Douluo Dalu 5: Rebirth Of Tang San

The queen consort said faintly, "When you denied my child his rightful position, did you ever think about the sadness in a mother's heart? Without my support, how could you have ever become the clan leader back then? Yet for a human woman, you’re even willing to let someone who’s not even a pure-blooded member of the clan inherit your position. How can you face our ancestors?"

As she spoke, the queen consort made a grasping motion in the air with her right hand, and a silver scepter appeared in her grasp. The silver scepter looked magnificent, adorned with a silver peacock head, and behind the head, silver feathers spread out like a fan.

"I, the Grand Elder of the Peacock Demon clan, request that the Heir Apparent undergo the Hundred Birds Greet the Sun Ceremony," she said, raising the scepter high.

Seeing the scepter, all the Peacock Demon Clan members present, including the Peacock Great Demon King, slightly bowed.

This scepter was part of the inheritance from the Peacock Great Demon Emperor, a divine artifact and a symbol of her. Although the clan leader's position wasn't always passed to her direct descendants, it was these direct descendants that inherited the scepter, so that her contributions to the Peacock Demon clan may never be forgotten. One of these descendants would become the grand elder of the clan, and their role was to balance the clan leader's power.

The current Grand Elder, however, had become the clan leader’s wife, which resulted in power being centralized. Had he been a poor leader, that would have been problematic, but it turned out to be the exact opposite; this union allowed the Peacock Great Demon King to implement his policies unimpeded and bring massive prosperity to the Peacock Demon clan.

With that said, the queen consort was not exaggerating. Without her support, it would not have been easy for the Peacock Great Demon King to become the clan leader.

The Peacock Great Demon King looked at the scepter with a complex expression on his face. He sighed softly and said, "Must it be this way?"

The queen consort's gaze was stubborn, "Yes, it must be this way. If the Hundred Birds Homing Ceremony proves me wrong, I am willing to resign from the position of Grand Elder and accept any punishment. If I am right, then we will need a new clan leader."

The Peacock Great Demon King looked at her, his voice suddenly softer, "All these years, I indeed have many things to apologize to you for. But ever since the Crystal Phoenix posed a great threat to me back then, I had to make some decisions. And some things I couldn't tell you. If I tell you now that the one I have always loved is only you, would you believe it?"

The queen consort looked at him coldly, "Clan leader, this is our clan's most important inheritance ceremony. Don’t taint it with lies that even you don't believe. You love me? If you loved me, how could you focus all your attention on that woman? How could you let her daughter become your heir? If you truly loved me, you should have devoted all your efforts to nurturing our children, not let things go and focus all your energy on a half-blood mutt. My mind is made up; the ceremony must be held. Unless she voluntarily gives up her rights, the ceremony must be held!"

"I accept!" Mei Gongzi said coldly, her face icy.

The Peacock Great Demon King did not look at Mei Gongzi; his gaze remained fixed on the queen consort. His eyes showed a complex glimmer as he sighed deeply and said, "All these years, I've owed you a lot, and I'm afraid I won't have the time to repay you. But since you’re set on having Hundred Birds Greet the Sun, very well then!"

After saying this, his expression returned to normal. He cast a dignified gaze over all the onlookers and said in a deep voice, "The Hundred Birds Greet the Sun ceremony is our clan's ultimate test for the clan leader. Within three days, any clan member can challenge the Heir Apparent. The Heir Apparent cannot refuse any challenge. There will be a break of one feather's time between each fight."

Many of the outsiders weren’t aware of the actual significance of Hundred Birds Greet the Sun. It was the highest-level recognition battle for the clan leader, and it was not something that only the Peacock Demon clan did; it was common to all avian demon clans.

The inheritance of a clan was of utmost importance. When there were disagreements within the clan, there were multiple ways to resolve them, and Hundred Birds Greet the Sun was the harshest of them all. No one outside of the council of elders even had the right to propose it. Moreover, regardless of the result, that elder had to endure severe punishment from the clan. If the ceremony proved that the heir was unqualified, the punishment would be light; the elder would get away with a slap on the wrist for questioning authority. But if the ceremony proved that the heir was in fact qualified, the elder would be punished as decided by the new clan leader—which could well mean a death sentence.

Thus, nobody would dare to propose the ceremony unless they were absolutely certain of their success. After all, it meant gambling with one’s life.

On the other side of the problem, the three consecutive days of challenges were extremely demanding for the future clan leader. The demon clans revered strength; that was the fundamental requirement for a clan leader. Even the Peacock Great Demon King, with all his leadership skills, would have never been accepted if he hadn’t been the strongest member of the clan at the time. Thus, the term "Hundred Birds" actually referred to a hundred challengers! Although the number was usually not that high, since it was hard to find a hundred qualified challengers, it was not unusual to have a few dozens of bouts.

The so-called "one feather's time" referred to the time it took for a challenger's precious feather to burn after their defeat. Depending on their cultivation level, the burning time varied, but it usually was between ten and twenty minutes. In other words, undergoing Hundred Birds Greet the Sun meant that Mei Gongzi had to fight fresh opponents for three days and nights with minimal rest.

Of course, it wasn't absolutely necessary for the heir to accept all challenges personally; their supporters could also accept challenges on the heir’s behalf. However, if a supporter accepted a challenge and lost, they would be executed immediately, as this was considered desecrating the ceremony.

Thus, this challenge was extremely brutal. Anyone daring to risk their life to accept challenges on behalf of the clan leader's heir had to be absolutely loyal, as failure meant certain death. At the same time, having supporters with the confidence to do this proved the extent of the heir's power and influence.

The Peacock Great Demon King stepped aside and pointed to the high platform with his right hand, "This will be the battlefield for the Hundred Birds Greet the Sun ceremony. Time starts now. Challengers can come up at any time. This is up to you now."

The last sentence was directed at Mei Gongzi. After speaking, the Peacock Great Demon King shimmered with silver light and, in the next instant, appeared in front of the platform, next to the queen consort.

The queen consort looked at her husband, now so close to her, and the stubbornness in her eyes finally wavered slightly but quickly returned to normal.

On the high platform, Mei Gongzi took two steps to the center, where the Peacock Great Demon King had stood. She calmly looked at the Peacock Demon Clan members below and said indifferently, "My Hundred Birds Greet the Sun is not limited to our clan. Any Demon King resident of Kali City can challenge me!"

Silver light shot from her eyes as she spoke, and a crown slowly appeared, glowing above her head.

"Golden Crown Demon King? No… That crown is not golden, it’s…" Wang Han blurted out, his voice filled with shock.

Demon King, Great Demon King, Demon Emperor. These were the three levels of godhood, and in principle, a Demon King was just like any other Demon King; they were all tenth-order demons. But in practice, there were major differences between them, even among members of the same clan. ṛä𐌽оꞖЁṢ

For instance, having the Peacock Golden Crown manifest upon reaching godhood meant possessing the purest bloodline power and most exquisite control over it. Yet Mei Gongzi had the Peacock Golden Crown even before reaching that level, This was why the Peacock Great Demon King had no qualms raising her as the heir, despite her having human blood. Whatever her other heritage was, her Peacock Demon blood was extremely pure.

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