"Help?" Hearing those words, Chu Feng was momentarily stunned, but he still replied: "You, Senior, have shown me great kindness. I don't know what the matter is, but if there's anything within my power to do, I will certainly do my best."
*Sigh* "This is a long story, but since Young Friend Chu Feng is willing to help, I'll speak frankly and hide nothing from the three of you." Yaojiao Guang then proceeded to explain the situation to Chu Feng and the others.
As it turned out, although Yaojiao Guang was the patriarch of the Yaojiao King Beast clan, his term as patriarch had already expired.
According to the traditions of the Yaojiao King Beasts, the successor to the patriarch position was not decided by him. Instead, among the current generation of juniors, whichever possessed the strongest strength would inherit the patriarch position.
At present, among Yaojiao Guang's children who were still classified as juniors — those under one hundred years of age — there were his ninety-sixth son, ninety-seventh son, ninety-eighth son, and ninety-ninth daughter.
Of these three sons and one daughter, the strongest was his ninety-sixth son, Yaojiao Tinglei.
Chu Feng had already met Yaojiao Tinglei — he was the one who had represented the Yaojiao King Beasts in the finals of the Strongest Junior Competition.
That day, Yaojiao Tinglei had even spoken a good word for Chu Feng in front of Zhang Tianyi's father, so Chu Feng had a favorable impression of him.
However, according to Yaojiao Guang, although his ninety-sixth son Yaojiao Tinglei was strong, he was not the strongest among the current generation of juniors in the entire Yaojiao King Beast clan.
The strongest junior in the Yaojiao King Beasts at present was named Yaojiao Xueran.
Although Yaojiao Xueran was already ninety-three years old, he was still classified as a junior. Moreover, he possessed a cultivation level even stronger than Chu Feng's — he was an Eighth-grade Half-Emperor.
By all rights, Yaojiao Xueran was the best candidate to succeed as patriarch of the Yaojiao King Beasts.
Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't have been a problem. However, the Yaojiao King Beast clan was divided into two factions. One was the faction under the current patriarch Yaojiao Guang — the Peace Faction. They advocated for peaceful coexistence between demon beasts and humans, with no conflict.
The other faction was called the War Faction. The War Faction believed that demon beasts should reign supreme, should not defer to humans, and should elevate the Yaojiao King Beasts to the pinnacle of the Martial Continent so that the world would fear their name.
Therefore, if the War Faction took the patriarch position, it would be difficult for the Yaojiao King Beasts to coexist peacefully with humans in the future. Conflict would be inevitable, and that would be good for neither the humans nor the Yaojiao King Beasts.
And Yaojiao Xueran was the son of the current leader of the War Faction. Furthermore, the War Faction leader had always been at odds with Yaojiao Guang. If his son succeeded him, the Peace Faction led by Yaojiao Guang would surely not fare well.
This was why Yaojiao Guang desperately did not want Yaojiao Xueran to inherit the patriarch position. That was why he had sought out Chu Feng — hoping Chu Feng could help.
"Although Yaojiao Xueran is an Eighth-grade Half-Emperor and is already extremely powerful among the juniors, the patriarch of the Yaojiao King Beasts must face Martial Emperors of the Martial Continent. His cultivation is clearly insufficient for the role of patriarch."
"I don't understand — why must he be the successor? Why not choose someone with even greater strength? Besides, Senior, your body seems to be in perfect condition. Even if you served another two thousand years, there would be no problem at all. There's no reason for you to step down." Chu Feng looked utterly bewildered.
"Young Friend Chu Feng, you may not know this, but this has been the tradition of our Yaojiao King Beasts since ancient times. I became the patriarch when I was ninety-eight years old, and to this day, I have served as patriarch for eight thousand years."
"The Yaojiao King Beasts have a rule: once the patriarch has served for eight thousand years, regardless of cultivation or strength, they must step down. The most outstanding junior is then selected to inherit the position." Yaojiao Guang said.
"Eight thousand years? You've lived for eight thousand years?" Hearing this, Hong Qiang was quite astonished. In his eyes, Yaojiao Guang was robust and vigorous — at most, he looked like a human who had lived three thousand years. He certainly didn't appear to have an eight-thousand-year lifespan.
After all, for a human, even a Martial Emperor, reaching eight thousand years of age meant old age and decline. Even if they still possessed heaven-defying abilities, their lifespan would be nearing its end. To put it simply, they wouldn't be far from death, and they would need rare treasures and divine medicines to extend their lives for a little while longer.
For example, the Heavenly Clan Elders of the Four Great Imperial Clans — even Baili Xuankong — were people who had reached the end of their natural lifespan. They were all using special means to prolong their lives, but even so, they could not last another thousand years. At most, they could live a few hundred more.
Although Yaojiao Guang had also lived for such a long time, judging by his appearance, he could absolutely live several thousand more years without any issue — because he showed absolutely no signs of aging.