The summons from the Sect Master was absolute. A formal notice had been sent to every elder and other important members in the sect: an urgent council was being convened in the main hall. The matter was of the highest importance.
Li Yu, whose status within the sect was now an open secret among the upper echelon, he was a 7th stage foundation establishment that fought bravely, stronger than a good amount of the elders in the sect, was of course among those present.
He sat in a high-backed chair just below the elders, a quiet, unassuming figure whose presence nonetheless drew the occasional respectful, curious glance. He had no official title, but after his exploits during the Beast Tide and the subsequent, quiet reports of his ventures in the south, everyone knew he was a figure of immense importance and power.
The atmosphere in the Elder's Council Hall was heavy and tense. The Sect Master sat on his high seat, his expression unreadable. At the head of the assembled elders sat the First Elder, his stern, powerful presence dominating one side of the hall, his aura burning at a potent 8th level of the Foundation Establishment realm. Elder Ning and the other elders of the inner sect were all present, their faces grim.
Standing before them were two figures. The first was Su Ling, her face pale, her hands clenched so tightly her knuckles were white. She had advanced to the 2nd level of foundation establishment since Li Yu last saw her. The second was a young man Li Yu had never met. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with a sharp, handsome face etched with a weariness far beyond his years. His cultivation was a sharp, aggressive sword-like aura at the 6th level of the Foundation Establishment realm. This was Han Jian, the Sect Heir.
"Han Jian," the Sect Master's voice was a low rumble. "Report."
"Yes, Master," Han Jian said, his voice crisp and devoid of emotion. "My five-year mission in the northern wastes is complete. As I was preparing for my return, a major political upheaval began. I chose to remain for a time to gather intelligence before reporting back. Three months ago, the old Emperor of the Boreal Frost Empire finally passed."
He took a deep breath. "The cold war of succession is now a hot one. The Third Prince, a ruthless military commander, and the Seventh Princess, a cunning political manipulator, have made the two strongest bids for the throne. An all-out civil war has erupted, and it has already consumed the entire northern region."
"This is a tragedy, but a distant one," one of the other elders murmured. "How does it affect our Green Mountain Sect?"
Han Jian's gaze hardened. "Because the war is no longer just a mortal affair; it is a full-blown cultivation war. The Frost Spirit Palace, the Black Iron Fortress, the Crimson Blade Sect… they have all chosen sides. And the first rule of such a conflict is the elimination of all variables."
He turned his gaze to the pale, trembling form of Su Ling.
"The Third Prince and the Seventh Princess have both, independently, begun a systematic purge of their other siblings. They seek to eliminate every other possible claimant to the throne, no matter how distant or uninvolved." He paused, letting the weight of his next words settle. "Two weeks ago, I intercepted a message intended for a spy network operating in our southern territories. It contained a single order."
He looked at Su Ling, his voice dropping. "Locate the hidden Fourteenth Princess of the Boreal Frost Empire, Lin Xiaowei, confirmed to be a disciple of the Green Mountain Sect. Eliminate her, and any who stand in your way."
A collective gasp went through the chamber. The assembled elders stared at the young woman, their eyes wide with shock. Li Yu and Elder Ning exchanged a look of profound surprise. It was clear that after Han Jian had reported this to the sect leader after he had returned, the sect leader knew who the princess was, thus her call here today.
The First Elder, who had remained silent and grim, now stood up, his voice a low, dangerous growl that filled the hall. "The boy speaks the truth." He looked at the stunned faces of his peers. "Many years ago, a dear friend of my youth, a consort of the Boreal Frost Emperor, sent her only daughter to me. She saw the darkness gathering in the capital and wished only for her child to have a safe, peaceful life, far from the succession battle. The Sect Master and I agreed to shelter her, to give her a new name and a new life as my student. Her identity was a secret we kept to protect her, and to protect this sect."
His stern face, usually a mask of stone, was now filled with a fierce, protective fire.
It was Su Ling who broke the silence. She stepped forward, her body still trembling, but her voice was clear and full of a noble, heartbreaking resolve.
"Sect Master, Elders, Master," she said, offering a deep, formal bow. "This is my family's war. It is not the sect's. I will not allow my personal troubles to bring disaster upon the home that has sheltered me."
She looked up, tears streaming down her pale face, but her eyes were firm. "I will leave. I will return to the north on my own. Whatever my fate, it will be my own. The Green Mountain Sect will have had no part in it. You can tell them I fled, that you cast me out. It will protect you."
"Absolutely not!" The voice that roared through the chamber was the First Elder's. His Foundation Establishment aura flared with a violent intensity that shook the very hall.
"You will do no such thing!" he snarled, his voice a protective roar. He stepped forward, placing himself between Su Ling and the others, a mountain of righteous anger. "You think I will let you go to your death? You think I will cast out my own student to appease some distant tyrant?"
He looked at the other elders, his eyes burning with a fierce, painful light. "I have lost a direct disciple once before. He was brilliant. He was brave. And I was not strong enough to protect him from the cruelties of this world. I have lived with that failure for fifty years."
He turned, his gaze softening as he looked at the weeping Su Ling. "You are my only direct other student, Su Ling. I have watched you grow up most of your life, you are like a granddaughter to me. I will not lose you too. If you go, I will go with you. And we will face your family's demons together, or we will die together. This old bag of bones will not witness my other disciple die in this life."
A heavy, emotional silence filled the chamber. The weight of the old man's grief, of his fierce, protective love, was a palpable force.
The Sect Master, his face grim, finally spoke. "Your loyalty does you honor, old friend. But your plan only changes it from a single person committing suicide to two people committing suicide together. You are a powerful elder, but you are not a Core Formation expert. Even then the Boreal Frost Empire's power is unknown, but they surely have a few experts in the early Core Formation realm, at the very least. The sects that have allied with them are strong as well. This is not a battle you can win."
"Then what do we do?" Elder Ning asked, her voice a pained whisper. "To send her away is to condemn her to death. To keep her here is to invite a war we cannot possibly survive."
It was a perfect, inescapable trap. The Sect Master closed his eyes, the weight of his sect's future pressing down on him. He knew the cold, pragmatic calculus of the situation. The most logical choice was to hand her over, to cut their losses and pray they would be satisfied.
He opened his eyes, and a new, hard, and unyielding light shone within them. Having been a sect leader for a long time he understood that things were never simple. If they dared to send assassins to the sect, they already didn't respect the Green Mountain Sect. They would most likely attack and destroy the sect after coming to power or make them send vast tribute to stay alive.
He thought of the generations of disciples who had lived and died for the sect. He thought of the ancient mountain-guarding formation, a legacy of their founder that had protected them for a thousand years. He thought of the honor of their name, a name that had never once bowed to a tyrant. Li Yu and the Grand Elders were the sect's final, hidden trump cards, a foundation never to be revealed or relied upon unless the sect faced true, imminent annihilation. This was a crisis, but it was not yet an apocalypse. The sect had to be able to stand on its own feet.
"We are already involved," he said, his voice a low, steady rumble of absolute finality. "The moment the Third Prince sent his assassins after our disciple, he made us a part of his war. To hand her over now would not be seen as a gesture of peace. It would be seen as an act of weakness. They would not thank us. They would simply crush us to ensure there are no loose ends."
He stood up, his presence filling the chamber with the authority of a true leader.
"Su Ling is a disciple of our Green Mountain Sect. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. We do not abandon our own."
He looked at his elders, his gaze hard as iron.
"We will stand by her. We will fortify the sect. And we will prepare for war."