Chapter 151: The Eighth Commander of the Black Annihilation Army!
"Hissss!" Lu Bu suddenly took a deep breath, his face full of shock as he exclaimed, "Xun'er, you're giving me this thing… won't Xiao Yan get mad if he finds out?"
Xiao Xun'er: "…"
"Xun'er, you know Xiao Yan is terrifying when he's mad. Not like me I'd only feel sorry for you, my dear sister!"
"Enough, shut up!" Xiao Xun'er snapped, her face darkened with exasperation.
"Ahem… back to business. What's your reason for wanting me to join the Gu Clan?" Lu Bu tossed the black jade token in his hand, his expression full of curiosity.
This girl had always been at odds with him, nitpicking at everything he did. No matter how she looked at him, she seemed perpetually displeased.
"You have an excellent talent for cultivation," Xiao Xun'er said, raising her delicate chin slightly. "Although I don't want to admit it, without using my bloodline powers, I'm not as strong as you."
"In that case… why not just kill me?" Lu Bu asked with a smirk. That would be a much simpler solution, wouldn't it?
"I don't want to provoke the Void Ancient Dragon Clan."
"Tsk… so you've already figured that out," Lu Bu muttered, shaking his head helplessly. While he wasn't a Void Ancient Dragon himself, he was definitely affiliated with them. Xiao Xun'er's guess wasn't entirely wrong.
"Actually, recruiting me is quite simple." Lu Bu tilted his head at a 45 degree angle, gazing at Xiao Xun'er with mock affection. "Just make me your husband, and there's no need for all this trouble with the Black Annihilation Army."
"Oh?" Xiao Xun'er looked at him with interest. "And how long are you planning to stay with the Gu Clan? A day? Two? Or three?"
"Impossible!" Lu Bu immediately denied, raising his voice in mock indignation. "I, Lu Bu, am a man of my word. At the very least… I'd stay a whole week!"
"Heh." Xiao Xun'er scoffed, rolling her eyes. As expected, this man was only interested in her body, showing no real affection beyond that.
"By the way… what exactly does the Black Annihilation Army do?" Lu Bu examined the black jade token in his hand, curiosity flashing across his face.
In the original story, the Black Annihilation Army was little more than a background prop, and its commanders were basically cannon fodder villains designed to boost Xiao Yan's strength. From Ling Quan to Yang Hao, to Gu Yao they were all punching bags, with no real importance beyond that. If not for the Black Annihilation King appearing later, Lu Bu would've completely forgotten the Gu Clan even had this so called army.
"It's a training ground for the younger generation of the Gu Clan," Xiao Xun'er explained. "The Soul Clan created the Hall of Souls, so naturally, we needed something to match them."
"In addition, the Eastern Region of the continent is vast. The Black Annihilation Army also helps manage the Gu Clan's subordinate forces. But most importantly, they hunt down the dark races."
"Dark races?" Lu Bu raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected this.
"You actually don't know about them?" Xiao Xun'er asked with mild surprise, clearly intrigued by his reaction.
Well, it wasn't in the original story… Lu Bu thought, his mind going blank. Suddenly, he realized that his plot based knowledge was failing him.
"They aren't humans or magical beasts. They don't cultivate Dou Qi but instead focus on bloodline power," Xiao Xun'er explained, spreading her hands. "They possess all sorts of strange abilities and are innately bloodthirsty and violent. Their favorite pastime is devouring humans flesh, blood, Dou Qi, everything. This helps them grow stronger and develop bizarre powers."
"These creatures once roamed freely across the Dou Qi Continent, but after countless wars against Dou Di and the Eight Great Clans, they were driven to the fringes of the continent."
"Even now, beyond the fights between the Eight Great Clans themselves, these dark races remain our primary enemies. Of course, after centuries of being hunted, they've grown weak. Sometimes we even allow them to recover and regroup, just so we can use them to temper our younger generation."
After listening to Xiao Xun'er's explanation, Lu Bu stroked his chin thoughtfully. He vaguely recalled some mention of this in the original story. The Northern Region had the Barbarian Tribes, the Southern Region had various intelligent magical beast clans, and then there were those strange, vicious dark races.
And that was about it. Aside from the magical beast clans, the dark races were never mentioned again. If Xiao Xun'er hadn't brought them up, Lu Bu wouldn't have remembered them at all.
He suddenly recalled something else. If he wasn't mistaken, the Swallowing Spirit Tribe, born from the Void Devouring Flame during its assault on the Medicine Clan, likely belonged to this so called dark race category.
But these dark races were truly pitiful. They'd been reduced to nothing more than whetstones for the Seven Great Clans.
"Additionally, with this token, you're now considered half a member of the Gu Clan," Xiao Xun'er continued. "Which means you won't be hunted down for using the Emperor Seal Technique."
"You're being so kind?" Lu Bu raised an eyebrow, as if seeing her for the first time. He scrutinized her with a strange look.
"I simply don't want any misunderstandings between the Gu Clan and the Void Ancient Dragon Clan," Xiao Xun'er replied coolly. To her, the Emperor Seal Technique was dispensable compared to the Void Ancient Dragon Clan.
Lu Bu nodded, barely convinced by her explanation.
"Well, I've said what I needed to. I should get going now." Xiao Xun'er said no more. With a light step, she vanished into the night.
Lu Bu watched her leave, smacking his lips thoughtfully. Flipping his palm, he summoned the token left behind by Protector Wu of the Hall of Souls.
"The Hall of Souls, the Gu Clan, the Void Ancient Dragon Clan… Hah. Turns out I can be part of all of them!" Lu Bu let out a long sigh. A man who's wandered half a life… finally finds his destined lords.
Outside, Xiao Xun'er turned to glance back at Lu Bu's room. A faint smile spread across her delicate face. Now the Emperor Seal Technique on Lu Bu has an explanation. Xiao Yan won't grow suspicious anymore.
…
In Zi Yan's little courtyard in the Inner Academy's eastern district, the air shimmered slightly, and a dark figure appeared.
Thud, thud, thud!
Zi Yan's short legs quickly carried her downstairs, rushing excitedly to the door.
In the Inner Academy, only Lu Bu knew about her hideout. However, when she opened the door and saw who was outside, her little face fell instantly, her excitement draining away.
Su Qian stood there, looking exasperated. "What's with that face, you little rascal?"
"Old man, what are you doing here?" Zi Yan rolled her eyes and plopped down cross legged in the doorway, resting her chin on her hands as she stared at him.
Su Qian: "…"
She wasn't even letting him inside anymore?
She didn't use to be like this. Ever since Lu Bu came into the picture, she'd been ignoring him more and more.
"How's Lu Bu doing lately?" Su Qian asked. He needed Lu Bu's Heavenly Flame to deal with the Fallen Heart Flame. In addition to general inquiries, he often tried to get information about Lu Bu through Zi Yan, though she was notoriously uncooperative.
"He's doing great. That blue flame of his is really powerful," Zi Yan replied absentmindedly, twirling a strand of her purple hair around her finger. "Last time you wouldn't stop asking, didn't I tell you he used it to sever an eight star Dou Wang's arm in one move?"
"What about this last trip?" Su Qian pressed.
"This time, he didn't use it," Zi Yan said nonchalantly. "He only used the flame to refine some pills for me."
Su Qian felt utterly defeated. He could tell there was something unusual about Lu Bu. His Dou Qi cultivation was progressing rapidly, yet it was solid and steady, unlike someone who was hiding their true strength.
"Ha ha ha… Elder Su Qian, what brings you here to chat about students?" A familiar voice suddenly echoed.
(End of Chapter)
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