“If you’re able to light up the ‘Upper’ character stone tablet, I guarantee you that our clan chief will grant you the opportunity to challenge the puppet army formation,” Yao Cheng said.

  “Really? Why?” Wang Yuxian asked in surprise.

  “Our clan regards the results of the talent assessment formation highly because it was from the lord who gifted the powerful energy to our clan tens of thousands of years ago. If you’re able to light up the ‘Upper’ character stone tablet, our clan will welcome you as an esteemed guest,” Yao Cheng said.

  “To think that there’s such a thing. It looks like our mission has gotten much simpler!”


  Wang Yuxian smacked Chu Feng’s shoulder and chuckled.

  “Did you hear that, Chu Feng? We’re counting on you here!”


  “I’ll try my best,” Chu Feng replied with a faint smile that exuded confidence.

  He had always been able to obtain outstanding results in anything related to talent assessment, so he didn’t think that it would be any different this time around.

  “It would be wonderful if you’re able to light up the ‘Upper’ character stone tablet. For the time being, let’s wait here till the others are done with the talent assessment,” Yao Cheng said.

  Chu Feng and Wang Yuxian nodded in agreement. That was what they had agreed on earlier.

  If the members of the Monstrous Spirit Clan cleared the area right away, they could attempt the talent assessment formation in secret. Otherwise, they would have no choice but to risk it and attempt the talent assessment formation in front of them.

  While waiting, Chu Feng couldn’t help but notice a statue in the middle of the square. It was a statue depicting an ordinary-looking man wearing normal clothes. What was weird about the statue was how it had a house constructed around it to shelter it from rain and wind.

  There were also fresh food and natural oddities placed in front of the statue as offerings.

  “Elder, may I ask who is the person depicted in the statue over there?” Chu Feng asked out of curiosity.

  It was not uncommon for cultivators to worship their ancestors, the Buddha, or deities, but the man depicted in the statue looked like an ordinary person.

  “He is the lord who bestowed the great energy upon our Monstrous Spirit Clan tens of thousands of years ago,” Yao Cheng replied respectfully.

  “Did the Monstrous Spirit Clan create this sculpture to thank him?” Chu Feng asked.

  “The statue wasn’t created by us. In fact, the statue is the lord himself. He transformed into the statue,” Yao Cheng replied.

  “Ah? He turned into a statue?”


  Chu Feng and Wang Yuxian were bewildered. They couldn’t understand how a man could turn into a statue. On top of that, they couldn’t sense any signs of life coming from the statue. There should at least be a whiff of aura from the statue even if the man had died many years ago, but there was nothing of that sort.

  “It’s true. The statue is indeed the lord himself. It’s a long story. Our Monstrous Spirit Clan has done a huge injustice to him.”


  Yao Cheng bowed apologetically to the statue even though she was quite some distance away.

  “Elder, could you tell us more about it?”


  Chu Feng and Wang Yuxian couldn’t help but wonder about the history between the Monstrous Spirit Clan and the man who had bestowed energy to them.

  “I can tell you, but you mustn’t let it slip to outsiders, or else it might sully the reputation of our Monstrous Spirit Clan. Our Monstrous Spirit Clan has done something terrible to the lord. If there is an afterlife, I hope that he can forgive us for our sins,” Yao Cheng spoke with a deep sigh.

  “Elder, don’t worry. My lips are sealed,” Chu Feng promised.

  “Same here too.”


  Wang Yuxian raised her right hand as if making a vow to heaven.

  Yao Cheng chuckled at that sight.

  “I chose the two of you not just because of your talent but your trustworthy character too.”


  Yao Cheng began sharing the tales passed down within their Monstrous Spirit Clan depicting what had happened back then.

  Tens of thousands of years ago, the ambitious Nine Souls Sacred Clan had just united the Nine Souls Galaxy and was seeking to reinforce their rule. To avoid getting involved in the fighting, the Monstrous Spirit Clan chose to go into seclusion.

  It was around that period of time that a man visited the Monstrous Spirit Clan and requested to live with them. The problem was that the Monstrous Spirit Clan was a place filled with women. They relied on their unique bloodline ability for reproduction, so they had no need for a man.

  In fact, the rules of the Monstrous Spirit Clan stated that clan members were not to get involved in any men, be it physically or emotionally, or else they would be executed.

  There was no way the Monstrous Spirit Clan would agree to have a man to live amongst them.

  Just as the Monstrous Spirit Clan was about to drive that man away, he suddenly brought out a powerful energy. He claimed that the energy would help them to become strong and that he could mix the energy together with the Monstrous Spirit Clan’s bloodline to create a puppet army that would guarantee their peace.

  Any normal person would have thought that he was bragging, but the members of the Monstrous Spirit Clan could sense the great power harnessed inside the energy. They couldn’t tell if that energy was as incredible as that man put it out to be, but they chose to let him have a try at it out of curiosity.

  A grand elder promised the man a place in the Monstrous Spirit Clan if he could pull off what he had promised.

  The results were shocking.

  The man was really able to raise the cultivation and fighting prowess of the Monstrous Spirit Clan’s clan members using that energy. He also managed to create a puppet army that could only be controlled by members of the Monstrous Spirit Clan.

  That puppet army was extremely powerful, far surpassing the one built by another man eight hundred years ago. It was almost like a transcendent existence in the Nine Souls Galaxy tens of thousands of years ago, second to only the Nine Souls Sacred Clan.

  One had to know that the Nine Souls Sacred Clan was still at its peak then. To be said to be second only to the Nine Souls Sacred Clan would have been a huge glory.

  This demonstrated the unfathomable means of that man.

  With the energy enhancing the strength of the clan members and the puppet army to ensure their safety, it looked like the Monstrous Spirit Clan was on its way to greatness.

  However, one of the grand elders began to worry about what the man was capable of after witnessing his means and the greatness of that energy. The man’s capability could be used to help the Monstrous Spirit Clan, but similarly, it could also be used to destroy it. She feared that it would be impossible for them to curb that man if he ever went out of control.

  As much as the man was a benefactor to the Monstrous Spirit Clan, he was also a threat.

  Thus, the grand elder began hatching an evil scheme.