Chapter 34: Sudden turnaround

Entering the room, it was already early evening. Bruno turned to the small Ruri and comforted her gently. "You have to compose yourself. The patriarch will come here soon. It's not good to risk getting too close to him yet."

She looked at them closely and bit her lip amidst tears of frustration. But in a few seconds, she began to regain her composure. Her eyes still shimmered as she looked at Bruno, who nodded firmly in silence. "Sir must be hungry. I'm sorry... I'll be back shortly." Right after, she left with light and steady steps.

Alm threatened to make the same old joke, but Bruno interrupted him before the first word. "Things have become chaotic. The elders will want to blame us for everything; the clan's future is at stake because of all this."

"Who cares about that piece of shit? Did you see how everyone around that spoiled brat was fawning over him? The clan must thrive on small contacts and schemes with people inside the sect." Alm wasn't the least bit concerned.

Bruno sighed, ignoring Alm's comment and continuing. "Only three minimally decent members emerge per generation, and practically only they can get into the sect and serve any purpose. If a woman appears, great. They arrange a marriage."

"The best is when it's only men; they must do all sorts of sinister things within the sect to create bonds and favors." Alm only found it ridiculous. "In the end, the patriarch mentioned that the brat's father owed him a favor, so he must have had some fun in the past."

They sat on the stone bed and began to seriously think about what to do next. Cultivating inside the room was out of the question, and leaving now was not a choice. Sure enough, less than an hour later, they felt someone approaching in the corridors.

The patriarch opened the door to the room with a dark and serious expression. The room was completely dark, but when he looked at the focus of light at the window, he saw the shadow of the round, gigantic figure sitting in meditation.

Alm and Bruno's eyes opened within the shadow. The patriarch looked closely at those eyes. For a brief second, he felt something very strange coming from them, something that wasn't there before.

His steps halted at the room's entrance, and he seemed to seriously contemplate something. A few seconds passed, and he then turned his gaze toward them, taking steps forward. "I've granted you many pardons because of your father's friendship. But today, you've caused a disaster for the clan."

Alm then slowly responded, opening his mouth. "Disaster? Does my father's clan accept being treated as servants by a young cultivator?"

"IDIOT! You're still a brat who doesn't understand how hard it is to secure resources and keep the clan alive," the patriarch initially responded fiercely.

The reply came calmly. "I don't know who my father is, and I don't care. As you said yourself, you've forgiven me many times in the past. The debt has already been paid; I'm taking responsibility for my actions now."

"Oh? You've finally decided to become a man. How will you regret and resolve this then?" he asked mockingly.

"Regret? Don't be ridiculous," Alm spoke with a laugh before continuing firmly, "I won't bow to anyone; what's mine will never be taken from me. If you think a little shit will take something that belongs to me just because he wants to, he'll have to kill me first."

Suddenly, without Alm and Bruno controlling him, a commotion coursed through his veins, and his eyes acquired a dense brown hue that seemed capable of absorbing the essence of people's souls. "If your clan prefers to bow just to survive, it will also bow to the blade that takes its own head."

After a pause, the cold and ominous voice continued. "Karma always comes back; it's not negotiated, it's simply paid. And if someone desires a disaster, we will be the agents of that disaster." He concluded with a sinister laugh.

The patriarch initially felt a surge of anger, but when he encountered those eyes, something seemed to click in his mind. Strangely, his aura changed as if he had made a surprising discovery.

Alm and Bruno watched all these changes with confusion, and then the patriarch spoke again. "Very well, from now on, you take full responsibility. I'll negotiate with Innoa's father on your behalf, using his last favor for your parents."

He turned to leave even more strangely and added, "Remember, next time, you will be expelled or killed. Keep that in mind."

The door closed, leaving Alm and Bruno perplexed on the stone bed.

"He... he only came to tell us we'd be handed over to resolve the issue, didn't he?" Bruno asked strangely.

Alm nodded inwardly, also not understanding. "What the hell just happened... well... screw it... we bought ourselves some more time. Let's sort everything out quickly."

A few minutes later, Ruri entered the room with food. Then, Bruno and Alm decided to forget what they couldn't know at the moment and threw themselves into a frenzy of eating.

Meanwhile, the patriarch walked briskly through the clan's corridors with an excited expression on his face. His thoughts buzzed with the recent discovery. "The bloodline... yes, it awakened in him. Great!" he murmured to himself, eager to get to the meeting room. "At last, after so much time and sacrifice... Now we can advance by leaps and bounds."

His steps echoed through the corridors. "He probably matured suddenly because of this lineage. But a person's nature never changes... yes, it just needs a little encouragement, and he'll respond."

The patriarch swung open the door to the meeting room with vigor, startling all the present council members with his sudden entrance.

He spoke loudly and firmly. "Contact everyone who owes us favors, especially those with many descendants." The council members looked at him in confusion, waiting for the patriarch to reveal his audacious plans.

"I want you to gather all the marriageable women you can find. We are forming an army!" His words echoed in the room, leaving everyone stunned by the sudden twist in their plans. He couldn't help but coldly smile. 'Hehe! Let me see if you can resist it.'

Somewhere else, on the top of a stone bed, a certain whale felt a chill on his back.