"Did Poison King take the wrong medicine?"

That was the only way to make sense of what I had just heard.

"The Tang Clan is stepping down from the Four Great Clans?"
"Yes, it will be officially announced soon."
"...Are you insane?"

This wasn’t a vague possibility but a certainty.

In other words…

"Does that mean you’ve already sent a formal request to the Martial Alliance?"
"That’s correct."

It wasn’t the Martial Alliance demanding it—it was the Tang Clan requesting to step down. They must have formally written to say they wanted to leave their prestigious status.