It wasn't until Gu Changyu and Gu Changyi's angry or sad voices reached their ears that the three elders slowly came back to their senses.

His expression immediately darkened.

Unlike clan leaders and patriarchs in the outside world, in the ancient martial arts world, the clan leader not only possesses immense power and prestige, but is also the symbol of a clan.

If the clan leader is insulted or persecuted, it is an insult to the entire clan.

Take Gu Yueming's incident from back then, for example.

Although the incident caused a great stir back then, and the Yuchi family repeatedly came to press the matter, the clan elders and family members were extremely dissatisfied with Gu Dongyuan's behavior of disregarding the overall situation for his own selfish reasons, but that was all they were dissatisfied with.

No one has dared to lay a hand on him or force him to abdicate.

The main reason he ultimately relinquished the position of clan leader was that he felt he was in the wrong and always gave the Yuchi family some leeway when dealing with them.

Over the years, he not only found his role as clan leader unpleasant, but it also caused the Gu family's ranking to drop again and again, so he eventually resigned from the position of clan leader.

Originally, the intention of Gu Dongyuan was to have his son, Gu Yanping, succeed him as clan leader, even though Gu Dongyuan had stepped down. However, some things happened in between.

In the end, Gu Xiyuan succeeded as clan leader, a position he held for twenty-two years.

As events from many years ago flashed through their minds, the three elders' expressions grew even more somber.

He looked up at Gu Yanping and said, "Not to mention that your third uncle is the patriarch of our Gu family, back when Changxuan was kidnapped by Yuchi Zhong and almost lost his life, it was your third uncle who risked his life to lead people to rescue Changxuan. He was seriously injured as a result and suffered a chronic illness."

"Back then, you were willing to give up the position of clan leader because of this favor, but now you don't remember that at all. You've detained your uncle in the dungeon. Gu Yanping, if you can't explain this clearly, then take your equally disobedient sister and get out of the Gu family!"

"Our Gu family doesn't need you beasts who only care about yourselves!"

The elder of the clan was truly enraged.

In fact, not only the elders, but also the members of the clan council and the servants of the Gu family have long harbored resentment towards Gu Dongyuan's lineage.

From Gu Dongyuan to Gu Yanping and Gu Yueming, and then to Gu Changxuan, the Gu family's eldest branch is undoubtedly exceptionally talented.

Each of them is the most outstanding among their peers.

But none of them took on the responsibility of expanding and strengthening the Gu family.

Gu Dongyuan and Gu Yanping disregarded their family for the sake of their daughter and sister.

Gu Yueming ran away from her wedding for her own selfish reasons.

Gu Changxuan didn't do anything wrong, but sometimes, inaction itself is a mistake.

No matter how outstanding a person is, if they are useless to the family, they are just a waste.

They care about their families and don't need such a useless person!

Gu Yanping's expression calmed down, and he said indifferently, "I didn't intend to stay in the Gu family either."

He had long been tired of staying in a family that only cared about interests and had no feelings for its members.

But before leaving...

Gu Yanping took a piece of paper from the table behind him, unfolded it, and placed it on the table in front of the three clan elders, saying, "This is the truth about Xiaoming's marriage agreement back then."

He then picked up another thick stack of letters and pulled out the bottom one: "This is the truth about the struggle between the Gu family and the Yuchi family for the eastern spirit mine twenty-five years ago."

The penultimate letter reads: "This is the truth behind my grandfather giving up the Gu family's Xishui Street shop twenty-four years ago."

The third to last letter reads: "This is the truth behind my defeat in the tournament twenty-four years ago."

...

Gu Yanping paused for a moment, his gaze extremely cold and deep, and handed over the eighth letter from the end, saying, "This is the truth about my son being kidnapped and nearly losing his life."

Each time Gu Yanping handed out a letter, the three clan elders would read it.

From initial disdain to a growing sense of unease, he now finds himself hesitant to reach out and accept the next letter.

But Gu Yanping's actions did not stop because they dared not, and he did not slow down at all.

The ninth letter from the end, the tenth letter from the end, the eleventh letter from the end, all the way up to the fifty-third letter.

Gu Yanping handed over the last letter, his voice flat and even: "This is the truth behind my father being forced to fight Yuchi Feng, but being drugged on the eve of the fight and ultimately suffering a sneak attack and injury."

Gu Yanping let his hands hang freely at his sides and continued, "And then there were the three years of imprisonment and the constant attempts to harm him. If it weren't for Xiaoming's family coming back to visit this time, and Lord Ye making a special trip to treat my father out of respect for Shengsheng, and discovering that the incense in the room was not right, my father might not be here by now."

The three elders of the clan had already read all the letters, and now they dared not ask about the spices. Their old faces were flushed red: "Yanping, we don't know..."

"Whether you know it or not doesn't matter." Gu Yanping interrupted them, his voice cold. "I just want to ask one question: given what Gu Xiyuan has done over the years, given his repeated attempts to harm my eldest son's family, and the fact that he almost killed my father and my son, is it too much for me to just detain him and imprison him?"

Whether it's excessive or not, but: "You should inform the family beforehand. If there's anything, everyone should sit down and talk it over. Gu Xiyuan is guilty, and it should be decided by the elders. After removing him from the position of clan leader, you can settle your scores and grievances, right?"

By then, it would be a private feud between the first wife and the third wife, and nobody else could interfere.

But things are different now.

Gu Xiyuan is not only a member of the Gu family, but also the patriarch of the Gu family.

He represents the entire Gu family!

The elder frowned: "You are also a member of the Gu family, and you grew up under the family's cultivation. You should know the family rules. How can you act solely based on your personal feelings?"

Gu Yanping knew this would be the outcome, and he was too lazy to argue with them anymore.

Just as he was about to say, "What's done is done," the girl's cool voice rang out from behind him.

Qin Sheng was still sleeping on Qin Zhao's shoulder, her eyes still closed, but the words she spoke made the three elders tremble with fear.

She said, "I am not a member of the Gu family, nor have I been trained by the Gu family. Now I want to destroy the Gu family. Do you want to say a few more last words?"

The elder was so angry that his body trembled. The word "arrogant brat" was already on the tip of his tongue when Ye Fu, who was in the main seat, sighed and said, "Sheng Sheng, although you are not a member of the Gu family, your mother grew up in the Gu family. Although it would be easy for you to destroy the Gu family with your strength, it would not sound good if word got out."

"It's especially bad for your maternal grandparents."

Qin Sheng opened her eyes and glanced at him: "So?"

“So,” Ye Fu smiled ingratiatingly at her, and continued, “so after the competition in a couple of days, you can take over my position as guardian, and then I’ll help you eliminate them.”

Qin Sheng: "..."

So, all you're trying to do is trick her into working for you for free, right?

Dream on.

"Then I'll go and refine a Breakthrough Pill to give to my senior brother, to help him break through to level ten of ancient martial arts."

It would be the same to ask Cheng for help after he breaks through.

Ye Fu's smile vanished instantly.

That stubborn brat!