Chapter 0734: The Terrifying Heavenly Emperor Bloodline
"Heavenly Dragon's Five Lineages... Dragon's Blood Lineage, Dragon's Fang Lineage, Dragon's Horn Lineage, Dragon's Bone Lineage, Dragon's Scale Lineage..."
Each one had chosen a part of the Heavenly Dragon as their name.
Listening to the information revealed by Li Rouyun caused Li Luo to feel extremely surprised. He knew the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li was not a simple clan, but he had never expected there to be five separate lineages.
"Within the Five Lineages, Dragon's Blood, Dragon's Fang, and Dragon's Scale are part of the direct bloodline. All three can be considered to be directly descended from the Ancestor. The other two lineages are slightly more distant in comparison. You have to understand that the Heavenly Emperor has lived for eight thousand years and naturally has sown his seed across the continent. Additionally, he can be considered to be still in his prime amongst the Heavenly Emperor powerhouses of the continent," Li Rouyun explained.
"The Heavenly Emperor is over eight thousand years old?" Li Luo sucked in a deep breath. This was a terrifying concept. Eight thousand years was enough to see mountains and rivers transform over the passage of time through erosion!
"However, the Ancestor has to guard the World Border and might only return every few decades. Normally speaking, the vast majority of Heavenly Emperor powerhouses are shouldering the heavy responsibility of protecting humanity, defending us against the frightening enemies from forbidden lands." Li Luo's heart trembled slightly. A threat that required a Heavenly Emperor to personally guard against was a terrifying concept. It was likely to be some of the frightening Others from the shadow world.
"The Heavenly Dragon's Five Lineages each have a Lineage Chief that rules over the rest. The current Dragon's Fang Lineage Chief is none other than your grandpa, Li Jingzhe. He is a King Stage expert." When the name “Li Jingzhe” was mentioned, a look of respect and awe appeared on Li Rouyun's face.
"My grandpa... Li Jingzhe... is a King?" Li Luo blinked as he was at a loss for words. He had once thought he was just an ordinary, rich young master. It seemed as though he had underestimated himself. The list of amazing family members had gotten longer, starting with such an impressive father and then an awe-inspiring King Stage grandfather... and lastly a hero of humanity, a Heavenly Emperor ancestor! He sighed with much sadness. It turned out that it was not easy to just be an ordinary youth!
"Could it be that all five Lineage Chiefs are King Stage experts?" This thought suddenly came to Li Luo's mind.
Li Rouyun smiled and nodded as she stated proudly, "The Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li has accumulated its foundation over a significant period of time. Thus, all of the Lineage Chiefs are naturally Kings. Isn't that impressive?"
Li Luo felt a little numb. Five Kings? What sort of idea did that represent? Did the entire East Divine Continent have that many of them?
Wasn't the inner divine continents’ foundation a little too frightening?
"I won't talk about the other lineages for now and focus on the Dragon's Fang Lineage. Our old man is the Lineage Chief, and the lineage is split into four halls: the Green Nether, Violet Spirit, Crimson Cloud, and Gold Light Halls. Each one is led by a main Hall Master. There are also four Vice Hall Masters, and I am Green Nether Hall's third Vice Hall Master. For context, there are four of us." When Li Luo heard all this, he did some quick math and couldn't control his surprise. Didn't that mean that there were twenty Hall Masters in total? Judging by Li Rouyun's strength, every Hall Master was a Duke.
Didn't this mean that the Dragon's Fang Lineage had a King and over a dozen Dukes under it? Just a single lineage could suppress the entire Xia Kingdom.
And this was just one lineage... What if the other four were added in?
One Heavenly Emperor, five Kings, and a hundred Dukes?
Li Luo's scalp went numb. To be frank, just the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li could probably rule half of the East Divine Continent alone! House Luolan was not even an ant when compared to it. In fact, the entire Xia Kingdom would be flattened in record speed if the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li wished for it.
It was then that he truly understood how vast the gap between the inner and outer divine continents was.
It was no wonder all of the Dukes in the Xia Kingdom yearned to go to the inner divine continents. It was clear that their reputation as cultivation holy grounds was not exaggerated.
In such an environment, even an average individual could achieve results not at all inferior to that of an outer divine continent genius. If the common individuals were this strong, what about the true geniuses and talents in the inner divine continents? Just how high could they soar with such a favorable boost in cultivation conditions?
"Then what about my dad?" Li Luo asked curiously.
Li Rouyun smiled slightly. "Your dad was also from the Green Nether Hall. In fact... he was the Green Nether Hall's main Hall Master. The entire Green Nether Hall was under his supervision. However, since he has been gone for more than ten years, strictly speaking, his position should have been removed. However, this matter has been ignored by Grandpa and he is still the main Hall Master in name."
Thinking about the situation, it seemed that his grandfather was still acting protectively over his father... Or perhaps it was because of the lingering guilt towards what happened that year.
"The Dragon's Blood Lineage is the strongest lineage and thus they are the Mountain Ruling Lineage. To give an example, the Mountain Ruling Lineage is like the king in the secular world, whilst the other lineages are like the vassals that are subject to their rule. However, every hundred years, an event called the Mountain Ruling Grand Ceremony takes place. That is when a new Mountain Ruling Lineage is determined. Li Zhiqiu, the man from before, is from the Dragon's Blood Lineage," Li Rouyun explained.
When Li Luo was reminded of that man, the smile on his face receded and his gaze turned frosty.
It was fine that Li Zhiqiu had sat by idly whilst he was in mortal danger, but he had tried to scam his Heavenly Emperor's Writ and even accelerated the process of Jiang Qing'e's sacrificial ignition of her Heart of Light. These matters were indelibly marked down in his heart for his comeuppance one day.
He might lack strength today, but all of this would be repaid in full later on.
His change in expression did not elude Li Rouyun, and she understood what he was thinking. "Your dad was the brightest star amongst the entire clan in his generation. Even the Ancestor appreciated his talent and treated him favorably. You have to understand that the more outstanding one is, the more vitriol and jealousy they attract. Li Zhiqiu is one amongst those rabble. In the past, he would never have dared to reveal his intentions before your father, but now that you're down, he would naturally not hesitate to throw stones down the well. Our clan is larger than you can imagine, so there will naturally be unpleasant things and people that will bother you. You aren't a little child anymore, so you should understand the situation."
Li Luo nodded. Even his tiny House Luolan could produce an ungrateful rat like Pei Hao who actively worked to sabotage them, much less a behemoth like the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li.
"Now that concludes the situation in the clan and we can move on to answer the question you had, basically what happened to your parents that year."
Li Rouyun smiled bitterly and sighed. "You first need to know that even though the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li is considered a hegemon in the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent, the entire continent is absolutely gargantuan. As a result, we are unable to be the sole rulers of it. We are not the only Heavenly Emperor Bloodline—there are four others. When we look at them in terms of both foundation and age, the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li is actually at the bottom. One day, the Mountain Ruling Lineage tried to arrange a marriage with another Heavenly Emperor Bloodline. At that time, Li Taixuan had already demonstrated his abilities and talent to the clan and was a rising star in the continent. As a result, the burden of the engagement had fallen upon your father's head."
Li Luo was stunned before he felt like guffawing.
An engagement agreement.
When these two words were said, he just knew that a bloody series of events was about to be revealed.