Chapter 450 - 22: Clan and the Water God’s Divine Soul

"Although these Earth People do not see you as the source of all things, if they were to lose your bloodline, they would lose their ability to resist external threats. Your existence is the foundation of their lives—in that regard, they fit the definition of a Clan."

"Heh." After hearing all this, Su Zhou was reminded of the Immortal Banyan Tree and the Wood Centipedes—that whole series of lifeforms dependent on the Divine Tree. He instantly understood the connection and just chuckled. "And here I thought it was something serious. It’s just another thing with no real benefit for me. I’ll just chalk it up to being a good Samaritan."

’But it feels pretty damn cool, though. It sounds so prestigious,’ he thought to himself.

But Yara shook her head. "No benefit? If there truly were no benefit, then why do almost all powerful beings have a Clan... You will understand."

At that moment, Su Zhou was in the square, giving a lesson to the Professionals. But the square wasn’t just filled with Professionals; many ordinary people were there too.

It wasn’t that Su Zhou refused to teach ordinary people, but rather that he didn’t have the time or energy to personally teach the Mimic Dao Cultivation Method to all one million of the city’s inhabitants. His plan was to first instruct a group of Transcendents and have them, in turn, teach their friends and disciples, who would then go on to instruct the rest of the populace. So, if any ordinary people who had the requisite Extraordinary Knowledge could understand his lecture and wished to learn, he would turn no one away.

However, the vast majority of Naisel City’s residents weren’t there to learn. Instead, they were worshipping from afar the remains of a long blade placed on a stone monument in the center of the square.

Su Zhou had recovered the remains of the Blade of Annihilation. However, without its hilt, which had been made from Thunderstruck Wood and the Divine Monk Relics, the Divine Blade had lost some of its power, leaving only the metal blade. But Su Zhou didn’t see it as a mere weapon; it was a memento of his adventures in the Divine Wood World. For that reason, he didn’t discard it. Instead, he carefully found a place for it and set it up outdoors.

He placed it outdoors because he had a faint feeling that the blade—which had been soaked in the Water God’s flesh and blood and had shattered Its Crown Crystal Stone—was not completely destroyed. It had been forged as a powerful Qi-Forged Divine Weapon and possessed its own method for drawing power from the world.

Moreover, it now seemed to have undergone a peculiar change.

Around the Blade of Annihilation, layers of mist would always swirl, only to be turned into high-temperature steam by a scorching power.

Because of this Anomaly, coupled with the fact that the residents of Naisel City had learned from Su Zhou’s own words that this was the very blade that had slain the Water God, people began to come and worship the Divine Blade day and night. It also served as a way to increase the city’s unity.

And so, several more days passed. Once Naisel City’s Professionals had begun to spread the Mimic Dao Cultivation Method throughout the city and started distributing the Dragon Scale Potions in an orderly fashion, Elias awoke.

When Su Zhou received the news and arrived at the Alchemy Workshop, the young Duke was lying in bed, examining the scales on his body with great interest.

His hair was snow-white, and his gray eyes showed faint signs of becoming slitted pupils. Compared to the ordinary, blue-haired human boy he was before, he now had a somewhat otherworldly air about him. And all of this was due to the influence of Su Zhou’s blood.

At this moment, Elias was poking the grayish-white Immortal Scales with his finger and manipulating some Water Ball Magic to attack himself—naturally, magic of this level could not break through the Dragon Scales’ defense. The attacks were converted into Spiritual Power of other Attributes, which then canceled each other out.

"Be careful."

Crouching outside the window, yet still towering over the Alchemy Workshop, Su Zhou said, "Those things can explode, and it hurts like hell when they do."

"Ah! It’s Su Zhou!"

Startled, Elias quickly recognized Su Zhou’s aura and understood that the giant Wingless Dragon outside the window was him. He instinctively wanted to get out of bed to pay his respects, but Su Zhou was so enormous that for a moment, the Little Duke wasn’t sure what to do and hesitated, conflicted.

Just as Elias was wrestling with his dilemma, Su Zhou shook his head, stopping him. "Since you’re awake, Elias, it’s about time you went back to your duties and continued governing this city. I’ve already done everything I can. From here on, it’s all up to how you handle things, and whether you can lead these people to survive in this apocalypse."

The meaning behind Su Zhou’s words was obvious, and Elias, who had been happy to see Su Zhou, suddenly felt his spirits sink. "Are you... leaving?"

"Yes. I am going to search for the truth behind this world’s Reincarnation of Eras, and for any trace of the Wind God."

Su Zhou nodded, a ’serious’ expression clearly visible on his massive dragon head. "But it’s not time for goodbyes just yet. Before that, I’m going to check the bottom level of the Naisel Labyrinth. This time, I think I’ll be able to find the Water God Divine Hall. I’ll leave after I’ve organized the information I find there and passed it on to you."

"Of course, I’ll come back and check on you often. After all, if I really can’t find the truth behind the Reincarnation, then with the Immortal Dragon Scale, you might be able to survive the great shift at the turn of the Era and live on into a second one."

It was obvious that among the Water God’s followers, a portion of them had transformed their forms and survived from the previous Era until today. The Thousand Lakes Country was clearly a remnant of the power from the former Era of Water, and the Mermaids and Merfolk living there were a surviving branch of the Water People.