Sage was pleasantly surprised. The Great Elder rose to her feet and then swept her gaze over the other Elders and they all realized what she was signaling. Though by the amount of time it took for them to comply, Sage figured there was some secret messaging going on before they came to an agreement. Once the Elders were all standing, minus those of the Jinxi Faction who had already left, the Great Elder finally made an announcement.

“The Jinxi have lost the challenge. Xie shall now hold the lead position among the council of Elders. I promise I shall right the wrongs done to our clansmen that have been overlooked in the past.”

Given the chaos and upheaval caused by a challenge for leadership, this was not the sort of announcement that had to be unanimously agreed to. Nor was it the time for the winner to show their humble and upright nature. With a change in regime came sudden and drastic changes, so the winner would gain unconditional authority for some time until the Clan was stabilized. This was a rule of the clan and something they were all very aware of.

In the past, the factions of the Chong Clan had never imagined that the Jinxi Patriarch would be overthrown in such a way. The Elders were all preparing for such a thing to be hundreds of years into the future. They foresaw a change in leadership coming, due to the fading age of the patriarch, but they were completely taken off guard at this time. They each had many long term plans in place to form alliances with each other as they wondered whether the Jinxi Patriarch or the Great Elder of the Xie would fall first and just how they would deal with either case. Most of them had already planned out how they were going to make use of this situation. With the Xie losing their right of challenge for a decade as well as losing most of their resources, they would be greatly weakened. It would make them a perfect target to pick on, or to offer a helping hand.

Yet they now found that all their plans and plotting lead to naught. Those who had already sided with the Xie Clan were suddenly ecstatic!

The initial promise that the Great Elder made to the clan was somewhat vague, but Sage felt it was aimed not only towards himself, but also to some of the others in the Clan that suddenly had aggrieved looks on their faces that immediately shifted to looks of hope. Sage had the feeling that he wasn’t the only person that was randomly bullied or overlooked. It really is rare to find caring and kindness from these big Sects and Clans.

Sage tried to remember to treat his own people better, which prompted the Soul Clone to head off and conduct a purge upon the populace of the Inner World, investigating and killing the most foul and wicked to act as an example to the rest.

With the Great Elder of the Xie announcing things so straightforwardly, Sage was relieved, but he didn’t relax. He still had to wait to see how he would be treated. Would he be wiped out while he was all alone and surrounded by the whole of the Chong Clan? Did the Great Elder think of him as a threat, or would she honor their alliance?

She didn’t come out and publicly announce the glory of his victory, but Sage also didn’t feel any malice from her gaze. Instead, she ordered everyone to leave the Dueling Arena and they all reluctantly filed out. The younger clan members were all eager to see more of the branch head that won the challenge, but they were still forced to head out, grumbling all the while. The older members were not so reserved, leaving that place quickly so they could look after their own interests and prepare to weather the storm of change that was now sweeping over the clan.

By the time Sage was completely alone on the stage, only Xiezi had been left behind to accompany him. She was no longer as ‘friendly’ as she’d been in the past. Their friendship was now tinged by sadness in her eyes. Every time she saw him, she was reminded of the loss of her Uncle Zhuo.

Sage could only guess about her behavior. He felt bad about what Hei Bai had done to her, but he had never been considered to be great with social relations so the subtleties of the situation seemed to escape him at this time.

He waited a few more minutes before releasing his Spiritual Sense to sweep through the area surrounding the dueling arena. Even if it put him in a vulnerable position he took the risk to see whether or not there was a trap waiting for him outside. There were only a few extremely dedicated youngsters hiding in wait and he wondered if it was some sort of elite young team. At least until he better sensed their strength and realized they were just overly excited fans. He finally took a deep breath and pulled the energy back out of the Sacred Banyans. He couldn’t store it all, but there also wasn’t enough ambient energy here to constantly support the one tree forest that he’d grown. Not to mention the Chong Clan would be quite upset at having no input in a permanent remodeling plan for the stage.

Xiezi escorted him back to the house he was staying at for the last few days. It had been granted by the Xie for him to train and prepare in peace so he was quite familiar with the route, but Xiezi was likely there to help him feel at ease. He stayed on guard the rest of the night and the next day as well, but he was pleasantly surprised to find that the Xie did not bother with him at all. They spent all their time dealing with the transfer of power from the Jinxi and also engaging in many secret talks with the Elders of the other factions.

Sage had no idea how many extremely valuable resources and lucrative contracts and agreements were formed in those few days. The balance of power had been upset and the new leaders had to appease the other factions to stabilize their position and prevent further infighting.

“You can relax. We won’t be doing anything against you like the Jinxi would. We scorpions do not use our venom unless it is necessary. In fact, we consider you our second closest ally after the Wa. Not only did we have an agreement in the past, but we also admire your unusual abilities. I owe you a debt, not a knife in the back.”

The Great Elder of Xie had come to speak to him a week after the challenge. She seemed exhausted, but extremely excited nevertheless. After taking a moment to let her words sink in, she smiled brightly, “In fact, I’ve already planned a great venture to recover morale and establish my authority. I’m quite sure you’ll approve. It is time for the Fu Clan to pay for all the times they’ve slighted us in the past.”

Sage suddenly laughed and nodded to the Great Elder, glad that this time it hadn’t blown up in his face again. At least until he heard her next words.

“It will take some time to gather supplies and plan a proper assault. Especially since we can’t mention this to anyone until it's time to act. We don’t wish to tip off the Fu Clan too early. We’ll march upon them within the next decade, I promise you.”