He Wu Ye returned to his courtyard with the bruised and battered Da Zhuang, "My son, go rest by yourself."
He Wu Ye went to his study alone, recalling the message from the Blood Tiger totem: "Old Fifth, Da Zhuang has the potential to become a King, but our He family is not equipped to nurture him. If word gets out and the myriad races find out, it will bring about a disaster of death and annihilation."
"Knock, knock, knock," a knocking sound echoed.
"Patriarch," "Fifth Brother," the old steward He Fu and Eighth Master He entered after knocking.
"Fifth Brother, what's wrong that you've summoned me and Uncle Fu so late at night?"
"Old Eighth, Uncle Fu, a great opportunity has arrived for our He family, but one wrong step could lead to the ruin of our clan and the death of our people."
"What happened in the family that is so serious?"
"This morning, I took Da Zhuang to receive the inheritance of the Blood Tiger totem. All day long, Da Zhuang was bathed in the power of the totem," He Wu Ye said slowly.
"Normal totem power only takes 3 hours. Da Zhuang received a full day of totem power, directly causing the Blood Tiger totem to fall from Quasi-King to the intermediate Lord realm, two tiers lower than we predicted."
"Afterward, the Blood Tiger sent me a message saying Da Zhuang has the potential to become a Human King."
Eighth Master He and the old steward He Fu gasped. "Fifth Brother, is this true?"
"Do you think I'm babbling?"
"Patriarch, with our current strength, we cannot protect a King who has not yet matured."
"Most importantly, we cannot afford to raise him. Fifth Brother, the He family can provide resources for Da Zhuang until the Lord realm. But what about after that? The strongest expert in our He family now is the Blood Tiger, but it is restricted by its spiritual body and cannot move without being carried," Eighth Master He finally spoke seriously.
He Kuang said to the old steward, "Uncle Fu, order Cheng Ye and Cheng Lin to bring back the hunting teams. The Blood Tiger totem needs a large amount of ferocious beast essence to recover. Let's prioritize the recovery of the Blood Tiger totem first. Then, recall Fourth Uncle. The family needs strength to defend itself now."
He Cheng Ye and He Cheng Lin were the two sons of the old steward He Fu. The brothers led a hunting team of thirty members, all of whom were Platinum-level martial artists. He Cheng Ye and He Cheng Lin themselves were Diamond-level martial artists, representing the He family's hidden strength.
The Fourth Uncle mentioned by He Wu Ye was the biological younger brother of the He family's Old Patriarch, ranked fourth. At that time, the four brothers led the He family's Diamond-level martial artists in a fierce battle against twelve Diamond-level powerhouses from the myriad races. The Fourth Old Patriarch did not perish but was severely injured and secretly brought back to the He family for treatment. After his injuries healed, the Fourth Old Patriarch was hidden by the He family and successfully advanced to the Lord realm ten years ago.
"Patriarch, if the Myriad Races Church and the Qiao family attack, with only Eighth Brother and me on the surface, it will certainly not be enough."
"Uncle Fu, you don't need to worry. It seems I cannot hide anymore. If Zhuang shows such high talent, without a Lord backing him, he will be very passive and at a disadvantage. Rather than me stepping out then, it is better to let everyone know now that the He family also has a Lord guarding it. Old Eighth, starting tomorrow, you will personally lead scouts to observe the movements of the Qiao family and the Myriad Races Church. Once they join forces, I will personally eliminate them all, considering it my declaration of advancing to the Lord realm."
After the Myriad Races Invasion and the spiritual energy resurgence, various wild beasts appeared in the primeval forests and high mountains worldwide. Some awakened bloodlines inherited from ancient spirit beasts, who fought alongside humans in ancient times and were thus close to humans. Their descendants are now mostly allies of humans, such as the Qing Qiu fox clan, the five immortal families outside the passes, and the Dragon and Phoenix clans, which rank high among the myriad races. Conversely, those whose bloodlines are inherited from ferocious beasts, like the Taotie, feed on humans. The Taotie itself is one of the myriad races, and its bloodline is naturally ferocious, which is the origin of most ferocious beasts globally.
Deep in the Changbai Mountains, in a camp.
"Big Brother, Father has sent a message. There has been a change at home and we urgently need ferocious beast essence. We are ordered to return as soon as possible." Two burly men were talking in a wooden house.
"Hmm, how much ferocious beast essence and beast cores have we accumulated over these two years?" The one speaking was He Cheng Ye, the eldest son of the old steward He Fu.
"Eight Diamond-level beast cores, one peak-tier, two high-tier, one mid-tier, and the remaining four are initial-tier. For Diamond-level ferocious beast essence, we have about a hundred catties from these eight beasts." The one talking to He Cheng Ye was his younger brother, He Cheng Lin.
The two brothers had been stationed deep in the Changbai Mountains with the He family's hunting team for two years, hunting beast cores and essence, collecting precious spiritual herbs, and also cultivating themselves and the thirty hunting team members. The amount of essence from ferocious beasts varies depending on the species, level, and size. Generally, the essence from a Diamond-level land beast is only about 10 catties, with some exceptionally large beasts like bears, tigers, elephants, and cows yielding more.
"As for Platinum-level ferocious beasts, we have hunted over 200, yielding more than a thousand catties of essence. If it weren't for the hellhounds that broke through the spatial rift last time, we wouldn't have gathered this much," said the second brother, He Cheng Lin.
"We haven't counted the Gold-level ones, but there must be at least two thousand. Most of the Gold-level essence was brewed into blood wine by the team members. If we have one-third left, that's about 800 catties. Oh, and we still have over 500 catties of blood wine."
"These brats are fast learners. Over 1500 catties of essence could at least brew 3000 catties of blood wine, and they've drunk it all? They're a bunch of heavy drinkers," He Cheng Ye said helplessly.
"It's not like they have anything else to do, being cooped up. Every day is either cultivation or killing ferocious beasts, so drinking wine is just a way to pass the time," He Cheng Lin explained to his older brother.
"That's right, Second Brother. We'll keep 200 catties of the remaining 500 catties. We'll give 100 catties to Eighth Brother, and the rest to the Patriarch. These brats must have some reserves on them."
He Cheng Ye and his younger brother walked out of the wooden house. He Cheng Ye let out a loud roar, "Assemble!"
Instantly, dozens of figures shot in from all directions. The thirty-person hunting team stood in a straight line.
"The Patriarch has ordered us to return immediately. Pack your belongings and depart in one hour."
Everyone took their orders and quickly packed their belongings. As the He family's hunting team, they naturally had spatial equipment to store beast meat, bones, various spiritual herbs, spiritual fruits, and spiritual wood and ore. They then organized their personal equipment. An hour later, thirty upright figures stood before He Cheng Ye and He Cheng Lin. Looking at the sturdy men before him, "You've all done well. These two years haven't been in vain. The weakest have advanced two tiers. Excellent work! When we return home, the Patriarch will reward us handsomely. Those who haven't married will get wives, and those who are married will get a month off to spend time with their wives. Next year, bring me a bunch of little cubs!"
"Yes, Captain!" "Hahahaha!"
"Captain, you and the Vice-Captain should set an example for the brothers and lead from the front, shouldn't you?" Su Dan Novel Network
"Hahahaha, you rascals, let's go!"