Chapter 136

Seven days later, the Gu family in Wu Shan Cheng.

Shortly after leaving seclusion, Gu Xiao Dao, whose aura source ran deep, entered the family council hall with the stride of a dragon and tiger.

In the council hall at that moment, the ten elders had already taken their seats in order.

The hall was filled with a solemn, deadly aura, roughly split into two factions whose gazes crossed like lightning.

Both sides seemed to be measuring their auras, needle tip against wheat awn, neither giving an inch.

The instant Gu Xiao Dao stepped into the council hall, the auras of all the elders inside instantly retracted.

"Greetings, Family Head."

All the elders rose and bowed with clasped hands to Gu Xiao Dao.

"No need for formalities."

Gu Xiao Dao waved his hand and went straight to the main seat, sitting down.

The head elder, sensing Gu Xiao Dao's aura growing ever stronger, was instantly delighted and spoke respectfully:

"Congratulations, Family Head, on your further cultivation progress."

Upon hearing this, the remaining nine elders were startled in their hearts.

But immediately after, they burst into wild joy!

Among the ten elders, the head elder is undoubtedly the strongest.

The gap between them and the Family Head was considerable, and they had not noticed the Family Head's change.

But since the head elder said so, and the Family Head did not refute, it shows the Family Head's cultivation has likely truly broken through!

The nine elders hurriedly offered repeated congratulations to Gu Xiao Dao,

"Congratulations, Family Head, on breaking through to Martial Sovereign!"

Gu Xiao Dao smiled faintly, pressing down with his right hand,

"Do not make a fuss."

Wu Shan Cheng is not a big city.

Besides the City Lord, the strongest openly known person in the city is at most a peak Martial Ancestor.

At this moment, Gu Xiao Dao's breakthrough to Martial Sovereign means he has become the foremost person openly in Wu Shan Cheng.

For the Gu family, this is absolutely a great opportunity to expand their power!

The situation of the four great families standing side by side in Wu Shan Cheng will likely be gone from now on!

"My cultivation is not yet consolidated; after it is consolidated, I will then formulate the next steps."

Before, everyone was a Martial Ancestor; although being a Martial Ancestor can still differ greatly, overall they are the same realm.

The Gu family is also not a place where Gu Xiao Dao's word is law.

But now that Gu Xiao Dao has advanced to Martial Sovereign, it means his strength far exceeds that of the ten elders combined!

Even if all the elders joined forces, they would not be a match for Gu Xiao Dao!

Therefore, as soon as Gu Xiao Dao spoke, everyone immediately assented, with none daring to defy him.

Amidst the congratulations, the Third Elder spoke with a sinister tone,

"Old Five, look at the good thing you've done!"

"If it weren't for the Family Head's fortunate nature and heavenly favor, successfully breaking through the realm, if you had ruined the critical moment of his seclusion, I'd like to see how you'd take responsibility!"

The Third Elder clearly intended to strike first, making the Fifth Elder hesitate to act for fear of harming the host.

"Third Elder, there's no need for this; Fifth Elder did not do it intentionally."

However, he did not expect that at this moment Gu Xiao Dao was happily in the midst of breaking through his realm.

Such trivial matters were not even on his mind.

The Third Elder, who initiated the challenge, failed outright, and his expression immediately turned ugly.

Gu Xiao Dao looked toward the Fifth Elder sitting in the third row,

"Fifth Elder, why so urgently summon me out of seclusion? Is there any important matter?"

Fifth Elder Gu Ren hastily rose and bowed with clasped hands to apologize to Gu Xiao Dao,

"I did not know beforehand that the Family Head was at the critical moment of his seclusion; I nearly ruined his seclusion plan, and I hope the Family Head will forgive me."

Although Gu Xiao Dao said he didn't mind, he still received the proper courtesy.

Gu Xiao Dao's expression instantly turned stern,

"I said I didn't mind, and I truly won't mind; if you continue acting like this, then don't blame me for disregarding our ties."

After the Fifth Elder nodded in agreement, he decided to start from the beginning,

"Three months ago, it was the day for conscription of the youth of Ben Lang Guo; our Gu family this time drew twenty-seven people, among whom was the Third Elder's grandson, Gu Han."

"Huh?"

Gu Xiao Dao furrowed his brow upon hearing half of it,

"Fifth Elder, could you be mistaken? If I recall correctly, the one who should be conscripted is Gu Han of the Cold Mountain family, not the Third Elder's grandson."

As Family Head, Gu Xiao Dao naturally would not be unaware of the conscription matter.

Even when Gu Sanhe first reported the conscription situation, Gu Xiao Dao had not yet entered seclusion and personally listened to Gu Sanhe's report.

Several other elders also looked at the Fifth Elder with suspicion, not knowing what scheme he was up to.

"What the Family Head said is correct; the one currently serving is indeed Gu Han of the Cold Mountain family."

The Fifth Elder's tone turned cold as he said this,

"But that's because the Third Elder did not want his grandson Gu Han to suffer at the border, so he secretly contacted the City Lord's office and swapped Gu Han's name for Gu Han of the Cold Mountain family."

Upon hearing this, several elders' faces instantly turned solemn.

Fifth Elder, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't talk nonsense!

The Seventh Elder spoke in a deep voice,

"Colluding with the Chengzhu Fu to alter the list is a grave crime! A slight misstep will implicate the entire Gu Family!"

Seeing this, the Third Elder also stepped forward at that moment, his expression unkind as he stared at the Fifth Elder,

"Fifth Elder, if you have no evidence, please think twice before acting, lest you bear the wrongful charge of betraying your own clan!"

The Eighth Elder beside them heard the words and his complexion changed dramatically.

He rose abruptly and questioned the Third Elder,

"Just a few days ago you clearly admitted that you had Gu Han replace your grandson Gu Han to go to the border pass for military service, and today you outright deny it!"

"At that time, Gu Fangyun and other main‑line members, as well as Gu Si and other secondary‑line members, were all present and heard it with their own ears!"

"Is that so?"

The Third Elder curled the corner of his mouth, a look of assured victory on his face, and mockingly looked at the Eighth Elder,

"Since that's the case, why not invite them over to provide testimony, what do you think?"

Seeing the Third Elder's confident demeanor, the Eighth Elder's heart sank to the bottom of a valley.

He knew that the Third Elder had probably employed some method to force Gu Fangyun and the others to turn against their own.

The Eighth Elder hurriedly looked at the Fifth Elder, only to find his expression unchanged.

He seemed not at all surprised by the Third Elder's actions.

Gu Xiao Dao observed the dispute among them and said calmly,

"In that case, summon Gu Fangyun, Gu Si and the others to come to the Yishi Ting!"

The Family Head issued the order, and immediately someone set out to carry it out.

Before long, everyone present entered the Yishi Ting one after another.

However, it was unlike the manner when they previously heard Gu Sanhe's report.

This time the crowd was exceedingly cautious.

Each person trembled, as if fearing they might say something wrong.

Only Xu Xin Zhu's face remained unchanged; aside from a hint of nervousness, she showed no excessive fear.

"According to the Fifth Elder, on that day the Third Elder personally admitted the name change, having Gu Han replace Gu Han to serve in the army. Did you all witness it with your own eyes?"

Seeing the few people anxious and exchanging glances yet daring not to speak, Gu Xiao Dao said in a deep voice,

"Regardless of the matter, this Family Head guarantees that no one will dare trouble you because of it; you only need to state what you know!"

With those words, Gu Fangyun, who had been hesitating, finally gathered courage and said in a low voice,

"Reporting back to the Family Head, the Third Elder never mentioned the matter of Gu Han replacing Young Master Gu Han for enlistment."

With Gu Fangyun leading, the other main‑line members gave almost the same statement.

Everyone declared that the incident never occurred!

In that instant, the situation tilted sharply toward the Third Elder.

"Fifth Elder, do you have anything else to say?"