168: Chapter 168 Promotion to Elder

"Ming'er, you must be extremely careful while staying behind to guard the Family this time. The Black Dragon Clan has been restless lately. I fear there may be some unusual movements after your two brothers and I leave." Clan Leader Cang Lan said with a grave expression.

"Yes, Father. This child understands." Cang Ming replied, bowing.

"This is a Grade 5 Soul-Nurturing Wood. It will be of immense benefit for you to recover from your injuries and repair your Divine Soul Foundation. Take it and Cultivate diligently. Do not let down my expectations of you again." Clan Leader Cang Lan said earnestly.

"Father, I will definitely Cultivate diligently in the future, reach the Late Stage of the Grade 5 Breakthrough early, and revitalize the Black Dragon Clan, so that Big Brother and Second Brother can rest assured in handing the Family over to me." Cang Ming knelt halfway on the cold ground, speaking with earnest sincerity.

"It is good that you understand my painstaking efforts. Go now, and guard the Family well. I will certainly return within a month. Do not put too much pressure on yourself." Clan Leader Cang Lan nodded, signaling for Cang Ming to leave on his own. Watching his youngest son walk away, he thought that this tribulation might not necessarily be a bad thing for him.

...

Seven days later, at the Flower Snake Immortal Cave in the Weishui River waters—or rather, the Octopus Monster's Immortal Cave—five Lion-head Fish with lion heads and fish bodies quietly filed in, easily defeated the Octopus Monster, and occupied this Immortal Cave.

"Little Octopus, don't be afraid." A Lion-head Fish with thick fur grabbed the Octopus Monster's tentacle and slapped it against its head, laughing as it spoke.

"The Yao Beast in the inland rivers are just weak. It couldn't even withstand a single blow from me." Another robust Lion-head Fish stepped on the Octopus Monster's tentacle, causing it to howl in pain, which made the surface of the Weishui River churn and stir up waves.

"Lion Fur, Lion Meat, stop playing around. Keep an eye on this octopus first. Three days from now, it will be just right to serve as our vanguard." An old Lion-head Fish dressed in black clothes barked a low command.

"Yes, Big Brother." Lion Fur and Lion Meat picked up the octopus and tossed it into a corner of the palace, leaving it to fend for itself.

"Lion Meat, go settle the men. We will rest here for one night and continue our journey tomorrow. We must arrive at Luomu Mountain, the ancestral territory of the Ye Family in Cangjiang Prefecture, in three days." The old Lion-head Fish ordered.

"Yes, Big Brother." Lion Meat went out to discipline the tribe, ensuring they stayed within the designated waters and were not discovered by human Martial Artists, so as not to ruin the grand plan of the Black Dragon Clan. The Lion-head Fish tribe could not afford the consequences.

"This Octopus Monster really knows how to enjoy life."

The old Lion-head Fish wandered around the octopus's Immortal Cave alone. Seeing the three palaces rooted underwater, it couldn't help but exclaim.

But when it saw hundreds of river Yao Beasts repairing a collapsed palace, its expression changed drastically. It immediately went to the octopus, and with a slap, left the octopus, which was crouching in the corner grieving, stunned.

"Great... Great One, do you... have any instructions?" The octopus asked cautiously, holding its swollen, crimson face.

"Let me ask you, what is going on with that collapsed palace?" The old Lion-head Fish demanded sternly.

"Reporting to the Great One, this was not originally the small one's Immortal Cave. This small one doesn't know either!" The octopus said, tears streaming down its face. It had thought it had picked up a huge bargain, occupying three luxurious palaces for free, ruling over the local aquatic tribe, and dominating the area. Now it seemed, whoever wanted this bargain could have it.

"This small one will go and bring the original manager here for you. He must know the full story of this place." Feeling the Killing Intent from the several Lion-head Fish, the octopus immediately sprang up from the ground and ran outside to find the original manager.

"Speak, what is going on with this collapsed palace?" Before long, the octopus brought back a Grade 3 Flower Snake, kicked it hard, and forced it to answer.

Under the pressure of the five Grade 4 Demonic Beasts, the Grade 3 Flower Snake quickly spilled the beans, explaining everything like bamboo shoots falling from a basket.

After hearing the whole sequence of events, the old Lion-head Fish finally understood a bit why the Black Dragon Clan wanted to launch another small beast tide five years early, just as the centennial beast tide was about to begin.

It was likely that the Black Dragon Clan had suffered a major loss due to this accident, so they had to launch this beast tide to stabilize the position of the Royal Clan.

"Second Prince, this subordinate discovered something in the Weishui River... To avoid the humans leaving behind any hidden traps again, causing the news to leak, I specially request instructions from the Prince on whether to launch the attack early." The old Lion-head Fish sent a message to Cang Yun through a special seashell.

"Approved. I will speak to the Royal Father. Our route will attack one day early." Before long, the seashell replied to the old Lion-head Fish's request.

...

When Grand Elder Ye Ronghui and the other seven returned to Luomu Mountain with the treasure ship, they stirred up a wave of cheers. Because they had to tow the treasure ship back, the journey that should have taken one hour took a full three hours.

After the eight of them placed the treasure ship at Ye Jiechuan's Shipbuilding Peak, they went together to the Dali Courtyard to request an audience with Clan Chief Ye Tuanhui. They recounted Ye Yisong's discovery and speculations, which shocked Ye Tuanhui so much that he sent out several urgent messages, summoning all the Elders currently in the Family to the Dali Courtyard for a council.

"Tuanhui, there is one more matter that needs to be decided immediately." While everyone was waiting, Grand Elder Ye Ronghui stood up and walked to Clan Chief Ye Tuanhui's side, saying slowly, "This time, in escorting Yisong back to the sect, both Tuan Tu and I have returned. Only Tuan Sheng is guarding the branch courtyard in Cangjiang Prefecture. If the beast tide really arrives, Tuan Sheng will likely be urgently recalled to the Prefecture Office, and the branch courtyard will inevitably be left empty."

When Grand Elder Ye Ronghui said this, his gaze lingered on Ye Jiesheng and General Affairs Elder Ye Jiefeng for a few moments, and finally decided: "Send Jiesheng to take over from Tuan Sheng and guard the branch courtyard."

"Good," Clan Chief Ye Tuanhui nodded in agreement. "Jietie, Little Five, you two go with Jiesheng to guard the Cangjiang Prefecture branch courtyard. Remember, no matter what happens, you must leave one person behind to hold the branch courtyard. The three of you should set off now."

"Yes, Clan Chief." Ye Jiesheng and the other two bowed and accepted the order.

"Take these five Talismans. Be careful on the road." Ye Jiexin, who had arrived first, took fifteen Tier 4 Talismans from his Storage Pouch and handed them to the three, saying.

"Many thanks, Ninth Brother (Ninth Younger Brother)." The three happily received the Talismans from Ye Jiexin. Each of them received exactly one Diamond Body Protection Talisman, one Hundred-Mile Teleportation Talisman, and three Hundred Sword Talismans. With these five Talismans on their persons, their safety would be greatly improved.

"Old man." Ye Yisong waved at Ye Jiexin, revealing a mouthful of big white teeth.

"You have become a Fourth-Rank Talisman Master?" Ye Jiexin twitched his nose a few times and asked suspiciously.

"Old man, how did you know?" Ye Yisong asked in surprise. When they had just reported the matter to the Clan Chief, they hadn't mentioned that Ye Yisong had become a Fourth-Rank Talisman Master. The Clan Chief didn't even know yet! How did Ye Jiexin figure it out?

"The smell on you betrayed you," Ye Jiexin exposed the secret, looking at Ye Yisong like he was an idiot, stopping Ye Yisong from looking left and right.

"There's no smell," Ye Yisong smelled his clothes, puzzled. After pondering for a moment, he understood. It should be that similar auras resonate, so after Ye Jiexin came in, he sensed some kind of similar aura from him.

"Really?" Clan Chief Ye Tuanhui changed his worried expression and looked at Ye Yisong in pleasant surprise.

"Clan Chief Grandfather, it is true." Ye Yisong nodded and admitted.

"Hahaha, good, good, good!" Clan Chief Ye Tuanhui laughed heartily, disregarding his decorum. The dark clouds of the impending beast tide seemed to have dissipated a little.

"Clan Chief, what made you so happy?" Ye Tuanbang led four people in from outside and said with a smile.

"Good lad!" Without waiting for Clan Chief Ye Tuanhui to answer, Ancestor Ye Rongming appeared out of thin air in everyone's field of vision, sitting in the highest seat, and praised Ye Yisong.

"Greetings, Old Ancestor." Everyone bowed.

"Hmm." Ancestor Ye Rongming nodded, signaling Clan Chief Ye Tuanhui to begin the clan meeting.

"Since everyone is here, let us begin the clan meeting now." Clan Chief Ye Tuanhui looked around, his voice resounding with power.

"The first item of the clan meeting is to promote Ye Yisong and Training Instructor Ye Jiechen to Family Elders."