I am Villain Cultivator
Chapter 55: The Storm Clan Regrets

Chapter 55: Chapter 55: The Storm Clan Regrets

---------{ Strom Clan Meeting hall }------

In the heart of the Storm Clan’s floating fortress, silence reigned within the grand council chamber. Ornate jade pillars lined the circular hall, their carved lightning motifs flickering with residual elemental energy.

At the center, seated on an elevated throne-like chair, was a man whose presence seemed to compress the air itself.

His golden hair gleamed under the crystalline chandeliers, and his deep blue eyes radiated calm authority. Though he appeared no older than his mid-thirties, everyone present knew the truth this was Nargis Haze, the Patriarch of the Storm Clan. A man who had walked the continent for more than seven hundred years, wielding power that shook mountains and bent the skies.

Beside him sat Fang Mo, the white-haired Vice Sect Leader, his long beard still fluttering from the lingering pressure of battle. The other elders of the clan, seated in solemn rows, wore expressions carved from stone grim, waiting.

Patriarch Nargis’s voice cut through the silence like thunder wrapped in velvet.

"Well then... what did we gain?"

All eyes turned to a frail-looking elder with circular spectacles perched on his long, hooked nose. His complexion was pale, bordering on ghostly, and scrolls filled with accounting sigils rested on the table before him. He adjusted his glasses, cleared his throat, and began in a strained tone.

"Report from the finance hall, Patriarch. Losses and gains... have been tallied."

He paused, glancing nervously around the chamber before continuing.

"We lost two flying battleships. One hundred and twenty Opening Realm cultivators are confirmed dead. Five Truth Realm cultivators also fell. And... one Sea Realm expert, early stage."

Murmurs rippled through the chamber.

"Four Saint-class spirit beasts were slain each equivalent to a Truth Realm cultivator. And the greatest loss..." he paused again, as if struggling to speak the words, "...was Elder Adaeze. Half-step Divine Realm. And... one of the Ten Heavenly Dragons."

A heavy silence followed, thick and suffocating.

Even Fang Mo’s stern expression twitched.

The financial elder pressed on, his voice quieter now.

"We retrieved only three hundred high-tier spirit stones. The rest of the spirutal river that produced spirutal stone was poisoned. We gained two Earth-grade cultivation techniques, five captured Opening Realm cultivators, and two at the Truth Realm. One of the latter took his own life by biting his tongue before interrogation could begin."

He unrolled the last parchment with a soft sigh.

"In terms of material spoils... we have acquired three rice shops, two blacksmith workshops, and one vagabond courier association."

He looked up, meeting the Patriarch’s unreadable gaze.

"In total, Patriarch... the cost far outweighs the profit. Kilvish Clan’s real power was never in shops or land it was in assassination they were clan that is famous for the dirty work their real source of money is the assassination and Most of their remaining properties are tied with the Jade Ice Sect. If we want to claim any of it... we’ll have to fight them too."

He bowed his head respectfully, finishing in a whisper:

"Even if we count every gain it’s not enough to rebuild even a single flying battleship."

The words settled over the room like ash after a wildfire.

No one spoke. A chilling laugh echoed through the stone-walled chamber.

It came from none other than Nargis Haze, the Patriarch of the Storm Clan, his golden hair gleaming under the ceiling’s crystal lights. But no one else was laughing. His eyes, cold and sharp like a storm held in restraint, swept over the gathered elders.

"Vice Leader Fang Mo," Nargis said, voice dripping with venomous calm, "do you know what I gave my son Kevin when he broke through to the Foundation Realm?"

The room held its breath.

"Five hundred high-tier spirit stones. Just a little pocket change from the clan treasury."

He leaned back in his chair, the sound of cracking knuckles echoing through the silence.

"And now... we’ve waged war on the Kilvish Clan, lost four saint-class spirit beasts, a dozen experts, one of our ten Heavenly Dragons Adaeze herself and what did we gain?" His voice rose. "Less than the allowance I give my son! Two Earth-tier techniques? We have hundreds of them!"

Without warning, an overwhelming pressure surged forth. A late-stage Sea Realm aura exploded from his body like a crashing tsunami.

Elders gasped. Some staggered. Scrolls blew off tables, and a thin crack splintered across the jade floor.

Fang Mo was the most affected. Blood drained from his face as he fell to one knee, his bones creaking under the weight of Nargis’s fury. His breath came in shallow gasps.

"Are we fools, Fang Mo? Or is your strategy so profound that our simple minds cannot comprehend it? Why... did you attack the Kilvish Clan without my permission?"

Fang Mo struggled to speak. His voice was thin, trembling beneath the crushing weight of authority.

"T-This... was not my plan, Patriarch... It was Elder Adaeze’s idea. I...I couldn’t stop her. he even forbade me from informing you."

The Patriarch’s eyes narrowed.

That answer was not enough.

Desperate, Fang Mo added, "he... made a deal. With the Jeral Clan. I don’t know the terms, but he agreed to it. And... she still held a grudge against Charles Kilvish. Because he married Bella Darwin."

At that name, Nargis’s expression darkened further. A long silence followed.

Then, with a flick of his fingers, Nargis withdrew his aura.

Fang Mo collapsed forward, gasping for air, sweat pouring down his back.

From the left side of the room, a cold, gravelly voice spoke up.

"You should have stopped Adaeze at any cost."

It came from a black-robed elder with wild, unkempt hair and a ragged beard Elder Neil, head of the Punishment Hall. His eyes burned with restrained fury.

"Do you fools not understand?" he growled. "Bella Darwin was one of the Ten Heavenly Dragons. The Ice Dragon. And now she’s taken a sacred oath to destroy us all."

Shocked murmurs spread among the gathered elders.

"And she’s not alone," Neil continued. "The entire Jade Ice Sect is standing behind her. They’ve declared open support for her revenge. And more than that she’s demanding the return of her son."

"Her son... Kaal Kilvish. The same boy who disappeared after the fall of the Kilvish Clan."

A deathly silence gripped the room.

Then Nargis spoke again, his voice barely above a whisper.

He tapped the armrest of his throne slowly, deliberately.

"Jeral Clan used us," he muttered. "They provoked the conflict and suffered minimal losses. Their Divine Realm cultivator was always there to protect their people while we... bled."

His gaze drifted down the long table to a figure seated in silence at the far end.

"Kevin."

A golden-haired youth sat rigid, his fists clenched under the table. His head was bowed.

"Yes... Patriarch," Kevin said quietly.

Nargis leaned forward.

"This Kaal Kilvish... is he the one who defeated you in the duel?"

Kevin’s throat bobbed, and for a moment, he looked as though he might protest but then slowly, he nodded.

"Yes... he is."

Nargis’s fingers drummed once against the armrest, and the sound echoed like distant thunder. The Storm Clan had opened a gate of blood... and now the Ice Dragon was coming through it.

Nargis Haze closed his eyes, the storm behind his golden irises swirling in thought.

[ ’ Our Ancestor must have known about this... After all, mobilizing a flying battleship requires either my seal or the permission of a Divine Realm cultivator... meaning our Ancestor himself approved it.

But why? What was in there, that a Divine realm take such risk?

Divine Elixir Amrit...?

A Divine-level Elixir... enough to tempt even the highest powers.

And what’s more... Charles and Bella’s son Kaal Kilvish they hid him and his monstrous talent from the world. But he’s no ordinary child. I know my son’s talent Kevin was the youngest cultivator in history to step into the Blessing Realm. And yet... their son defeated him while still an entire stage lower, at the Foundation Realm. A monstrous genius... hidden from the world. And now, that same genius bears the seed of hatred toward us. This attack... it wasn’t just a failure.

It was a catastrophe. ’]

Nargis opened his eyes, the silence in the chamber thick and suffocating. Then, with a voice like thunder masked in calm, he said:

"Vice Elder Fang Mo."

Fang Mo, still kneeling and trembling, looked up, blood draining from his face once more.

"Your punishment is hereby decreed. Three hundred lashes of the Soul-Slashing Whip. You will be confined in solitary isolation at Cloud Mountain for one hundred years."

Gasps echoed around the room.

The Soul-Slashing Whip a punishment reserved for only the most egregious offenders in clan history attacked not the body, but the soul. Each lash tore at the spiritual sea, bringing agony far beyond the physical realm. To survive three hundred strokes and a century in Cloud Mountain was considered worse than death by many.

Fang Mo collapsed fully to the floor, his body limp with dread.

"P-Patriarch... please..."

But Nargis ignored the whimper.

He turned to the unkempt, wild-haired man still standing tall Elder Neil.

"You are to assume the role of Vice Elder, effective immediately."

Neil’s dark eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he gave a respectful bow.

"Understood, Patriarch."

"Our top priority," Nargis continued, voice like iron scraping stone, "is to find Bella’s son. Search every domain, every contact, every hidden land. I want Kaal Kilvish found alive."

Then, without another word, the Patriarch turned on his heel and left the council chamber, his golden robes trailing behind him like a departing tempest.

Silence fell over the room once more.

Fang Mo lay shivering on the ground, already imagining the first strike of the Soul-Slashing Whip. The pain... the shame... the isolation...

Meanwhile, Elder Neil turned slowly toward the seat of the Vice Elder his new seat.

And smiled.