Against the Gods Chapter 516 - The Patriarch Position

Chapter 516 - The Patriarch Position
“Great Elder’s words are incorrect.” Just as Yun Waitian had stopped speaking, a Yun Family elder quickly followed up and said: “Based on prestige, strength and contribution to our Yun Clan, you are definitely the most suitable to be our next Patriarch.”
“That’s right.” Another elder also hastily said: “In terms of rank, Great Elder is the leader of the Elder Council. In terms of strength, you’re also the strongest in our family. Furthermore, ever since the Patriarch became crippled all those years back, all the matters concerning the clan has been handled by Great Elder. Therefore, if we were to choose the most suitable candidate for Patriarch acknowledged by everyone, it would no doubt be Great Elder.”
“I think so as well.”
A few elders carried on, speaking one after another, recommending Great Elder Yun Waitian to be the next Yun Patriarch. Gradually, more and more people spoke for Yun Waitian. Only a minority of the elders did not speak up and sighed in secret. Following that, all the middle-aged and young generation of the Yun Family began echoing out the Great Elder’s name.
A hundred years ago, Yun Canghai left and never returned. Yun Qinghong had to succeed as the next Patriarch. At that time, in terms of prestige and influence within the family, ten Yun Waitian could not even match up to one Yun Qinghong. Within the family, any command by Yun Qinghong would be fulfilled immediately and no one dared to defy him. Although the Yun Family eleven strongest cornerstones disappeared overnight and their strength faltered massively, and they even carried the name of sinners, the entire family believed that with Yun Qinghong leading the family, the Yun Family would definitely rise once again. Outside of the Yun Family, there was no one that would dare belittle the strength of the weakened Yun Family… Because at that time, there was the unrivaled talent, Yun Qinghong.
However, twenty-two years ago, Yun Qinghong was crippled.
In a world where strength meant everything, even if a person whose strength was lower than that of dirt, who could never be strong again, possessed the title of Patriarch, he would not be really respected and feared by others. The reputation he had built up for himself quickly vanished within these twenty-two years. The high regard, respect, reverence, adoration, and fear others had toward him… turned into sighs, disregard and even insult and gloating after he was crippled. The Yun Family Elders, peers and junior who held him in high regard were all extremely disappointed and sighed. As the epitome of a profound cultivating family in Illusory Demon Realm, who would actually allow a crippled person to lead them?
Even among those who vowed to forever stay loyal to Yun Qinghong, had secretly went away. The others who still vowed to stay with him till death were chased away by Yun Qinghong… Because at that time, he knew the condition of his own body, and that those who stayed with him would have no future. How would he be willing to delay the prospects of those who were sincere toward him?
Until the end, he kept his status as “Patriarch”, but only his wife and son remained by his side.
Twenty odd years ago, who could imagine the Yun Qinghong, who was probably the brightest star within the entire Illusory Demon Realm, would be in such a pathetic state where no one would bother to look him in the eye.
Due to being crippled for twenty-two years until now, not one person in his own clan stood up to support this man, who used to lead the Yun Family, to continue as Patriarch.
However, even when facing such a reality, Yun Qinghong did not blame anyone. After all, he had been crippled. Whether it was the Elder Council or the Grand Elders, their main motive for doing so was for the future of the Yun Family. After all, letting a crippled person lead the Yun Family would invite ridicule and also bleaken the future of the family. When compared to the future of the Yun Family, the bloodline of the Patriarch did not seem as important.
The cheers supporting the Great Elder grew louder and louder. Yun Waitian found it hard to remain calm as he humbly said: “Towards everyone’s support, I’m truly humbled but with my weak strength, I’m not capable to take on the role as Patriarch… Instead, Seventh Elder whose strength is outstanding, is the most suitable person for this role.”
The “Seventh Elder” who was mentioned by Yun Waitian quickly waved it off: “Great Elder’s words are too kind. Pardon my honesty, but within the entire Yun Family, with Great Elder present, it would not please the masses if anyone else was Patriarch.”
“That’s right! We support Great Elder to succeed as Patriarch!”
“Great Elder don’t refuse anymore. The position of the next Patriarch is undoubtedly yours.”
The Yun Family cheers sounded once again and Yun Waitian cupped his fist together as his agitation had exploded… Since twenty-two years ago when Yun Qinghong was crippled, he had the thought of becoming Patriarch. For this twenty-two years, he had worked very hard for this goal while gaining more and more of a reputation for himself… If he were to become the Patriarch, the bloodline of the Patriarch that had existed for ten thousand years would change. A hundred years later, his son Yun Xinyue would become the next Patriarch, and after that, it would be his grandson and his descendants…
Facing the crippled Yun Qinghong and his son that was unable to use his Profound Handle, he knew that this day would come eventually… However, it had finally arrived today.
As the cheers of the Yun Family grew louder, a disharmonious cold laughter suddenly sounded: “Since Great Elder Yun knows that he’s not suitable for the position of Patriarch, why do you people have to make noise blindly and cause trouble for Great Elder Yun? If Great Elder Yun can’t resist it and choose to go back on his words and accept, when this spreads, won’t others gossip that the Yun Family Great Elder is actually eyeing for the position of Patriarch, and even hypocritically acted as though he did not want it? This vicious and cunning title does not sound particularly nice… Don’t you agree, Great Elder Yun?”
Mu Yubai’s words were actually quite vicious. The entire Yun Family supported Yun Waitian to be the next Patriarch, but since Yun Waitian kept pushing it away, this had been attacked by Mu Yubai. Using his own words, Mu Yubai made it such that if he were to accept the position of the Patriarch, he would become a vicious and ungentlemanly hypocrite. The corners of Yun Waitian’s lips twitched furiously. Just as he was about to say something, an insolent voice rang from the right side: “I agree with Young Patriarch Mu’s words.” The one who spoke was Helian Peng as he squinted his triangular eyes and spoke slowly: “I heard that after Yun Qinghong became crippled, Great Elder Yun took over all the affairs of the Yun Family. No matter how importance the matter was, he handled them by himself. Even though he’s only a Great Elder, he acted more like a Patriarch than the Patriarch himself… Tsk, tsk. From more than a decade ago, I have already heard rumors that the Great Elder of the Yun Family had been eyeing the position of Patriarch. After so long, the amount of such rumors only seemed to increase. If Great Elder were to suddenly take over the position of Patriarch, it would prove such rumors to be true. At that time, heh heh, the Patriarch name would be very respected within the family, but his reputation outside would be harshly tarnished.”
The Helian Peng, who had previously helped Yun Waitian speak and nearly fought with Mu Yubai, was now actually helping Mu Yubai, and the words he said towards Yun Waitian were even more vicious and straightforward than what Mu Yubai had said previously. The color of Yun Waitian’s face darkened, and all the core elders looked at each other. Mu Yubai frowned, glancing at Helian Peng… He would not naively believe that Helian Peng would happily go along with him.
Could this guy be here specifically to make trouble today?
Mu Yubai’s words made Yun Waitian seem as though he had swallowed a fly, but Helian Peng words made it seem as though he smeared shit on his face, causing his hatred and indignation to be unbearable. He thought that if he were to really attempt to become Patriarch, he would face resistance from Mu Yubai, but never had he ever expected that other than Mu Yubai, there was also a Helian Peng trying to stop him! The corners of his mouth twitched as he tried to suppress his feelings in order to look less awful. He forced himself to say: “I, Yun Waitian, did everything all these years for the Yun Family and have never ever fawned over the Patriarch position.”
“Sigh!” After remaining silent for a long time, Grand Elder Yun Jiang sighed and said: “Waitian, within the Yun Family now, you are indeed our most suitable candidate. Whether you’re willing or not, you becoming the next Patriarch would be the best result for the Yun Family. You don’t have to reject it. As for what others say, we simply don’t have to listen to it.”
A Grand Elder’s words naturally carried supreme weight. Yun Waitian was secretly overjoyed, and just as he was about to go along with the flow, he heard Duke Hui Ye speak up: “Concerning this matter of the Yun Patriarch, this duke has a small suggestion. I wonder if everyone from the Yun Family would like to hear it?”
Once Duke Hui Ye spoke, he caught everyone’s attention. Yun Waitian stopped his attempt to speak, turned to Duke Hui Ye, and respectfully replied: “What suggestion does Your Highness have? I’m sure everyone would like to know.”
Duke Hui Ye was calm as he smiled slightly, swung the fan in his hands, and spoke slowly: “In my opinion, what Young Patriarch Mu and Elder Helian had said isn’t unreasonable. Even though Great Elder Yun has done a lot for the family and no one can match his reputation within the family, he’s indeed not suitable for the position. Otherwise, going by what Young Patriarch Mu and Elder Helian had said, it would become the laughing stock of the others; the human tongue is powerful. If it only concerned Great Elder Yun, it could be overlooked. However, the current situation within the family is already dire. If the public starts to gossip even more because of this matter, it wouldn’t be beneficial to the Yun Family.”
Duke Hui Ye words caused Yun Waitian’s heart to clench. He looked down in an attempt to hide his ugly expression that looked worse than crying: “What Your Highness said is true. I’m truly unsuitable for the position of Patriarch.”
Duke Hui Ye quickly continued: “Judging from the Yun Family’s current predicament, there’s a need to change Patriarchs, and in my opinion, there’s an even better candidate.”
“I wonder who Your Highness is referring to?” Grand Elder Yun Xi asked.
Duke Hui Ye closed his fan, stood up and paced about: “Since Great Elder is not suitable, and there’s no one that can please everyone from this generation of elders, then, why not nominate the new Patriarch from another place?”
“You Highness is saying?”
Duke Hui Ye replied: “Back then, your family lost your Patriarch and the ten strongest Grand Elders. The strength of your family weakened drastically overnight and you all had to carry sins for hundred years. If the Yun Family were to rise again, it would undoubtedly require a long amount of time and an exceptional leader. An exceptional leader requires a long time to groom. From what this duke sees, since it’s difficult to make a choice from the older generation, why not choose one from a younger generation. It is known to the whole city that the eldest son of the Great Elder, Yun Xinyue, is a gifted talent who has strong aptitude, and possesses the same cyan colored profound handle as the Demon King. His personality is also humble and not arrogant; he is undoubtedly the pride of the Yun Family that heaven has bestowed. More than once, this duke has heard him being praised as the biggest hope of Yun Family’s future. If he were to become the next Patriarch and be guided by Great Elder and all the other Elders, this duke believes that within ten years, he would become an exceptional leader. The days of glory for the Yun Family won’t be long away.”
“Furthermore, although Yun Xinyue is young, his talent and personality is obvious to the entire Yun Family. If he were to become the next Patriarch, this duke believes that there would be less people dissatisfied with this as compared to Great Elder. What does everyone think?”