Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1267 - 1266 - New Clan Head

Lind saw the hall was full of many people. He was actually shocked that many of them carried a trace of his blood! Just how prolific had his family been?!

He noticed none of his blood related children were present which he found odd aside from the few he knew had died. Hei and Zhao had lived out the rest of their vitality centuries ago but their children and grandchildren were present.

He recognized the traces of their scent in several people. The humans were a little harder for him but they were the majority.

His wives were arranged around the very back wall above most of the rest but they were not in the place of judgment. He found that odd as they were the Matriarchs of the Clan no matter his state.

Still, they may have pulled back to be Supreme Elders or some other office outside the everyday needs of the Clan.

Certainly, the Radiant Tiers qualified as more than the local Crystal Tiers.

The row they occupied was railed off by grade 7 wooden materials tinted a deep black. He recognized Sylvan Oak but he had not known of a local forest to harvest it in his time in the 2nd layer.

The crimson banners were made to stand out with dark walls and golden lining. It was clear they still followed the color scheme he had set all those millennia ago. While he imitated his old Clan to an extent, the symbol stood out over one of the chairs at the head of the hall.

A massive sinuous emerald dragon was staring down at him with emerald eyes. He noticed they removed his horns but otherwise it was a good likeness.

He looked down onto a rather humble throne. It had no unnecessary decorations but it was clearly an artifact that was well made. It was not wood but stone covered in a plush seat cushion from what he could tell.

He could make out the fine inscription lines and recognized Annabelle's work. She had clearly reached Law Grade.

Compared to his recent weavings, they were rough but before his time in the spirit world, she could inscribe circles around him.

She was not that far behind him either!

The person sitting on that throne was controlling it. The formations allowed the person sitting on it to receive reports from the defensive formations and likely a few other things. Illusions could be turned into live displays as he had long known.

The woman sitting on the throne was a Crystal Tier and he could tell she was very young. It was clear she was a prodigy and had reached the Crystal Tier in less than 3 millennia.

She had sky blue eyes in a richly dark face. Her hair was pale but he caught a few signs of it shifting between pink and a lime green every so faintly. She might be a descendant of Qing as her eyes had a similar effect.

She felt purely human but a trace of his bloodline was within her. It was dormant but he could sense it was just barely so. She likely could awaken it soon under the right impetus.

He bowed low to the woman who smiled at him warmly.

"Founder, you are not needed to bow to this lowly Clan Head." Lind shook his head.

"I abandoned my role and must face judgment. Until it is given, I am only a guest here no matter my cultivation." He was keeping strictly to the rules and she slowly nodded with respect in her eyes.

"You have given some context and while you did break off contact, you were not required to maintain it. With the recent Fiend Frenzy, we all got a taste of what used to be normal life in the 3rd layer. We also have reports of the near impossible feats you achieved in that time." He acknowledged her words but did not add to it.

He knew they had long since researched his life in the 3rd layer so he only had to fill some gaps and answer questions. He held nothing back and even swore an Oath all his words were true.

"Clan Head–" An older man spoke up and Lind could feel the disdain as his dark eyes looked at him. It seemed some of his descendants had no desire to indulge him at all.

"Elder Zed, we have heard your faction's words and now it is my time to talk. Do you disagree?" Pressure suddenly flowed and the chair was contributing nothing! Lind arched an eyebrow as Mira smirked with pride.

The older man began to sweat before he shook his head quickly. He could not even speak!

"Very good. Now, before I pass judgment, you should understand there are 2 separate issues before us. One is not our Clan's concern and that is your immediate family, Founder. You will have to face a very different trial on that front." The woman smiled at him but it was not cold.

A shiver went down his spine but he nodded without looking away.

She shifted to a more welcoming smile but then became serious.

"As to your lack of support from the 3rd layer, we have decided you are inaccurate. You may not have actively brought powers together as you did before but the foundation you laid in the 2nd layer let us establish our foundation here so well that the circumstances of the Endless Peaks left no room for similar actions." She outlined the desperate and dangerous life he led for close to 2000 years.

"While it was indeed selfish and foolhardy, it had no impact on our Clan since the reputation was extended to us with the revelation of your identity. To punish you for not keeping up your usual responsibilities would seem ungrateful. However, the fact remains you admit to abandoning your duty to us." Lind found a lot of the words sounded like excuses but at least the last part was right.

To be fair, he had not taken an Oath to forever serve the Clan, no sane cultivator would make such an Oath. Clans could fall or be betrayed and if some accidental knowledge was revealed to be known to the Oath-taker, they could be crippled or worse for an innocent mistake.

There were some Oaths given but they were similar to any promise a leader would expect. To never betray the Clan and such things were the norm but they were fairly limited in scope for the same reason.

"For your transgression, the council of Elders has chosen to let you remain the Founder but you will no longer have our support. Should you wish to contribute to the Clan, you can earn merit just like anyone else." His mother wanted to protest but Lind found it fair.

Abandoning promises to the Clan resulted in no longer receiving benefits was quite fair if a bit light. Yet, that left the harsher side of things he had yet to face.

"Founder, please know you will still be always welcome. You are still the Founder, after all." She then stood up and the majority filed out. He felt it was a bit abrupt but stayed where he was.

The harsh glares locked him in place. Compared to the disdain from before, they were a thousand times more damning.

Cyntilla, especially, looked like she could cut him down where he stood.

He suspected they heard his theory about his life and why he chose to distance himself from getting close to anyone ever again.

He also knew Fate tried to play him. It was no excuse at all but he suspected Fate was being petty to make him face the current consequences.

Unlike other forces of Heaven and Earth, it was not in any way alive but it could react to things that disrupted its patterns.

His Mother squeezed his hand but then left. Fey went with her as she had already made her stance plain.

Ilyria and Tal suddenly appeared in the hall but he noticed a conspicuous absence of others. Where was Jur?

"She is very angry with you and will not see you until you prove you are her 'Papa' once more." Chu suddenly spoke up and the pain he felt was harsh.

"Tal and Ilyria are also angry with you but they are here as witnesses for the rest. They will not contribute to the results today." Lind flinched at that too. Tal had been very similar to Jur.

Now, she looked at him coldly.

Ilyria seemed more neutral.

Kora and Annabelle were the only women not staring at him more than sternly. Even so, both remained silent as Qing slowly stepped forward.

"Mother told us your thoughts and words. You told her how you felt when you became a Radiant Tier. You felt like we were chains linking you to some grand destiny to fight the Great One?" Lind felt sweat break out but did not back down.

"I did. I even confirmed in part there was a conspiracy to trick me but I was wrong on many levels about what shape it took. It was solely my own fault for arriving at a false answer." He told the bald truth.

Shoti responded to his words by grasping the hilt of her whip. Cyntilla seemed ready to use her fangs to rend his flesh. Lysanna looked very hurt. Ethry looked at him like he was a bug.

He endured it all but Qing was the worst. It was like she was simply disappointed in him and it felt a thousand times worse than anger.

"What do you expect from us?" He was caught off guard by the question but did not immediately answer. He pondered carefully before a long sigh left him.

"I–I do not know. It is hard to explain but there are holes in my mind. I may have had firm thoughts before but the disjointed memories have not fully settled. I doubt I will ever get them back. I paid a price to return." That piece of news seemed to soften them but then he looked up.

He looked each of them in the face and smiled warmly before looking back at Qing.

"Everything has a consequence. Mistaken or not, I chose my path and forsook all of you in pursuit of what I thought I needed. I expect you to be yourselves. No more and no less." He then spread his legs and waited for the verdict.

A small smile spread on Qing's face.

"You really have returned. Your missing memories are not enough, however, to change our decision." He braced himself and before he could even blink a fist slammed into his face.

He was sent flying into the wall but the formations prevented any damage. He slowly sat up and saw Ethry standing where he had been.

She then kicked him and he felt almost nostalgic. His mother had done the same but unlike her, Ethry could actually hurt him!

A dark blade suddenly pierced his shoulder as Cyntilla's virulent eyes stared coldly down at him.

A tired sigh left Qing as she put a hand to her forehead.

"I had not finished speaking, you two. Stop it." Her words reverberated and the pair paused as they looked down at him. "As I was saying, nothing has changed. Some of us are willing to forgive but the others are not. You will need to face each of us and either win us back or accept our rejection."

Lind swallowed some blood and nodded. He looked at the 2 that attacked him and got the distinct impression he had a very hard road ahead of him.