"What about her prowess? Do you have an idea of her Cultivation base?"
The question everybody there wanted an answer to was just how powerful was this entity. Even if they cannot fully gauge her ability, it's a good start to have just an idea of what they are dealing with.
"Her prowess…" Patriarch Gold trembled in fear just from remembering the heaven-defying abilities of that monster.
"I wasn't able to do anything to her! None of my techniques — not even my most powerful technique — could touch her, let alone injure her! She's untouchable! It's the first time in my life that I have felt such powerlessness! Not only that, but she could also use mental techniques! My mind nearly collapsed because of her!"
"Can you elaborate more on that? What do you mean by untouchable?" Patriarch Wu said.
"That monster is like a ghost, every single one of my techniques would pass through her body like her body is made of air and that she's nothing but a mere illusion."
"I have tried both physical and spiritual techniques, but alas, neither of them worked on her."
"..."
The room turned silent once again.
A ghost-like opponent that cannot be touched? And she can even use mental techniques that all Cultivators dread? How are they supposed to fight something as invincible as that?
"This will be tricky…"
Everybody there was scratching their heads trying to find a resolution.
"This entity is not just untouchable," Patriarch Gold suddenly said, "Her combat strength is also on a completely different realm. The destruction that you witnessed here today… it was caused with a mere wave of her sleeves. It all happened so fast that by the time I blinked, half of my Sect was already gone."
His words caused many people there to tremble in fear, and the place returned to being silent once again.
The silence continued for many minutes, and since nobody there had a solution for this calamity, they could only sit there with pale faces.
"Old Zhu, what do you think of this situation? You haven't spoken a word for a while now." Patriarch Wu looked at the Four Seasons Academy's Matriarch.
"What is there to think about this situation? If this entity truly holds as much power as Old Gold here gives her, then there is nothing we can do about it beside praying that it does not come for us."
After a quick pause, she continued, "Our only hope right now is Immortal Fairy Su Yue, but without even a hint to her location, we might as well just continue living life as normal."
"Are you telling us to continue living the rest of our lives knowing there's an entity out there that can easily wipe out one of the Three Ancient Academies?! I'd rather die fighting than to live the rest of my life in fear!"
Matriarch Zhu shook her head and said, "In the first place, we still do not know this entity's objective. If she really wanted to bring destruction to this world, then why hasn't she done so already? There's no way someone with that much power could go unnoticed for this long! And why did she not completely destroy this place despite her ability to?"
Matriarch Zhu then looked at Patriarch Gold with narrowed eyes and said, "The only reason she attacked your Sect was because you confronted her. If you had left her alone, this place might still be in one piece right now."
"..."
Patriarch Gold lowered his head in silence. She was right. If he didn't lose his reasoning to lust that night, then perhaps all of this would have never happened and that girl would've left later without destroying his place.
He truly regretted his decision that night, but alas, there was no pill for regret in this world and he will have to live the rest of his life regretting that moment.
The other people there did not argue with Matriarch Zhu's logic. They still don't know anything about this entity. If they jump to conclusions and recklessly confront her then won't they just be digging their own graves? Since they can't deal with her, then they might as well just let fate run its course and see what happens.
"Senior Zhu is right. This is just the ghost girl's first appearance. We can only wait and see what happens from here."
"Ghost girl, huh. I guess this will be her nickname from now on."
Matriarch Zhu suddenly said, "Spread the word to your place. If you see someone that you do not recognize snooping around your place, do not approach that individual at all cost and only watch from a safe distance, especially if that individual is a little girl with silver hair and eyes. As a matter of fact, just run away and avoid contact at all cost. If you do not want your place to suffer the same fate as the Golden Lion Academy, then I suggest you take this advice."
"As for the restoration of the Golden Lion Academy… I do not have any intentions on lending any assistance and will leave everything to its Patriarch. Our gathering today is a special occasion, but at the end of the day, we are all rivals and wish to see the downfall of each other."
"With that being said, I will be taking my leave now, as I have other businesses to attend."
Matriarch Zhu then stood from her seat and walked out of the meeting room without looking back.
Nobody there stopped her departure, and they also started leaving after talking for a few more minutes.
The last individual to leave was Patriarch Wu, Sect Master of the Holy Sword Academy.
"Old Gold, if you think you managed to hide the truth from me or Old Zhu, then you cannot be any more wrong," he said to him after everyone left.
"W-What are you talking about?" Patriarch Gold tried to act ignorant.
"Don't think we forgot what happened the first time you met Immortal Fairy Su Yue. If this entity resembled her, then I wouldn't be surprised at all if you tried to do to her what you did to Immortal Fairy Su Yue. Although you got away lightly last time with only a bloody beating, your actions this time has brought a disaster upon your own Sect, and there's nobody to blame besides yourself. Use this time to think about what you did and reflect on it, or else you will one day really destroy everything you've built so far."
"..." Patriarch Gold turned completely silent.
The incident Patriarch Wu spoke of was when Patriarch Gold lost his reasoning after seeing Immortal Fairy Su Yue for the first time and also tried to assault her. Fortunately for him, the consequences of his actions were getting beaten until he was half dead.
Compared to what happened this time, his previous punishment could be considered extremely light, like a slap on the wrist.
Just as Patriarch Wu prepared to leave, Patriarch Gold said, "You should know that the Golden Lion Tempering Technique I am Cultivating turns my instincts into that of beasts. I acted only because of such instincts, and there is nothing I can do about it…"
Patriarch Wu only shook his head in silence before walking out the door, leaving Patriarch Gold alone.