Chapter 51: Patriarch of the Howling Moon

Yu Wuqing gazed at the three children before her, a trace of worry flickering in her beautiful eyes as her brows knitted tightly.

Her gaze settled on Yun Zhao.

Yun Zhao possessed remarkable talent for cultivation—this was something Yu Wuqing had already confirmed. Yet now, no matter what Yun Zhao tried, he could not absorb even a wisp of spiritual energy from the world... This situation left Yu Wuqing bewildered, at a loss for an explanation.

The other two, Yun Yao and Yun Ji, continued to inhale spiritual energy, though it was much thinner than before.

This puzzled Yu Wuqing further, and at the same time, she noticed a faint, elusive totem of a divine bird on Yun Zhao’s chest.

This...

“A totem warrior?” Yu Wuqing murmured to herself. After a long, careful examination, she discovered that all the spiritual energy Yun Zhao cultivated was being absorbed by this totem tattoo. Passing through the tattoo, it began to temper Yun Zhao’s flesh, blood, and bones, without lingering at all.

Yu Wuqing had already noticed that Yun Zhao’s cultivation method seemed different from hers, but now she saw the details more clearly. Why was this so? Could it truly be the protection of the divine bird?

Yet if that were the case, with no spiritual energy stored in the dantian, how could one ascend to immortality?

Yu Wuqing could not understand. But since the path was different, she was powerless to intervene; she could only let Yun Zhao forge his own way, becoming a pioneer on another road.

Perhaps this was the blessing of the Bifang divine bird.

With this thought, Yu Wuqing drew a deep breath and walked toward the Elder Council.

She was about to attend a meeting.

A meeting about Feather Divine City.

She wanted to learn about the situation in Feather Divine City.

Why had the problem arisen that some clansmen could not afford to eat meat?

Holy fire shining bright, sacred light illuminating, all my clansmen, united in toil!

...

Three days later, in Feather Divine City, Feather clan guards swept across the sky from the horizon, drawing closer, carrying chunks of meat in their hands.

“The ancestral land just sent an order for us to reduce the food for the hunting dogs, to see if we can train them into omnivores,” said a Feather clansman of some status, clearly puzzled. “Why is this? If the hunting dogs don’t get enough food, how can they catch prey for us?”

Not everyone in Feather Divine City was unable to eat meat.

A class system had begun to emerge in the city; for guards, dog keepers, and the city lord—those who held power and force—every meal was rich, with abundant supplies of every food.

But for those living in Feather Divine City who handled livestock manure, chopped wood, and transported goods, life was far less pleasant.

Perhaps because they were far from the ancestral land, the new generation of Feather clansmen in the city had only a vague impression of the Feather Priestess, feeling a sense of “the heavens are high and the emperor is far away.”

Reducing the food for hunting dogs, improving the welfare of the lower clansmen—this was the first message the ancestral land sent to Feather Divine City.

For the vested interests in the city, this message was an eyesore. Though it didn’t directly affect them, it made them uncomfortable.

After all, they had always lorded over the city, and the ancestral land, never present, suddenly issued an order, naturally making them feel an urgency about their own power.

For the lower clansmen, the change didn’t mean much: they were unaware of the orders from the ancestral land and so didn’t know about these matters.

“All right, enough talk,” another Feather clansman waved his hand, advising, “After all, it’s an order from the ancestral land. All clansmen must obey. If there’s an order, let’s just tighten our belts and get by.”

The first speaker still voiced some complaints, but the two figures flew farther and farther away.

Meanwhile, in the jungle, a gray wolf poked its head out, its eyes flashing coldly.

“Awoo~”

Nearby, two elderly black wolves growled softly, seemingly communicating with the gray wolf.

Thanks to the supply of Feather Divine Fruit in the city, all livestock had grown somewhat smarter, especially this gray wolf.

It had even trained several wolves, waiting for the right moment.

Over such a long time, it had naturally learned to understand the language of the Feather clansmen.

From the conversation just now, it seemed to have learned that the ancestral land had issued some policies that would reduce supplies to the wolf-dog clan.

Good, very good.

The gray wolf could not help but smile, its sharp fangs exposed and gleaming coldly.

Those second- and third-generation wolves had long lost their wildness, truly becoming dogs.

Though they had gained a bit of intelligence, they tended to side with the Feather clansmen who fed them meat; only a rare few wolves still harbored ambitions.

If their welfare declined, surely some wolf-dogs would become dissatisfied. Then, the gray wolf could mobilize the pack, turning them back from dogs into wolves, and launch a full revenge against the Feather clan!

Then, everything would be better.

But lately, on its cultivation path, the gray wolf felt something was off.

Just the day before yesterday, the gray wolf sensed a misty pill forming in its dantian.

The pill was neither large nor small.

Yet it seemed to emit some energy, quickly replenishing the wolf, as if the sun and moon essence, the spiritual energy it had cultivated before, had all been gathered into this pill.

At the same time, the gray wolf felt the pill had fused with its body, becoming another organ within.

Inner pill.

For some reason, this name surfaced in the gray wolf’s mind.

Perhaps this inner pill was the direction for its future cultivation.

Foul air expelled from its mouth, mist swirling, the gray wolf slowly lifted its head, gazing at the rising moon.

Suddenly, it wondered if it should have a name, too.

Listening to the Feather clansmen’s conversations, they seemed very sensitive to names, as if names were the symbol of civilization.

If so, it too should have a name.

But what name would suit?

Though living within Feather clan territory, the gray wolf was not foolish enough to adopt the clan’s naming style and take the surname “Yun.”

It rejected many options itself.

Names like “Wolf Ash” or “Wolf Extinction.”

For some reason, the gray wolf found them unpleasant, as if “Wolf” was not suitable as a surname.

Thinking it over, it looked up at the moon, an urge to howl rising irresistibly from its throat.

So be it. The gray wolf no longer suppressed its nature, and began to howl at the moon.

After an exhilarating bout of howling, the gray wolf finally settled on a name it found quite satisfactory.

Howling Moon.

If one day it led the wolf pack to overthrow the Feather clan, it would add “Ancestor” to its name.

No...

No need to wait until the Feather clan is overthrown—now is the time!

At that moment, the gray wolf grew excited.

From this day forward, it would be Ancestor Howling Moon!

The Ancestor Howling Moon of the wolf clan!