The Dragonblood Warrior Clan (Part 2)

“The Dragonblood Warrior Clan?” Linley’s thoughts went blank for a moment.

To Linley, his family was merely an ancient, declining clan. How could it possibly be connected to the legendary Four Ultimate Warriors?

“You don't believe me?” Pride showed on Hogg's face. “Linley, go look carefully at those ancestral tablets. You can read now. The deeds of each ancestor are carved on the back of their tablet, and the three tablets at the very top represent ancestors who were all Dragonblood Warriors!”

Hogg took Linley's hand. “Come with me.”

Hogg led Linley to the back of the side where the many ancestral tablets stood, then lifted him up. “Look carefully at the words carved on their backs.”

Linley leaned in to look.

The inscription on the back of the topmost tablet was deeply carved and perfectly clear. Those ancient characters, weathered by five thousand years, recorded deeds that shook the world.

“Baruch, the first Dragonblood Warrior of the Yulan Continent. In the year 4560 of the Yulan calendar, Baruch fought a Frost Dragon and a Black Dragon outside Linnan City, eventually slaying both and becoming famous throughout the land. In the year 4579 of the Yulan calendar, Baruch fought the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor along the northern coast of the continent. That day, tsunamis raged without cease and cities cracked apart. After a day and a night of fierce battle, Baruch finally slew the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor... In the end, he founded the Baruch Clan and became its first patriarch!”

“Ryan Baruch, the second Dragonblood Warrior of the Yulan Continent. In the year 4690 of the Yulan calendar, he defeated and subdued a Saint-level Golden Dragon in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, becoming a Golden Dragon Saint Knight! In the year 4697...”

“Hazed Baruch, the third Dragonblood Warrior of the Yulan Continent. Born in the year 5360 of the Yulan calendar, he first won fame by battling the Saint-level Magical Beast known as the Blood-Eyed Bristle Lion in the Sunset Mountain Range, defeating it and sending it fleeing in panic...”

…

One great name after another, one astonishing deed after another, made Linley's blood boil.

“My family is actually the Dragonblood Warrior Clan?” Linley remained excited for a long while.

Hogg said in a low voice, “The first three generations of our Baruch Clan were each led by a Dragonblood Warrior. Once someone became a Dragonblood Warrior, their lifespan became exceptionally long. Ryan Baruch, the second patriarch, did not marry and have children until he was more than seven hundred years old.”

“What happened afterward?” Linley asked, confused. “Father, why are there no Dragonblood Warriors in our clan now?”

Hogg nodded. “Whether someone can become a Dragonblood Warrior depends mainly on the concentration of Dragonblood Warrior bloodline in their body. The higher the concentration, the better. Passed down generation after generation, that bloodline grows thinner in later members of the Baruch Clan. But that is not absolute. Sometimes, after many generations, one descendant will suddenly have a comparatively high concentration of Dragonblood Warrior bloodline.”

“About a thousand years after Hazed Baruch, the fourth Dragonblood Warrior appeared in our Baruch Clan. Then, about another fifteen hundred years later, after dozens of generations, our clan produced the fifth Dragonblood Warrior. Yet for more than a thousand years since then, right up to the present, not a single Dragonblood Warrior has appeared.”

Hogg shook his head and sighed. “The fifth Dragonblood Warrior existed on the Yulan Continent for only a little over two hundred years before disappearing. Over the thousand-plus years since then, our Baruch Clan has completely declined.”

Over a thousand years, even the most glorious clan could fall into decline.

“But our clan still has hope. Perhaps one generation will produce a descendant whose Dragonblood Warrior bloodline reaches the concentration required to become a Dragonblood Warrior. Once that condition is met, several decades of bitter training will be enough to make a true Dragonblood Warrior, and our Baruch Clan will be able to restore the glory of the Dragonblood Warrior Clan!” Hogg spoke with renewed fervor. “Linley, you are already six and a half. By the rules, once a child reaches six, the test can measure the concentration of their Dragonblood Warrior bloodline with reasonable accuracy. Today, I will test you.”

Linley's heart trembled. Test the concentration of my Dragonblood Warrior bloodline? Test me? He understood exactly what his father meant. This test would determine whether he had the qualifications to become a Dragonblood Warrior.

“Linley, wait here. I'll get the Dragonblood Needle.” Hogg said, somewhat excited. He then headed toward the secret chamber behind the ancestral hall.

Could I become a Dragonblood Warrior? Linley felt uneasy.

Standing there, Linley was in turmoil. He had hope, but he was also afraid that the concentration of Dragonblood Warrior bloodline in his body would fail to meet the requirement.

If I fail, Father will probably be disappointed. Linley had depended on his father and younger brother since childhood, and he did not want to disappoint his father. But the concentration of Dragonblood Warrior bloodline in his body was not something he could control.

A moment later, Hogg emerged from the secret chamber behind the ancestral hall, holding an extremely thin, transparent needle nearly twenty centimeters long.

The Dragonblood Needle? Linley recognized it at once.

“All right, Linley. The tip will only prick your skin lightly. It won't hurt. Hold out your hand.” Hogg smiled. Linley nodded, then took a deep breath and nervously extended his right hand. Its faint tremble showed how tense he truly was.

It was not only Linley. Hogg himself was extremely nervous as well.

“Bear it for a moment.” Hogg lightly pricked Linley's right index finger with the transparent Dragonblood Needle, easily piercing the skin. Linley felt a sharp, piercing pain as the Dragonblood Needle changed from transparent to crimson.

Hogg immediately lifted the trembling Dragonblood Needle before his eyes and examined it carefully.

Linley tilted his head up, staring unblinkingly at his father. Is the concentration of Dragonblood Warrior bloodline in my body high enough? Why has Father been looking at the Dragonblood Needle for so long? A bad feeling rose in him.

“Sigh...” Hogg put the Dragonblood Needle aside.

Hearing his father's sigh, Linley, who had been tense for so long, knew that the concentration of Dragonblood Warrior bloodline in his body had definitely failed to meet the requirement. Tears immediately streamed down his face.

“Linley, why are you crying? Don't cry. Be good, don't cry.” Hogg immediately picked Linley up. Seeing Linley cry, Hogg's heart ached as well. Linley was only six and a half years old, still a child.

“I won't cry. I won't.” Linley sniffled twice and forcibly held back his tears. “Father, I'm sorry. I've disappointed you.”

Hearing this, Hogg felt warmth fill his heart. He pulled Linley tightly into his arms. “Linley, don't be sad. Father never held out much hope to begin with. More than a thousand years have passed, and not one person among dozens of generations has become a Dragonblood Warrior. It is all right that you do not meet the requirement. Father does not blame you.”

Feeling the warmth of his father’s chest, Linley began to relax.

By then, two-and-a-half-year-old Wharton had long since fallen asleep in Steward Hiri's arms.

“Linley, the Baruch Clan now has only three members left: your brother, you, and me. I have never had any great goal in life. I do not dare hope to become a Dragonblood Warrior.” Hogg gave a self-mocking smile. How could becoming a Dragonblood Warrior be so easy?

Linley looked up at his father.

Linley rarely saw his father speak to him like this. Normally, his father was so strong and stern.

Looking at the rows of ancestral tablets, Hogg said wistfully, “My true goal is to recover our Baruch Clan's inherited treasure.”

“What is the inherited treasure? How come I've never heard of it?” Linley asked curiously.

Hogg said proudly, “Our clan's inherited treasure—the warblade Slaughter—was the weapon of Baruch, the first patriarch of the Baruch Clan and the first Dragonblood Warrior of the Yulan Continent. Sigh... Our descendants failed their ancestors. More than six hundred years ago, as the clan declined, the patriarch of that generation sold it to fund his own luxuries.”

As he said this, Hogg's body trembled with anger.

“He sold the inherited treasure?” Linley felt angry too. Though he was only six and a half years old, he had read many books and understood that no matter how difficult matters became, one should never sell an inherited treasure. Much less when, as his father said, that patriarch had done so merely to indulge in luxury.

Hogg shook his head helplessly. “Every patriarch since then has wanted to recover the warblade Slaughter, but after six hundred years of effort by generations of our descendants, we have not succeeded. The warblade Slaughter was sold for one hundred and eighty thousand Gold Coins. One hundred and eighty thousand Gold Coins! Not only could we never afford it, but even if we could, the buyer would not sell it back to us.”

They were an ancient Dragonblood Warrior Clan, yet their inherited treasure had been sold.

It was a humiliation!

The humiliation of an ancient Dragonblood Warrior Clan!

Every generation of clan members had wanted to recover the warblade Slaughter, yet six hundred years of effort had failed.

As the current patriarch of the clan, Hogg naturally longed for it as well. But the entire clan was now in terrible financial condition. One hundred and eighty thousand Gold Coins? Even if they sold the ancestral estate, they probably could not gather such an enormous fortune.

Their inherited treasure remained outside the clan. The humiliation often left Hogg heartsick and ashamed, unable to face his ancestors.

Seeing his father's expression, Linley tried to comfort him. “Father, don't worry. One day, I will bring our clan's inherited treasure back.”

“You?” Hogg laughed and affectionately stroked Linley's head.

But Hogg thought to himself, Linley, how could you know that I said those very words to your grandfather back then? So many generations had tried for six hundred years and failed. How could it possibly be so easy? After all, anyone capable of keeping the warblade Slaughter would certainly be no ordinary person.

Why would they sell it?

Even if they did, how could the declining Baruch Clan afford the price?

“Father, you don't believe me?” Linley asked, looking up at him in confusion.

“I believe you. I do,” Hogg said with a laugh.

Father and son leaned against each other. The ancient Dragonblood Warrior Clan had been passed down to the present with only three members remaining. When would this ancient clan, which had declined for more than a thousand years, regain its former glory? Yet Linley, lying in his father's arms, clenched his fists tightly.