After all the details were settled, Bai He led Jiang Jing and Yu Yan toward the training ground of the Speed Clan's settlement.
On the way, Bai He pulled aside a clansman and told him to gather everyone at the training ground.
The Speed Clan lacked offensive power and had no reliable way to make a living; add their pride and refusal to swallow certain humble pies, and the result was a clan that was poor—desperately, heart-breakingly poor.
Some of the old die-hards still pined for the old days, hoping the Clear Sky Sect—closed for seven years and indifferent to them all that time—would fling open its gates and return in glory, restoring their lost splendour. Day after day they parroted the same words, blocking any progress.
They never stopped to think that if the Clear Sky Sect still cared even a sliver, the Speed Clan would never have fallen this far.
Sigh… being Clan Chief is hard; being chief of a pack of stubborn fossils is harder.
Years of society's beatings had left Bai He desperate to change everything, yet good ideas remained elusive.
Yu Yan was a super Genius—more than enough to shatter the clan's blind faith in the invincibility of the Clear Sky Sect and to silence anyone who opposed sending his granddaughter Bai Chenxiang to Exotic Beast Academy.
On the walk to the training ground Yu Yan noticed almost no able-bodied youths; nearly everyone he saw was either a small child or an old man.
Half an hour later, every Speed Clan member still in the settlement had reached the training ground. Thanks to their Spirit, the Needle Tailed Swift, most of them perched on rooftops.
'Friends, you already heard yesterday that Vice Dean Jiang Jing of Exotic Beast Academy has come to visit,' Bai He called.
Surveying his diminished clan, Bai He stood in the centre of the field, channelling spirit power to carry his voice to every ear.
When his words faded, Yu Yan felt every gaze converge on them; the Speed Clan was sizing up Jiang Jing and himself.
Before anyone could speak, Bai He continued with the speech he had rehearsed: 'You're right—she's here to invite our youngsters to join Exotic Beast Academy, and I've agreed.'
That decision had been reached on the way here, after discussion between Bai He, Jiang Jing and Yu Yan.
Once she understood the clan's plight, Jiang Jing agreed without hesitation; if this could bring more Genius students to the academy she would do it every day.
Yu Yan had no objection; Bai He's plan provided perfect cover for their private deal, so he had no reason to refuse.
'Chief, why?'
'We can train our own children—why send them to Exotic Beast Academy?'
'They don't even have a Spirit Douluo—why should we join?'
The moment Bai He finished, the clan's elders erupted. They had once followed the world-dominating Clear Sky Sect; now they were expected to send their descendants to an academy without even a Spirit Douluo? Humiliating!
'Therefore—!' Bai He roared, silencing every voice: 'The academy's student will duel our youngsters. If he loses, the matter ends here.'
Bai He's words brought a brief hush; the Speed Clan knew better than anyone how dismal their own combat strength was.
'Chief, the Speed Clan excels in speed, not battle,' one venerable elder said delicately, reminding everyone that a duel would put them at a disadvantage.
The scene made Yu Yan think Bai He must be the most stifled Clan Chief alive.
'The student they brought is Yu Yan—he won't turn eight for another month. Any of our children under fifteen may face him. Vice Dean Jiang Jing promises that if even one of us wins, the invitation is withdrawn,' Bai He declared.
He glanced at the dissenters, first stating Yu Yan's age, then offering a condition no Speed Clan member could refuse.
The clan's pride forbade rejecting such a blatant provocation; hot-blooded youngsters were already cracking knuckles, eager to teach this brat a lesson.
As Bai He stepped back, Yu Yan felt every eye stab at him. He shot Bai He a sidelong glare, then walked to the centre of the field and beckoned to the Speed Clan's youngsters lining the edge: 'Yu Yan of Exotic Beast Academy, here to seek instruction from the Speed Clan!'
The youngsters exchanged glances and whispers, evidently deciding who would go up and trounce the little kid.
Bai He watched with a smile, letting them debate without interruption.
'I'm White Feather of the Speed Clan, First Ring Spirit Master at rank 12—no one can say I'm bullying a child.'
A handsome boy soon stepped onto the field and offered the standard Spirit Master salute before a duel.
'I'd never suggest that—so long as you don't feel I'm bullying you,' Yu Yan replied.
White Feather's face flushed crimson at the blunt honesty.
'Fine! I meant to go easy, but since you're so arrogant, I'll show no mercy!'
Fury rang in White Feather's voice as his Spirit manifested: the Needle Tailed Swift. A pair of white wings unfurled behind him and a yellow spirit ring encircled his body.
The hue of that ring showed his first spirit ring was roughly two centuries old.
White Feather lunged, becoming a white blur aimed at ending the farce in seconds.
Yu Yan's lips curled; the Ice and Fire Twin Fish appeared, his second spirit ring settling on the Ice Fish in his left hand. The second Ice Fish Skill, Profound Ice Chain, sprang up to bar White Feather's path.
With nimble grace White Feather veered around the Binding chains and closed in again.
Lacking ranged attacks, he had to get close and rely on agility to defeat Yu Yan.
The Speed Clan had real reason for pride: at merely rank 12, White Feather's speed rivalled that of a 19th-rank Spirit Master.
Even while admiring that speed, Yu Yan conjured two more Profound Ice Chains; together with the first they began fencing White Feather in, shrinking the space he could move.