Becoming an Elder
Su Zhan had been focused on the Artifact fragments, and only when he came to his senses did he realize that the Moon Beast was staring at him intently with a rather strange look in its eyes.
Its eyes were full of wariness and suspicion; it hadn't shown this look even when I burned it like that.
Su Zhan suspected that he might recognize the Artifact.
Without thinking twice, I blurted out the question.
The Moon Beast seemed to awaken suddenly, shaking its head frantically, saying, "I don't recognize it! I don't recognize it! I've never seen this thing before!"
Its attitude further solidified Su Zhan's conjecture.
What could make the Moon Beast so nervous? Considering the Moon Beast's age, it must have witnessed the Myriad Races War.
In that case, it's normal to recognize this thing. How exactly did this Artifact break back then?
He couldn't help but recall the Artifact in the illusion that self-destructed to help him.
He grew increasingly suspicious of whether it was an illusion or reality, but there were no answers yet, so he could only continue searching, gathering all the Artifact before figuring out a solution.
For the rest of the time, he tried every means to extract information from the Moon Beast. It seemed that it would be more difficult to survive here than he had imagined.
There are many seemingly plausible but actually suspicious points here. The Moon Worship Tribe keeping it a secret from us, and they are extremely loyal to the main lineage.
Judging from their expressions, Su Zhan knew he wouldn't get any useful information from them.
He stayed there for a while but didn't get any clues about the Artifact. It seemed that the Artifact were dispensable to them, or even forgotten.
No one had ever mentioned such a thing before, which puzzled Su Zhan. The power of the Artifact must be quite formidable.
Putting aside other matters, the Drum Tribe treats their Artifact as treasures, arranging annual High Priest and offerings to receive blessings.
The power of the Artifact has already become an important source of power for the entire race, and it's quite strange that something so powerful is buried here.
Even the Moon Beast was unwilling to provide Su Zhan with more information, but he would answer truthfully when asked about other things.
But when asked about this, they would immediately retort, "I don't know, I don't know."
Su Zhan had no other options but to try and extract information from him indirectly.
Through this conversation, they also obtained a lot of information about the Moon Worship Tribe from the Moon Beast.
The common characteristic of the Three Great Clans is their long history; no one knows how many years they have existed.
It seems they existed as far back as recorded history, though they weren't that powerful then.
In High Antiquity times, when various races flourished, there were many extremely powerful races.
The strength of the Moon Worship Tribe is at most in the upper-middle range, but it will never be among the top.
However, too many races perished in that great war, and those that did not disappear were severely weakened by the war.
Like the Devil Race, many other races declined and chose to retreat into seclusion.
Especially those powerful races at the time, who were the main forces in the war, suffered the greatest damage and impact.
Su Zhan was filled with worry, lying in bed thinking non-stop, the scenes from today flashing through his mind again and again.
They have already become the strongest race, so why continue to raise such ferocious Moon Beast?
Its own strength is not weak, and it has maintained a high status over the years without encountering any major threats.
Logically, there should be no need to continue taking such a big risk; on the contrary, the weakened state brought on by the Moon Beast is a greater disadvantage.
The Contract should have been dissolved long ago to escape the pain, weakness, and the ever-present potential backlash.
But they didn't do that, and most importantly, they couldn't get any information about the Artifact here.
He knew the system wouldn't make mistakes; since the system said the Artifact was here, then it must be here.
The more he thought about it, the more tired and exhausted he became. A wave of weakness washed over him, and he stopped resisting and fell into a deep sleep.
He hadn't had a proper night's sleep since he embarked on this journey, and this time he slept straight until the sun was high in the sky.
With his current status, no one would bother him, and he slept very soundly.
When I opened my eyes again, everything was clear, and my strength seemed to have increased.
He was overjoyed and quickly found an open space on the back mountain. With a gentle wave of his hand, dust instantly billowed up.
Half of the mountain was gone, and his strength increased rapidly.
Given this unexpected surprise, Su Zhan felt puzzled.
The Moon Beast ran out and said to him, "What's so strange about that? Since you've signed Contract with me, your strength will naturally increase."
"That Contract Book isn't as simple as you think. Where did you find it?"
Su Zhan was overjoyed; he hadn't expected it to have such an effect!
Unfortunately, the Contract Book only has a few chapters. I only have three left in my inventory, so I'll have to be more careful with them in the future.
Make as many Contract as possible with these powerful beings to gain power; no one loses out.
He was thinking to himself that the commotion he made while practicing earlier had probably attracted a group of the Moon Worship Tribe to come and investigate.
Upon seeing Su Zhan, they were somewhat confused. Who was this person?
Upon seeing the Token hanging on Su Zhan's waist, their expression immediately turned serious. "So it's Elder. We juniors were unaware of your identity and apologize for any inconvenience caused!" They then turned to leave.
Su Zhan found their attitude baffling.
Hearing them address him as Elder, he made some guesses and waved, saying, "Wait, don't leave yet. Do you mean this Token represents Elder?"
Those people clearly hadn't expected Su Zhan to be unaware of these things, but they dared not refuse to answer, saying, "Yes, carrying this Token proves that a person already possesses the status and authority of Elder."
Su Zhan was overjoyed. He was playing with the little thing in his hand. Back in the Drum Tribe, he had always heard people call Elder Elder.
Being an Elder is a really cool and awesome thing, I never thought it would be my turn so soon.
He nodded in satisfaction. "Hmm, not bad. Alright, you may all leave."
It seems that the respect and importance I received from the Moon Worship Tribe this time exceeded my expectations.
They also showed sufficient sincerity and respect. Su Zhan was very satisfied.
The thought of letting their Moon Beast go in the future filled him with guilt.
Thinking about it more carefully, they've been oppressing the Moon Beast for so many years, it's time they let go.
Since they can't make this decision themselves, then we'll help them. It's not like we're doing them a disservice; it's called humanitarian aid.
He glanced back at the Moon Beast beside him. Suddenly, it dawned on him: why were those people only looking at him? Couldn't they see the Moon Beast?