Chapter 37: Elders's Discussion
"What happened here?"
A furious-looking middle-aged man spoke coldly. His tone frightened everyone nearby.
Especially those who looked quite young. Except for one individual, who was a female with a calm expression on her face.
She looked at the corpses on the ground and said.
"Calm down, Second Elder! Two guards responsible for guarding the Forbidden Ground are dead. It can only mean one thing."
"Whoever killed them is looking for the body of our ancestor. We need to secure it first before anything else."
Hearing her words, the middle-aged man calmed down. He was the Second Elder of the Sect.
If he performed so badly in front of these people, he would lose face, especially considering all of them were the elders of the sect.
"Let's go, Third Elder!"
He waved his hand and dashed straight towards the Forbidden Ground after addressing the female elder next to him.
The Third Elder quickly followed after him.
Seeing this, other elders looked at each other.
"What should we do?"
"I think we should tell the Sect Leader about this. After all, this is the Forbidden Ground."
"I heard the corpse of the Ancestor was buried here. That's why it was called Forbidden Ground."
"Indeed! Let's go and tell the Sect Leader about this."
While these elders decided to find the Sect Leader, the Second and Third Elder, who had entered a small garden, stopped.
The Second Elder turned towards the Third Elder and spoke.
"The Corpse of the Ancestor wasn't buried here."
"I know this. It is not advisable to inform other elders of this as well. But this also creates a problem. Who invaded our sect so openly?"
The Third Elder waved her hand and spoke.
As they walked in front of a large tombstone, they checked the ground for a moment, and the second elder spoke.
"It is clear whoever invaded this place didn't come here for the corpse. There is no trace of digging. Could it be Ancestor is hiding something here?"
Hearing that, the Third Elder frowned for a long time before she asked.
"Do you remember the family of the Ancestor?"
"You mean surnamed Wang?"
"Yeah, they are the only ones close enough to know important details of the ancestor."
"But there hasn't been anyone famous enough with such a surname. From the murder of our disciples, it is clear that the person is at least a Foundation Realm expert."
"I know most of the Foundation Establishment Realm experts. If any one of them had the surname Wang, I would've known."
"Besides, it is rumored that the last descendant of that family married Shen Family."
The second elder shook his head and denied her suspicions.
"That's the thing. It is just a rumor. Don't you think it's quite suspicious that a family with such heritage would just disappear from the world?"
"I have always suspected that they were being killed by some forces. It must be the enemies of the ancestor."
"So, I am not suspecting the Wang Family survivor but rather the enemies of the ancestor."
The Third Elder explained.
Hearing that, the Second Elder touched his chin and asked.
"But that doesn't make sense, does it? I mean, why would they still target anyone related to the ancestor? Did our ancestors kidnap the wife of that force's leader?"
His assumption instantly darkened the expression on the Third Elder. Seeing this, the Second Elder hurriedly waved his hands and said.
"I was just joking."
"Anyway, whoever came here wanted something else. Otherwise, they would've dug out the ancestor's grave."
The Third Elder snorted and replied with a serious expression.
"Let's talk to Sect Leader, Supreme Elder, and Great Elder! They are the only ones with enough knowledge about the Ancestor."
The Second Elder spoke and turned away.
The Third Elder followed him, and soon, they arrived in the Sect Hall. Seeing so many elders gathered there, they were a bit surprised.
"Second Elder, Third Elder, have you analyzed the situation?"
Standing in front of the crowd was a tall man with brown skin and black hair. He stood over seven feet tall and wore a red dress with gold sleeves.
He looked quite majestic in that attire.
"Leader, we found it. There is one big problem."
The Second Elder spoke and turned towards the group.
"Elders, can you give us some space?"
The Elders immediately understood his intention and hurriedly left the Sect Leader's room, leaving only eight people inside.
Sect Leader, Supreme Elder, Great Elder, First Elder, Second Elder, Third Elder, Fourth Elder, and Fifth Elder!
They were the most powerful people in the sect, and all of them were in the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Sect Leader, Supreme Elder, and Great Elder were at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
The First Elder, The Second Elder, and The Third Elder were at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment Realm.
The Fourth and the Fifth Elder were at the Middle Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Normally, the Foundation Establishment Realm had nine stages, but the first stage consisted of the first, second, and third stages.
The middle stage consisted of the fourth, fifth, and sixth stages. The late stage consisted of the seventh, eighth, and ninth stages.
And the Peak was called the completion of the ninth stage.
It was just like reaching 100% of the Skin Tempering Stage. Until then, it wouldn't be called peak.
So, the Sect Leader, Supreme, Elder, and Great Elder were all at the peak of the Ninth Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
On the other hand, the First, Second, and Third elders were at the start of the ninth stage, the eighth stage, and the seventh stage, respectively.
This was the true strength of the Golden Dragon Sect.
That's why, despite being a Low-Level sect, it was considered the most powerful sect in the Lightning Sword Kingdom.
"The invader didn't come for the ancestor's corpse. It's like he knew there was no corpse there."
The Second Elder spoke.
Hearing that, everyone's expression changed.
The Sect Leader placed his hand on his chin and said.
"This is a trouble. An ancestor was from thousands of years ago. If someone was alive for so long to be called his enemy, he should easily be able to destroy the sect."
At this moment, the newest addition to the Sect Hierarchy, the Third Elder, who rose to prominence because of her strength, felt confused.
"Sect Leader, why can't they just be the remnant of an ancestor's enemy?"
Her question was valid. She had read a lot of things about the Sect and the Ancestor.
From her knowledge, even if an ancestor did have an enemy, it should've been from over a thousand years ago.
That's why he established the sect.
Hearing her question, others turned towards the Sect Leader, hoping for him to explain.
He cleared his throat and said.
"It's simple. A normal Foundation Established cultivator can live for three hundred years."
"Reaching the Spiritual Palace Realm gives two hundred years of lifespan. Soul Condensation Realm increases that by another hundred years."
"When one reaches the Heavenly Ladder Realm, it directly goes to a thousand years."
"If you are a King, you can live for two thousand years, and if you are a Saint, you can live for five thousand years."
"Emperors have lived for more than tens of thousands of years. For most people, this is a secret."
"But for me, it was a knowledge I gained after decades of being the Sect Leader."
"The Ancestor of the Golden Dragon Sect hadn't surpassed the Foundation Establishment Realm or even the Heavenly Ladder Realm."
"From my speculation, he is either King Realm or a Saint. He died, not because of his lifespan problem but because of his injuries."
"That's why I suspect his enemies are attacking us."
Hearing that, the other elders found it hard to breathe.
The enemies of Kings and Saints.
They didn't even need to think about it.
Just the enemies above the Foundation Establishment Realm should be more than enough to deal with them.
Seeing their expressions, the Sect Leader smiled and said.
"Don't worry! Even if my suspicions are correct, we won't be dealing with them. Why? Every powerhouse in the kingdom has been registered."
"If there is a new powerhouse, they must establish a certain relationship with those people."
"Otherwise, they would easily be dealt with by these people. And, why would powerhouse like them focus on a small sect like us?"
"We have barely produced any talented youth who have surpassed the Foundation Establishment Realm."
"So, even if we are attacked, it should be the forces of our realm. So, we just need to be prepared for a strong invasion, not an overwhelming force."
His words calmed the hearts of the elders.
Supreme Elder stood up and nodded.
"I will go and prepare for the formation."
The Sect Leader nodded and solemnly spoke.
"All of our preparation can be for nothing. But even so, we need to prepare ourselves. Let's finish this year's Annual Competition as quickly as possible."
"Then, we will arm our disciples and prepare for the war!"
At this moment, the First Elder, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly smirked.