Library of Heaven’s Path

A lineage with tens of thousands of years of history behind it would inevitably grow too big to log every single one of their members in their records. Some of their members might be killed while they were carrying out their mission; some of them might be trapped somewhere after stumbling upon a fortuitous encounter…

There were simply too many people whose records were inconclusive, but in truth, their offspring were still living in the world.

It was for this reason that the Sky of Cloud Dragon announced to the world that it would strictly deal with anyone who dared to trade or tame any beast possessing the Dragon Bloodline. The purpose of that was so that they could protect the members scattered all over the Firmament and bring them back.

This was a perfect identity for Zhang Xuan to gain the right to become one of their ten representatives in the upcoming tournament.

As long as no issues arose while his bloodline was being checked, he should be in a pretty safe position.

As for whom he should impersonate…

Was that a problem at all? Those clans would have no idea how they could start tracking down his background!

“This is settled!”

Zhang Xuan ran through his plan once more, but he could not find any glaring issues with it. So, he began making his way toward the closest of the Three Great Clans—the Inferno Phoenix Clan.

The buildings within the jurisdiction of the Inferno Phoenix Clan were crimson in color. Basked in the searing glow of the sun, the entire city was as hot as a furnace.

If not for the fact that everyone who lived in this area was at least at the God realm, they probably would not even have lasted a single minute there.

Zhang Xuan’s body had been tempered by the Lucid Lunar Lake, making it on par with high-tier Celestial God artifacts. Such a level of heat was well within his means to deal with.

While walking through the streets, he asked the passersby for where the Inferno Phoenix Clan resided before heading over.

Soon enough, he found himself standing before a humongous mansion. Just like with the Qi Clan, it was surrounded by a powerful formation that prevented outsiders from entering the premises.

Zhang Xuan did not try to barge his way through the formation. Instead, he headed to the tavern opposite the mansion.

The guard whom he had talked to previously did not know too much about the political situation of the Three Great Clans. As the saying went, the best place to gather information was the tavern, where people from all walks of life gathered.

He might be able to gather some useful news that would help him later. At the very least, he would not be completely lost after entering the Inferno Phoenix Clan.

He chose a seat by the window and ordered some wine and meat before digging into his meal leisurely.

At some point in time, the doors of the Inferno Phoenix Clan suddenly creaked open, and a silhouette stumbled out before collapsing to the ground.

“Scram!”

Following that, two young men walked out with a haughty attitude.

The fallen youth struggled to his feet as he glared at the two haughty young men before him furiously. “Feng Chao and Feng Xiang, you are too much!”

The youth was in his early twenties. One thing that stood out about him was the flame mark on his glabella. However, his face looked unnaturally pale, suggesting that he was not in the best condition.

“Too much?” the young man known as Feng Chao sneered coldly. “Feng Jiuge, are you still living in the era two years ago? You are no longer the genius you think you are, and your bloodline has also been burned dry. Don’t you know that you have already been kicked out of the core lineage? Don’t make us waste our time on you and scram!”

“You were strong and talented two years ago, and we were nothing more than ants compared to you back then. But right now, you are nothing more than useless trash! Hurry up and get out of here! No one will speak up for you even if we throw you into the beast cages!” Feng Xiang harrumphed.

Geji! Geji!

The youth named Feng Jiuge clenched his fists tight in anger. Indignation was written all over his face, but in the end, he did not say a word at all. With a darkened expression on his face, he quietly left the area.

“What a pity!”

“Tragic, isn’t it? Feng Jiuge was the most brilliant genius of the Inferno Phoenix Clan several years ago, but due to an accident, his bloodline was ruined. All of a sudden, he was no longer able to raise his cultivation; on the contrary, he even grew weaker with time! Soon enough, he was kicked out of the core lineage, becoming a person whom anyone could pick on!”

“This is how it is with large clans. If you are strong and talented, you will be a member of the core lineage that everyone respects. If not, you are nothing at all!”

“With the receding of spiritual energy, even the Inferno Phoenix Clan is facing a shortage of cultivation resources. Those who aren’t in the core lineage receive very limited resources, so their accomplishments are essentially capped. This is simply the harsh reality of the world!”

There were many in the tavern who saw the earlier sight, and they began discussing with hushed voices.

After hearing for a while, Zhang Xuan was able to roughly understand the story behind it.

Two years earlier, Feng Jiuge had been the most radiant star in the Inferno Phoenix Clan. Despite his young age, he had already been a middle-tier Celestial God. Not only so, his grasp of battle techniques also far surpassed his peers, making him an existence that countless look up to.

It was just that fate liked to play pranks on people.

In one of the missions he took on, he encountered something that caused him to sustain great injuries. Not only so, his bloodline seemed to have been forcefully torn out of his body, vanishing without a trace.

As soon as the clan found out about it, the cultivation resources that he was entitled to decreased drastically, and many questioned his standing in the clan.

Just a few days ago, there had been yet another check on his bloodline, and it was found that the purity of his bloodline had become so sparse that it could not even be compared to ordinary members in the side family.

As a result, he was evicted from the core lineage and driven out of the clan.

Unwilling to accept such an outcome, Feng Jiuge tried to appeal, only to be kicked out by Feng Chao and Feng Xiang. The earlier scene was a result of that.

“Back when he was the brightest star in the Inferno Phoenix Clan, everyone was dying to fawn over him and lick his boots. The experts on the Board of Potential God Kings viewed him as their brother, and Feng Chao and Feng Xiang did everything they could to get on his good side. But now that Feng Jiuge has fallen from grace, those two were the first ones to turn their backs on him!”

“Well, this is just how the world is. It’s usually the most humble and subservient lapdog that bites the most viciously when its master falls from grace!”

The crowd shook their heads.

Those without strength were nothing at all in the Firmament.

This was simply how the world was, there was no one to blame for this.

Amid discussions, the severely wounded Feng Jiuge walked into the tavern and sat down not too far away from Zhang Xuan. Without saying a word, he began gulping down wine in huge mouthfuls.

Xuan. Without saying a word, he began gulping down wine in huge mouthfuls.

The renowned genius from before indeed did not look too powerful. His cultivation was only at low-tier Celestial God, and his zhenqi felt exceptionally weak and sparse. From the looks of it, it seemed very possible for his cultivation to fall once more.

I wonder what he encountered for his cultivation to start falling like that…

Zhang Xuan did not feel particularly sympathetic to Feng Jiuge’s plight, but he was intrigued by the latter’s situation.

Under normal circumstances, unless a cultivator suffered severe injuries to their meridians or dantian, it was very difficult for their cultivation to regress.

He could tell that what the crowd had gossiped about earlier was not wrong. It was likely that Feng Jiuge had been a high-tier Celestial God back at his peak, but right now, it felt like he would fall from the ranks of Celestial Gods very soon…

Just what did he encounter to be faced with such a situation?

Let me take a look…

Zhang Xuan activated his Eye of Insight to take a closer look at the young man. A moment later, he frowned.

Killing intent?

The young man in front of him harnessed a surge of concentrated killing intent within his body. Even though the young man had hidden it well, it was still insufficient to circumvent the detection of the Eye of Insight.

Most of those who have been on battlefields will have some degree of killing intent inside their body. Such was the case for Zhuo Feng. But the killing intent in Feng Jiuge’s body is oddly similar to that of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe…

To think that the young man, Feng Jiuge, would have the killing intent of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe inside him!

This had really spurred Zhang Xuan’s curiosity.