Chapter 54: Aftermath

Noah Ji didn’t expect Oliver Chen to learn so quickly.

Even though Oliver had a rather aloof personality, he felt a bit uneasy seeing Ethan Chen’s satisfied gaze.

After all, his quick learning wasn’t due to his own effort but because of the Sacred Tree.

Oliver didn’t explain; he wasn’t planning to compete for the top three spots in the clan anyway, so let them misunderstand.

“Isn’t this the Grand Ancestor Long Fist?”

“Oliver is truly a genius, mastering it in just one day.”

…

Compliments from the clan members reached Oliver’s ears, but he pretended not to hear them.

After dealing with Jay Li, Ethan Chen, still uneasy, carefully inspected the Sacred Tree. Seeing that it was indeed unharmed, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then Ethan remembered the secret passage and immediately issued an order:

“Elijah, you and Oliver take a few clan members into the secret passage, check for any flaws, and see if there are any other Li Family members outside.”

Although the secret passage was no longer a family secret, it was still another route for the clan and needed to be secured quickly.

Looking at the damage to the Ancestral Hall, Ethan’s eyes showed a hint of regret.

He knew that the remaining members of the Li Clan had gone to Disordered Burial Mountain, but he hadn’t taken precautions.

Even though the chances of such an event were small, he should have considered it.

Ultimately, it was his carelessness that almost led to the destruction of the Sacred Tree.

Fortunately, the Sacred Tree was still intact and undamaged.

Although he wanted to pursue them, he knew Joshua Li and the others had already fled far away and wouldn’t stay in place.

Moreover, there was an Innate Realm Green Wolf deep in Disordered Burial Mountain, so Ethan had to give up and instructed everyone not to pursue too deeply.

After everything was settled, Ethan finally turned his gaze to the Sacred Tree in front of him and sighed inwardly.

The clan’s strength was still too weak.

But developing a clan wasn’t something that could be rushed.

All great clans had been passed down for decades or even centuries before they reached a certain scale. The current Chen Clan didn’t even have a single Innate Realm Warrior.

Above, watching the Chen Clan members clean up the aftermath, Noah Ji finally relaxed.

The situation just now was quite dangerous. He hadn’t fully grown yet, and if a Blood Condensation Realm Warrior had gotten close, it could have been disastrous, especially since Jay Li was in the late-stage Blood Condensation Realm.

Fortunately, at the critical moment, he had strengthened one of his roots, barely holding off the attack.

It was also fortunate that Jay Li hadn’t fought to the death; otherwise, the outcome would have been uncertain.

Strengthening four roots had used up 7.5 points of Noah’s vitality, causing his vitality to drop below ten points again.

To maintain his perception and state, Noah converted all the Qi and Blood he had reserved, replenishing his vitality.

However, this also gave Noah a new sense of crisis.

This time was an accident, but with the current strength of the Chen Clan, there was no guarantee there wouldn’t be another accident.

He needed to become stronger and also make the Chen Clan stronger to handle risks.

If necessary, he could communicate with Ethan Chen through his roots.

At least from his current perspective, the Chen Clan had significant flaws in its development. At this rate, who knew how long it would take for the clan to grow.

Originally, Noah didn’t want to get too involved in clan affairs; he just wanted to be a tree!

Enjoying the clan’s sacrifices and occasionally lending a hand was enough.

If he had to handle everything himself, he might as well become the Clan Chief.

Although he was in a hurry, it wasn’t urgent. Noah decided to wait until the fruits on the tree matured before taking action.

After Jay Li’s death, Noah saw a new living soul appear in the Ancestral Hall.

This living soul was a replica of Jay Li, but its expression was dull and unconscious, not much different from other living souls.

However, its body was more substantial and in better condition than the many living souls Noah had previously converted on the spiritual positions.

Looking at the living soul in front of him, Noah activated his consciousness, and the living soul was quickly absorbed by him.

This was a new ability Noah gained after his transformation, allowing him to absorb living souls without using his roots as a medium.

Noah activated his supernatural power to condense the soul, attempting to convert it.

But then, a prompt suddenly appeared before Noah’s eyes:

[Bound to the clan, cannot condense living souls outside the Chen Clan.]

This prompt stunned Noah. So there was such a restriction? How was he supposed to organize his living soul army?

He had hoped to use this to make the Chen Clan stronger! Now it seemed impossible.

Seeing that Jay Li’s living soul was useless, Noah’s branches swayed slightly, creating a breeze. As the breeze passed, Jay Li’s living soul instantly dissipated, turning into a dense Yin Qi, which was absorbed by Noah’s trunk.

After absorbing the Yin Qi, the gray fruit on the tree seemed to grow a bit larger.

At this moment, Ethan Chen was still waiting in the Ancestral Hall for the clan members to return. When Jay Li’s living soul dissipated, Ethan felt a cool breeze brush his face.

This puzzled Ethan. As a late-stage Blood Condensation Realm Warrior, how could he feel such a chill?

Ethan turned to look at the Sacred Tree in front of him and noticed its current changes, but his expression remained calm.

The Sacred Tree was ever-changing; he was used to it.

Half an hour later, Oliver and the others returned from the secret passage.

As they returned, they brought back several fierce beasts.

According to Elijah’s report, the green stone outside the secret passage had been moved, and there were many traces left inside the passage. But outside the passage, the traces were minimal.

Moreover, when they arrived, there were several fierce beasts outside the passage.

Unfortunately, these beasts weren’t very strong. The strongest one was only in the mid-stage Blood Condensation Realm. Additionally, the beasts attacked each other, making it easy for Oliver and the others to kill them.

After killing the beasts, they checked the surroundings and found no traces of the Li Clan members.

Finally, they tidied up the secret passage, moved the green stone back, reinforced it, and left.

After hearing Elijah’s report, Ethan carefully examined the hunted beasts. Upon smelling a special scent, Ethan’s eyes lit up.

Thyme, unique to the Li Family.

It seemed these beasts were lured by Jay Li. Unfortunately, with an Innate Realm Green Wolf deep in Disordered Burial Mountain, even the beasts outside the passage were fewer. Even with the thyme, it couldn’t attract many beasts, but it did bring some gains to the clan.

“Alright, it’s getting late. You all should go rest.”

“As for these beasts, sacrifice them all to the Sacred Tree.”

Earlier, Ethan had noticed Noah’s roots, a new ability the Sacred Tree hadn’t shown before. It seemed the Sacred Tree had consumed a lot and needed replenishment.

Above, Noah silently nodded in agreement:

“At least you understand!”