The Gu Yue Clan's envoys reached the Xiong and Bai clans.
Both of these clans had found it easier to reorganize after the recent events, simply because there were fewer survivors among them. However, this was ultimately not a good thing.
The Gu Yue Clan heavily outnumbered both of them combined, whether one spoke of numbers or in terms of power. With Fang Yuan having Rank 4 Peak Stage cultivation, even if their clan leaders had survived, they still would have been placed in a difficult spot and would have been suppressed to so extent.
But now, without any Rank 4 Gu Masters and barely a few elders, they were like people adrift at sea, desperately clinging to the nearest piece of driftwood to stay afloat. The slightest storm could have easily set them adrift, and their survival was on the line with every passing minute.
The Xiong Clan considered the Gu Yue Clan's proposal.
Many of them wanted to outright decline it. "The Gu Clan wants us to beco one of them? Impossible!" soone said. "More likely than not, they want to make us their slaves," another pointed out.
Even if that were not the case, nearly every person in the Gu world operated with the mindset that one could not trust others who are not like them.
Humans discriminated against variant humans. Humans discriminated against other humans from different regions. Humans discriminated against other humans from different clans. Even within a clan, humans discriminated between each other based on family ties.
Many of them felt that they would not be fairly treated under the Gu Yue Clan's banner. Furthermore, there was also the issue of their pride. Their clan had stood for several hundred years. How could they bow their heads and erase their surna, becoming part of the Gu Yue clan instead?
Even if they were willing to do so, they would be looked upon with suspicion by the other Gu Yue clansn. The reason they knew this was because they would do the sa if it were the other way around!
As for becoming vassals rather than assimilating with the Gu Clan, while this would still greatly wound their pride, it was more acceptable than changing their surnas.
However, Fang Yuan had demanded the secret of their Bear Strength Gu, sothing they were unwilling to hand over. One of the benefits of the Bear Strength Gu was that once it was used, the Gu Master in question could fight with little to no prival essence, even if all of their Gu worms died. Because of that, they had a slight advantage when it ca to fighting in a resource-depleted Qing Mao Mountain.
Not only that, but this had remained their clan's secret weapon since it had been founded. How could they give this up? In the future, if they happened to rebuild and regain their earlier strength, the Gu Yue clan would have a clear idea on what their strengths and weaknesses were.
That said, this advantage in fighting was only slight, and they would not be able to withstand a full frontal assault from the Gu Yue clan.
"If we refuse, won't they attack us and just enslave us eventually anyway?" one of the Xiong Clan mbers asked. This was the only reasonable thing to consider.
After all, with resources being scarce currently, if the Gu Clan limited the other two clans, they would be able to get their hands on better feeding grounds, more prival stones, and the like.
"I doubt that's the case," one of the Xiong Clan mbers said. "The Gu Clan might be stronger than us, but they also need ti to recover. If they expand their territory recklessly, it will only open them up to attack."
Furthermore, another Xiong clansman chid in, "Don't forget that they're currently led by Gu Yue Fang Yuan. He is a true righteous hero in the truest sense of the word. He will not attack us without reason."
Many of the Xiong clansn were a bit skeptical of those words. Fang Yuan's reputation had indeed traveled far and wide, to the point that so of them even felt that they might not be mistreated if they were under his banner.
Of course, Fang Yuan was only one person, even if he was the strongest Gu Yue clansman. He likely had his own issues now that he was clan head, and power tended to change people's minds as well. For now, the Xiong Clan decided to delay giving a reply to this missive, saying that they needed to think things through. In the anti, they had their own issues to deal with.
anwhile, the Bai Clan had a similar reaction to Fang Yuan's missive as the Xiong clan.
However, there was one burning question they had that the Xiong clan didn't.
"Where is Lord Bai Ning Bing?" one of them asked. Although the other dead elders and the Bai clan head were accounted for and were being buried with full funeral rites as much as could be accommodated, Bai Ning Bing was nowhere to be found. Even if the cranes had eaten him, many of them had been subsequently injured so they felt that an arm or leg belonging to Bai Ning Bing should've turned up at so point, but nothing of the sort did.
Given his renowned strength, which was said to rival even Rank 4 Gu Masters at one point, they doubted that he had simply died without any trace.
However, despite looking far and wide for Bai Ning Bing, they could find no trace of him. Anyone within their clan who knew the secret of the Northern Dark Ice Soul physique was already dead, and so they were left ignorant on this matter.
"I kind of feel bad for him, though," one of the Bai clansn said. "He did quite a lot for the Bai Clan, and we never even listened to his suggestion."
"Which suggestion?"
"The suggestion in which he said we should spread a rumor that there were chemicals we were throwing in the rivers that made the frogs gay."
"That's right!" one of them said.
"You know what? In his honor," another person chid in, "I think that we should go ahead and start spreading that story as much as we can. It's what he would have wanted, even if he is dead."
Many of them nodded in approval of this, and also decided on waffling on sending the Gu Yue clan a reply for the ti being.
Fang Yuan had been expecting such a decision, though he was sure that the other clans would see the clarity of their positions soon enough.
In the anti, once he managed to get so free ti away from his clan duties (which was not easy mind you given recent events and how much everything seed to now depend upon him), he activated the Hundred Li Earthwolf Spider to pay so old friends a visit.
Last ti he had visited the inheritance, it had not opened for him, though as he did this ti around, the Spring Autumn Cicada in his aperture began humming once again and the Blessed Land opened up slightly to allow him inside.
If things went well, he could solve most of his problems by leveraging the benefits of this Blessed Land. The Blessed Land had changed little since the last ti he had visited, and much like last ti, as he approached, a figure materialized before him.
"Welco back, Fang Yuan," Paradise Earth Immortal said. "I see that you've been well. Co, take a seat and have a cup of tea with ."
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