Chapter 508: Compensation

"It seems the day of the tribe's rise is truly not far off," the old Priest reflected with a sigh.

'With Ye Chen's arrival, not only has the totem's power been reawakened, but if we maintain a good relationship with him, once he recovers from his injuries, won't our tribe essentially have the backing of a Divinity Transformation Realm Great Power?'

But the old Priest quickly composed himself, sensing something was amiss. "But if you were so powerful in the past, young friend," he asked, "why... have you fallen into such a predicament?"

He had clearly recognized the danger.

'With Ye Chen's strength, any enemy he could provoke would most likely be an existence their tribe couldn't hope to match—one that could easily annihilate them entirely.'

'If Ye Chen's enemies discovered he was hiding here, the consequences would be unimaginable!'

"You need not worry, Priest. The enemy who severely injured me is not in the Black Triangle."

"I fled all the way here," Ye Chen said.

But before the old Priest could breathe a sigh of relief, Ye Chen spoke again. "However, I do have some old scores to settle with a few of the top powers in the Black Triangle."

"Those are my own grudges. Once I've recovered, I will handle them myself. I ask that you please do not publicize my identity, Priest."

The old Priest's heart tightened. He didn't dare ask for too many details, simply nodding. "Rest assured, young friend."

"However, do you trust me so easily?"

He asked, "Aren't you worried I might reveal your location to the Xuanwu Tribe in exchange for some benefits?"

'The Xuanwu Tribe is the supreme hegemon of the Black Triangle. To avoid bringing disaster upon his own people, he could easily go behind Ye Chen's back and report his hiding place to them.'

'That way, he wouldn't have to worry about the Xuanwu Tribe unleashing their fury on the Vermilion Bird Tribe if Ye Chen's whereabouts were ever exposed!'

"I imagine you wouldn't be foolish enough to do such a thing."

Ye Chen smiled, speaking nonchalantly. "As long as I am here, your three tribes have a chance to rise again."

"You've all seen the tribe's current situation with your own eyes. If you hand me over, the Xuanwu Tribe will obtain the chaos bloodline and only grow stronger. Your three tribes will never have a chance to rise again."

"The Xuanwu Tribe deceived your three tribes and stole your tribal fire seeds. Is there anyone among you who doesn't want revenge for that?"

"Who would be content with the status quo, rather than returning to their golden age and standing as equals against the Xuanwu Tribe?"

"Your best course of action is to ally with me. We advance and retreat as one. You rise, I recover from my injuries, and by then, we will naturally have the strength to contend with the Xuanwu Tribe!"

"Young friend, what you've said is exactly what I was thinking!" The old Priest laughed heartily. He never expected a young man like Ye Chen to see things so clearly.

'In the end, with the appearance of the chaos bloodline in the Vermilion Bird Tribe, it was already fated that they could not simply hand Ye Chen over.'

"Young friend, if you want to obtain the Saintly Fire of Creation, the simplest way is to go to the Xuanwu Tribe. They have all four fire seeds there, so you wouldn't need to spend effort going to the other tribes one by one to comprehend their totems."

"But that's obviously not realistic! If you really went to the Xuanwu Tribe in your current condition, your fate would no longer be in your own hands."

"In my opinion, it's better to first go to the Cyan Dragon and White Tiger tribes and obtain their fire seeds one by one. Once your preparations are complete, then you can figure out a way to get the Xuanwu fire seed!"

The old Priest began to strategize for Ye Chen. "As for the Priests of the Cyan Dragon and White Tiger tribes, I have my ways of contacting them!"

Hearing this, Ye Chen pondered for a moment before nodding. "If that's the case, then nothing could be better."

'Back at his Peak, he could have stormed the Xuanwu Tribe without a second thought and taken all four fire seeds for himself.'

'But now, he was severely injured, his foundation was badly damaged, and he couldn't retain any Spiritual Power in his body. He could only rely on his physical strength to fight his enemies!'

'This left Ye Chen lacking many means of self-preservation.'

'The safest choice was obviously to proceed one step at a time, obtaining all the fire seeds besides Xuanwu's first, and doing his best to recover to his Peak condition!'

'Perhaps, after obtaining the three fire seeds of the Vermilion Bird, Cyan Dragon, and White Tiger, he might be able to rebuild his foundation without even needing the Saintly Fire of Creation!'

'By then, scheming for the Xuanwu fire seed would naturally be much easier.'

'Although Ye Chen would never truly entrust his safety to others, until the Xuanwu Tribe targeted the Vermilion Bird Tribe, he and the tribe were in the same boat.'

'For the time being, he didn't have to worry about anyone betraying him!'

'And he just needed to use this time to recover from his injuries as quickly as possible.'

"Next," Ye Chen said coolly, "we should discuss 'compensation'."

Hearing this, the old Priest was startled for a moment, but he quickly understood and smiled. "Compensation, is it? That's simple."

"The compensation you demanded from Elder Zhao Tiankuo before was twenty Essence Replenishing Pills. You can leave that to me..."

"Wrong!" Ye Chen shook his head. "That was then, and this is now!"

"Since the person I'm discussing 'compensation' with has changed, the compensation itself must naturally change as well."

'He had demanded twenty Essence Replenishing Pills from Zhao Tiankuo because, as a mere tribal Elder, those were the only things he had that were useful to Ye Chen.'

'But now, Ye Chen no longer had a use for Essence Replenishing Pills.'

'For one, he could use the power of the fire seed to heal his injuries.'

'And for another, his physical body had already recovered to a level comparable to a Spirit Sea Realm Cultivator. The healing effect of Second Grade Essence Replenishing Pills was now minuscule, almost negligible.'

'Plus, he had helped the Vermilion Bird Tribe reawaken their totem's power. With such a great favor owed to him, he was in a position to make some more outrageous demands of the old Priest!'

The old Priest froze.

He looked into Ye Chen's profound eyes and, for a moment, found that he couldn't see through this young man's thoughts at all.

The old Priest took a deep breath. He seemed to have finally steeled himself before saying, "Young friend, you may state your terms."

"The compensation I want is very simple."

"Return the power of Clan Leader to Lin Qiyun. That should be possible, shouldn't it?"

Ye Chen's expression was calm, but his tone held a hint of authority that permitted no argument.

The old Priest's heart shook. He never, ever would have expected Ye Chen to make such a demand!

Ye Chen glanced at the Priest's shifting expression and said calmly, "I'm not just making trouble for no reason."

"Setting aside the fact that Lin Qiyun is the daughter of the former Clan Leader, her status is clear."

"Secondly, the Vermilion Bird bloodline within her is exceptionally rich. Her talent is enough to be considered the best in the entire tribe!"

"Making her the Clan Leader is the best choice!"