Chapter 538: The Hua Clan: You mean Lin Chen from overseas?

The arrival of the Hua Clan clearly stole Qian Lang’s interest in staying with Lin Chen; Lin Chen noticed this too, and after pretending to have wandered long enough, returned to the courtyard.

As soon as Lin Chen entered the courtyard, before he could speak, Yin Yue spoke first.

“I didn’t expect even the Hua Clan would be stirred by this.”

“Is the Hua Clan different in some way?”

Since Yin Yue had brought up the Hua Clan unprompted, Lin Chen now found himself genuinely curious about them.

Even among ancient descendants, there are distinctions of strength; four clans are called the Upper Clans, and the Hua Clan is one of them.

“Upper Clans?”

“All four of these clans once produced Divine-level experts.”

Lin Chen’s pupils shrank sharply—having produced Divine-level experts? Did that mean these four clans were just like the imperial family of Yan Huang Dynasty?

“Were these four clans the imperial families of dynasties before Yan Huang?”

“No.”

Yin Yue shook her head, seeing Lin Chen’s confusion, and explained: “A Divine-level expert who condenses a Divine Seal can proclaim himself Emperor—that’s what the elder from Canglan Island meant by ‘Imperial-level’—but some choose not to condense a Divine Seal. The ancestors of these four clans chose the path of refusing to condense a Divine Seal…”

“Wait…”

Lin Chen frowned; Yin Yue’s words had confused him.

“Without a Divine Seal, how can someone still be called a Divine-level expert?”

“Under special circumstances, it’s possible,” Yin Yue knew what he was puzzled about: “The elder from Canglan Island couldn’t reach the Divine level because someone else had already condensed a Divine Seal. But if the Divine Seal of the current era has been gone for many years, one may choose to forgo condensing one entirely—yet abandoning the Divine Seal also means giving up the chance to become the supreme ruler of the world.”

“Shouldn’t an Emperor with a Divine Seal be stronger than a Divine-level expert without one? Why would anyone give that up?”

Even setting aside the honor of being supreme ruler, at that level, status was already assured—but greater power? Lin Chen believed no such expert could resist that temptation.

“For their descendants.”

Yin Yue took a deep breath and said solemnly: “Condensing a Divine Seal grants you the world’s fortune, but it also fuses your bloodline entirely with the Seal. Your descendants then lose all bloodline advantages. These four Upper Clans chose to forgo becoming supreme ruler so they could pass their bloodline on to future generations.”

“I see.”

Lin Chen understood: choosing to condense a Divine Seal could elevate one to true peak power, but at the cost that after one’s death, once the Seal dissipated and a new dynasty arose, one’s descendants would gradually fade into ordinary martial families—and might even face annihilation under the new regime.

Two paths, each with pros and cons.

Condensing a Divine Seal meant the family wouldn’t decline so quickly; from the moment the Seal was formed until its dissolution, the family enjoyed tens of thousands—even over a hundred thousand—years of glory.

The Seal’s dissolution is tied to the loss of fortune; if the imperial family were less selfish and truly bore the world’s burden, the Seal would dissipate more slowly.

“The Yan Huang Dynasty has lasted a long time—over a hundred thousand years since the Emperor’s death. The dynasties before it lasted no less than thirty thousand years, and the longest only reached one hundred thousand.”

Here, Yin Yue suddenly smiled: “I’ve wandered too far off topic. The Hua Clan has no treasure in the Qian Die Secret Realm; their coming here must be for the Realm’s trial.”

Lin Chen understood her implication: the Hua Clan knew the Qian Die Secret Realm was about to open, and had sent their young prodigies.

“Speaking of the Hua Clan, I just remembered something—before the traitor in their clan rebelled, a major event occurred there: the daughter of the Hua Clan’s princess returned to the clan, and her talent caused a sensation.”

“The daughter of the Hua Clan’s princess returned?”