Eternal Heavenly Emperor-Chapter 391 - 381: Bizarre Grandpa
The He Family was different now.
The reason being that the contemporary Family Head of the He Family, He Lingtian, was on his deathbed.
This Great Family Head, He Lingtian, had lived a romantic life. Every woman he fancied, he pursued; and with his peak cultivation of a War Emperor, coupled with the status of a Gu Clan’s family head, he was absolutely a "tall, rich, and handsome". As such, despite his advanced age, he still thrived in love affairs, always successful.
The old master was also something of a bizarre case in the world of womanizers, never forcing himself but merely relying on his charm or power to influence. Thus, even though Old Man He’s reputation in Fire State wasn’t exactly good, it wasn’t bad enough for people to mock him either.
Now, the old master was over 900 years old and had finally lost interest in chasing women.
For such a romantic figure, losing interest in pursuing women certainly meant his time was drawing near.
In fact, a War Emperor generally only had a lifespan of around 500 years; with the aid of precious Spiritual Medicine for extending life, the maximum was merely a thousand years. But this was an extreme number, rarely achieved by anyone.
Old Master He had lived for more than 900 years, definitely an outlier in the longevity realm, but unless he could make a further breakthrough to become a War God, the timeline for his passing was likely within these few years.
The Gu Clan could not produce another War God—at least Old Master He could not break this fate. As his end neared, Old Master He finally decided to act seriously for once in his life.
He wanted to select his successor.
Indeed, he now had only one living son, and He Lingtian himself was an extremely dominant character. If he firmly intended to hand over the position of family head to his son, at least no one would dare to oppose it before his death.
But he did not do so, instead summoning the younger generations of both the main and branch families to the main house, to choose someone of the purest bloodline as the successor to the family head.
Old Master He was close to death, but his mind was far from muddled, in fact, he was very astute.
He knew his son was weak and controlled in every move and word by Gao Zhen; thus, if the He Family fell into He Shilong’s hands, it would effectively be Gao Zhen’s.
And Gao Zhen was the prized daughter of the Gao Family, another imperial-level power in Fire State. Gao Zhen was not He Lingtian’s original spouse, but someone he had married more than 300 years ago after the death of his first wife.
At that time, He Lingtian was already over 600 years old. Logically, at such an age, he should have focused solely on martial arts, but that wouldn’t be He Lingtian, would it? Would he still be the peculiar figure in the realm of romancers?
Back then, Miss Gao was just in her twenties, in the prime of her youth with notable martial arts talent. Her marriage into the He Family had caused a sensation in Fire State, as it was a union between two great imperial-level powers, not just between ordinary clan members, but with the contemporary Family Head, seen as close collaboration between two great powers.
He Lingtian wasn’t newly romantic at that time; he already had nine children, but they had consecutively met with "accidents" and died. Considering the subsequent events, everyone guessed it was Gao Zhen’s doing, presumably with the help of the Gao Family, but without evidence, who would dare to make baseless accusations?
Under normal circumstances, the headship of the He Family could only be passed to He Shilong, who was like a puppet under Gao Zhen’s control. Eventually the Gao Family would be able to infiltrate and help Gao Zhen eliminate rivals and consume the He Family.
Old Master He had played around all his life. This time, he finally did something serious, deciding to go big by summoning all the blood heirs to select the most suitable successor.
It is said that when Gao Zhen heard about Old Master He’s decision, she smashed a table made of the extremely precious "Heavenly Water Wood" on the spot.
After all, there were too many potential heirs now. Gao Zhen couldn’t kill them all, which left her no choice but to look for other ways to help her son seize the position of family head. It also meant that Chu Hao was safe for the meantime, as Gao Zhen wouldn’t stretch her hand towards him just yet.
Upon realizing this, Chu Hao suddenly understood—the two who had initially come to the Heavenly Spring to attempt an assassination on him must have been from the Gao Family. Having withdrawn subsequently, they likely received the news of Old Master He’s decision and thus retreated.
The actions by Gao Zhen over the years can’t possibly be her work alone; the Gao Family had planned and helped from behind the scenes. Now, the Gao Family would also have been caught off guard, frantically thinking of countermeasures on one hand and cursing He Lingtian continuously on the other.
In the Martial Arts World, the position of Family Head is traditionally passed to one’s own children or grandchildren. Where is it passed to the side branches? You, as a lifelong romantic who never did anything serious, finally did something utterly peculiar on your deathbed, nearly ruining the Gao Family’s centuries of planning.
Now, Chu Hao’s return to the He Family meant his safety was highly guaranteed.
Listening to He Luo’s analysis, Chu Hao couldn’t help but shiver inwardly. This grandfather—probably without doubt, was truly an incredibly peculiar person. And considering how devoted Chu Tianyun was, it was hard to imagine him having such a father who lived and romanced until old age.
As going back to the Spirit Spring Sect was temporarily impossible, and Chu Hao had no intentions of being a street rat in Cang State, having to walk gingerly lest a War Venerate should pop out to capture him to claim a reward at the Spirit Spring Sect, he decided to visit the He Family instead.
Because his bloodline had yet to undergo the cleansing of the Ancestral Pool, and this step was indeed necessary. Sooner would be better than later. With the end of the year approaching the Nine States Heaven Talented Assembly, Chu Hao certainly did not plan to just be a bystander.
During Lin Zhining’s provocation, he had mentioned that Yue State had already had five geniuses on the Earth Tiger List advance to the Warrior Realm, whereas Chu Hao had only broken through half a year later. Although it was only a half-year difference, for supreme talents, half a year could mean a difference of two or even three minor realms.
Chu Hao was at the Double Great Perfection of the Three Minor Realms, towering above ordinary warriors, not to mention suppressing those who were two or three, even four or five realms below him. Could those capable of climbing onto the Earth Tiger List be anything less than geniuses at the Double Great Perfection of the Three Minor Realms?
And these were just the talents from Yue State, which ranked second to last among the Nine States of Sky Martial Star, other states surely had even more and stronger geniuses.
Although Chu Hao was confident, he did not believe that he could currently defeat a genius-level War General—Su Wanyue had already proved that the talents of the Gu Clan could indeed step into the War General Realm at this age, and that had already been the case three years ago.
Perhaps, Su Wanyue was already a War King now.
Going to the He Family was his only chance to rapidly advance his realm within half a year.
But the He Family had a Gao Zhen, and this old witch was no good news; 20 years ago, she had killed his mother, turning him into an idiot, and later even sent assassins after him—this vendetta was indisputably undeniable.
At the moment, Gao Zhen appeared to be merely the visible culprit, but the real schemers were likely to be the upper echelons of the Gao Family.
Therefore, if he sought vengeance, he was most likely going to face another member of the Gu Clan.
Chu Hao could not help but laugh at the thought. Already having offended a War Emperor, even though the Gu Clan was definitely more formidable than a War Emperor, they were not War Gods. No matter how formidable, their power had its limits.
Considering that, what did it matter if he made one more member of the Gu Clan an enemy?
"I accept the challenge!" Chu Hao declared spiritedly—he must enhance his cultivation swiftly and return to Spirit Spring Sect to thrash War Emperor Kongming, that old oddball who doted on his descendants to such an extent.
The Blood Bat flew exceptionally fast and steady, crossing Cang State in just two days. As Cang State was bordered by Yue State and Earth State, the journey was still quite extensive, so it took another nine days before they finally entered Fire State.
As soon as he entered Fire State, Chu Hao immediately felt all the cells in his body become more active, actively absorbing the fire elements around him and continuously converting them into his own Star Force.
He was amazed; this place truly lived up to the name of Fire State, with Fire Element significantly exceeding the other five elements. Here, martial artists with a Fire Attribute could definitely cultivate faster than the average person, whereas those with other attributes would be slower.
The Blood Bat continued to fly, and it was another day before it finally landed.
Earthflame County.
This was the location of the He Family, which ruled this kingdom—all the mountains and rivers belonged to them unless another power overthrew the He Family and seized everything for themselves.
The ancestral land of the He Family was on the largest island of the Extreme Fire Sea, where the ground flames burst all year round, making it a hellish existence for ordinary people, but for the He Family, it was a sacred place for cultivation.
This was because there was an active volcano that frequently erupted flame crystals, which, for martial artists with a Fire Attribute, were sacred items for cultivation that significantly accelerated the process.
The Blood Bat stopped midway up this volcano. Led by He Luo, Chu Hao and the Barbaric Girl followed, with Fat Cat held in the girl’s arms, continuously looking around with an excitement that was imperceptible to others.
"The date for selecting the new Family Head is drawing closer, and both the main and branch lineages of the younger generation have arrived, so there are far more people than usual," He Luo explained as he led them.
Chu Hao had already heard from He Luo that the details of the selection for the next Family Head had only recently been announced: non-main family members were limited to those under a hundred years old, while the main family had a more relaxed limit, allowing those under three hundred years old to participate.
Since the selection criteria were not based on strength, there was no need to worry about age differences leading to elimination.
There were two criteria for selection. First, loyalty; prioritizing the interests of the He Family above all else, with absolutely no self-sacrifice for the benefit of others. Second, the purity of the bloodline, as only a sufficiently pure bloodline could command the Ancestral Artifacts. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
—Why doesn’t the Netherfire Sword need Star Force or Soul Power for activation? It’s because this Treasure Tool is very special, it can only be driven by the bloodline; of course, cultivation level is still required, but it can differ by two major realms.
This meant that even a War Emperor could operate a Divine Artifact, making it even harder for the Ancient Clans to decline since the requirement was lower.
All members of the He Family agreed with He Lingtian’s decision, because according to ancestral rules, they had no hope at all, as the Family Head could only be chosen from among the descendants of the current Head.
The only ones who had objections were definitely Gao Zhen and her son.
"I will take you to meet the Family Head, Sir!" He Luo said. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)
