16: Chapter 16 Old Stories (Part 1)

"Sigh."

Ye Tuanbang sighed heavily and continued, "The great war over thirty years ago cost us too much."

Upon hearing Ye Tuanbang's words, the other Elders could not help but fall into memories of that year...

Cangjiang Prefecture and Linhai Prefecture border the East Sea and often work together to resist the attacks of sea beasts. Perhaps the sea beasts produce too many offspring and cannot afford to feed them, so every fifty years, they inevitably launch a massive beast tide, causing heavy casualties on both sides.

In the end, the human side fares better; they can more or less obtain a large amount of Artifact Refining Materials or some Heaven And Earth Treasure, making the defense worthwhile. The sea beast side is purely delivering their heads; after the fight, they gain nothing, leaving behind only a pile of corpses.

Even if they occupy a city, it is basically useless to them. They cannot adapt to the living habits and various other aspects. They are inherently kings of the water, and their strength is greatly reduced once they leave it.

Since records began, such events have never ceased.

Wouldn't peaceful coexistence be better? Why insist on sending "warmth"?

Cangjiang Prefecture and Linhai Prefecture each defend against attacks from a tribe of the East Sea Dragon Palace. Cangjiang Prefecture defends against the Red Carp tribe, and Linhai Prefecture defends against the Blue Sea Turtle tribe. As long as both prefectures hold their own territory, the provincial government will not punish them, and all treasures obtained belong to the respective Families.

Conversely, if any Family loses their territory, the lighter punishment is to fund the reconstruction of the city, while the heavier punishment is to have the entire clan exiled to the Northern Lands to resist the invasion of Great Qin for a hundred years. As for the Families that have gone to the Northern Lands to defend for a hundred years, only the provincial-level aristocratic Family from the west, the Thunderbolt Overlord Spear Wang Family, has managed to survive, and only after sacrificing two Martial Kings. One can imagine the cruelty of the Northern Lands.

Sometimes, the aristocratic families of the two prefectures will merge to jointly resist their attacks. After all, when sea beasts Cultivate to a certain Realm, their intelligence greatly increases, especially after they Breakthrough to become Level 4 sea beasts, where they tend to become more human-like in all aspects.

Over thirty years ago, it was the time for the fifty-year beast tide. Originally, the families of the two prefectures were defending their own sides, fighting back and forth with the sea beasts, and everyone was safe and sound.

When the sea beast tide was about to end, the four giants of Linhai Prefecture—the Zhao, Song, Ouyang, and Ding clans—felt very resentful that they lost a large number of clan members to the Blue Sea Turtle tribe during every beast tide.

This time, a core seed Martial Ancestor reserve, who had been cultivated by the Zhao clan for twenty years, unfortunately fell in this resistance against the beast tide.

Recalling the seven hundred years of resistance history, filled with the blood and tears of various families, the Zhao clan—the leader of Linhai Prefecture—organized a coalition. Combining all the elites of the four clans, they wanted to pull off something big, just like how they dealt with the Seahorse tribe two hundred years ago, and wipe out the entire Blue Sea Turtle tribe.

To ensure foolproof success, Linhai Prefecture secretly borrowed ten Martial Ancestor experts from the three major clans of Cangjiang Prefecture, hoping to achieve success in one battle, launch a lightning war, and completely eliminate the Blue Sea Turtle tribe.

...

Wei Family Pavilion

"Seniors, I believe you already know the purpose of my visit from my Clan Chief's letter. I wonder what your thoughts are?" The person who came to liaise was Zhao Xuanjun, the leading figure of the new generation of the Zhao Family.

"Helping is certainly possible; everyone has a responsibility to clear out sea beasts. As for the benefits... hehe." The one answering was Wang Tianming, the Clan Chief of the Wang Family.

This guy never lets go of the eagle until he sees the rabbit. Every time someone asks for his help, they have to pay the benefits fee upfront, and whether the matter succeeds or not, the benefits are never returned.

The other two families also silently agreed to this move. Although asking for a benefits fee before doing any work was a bit unethical, extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.

"My Old Ancestor's intention is to exchange six Breakthrough Pills for the support of ten Martial Ancestor experts. I wonder what you Seniors think?" Zhao Xuanjun continued.

"Two for each Family? And add…" Wang Tianming clearly did not consider the other families in Cangjiang Prefecture. If his strength allowed it, this old guy would probably want to hog everything for himself.

After all, the stake of two Breakthrough Pills was already very heavy.

"Add one million Spirit Stones for each Family."

Upon hearing Wang Tianming's hint, Zhao Xuanjun did not hesitate; he directly interrupted Wang Tianming and increased the offer by three million Spirit Stones.

After speaking, he directly took out three Storage Pouches and three small bottles, which flew towards the three Clan Chiefs, landing precisely in their hands. This move was truly impressive, enough to show the deep cultivation of this kid.

The people he passed them to were not just any random nobodies outside, but the Clan Chiefs of the three major clans of a prefecture.

The Wei, Ye, and Wang Families each checked the contents of the small bottles and gladly agreed: "Good, Nephew, wait a moment. We will set off immediately once the manpower is gathered."

This kid is still a bit green. Being provoked by Wang Tianming, he added another three million Spirit Stones. The Clan Chiefs of the Wei and Ye families looked at each other, thinking in tacit understanding.

With the huge benefit of two Breakthrough Pills and one million Spirit Stones for each clan, combined with the situation at the time and historical experience that the beast tide was about to end, the three major clans of Cangjiang Prefecture gladly agreed to join Linhai Prefecture's plan, not realizing that they were stepping into a huge life-and-death crisis.

Just by the name, one can tell that the Breakthrough Pill is a Tier 4 Medicinal Pill that can greatly increase the chances for a Martial Master to Breakthrough to a Martial Ancestor. Every Martial Ancestor is the confidence of a prefecture-level aristocratic Family, and even more so, the Foundation that allows them to pass down their Legacy for so many years.

Otherwise, the families of Cangjiang Prefecture would not have rashly joined such an extremely dangerous operation.

Linhai Prefecture dispatched thirty of its own Martial Ancestor experts as a suicide squad to penetrate deep into the Outer Sea and carry out an extermination strike against the Blue Sea Turtle tribe. It could be said that they destroyed everything they saw. This fighting style directly provoked the temper of the sea beasts of the Blue Sea Turtle tribe.

They originally thought it was child's play, but the humans did not follow the martial code.

The entire Blue Sea Turtle tribe mobilized, with a total of fifty-seven Level 4 sea beasts, including two Peak Level 4 sea beasts. They set an ambush in a sea area and killed three of Linhai Prefecture's Martial Ancestor experts the moment they met. If not for a Seven-Star Martial Sect who sacrificed himself and blew himself up to create an opening, it is estimated that they would have all been wiped out in this ambush.

After killing three Martial Ancestors, the Young Clan Chief of the Blue Sea Turtle tribe still felt it wasn't satisfying enough. He led the charge, chasing the remaining twenty-six Martial Ancestors of Linhai Prefecture all the way to the edge of the land before stopping.

When the other Level 4 sea beasts saw that the Young Clan Chief was chasing, they did not dare to stay behind alone and chased after him as well.

One of them, a half-bodied man wearing a red grass skirt, looked at the Young Clan Chief and said, "Young Clan Chief, ahead is the continent. Let's go back. The treacherous humans are always using these little tricks."

Hearing this, the Young Clan Chief was unmoved. He touched the bead on his chest and said coldly, "Continue the pursuit. This time we must teach the humans a painful lesson. We must slaughter ten of their cities to avenge Aya!"

Hearing this name from his mouth, the half-bodied man fell into silence. Aya was one of the girls the Young Clan Chief liked very much. "But..."