Castle of Black Iron

The excited Clan elders had not noticed Zhang Tie’s confused look at all. Until Zhang Tie slightly coughed and asked ”Sixth grandpa?” did the other two Clan elders take a deep breath and recovered their composure.

At this moment, Zhang Tie found that the three Clan elders were watching him like watching a gold baby being dug out of the ground, making him a bit uncomfortable.

”Ahem...ahem...did anyone else know that you’ve awakened this ancestral bloodline?” a Clan elder asked Zhang Tie.

”No, I’ve just awakened it a few days ago. I’ve not told others yet!”

”Don’t mention it to others in case of troubles, even in Huaiyuan Palace. What you revealed today will be listed as a top secret. Less than 10 people across Huaiyuan Palace would know your secret including the Clan elders in this hall. Therefore, you need to be careful!” that Clan elder warned Zhang Tie.

Although Zhang Tie thought it was unnecessary to show off this talent, after realizing that these Clan elders were so serious, Zhang Tie became a bit surprised, ”What’s the reason?”

”Do you know what is immortal bloodline?” that most excited Clan elder asked Zhang Tie.

Zhang Tie shook his head.

”Do you know the origin of Zhang? Have you ever thought about why the Chinese family name 张 （Zhang）is composed of ’弓’ and ’长’?” Zhang Tie’s sixth grandpa asked.

Zhang Tie became confused as he shook his head once again. Although the three questions looked simple, it was hard to answer.

”The family name ’张 (Zhang)’ is an influential Chinese family name. Zhang people is the direct descendant of Xuanyuan Emperor. When gods and demons fought, the ancestor of Zhang clan produced the most powerful crossbow in the world with his great strength and made a meritorious deed by sweeping all the demons. In order to commend him, Xuanyuan Emperor awarded him with the family name Zhang （张）, namely the one who was excel at using crossbow in the war between gods and demons. Our family name contains the honor of our bloodline!”

Speaking of the history of the family name Zhang, Zhang Tie’s sixth grandpa and the other two Clan elders all looked proud and honorable.

”Is this why the most powerful ancestral bloodline of Huaiyuan Palace is related to archery and rune equipment methods?” Zhang Tie was shocked inside as he understood it at once.

”Right!” Zhang Tie’s sixth grandpa nodded, ”Besides Zhang, Xuanyuan Emperor had many other descendants with distinctive abilities, who also made meritorious deeds in the war between gods and demons. Therefore, numerous ancestral bloodlines were inherited. After Xuanyuan Emperor, many Chines emperors were also awarded new surnames. It could be said that each Chinese surname has its brilliant history and contained at least one powerful ancestral bloodline at the beginning! For instance, Ouye（欧冶） Clan is famous for its sword casting skill; Dong（董） Clan originated from Quanlong（拳龙）, who was good at taming dragons in the war between gods and demons. Therefore, Dong Clan’s animal taming skill is unrivaled.”

Zhang Tie became stunned. ”There are so many Chinese surnames. If one surname contains one ancestral bloodline, there will be over one thousand Chinese ancestral bloodlines.” Zhang Tie asked.

Zhang Tie’s sixth grandpa nodded, ”Right, actually more than that. Honestly, we cannot count them even in three days. The knowledge about various ancestral bloodlines of surnames was very extensive and profound. It’s called the Learning about Ancestral Bloodlines. It’s a secret knowledge which could not be easily touched by commoners! Ancestral bloodlines are closely related to the prosperity and fate of a powerful clan. It has to be treated seriously.”

”What is immortal bloodline then?”

”There are numerous Chinese ancestral bloodlines which could be divided into eight ranks; heaven, earth, black, yellow, space, time, flood and wilderness. Your precise throwing ability belongs to wilderness. Immortal bloodline is out of the above eight ranks, which has not appeared before!”

”Erm, I feel this immortal bloodline is useless. Its effect could be achieved by common disguising medicament!” Zhang Tie shrugged.

”You know what?” the most excited Clan elder glared at Zhang Tie like watching an idiot who treated gold as common pyrite, ”How can you match the effect of this immortal bloodline with that of external forces? No matter how much do you make with your all-purpose medicament, it’s nothing to do with Zhang Clan. Zhang Clan will not interfere with your business even if you are the top rich in the country. However, do you think your immortal bloodline is just your private affair? Those clans without awakening ancestral bloodlines would finally disappear in the long river course of history no matter how brilliant they were. However, if an immortal bloodline is awakened in a clan, it indicates that this clan has a very excellent bloodline. The clan with an immortal bloodline might awaken a unique ancestral bloodline and have a distinctive ability. This would bring a great cohesiveness and influence to the clan. The clan’s social status would rise. Do you think that could be brought by disguising medicament at the cost of a few gold coins? You will know about it sooner or later that the true valuable things could not be measured by money!”

Zhang Tie hurriedly behaved modestly.

After giving Zhang Tie a lesson, that elder turned around and asked Zhang Tie’s sixth grandpa, ”Brother Murray, has Zhang Tie gotten married?”

”Not yet!” touching his gray mustache, Zhang Tie’s sixth grandpa smiled.

”How about arranging him to leave Huaiyuan Prefecture for the Eastern Continent with the next batch of clan apprentices?” another Clan elder suggested.

”Hmm, not bad. It’s really a bit dangerous to for him to stay here.” Zhang Tie’s sixth grandpa nodded.

”When he arrives there, we’d better arrange his marriage. He needs to give birth to babies as soon as possible!”

”That’s reasonable!”

Zhang Tie finally could not wait to interrupt them as his heart pounded.

”Hmm, your excellency...I want to say something!”

”Hahahaha, don’t worry. We know that. The Clan will not interfere with your marriage too much. You will have a great autonomy. The Clan will provide you with some proper girls. You can choose at your will. After that, the Clan will host a wedding ceremony for you. It is obligatory for you to do that for the Clan. Additionally, the Clan will not stop you from marrying other women. You can marry as many as possible if you like.” Zhang Tie’s sixth grandpa explained.

After hearing his words, the other two Clan elders laughed.

”Erm...I...I cannot leave Waii Sub-Continent now!” Zhang Tie plucked up his courage.

”You cannot leave Waii Sub-Continent?” all the Clan elders frowned slightly, ”Why?”

”I’ve promised others...to not leave Waii Sub-Continent until it’s completely collapsed!” Zhang Tie gritted his teeth.

”Fart!” the most excited Clan elder smacked onto the table in front of him, crushing it into powders at once...

The atmosphere in the hall froze immediately...

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