Chapter 24

The Dragon Gate Ceremony had drawn to a close, and the crowd slowly dispersed. Yet, the bloody scene on the sacrificial platform remained deeply etched in the minds of all who witnessed it. This was especially true for the First Elder, Qin Yuan. He stood there, utterly hollow, his gaze fixed on the cold, headless corpse upon the platform as two streams of tears traced paths down his weathered face. That was his son—the son in whom he had invested all his hopes! Though his bone structure had been stolen and his methods were ruthless and cruel, he was, after all, his only son. Now, he had died a wretched death before his very eyes, not even leaving behind a complete body. A parent burying a child—the greatest of sorrows! The immense grief made him wish for death, but more stinging than the grief was the cold, bottomless despair brought on by his defeat. He had lost, and he had lost completely. Not only was his son dead, but the painstaking efforts of his many years had, with Qin Tianlong's death, vanished into thin air. He could clearly feel the clan members who had once clung to him; they were now filled with alienation, wariness, and even... schadenfreude.