Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

Chapter 414: Chapter 47 The clan leader is indeed not benevolent

Long Long’s original plan was to visit the Eastern Emperor Realm once a month to exchange various kinds of information with Long Hu and to ensure that she was well and safe.

But after being coaxed by Long Hu’s tongue a few times, he somehow ended up visiting every ten days.

Illusion Technique! It must be the Illusion Technique! Such Divine Skills of the Celestial Fox Clan are truly fearsome!

Besides his private meetings with Long Hu, he also focused on cultivating his Dragon Bloodline and inquiring about the current situation in the Eastern Emperor Realm.

Central State and South State had finally ceased hostilities, but it was hard to say who had won or lost.

When Central State claimed to have killed a certain number of the Feathered Clan, South State would double that number, boasting of having killed many from the Mao Clan, and then Central State would revise its statement… As a result, apart from the well-informed high levels of the Demon Race, most average Demons could not clearly discern which side had emerged victorious.

But Long Long, having attended classes at the Azure Dragon Clan’s school, was able to approximately understand through various channels of information that the Feathered Clan had the upper hand. However, fearing that the Kun Race from North State might join the battle to aid them, they took the initiative to propose a truce.

In fact, the cause of this war was quite ridiculous: before Qi Weihuan assumed leadership of the Qilin Clan, he had had diplomatic disputes and unpleasantness with the Vermilion Bird Clan.

Of course, at that time this fat man had not yet taken control in the Qilin Clan… Once he became the heir apparent, the Vermilion Bird Clan sensed something was amiss and began trying to mitigate the overall hostility of the Feathered Clan towards him.

But Qi Weihuan rose to power too quickly, becoming the clan leader in just a few years and inheriting the titles of “King of a Thousand Kings” and “Lord of All Demons,” while making no effort to hide his disdain for South State. The situation started to escalate, with even the Vermilion Bird Clan unable to suppress internal tensions.

Now that the war had finally come to an end, Qi Weihuan retracted his previous derogatory remarks about South State. With heavy casualties and no war gains, most within the Feathered Clan were inclined to consider the lesson taught to be sufficient and thus chose to withdraw their forces.

The Eastern Emperor Realm once again returned to peace… a fragile peace, as transient as a reflection of a turret in water.

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The current situation was such that Central State’s Qilin remained closest allies with North State’s Xuanwu, and their relationship with Eastern State’s Azure Dragon was also fairly good.

The White Tiger of West State had always had a poor relationship with Central State’s Qilin. Although it had improved somewhat due to a marriage alliance, they still couldn’t reverse the Mao Clan’s overall discrimination against the Horned Clan — who could expect carnivores to look kindly upon herbivores?

As for South State’s Vermilion Bird… that was already openly hostile, and there was no need to go into further detail.

To return to the matter at hand, in this month’s political coursework exam, Long Long once again scored full marks. The instructor even read his strategic discourse aloud, leaving everyone listening in astonishment.

The untransformed dragon offspring, after all, were not as intelligent as adult humans, so it was only natural for Long Long to stand out in terms of intellect.

Upon leaving the clan’s school, Long Long saw Qin Beiwang waiting for him outside.

Following the clan leader to the higher floors of Jianmu, Long Long looked out over the vast expanse of Ducang Plain, when he suddenly heard Qin Beiwang say,

“Actually, in my view, your value and potential far exceed Long Hu’s… Even after confirming who her father is, I still insist on this point.”

“Thank you for your high regard, Clan Leader,” Long Long replied, somewhat surprised and quickly speaking up.

“Have Qin Zhou and Qin Ye explained it to you?” Qin Beiwang asked slowly, “About why the clan needed to take Long Hu away.”

“They have,” Long Long answered calmly, “Her identity is too sensitive, so it’s not good for her to have too much contact with our clanspeople.”

“I had thought you would harbor resentment towards the clan because of this,” Qin Beiwang looked outside.

After a pause, he continued,

“Whether you are pretending or you truly don’t care, at least it shows that you are not rash or impulsive.”

“Long Hu’s situation is rather complicated. I think you might have guessed that there are people in the clan who hope to use her as a bargaining chip in a marriage alliance, but in reality, that’s not suitable, as there aren’t many appropriate options.”

Long Long nodded silently, showing he was listening.

“To be precise, there are only two possibilities,” Qin Beiwang raised two fingers. “One is a marriage alliance with the Imperial Clan, that is, the Qilin Clan.”

“Qi Weihuan has two sons, the eldest son Qi Qiao’an is tyrannical and cruel, and the second son Qi Qiaofa is weak and ineffectual, neither of which is a good match for Long Hu.”

“What’s more important is that Long Hu’s identity also represents the face of our Dragon Clan. Qi Weihuan is in his prime, his position solidified, with no chance of handing over power for at least a thousand years. If Long Hu were to marry a Qilin son with no foreseeable prospects of becoming emperor, it would only lead outsiders to believe that our Dragon Clan is bowing and scraping to please the Qilin.”

Long Long fell into a pensive silence.

“Second, is the internal marriage within our clan,” Qin Beiwang looked down at Long Long’s face, as if to confirm his inner emotions.

However, aside from a contemplative look, there was nothing unusual on Long Long’s face.

“With your intelligence, you should be able to guess that if it comes to internal marriage, I would not possibly allow her to marry someone from another branch. That would be tantamount to allowing a cadet branch to overstep its bounds, which could bring disaster from within,” Qin Beiwang said coldly, “The only choice is my son, Qin Zhou.”

“But Zhou has made it clear that he does not fancy Long Hu.”

“May I ask, Clan Leader,” Long Long spoke softly, “Does ‘willingness or unwillingness’ even matter in a political marriage?”

Qin Beiwang fell silent for a moment, then said:

“The ancestor has always adored Zhou and does not agree with this matter.”

Ah, so it’s the ancestor who disagrees. Long Long sneered inwardly.

“What do you think of my daughter, Ah Ye?” Qin Beiwang suddenly asked.

Long Long: ?

Of course, Qin Ye is a nice girl, but what do you mean by asking this, Clan Leader?

The next words out of Qin Beiwang’s mouth immediately sent Long Long reeling.

“If you are willing to marry into my lineage and take Ah Ye as a wife in the future, then I shall override all objections within the clan and let Long Hu marry you as well. What’s the harm in that?”

“Clan Leader…” Long Long was wide-eyed and tongue-tied, nearly speechless.

“Your marriage to Ah Ye is my personal wish,” Qin Beiwang said impassively, “but marrying Long Hu is an unavoidable choice—after all, that bloodline must absolutely not be allowed to flow to outsiders.”

This time, Long Long finally understood.

Long Hu was not suitable to be joined with the Qilin Clan, so the only option left was an internal marriage.

As a direct descendant, Qin Beiwang would definitely not allow her to marry someone other than his own children. Otherwise, it would be equivalent to elevating the legal status of another lineage, risking dissension and the flip of roles.

However, for some reason, the Ancestral Azure Dragon did not wish for Long Hu to marry Qin Zhou.

The wish of an ancestor could not be defied, so Qin Beiwang could only choose the next best option, to have her marry his son-in-law… But don’t demons have a system of primary and secondary wives? If so, who would be the wife and who the concubine?

“The heir to the next Azure Dragon Clan Leader will be chosen from the progeny of you and Ah Ye,” Qin Beiwang continued, “After five or six generations, if the offspring from both sides merge, that would suffice.”

This was also within Long Long’s expectations since my children with Long Hu would have Human Race blood, Celestial Fox blood, Jiaolong blood, but lack Azure Dragon blood. Becoming the Azure Dragon Clan Leader is like a Chinese person becoming the President of America… theoretically possible but practically impossible.

But this Clan Leader suddenly offering me such a big pie, could there be a conspiracy?

Long Long knew all too well that there was no such thing as a free lunch in the world, not to mention that this seemingly great fortune might have already been priced behind the scenes!

As he was on full alert, mulling over this conundrum, he heard the Kunlun Mirror speak:

“He covets your bloodline.”

Long Long suddenly had an epiphany!

So that’s how it is, in the Demon Realm where bloodline is revered, possessing the Ying Long bloodline, I am an optimal breeding partner!

What a clever plan, to first have me combine with Qin Ye, whose children would then merge with mine and Long Hu’s, intending to amalgamate all the high-ranking bloodlines within us into the blood of your Azure Dragon Clan!

Hu Li was right. You, Qin Beiwang, with your bushy eyebrows and big eyes, you are indeed no benign figure!