"No need. We can hold the meeting right now, right here."
But Baizhen was also a stubborn old man. He didn't give Xiao Heng the luxury of time and turned around to face all the Elders.
"From now on, Xiao Heng will be removed from the position of Clan Leader because he was unable to educate his son properly. This is also an apology for what Xiao Chen has just done. Who agrees, and who refuses?"
He asked while scanning all the Elders with his hawk-like eyes. From his piercingly cold expression and the voice filled with authority, it seemed that if someone dared to refuse, he would show them why he was the ceiling power of the Xiao Clan.
"Grand Elder, you cannot do that. Why are you following the lead of this brat? A simple apology is more than enough. I don't think you need to do this."
Xiao Heng was stunned after seeing how serious Baizhen was. So, he hurriedly walked closer, trying to dissuade the Grand Elder, when he felt a cold gaze filled with murderous intent.
"Heng'er, my patience is limited. As Clan Leader, you still cannot see the problem. There is no need to discuss this anymore."
Baizhen flung the long sleeves of his robe in annoyance and looked at the Elders around him, asking again,
"Who agrees, and who refuses?"
"I agree!"
"Me too. It is indeed time to change the Clan Leader."
"I agree as well. Let Elder Xiao Heng take care of his son during this period of time."
Feeling the increasing pressure around the field and the cold gazes that could penetrate the soul, the Elders of the Xiao Clan could no longer remain neutral.
One by one, they expressed their agreement, causing Xiao Heng's face to darken.
He never thought that after reaching the Essence Forging realm, he would be removed from the Clan Leader position just like that.
But he knew he could no longer change the Grand Elder's decision because his prestige was higher, and so was his strength—at the middle level of the Essence Forging realm.
Not to mention, Baizhen was the one who had unilaterally made him Clan Leader before. Now that he was removing him, there was little resistance.
"Good! Good! Good!"
He could only say the word "good" three times to show his dissatisfaction.
Then, without caring about the strange looks from the Elders, he diverted his gaze toward Zhixian and asked,
"Now that it has been decided, can I take my son away? Don't worry, he will serve his one-week sentence in the dark prison, just as he said."
Xiao Heng asked while controlling his raging emotions. He finally understood that today, nothing would go as he wished.
So, he wanted to leave this place with his son immediately to avoid further embarrassment.
But everyone could see that his gaze toward Zhixian was cold and extremely distant as if he hated his existence to the core.
"Yes, you can take him."
Zhixian didn't care and nodded, leaving the delirious Xiao Chen aside. By now, the young man had already mostly awakened from the earlier punch and was mumbling incoherently.
As for the answer from Elder Murong, it was no longer needed.
After all, the Xiao Clan had already given their response to the Crimson Blade Sect with their extreme actions. Zhixian saw no need to entertain them further.
"That's good then."
Xiao Heng nodded, swiftly arrived near his son and fed him a healing pill from his hand. Then, without looking at anyone, he picked him up and left the premises with the speed of the wind.
"Elder Murong, let's go too."
Seeing that the situation had escalated to this point, Huang Yue felt quite bitter. So, she asked the elder beside her in a soft voice while biting her red lips in distress.
She just wanted to cancel this engagement that she didn't like. But now, she realized that she had been too impulsive and hadn't considered its implications.
Now that the Xiao Clan had become a joke on such a joyous occasion because of her, of course, nobody would look at her favorably.
Even Xiao Zhixian, who seemed to be on her side from the beginning, was cold when facing her as if they were strangers.
'It seems I ruined our relationship.'
Huang Yue thought bitterly, feeling quite sad. After all, as Xiao Chen said, they were, in a way, childhood friends and had been quite close.
But with today's incident, she had broken that relationship apart.
Now she realized that she had also been quite stupid.
"Okay, Miss Yue'er, let's go."
Elder Murong heard Huang Yue's voice, gave a smile, and invited her out. He also didn't want to stay here anymore since he had already received the apology he wanted.
As for other things, he never cared.
But still, while leaving, he gave a brief glance at Zhixian's figure, who stood upright with a serious expression in the middle of the crowd.
'A wise and smart young man. It is a pity he was born into such a low-level family.'
Murong shook his head in disappointment and disappeared from the hall along with Huang Yue amid the gazes of all the people.
"The birthday banquet is over. I thank you all for attending my 100th birthday. Now, you all may please leave. I am sorry for the inconvenience caused."
Seeing that the situation had calmed down, Baizhen faced the crowd, who were busy watching the spectacle, and asked them to leave with a slight bow.
"Haha... it is okay, Elder Xiao."
"Yeah, it is time to leave. I wish you a happy birthday once again."
"May the Xiao Clan live forever."
The enthusiastic crowd got the message and left one by one after expressing polite words.
Unlike the Xiao Clan, they were all quite happy, as they had witnessed such a good show today. Now they had something to gossip about while drinking tea in the morning.
While the crowd left the hall and the Xiao Clan members busily gathered around the Grand Elder, Zhixian was instead confused.
'Why are there still no Antagonist Points?'
He couldn't understand why, even after punishing Xiao Chen and removing the current Clan Leader, he had heard no prompt from the system.
Just when he was lost in thought, a slightly low but firm voice broke the silence of the hall.
"Grand Elder, now that Xiao Heng has been removed as Clan Leader, why don't we choose another one? In my opinion, Xiao Zhixian seems perfect for the role. What do you think?"