"Mo Yangling? Is that really you?"
The Clan Head's voice echoed into the hall, his tone was strong and steady, overflowing with confidence.
Mo Weisheng eyed his oldest son's body with a critical eye.
'The wasteful son that previously didn't even wish to pick up a blade now looks more similar to a human weapon... It's a bit hard to believe.'
The Oldest Son that he remembered was different from the man that was standing before him now.
The scrawny child that would avert his gaze at all times, refusing to ever keep eye contact with his father, was now staring him dead in the eye.
There was no trace of fear or trepidation, despite the fact that the Elders were trying to apply pressure on him by not restraining their energy at all.
Every single Elder was at the very least a Late-Stage Martial Grandmaster. The pressure they would exude with their presence alone would normally be enough to force most of the young generation to kneel.
That was likely what they had expected to happen as well. It was normal for someone visiting the Clan Head to take a knee anyway.
Mo Yangling was only 17, he was still young, so no one expected much from him.
But the Monk's knee didn't bend that easily, especially to a man he barely knew.
Still, Mo Weisheng had done a lot to protect his son in the past, even if he didn't contribute much to his emotional development. So it was still deserving of respect, something that the Monk didn't mind showing.
The Monk took a slight bow, bringing his hands together in a martial salute.
"I am indeed Mo Yangling, though I may have changed over the last year... It has certainly been a while, Father."
Calling the man father was also not something that Mo Yangling found difficult to do.
But it seemed to shake Mo Weisheng more than anyone could have expected. He tried not to show it outside, but his very heart trembled when hearing his son call him father again.
'10 Years... It has been 10 years since I heard that word coming from his mouth...'
The Father had counted every day, every week, every month.
He had lost count at some point, especially after the desperation he faced when getting news that his son was most likely dead.
That desperation had its toll on the father, but there wasn't much else he could do besides refuse to give up on his son.
As long as there was no corpse found, he refused to accept that his oldest had passed.
And now, staring at his son right in front of him, he didn't need any further confirmation. He could see himself in Mo Yangling, he could see how similar their features were.
The same nose, the same eyes, the same sharp jawline, even the same flowing hair... His oldest son had developed a lot more than any 17-year-old had the right to.
In an instant, Mo Weisheng was overwhelmed with pride, seeing how his oldest had grown.
But the Father couldn't afford to show any weakness or emotion. Not in front of the Elder Council, not again.
"I see... I am glad that you have finally returned home, son..." Some pain seemed to flash briefly in the father's gaze, it was quickly covered by relief and compassion, but Mo Yangling still noticed it.
The Monk's eyes narrowed into slits, there was something that Mo Weisheng needed to tell his son. A piece of news that he found difficult to communicate.
'Hmm... I can already guess as to what it is. But Mo Weisheng is likely unable to speak to me honestly because of these elders.
The Grand Elder, Mo Ling, is also among them. He seems to be as strong if not stronger than 'Father', so I'm guessing they have quite some power still...'
"You have returned, yet the matter regarding your banishment has not yet been resolved."
Mo Ling, the Grand Elder was the one to speak up next.
His muscles gave him the appearance of a younger man, but Mo Yangling knew that the bastard had probably lived for hundreds of years. His age was also reflected in his rather well-developed stuffy beard, which he kept combed and neat.
He was sporting the usual Elder's clothes, which was a golden robe with red highlights, mostly covered within a black cloak, sporting the sigil of the clan on the back of it.
He also wore a large ornamental hair-gathering golden crown. It was made up of a tall cap that had a golden layer outside of it and a long hairpin that held the hair in place.
It was the type of headwear that the Monk had only seen in history books up to that point.
Still, aside from clothing, there wasn't much else notable about the old man. Despite technically being Mo Yanglging's Grand Uncle, he was a cold-hearted and callous beast.
Family ties didn't mean anything to him, aside from family members sometimes serving as useful tools to be leveraged.
"Indeed, the banishment was still in place. Even if he somehow survived the wilderness that doesn't mean he is qualified to rejoin the family..."
Some of the elders around started discussing, but Mo Yangling mostly ignored them, focusing more on his memories of Mo Ling.
He was Mo Weisheng's main opponent in the diplomatic and political field.
He was keen on keeping control over the family through his position of Grand Elder, despite having lost the position of Clan Head in the past already.
The rules stated clearly that only the strongest was allowed to be the clan head. Mo Weisheng was the youngest to reach the Golden Core in their Kingdom for the last 1000 years.
He had managed to reach Golden Core at the ripe young age of 78, which was considered monumental for a small kingdom like theirs.
It was said that he even had the potential to reach the 7th Realm of cultivation at some point in the far future.
But for now, he was still stuck in a political struggle with power-hungry old people.
"Now then, Mo Yangling. Tell me, do you think you are worthy enough of the Mo Family, to be allowed a second chance?" The Grand Elder seemed quite keen on flaunting his influence.
But there was also something else that stood out greatly...
Mo Ling's disapproval of the young man.
The fact that he had now started cultivating didn't seem to matter to the Grand Elder. In fact, it seemed to make his dislike even stronger.
The Monk had also noticed that, as he didn't remember the Grand Elder to be openly displaying that much hate in the past.
'Wait... Don't tell me, did Mo Weisheng lose the battle against the Elder Council back then?'
Only when the Monk realised that did the situation start making more and more sense. It explained why the Elders were so openly flaunting their Energy around, why they were all staring at him with open disdain.
And finally, it also explained the Grand Elder's very overbearing behaviour. He stood at the centre of the half-moon, a step above the others and right below the Clan Head.
Yet, it seemed that he had managed to garner enough power and influence to gain full or partial control over the family.
And Mo Weisheng, at least in the Monk's eyes, appeared powerless to change that.
The Banishment was likely a result of that as well... But the Monk's memories of that were quite hazy too.
Silence stretched in that meeting room as the Grand Elder seemed to be waiting for Mo Yangling to respond, but the Monk just looked at him with disinterest.
'What was that banishment about again? Fuck if I remember... Mo Yangling's memories of that time are chaotic.'
The Grand Elder raised a grey eyebrow when noticing that Mo Yangling was just staring at him blankly.
"What? Did your mind become unwell over the past year, youngster?! Answer me!" His voice was louder this time, quieting down all of the Elders around them as the colour drained from Mo Weisheng face.
The Monk didn't feel all that intimidated though. In fact, the old man was starting to remind him of the stupid white snake he had killed a while back.
'He may be stronger than that snake, but their temperament is similar, I think...'
"Elder, what was the question again? Wasn't paying attention to you." The Monk scratched the back of his head for a few seconds as he spoke out.
He was neither looking for trouble nor lying. He genuinely hadn't paid attention to the Great Elder's words, focusing more on remembering things instead.
But to Mo Ling, the greatest disrespect possible had just been committed against him.
'This brat dares?! He comes into my court and disrespects me?!'
"Do You Think You Are Worthy Enough To Walk The Halls Of The Mo Family?!"
The Grand Elder's shout forced most of the other elders to cover their ears, shaking them up as its echo alone was enough to damage the eardrums of a regular Martial Master.
Mo Ling's aura surged forward as he applied the pressure of a Grandmaster on the verge of breaking into Golden Core directly on Mo Yangling's shoulders.
'If I don't crush you today, then I won't sleep comfortably at night!' The Grand Elder gained a sadistic smile as he looked at the figure of the Monk.
Mo Weisheng was forced to hide a grimace when seeing how things were unfolding, he twitched slightly but clearly didn't move to act.
'Please don't make this any worse son... I won't be able to protect you again as things are...'
Unfortunately for him, the current Mo Yangling lacked both the fear and the finesse to handle such a situation.
Instead, the Monk replied with a phrase he often used when apprentices were mad at him during their scheduled morning training.
"Amithaba! What crawled up your ass this morning?"