Chapter 23: A Strong Opponent

“It seems like you’ve already succeeded,” Su Chen said.

For that Soaring Snake to listen to Gu Qingluo indicated that the taming procedure had been successful.

However, Gu Qingluo shook her head and said, “We’re still a long ways off. Although Blue Night is willing to listen to my commands, they are only very basic commands. If the commands are even slightly dangerous, she will only listen if she is in the mood. And it’s useless if only I am able to command her completely; what the clan needs is not one person’s guard beast, but one for the entire clan……. What it needs to serve is not just me but the entire Gu Clan.”

The young maiden’s tone sank as her tone grew grave. Evidently, that last bit weren’t her thoughts, but rather a result of the influence and education she had received since childhood to focus on the needs of the clan.

“For an ancestor to serve those that had come after it? That is not very easy,” Su Chen couldn’t help but say.

Gu Qingluo glanced at Su Chen with some surprise.

What Su Chen said was correct. It was easy for Blue Night to lower its head to Gu Qingluo, but not so for the entire Gu Clan.

The reason for this was that the Gu Clan’s bloodline came from the Soaring Snake.

From a certain viewpoint, the Soaring Snake could be considered to be the Gu Clan’s ancestor. Moreover, based on bloodline purity, the Gu Clan would not be able to compare to this Soaring Snake that belonged to the Ancestral Races.

To lower its head to a person only required affection for that person. However, for it to lower its head to an entire clan was the same as an elder kowtowing to a junior or for a pureblood to lower its head to one of mixed blood. How could this be possible?

Thankfully, although Demonic Beasts were intelligent, they did not have as many boundaries as humans, and even more did not care for matters such as honor. The root cause for their unwillingness to serve was based on the strength of the bloodline. It had nothing to do with maintaining face, so it was also not impossible to get Demonic Beasts to yield.

The history of mankind had many stories of Demonic Beasts being subdued; each one transmitted through the ages as folklore.

Of course, for these matters to become folklore also meant that the success rate was pitifully low.

This was also why Gu Qingluo had appeared here.

The lifespan of Demonic Beasts greatly surpassed the lifespan of humans. If the Gu Clan was able to subdue a genuine Soaring Snake, the entire Gu Clan would receive many long-term benefits because of it.

But after Su Chen heard Gu Qingluo’s words, he thought of another matter.

He asked Gu Qingluo, “Regardless, you are still making progress, right?”

“Yes,” Gu Qingluo confidently said, “Previously, Blue Night wasn’t nearly as obedient. Although it still hasn’t reached the requirements of the clan, as long as I continue to put in the effort, I will eventually succeed.”

“For the Lin Clan to help the Gu Clan with such a large matter, the Gu Clan has to repay them in some way, right?”

Upon hearing these words, Gu Qingluo gently laughed, “What you really wanted to ask was this, right? Hmph, the members of the Su Clan don’t even treat you well. Why are you so concerned for them?”

Su Chen indifferently replied, “Hearing you say this, I can confirm that the Gu Clan’s repayment will definitely not be good for the Su Clan.”

“It will not be good for any of the three other clans,” Gu Qingluo replied.

She paused for a moment before saying, “The Gu Clan gave the Lin Clan three spots.”

“What three spots?”

“Spots to go to the Gu Clan to cultivate. They will give them some supplementary cultivation resources, including three bottles of Soaring Snake Blood Spirit Medicine.”

Upon hearing the words “Soaring Snake Blood Spirit Medicine”, Su Chen’s expression changed.

Soaring Snakes were extremely strong Demonic Beasts. Three bottles of Demonic Beast medicine implied the rise of three experts who would possess Demonic Beast bloodlines.

Although the current Blood Spirit Medicines weren’t as refined as the bloodlines from many years ago, nor did they confer much power or were capable of being passed down, three experts with Demonic Beast-level bloodlines would definitely be unrivalled in Northface City.

No wonder Gu Qingluo said that it would be detrimental to all three clans. In the future, if the Lin Clan kept this pace up, they would definitely stand alone.

“I haven’t heard of any experts that have emerged from the Lin Clan recently.”

Gu Qingluo responded, “They are still cultivating at the Gu Clan. They won’t return until next year, when the Hidden Dragon Institute opens its doors for disciples.”

“Next year? Hidden Dragon Institute?” Su Chen’s eyes began to shine, “It isn’t the second generation that’s using it? It’s the third?”

“Yes!” Gu Qingluo nodded her head, “The people of the Lin Clan are looking at the long term. They reckon that even if they were to give a few of the Lin Clan’s current experts the Blood Spirit Medicine, it would still be impossible for them to suppress the other three clans alone. Instead, they could inadvertently force the other three clans to ally together, in which case the losses would outweigh their gains. Thus, they have placed their hopes on the younger generation. You also know that the Hidden Dragon Institute recruits students every year, but Northface City only gets a slot every ten years. Next year will be the tenth year. Although there are only a total of four spots, there are enough for all the clans to fight for them. The Lin Clan’s ambition is to take all four of these spots. As long as they have four Hidden Dragon Institute students, those four will eventually become four powerhouses. In the end, it’s much better than training four average experts.”

“They only have three seedlings, yet they want to control four spots?”

“What the Gu Clan has given them wasn’t limited to a few Blood Spirit Medicines; there were other resources as well. To concentrate them to bring up another powerhouse wouldn’t be too difficult. While the fourth may not be as strong as the other three, it would be enough to just be strong enough to suppress the other three clans.

“Understood. Which four?”

“Lin Jingxuan, Lin Yemao, Lin Shuyue, Bai Li.”

“Bai Li?” Upon hearing this name, Su Chen was slightly taken aback.

There was actually someone with a different surname?

While large clans definitely would not be completely composed of people from the same clan, the people selected for this kind of opportunity were virtually all direct descendants of the main bloodline.

For someone to appear with the surname Bai, Su Chen immediately felt like something was a little off.

“Then Bai Li…… is the fourth person?” he asked.

“No. He is the first person,” Gu Qingluo responded.

——————————————

After seeing Blue Night, Su Chen and Gu Qingluo left together.

Just as Gu Qingluo had said, no Lin Clan members were audacious enough to stick around the Beast Garden at this time. No one wanted to run into an unhappy Blue Night. In order to tame this Demonic Beast, the Lin Clan had not only used their clan’s inherited treasure, they had also spent the lives of eleven people.

Su Chen finally walked out of the Beast Garden after following the secret path.

Upon arriving at this place, Su Chen didn’t have to worry about the Lin Clan anymore. Even if he were to be discovered by them, he would not be in any great danger.

However, Gu Qingluo still escorted Su Chen all the way out of the mountain. She didn’t leave until she had put him onto a horse carriage.

Having left the danger zone, Su Chen’s heart still couldn’t calm down.

The words that Gu Qingluo had said were still echoing in his ears, giving him no peace at all.

Hidden Dragon Institute!

That’s right, there was only one more year before the Hidden Dragon Institute would come to Northface City to recruit students.

Only four spots.

He had persevered for this long, unwilling to give up despite losing his vision for three years. What was that all for?

Wasn’t it precisely because he didn’t want to let this opportunity to get into the highest academy in the entire Long Sang Country slip away?

Who could have expected that he would hear such bad news on the day that he’d recovered his sight?

Three experts who had the bloodline of a Soaring Snake, as well as an opponent who did not have this bloodline yet would still be groomed with large amounts of resources. Just the Lin Clan alone was already such a threat to him; so what about the other clans? Would they have any hidden experts?

What about himself?

In the past three years, he had to fiercely fight just to preserve the portion that should have rightfully been his, not to mention any other resources.

To tell the truth, the reason why he could maintain the first spot in the third generation of his clan wasn’t because he himself was particularly strong. Rather, it was because his opponents were weak.

But as soon as he left the Su Clan, he would be beset by countless experts. Perhaps each one’s strength would far exceed his imagination.

Suddenly, Su Chen made a discovery.

Having recovered his sight, the burden placed on him had not decreased. Rather, it had become even heavier.

In the next year, he would have to rapidly increase his own strength.

“I was able to persevere through such difficult times. How could a few stumbling stones block my way now?” Su Chen murmured to himself inside the horse cart.

In the three years of darkness, the most important lesson that Su Chen had learned was to never give up hope, to never stop trying.

If losing his sight couldn’t hold him back, opponents who were merely stronger than him wouldn’t be able to hold him back at all.