That Otherworldly Demon expert had been able to corner Kong shi to the point where the latter had no choice but to sacrifice an entire occupation in order to infiltrate the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe as a spy… Given so, just how powerful could that Otherworldly Demon expert be?
Would his prowess not have already exceeded that of an average Otherworldly Demon?
Jiang Fangyou did not think that Zhang Xuan would ask such a question. He pondered for a long while before replying slowly. “The name of that Otherworldly Demon expert has already been lost in history. All we know is that he wielded indomitable strength and viewed life as nothing more than dirt. He was callous and capricious, and when he was in a bad mood, he had no qualms killing his own brethren…
“As such, both the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe and mankind chose to address him as… Vicious!”
“Vicious?” Zhang Xuan’s body jolted.
As expected!
When he heard that Kong shi had been trapped in Chen Cai, he had already guessed as to who the culprit could be. Nevertheless, he was still shocked when he heard the answer.
To think that the little Vicious whom he had sealed in his Book of Heaven’s Path would really be a formidable figure who had once cornered Kong shi!
The soul oracles even had to bear a vile reputation that remained with them to this date in order to kill him…
It was no wonder Vicious had been so haughty the first time they met. It turned out that he did have the power to match his ego during his prime!
“Indeed. According to the news that the founder of our Jiang Clan received from the leader of the Soul Oracle Guild, Kong shi concocted a scheme in advance after learning of Vicious’ movements and prepared an ambush for him. That fight was truly of epic proportions; even the sky and the earth cracked before their incredible prowess! In the end, Vicious was completely destroyed by Kong shi, such that not even his corpse remained in the world!” Jiang Fangyou said.
Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan fell silent.
It was indeed true that Vicious’ body had been torn into innumerable fragments. Having collected so many of Vicious’ scattered parts, he knew that better than anyone else. However, he had not thought that there would be such a heavy story behind it.
There were simply too many sacrifices made in order to defeat Vicious once and for all.
“Regarding your account of the soul oracles, I think it’s questionable whether even the Master Teacher Pavilion has any records of the matter or not. How can you be certain that the information on your hand hasn’t been distorted over time?” Zhang Xuan asked.
This matter would definitely have to be kept with the highest level of confidentiality, such that even the current Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters would not necessarily be aware of it. In other words, the Jiang Clan would be the only ones in possession of this piece of information.
In order to ensure that the success of the operation, the Jiang Clan could not possibly have been so foolish as to create a physical copy to detail this piece of information. That would be as good as leaving a tip-off to the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe! That was also probably the reason Zhang Xuan had remained oblivious to this matter despite having gone through all of the books in the Jiang Clan Repository.
So, the chances were that the story was passed down through the Jiang Clan verbally. However, could verbal information that had been passed over for tens of thousands of years really be trusted? There was bound to be some distortion over the years, resulting in certain aspects of the story being warped to suit their convenience.
“It’s recorded in the Seal of Souls by Kong shi personally!” Jiang Fangyou replied. “As long as the head of the Jiang Clan places the Clan Head Token against the Seal of Souls, he will receive a message through soul telepathy informing him of the history of the soul oracles. It’s through this system of inheritance that the members of our Jiang Clan have been able to remember the sacrifices our predecessors made even after the passing of tens of thousands of years!”
“I see!” Zhang Xuan nodded in realization.
It seemed like Kong shi had thought the matter through in advance and prepared a countermeasure so that the soul oracles would not have to go down in history ignominiously.
The soul oracles had sacrificed themselves for mankind and the greater good. If their descendants had to live in shame of their ancestors, unaware of the truth, how tragic would the soul oracles be?
However, if they recorded it on paper, there would be an inevitable risk of information getting out. If the Otherworldly Demons obtained the piece of information by some chance, the soul oracles who had successfully infiltrated the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe would have all hell to pay for!
This was indeed a huge dilemma. The sacrifice of the soul oracle could not be left unknown, but recording it could very well render their efforts futile. It was likely that Kong shi had been placed in a quandary as well, so he could only choose to seal the information within the Seal of Souls and pass it down to the successors of the soul oracle.
Hopefully, if there were to be a day where the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe was completely eliminated, the soul oracles would finally be able to be cleansed of their disrepute!
“The Jiang Clan is the descendant of the guild leader, and his blood flows through our veins. Thus, if anyone gains control of the Seal of Souls, they will be deemed to be our new guild leader, and all members of the Jiang Clan will have to heed his commands unconditionally!” Jiang Fangyou explained.
Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan fell into deep thought.
At the same time, the many elders of the Jiang Clan also lowered their heads contemplatively.
They knew that the lineage of the Jiang Clan had its roots from the soul oracles, but they were not too certain about the details. However, hearing Jiang Fangyou revealing everything in detail, the questions that they had harbored for many years were finally answered.
“To think that our ancestors were actually the soul oracles…” Jiang Feifei was also astounded by what she had just heard.
All along, she had prided herself as a master teacher, and she had carried deep abhorrence for the soul oracles. She had viewed them as a bunch of despicable people who carried no regard for the sanctity of life.
However, after hearing the sacrifices that the soul oracles had made for mankind, she realized that her view of them might have been twisted all along.
Without them, the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe might have still been the dominant power on the Master Teacher Continent, and mankind would still have been living a life worse than death.
“Zhang shi has comprehended the Soul Quintessence and successfully retrieved the Seal of Souls. Be it from the perspective of a soul oracle or from the view of the Jiang Clan, I believe that there’s no doubt that no one is more qualified than him to become our clan head!” Jiang Fangyou looked at the elders and declared his stance.
“Indeed. The fact that Zhang shi was able to comprehend the Time, Spatial, and Soul Quintessences and achieve deeds that astounded even the Master Teacher Pavilion, he might just be able to cleanse the reputation of the soul oracles and allow them to stand beneath the light once more without facing the criticism of others!”
“As the descendants of the soul oracles, this is what we have been waiting for all our life!”
“Zhang shi, please lead us to a brighter future!”
…
The elders rose up and clasped their fists respectfully.
The Jiang Clan was a blood lineage, but the Soul Oracle Guild was not.
The fact that Zhang Xuan had been able to grasp the Seal of Souls meant that he had been recognized as the rightful successor as the head of the Soul Oracle Guild. He had also been the only person to successfully do so in the past tens of thousands of years.
The soul oracles had been wronged for far too long. As their descendants, the members of the Jiang Clan were unwilling to allow such a situation to continue any further. Even if their ancestors could not be praised for their heroic sacrifice, they did not deserve to suffer the condemnation of the entire world!
“This…” Zhang Xuan was silent for a moment before nodding slowly. “I’m willing to become the head of the Jiang Clan… But prior to that, Clan Head Jiang Fangyou, there’s a doubt in my mind that I hope that you can answer.”
“Please feel free to speak,” Jiang Fangyou said.
“When I arrived in the Jiang Clan just earlier today, I unintentionally saw you coming into contact with a scholarly young man… To be frank with you, I have met that scholarly young man before, and we have even fought on two occasions. If I’m not mistaken, he’s very likely an Otherworldly Demon!” Zhang Xuan said before directing a piercing gaze at Jiang Fangyou.
If everything that Jiang Fangyou had said was true—that the soul oracles had truly made such a huge sacrifice for mankind—it would not make sense for their descendants to betray mankind and undo everything the efforts of their ancestors.
But… no matter how Zhang Xuan looked at it, there was no way he could rationalize the apparent close relations between Jiang Fangyou and the scholarly young man.
“Scholarly young man?” Jiang Fangyou was taken aback by the question. He pondered for a moment before asking, “Are you referring to Yan Xue?”
“Yan Xue?” Zhang Xuan frowned doubtfully.
“Yes, that’s the name of the young man who has visited me earlier on. He isn’t an Otherworldly Demon but a descendant of Ancient Sage Zi Yuan from the Hundred Schools of Philosophers. He has already reached the level of Great Sage 4-dan Sempiternal realm consummation for his cultivation, making him a renowned figure even in the Great Phrontistery of Confucianism. In fact, it was said that his name is on the Heaven Board,” Jiang Fangyou explained.
“Ancient Sage Zi Yuan… You are referring to Kong shi’s first direct disciple, Ancient Sage Zi Yuan?” Zhang Xuan’s body jolted in astonishment. “How could that be possible? I saw him colluding with the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe with my own eyes!”
He was completely flabbergasted by what he was hearing.
The first time that he had encountered the scholarly young man was at the White Creek Mountain. While they were fighting over the Celestial Amulet of Legacy, a person among the group of four revealed his true form as an Otherworldly Demon.
The second time they met was at the Harvest Valley City Seer Guild. At that time, not only were there a handful of Great Sage cultivators, he even found himself facing an Ancient Sage Otherworldly Demon!
If the scholarly young man was truly a descendant of Ancient Sage Zi Yuan, why was he together with so many Otherworldly Demons? Furthermore, he had even aided the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe in claiming the Celestial Amulet of Legacy!
“This… He came to me requesting to establish connections with the soul oracles in the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. I am only a messenger, so I’m not too sure about his true intentions. After all, the Hundred Schools of Philosophers has never been accountable to anyone for their actions,” Jiang Fangyou said.
