Mark continued smoothly, "If you wish to join another sect, go. You have my permission. And you do not need to feel like traitors. A sect is a family. The family head's will is the direction the family walks. If a member refuses to walk in that direction, then staying will only hurt themselves… and the family."
He swept his gaze across all of them, slow and deliberate, allowing each elder to feel targeted personally.
"So leave. Create new lives. Do what makes you feel satisfied. No hard feelings."
The hall felt suffocating, not because of any aura, but because none of them had ever heard a sect master speak this honestly and ruthlessly.
Mark softened his voice just a fraction.
"You are all older than me. Wiser than me in many ways. If you sit down and reflect, if you truly think over every decision I've announced today, you will understand what I'm trying to do.
