Chapter 136: The Struggle for Power

The grand sacrificial ceremony was destined to remain the hottest topic among the members of the Fire Crow Clan for years to come.

Aside from Ji Hao, who received the special grace of the ancestral spirits, nearly a hundred underage children were favored by the ancestral spirits during the grand ceremony. Just like Ji Hao on that day, dozens of Fire Crow meridians sprouted within the bodies of these children.

Each additional meridian meant an extra foundation, greater future strength, and an increased hope of becoming a Great Magus or even a Magus King.

Such a magnificent spectacle, with nearly a hundred clansmen simultaneously receiving the grace of the ancestral spirits, had not been witnessed for thousands of years. Many elders of the Fire Crow Clan shed tears of joy, and after the ceremony, the clansmen in the Fire Crow Ridge Holy Land rejoiced throughout the night, completely draining all the clan's wine reserves in a single evening.

While the clansmen were reveling, the atmosphere inside the Fire Crow Clan's council hall in the Mulberry Forest Secret Realm was tense to the point of rigidity.

All the doors and windows of the wooden hall stood wide open. Four sets of Fire Crow skeletal remains emitted a brilliant golden glow that illuminated the void. The interior was so bright that every single speck of dust in the air was visible, along with the beads of sweat on the noses of the elders and shaman priests from the Ji Shu tribe.

Ji Hao sat quietly beside the Great Shaan Priest Ji Kui, holding a wine bowl in his left hand and a beast leg in his meat-eating right hand. He continuously stuffed low-magus-tier fierce beast meat into his stomach, though it only brought a slight warmth to his body.

Ji Ba, the Great Shaan Priest of the Ji Shu tribe, stood by the fire pit, gesticulating wildly and shrieking harshly, "We must see the living, or we must see the corpses! Great Shaan Priest, our tribe's warrior leader and his immediate family have all gone missing. Are you just going to do nothing about this?"

Ji Kui took a deep breath, toying with an exquisite jade knife wrapped in a lingering bloody aura in his hand.

Ji Hao had brought back nearly a hundred heirloom shamanic treasures of the Fire Crow Clan from the Black Water Mysterious Serpent tribe. This jade knife was the sacred sacrificial treasure of the Great Shaan Priest lineage, which had been lost after the assassination of the Fire Crow Clan's Great Shaan Priest three thousand years ago. Ji Kui had naturally inherited this blade, and in just two days, he was already able to wield a fraction of its formidable power.

For countless years, this jade knife had claimed the lives of countless sacrificial offerings, absorbing boundless malevolent blood aura within itself.

Eerie bloody radiance flashed unceasingly. Reflected in the crimson light, Ji Kui, who normally appeared somewhat benevolent, took on a grim and ruthless air that made one shudder. Much like the screeching Ji Ba, who yelled with great ferocity yet lacked the courage to even raise his gaze toward Ji Kui.

"Do something? Of course I will do something!" Ji Kui said coldly, "Ji Shu and his immediate family have vanished? This matter must be thoroughly investigated, especially regarding Ji Shu colluding with alien races and selling the people of the Southern Wasteland tribes into slavery. We shall pursue this to the very end."

The jade knife in his hand suddenly released a gushing wave of blood-red light as Ji Kui sternly declared, "No matter who is involved, the crime of colluding with alien demons... even if it involves the elders or shaman priests of our own tribe, if they are truly linked to these misdeeds, they shall all die!"

Ji Ba and the group of shaman priests and elders simultaneously shrank their necks. Within their own tribe, they were towering figures whose words were law, but this was the Fire Crow Ridge Holy Land. Ji Kui was the Great Shaan Priest of the entire Fire Crow Clan, enjoying immense prestige and terrifying strength. If the disappearance of Ji Shu's entire family hadn't been so shockingly scandalous, how could they have ever dared to question Ji Kui?

"Ji Shu colluding with alien demons and selling the people of the Southern Wasteland—such a thing is simply impossible," an elder of the Ji Shu tribe forced a dry laugh. "We all watched Ji Shu grow up, and the lad has always..."

Ji Hao dropped his wine bowl. The earthenware bowl shattered against the ground, its crisp crack cutting off the elder's words.

The shaman priests and elders of the Ji Shu tribe raised their heads indignantly. Ji Ba pointed a trembling finger at Ji Hao and shouted harshly, "Ji Hao, what kind of place is this? How dare you act so impudently here? Who do you think you are? Who gave you the audacity?"

Ji Hao grabbed the hem of Ji Kui's robe and wiped his greasy palms thoroughly against it, just as he had done countless times over the past few years. Examining his clean palms, Ji Hao said indifferently, "What I detest the most are fools who make mistakes yet refuse to admit them, choosing instead to quibble endlessly and desperately fight for more benefits."

Trembling with rage, Ji Ba pointed straight at Ji Hao and cursed viciously, "You little bastard, how dare you insult your elders here?"

Ji Hao pulled out a crimson token engulfed in roaring flames and slammed it heavily onto the ground.

An imposing aura emanated from the token. Ji Ba and the array of elders and shaman priests from the Ji Shu tribe instantly fell silent, staring at the token in a daze mixed with a hint of terror. The token was exquisitely crafted, featuring the divine image of a deity entwined in flames. Any elder of sufficient status in the Southern Wasteland tribes could not possibly fail to recognize this divine image.

Ji Ba's voice immediately dropped by eight octaves as he offered a dry, hollow laugh, "Oh, Ji Hao, where did you manage to get this token? Haha, haha, this is only the second time in my entire life that old grandpa here has laid eyes on this token. You... you didn't forge a fake one to fool people, did you?"

Caring little to humor Ji Ba, Ji Hao said coldly, "There are certain matters which, due to being busy welcoming back the Fire Crow spiritual bones and preparing for the ancestral sacrificial ceremony over the past two days, I haven't had the time to inform you all about."

Glancing coldly at Ji Ba and the others, Ji Hao continued, "The reason our Fire Crow Clan was able to restore our clan name, force the Black Water Mysterious Serpent tribe into submission, and achieve a complete victory in this great battle was not thanks to our own strength, but because Crown Prince Tonggong of the Zhurong Divine Clan personally led a division of the Zhurong Divine Army to assist us."

"You bunch of old fogies don't need to know the cause and effect of the matter. You only need to know the outcome."

"Starting today, our Fire Crow Clan is a direct clan under Crown Prince Zhurong Tonggong. My father, Ji Xia, will be the warrior leader of the Fire Crow Clan, and at the same time... he will also serve as the Fire Crow General guarding the northern frontier for the Zhurong Divine Kingdom. Unless you wish to challenge Crown Prince Tonggong's authority, don't ever think about driving my father down from his position as warrior leader."

"Of course, you won't even have the chance!" Ji Hao cast a malicious gaze at the sweating Ji Ba and the others. These fellows had just rushed over from the Ji Shu tribe to Fire Crow Ridge, completely unaware of the shifting political winds of the past few days, let alone the shocking secrets hidden beneath the surface.

"Your branch of the clansmen is no longer an independent tribe. All of you are hereby incorporated under the direct jurisdiction of Fire Crow Ridge. As for you elders and shaman priests... congratulations, you have the great honor of being selected to serve as menial servants within the Zhurong Divine Kingdom, attending to Crown Prince Zhurong Tonggong. What supreme glory!"

"As for the territory currently occupied by your branch of the clansmen, I have decided to assign it to the Qingyi tribe, who have rendered great meritorious service! Well, let's consider the matter settled!"

Ji Hao smiled brightly, his two rows of pearly white teeth gleaming brilliantly under the radiance of the Fire Crow.

A wave of darkness swept over the eyes of Ji Ba and the others. They collapsed to the ground simultaneously, coughing up gouts of old blood that splattered seven or eight zhang away.