13: The family's emphasis on it, and their obstruction!

The next day.

Yu Mengzhang woke up and vaguely heard the sound of discussion outside.

Stepping out to look, the Village Chief had gathered the villagers in the courtyard and was chatting fervently.

"Originally, several of our villages were going to build a temple together to worship Lord Divine Dragon, but I heard that a recognized temple already exists a hundred miles away..."

"Since that's the case, let's not build one for now and just go there directly to pay our respects. Anyone with an ox cart or donkey cart at home, bring them out."

"Then just give a few bronze coins as a token of our sincerity. How about it?"

The Village Chief said with a smile.

Villagers who had oxen or donkeys at home spoke up one after another:

"Village Chief! What you're saying is far too unreasonable! If we still charged money to go worship Lord Divine Dragon, would we even be human?"

"That's right! If not for Lord Divine Dragon, our crops would have died in the fields long ago! This trip must be free! Everyone, let's go together!"

"Yes, yes, yes! I want to bring a few farm eggs to place on Lord Divine Dragon's altar. Maybe he'll like our farm eggs?"

"..."

The group of people was bustling with excitement.

With a "thud...!", the "Green Lizard" came out, squeezed into the crowd, and sniffed the air as if looking for something to eat.

Seeing it, everyone couldn't help but chuckle and turned their gaze back to Yu Mengzhang.

"Mengzhang is awake. Perfect. We'll head to the Divine Dragon Hall together in a bit to worship Lord Divine Dragon. If he can gain Lord Divine Dragon's favor, Mengzhang will be extraordinary!"

The Village Chief said cheerfully.

Others also offered praise, believing Yu Mengzhang was a good child and deserved Lord Divine Dragon's recognition.

"..." Yu Mengzhang felt somewhat helpless.

By that logic, wasn't he going to be worshipping himself?

It felt a bit... strange.

Having made their agreement, the villagers went back to drive their ox carts and donkey carts. As for horse carriages, there were none; those were only for nobles or those in the city.

Seven ox carts and five donkey carts stopped on the road in front of the door.

Each Family sent a representative, squeezing together to fill every cart. It was only hard on the oxen and donkeys, which mooed and brayed while flicking their tails.

Yu Mengzhang followed the Village Chief and sat on the first ox cart.

"Alright, let's set off!"

Thus, the twelve flatbed carts began to move forward.

The speed wasn't fast; it would likely be dark by the time they arrived.

But there were definitely villages nearby, and they could just stay overnight at someone's place then.

Being from the same local area, these kinds of favors still existed.

Just as they left the village entrance, two people hurried over.

Both were dressed in exquisite clothes—one young man and one youth, members of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

One could tell at a glance they were from the clan, whereas the villagers had Bloodlines so thin they were almost non-existent.

"Wait a moment, is the Village Chief here?"

The young man blocked the middle of the road and asked with a smile.

The youth was Yu Tianxin, who had met Yu Mengzhang before and even helped him out of a predicament. He scanned the crowd and quickly locked onto Yu Mengzhang.

The Village Chief jumped off the cart, his face full of smiles.

"What is it, my lord?"

Although he was old enough to be the other's grandfather, the Village Chief still bowed before the young man with a humble attitude.

The young man said directly: "Two things. First, the clan has decided to increase the price for you—one gold coin per mu of land. If you want to sell, do it as soon as possible. Second..."

He looked at Yu Tianxin and nodded slightly.

Yu Tianxin came before Yu Mengzhang, a trace of complexity flashing in his eyes.

Even now, he couldn't understand how Yu Mengzhang had defeated Yu Tianheng.

"Yu Mengzhang, the Clan Chief personally spoke. You are allowed to enter the clan, and your Spirit will be re-evaluated. Congratulations..."

Yu Tianxin nodded and said.

"!!!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the air fell silent.

Immediately after, all the villagers became excited, their faces flushing as they spoke all at once.

"I knew our Mengzhang would make something of himself! There must have been a misunderstanding!"

"That's more like it! Mengzhang can finally return to the clan!"

"Long live the Clan Chief!"

"..."

Some sentimental village women even started wiping away tears.

The Village Chief looked back, a gratified smile on his face.

Yu Mengzhang's parents had sacrificed themselves to save the village.

Now that Yu Mengzhang could return to the clan, a weight on their hearts was finally lifted!

Yu Mengzhang's expression was calm, showing no joy at this "good news."

"No need."

"What?" Yu Tianxin was stunned. The Clan Chief had personally intervened; that was a chance to rise to the heavens in a single step, yet Yu Mengzhang had actually refused?

Yu Mengzhang looked in the direction of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and restated: "I don't want to enter the clan."

"..."

Yu Tianxin frowned and said, "You might feel aggrieved, but the clan's initial judgment of you wasn't wrong. No matter how strong your Innate Soul Power is, if your Spirit is poor, there's no potential. Conventionally speaking, your Spirit does indeed meet the criteria for a Waste Spirit."

"Now that you've shown even stronger talent, the Clan Chief has suppressed his discomfort... In short, only by returning to the clan can you receive the best training. There is no future on the outside."

After Yu Tianxin finished, he asked again, "Will you come with me?"

The villagers also held their breath, looking at Yu Mengzhang eagerly, hoping he would go to the clan with Yu Tianxin.

That was the ultimate dream of almost all branch members!

And now, Yu Mengzhang was only one nod away from that dream.

"I'm not going," Yu Mengzhang said indifferently.

Setting aside the things the clan had done...

Just the fact that his parents sacrificed themselves yet he was raised by the village gave him no favorable impression of that Family.

"Mengzhang..."

The villagers were anxious but couldn't bear to say anything harsh.

Yu Tianxin looked at Yu Mengzhang in surprise, shaking his head. "Think about it some more. I'll come ask you again."

On the other side, the smile on the young man's face gradually faded.

"Have you considered it?"

The Village Chief shook his head and said, "My lord, we aren't selling the land. It's rained now. In the future, we'll fetch water ourselves to grow the crops well..."

The young man sneered and said, "The river is too far from here. Can you really carry enough water? Besides, I saw when I came—even though your crops have rainwater now, they aren't growing well. How much of a harvest can you have? We've offered you a high price now; don't bring trouble upon yourselves."

The Village Chief opened his mouth, then sighed, knowing the other was telling the truth.

Even with rain now, the crops' growth had suffered because of the previous drought.

There would definitely be a poor harvest!

"I'm sorry, my lord, we still don't plan to sell the land..."

"Stubborn and foolish."

The young man snorted coldly and turned to leave with Yu Tianxin... On the other side, Xue Qinghe also ran into trouble. He went to buy crop seeds, only to find that all the grain shops in Heaven Dou City had stopped selling!

After some inquiry, he learned that many nobles controlled those grain shops.

Knowing her intentions, they all showed resistance.

After all, this great drought was a prime opportunity for the nobles to annex land, and they wouldn't just hand over this benefit!

Xue Qinghe visited several noble families, but all he got was perfunctory excuses and complaints. Not one admitted to having seeds, all claiming they had no stock.

Coming out of a vermilion gate, Xue Qinghe looked up at the scorching sun in the sky and couldn't help but show a look of disappointment.

Was she ultimately going to break her word?