Chapter 667: Ancient Grudge
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Gao Ao Long and Zhen Xun Tian continued to bicker and stare daggers at each other like this for a couple of moments, up until some mutual stopping point. As they did this though, Gao Ao Long made sure to address his clansmen for a brief moment.
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Ignoring her comments, Gao Shen Yuan directed her men to carry the High Elders of the Zhen Clan away from the arena so that the two Aether Emperors could finally fight without worrying about casualties. Well…mostly.
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After sufficiently taunting one another, the two Aether Emperors began to circulate their aether, releasing their auras in the process and causing the very air between them to become tense and full of friction.
This was a moment that was years in the making, ever since their first encounter some odd sixty years ago.
Hell, this was a moment that was centuries in the making.
But…if one were to take a close look at these two warriors, take a look at the auras colliding into one another, one would notice something was…odd.
Mixed into the auras of these two great warriors, were two faint, monstrous shadows that weren’t quite visible unless one knew what they were looking for.
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“Hey guys…am I going crazy, or am I seeing the form of a giant squid monster surrounding the main clan matriarch?”
“You are not. I am seeing that too…alongside the whale monster surrounding that bedraggled beggar guy.”
“Huh…why do they feel familiar?”
“I don’t know, but we should just focus on getting out of here.”
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The following is a short story about the origins of the Fallen Clan, their bitter hatred for the Blossoming Scales Kingdom and its associating clans and what they had been up to up until the present, as condensed from several thousand historical sources, both verified and not.
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Once upon a time, on the continent of Roaring Tide, there was a beautiful kingdom that carried a name synonymous with spring, that was home to five wondrous cities known as Willow, Oak, Elm, Yew and Birch.
Each of these cities were under the protection of five glorious clans known as Zhen, Zhu, Bai, Gao and Pai, respectively.
These five great clans ruled their cities well, leading them with wisdom and generosity into prosperity and happiness.
Many assumed the five clans would always rule the kingdom this way, given that the founders of these clans, of these cities, promised to be brothers with one another until the end of time.
But one day, something happened…like they always do.
One day, the Gao and Pai clans had funded a mining expedition, hearing rumors of a gold mine in a valley found halfway between their two cities.
Upon digging into the dirt, however, they found something even more valuable than gold, a pathway into the abyssal lands.
The abyssal lands had always been a thing of legend in Roaring Tide, a place full of secrets, rare treasures and resources that could elevate even the most talentless mortals to the highest echelons of divinity.
On top of that, it has been said that the inheritance of the Invulnerable Storm Queen is said to be found here…or so the legends say.
By finding this passageway, the Gao and Pai clans gained the opportunity to achieve a level of power and prestige that would put most empires to shame.
Such a find would normally represent good fortune, but for them, it was merely the start of a long, long tragedy.
[Jealous of their good fortune/Incentivized by the power they have gained] the [Zhen, Zhu and Bai/the Pai and Gao] clans attacked the others, permanently damaging the unity that once characterized their kingdom.
A long, brutal civil war broke out, leading to the death of thousands and the destruction of landscapes the clans once wished to preserve for future generations to enjoy.
Eventually, a decisive battle was fought that led to the destruction of both Yew and Birch, and the annihilation of both the Pai and Gao clans…at least, that’s how the others wanted this story to end.
Escaping into the hidden passage that started this whole mess, the remnants of both the Pai and Gao clans, did their best to salvage their situation and start their lives anew in the darkness of the abyssal lands.
In the process of this renewal, the two clans became one, and the one became known as the Fallen clan.
And in the years that followed, the Fallen Clan would become a plague for the kingdom whose name was synonymous with spring.
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Over the course of several lifetimes, the Fallen Clan would attack the Blossoming Scale Kingdom again, and again and again. Failing in the end, but always causing bloodshed and chaos no matter what.
One of the most infamous of these attacks, as well as the most recent, was when the Fallen managed to capture an Imperial descendant and used them as bait to goad the Zhen, Zhu and Bai clans into charging into the abyssal lands. This was an event that was some odd fifty years ago from the present day.
The Fallen at that point had lived there for centuries, and knew precisely how to use the terrain against their former brothers.
This plan of attack was led by one of the fiercest warriors of the Fallen Clan, the War Elder, Gao Ao Long.
Not only was the man a sharp tactician, but after exploring the abyssal lands, Gao Ao Long found…something…that allowed him to rise from a mere Aether Master to that of an Aether King.
The only problem was that he could barely control this…thing…but it didn’t matter. As long as he could direct its destructive power towards his enemies, that was enough.
In fact, Gao Ao Long had become so powerful that he almost managed to wipe out the three clans, by killing their respective leaders.
However, before he could deliver the finishing blows to them, he was defeated by a then unknown warrior by the name of Zhen Xun Tian, the daughter of the previous leader of the Zhen Clan.
Up until this moment, Zhen Xun Tian had just been an “average” young scion of the Zhen Clan, having achievements that were impressive for her age but nothing outstanding.
By defeating and capturing Gao Ao Long though, she had secured her position as the next head of the Zhen Clan.
But what wasn’t recorded was exactly how she managed to do so in the first place.
However, there was one thing in regards to this victory that people made note of.
This was when Zhen Xun Tian had her first tattoo done.
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