My Clan Leader Father

"Good grandson, come here for Grandma's hug."

This was the first time he saw his grandmother when he was gradually recovering his past life memories and starting to observe the Great Wilderness.

Wu Wang only remembered that when his grandmother held him in her arms back then, her trembling hands... almost shook him unconscious.

His grandmother loved him dearly and had a playful, childlike innocence.

She would playfully spar with her grandson like a child, fighting over toys, deliberately making him cry, and then recounting Grandpa's heroic demeanor of "don't cry."

The most memorable time was when he was seven years old. He was by the lake studying the structure of a waterwheel. His grandmother's carriage appeared behind him. This grandmother, who could barely walk and whose body had withered with age, specifically jumped down from the half-zhang-high carriage, kicked him into the lake, and then ran away with her cane.

Like the wind.

There was also the time when he was five. He stole his grandmother's false teeth and smeared them with the five-flavor powder he got from the Western Plains. His grandmother, leaning on her cane with a kind and friendly expression, chased him around the Royal Court for half a day.

Witnessing this scene, his father was so moved that tears streamed down his face, feeling that his grandmother had regained a new lease on life and could live for decades longer.

Thinking back on these now, it really...

Wu Wang's eyes turned a little red. He sniffled forcefully, and many elders in the tent raised their hands to wipe away tears.

"Young Master, everyone has been called over," General Xiong San called from outside the tent, not daring to speak too loudly. After all, General San's parents and uncles were inside, and they might get angry and hit him.

"Suqing," Wu Wang looked at Lin Suqing, who was beside him, "My grandmother liked lively occasions, and the customs of the Northern Plains don't involve staying up all night. Can you help me arrange some customs from the Human Domain?"

Lin Suqing asked solemnly, "The full set?"

"Do your best. Consider it as accompanying her for me."

After speaking, Wu Wang glanced at his grandmother's remains again, lowered his head, and left the tent, heading towards the fire-lit dark night.

He had only taken two steps when he heard Lin Suqing giving instructions inside the tent, asking for long tables, candle holders, offerings, yellow paper, and a brazier for burning paper...

He turned his head and saw Lin Suqing first take a peach wood sword from her storage treasure and place it in a corner. Then she spread out a futon on the ground, her face solemn, and said loudly:

"Heaven is endlessly high, and the earth is vast and populated by heroes! A true heroine, a hero of the Northern Plains! A loved one has ridden the yellow crane to the west, their spirit remains, the tower is not empty!"

What?

This Clear Wind Gazing Moon Sect has such elegant names and such broad services?

The tent was immediately filled with intermittent sobs, and Wu Wang's mood also turned somewhat somber.

Ahead, men and women dressed in ceremonial robes stood with their heads bowed. Their faces were grim, and most of the priests in the front rows were already white-haired.

Wu Wang had thought of many things to say before.

He had wanted to start with "The clan is the place where we are born and raised," and he had also considered starting with "Which is more important, reverence for the Star Gods or the lives of the clan members?"

He actually wanted to ask these priests.

If the beasts that descended from the sky were a gift from the Star Gods, then why, in times of famine, in those years that were like purgatory, when two or three out of every ten clan members starved to death, were there no ordinary herds of beasts descending from the sky?

Why did he, a Young Master who originally intended to just muddle through life, spend years designing, years finding the right words, and almost all his effort to establish a grain storage system and enlighten the clan members about animal husbandry?

It was simply because he had witnessed the tragedy of famine when he was three years old.

But...

Looking at the people in front of him.

These figures standing before him, standing between the tents, standing on this muddy grassland, Wu Wang suddenly fell silent.

All the words rose to his throat and were swallowed back down.

What reason could they not understand?

They were all older than him, more experienced, and most of them knew the Northern Plains better than he did. In the end, at noon, they had simply lost some courage and had no thought of resistance.

Wu Wang lowered his head slightly. The light from the torches on both sides illuminated his profile, but there was always a sliver of shadow that couldn't be illuminated.

"Young Master."

The current Grand Priestess stepped forward half a step, her eyes full of guilt. "It was us..."

"My grandmother is gone."

The Grand Priestess's body trembled. This female priestess, who had already reached old age, lowered her head and sighed. Wu Wang's grandmother was her teacher and a close friend she had known for a long time.

Many priests' eyes reddened, their faces filled with deep guilt.

Wu Wang's voice was still relatively calm as he said in a low voice:

"A total of two thousand two hundred and thirty-two people in the clan died today, and over sixteen hundred were seriously injured. Because this is the Royal Court, most of the casualties were the elderly and children.

This is even considering that most people had already left the Royal Court when the fierce beasts attacked. Otherwise, the casualties would be incalculable."

The surrounding tents fell completely silent, with only the occasional crackling sound of the torch flames.

"I am the Great Star Sacrifice."

Wu Wang raised his head slightly, a self-mocking smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"When the fierce beast attacked, I realized how useless the Great Star Sacrifice was. I couldn't even get its attention."

"Young Master, please don't blame yourself. This isn't a power we can contend with."

A female priestess with a kind face said, her voice trembling, "This is the Star God's Blessing, a gift from the starry sky, the will of the Star God."

"Yes, this is the Star God's Blessing, a reward from the Star God to her most diligent followers!"

Wu Wang suddenly looked up, his expression solemn, his eyes remarkably clear.

"For a long time, the Star God's Blessing has occurred every one or two hundred years. The chosen clans were always the most powerful at the time. We never asked why.

Have you all ever thought about why this is!"

The people in the large tent behind him were drawn in, peeking out.

The priests, who had been silent, now looked up at Wu Wang with some surprise, gazing at their Young Master's face radiating a sacred light.

What the Young Master was saying now was completely different from what they had expected...

"Because the Star God cannot understand us! Just as we cannot understand the Star God!

She guards the endless starry sky, protects the skies of the Northern Plains, cycles through drought and rain, and watches over the entire Northern Plains!

To speculate about the Star God with our own self-righteous ideas is disrespect to the Star God!

Those thoughts of wanting the Star God to notice oneself are true foolishness!

The Star God does not see the life and death of one person, a few people, or thousands of people. She sees the peace and survival of countless lives in the entire Northern Plains!"

Inside the tent, Lin Suqing's eyes widened as she heard this.

What nonsense was the Young Master spouting?

'Gods are merely beings who long ago mastered the Dao principles,' wasn't that what the Young Master had told her before?

How could...

The priests' expressions shifted from initial shock to thoughtful consideration.

Wu Wang continued to shout:

"The Star God's Blessing is already the weakest beast that the Star God can manifest on the earth with divine power!

Using the weakest beast to test the strongest clans, this is the Star God's most gentle blessing to her people.

And we!

Cannot even bear the weakest beast sent by the Star God, cannot even open its body to embrace the Star God's true gift!

This is a disgrace!

It is a disgrace to the Northern Plains, and even more so, a disgrace to the priests of my Bear Hug Tribe!"

He said, "If the Star God wanted to destroy us, why would she use a fierce beast? The Star God would only need a single thought."

He added, "When the blessing descends, why should we complain that it has chosen us?

What we need to reflect on is how to receive the Star God's grace when the blessing descends!

Allowing the blessing to disappear at the edge of the land is the greatest insult to the Star God!"

The Grand Priestess's voice trembled slightly, "We... have we always misunderstood..."

Wu Wang sighed deeply, "These words were actually passed to me by my grandmother through Suqing. At the moment of her final sublimation, she heard a sigh from the Star God, carrying a hint of loneliness.

We have disappointed the Star God."

Lin Suqing's body tensed immediately, her small face filled with seriousness. Though she didn't know what to do, she stood there and nodded vigorously.

The confusion in the priests' eyes deepened.

Wu Wang's voice returned to calm:

"So, you have never truly understood the Star God's will.

Look at the starry sky, and all of you, stand here for two hours."

With that, Wu Wang turned and walked back into the tent, kneeling beside his grandmother and the flower clusters, quietly praying.

Soon, whispers could be heard from outside the tent:

"We've always misunderstood. The Star God's Blessing requires us to actively receive it?"

"The Young Master is not only the future leader, but also the youngest Great Star Priest. He will definitely be recognized by the Star God..."

"The Star God's Blessing is the Star God's will, but the Star God's will is to give us trials and wealth, not disaster."

"Right, if the Star God wanted to bring disaster, she would just bring famine or drought."

The whispers gradually grew louder. The priests were debating, arguing, each showing regret, becoming increasingly agitated.

"Chief Priest, let's go and accept the trial!"

"The Star God protects us. The fierce beast is our enemy. How could the Star God possibly make the fierce beast a divine envoy!"

"Let's go kill that fierce beast!"

"The Star Invocation Technique we cultivated so diligently should be used at this time! What were we afraid of before, what were we hesitating about! Our tribesmen didn't die in vain!"

"We were too far away at the time to stop the fireball..."

Inside the tent, Lin Suqing stared blankly at the scene. Were these the same priests she had seen before, the ones who kept kneeling and bowing to the fierce beast?

Wu Wang felt a bit speechless inwardly, and a touch of guilt crept in as he looked at his grandmother's remains.

He had just impersonated his grandmother, but there was no other way.

The priests' fear and worship of the Star God were deeply ingrained, a result of countless prayers and self-hypnosis. If he had rallied them to fight the fierce beast in the name of the clan, it would have led to a severe conflict between their clan loyalty and their religious devotion.

Some might have even committed suicide over it.

So what other options were there?

There was one: do the opposite.

He would redefine 'Star God's Blessing' with his identity as the youngest Great Star Priest, integrating their sense of belonging to the clan and the Star God to generate the strongest fighting spirit!

Wu Wang had actually entertained this thought for a long time, but today, by witnessing the entire process of the Star God and its blessing through his mother's memories, he finally put this bold idea into practice.

[Divine Interpretation Authority].

That is, the authority and power to interpret gods and miracles.

The Star God worship in the Northern Plains was relatively simple, with people only knowing how to pray and offer supplications to the Star God. The core of divine authority lay in the Seven-Day Sacrifice council, but the Sun Sacrifices were detached from the clans, residing on various great snowy mountains.

If the Star God could not manifest its divine power or speak, then it was like a little girl dressed up by others.

Of course, this was all contingent on the Seven-Day Sacrifice also remaining silent.

Incidentally, Wu Wang had previously researched some ancient records and discovered that after succeeding to the position, the Sun Sacrifice, regardless of which tribe they came from, would transform into a humanoid form similar to humans.

This was likely related to Great Goddess Nuwa referencing the Innate Dao Body when creating humankind.

Returning to the current problem.

To eliminate this Zhuhuai fierce beast that had fallen from the sky without suffering too many casualties, the assistance of the clan's priests was essential.

Powerful clans possessed flying mounts. If those strong individuals decided to come and aid in the battle, they could arrive sequentially by noon.

At this moment, everything was ready.

The priests were already in a state of high excitement. If the Grand Priestess hadn't held them back, some would have already rushed out to fight the fierce beast to the death.

'I need to come up with a beast-slaying plan.'

Wu Wang closed his eyes, sketching the body of the Zhuhuai fierce beast with lines in his mind, diligently recalling the changes in its body parts as it moved.

Finding its weakness would make their efforts twice as effective.

About an hour later.

Woooo—

The sound of a horn, a rapid and majestic horn!

The ground rumbled as if thousands of troops were galloping across the prairie!

Wu Wang suddenly stood up, his expression filled with unconcealed excitement, and quickly rushed out of the tent.

"The Chieftain is back!"

"The Chieftain and the others are back!"

The previously somewhat somber camp suddenly came alive. People rushed out from various tents, looking towards the north where the horn's sound originated.

As Wu Wang strode forward, he inwardly cautioned himself that he seemed to be somewhat reliant on his father.

It couldn't be helped. His father in this life was incredibly powerful and treated him exceptionally well. His father's strength was different from the power of Star Invocation Techniques; it was akin to Body Cultivation in the Human Domain, though unfortunately, it couldn't extend lifespan.

His plan required his father to understand it in the shortest possible time, and then his father would command the subsequent reinforcements from the Northern Plains... strong... individuals...

Huh? Is that Dad's mount?

At the tent entrance, Wu Wang looked up in the direction where the fierce beast was being contained and saw a snow-white giant bear with two wings attached to its back soaring into the sky. It let out a roar in mid-air, spewing a massive ball of light from its mouth.

A burly figure leaped from the bear's back, landing directly on the bulging spine of the fierce beast!

Wu Wang, empowered by Star Invocation Technique, focused his gaze. He could see his father holding a great axe high, his long hair flying wildly, his beast-skin battle attire fluttering, his powerful muscles seemingly aflame, and his face contorted in ferocity!

"How dare you touch my people, I'll split you alive! Ah—"

Huh?

Why did he just attack directly!

With a boom, dazzling fire erupted from the bulging back of the Zhuhuai giant beast, and a large fireball shot into the sky, instantly flinging the figure away.

Just then!

Caw—

A high-pitched eagle cry suddenly pierced the night sky. A strangely shaped osprey descended from the heavens, flying rapidly towards the camp. As it passed over the giant beast's back, another figure leaped down, brandishing two large hammers and letting out a thunderous laugh as they fiercely smashed down on the beast's arched back.

"Xiong Han, you useless piece of trash! Did marrying Cang Xue make your spine go soft?

Hahahaha! I've had my eye on your tribe's giant crossbows for ages!

The Chieftain of the Great Wave Tribe of the Northern Plains is here! I'll slay this giant beast for you! Prepare good wine for me! Hahahaha!"

Then...

A roaring sound arose again, and the second large fireball shot towards the sky. The burly man's scorched figure, still trailing flames, drew an elegant arc as he crashed deep into the grasslands.

"Quick, save the leader!"

The Grand Priestess called out, and the entire camp erupted in a commotion. The goshawk also hurriedly turned its head, chasing after the direction its leader had been sent flying.

But before they could charge forward, cries of "Wuwuwuyaya!" once again came from the spots where the two figures had landed. Both figures leaped up simultaneously, soaring dozens of feet into the air. Facing the sudden burst of firelight, they raised their great hammers and axes high!

"People of the Northern Plains!"

"We bow to no one!"

Wu Wang: ...

Ah, the plan.