The Blue Dragon clan's Yulan branch had a history that was far too brief—only a few thousand years. A few thousand years, compared to the vast history of the Four Divine Beast families, was like a single drop of water in the ocean.
A short history also meant weak strength!
In the Skyborne Mountain Range, in this great canyon, it was common for the Blue Dragon clan's other branch lines to look down upon them and bully them. Fortunately, the family had a strict decree—no clansman was to kill another clansman.
It was an ironclad decree that no one dared defy.
Because of that, even though the Yulan branch lived here in some disgrace, at least their lives were never truly at risk. Baruch and the others could only endure it. After all, any resistance would only invite more bullying.
When you're weaker than others, there's nothing you can do!
But now, the junior family member they had just welcomed—a descendant who had come all the way from the Yulan Continent—had effortlessly toyed with a Highgod and several Midgods as though they were children.
Baruch, Ryan, and the rest of the group stared at Lin Lei in disbelief.
"Lin Lei?" Baruch spoke, dazed.
Lin Lei looked at Baruch and smiled. "Patriarch, let's head back quickly. I still don't even know where I'll be staying."
"Right, right." Baruch snapped out of his shock. Though he didn't understand why Lin Lei was so powerful, he wasn't about to ask right now. He immediately smiled and said, "Let's go, let's go back."
The other members of the Yulan branch all stared at Lin Lei with astonishment. This junior was far too strong!
"What are you looking at?" Bei Bei's voice rang out. "What? Didn't my boss just teach you a lesson? Still not enough? Want another round?"
Lin Lei turned to look.
Asu and his companions gazed at Lin Lei with eyes full of terror, unable to believe that everything that had just happened was real.
"Asu," Lin Lei said. "You and I are both members of the Blue Dragon clan—both part of the Leyding family. Since we're all family members, fighting amongst ourselves… if word got out, we'd be a laughingstock."
Asu stood there, stunned.
"The Yulan branch is part of the Leyding family too," Lin Lei continued with a faint smile. "I belong to the Yulan branch, and I'm part of the Leyding family. I don't want to see you coming to cause us trouble again. If that happens… I won't mind… teaching you a proper lesson."
O'Brien, Hesi, Tarosha, and the others stood nearby, chuckling.
They all knew how powerful Lin Lei was. During the great battle on the Miluo Islands, his strength had been laid bare for all to see.
"Let's go." Lin Lei took Dilia's hand and walked with Baruch, Ryan, and the other family members toward the Yulan branch's living quarters. Only Asu and his group remained behind.
"Lord Asu, this…" One of the men beside Asu wore an expression of confusion and rage.
Asu's face was dark.
"I didn't expect the Yulan branch to produce such a powerful fighter," he said in a low voice.
"But he's a Midgod," someone immediately pointed out.
Asu shook his head. "Impossible. That gravity space was absolutely terrifying. Under that level of gravitational pull, he could have killed us with ease. To cultivate 'gravity space' to that level… he's definitely an incredibly powerful Highgod."
"How powerful?" The Midgods behind him looked completely lost.
"A sixth-rank or seventh-rank Demon!" Asu said grimly.
The Midgods were instantly dumbfounded. In their daily lives, they had to be deferential whenever they encountered even a regular Highgod—and most Highgods were roughly at the level of a fourth-rank Demon. Those who reached the sixth or seventh rank were upper echelons of the family.
"But we sensed that he was a Midgod," a blue-haired young man said quickly.
Asu turned his head, shot the young man a mocking glance, then turned and walked away without another word, completely ignoring the Midgod.
"Was I wrong?" The blue-haired young man was still bewildered.
"Hiding his aura, disguising himself—couldn't you figure that out?" Another Midgod scoffed. "Let's go. Who knows how this short-lived Yulan branch produced such a powerful expert."
Muttering among themselves, the Midgods departed.
Lin Lei understood clearly that in any great family—let alone a branch line—even brothers from the same parents might compete for status. When you're weak, you're looked down upon. When you're weak, you get bullied.
That was simply the way of things.
"The Leyding family's upper echelons don't interfere with this. First, it's hard to manage. Second… they probably enjoy it," Lin Lei realized. When the weak are despised, it breeds a sense of humiliation in the weaker branches, driving them to strive harder.
Perhaps it would even produce some strong individuals.
After all, the family had rules forbidding kills during intra-family disputes. With that rule in place, there was no fear of the family's overall strength being damaged.
"Competition, hierarchy, rank—only through these does progress happen," Lin Lei sighed inwardly.
Unfortunately, his Yulan branch had become the weakest of all. A weak foundation, a short history—there was nothing to be done about it.
"Lin Lei, just across this field is where our Yulan branch lives." Baruch pointed ahead. Lin Lei followed his gesture and saw, at the far end of the low grassland, rows of two-story buildings, including several larger halls that occupied more land.
As Lin Lei and the others crossed the field, quite a few men and women came out to greet them—even two small children.
"Patriarch!"
A crowd hurried over.
"Ha ha, quick—prepare a banquet. Let's celebrate Lin Lei's arrival!" Baruch announced with a hearty laugh.
"Patriarch, who's Lin Lei?" None of the people in the crowd recognized him.
Lin Lei studied the group before him carefully. Each person gave him a familiar feeling in his heart—a kinship born of shared blood. "Our Baruch family is few in number on the Yulan Continent, but here in Hell, there are quite a lot of us."
Those who could make it to Hell all possessed eternal lives. Naturally, the numbers only grew.
"Who's Lin Lei?" Baruch broke into a grin. "He's one of us—born to the Yulan branch."
"He came all the way from the Yulan Continent," Ryan added. "Take a good look. This is Lin Lei. Don't go mixing him up later." As he spoke, he slapped his hand on Lin Lei's shoulder.