The Differences in Character Among the Four Single-Attribute Clans

Seeing how deeply Yang Wudi had been shaken, Dai Xuanyu deliberately said, "Clan Leader Yang, these are merely gifts for our first meeting."

"I lost my composure." Yang Wudi gave a light cough and regained his usual expression.

In truth, Yang Wudi's reaction was perfectly understandable.

For one thing, the Breaking Clan was no longer what it once had been.

When Spirit Hall had launched its massive assault years ago and forced the Breaking Clan to flee, its members had had no time to take much of their wealth or treasures with them.

The clan had suffered grievous losses as well. Many members skilled in making medicines had died in that battle.

Even after the survivors followed Yang Wudi to Great Cloud City, a place abundant in medicinal herbs, they simply could not afford to buy so many rare ingredients.

Over the years, Yang Wudi, as clan leader, had naturally made restoring the clan's strength his first priority.

That was precisely why he was now stuck at the bottleneck of level seventy-nine, unable to break through.

"Not at all. I can see that your eyes hold only a love of precious herbs, Clan Leader Yang, not what others would call greed."

"Perhaps only someone with your state of mind could become one of the great masters of medicine-making in this age."

Dai Xuanyu spoke with a smile, lavishing praise on Yang Wudi.

Though he wanted to improve his chances of recruiting Yang Wudi, his admiration was genuine.

Yang Wudi was a man whose passion for making all kinds of medicines bordered on obsession.

According to the original work, Yang Wudi would often go days and nights without sleep while making medicine.

That was why medicines had become Yang Wudi's sole weakness.

Dai Xuanyu had always respected masters like Yang Wudi, who devoted themselves to one pursuit year after year.

"You flatter me... you flatter me." Yang Wudi was plainly delighted by Dai Xuanyu's praise.

Whatever he said, the pride on his face betrayed his true feelings.

If only the other three clans were in the same position as the Breaking Clan.

Dai Xuanyu thought of the three remaining clans among the Four Single-Attribute Clans.

Of the four, the Breaking Clan had the strongest backbone and the greatest value.

As for the other three, the Defense Clan was decent, and the Strength Clan was just about acceptable.

The Speed Clan, though, might as well have been a stray dog by the roadside.

Of course, he did not mean its strength or value was that of a roadside stray.

Each of the Four Single-Attribute Clans had its own distinct advantages.

Dai Xuanyu judged the four clans this way because of how each had acted.

The Clear Sky Sect had closed its gates first, abandoning its subordinate forces, yet the clans had reacted very differently.

The Breaking Clan needed no explanation. The Clear Sky Sect had dealt it a crushing blow, and it had suffered the heaviest losses.

The Defense Clan had been in much the same position, though its losses were somewhat lighter than the Breaking Clan's.

Without question, both clans hated the Clear Sky Sect and the Tang family. They had severed ties with them long ago.

The Breaking Clan hated them most of all, and its break had been the most complete!

The Strength Clan and the Speed Clan, however, were more complicated.

The former was blindly loyal to the point of being taken for a fool; the latter harbored far too many private schemes.

Tai Tan, leader of the Strength Clan, hated the Clear Sky Sect and the Tang family, but Tang Hao was the exception.

Even after the Clear Sky Sect—and Tang Hao himself—abandoned him, Tai Tan continued to revere Tang Hao as his master for more than a decade.

Tang Hao had never once appeared or sent word during all those years.

Yet the moment Tai Tan learned that Tang San was Tang Hao's son, he acknowledged him as his young master and led his clan in serving him with all their strength.

Tai Tan's loyalty was almost absurd.

Of course, most factions would prize such loyalty, and Dai Xuanyu was no exception.

After all, what faction—or person—would not want a subordinate so devoted?

Unfortunately, the fiercely loyal Strength Clan did not meet a good end.

By the time of Douluo II, the entire clan had vanished without a trace.

That was what came of following the wrong person.

As for Bai He, leader of the Speed Clan, he had far too many schemes of his own.

Because of the Martial Soul passed down through the clan, its members were all pure agility-type Soul Masters.

After the Clear Sky Sect abandoned them, the Speed Clan had not suffered losses as severe as the Breaking Clan's, yet it lived in the greatest hardship of the four.

Its members often had to rely on aid from the other clans just to get by.

And the largest share of that aid came from Yang Wudi and the Breaking Clan, who were supposedly closest to Bai He.

Of course, they were only closest on the surface.

He called them close friends and lived off their help.

Yet what had Bai He done after coming upon the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng by chance?

Though he could not identify the herb, its appearance told him it was exceedingly precious.

So Bai He had hidden it away and treated it as an heirloom of the Speed Clan.

Had that been all, his actions would have been understandable—only human nature.

But when he faced Tang San, with whom he shared some blood ties, Bai He showed his true colors.

First he listed a whole host of Yang Wudi's faults. Then he came up with a way to help Tang San bring Yang Wudi under his command.

It was then that Bai He revealed why he had kept the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng hidden all that time: he had been afraid Yang Wudi would discover it.

What he meant could hardly have been clearer.

Bai He had even said he was bringing out the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng this time to use the treasure to make Yang Wudi submit...

Still, I should at least try with the Strength and Speed Clans.

But even if I bring both clans under my command, I'll need to take precautions.

Divide some, win some over, suppress the rest... Only then can I keep them from betraying me.

Dai Xuanyu's thinking was simple. He had no desire to spend his money and effort recruiting a faction, only to have it stab him in the back.

If he could, Dai Xuanyu wanted all Four Single-Attribute Clans under his command.

But the difficulty of doing so was obvious.

The Strength and Speed Clans would be the hardest to win over: one was blindly loyal, while the other had blood ties to Tang San.

I don't have to recruit the entire clans. I could split off some of their members. A new idea struck Dai Xuanyu.

Neither the Strength Clan nor the Speed Clan could be completely united.

Not everyone was like Tai Tan or Bai He, trusting Tang Hao unconditionally or simply bearing the Clear Sky Sect no grudge.

With a little persuasion and the promise of new hope, he could draw enough members away to form new Strength and Speed Clans.

"Clan Leader Yang, besides these gifts, I can grant you a noble title and bestow an exclusive fief upon the Breaking Clan..."

"And so long as your requests are reasonable, I can meet them."

"That way, your wish to revive the Breaking Clan can come true sooner."

With the mood properly set, Dai Xuanyu delivered another momentous offer.