Chapter 533: Inheritance and Succession (1/10, Autumn Subscription)

Blue Garment?

Fang Yue's eyes lit up.

That's wonderful, then.

Blue Garment's status is higher than White Garment; in a county town like Qingsi County, Blue Garment is basically the ceiling of positions.

As for Chief Blue Garment, it's still within the Blue Garment rank, just half a notch above an ordinary Blue Garment — essentially the concept of a county-wide commander.

Blue Garment, being an iron rice bowl, naturally gets better the higher the rank; whether promoted later or staying to develop in Qingsi County, it's all excellent.

"Xiao Ye, if you're going to choose a cultivation art, don't forget what I mentioned to you — choose carefully."

"I understand, Lord Han."

And so the matter was settled.

Once they stepped outside, Tian Erjun had the other White Garments, each leading their people and carrying the letters he had long prepared, set the Summon Sect Order plan in motion.

He himself also hurriedly left Qingsi County, riding a Qingsi Horse at full gallop.

Tian Erjun's task was a heavy one — whether Qingsi County could be held basically depended on whether they could summon the sect's high-end forces within three days.

As for requesting reinforcements from the higher-level Qing Si, that was more a matter of fate.

He only sent a few White Garments with people to call for aid.

But anyone with sense knew that within three days, the higher-level Qing Si in Chunuan City would absolutely not make it in time to support them.

At best, they'd come to inspect Qingsi County's ruins and wreckage, or to handle the aftermath — as for combat strength in the moment, they couldn't count on them.

Of course, if Qingsi County could hold back the underground bizarre army and drag things into a grinding war, stalling for ten days or half a month, then naturally reinforcements would come in force.

But that was a bit unrealistic.

"Lord Han, how is Lin Ling's condition?"

Hearing Fang Yue mention Lin Ling, Lord Han's brow furrowed slightly, his expression tinged with puzzlement and confusion.

"Captain Lin's condition… seems somewhat different from mine. I can't say exactly how, but my understanding doesn't apply to Captain Lin. We can only wait for him to wake up on his own before examining him further."

Fang Yue sighed. Lin Ling was pitiful enough — down to one eye, and still in a 【Bizarre Eye】 state. If his condition worsened and he finally turned into a bizarre creature, then Fang Yue would have no choice but to act and personally send him on his way.

Thinking of this, Fang Yue still felt a pang of sorrow; after all, Lin Ling had been a companion for a long stretch of the journey, a friend who had stayed by his side.

"There's no need to be too pessimistic. As a vagrant, Qing Chen's research into this area is unexpectedly deep. Before I came here, I had actually been exchanging knowledge with Qing Chen on this subject. The deeper I go, the more I can sense the terrifying ambition of the Phoenix Organization — what they aim for is vast, probably beyond what we can fathom."

After a pause, Lord Han explained: "Even those great scholars in Qing Guo who specialize in studying the bizarre — in terms of depth in 【Bizarre Studies】, I'm afraid they still haven't researched it as thoroughly or deeply as the Phoenix Organization."

On top of that, Qing Guo hasn't been the Qing Guo of old for a long time now; from top to bottom it reeks of decay, with charlatans posing as scholars to swindle Qing Guo's funding — and they keep succeeding at it.

Like a centipede with a hundred legs — dead but not yet stiff, merely clinging to its last breath.

From what I know, Qing Guo's academic research — both theoretical and practical — has been stagnant for many years.

Someone with Comprehension like Qing Chen, if they went to Qing Guo to study 【Bizarre Studies】, would in the same span of time probably achieve far less than they have now."

In his words, Lord Han was clearly displeased with Qing Guo, but that was all.

It was like an objective, neutral person offering a comment or two on something they disliked.

As for any thought of contributing to Qing Guo, or wanting to change it — there seemed to be none at all.

In Lord Han's own words: Qing Guo, after all — so what if it's destroyed? What does it have to do with me?

It seemed the only thing Lord Han wanted to protect was Gu Yue Cun; and once Gu Yue Cun was gone, there wasn't much left that he cared about.

"Lord Han, I will definitely find the 【Other Shore Flower】 and cure you!" Fang Yue looked at Lord Han, whose mood had dipped, met his eyes squarely, and said firmly.

Lord Han smiled, his matchstick-figure little frame propping up an oversized head, and shook it slightly.

"Now that I've become like this, even if we find the Other Shore Flower, it's hard to say whether my body can recover — breaking through the limits of the Spirit Root and ascending to an immortal's seat."

Still, it was a thought to hold onto, and Lord Han's long-standing obsession.

So hearing Fang Yue's oath and promise, he was still very glad — like a seed planted in the field finally taking root and sprouting, eager to bear fruit and repay him.

After a moment's thought, Lord Han had You Sisi leave the room first.

Under Fang Yue's puzzled gaze, once only the two of them remained, Lord Han took out a deep-blue ring — like a droplet of water frozen into an ice crystal — and said to Fang Yue: "This is my Inheritance Ring."

"Lord Han?!"

Fang Yue was greatly shocked.

He had indeed thought before about inheriting Lord Han's legacy, but now his path had gone in the completely opposite direction — a fire-element cultivation art. Switching to specialize in ice now… wasn't impossible, it just felt a bit odd.

Moreover, Lord Han's move made Fang Yue a little unhappy; he felt that by handing over the inheritance, Lord Han was giving up hope of healing his own injuries, giving up hope of returning to Rain Rank, and even of breaking through to Immortal Rank.

"Lord Han, I can't take this ring. Wait until your body has recovered, or your strength has returned, and then formally pass on your inheritance to me, let me become the heir of your Martial Arts — then I can gladly accept. But right now, I want you to keep the inheritance. Don't give up hope!"

Fang Yue's words left Lord Han not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"My own body, I know better than anyone… having become like this, it's already very hard to recover. Even if my horizons have broadened now and I have a brand-new path to try and choose, it's still an uncertain future — how it ends, no one knows."

After a pause, Lord Han continued: "Actually, when Gu Yue Cun was destroyed and I heard you'd killed Chen Lao of the Wu Yu Clan, I had already thought of passing the inheritance to you. But at the time, you hadn't even reached the Xiantian Realm — you hadn't met the minimum requirement to inherit my legacy. That's why I hesitated and didn't give it to you.

Who would have thought that in just a few short days after arriving at Qingsi County, your strength would leap forward, and now you've reached the Xiantian Realm, crossing that threshold. So I can hand this thing to you with complete peace of mind."

Saying so, Lord Han once again used his matchstick-figure little hand to pass the ring to Fang Yue. But the tiny matchstick body, formed of black substance, could only lift the 【Water Droplet Crystal Ring】 up to just beneath Lord Han's head.

The sight looked a little comical, yet Fang Yue's eyes reddened.

"Lord Han…"

"Take it. Even if you can't use it, in the future find me a successor to inherit all I've learned — it won't have been for nothing, all the cultivation I've put into you."

When a person reaches their later years and can't fulfill their lifelong wish, they inevitably want to leave something behind.

What Lord Han had to leave wasn't much; the inheritance was the heaviest piece of it.

As if sensing Lord Han's resolve, Fang Yue was silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth and took the 【Water Droplet Crystal Ring】.

"Lord Han, I can accept the inheritance, but I also promise — I will find a way to restore your body, keep you safe, and help you ascend to the Immortal Rank!"

Recommending a book: "The Man Behind the Empress."

A modern workplace man and an ancient empress swap bodies every other day — fast-forward to the story of taking her from behind. An lsp's favorite; I'm reading it too. With it around, I don't even need to visit those little websites anymore!

(End of chapter)