of everyone in the hall converged on Cao Bu in unison.

Cao Bu's expression was calm as he rubbed his black jade thumb ring, as if everything was within his control.

Leng Yue continued, "Bu'er is Qingtian's Adopted Son and is also half a son-in-law of my Gu Clan."

"Besides that, he is also the sworn Elder brother of Heavenly Emperor Lu. I'm sure everyone is aware of this."

"I won't waste words. I will hand over full authority for the matters regarding this Heavenly Pride Battle to him. What do you all think?"

Hearing this, a subtle change appeared in the way the Elders looked at Cao Bu.

Now that Cao Bu's Dantian had recovered, he held the dual identities of Adopted Son and son-in-law.

Would he become a stumbling block on their path to seizing power in the future?

No one could say for sure.

However, a few sharp-minded Elders had already sensed something unusual from Leng Yue's proposal.

At this moment, the Grand Elder spoke in a steady tone, "Second Mistress, in terms of status alone, Cao Bu might be qualified, but in terms of identity, this Elder feels he is still a bit lacking."

A faint smile played on Leng Yue's lips as she replied calmly, "Since the Grand Elder has raised concerns, I assume you already have a solution. Why not speak your mind directly?"

The Grand Elder looked around and said forcefully, "A nation cannot go a day without a ruler, and a clan cannot go a day without a master. Therefore..."

He paused intentionally, turned his gaze to Cao Bu, and announced loudly, "This Elder proposes that Cao Bu take on the position of Clan Chief of our Gu Clan!"

Huge waves of shock instantly rose in the hearts of several Elders, and they all stared intently at the Grand Elder.

They truly could not understand why the Grand Elder would make such a shocking suggestion.

"Impossible!" the Second Elder immediately slammed the table and rose, refuting angrily, "Since ancient times, how could there be a reason to let someone with a different surname be the Clan Chief?"

"Even if Cao Bu is a son-in-law of our Gu Clan, it is absolutely unacceptable!"

"Besides, the matter of him being a son-in-law hasn't been fully finalized. It's not certain whether the First Mistress will agree once she comes out of seclusion."

As soon as these words were spoken, the remaining Elders chimed in in agreement.

"Correct! Cao Bu can do anything else, but this position of Clan Chief must never be handed to him!"

"If we let Cao Bu take charge of the Gu Clan, will our Gu Clan still be the Gu Clan? What's the difference between that and changing our surname to Cao!"

"Even if Cao Bu were willing to change his surname to Gu, this matter is absolutely impossible; there is no room for negotiation!"

Leng Yue, Su Li, and Cao Bu remained silent, letting the dispute in the hall grow more intense.

It wasn't until a chill spread through the room that the Elders abruptly stopped talking and looked at Leng Yue in unison.

"In any case, I do not agree," the Second Elder said decisively before sitting back down heavily with anger.

Leng Yue's gaze swept over the Second Elder, and a flash of severity made the air almost freeze: "What if I insist on letting him take the position?"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the Elders changed drastically.

This was no longer a discussion; it was clearly an unquestionable declaration.

The Second Elder stood up again, veins bulging on his neck, "If the Second Mistress insists on this, then you'll have to step over my old corpse first!"

The other Elders glanced at each other and also stood up to state their positions:

"Second Mistress, Cao Bu has indeed contributed to the Gu Clan, and his abilities are obvious to all, but the position of Clan Chief concerns the clan's Foundation. We cannot obey!"

"Exactly! Unless the First Mistress comes out of seclusion and personally orders Cao Bu to succeed as Clan Chief, we will never agree!"

"How important is the position of Clan Chief? If this gets out, won't the whole world laugh at our Gu Clan?"

After saying this, several of them stared at Leng Yue with determined expressions.

This was their bottom line, one they would defend even at the cost of their lives.

In an instant, the atmosphere in the hall became heavy to the extreme.

Cao Bu sat in his original spot, calm and composed as if none of this concerned him.

At this point, Su Li looked around at everyone, her voice as gentle as jade, "Elders, in my opinion, why don't we both take a step back? The position of Clan Chief will remain as it is, and a new position of Vice Clan Leader will be created for Bu'er to hold. What do you all think?"

Several Elders exchanged glances, hesitation showing on their faces.

Seeing this, Leng Yue shouted coldly, "Third Sister, say no more! If they don't agree to let Bu'er succeed as Clan Chief today, I don't mind making an example of someone!"

The temperature in the hall dropped sharply, and a bone-chilling cold enveloped everyone.

The Elders' brows were tightly furrowed, and just as they were about to grit their teeth and resist, Su Li quickly proposed, "Second Sister, Elders, why don't we have a show of hands? Majority rules."

As she spoke, she was the first to raise her right hand, "Those who agree to Cao Bu serving as Vice Clan Leader, please raise your hands."

Almost the instant her voice fell, Leng Yue and the Grand Elder raised their hands at the same time.

The other Elders looked at Leng Yue's frigid face and couldn't help but feel like backing down.

The Second Elder stared at the Grand Elder and questioned in bewilderment, "Eldest, why are you also siding with Cao Bu?"

The Grand Elder stroked his beard and chuckled, "It's just a Vice Clan Leader, not the main position. Besides, Cao Bu's abilities are obvious to all. Why shouldn't he be the Vice Clan Leader?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the Elders looked at each other.

They found it hard to believe; this wasn't the first time the Grand Elder had spoken up for Cao Bu.

For a moment, except for the Second Elder who remained firm, the other Elders showed signs of wavering.

Before long.

Finally, someone couldn't withstand the pressure and silently sat down and raised their hand.

"Eighth! You..." Seeing the Eighth Elder raise his hand, the Second Elder's beard trembled with rage.

The Eighth Elder whispered, "Second, there's no need to reach an impasse over a mere Vice Clan Leader position and affect our unity."

Another person then sat down and raised their hand.

"Sixth! Even you..."

The Second Elder felt a tightness in his chest and shortness of breath. How could these old brothers, with whom he usually discussed major affairs, defect one after another?

"Second, the Eldest and the Eighth are right. It's just a deputy position," the Sixth Elder advised softly.

Unless absolutely necessary, they really didn't want to have a fallout with Leng Yue.

After all, she was currently the primary decision-maker of the Gu Clan.