Moreover, he was defeated using the earth techniques he was most adept at.
In an instant, an icy chill radiated from all the elders’ bodies.
They could not help but simultaneously turn their heads to look. Alex’s true body, gripping that wind chime, had long since disappeared without a trace.
Turning back, they looked at the clone again.
After successfully killing Kevin, it had directly melted into yellow mud and merged seamlessly into the ground, looking extremely natural.
"This... what is the meaning of this?" Lorin had a complex expression and said weakly.
"Is this Taryn not a bit too arrogant? Daring to commit murder right in front of us elders! Does he have any regard for the Divine Blade Sect’s rules? Does he have any regard for us?!"
Torin also wore a gloomy expression.
"Exactly. And the person he killed was Kevin! Who was Kevin? He was not just an outstanding heavenly genius, he was Senior Brother Vincent’s chief disciple, the only one left to carry on the legacy of Sunblaze Peak."
"Sunblaze Peak was annihilated, and Senior Brother Vincent was murdered by villains. Only this single disciple luckily survived, yet he was killed by one of our own people."
"If we do not strictly punish Taryn, when we pass to the nine springs of the underworld, how will we explain this to Senior Brother Vincent?!"
For a time, all the elders revealed indignant expressions, the crowd’s emotions running high with righteous fury.
Aerin turned his head and shot a glance at Sylra.
Sylra, who was always fiercely protective of his disciples, now also kept his head lowered, having nothing to say.
Clearly, even he felt that what Taryn had done this time was truly going too far.
"Senior Brother Sylra, since you have no objections either, then it is decided." Aerin narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice.
"Immediately issue an arrest warrant to capture Taryn throughout the entire Heavenly Flame Dynasty! Once he is brought back to the Divine Blade Sect, we will behead him in public as a warning to all, and to avenge Kevin!"
The elders all expressed agreement, heavily nodding one after another.
At this moment, Nerin, who had not said a word the entire time, silently stepped forward. "Senior Brother Aerin, I advise you not to do this."
"Why?" Aerin frowned.
"Taryn murdered Kevin using an extremely cruel method."
"We all saw it."
"Even Senior Brother Sylra has no objections, so why must you plead for that Taryn?"
"I am not pleading for Taryn. I am considering this for your sakes." Nerin said with earnest and well-meaning intentions.
"Senior Brother Aerin, I only ask you one question. After you issue the arrest warrant, who do you plan to send to capture that Taryn?"
Hearing these words, the elders instantly realized the sheer severity of this problem, falling completely silent.
Right.
The terror of Taryn’s strength far exceeded their imaginations.
Just his powerful fire technique that defeated thirty disciples in a single strike proved that sending ordinary Disciplinary Department disciples would be a complete suicide mission.
And if they, the elders, personally mobilized to hunt down a disciple, if this matter spread, it would inevitably cause people all over the world to openly mock them.
More importantly, even if they took the field themselves, they might not succeed.
A mere clone with only one-tenth of his cultivation could effortlessly kill a peak Mahayana Realm expert in the blink of an eye.
Then against his true body, what chances would these elders have?
If they failed to capture Taryn and instead lost the lives of several elders, they truly would suffer a double disaster and be reduced to the ultimate laughingstock of the world.
After thinking clearly through the stakes, the elders’ previously towering, indignant emotions were instantly splashed with a fierce basin of cold water.
"Uh, well..." Aerin said weakly.
"How about we just let this matter go?"
As soon as this was said, the others instantly began to echo him.
"Yes, yes, let it go!"
"No matter what is said, Taryn is still an outstanding disciple of our Divine Blade Sect!"
"Besides, Senior Brother Vincent is already dead. If we lose our own lives just to avenge his disciple, how not worth it would that be?"
After careful consideration, the elders all felt that Nerin’s words made a lot of sense.
One by one, they completely shed their previously righteous appearances, abandoning the thought of capturing Alex for revenge.
Although the saying goes that respect for the dead is paramount, in reality, the safety of the living was still a bit more important.
If they lost their own lives just to avenge a dead disciple of the dead Vincent, it would truly be far too unworthy.
Besides, Senior Brother Vincent was already dead and Sunblaze Peak was already annihilated.
As the sole remaining disciple, would Kevin not be lonely living in this world? Taryn sending him to heaven to reunite with his master and fellow disciples could also be considered doing him a favor, right?
The elders, who normally placed the utmost importance on benevolence, righteousness, and morality, instantly found a reason to comfort themselves, even if this reason sounded extremely far-fetched and absolute nonsense.
As for some disciples who might gossip and suspect them of disloyalty, they could not care less about that now.
The person was already gone.
They could not possibly throw away their own old lives just to avenge Kevin.
The group of elders, including Sylra, all had complex expressions, never expecting that such a massive mess would occur during this Elemental Trial.
Only Nerin, standing at the very back, secretly let out a long breath of relief.
As the only one who knew Alex’s identity, he felt incredibly fortunate in his heart.
Fortunately, this Elemental Trial ended simply and smoothly just like this.
Even though all five great heavenly geniuses had been defeated and one had even lost his life, a matter that would definitely cause some commotion, at least the silver lining in this misfortune was that Alex’s true identity was not exposed.