Chapter 828: History

"Your Excellency Son of Fire, I shall trouble you this time. I understand nothing, and I fear offending the Taixiong god; I ask that you please intercede for me, Son of Fire."

"Hmm... easy enough."

Looking at the polite, beaming Gong Xiansheng before him, the Son of Fire felt somewhat troubled.

He had received a mission from the god: at a minimum, to go and take a look at the Sacred Spring, see the Sacred Spring in action and record it, and if possible, invite the Shengnyu to visit the Fire Spirit Clan.

As it turned out, he had already completed the first task, and quite smoothly at that, but the second task had gone awry—he hadn't invited the Shengnyu, but had instead invited an envoy of the Shengnyu, and a Human at that.

Does this... count as completing the mission?

The Shengnyu and her people had made their decision, and it was clear they were starting to grow impatient. Afterward, he had taken a cursory tour of the various advanced technological achievements of Wan Shen Gu, mumbled some flattery in a daze, and then came out with Gong Xiansheng.

In the valley, seeing those two acting as if they were in such a rush, eager to go to the Fire Spirit Clan immediately to see what was what, he found that once they were out of the inner valley, Gong Xiansheng was no longer in a hurry to leave, but instead requested to step away for a moment to "prepare."

In the past, although the Son of Fire did not have a bad temper, he would not have allowed a savage to delay him like this, and would have certainly asked him: "You are just going to visit, having eyes is enough, what else is there to prepare?" But as he was currently distracted, he simply went with the flow and agreed, and as soon as Gong Xiansheng left, he quietly began to pray to the god through the Sacred Fire Bead on his person.

He prayed for a long time without receiving a response from the god, but it seemed he received a vague indication...

The god, presumably, did not object.

That would do.

Actually, the Son of Fire also wanted to ask if the "Divine Art" could also be settled as fully completed according to the mission? But he felt that being in such a rush to talk about money was truly blasphemous to the god, so he did not ask.

Having taken half a reassurance pill, he realized that Gong Xiansheng had indeed delayed for a very long time.

It had been nearly two hours; what had he gone to do?

Saying he was preparing—preparing what? Even bathing and changing clothes should have been more than enough time.

Just as he was about to reclaim the prestige of a Lingjie citizen and teach this rude savage a lesson, Gong Xiansheng hurried back—he had actually changed his clothes, looking clean and tidy, making his face appear even more like fine jade.

As soon as Gong Xiansheng arrived, he immediately bowed and scraped to apologize, saying many pleasant things. The Son of Fire hummed a few times; considering he was still the Shengnyu's envoy, he said nothing more, but as for being warm and friendly, that was unnecessary.

He went on his own way, taking Gong Xiansheng out of Wan Shen Gu, focused only on rushing to the teleportation point, but Gong Xiansheng took the initiative to strike up a conversation: "As far as I know, the Fire Spirit Clan is a Lingjie race with a long history, seemingly originating from the volcanoes of the Western High Ridge?"

The Son of Fire gave a perfunctory "Hmm."

Gong Xiansheng smiled and said: "Just looking at the literature, the Fire Spirit Clan has a history of over two thousand years, but it seems they previously existed as a branch of the Liujin?"

The Son of Fire hummed again: a branch, that was a nice way of putting it; in reality, they were just vassals of the Liujin. In the Lingjie, as a small race, there was almost only one way to survive: to be a vassal to a great race.

Gong Xiansheng continued: "But a few hundred years ago, perhaps one or two hundred years ago? Your noble clan finally left the Liujin and set up on its own. It is said that because you received the favor of a god, you finally became a true God Race..."

"Gong Xiansheng—" The Son of Fire did not want to address him so politely, but he did not know this fellow's name, "What did you just go do? You didn't go to look up information on my clan, did you? It's hard on you to go out of your way to look up information on our mere small clan; was it because it was too hard to find that it took you so long?"

Gong Xiansheng smiled slightly and said: "Your Excellency, do not be angry. After all, I am going to pay respects to a divine miracle; how could I go without knowing anything? Even if it weren't me, if the Shengnyu were to visit, she would also have to prepare in advance and do her homework. As far as I know, although all are Lingjie citizens, small races rarely receive the individual favor of a god; your noble clan is truly lucky."

The Son of Fire squinted at him; because of the height difference, he had to tilt his head up, but his disdain was evident, and he sneered: "I don't know what you are thinking, but you are not qualified to ask about this and that. Even if you play the Shengnyu's banner, you are still just a savage. If you ask about Lingjie affairs again, it is hard not to make people think you are here to spy on the Lingjie. Do you know what happens to such people?"

Gong Xiansheng said: "I would not dare. How would I dare to question you privately? And how would I be qualified to play the Shengnyu's banner? You do not need to tell me anything; when the Shengnyu has questions and asks you, you can tell her then."

He pointed to a Bracelet on his hand and said: "This was given to me by the Shengnyu so that I may contact her at any time. I can let her hear our conversation, or I can choose not to. The Shengnyu is actually quite curious; she is likely curious: a small race that only became independent one or two hundred years ago, always remaining obscure, what important things could it have needed to borrow from the Liujin? Recently, you have suddenly become wealthy, moving about, as if you have accumulated countless foundations; what is the reason? That god also seems to have grown in an instant, displaying a powerful Divine Power that even the Sacred Spring cannot compare to, and it just so happens to be at such a time of great change; this is all too coincidental."

Although he was still smiling, his tone could by no means be called humble anymore.

The Son of Fire said: "As soon as you left the valley, you revealed your true colors? Do you feel that since the Shengnyu is not here, there is no need to pretend? But in fact, only in front of the Shengnyu can you breathe a little; when you meet Lingjie citizens outside, it is better to tuck your tail. You just said the Shengnyu is curious? It is you who are curious, right? Whatever you are curious about, keep it bottled up in your stomach. It is not your turn to ask questions."

He said coldly: "Your patience is actually not very good. It is far worse than your predecessors. I will teach you what a savage must do if they want to be a Lingjie citizen. The first step is to tuck your tail and wait, first convert to a magnanimous god, convert from the inside out, then see if you have the luck to marry a citizen of this realm, intermarry generation after generation, wash away your savage bloodline, and only after several generations can you stand up straight and speak. You cannot even wait for a moment; it seems your essence has never changed, you are just a crafty savage who is daydreaming about reaching the sky in one step. It is difficult even for the Shengnyu to help you rise."

After he finished speaking, Gong Xiansheng's face darkened at first, but then he maintained a smile and did not lose his composure again, saying: "Why must you be so harsh? Did I say something that embarrassed you? I have only said a few words, and you have nothing to say? You also know that your own clansmen's rise was abrupt, the origin of the god cannot be explained, and the divine miracles of this period hide too many oddities that cannot be covered up, making it difficult even to prevaricate, so you attack my identity to advance, preventing me from getting to the bottom of it? Your contempt for savages cannot hurt me; I know more about the baseness and stupidity of Humans than you do, and I have long since disdained to associate with them, so I am not angry at all. I hope my questioning has not hurt you either. If you do not care about my curiosity, then I hope that in the future, you can also turn a deaf ear to the curiosity of the Shengnyu, the High Priest, and other races toward your noble clan."

The Son of Fire sneered: "The future is the future; you may not live to see the future."

He glanced sideways at the fellow, then glanced obscurely at the Bracelet on his hand that connected him to the Shengnyu, desperately suppressing his killing intent, and consoled himself: The god just supported bringing him into the Sheng Huo Tan, how could he dispose of him privately? What if the god had some arrangement?

So he had no choice but to lead him into the Great Array, which was public infrastructure of the Lingjie, a Great Array that transported over fixed distances in a general direction, similar to a bus.

After getting off the Great Array and transferring to a small array, and after getting off the small array, there was still a private array; transferring layer by layer took nearly an hour.

In front of the private array, the Son of Fire had another moment where he wanted to use the fluctuations of spatial transfer to strangle him and fake an accident. But he still did not act.

This continuous malice lasted until they were in front of the Fire Spirit Clan's Sheng Huo Tan, and in the end, he still did not act. The Son of Fire felt some regret; when did he become a person who was full of schemes but lacked the decisiveness to act?

The Sheng Huo Tan was now very prosperous. After the Taixiong god descended, he issued a series of mission lists, giving many clansmen opportunities to rise. Many young people grinded missions day and night, even knowing the deadline for the end of the world was approaching, they wanted to seize this last opportunity to improve, so that even if they boarded the ship, they would have a good position.

Although it had only been two short months, the god's prestige among the young had greatly increased—yes, with the status and prestige of the Taixiong god, there was still room for improvement. One must know that for some unknown reason, the Taixiong god was very "Buddhist," and most believers' faith in the Taixiong god was more like a habit; but now, because of the large quantity and satisfying positive feedback, as well as that very glorious image, a group of fanatics had quickly gathered within the Fire Spirit Clan, especially among the young. If it hadn't been for the short time, things like the Inquisition or the Tribunal would have already been built.

Under these circumstances, the attention and pressure Gong Xiansheng received when coming to pay respects to the Fire Spirit Clan's Sheng Huo Tan could be imagined. Especially since the Son of Fire could be called the leader of the younger generation and was also an active supporter of the god, serving as a weather vane; his faint hostility toward Gong Xiansheng immediately swept through the young people. Although no one directly blocked the road to prevent him from entering, it looked like some were eager to try, wanting to obscurely give Gong Xiansheng a hard blow.

Yet Gong Xiansheng was all smiles at this moment, and that smile was not the smile that had been so humble it was almost fawning, but a calm, confident smile. All the hostility and glaring around him could not affect him in the slightest; on the contrary, his state was getting better and better.

Arriving at the Sheng Huo Tan, Gong Xiansheng stopped, turned around, and smiled: "Now I am even more confident in this trip."

The Son of Fire tilted his head up and said: "What? You think that since no one has moved to hit you yet, you've hit the jackpot?"

Gong Xiansheng was not offended, but instead smiled and nodded: "Exactly. You all wish you could strangle me, and you are acting the same way, yet you still insist on leading me in without going back on your word; there is only one answer: your god wants to see me."

The Son of Fire was just about to say something, but Gong Xiansheng continued: "Is that not so?"

In front of the Sheng Huo Tan, the Son of Fire did not dare to distort the god's will and hummed. Gong Xiansheng said: "Exactly, our intentions are the same. He wants to see me, and I want to see him. Water and fire are incompatible; since they must be fused, I want to see whether water is more powerful or fire is more powerful."

The Son of Fire was even more furious and wanted to sternly rebuke this blasphemous savage, but Gong Xiansheng had already turned and entered gracefully. The Son of Fire was just about to chase after him and consider, regardless of whether the god wanted to see him or not, giving him a big slap to wake him up, when he suddenly stopped, his expression turning respectful as he watched Gong Xiansheng go in.