Chapter 5714: Long Lin’s Story
“You mentioned earlier that you’ll have to take the life of Tais.h.i.+ Xingzhong’s son to save your friend, but Tais.h.i.+ Xingzhong is my subordinate. I can protect you if I reveal myself—he won’t dare to defy my will—but if I do that, I’ll be obliged to protect his son too, no?” Long Lin said.
His words made sense, but Chu Feng felt like there was more to it. It was just that he wasn’t in a position to probe too much, so he replied, “You’re right, elder. I didn’t think things through.”
He glanced at the Totem Dragon Clansmen incarcerated in the mini realm and asked, “Elder, how do you intend to deal with them?”
“Rest a.s.sured, young friend Chu Feng. I’ll free them once I do what I wish to do. I’ll even return everything to them,” Long Lin said.
“You’ll return everything to them?” Chu Feng was stunned.
Why would Long Lin return everything after all he had done to take over as the Totem Dragon Clan’s Clan Chief?
“Is it hard to believe? Truth be told, I don’t have any ambitions of ruling the Totem Dragon Clan. It’s just that there’s something I wish to do, and I can only achieve it in my capacity as the Totem Dragon Clan’s Clan Chief,” Long Lin said.
“What are you thinking of doing?” Chu Feng asked.
Instead of answering the question, Long Lin asked, “Young friend Chu Feng, are you here to save a friend?”
“Yes,” Chu Feng replied with a nod.
“I presume you’d do the same if it’s not a friend but someone you love?”
“Naturally.”
“I knew it. You were willing to sacrifice yourself for Yao’er back then. That’s what I’m doing too. I wish to save the person I love.”
“Save the person you love?” Chu Feng hadn’t expected such an answer.
“Are you willing to listen to my story?” Long Lin asked with a smile.
At this moment, he didn’t feel like a galaxy overlord. His eyes were filled with kindness, reminiscent of an old friend.
“Please speak, elder. I’ll listen,” Chu Feng replied.
“All right.”
Long Lin began sharing his story.
He was from the same generation as the inc.u.mbent Totem Dragon Clan’s Clan Chief, but the two of them led wildly different lives. Long Lin was a Totem Dragon Clansman, but his talents and background were far beneath that of the Totem Dragon Clan’s Clan Chief.
While the Totem Dragon Clan’s Clan Chief had a s.h.i.+ning halo on him from a young age, Long Lin was a little-known small fry.
There was a woman who shone alongside the Totem Dragon Clan’s Clan Chief in the same era, and her name was Long Xue. She was beautiful and had a powerful background, which drew in many pursuers from the Totem Dragon Clan.
Long Xue and Long Lin met by a stroke of coincidence, and they fell in love with each other. However, there was such a huge disparity in their standings that Long Xue’s family was bound to object to their relations.h.i.+p if they found out about it.
In view that Long Lin might face danger, and Long Xue didn’t want to fall out with her family, the two of them concealed their relations.h.i.+p.
However, Long Xue later caught an untreatable illness. Her cultivation stagnated, and she became incomparably ugly. Over time, her pursuers withdrew their courts.h.i.+ps, and even her family members started to despise her.
The only one who didn’t despise her was Long Lin.
She had chosen the inconspicuous Long Lin when she was s.h.i.+ning the brightest, so Long Lin didn’t abandon her when she fell from grace and was no longer cherished. Her disregard from her family meant that she could have her freedom back, so Long Lin took her out of the Totem Dragon Clan to explore the world in search of a cure.
Those were their most blissful days.
“I eventually found a way to cure her, so I headed to the Ancestral Martial Lower Realm and found an item from the legends. However, I underestimated the item’s prowess and ended up getting trapped in it. You were the one who freed me. Would you have helped me back then if you knew this would happen?” Long Lin asked with a smile.
“I can’t turn a blind eye to Yao’er’s plight,” Chu Feng said.
Long Lin chuckled. He was satisfied with Chu Feng’s answer.
“Did you stage a revolt to take over the position of the Totem Dragon Clan’s Clan Chief to save that elder?” Chu Feng asked.
“That’s right. While this land might appear una.s.suming, it contains an important treasure of the Totem Dragon Clan—the remains of an ancestral dragon.”
“The remains of an ancestral dragon?” Chu Feng was stunned.
“Yes, it’s the remains of a real dragon. It might be dead, but its carca.s.s is invaluable. Our first generation clan chief came to prominence through the remains of this ancestral dragon. Only the upper echelons of our Totem Dragon Clan know about it. Our clan isn’t fully in control of this Upper Realm, and we don’t want to cause any unnecessary complications either, which is why we have kept this matter confidential,” Long Lin said.
In other words, the Totem Dragon Clan had intentionally lowered the security on this Upper Realm so as to not draw any attention here.
“Can the remains of the ancestral dragon save that elder?” Chu Feng asked.
“Its dragon essence can save Xue’er, but the remains of the ancestral dragon are an important symbol to the Totem Dragon Clan. The first Totem Dragon Clan’s Clan Chief has strictly ordered that no one is allowed to touch it, so the only way I can access it is to become the most powerful person in the Totem Dragon Clan,” Long Lin said.
“Will you restore the Totem Dragon Clan to its previous state if you save that elder?” Chu Feng asked.
Long Lin smiled enigmatically instead of answering the question, as he asked, “How do you think someone of average talent like me reached my current level of cultivation?”
“You must have had a fortuitous encounter, and the fact that you are able to reach your current cultivation level shows that you aren’t untalented,” Chu Feng said.
“You’re right. While I knew you wouldn’t be limited to the Ancestral Martial Lower Realm when we first met, I never thought you’d grow so much. Even if not for your talents, just your sharp discernment would have justified your current position. Chu Feng, you’re worthy of being Jie Ranqing’s son.
“Still, I have to ask… your father isn’t an ordinary person either, right? The heavenly lightning phenomenon you induced that day is astonis.h.i.+ng too. May I know who your father is?” Long Lin asked.
“Elder, why are we suddenly talking about me?” Chu Feng chuckled.
“Haha! Yes, you’re right. We’re straying from the main topic at hand,” Long Lin said with a smile. “You’re right, I had a fortuitous encounter, and my talent is decent too. Even so, I had to pay a price to reach my current cultivation level… My days are numbered.”
“Elder, you mean…” Chu Feng was startled.
“Yes, but I am a Totem Dragon Clansman. The last thing I hope is for the Totem Dragon Clan to fall into shambles or decline after I’m gone. It’s my plan from the very start to restore everything back to how it is once I’m done,” Long Lin replied.