"Regarding the wolf tide," Fang Yuan Yuan began, once he had been granted permission to speak, all eyes immediately turning towards him. Last time, during this meeting, he had said as little as possible in order to draw the least bit of attention to himself as possible. Now, though, he was confident in his strength enough to openly go around scheming, but he still not strong enough for what he wanted to do on his lonesome.
"We are not just dealing with Thunder Crown Wolves in this wolf tide," Fang Yuan said. "I'm sure that many of you have heard of this, but there's also a Lightning Lycan King among them."
From their expressions, he could tell that many of them had indeed heard of this but for about one third of them this was completely out of the blue.
"A Lightning Lycan King!" one of them yelled out. The elder's pupils shrunk. The mere thought of another Rank 4 equivalent wolf out there was enough to dry his throat.
"Elder Fang Yuan," the Medicine Elder, Gu Yue Yao Ji asked gently, "how exactly did you come to know of this?"
Even those who were already aware that there was a Lightning Lycan King were curious about this. Not even the clan head knew the details.
"I've seen it with my own eyes," Fang Yuan said. "We battled, I almost beat it, and then I gave chase, but it is cunning, as many of you can already assume. When it saw that its defeat was certain, it fled. I did not have an Audio-Visual Gu on me at the time, otherwise I could have presented more direct evidence on the matter."
"There is little need for that." The voice who spoke right now was the oldest among the elders, Gu Yue Han Lin. Fang Yuan knew that two of the elders, other than the clan head, happened to know the secret of the Blood River Graveyard. Without a doubt, this person was one of them. "The words of Elder Gu Yue Fang Yuan are more than enough."
There was some muttering in the background. After all, all they had right now was Fang Yuan's word for it, and no words from other scouts.
As it was, Fang Yuan's story seemed rather fanciful- especially in the way that he described nearly defeating it. It would be difficult for even the current clan head with the help of several elders to defeat the Lightning Lycan King. For Fang Yuan to have nearly done so on his own was difficult for them to stomach - for those who did not think that he possessed the Ancient Yin Desolate Moon Physique it was nearly unimaginable.
"Could the scouts really have been deceived?" Mo Chen asked. The reason why he was bringing this up was because it was his granddaughter, Mo Yan, who had been sent as part of the team to investigate the wolf tide. Of course, there had been other teams, but if someone wanted to, they could bring this up as a failure of his faction to properly investigate the issue.
"It is not unfathomable that the Lightning Lycan King has not been found until now," another chimed in. "It has the intelligence rivaling humans, and its size is only that of an ordinary wolf. It would have, without doubt, blended itself among the pack, and any scout which would have happened to come upon it would have either not noticed it or not lived to tell the tale. Lord Fang Yuan, with his Rank 4 cultivation level, however, would have been able to do so and also live to tell the tale."
Mo Chen relaxed a little. That meant that this matter could not be traced back to his faction and blamed upon his granddaughter.
"I think that everyone here knows the danger that the Lightning Lycan King presents," Fang Yuan said. "Which is why I propose that to deal with this issue, we go ahead and preemptively strike against it. Without it, the wolf tide will have lost its greatest strategist." These words drew several shocked looks and even a few gasps. The clan head already knew of this plan. However, he had not begun introducing it just because of how out of left field it was.
"Lord Fang Yuan?" one of the elders finally managed to get out. This was an elder from the neutral faction, though he spoke with trepidation. "I do not doubt for a second your valor and bravery, as well as strength. However, there is a reason why we wait for the wolves to come to us, and we do not strike out against them. Out there in the wilderness is their territory- we would be leaving ourselves exposed, searching for the Lightning Lycan King fruitlessly for possibly days on end."
"I understand your concerns," Fang Yuan said. "However, we will not be going around marching around the wilderness fruitlessly. I have been able to ascertain certain facts about its routines and habitat. As such, I know where it will appear. If we head out within the next five days, we will be able to find it somewhere around this region." Fang Yuan pointed to a spot on a map that was laid out.
"I want to create a team with me at the head and several elders supporting, so that we can catch the Lightning Lycan off guard. With it removed from the table, dealing with the wolf tide will be far easier."
None of the elders spoke up for some time.
Fang Yuan had declared something - that he knew where the Lightning Lycan King was going to be. This was nearly an absurd fact were it not for the existence of certain gu worms which could allow one to track such a creature.
If it had been an ordinary elder who had proposed such a plan, they might have even been kicked out of the meeting then and there after being harshly reprimanded by the clan head.
Without a doubt, many of them had their own hesitations, but because it was Fang Yuan, a Rank 4 Gu Master, who had said this, none of them wanted to be the first to call him out. Even the elder who had spoken up against Fang Yuan before from the neutral faction had felt like he was walking a tightrope while he questioned Fang Yuan. The only person who could truly do so was the clan head himself, or the leaders of the Mo or Chi factions.
The clan head was already firmly on Fang Yuan's side. As for the Mo and the Chi factions, neither of them wanted to risk stepping on uneven ground. Finally, it was Yao Ji who spoke up.
"Lord Fang Yuan," Gu Yue Yao Ji said. "I appreciate your valor and readiness to sacrifice for the clan. However, I think that this is too risky a matter." Her words were soft, and although many openly shook their heads at them, most of them actually agreed with her inwardly. They simply did not have the courage to voice their opinion. "You are still young and inexperienced, Fang Yuan, despite your strength. Heed the advice those who have seen far more winters than you, and you will continue to live for far more winters than you would otherwise." Yao Ji said these words without knowing that compared to Fang Yuan, she may as well have been a little girl.
It looked like the meeting was about to turn against Fang Yuan's suggestion, with even the clan head being unable to do much with the elders united in this manner.
'It was a borderline insane plan to begin with,' the clan head thought to himself. 'In this political battlefield, Fang Yuan, you need to prove yourself, and I can help you no further.'
However, right then and there, a voice cut through the crowd.
"I support Fang Yuan and will go with him to fight the Lightning Lycan King!"