Sage didn’t return to Lionheart Town. Instead, he was back with the Tiankong Clan at the Mount Song Sword Sect. He sheltered with them for a time, while the Tiankong Clan and the Prosperity Company kept a very low profile. They conducted business as usual, but there were no large movements or changes. They seemed somewhat timid at this time, choosing to surrender in the face of adversity. A few troublemakers were sent away amicably with the Prosperity Company suffering a loss, and the Tiankong Clan ignored those that chose to provoke it.

The leaders of the Tiankong Clan and the Prosperity Company were suspiciously absent.

That was because Sage had finally put all the pieces into place to follow through with his plan. With Ling and Ziao getting their foot into the door of the world of laws, they would at least have a path of advancement open for them. It was also the only reason they had to stick around. With this goal accomplished, the two women along with the friends and family that had decided to follow them were all brought into Sage’s Inner World. They had spent these last few months before and after the weddings in the Universe Ring. Sage didn’t want them to be on drastically different timelines, but now that everything was prepared it was time to make the switch.

In the past, he had always been in a race to grow more powerful to defend himself against his enemies. Whether they wished to use him for his abilities, or kill them for their existence, he’d suffered greatly as the last member of the Lang Clan. In truth, he wasn’t actually the last, as there was his ancestor down in the Clan Tomb, but the Ancestor’s existence was not something he could reveal. There was also the question about how alive the ancestor even was. The whole clan had been wiped out, yet the ancestor could do nothing.

When Sage had tried to restart the clan, he had become a public figure once more and painted a target onto himself. He’d thought he had the strength to fulfill the Ancestor’s wish, but he was proven to be wrong. After surviving through another calamity, he had finally realized how he could best use his strength.

The Inner World.

He had the power of time on his side. It was quite a failing on his part to overlook it. When Jiao, Ling, Wan Yuhan, Tan Shun, Wen Wen, Zhu Ping, and the other attendants from the Zhu Clan arrived, they found another Lang Sheng waiting for them.

As soon as he decided to get married, he immediately thought about the descendants that would restore the Lang Clan. A big question that had loomed over him finally came to the forefront. He was no longer a pure human, so what would his descendants be like? Would it be responsible for him to bring these non-human children into the world when they’d immediately suffer from the same stigma that he had? If their mothers were humans, wouldn’t these children come out as some sort of half-breed? Is this how those demi-human races in the Tianren Kingdom came about? Should he abandon Lionheart Town and rebuild the Lang Clan in the Tianren Kingdom?

When he was wrestling with these difficult questions, Ling and Jiao approached him. Jiao smiled at him and posed a single question, “We carry your name, but isn’t it time we truly become part of the clan?”

Sage was a little confused, but Ling clarified, “Jiao had already shared some secrets with me. The Insect Immortal Index is not exclusive to the Lang or the Chong Clan. The founders of the Chong and Zhu Clan were said to be from a similar source.”

Jiao nodded, “While we are of the same source, it seems that you have an even more mysterious origin. Why is the Insect Immortal Index you use of a higher level than the one of my Zhu Clan? The factions of the Chong Clan also have differences, but they are still not as good as yours.”

“The True Insect Immortal Index came from the Ancestor of the Lang Clan. I met him in the Clan Tomb and with it I am supposed to rebuild the Lang Clan.”

This secret was one he had not shared with anyone else, but if there was anyone he could confide in, should it not be his wives?

That event had happened on the way to Icefire Valley, and they had also given him the answer to his difficult question. He taught them both the true and complete version of the Insect Immortal Index and they both tapped him upon the forehead.

“What problem is there? You have the Human Seal, do you not? If it is passed down within our family, can we not have the best of both worlds?”

After a short discussion they decided to pick a singular form that would form the core of their family line. Rather than having each of them follow their own path and ending up with an amalgamation as their descendants, if they had the same form, then their children would also have a very similar form. Sage wanted the clan to have a unified identity. They could choose to take a different path later, but it would be better for their identity as a clan to all be of the ‘same race’. There was also something to be said of tradition. Clans and Sects passed down their techniques over many hundreds or thousands of years and generations, continuously improving them. With so many people traveling the same road, they would constantly improve and maintain it.

Ling, Jiao, and himself would only be laying down the foundation for them. It was his hope that the clan could rise and thrive with the advantages he would set up for them.

Less than two years after Lang Sheng’s weddings, the Lang Clan appeared once again in Lionheart Town. The Fu Clan had installed a local clan as the City Lord of the town. They were far from the strongest group in the town, but they also weren’t completely unknown. They were also looked down upon by the other groups because they relied upon their relationship with the Fu Clan to gain and maintain their position.

This meager little group thought they had leapt over the dragon’s gate, and were completely unprepared for the return of the Lang Clan. A brawny fellow with a large saber rode out of the gates upon the back of a huge lion with a green mane, “Who dares to face the Shanshi Clan!”

A handsome man wearing emerald green robes with the symbol ‘Lang’ upon the chest, laughed and looked down upon the man on the lion, “Shanshi? Mountain Lion? You think that just because you have Lion in your clan name that Lionheart Town belongs to you? Ha cha ha! After today, you will have to change your clan name to Gushi!”

“Valley Lion? How dare you!”

While the opponent was speaking, the handsome man’s outline flickered and he seemed to grow larger. His height rose to a full ten feet and a glowing green aura appeared around him. He shot forward where his height now matched that of the Shanshi man upon the back of the lion. He waved his hand as if it was a blade as the two passed each other, and the Shanshi man slumped over. The sword fell from the slumped body and when it hit the ground it split into two pieces. Blood spurt from the slumped man’s neck and he fell from the back of the lion.

The second strongest man in the Shanshi Clan fell in an instant. The Shanshi Clan was evicted from Lionheart Town and the Lang Clan banner rose once again over the City Lord’s Manor.