Chapter 452 - 449: Bloodline Clans and the Ancient Cang Realm’s Current Situation
Chapter 452: Chapter 449: Bloodline Clans and the Ancient Cang Realm’s Current Situation
With that, Yue Linglong gracefully entered the restaurant. Feng Hao didn’t bother with pleasantries, simply smiling as he followed her in.
The upscale restaurant had a quiet atmosphere. Young couples gazed at one another as they chatted, their mutual affection on full display. The teacher and student made their way to a table by the window, ordered some food, and slowly began to talk.
"Teacher Yue, do you come to places like this often?" Feng Hao asked, looking around and feeling slightly out of place.
What could he do? As a commoner through and through, he wasn’t used to such a high-end, classy atmosphere.
Yue Linglong smiled and took a delicate sip of her juice. Her beautiful eyes twinkled as she replied, "What do you think?"
"Er..." Feng Hao blushed, finding it hard to endure her tempting gaze. "With Teacher Yue’s beauty, you must have plenty of suitors. You’ve probably gotten sick of places like this by now."
"Heh..." Yue Linglong shot Feng Hao a playful glare and said, a little exasperated, "You know, the things you imagine aren’t always true."
Feng Hao gave a short, startled laugh, and the atmosphere suddenly grew awkward.
Fortunately, the food arrived just in time, breaking the awkward silence. The two started chatting and laughing, their conversation drifting from their time at Rongcheng Academy all the way to the present, stirring up many of Feng Hao’s memories.
"By the way, Teacher Yue, what are your plans for the future? Are you going to keep teaching at the Five Provinces Academy?" Feng Hao asked.
At his words, a trace of sadness crossed Yue Linglong’s face. Her gaze grew distant. "The Root-Seeking Ceremony is almost here. According to the rules of my mother’s family, I have to go be tested. It might not be long before I have to leave the Ancient Cang Realm."
Feng Hao paused, stunned. Only then did he recall that Yue Linglong possessed a bloodline talent. If he remembered correctly, Yue Linglong’s mother was a direct descendant of the Ting Family from the Mu Country, making her cousins with Ting Xiaoxue.
Ting Xiaoxue had mentioned it back then, but Feng Hao hadn’t paid it much mind.
"Are bloodline origins really that important?" Feng Hao asked, his brow furrowed.
"Of course. Otherwise, why would those Bloodline Clans go to such lengths to ensure the purity of their bloodlines?" Yue Linglong gave a bitter smile and continued, "For historical reasons, most people from the Ancient Cang Realm have a very weak sense of belonging to their home world. In their view, only by finding their true ancestral bloodline can they truly acknowledge their heritage and return to their roots."
At this, Yue Linglong gave a helpless, bitter smile. "But the truth is, after countless eons of propagation, the Human Race of the Ancient Cang Realm has long since blended and evolved into a new people."
"It’s not surprising that people think this way. After all, because of the Ancient Prohibition, the Ancient Cang Realm has been completely cut off from the outer Star Realm and has fallen severely behind."
After hearing Yue Linglong’s account, Feng Hao finally understood the true state of the Ancient Cang Realm. It seemed even more dire than he had imagined.
He had previously assumed it was a simple matter of brain drain. Now, it seemed the most critical issues were a crisis of cultural identity and societal division.
"Hasn’t anyone realized this is a problem?" Feng Hao asked grimly.
"Some have, but the Bloodline Clans have now spread across the entire Ancient Cang Realm. They are deeply and intricately rooted, unshakably firm. They are like sharp blades, viciously tearing apart the people’s sense of unity."
...
After parting ways with Yue Linglong, Feng Hao’s mood was incredibly heavy all the way back to the general store.
It was hard to imagine the people of the Ancient Cang Realm being so fractured. He, an outsider, had already developed a strong sense of belonging here, yet the native inhabitants were rejecting their own home world.
At that moment, Feng Hao truly understood the real crisis facing his home, Earth.
Earth was in the early stages of integrating with advanced cosmic civilizations, the period most susceptible to these kinds of problems. If a strong sense of collective identity couldn’t be established in time, the Human Race of Earth would soon exist in name only.
Perhaps one day in the future, people would forget that among the dazzling starry heavens, there once existed a beautiful, azure planet!
This was a future Feng Hao desperately wanted to avoid.
’Looks like I’ll have to bring this up the next time I contact Solos.’
Gazing up at the azure sky, Feng Hao was filled with a storm of complex emotions.
Back at the general store, Feng Hao had no heart to tend to the business. He couldn’t even quiet his mind enough to cultivate.
He lay awake all night. It wasn’t until the next morning that Feng Hao gradually calmed down. In his current situation, all he could do was worry. After all, he wasn’t yet capable of leaving the Ancient Cang Realm, let alone returning to Earth.
With this in mind, Feng Hao stopped dwelling on the matter. He focused on minding the store and patiently waited for Yao Girl to return.
Just then, a message came from Sun Yaowen through his Listening Stone. "Hahaha! You brat, get to the lab, quick! Research Project Number Two is finally a success!"
"Research Project Number Two?" Feng Hao froze for a second, then snapped to attention. "You mean the medicine that solves the Genetic Tree bottleneck?"
"Yes, that’s the one!" Sun Yaowen exclaimed, unable to hide his excitement.
"Okay, I’m on my way." Overjoyed, Feng Hao cut the connection and, without a second thought, bolted in the direction of the pharmacy department’s lab.
Back when he and Sun Yaowen were researching demonic beasts, they had explored many avenues of research, the first of which was the "Demonic Toxin Antibody." He never expected that after such a short time, Research Project Number Two would also be a success.
The pharmacy department was bustling with activity. New and old students alike moved back and forth, a far cry from the department he remembered.
But Feng Hao had no time to admire the scene. As soon as he reached the pharmacy department, he rushed straight for the lab.
"Where is it? Where is it? Let me see!" The moment he entered the lab, Feng Hao asked impatiently, grabbing a protective suit and pulling it on.
Seeing Feng Hao rush in, Sun Yaowen said with some exasperation, "I told you to come before and you wouldn’t. You sure are enthusiastic now."
Feng Hao just pursed his lips, ignoring Sun Yaowen. He strode over to Miao Feng. "Xiaomiaozi, quick, let me see what you’ve accomplished."
"Yes." Miao Feng didn’t dare to delay. He carefully retrieved a vial of golden liquid from the machine beside him.
Feng Hao eagerly took the vial and, without another word, rushed over to the various instruments to begin testing it.
The tests proved it: the golden liquid could indeed effectively resolve the bottleneck that occurs during the Genetic Tree’s evolution. In layman’s terms, it could effectively remedy stunted Genetic Tree development.
"So? Feel the urge to continue with the research?" Sun Yaowen asked, his eyes glinting with excitement.
"Don’t try to drag me into this," Feng Hao said, rolling his eyes. "I’m not that interested in research. I don’t mind helping out occasionally, but there’s no way I’m dedicating my life to it. Xiaomiaozi, on the other hand, could head in this direction."
At these words, Miao Feng grew visibly excited. "Master, you think so too?"
"That’s right." Feng Hao chuckled and nodded. "Your genetic aptitude is limited, so your chances of becoming a powerful Mage are extremely low. But you have a great talent for pharmacy, and I can see you’re also quite interested in demonic beast research. If you continue down this path, you have a bright future ahead of you."
"Don’t worry, I definitely won’t let you down!" Miao Feng nodded excitedly, his gaze firm and determined.