Lin Lei looked carefully. Inside the first-floor hall of the Four Divine Beasts' main hall, there wasn't a single person in sight.
"Lin Lei, come up to the second floor." A voice rang in Lin Lei's ears.
"Patriarch." Lin Lei recognized the voice as Geisseren's and promptly entered the side hall adjacent to the main hall — the staircase was located right beside it. Climbing the stairs, Lin Lei reached the second floor of the main hall.
The second floor was noticeably smaller than the first-floor hall.
A massive round table stood in the center of the hall, and six people were seated at various positions around it. Of these six, Lin Lei recognized only two — the Patriarch and the Grand Elder.
"Judging by their clothing and aura, that other woman at the table must be the Vermilion Bird Clan's patriarch." Lin Lei identified them one by one.
The Azure Dragon Clan, the Vermilion Bird Clan, the White Tiger Clan, and the Black Turtle Clan — the four clans were vastly different in both appearance and bearing. It was easy to tell them apart at a glance. Among the six seated around the round table, two were from the Azure Dragon Clan, two from the Black Turtle Clan, and one each from the White Tiger and Vermilion Bird Clans.
"Lin Lei, sit down." The beautiful woman from the Vermilion Bird Clan spoke with a faint smile.
The others all smiled at Lin Lei as well, and Geisseren said cheerfully, "Lin Lei, drop the formalities. We're meeting you here so everyone can be more relaxed. Just take a seat."
"Yes." Lin Lei felt a warmth in his heart.
He knew that the people before him were the highest-ranking members of the Four Divine Beasts clans. They were also the children of the four original Chief Gods.
"Lin Lei, we asked you here because we wanted to ask about this Psro fellow." Geisseren spoke up.
"Psro?" Lin Lei was startled.
Word about his dealings with Psro had reached the clan this quickly?
A man clad in a long white robe — the robe bore strange markings that made it resemble a tiger skin overall. His face was stern, but now a hint of a smile appeared on it. "This Psro possesses a Chief God Artifact, but we've never heard of him before…"
Lin Lei laughed inwardly.
Hundreds of years ago, Psro had been nothing more than a pitiful little cat cradled in Ariquen's arms. Who would have recognized him?
"Lin Lei, this Psro is a Chief God's envoy — that much should be correct, right?" A burly man, even more towering in stature than the members of the Barbarie clan, spoke in a deep voice. Lin Lei knew that the two of them were the leading figures of the Black Turtle Clan.
"He is indeed a Chief God's envoy. He likely became one only a few hundred years ago," Lin Lei replied.
The top figures of the Four Divine Beasts clans exchanged glances around the round table, delight evident in their eyes.
"Which Chief God?" Geisseren quickly asked.
"I'm not certain, but it was a Fire System Chief God," Lin Lei said.
The Grand Elder beside Geisseren also pressed eagerly, "Lin Lei, do you know whether Psro saved you because of his personal relationship with you, or because he was acting under that Chief God's orders?"
"Actually… I've been wondering about that myself," Lin Lei said.
"Oh?"
All six of them fixed their eyes on Lin Lei, listening intently.
Though Lin Lei didn't fully understand what these six wanted to discuss with him, there were some things that didn't need to be kept secret. He might as well speak plainly. "In truth, Psro and I have only met once before. We can be considered friends, but we're not particularly close."
"He happened to save me — that's easy enough to understand. But he also threatened that fellow Bro, warning him and the various families to stop targeting me," Lin Lei said with a smile.
The six around the round table furrowed their brows as they listened.
"He has a personal relationship with you?" Geisseren looked troubled. "It seems he wasn't sent by a Chief God to protect Lin Lei, then. A Chief God doesn't have much connection to Lin Lei."
"That's not necessarily so," the White Tiger Clan patriarch countered. "Psro dared to threaten them — perhaps…"
"Enough. Don't get your hopes up too high," the Vermilion Bird Clan patriarch sighed. "If a Chief God intended to protect Lin Lei, they would have sent someone directly to the Eight Great Families with a Chief God's decree. One decree… and the Eight Great Families would absolutely not dare touch Lin Lei. Why bother with all this roundabout business? Clearly, Psro saving Lin Lei has little to do with a Chief God."
"Sigh…" Geisseren couldn't help but let out a low sigh.
The others' expressions darkened as well.
Seeing this scene, Lin Lei felt a jolt of surprise. But listening to their words, he began to understand. "So they were hoping I had some connection to a Chief God." Connecting it to the clan's situation, everything became clear.
Ever since the four ancestor patriarchs had died, the Four Divine Beasts clans had lost their Chief God backers. Even the Eight Great Families dared to bully them.
When they learned that a Chief God's envoy had saved Lin Lei, they had clung to the hope… that the envoy had been acting on a Chief God's orders to save Lin Lei.
If that were the case, then it might be possible, down the road, for that Chief God to lend the Four Divine Beasts clans a hand out of consideration for Lin Lei.
"That hope has been crushed," Lin Lei thought silently.
"Forget it, don't be too discouraged. At least we have a Chief God's envoy who can be considered an ally," the Vermilion Bird Clan patriarch said with a faint smile. "Besides, it's not entirely impossible that the envoy was indeed sent by a Chief God."
Lin Lei looked at the six people around the round table and felt a surge of sorrow in his heart.
When had the Four Divine Beasts clans ever fallen to such a state?
These clan patriarchs were hoping — just hoping — that a Chief God might stand behind them! But all four ancestor patriarchs were dead. Why would any other Chief God bother helping the Four Divine Beasts clans?
"Lin Lei, I'd like to ask — are you a Mid-level God or a High-level God?" The Vermilion Bird Clan patriarch looked at Lin Lei with a smile. "Honestly, I haven't detected any High-level God aura from you at all."
Lin Lei turned his gaze toward the patriarch.
More than one person had already asked him this.
"Lin Lei is a Mid-level God," Geisseren quickly said. "This is a secret. Everyone here knows now, but don't spread it." Those present were all at the top of the Four Divine Beasts clans, so it was fine for them to know.
"Really a Mid-level God? Ha! How did a Mid-level God kill a Seven-Star Demon?"
The atmosphere in the hall brightened once more as everyone began discussing Lin Lei.
Facing the inquiries of the several clan patriarchs, Lin Lei could only give roughly general answers.
"Gravity Space?" The White Tiger Clan patriarch raised his sword-like eyebrows in astonishment. "You used a simple Gravity Space, and it prevented even High-level Gods from flying within it?" Gravity Space was originally nothing more than an ordinary technique.
Lin Lei had only learned about it thanks to the Amethyst baby beast's deliberate guidance.
"Gravity Space?"