Chapter 68

In the vast night, a line of firelight wound through the deep mountains and valleys, resembling a slowly advancing fire snake. By the light of the fire, Yi Yun saw that it was a formation of giant beasts, with people sitting on the beasts, holding torches as they moved through the mountains.

"These are the giant beasts ridden by the Jinlong Guard, the army of the Jinlong Guard!"

Yi Yun took a glance and saw at least seventy to eighty giant beasts. The combat power of such a formation was unimaginable!

Among them, the giant beast running at the front was particularly robust, with a flag erected on its back.

The flag was golden yellow, embroidered with a Jinlong (Brocade Dragon).

This was the flag of the Jinlong Guard!

At the time of parting with Lin Xintong and Old Man Su, Yi Yun had inquired about the Divine Kingdom election. He also learned that the Jinlong Guard had specially drawn a detailed map of Yunhuang.

Of course, Old Man Su did not tell Yi Yun about the two consecutive sky-wide purple clouds and the natural anomalies that occurred in Yunhuang a few months ago. Otherwise, Yi Yun might have made many associations.

"Finally, they have come. This formation has come to Yunhuang to conduct the Divine Kingdom election! Calculating the time, it's about right!"

Yunhuang is extremely vast, with a large number of small tribes. The Jinlong Guard organizing the Divine Kingdom election could not possibly assess each tribe individually. Instead, they would likely gather in a large tribe, set a unified standard, and conduct a collective assessment.

The Jinlong Guard's mission was to go to the Tao Clan, set up an examination site there, and hold the Divine Kingdom election. The Tao Clan is the largest tribe within a radius of several thousand miles, with a population of over ten thousand households, almost equivalent to a million people.

In Yunhuang, the population is registered based on able-bodied men, as this number is the most meaningful. Able-bodied men are the main labor force and the primary combatants, representing the true strength of a tribe. Counting the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled has no real significance.

An able-bodied man has a wife, parents, and several children. As for households without able-bodied men, like Yi Yun and Jiang Xiaorou, they do not count as a "household," meaning Jiang Xiaorou's family is not included in the population count.

In the Tao Clan, families are relatively complete, with about six to seven people per household. Thus, ten thousand households equal a million people.

In Yunhuang, the emergence of a tribe with a million people is quite remarkable.

...

Yunhuang, Tao Clan

The Tao Clan has existed in Yunhuang for over a thousand years, with a long and storied history, even developing its own martial arts tradition.

Unlike small tribes like the Lian Clan, which have no walls around them, the Tao Clan is surrounded by sturdy and thick wooden fences.

These wooden fences are made of large logs, each as thick as a person's arms, standing over ten meters high. These logs are from tree species in the Great Wasteland, with wood that is hard and dense, enduring for centuries without rotting.

The Tao Clan has been able to stand for so many years mainly due to the spiritual mountain, Tao Mountain. Wild beasts are unwilling to approach spiritual mountains and live only in the "wastelands." With the protection of Tao Mountain, very few wild beasts appear within the territory of the Tao Clan.

Moreover, the Tao Clan is not short of Purple Blood warriors, even those at the peak of Purple Blood. Furthermore, the Tao Clan has precious ancestral weapons. Even if powerful wild beasts were to attack, the many Purple Blood warriors, with the ancestral weapons as the core, could form a large formation and fight back.

Due to these reasons, the Tao Clan has stood for many years and grown increasingly powerful.

However, no matter how powerful the tribe, compared to the colossal entity of the Taiyi Divine Kingdom, it is like a pebble before a mountain, dust at the roots of a giant tree, utterly insignificant.

At this time, the Tao Clan had already received the news that the Jinlong Guard would arrive at noon today. The chief of the Tao Clan personally welcomed them, and most of the elders of the tribe were also present.

At noon, the Jinlong Guard arrived as scheduled, right on time.

Leading the Jinlong Guard was a man in red armor, the Red-Cloaked Leader Zhang Tan.

"Your presence, Commander Zhang, brings great honor to the Tao Clan!"

Seeing Zhang Tan, the chief of the Tao Clan immediately stepped forward to welcome him, speaking with utmost respect.

In the Jinlong Guard, a Red-Cloaked Leader can command a thousand men, so they are customarily called "Commander" (Qianhu), where "hu" refers to able-bodied men.

In the military system of the Taiyi Divine Kingdom, the Jinlong Guard has no women; female soldiers are assigned to another unit.

A regular Commander is not much, but a Commander of the Jinlong Guard is different. For the Tao Clan, this is an absolutely unaffordable figure.

"These are the young elites of our tribe. Come, meet Commander Zhang!"

The chief of the Tao Clan waved his hand, and behind him, about a hundred young warriors, ranging in age from thirteen to twenty, bowed to Commander Zhang.

These were all the young elites of the Tao Clan, and they would also participate in the Divine Kingdom election.

The chief of the Tao Clan had the young warriors meet Zhang Tan, hoping that Zhang Tan would take a liking to one or two promising young talents and focus on their cultivation.

However, much to their disappointment, Zhang Tan seemed to have no interest in this. In fact, the officials of the Jinlong Guard were all high and mighty, coming from the core of the Divine Kingdom. They found it hard to take the warriors of Yunhuang seriously, not out of deliberate disdain, but because the warriors of Yunhuang were truly not up to par.

In Zhang Tan's view, the main purpose of the Jinlong Guard's visit to Yunhuang was to investigate the reason for the natural anomalies in Yunhuang. The Divine Kingdom election was merely a secondary task. He didn't expect to find any geniuses in Yunhuang.

Zhang Tan gave a cursory glance at the group of young men before him and said with a stern face, "We are here on official business, no need for extravagance! Enter the city!"

Zhang Tan waved his hand, and the Jinlong Guard marched in directly.

The young warriors of the Tao Clan had been eagerly awaiting this moment, preparing carefully. However, when the Jinlong Guard finally entered the city, they were completely ignored.

For a moment, these young warriors felt dejected.

"Commander Zhang didn't even give us a proper look!"

"He is so condescending. In this area of several thousand miles, the Tao Clan is the largest tribe. Although we are in a desolate region with scarce resources, we have grown up in constant battles, licking blood from a young age. Our combat experience is far superior to those pampered flowers!"

"The election is about to begin. We will show these Jinlong Guard officials that they are wrong. As for us, it's one thing, but the first son of the Tao Clan, Hu Ya, is about to complete his body refinement, reaching the so-called 'pulse like a dragon' realm. He will shine in this election!"

These young warriors grumbled privately, their tone full of defiance.

The name of the first son of the Tao Clan, Hu Ya, was well-known in the Tao Clan, as he was extremely close to completing his body refinement. In the Great Wasteland, completing body refinement is extremely rare.

Zhang Tan led the Jinlong Guard directly to their quarters. After a brief rest, he changed into civilian clothes and went out alone in the evening.

Without any attendants, he went unnoticed.