A great disaster had struck partway up the mountain, yet those at the summit remained completely unaware. At that very moment, Sheng Zimo and Gu Mo Baochuan had already settled the outcome of their match!
A contest with no suspense left the spectators rather deflated. Still, amid that deflation, plenty of attention had turned toward this rising star, Sheng Zimo!
Many speculated among themselves—what would the outcome have been if the Second Young Master of the Gu Mo line had faced off against Sheng Zimo instead? Or what if Xiao Yu of the Xiao Clan hadn’t fallen ill, and had competed against Sheng Zimo directly?
Such uncertainty inevitably left people’s confidence in Sheng Zimo somewhat diminished.
Whether Sheng Zimo truly ranked among the top talents of the younger generation within the Beast Clan remained, for now, an open question.
By now, he had returned to his seat, responding to the praise and congratulations around him with the same courteous, modest smile.
Yet deep down, he felt anything but satisfied—far from it!
He had prepared thoroughly, confident he could defeat Xiao Yu, only for Xiao Yu not to appear at all!
How infuriating!
After all, his goal today had been to claim the position of leading figure among the Beast Clan’s rising new talents!
What did it matter if he won the clan chief title for the Sheng Clan?
The clan chief position would have nothing to do with him at all—he wasn’t a direct heir, and his father had no shortage of legitimate sons!
Competition belonged to the young, but the clan chief position was decided by the family.
It wasn’t that Sheng Zimo had no ambition for the clan chief position himself, nor did he believe that being young disqualified him from the role, nor did he think his own abilities fell short of his father’s.
It was simply that the Beast Clan’s rules, and the rigid hierarchy of status, held him back.
At this point, the outcome of the competition no longer concerned him at all.
Everyone’s attention on him wouldn’t last long either—soon it would shift entirely to the opening of the heavenly lake.
Right now was the rest period.
An hour from now, the Medicine Clan and the Beast Clan would join forces to open the Jade Water Nectar Heavenly Lake, summoning the poison beasts from its depths. Before the new clan chief could officially take office, before gaining recognition from every clan within the Beast Clan, they first had to earn the approval of the two poison beasts!
An hour remained, and both the Medicine Clan and the Beast Clan were making their final preparations. One person deserving special mention was the head of the Xiao Clan.
That high-quality forgery of the white jade xiao had already been returned to his hands.
Once the Medicine Clan broke the ice with medicine and fully opened the heavenly lake, the Sheng and Xiao clans would need to join forces, performing a sheng-and-xiao duet to summon the poison beasts from the lake bottom!
This task was generally carried out by the clans themselves.
In truth, everyone within the Beast Clan knew that reproducing the ancestors’ original taming melody through a sheng-and-xiao duet was, in fact, impossible.
The reason those two proud poison beasts still acknowledged the Beast Clan was, quite simply, that they recognized the tone of the Xiao Clan’s white jade xiao and the Sheng Clan’s Phoenix-tail Sheng!
They recognized the sound of these two ancient instruments, granting a measure of respect to the ancestors who had once tamed them, merely by making an appearance.
It was perfectly normal for the people of the Beast Clan, however keen their ears, to fail to distinguish a genuine white jade xiao from a fake. But the poison beasts were different!
Especially beasts tamed through sound like these—they were most sensitive of all to the very voice that had once tamed them!
The slightest difference, and they would recognize it instantly!
The head of the Xiao Clan stared at the white jade xiao in his hands, beads of sweat the size of peas rolling steadily down his forehead, his whole body frozen, at a complete loss for what to do!
Earlier he’d still been able to stay calm, still able to think of some possible solution, but no matter how he racked his brain, he couldn’t come up with any foolproof plan, and as the moment drew closer, he found he no longer even had the capacity to think at all!
It was said those two poison beasts had extremely temperamental dispositions. He had no idea what the consequences would be if they recognized the fake white jade xiao being played. Would they explode in fury and charge out, or simply refuse to appear at all?
The head of the Xiao Clan now faced two choices: either go confess to the Prince of Nanzhao and accept whatever punishment the Beast Clan’s various families saw fit, even facing condemnation and scorn from all of Nanzhao’s clans.
Or… or…
The head of the Xiao Clan thought and thought, and finally, gripping the forged white jade xiao tightly, made up his mind!
Dead either way—might as well gamble everything on it!
He would simply act as though he knew nothing at all. As long as no one suspected the white jade xiao was fake, as long as there was no proof it was fake, he would deny it to his dying breath! Having made his decision, the head of the Xiao Clan’s bloodshot eyes flickered repeatedly with a sinister glint, silently praying with everything he had that the poison beasts wouldn’t appear at all!
As long as the poison beasts didn’t show up, no one would know what had gone wrong, and with the Sheng Clan unable to gain recognition either, the clan chief position would simply remain vacant!
“Sheng Clan, so what if you’ve cultivated a Sheng Zimo? What we of the Xiao Clan can’t have, you shouldn’t get to have either!”
The head of the Xiao Clan gritted his teeth, tucking the forged white jade xiao into his sleeve, taking several deep breaths to steady himself, straightening his robes before finally stepping out of the room.
Meanwhile, over on the Sheng Clan’s side, the head of the Sheng Clan was making his own preparations.
In the room, only Sheng Zimo and the head of the Sheng Clan remained. By rights, there should have been nothing more for Sheng Zimo to do at this point.
Sheng Zimo watched his father in silence, filled with suspicion but not daring to speak.
He had originally come simply to deliver the Phoenix-tail Sheng, and was about to leave when his father told him to sit down instead.
His talent, his diligence, even his scheming among his brothers, his slander and manipulation, his fanning of the flames of conflict—all of it had earned him, despite being an illegitimate son, his father’s favor and cultivation. Six years ago, his father had personally taught him, hand over hand, how to play the Phoenix-tail Sheng.
Yet he understood clearly enough that his father had no intention of grooming him to become clan head—his father hoped he would one day assist whoever did become clan head instead.
Such was the divide between legitimate and illegitimate birth—one’s fate decided the moment one was born.
After a long silence, the head of the Sheng Clan finally spoke flatly. “Mo’er, the sheng-and-xiao duet—let it be you.” At these words, Sheng Zimo froze instantly!
What did his father mean by this?!
Shocked, yet unable to suppress a flicker of secret joy, Sheng Zimo nonetheless kept it well hidden, rising in alarm. “Father, your son doesn’t dare, and cannot!”
The head of the Sheng Clan showed no surprise at Sheng Zimo’s reaction. Only now did he lift his head, his expression tinged with both kindness and a certain helplessness.
“Mo’er, among all your brothers, your talent was never the greatest. If the others had applied themselves diligently, they surely would have achieved things far beyond your reach! But unfortunately, unfortunately, they’ve all poured their hearts into competing for my position as head of the family instead!”
As the head of the Sheng Clan spoke, a wave of frustrated disappointment welled up, and his large hand slammed down hard on the low table.
Sheng Zimo was startled—he had never before seen his father look so helpless, had never once heard his father voice such an assessment of his legitimate sons.
His father had always kept his own counsel, giving nothing away.
What was different about today?
Sheng Zimo didn’t dare speak, watching his father, waiting carefully, listening.
“Mo’er, you’re the one who’s worked hardest of all. You should understand—unless one possesses absolute talent, then diligence alone can make up for lack of natural gift. The achievements you’ve earned today are, in truth, this father’s greatest comfort in this life,” the head of the Sheng Clan said with deep feeling.
Hearing this, Sheng Zimo couldn’t help feeling a surge of secret joy—he seemed to glimpse some kind of hope.
But what the head of the Sheng Clan said next left him utterly stunned.
He said, “Mo’er, do you know you have a younger sister? Her talent…”