On the shore of the Sky Eye Lake, there was a group of four second-ranked Shen Clan elders, led by a third-rank elder. The group couldn't help but marvel at the enchanting beauty of the lake. It was night, and the black sky was filled with stars. The lake was clear, allowing the starlight to reflect onto its surface. In its center was a small, extremely beautiful island with soft, silvery sandy beaches and pure white trees with luminous golden leaves that illuminated the lake, giving it a captivating beauty. These trees were called "Golden Trees" and were one of the Gong Clan's resources. A small incision in the tree trunk would release a golden liquid called "Golden Blood." This liquid was used to refine the metal path and earth path Gu. Since the Gong Clan cultivated the air path, they exported it to other clans, and their largest customer was the Liu Clan. In addition to the Gold Trees, the Sky Eye Lake provided the Gong Clan with another important resource: heavenly birds. The Sky Eye Lake is home to approximately 30,000 birds. Heavenly! These birds were gigantic, six meters long, and some reaching nine meters, with long, sharp beaks. They were given this name because of their pure white color and four pairs of wings, their feet having evolved into wing-like structures. Upon seeing these birds, the four men trembled with fear and thanked the heavens for their peaceful nature, never attacking humans unless they were attacked. Without this, the three clans on Huang Jin Mountain would have been wiped out long ago. Because humans weren't born with wings, it was difficult for them to fly, and learning to fly took years. Furthermore, most first- and second-class flying gu were poor, so most Gu Masters never had the opportunity to fly. This gave flying beings a significant advantage in the world of Gu Masters. The Gong Clan took advantage of this by forming a squad of Enslavement Masters, enabling them to enslave a hundred Celestial Birds. Although this number may seem small, this was the strongest air force on Huang Jin Mountain. The pride of the gong clan.
In addition, she was an important resource for the clan, as her dream, blood, bones, and feathers were all useful parts of the gu of the air path.
"Sir Hong Ting, do you think Old Mo Yao will accept the gong clan's alliance this time?"
One of the four second-ranked members asked, breaking the silence.
Thinking of Old Mo Yao, the leader of the gong clan, Hong Ting couldn't help but feel annoyed. Old Mo Yao was an old woman who had reached the age of 120. Age had taken its toll on her, and she had grown extremely fat with very little hair. She could barely see. It was worth noting that she still had perfect teeth, undamaged, though she spoiled her appearance by chewing tobacco, which had turned her teeth a blood-red color.
Apparently, the older she got, the less moral she became, and the more stubborn and dogmatic she became.
Arguing with her was like hell for him, but this time.
"I think she'll accept this time."
...
Academy Hall
"So... As you can see, when the Fifth Clan Elder reached the fifth rank, he had already become the most powerful person in Huang Jin Mountain and could have wiped out the other clans. However, he was an example of the righteous path, a peace-loving man. Instead of conquering the other clans, he focused on the prosperity of the clan, bringing prosperity not only to us but to all of Huang Jin Mountain."
The academy elder paused to look at his students. The history he was explaining was well known to all of them, but he wanted to remind them of their clan's glorious history, especially during these difficult times.
"When the Fifth Clan Elder was young, he visited all the super powers of the Southern Border and saw their strength and huge cities. At that time, he swore that he would make our clan one of the super powers as well. So, when he reached the fifth rank, he expanded our village, turning it into a large city, the only city in Huang Jin Mountain, and turning it into an important trading center. He also brought in experts from everywhere to increase our clan's strength. Unfortunately, new days do not last. We do not know what happened to our clan elder. One day, he said that it was impossible for our clan to become a super power like this, then he neglected us and began searching for something, or rather some information, all over the southern border until he disappeared one day."
After saying this, he lowered his head and sighed.
"It is said that you know a person's true character when you give them strength. When our clan gained strength, they did not attack any other clans and maintained peace on Huang Jin Mountain. However, when the Liu clan leader managed to ascend to the fifth rank 58 years ago, he declared war on all the clans on the mountain. You may not know this, but in the past, there were two clans living on this mountain, in addition to the three clans currently present. The Liu clan eliminated them. Not content with that, they also wanted to eliminate our clan. It required our clan to unite with the Gong clan to eliminate the Liu clan leader and stop their evil endeavors. Unfortunately, despite defeating the ten Liu, we were unable to reclaim the lands they had occupied. As a result, we lost more than half of our lands, and our clan became extremely poor."
The academy elder gradually lowered his voice as an atmosphere of silence and sadness filled the hall.
But the academy elder quickly let out a cry of pride and hope.
"But here we are, 11 years ago. Lan Shi, the genius of Huang Jin Mountain and the pride of our clan, appeared. He, along with the clan elders, restored our clan to its former glory. The name of our clan spread throughout the southern border as the Masters of the Refinement Path. Our clan became richer than ever, and gu masters came from far and wide to seek our services. But here, history repeats itself. Here, another member of the Liu clan is trying to rise to the fifth rank. He wants to invade our clan. Will we allow him?"
"No."
All the students shouted in one heroic voice as they looked at Lan Shi, whose face had turned red with shame, as if they were waiting for his orders to attack the Liu Clan. Damn, I thought I'd get used to it after all these years.