Chapter 206 – Clan’s Secret

“This is an absurd plan.”

The Grand Elder shook his head in refusal.

“Brat, this move of yours will put us in more disarray and danger than your stunt with the slaves.”

The Patriarch followed the Grand Elder’s response.

Seeing the taken aback look on Calron’s face, the Grand Elder started to explain.

“There is a reason why our clan has remained in Selior city for many generations. We are a powerful but small clan, and cannot survive on our own if an enemy kingdom attacks. We might be able to hold them off for a while, however, if we are outnumbered too quickly, the clan will perish.”

“Although living under the constraints of the King and the political world is tiring, it keeps the city and the citizens safe. If the strong clans were allowed to rampage without control, it would destroy this kingdom. Hence, we have stayed in Selior city for hundreds of years.”

The Patriarch joined the conversation.

“We will not be outnumbered if we have the thousands of slaves with us. It will take time to train them and I’m sure we can get a few hundred elite cultivators out of the group. Besides, we don’t even know if we will be attacked by an enemy that deep in our territory. They’ll have to pass through Selior city first to get to us.”

Calron attempted to persuade the old men.

“What makes you think the only enemy is outside these borders? If we do separate from Selior city, the other tower clans and the King will not let a separate stronghold like ours grow within their kingdom. They will attack us. On the matter of the ex-slaves, what makes you think they can all be trusted? I’m sure several clans have already planted their spies among them and if we are to use their numbers to build an army, our doom was sealed the moment we go to war. I know you mean well, Calron, but this plan of yours is not feasible.”

The Grand Elder finished with a short sigh.

A minute of silence passed in the room, without anyone saying a single word. The old men’s attention was focused entirely on the quiet young man before them.

After a few seconds, Calron finally opened his mouth.

“Why are you lying to me?”

Calron’s cold words echoed.

“What do you mean?”

The Grand Elder stared in confusion at the youth.

“Answer me this, how many Elders do we have in the entire clan?”

“Around six or so. Most of them isolate themselves in cultivation or travel due to the clan’s business.”

The ancient man answered hesitantly, a glimmer of doubt hidden behind his eyes.

“When I came to this building, I passed by countless villas and houses meant for Elders. This location itself is hidden from any visitors that come to the clan and extremely hard to notice from the air due to the trees covering it. Why are there so many houses for Elders, if we only have around six of them?”

Faced with Calron’s inquiry, the old men remained still with poker faces.

“It was because in the past, our clan flourished with multiple Elders and a mighty cultivator army. After that period, we were on a steady decline and the houses have long since been empty.”

The Patriarch replied while closing his eyes.

“Except for the fact that you’re lying. I thought my senses were playing a trick on me previously when I was coming here, as I detected abnormal amounts of essence leaking from many of those houses. I’ve never felt any human being contain that vast quantity of essence before. It was like they were on par with the Patriarch’s strength or even stronger. The strength of a Heavenly stage expert.”

Calron stated, his gaze locked onto the two older men.

Initially, he had been testing the differences between the Divine Perception and soul power while coming here, and he realized that he detected the presence of several cultivators with the Divine Perception but not with soul power. He thought he was imagining these things and it was a result of his recent and unsteady breakthrough to the Saint stage.

“How can you detect them with soul power? It’s impossible!”

The Patriarch almost slipped out of his chair while furtively glancing between Calron and the Grand Elder.

“It’s because he didn’t use his soul power.”

The Grand Elder’s piercing eyes bore into Calron.

“I never understood since the moment I entered the city, why did the Raizel clan allow themselves to be ruled by another power? If we share the same bloodline, a single member should be several times stronger than any other cultivator on the same level. I thought maybe it was just me, but I saw Asra and the others fight against several Saint stage experts and defeat them, so they were similar to me. That meant, it was the clan’s choice to remain under the city’s authority.”

Calron spoke, gauging the old men’s reactions. Judging from the looks, it seemed that he hit the correct mark.

“Let me ask you one thing, child. How many young people have you seen in the clan so far?”

The Grand Elder sighed and asked his question.

“Besides Linda, Asra, Harol and Rain, I’ve only seen a dozen more or so. I assumed the rest were in training or travelling the kingdom.”

Calron thought briefly before answering.

“No, there are no youngsters travelling or outside the clan at the moment.”

The ancient man said in a heavy tone.

“You mean?”

“Yes, we only 18 young members in the entire clan. The rest are older and have already crossed their thirties, while a large majority of the clan is aged around 70-100 years old. Our bloodline brings us great power, but it also brings us a great bane. We cannot have many children as our bloodline makes it difficult to conceive. We remain in this city not because of our lack of strength, but because we don’t want to lose our young ones to war.”

The Grand Elder spoke softly, his back appearing even more bent than before.

“Then those cultivators I sensed in the villas?”

Calron asked with shock.

“Yes, they are all the old generation of Raizel clan that stay here to protect the clan if someone attacks us. The strongest member of our clan isn’t the Patriarch, but the hidden group of experts in those houses.”

The ancient man replied, much to the chagrin of the Patriarch sitting next to him.

“Do the others know?”

Calron was referring to the Asra and the other young people.

“No.”

The old man stated.

“Is that why you refuse to move to a new city? Because you are afraid of our deaths?”

Calron inquired.

“Is that so wrong?”

The Grand Elder raised his eyebrow in confusion, not knowing why Calron still remained adamant on going through with his plan.

“I am not as afraid of death as I am of hiding in fear of death. Do you remember when we first met, Patriarch? You said you dreamt of going to the realm of our ancestors and that it was impossible for you. I think you forced yourself into thinking that without actually aiming for it. A life spent in hiding is not the life of a cultivator.”

Calron stated the harsh words, hoping to wake up the old men from their misguided goals.

“You…”

The Patriarch yelled before the Grand Elder placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

“If the Linda and the others knew our clan was holding itself back because of them, they would not be able to live with themselves. It’s because we’re the Raizel clan! Our strength is our PRIDE, and without it, we are the same as the rest. I will build that city on my own, regardless of the clan’s help. I will not abandon those slaves who placed their fates into my hands.”

Calron got up from his chair and strode outside the building. He did not turn back once to see the old men’s faces. The day of the speech was tomorrow, and he still had to prepare for it tonight.

The destiny of thousands of lives rested on him.

………………………..

“Sorry, Uncle. That boy is usually very calm, so I don’t know what got into him suddenly.”

The Patriarch apologized as he turned to the Grand Elder.

“No… that boy is right. Did you feel that strange sensation inside your chest when that boy was talking? After many centuries, we have truly forgotten who we really are. We are the Raizel clan.”

The Grand Elder smiled, his eyes shining brighter than it had since a long time ago.

“Looks like he convinced the rest as well.”

The Grand Elder stood up while laughing, as numerous figures began to abruptly appear inside the room.

The Patriarch quickly knelt with one knee on the ground when he saw the figures standing there with their overwhelming auras.

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