Chapter 53: The Azure Wolf Howls at the Moon, the White Stag Leaps into the Sky

“So, the Murong Clan no longer has any Martial Ancestors!”

Seemingly unhearing of Murong Yu’s questioning, Lu Sheng relied on the formidable memory granted by his cultivation, scanning the records with a glance, committing to heart the deeds of his great-grandfather and the information on the Murong Clan’s powerful figures.

After pondering in his mind for a while, Lu Sheng had grasped the entire feud between the Lu Hun Clan and the Murong Clan, as well as the current strength of the Murong Clan:

“The Murong Clan, its legacy stretching back over seven centuries, descends from a grandmaster.”

“Though the clan has waned somewhat since the grandmaster’s passing, it has always maintained Martial Ancestors among its ranks—”

“It is one of the Eight Divisions and Ten Clans that hold sway over the grasslands!”

The most powerful clans of the steppe are largely descended from grandmasters. They possess arcane weapons handed down from their ancestors, and under the stewardship of their Martial Ancestors, these weapons can unleash power beyond the Martial Ancestor’s own limits—

Though not quite equal to a grandmaster, they could nevertheless threaten one.

Indeed, some especially powerful Martial Ancestors, with a profound bond to their inherited weapons, could wield them to slay fourth-tier demon beasts, their attacks rivaling even a grandmaster’s.

This is why forces inheriting the legacy of grandmasters so far surpass those whose lineage ends with Martial Ancestors.

“However, despite its strength, the Murong Clan, after the grandmaster’s death, was forced to submit to another clan led by a grandmaster.”

“The Blue Wolf Division, ruled by the Golden Wolf King, is precisely the power the Murong Clan turned to after the death of their grandmaster!”

This world, in the end, belongs to the rule of the grandmasters. Any force without a grandmaster must bend to the will of another.

Though the Murong Clan once had a grandmaster, they could not escape this fate.

“The Blue Wolf Division is one of the two most powerful tribes on the grasslands, almost always producing grandmasters.”

“Moreover, they are staunch advocates of southern invasions!”

———

“The Blue Wolf howls at the moon, the White Deer leaps to the heavens”—this ancient proverb has been passed down through generations of the steppe.

These eight words not only refer to the two ancient tribes, the Blue Wolf Division and the White Deer Division, but also signify the origins of nearly all tribes on the grasslands.

Most people now living on the steppe are descendants of these two clans.

Because both have always produced grandmasters and venerated demon beasts above the fourth tier, they have held dominance over the grasslands.

When the Blue Wolf Division leads, they typically invest heavily in military strength across the tribes—

This always signals the onset of another southern incursion!

———

“The southern campaigns led by the Golden Wolf King violated the interests of the Great Jin dynasty, which sought to reclaim Bingzhou, as well as those of the Taixu Sect of Youzhou, the Ma Clan of Xiliang in Liangzhou, and the Sunset Blade Master of the Western Regions.”

“And so, more than a century ago, King Huntian conspired with all sides to slay the Golden Wolf King, thus cutting off the threat of war.”

“But after the Golden Wolf King’s death, though the Blue Wolf Division halted their southern invasions, they lashed out in vengeance, directing the Murong Clan and several smaller tribes to annihilate the Lu Hun Clan, which hailed from the Great Jin’s Lu line.”

“My great-grandfather, being still a child and possessing exceptional beauty, narrowly survived the massacre—”

“But his memory was cleansed, and he was absorbed into the Murong Clan!”

Memory cleansing and the absorption of outsiders into the clan is a common practice on the steppe. Most shamans skilled in spiritual arts are adept at this.

“However, the Murong Clan did not realize my great-grandfather possessed an innate spiritual body; his memories resided not only within his soul, but also his flesh!”

Those born with such gifts have pure soul and body, sometimes even fusing the two—

Their memories exist both in the soul and, through this fusion, can persist within the flesh for a time.

Anticipating danger, the Lu Hun Clan’s Martial Ancestor sealed some of the clan’s secrets within my great-grandfather’s body.

“These memories could be triggered under certain conditions!”

“And after the battle where King Huntian slew the Golden Wolf King, the Murong Clan secretly stowed away the remnants of the Hun Tian Spirit-Destroying Array—this provided the very trigger!”

“Thus, my great-grandfather awakened the memories sealed in his body and found the legacy stone left by the Lu Clan of Bingzhou—”

“And so began his path of solitary vengeance!”

“These are the deeds of my great-grandfather—Lu Hunxun!”

———

Because Lu Hunxun’s vengeance involved many secrets of the Murong Clan, little was known to outsiders. Even the Four Seas Trading House recorded only the broad strokes.

Owing to the fabled beauty of the late Murong grandmaster, the Murong Clan had always revered handsome men and beautiful women. In such an environment, Lu Hunxun, once renowned as the most handsome man on the grasslands, naturally flourished.

Moreover, as one with an innate spiritual body, he excelled at reading hearts and subtly sowed discord among the Murong Clan’s major factions, so that enmity grew between all of them—

In the end, these hatreds consumed the Murong Clan itself.

“My great-grandfather first used the Murong Clan to destroy many smaller tribes, including those complicit in the fall of the Lu Hun Clan.”

“Then, through his dealings with these tribes, he caused the Murong Clan to offend many of the major clans on the grasslands—”

“He even succeeded in driving a wedge between the Murong Clan and the Blue Wolf Division!”

After the death of the Golden Wolf King, the Blue Wolf Division not only lost their grandmaster but a fifth-tier golden wolf as well; their strength was sorely diminished.

At that time, the other ancient tribe—the White Deer Division, which advocated for trade and exchange with the Central Plains—rose to prominence.

———

As one of the Eight Divisions and Ten Clans, the Murong Clan wielded significant influence at the steppe assembly and was a target the White Deer Division sought to win over.

Yet, through Lu Hunxun’s machinations, not only did the Murong Clan fail to ally with the White Deer Division, it also antagonized the Blue Wolf Division—

Thus, it became utterly isolated!

In this predicament, as other clans with grudges against the Murong Clan provoked continual friction, the situation within grew ever more perilous—

Internal conflicts quickly escalated, and seventy-seven years ago, a violent schism erupted.

In the end, after suffering devastating losses, the Murong Clan was torn asunder!

“After the split, not only was their inherited weapon destroyed, but the remaining Martial Ancestors were ambushed and slain by their enemies—”

“In the law of the steppe, where the weak are prey to the strong, such a clan could not survive!”

“Hence, though descendants of the Murong Clan still linger on the steppe, most now rely on their beauty to attach themselves to other powers!”

“This branch of the Murong Clan in the Western Regions is likely the only group to have gathered together.”

The Western Murong Clan was formed by those who migrated west after the clan lost its power and could no longer survive on the steppe—

Now, this branch in the Western Regions is the strongest remaining Murong Clan.

“The Western Murong Clan began to rise about fifty or sixty years ago, largely because they allied themselves with the Cult of the Fire God!”

The Fire Lord’s establishment of the Cult of the Fire God reshaped power in the Western Regions. Many declining clans, like the Murong, seized the opportunity and rose anew.

On the other hand, once-great clans like the Duanmu, due to old enmities with the Fire Lord, could not regain their former status even after purging their ranks.

For example, Duanmu Yun—had it been fifty or sixty years ago, as a scion of the region’s foremost clan, he would never have pursued Murong Yu as he does now.

———

“In other words, the Murong Clan no longer possesses any Martial Ancestors—”

“They rely solely on the grandmaster to whom they have submitted!”

“With my current strength, a force like this—”

“Why should I fear them?”

Recalling the feud between the Murong and Lu Hun Clans, Lu Sheng’s expression twisted into a grim smile. He placed his hand on his long blade and gazed coldly at Murong Yu!