Chapter 224: The Flame Clan Story
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“After the seven gods of the Flame Clan were defeated, the entire Flame Clan retreated into this ruin.”
“Anything before this period has been documented elsewhere, so there’s no need to go into detail.”
“What my brother and 1 are focused on searching for is the history of the Flame Clan from the time of the fall of the Jing God to the complete destruction of the Flame Clan.”
“The information we obtained was basically passed down from the records of the survivors of the Flame Clan, so it’s quite reliable.”
As the three of them continued to walk slowly, Roxin narrated her story.
Roda, who was leading the way, could not help but feel a bit exasperated….
He had created an opportunity for his sister, but in the end, she was telling historical stories.
But then again, what else could Roxin talk about?
It was her area of expertise.
Lu Ming, on the other hand, looked genuinely interested – not pretending, but genuinely interested.
He really knew very little about the history of the Black Mist Zone, and learning more historical stories would deepen his understanding of the region – something he was open to.
Roxin continued,
“During the early years of the Jing God’s slumber, life for the members of the Flame Clan here was quite peaceful.”
They had an abundance of resources, a modest population, and no pressure for survival. This place was like a paradise for the Flame Clan.
“Unfortunately, this ruin is too small…”
“Small?” Lu Ming raised an eyebrow and Roxin said, “From our perspective, this ruin isn’t small at all, but from the perspective of Ancient Realm experts, it’s truly tiny.”
The mobility of experts would naturally be stronger. To Ancient Realm experts, this place was probably a small cage.
When ferocious beasts were being trapped in a cage for a long time, problems naturally arose.
“At that time, apart from the extinction of the gods, the overall strength of the Flame Clan did not suffer much damage.”
“There were four quasi divine-level experts: the Three Kings and the current Flame Emperor, not to mention the Ancient Realm experts below the quasi-divine level. In total, there were about a hundred Ancient Realm experts in the Flame Clan at that time.”
More than a hundred Ancient Realm experts were trapped in this ruin… Roxin’s use of the word “small” was not an exaggeration.
Soon, the three of them came to King Lin’s bedroom.
Roda entered and searched briefly. When he came out, he shook his head at Lu Ming and Roxin.
“Not here.”
The three of them continued to walk to the next location.
Luo Xin added.
“In the first thousand years, perhaps because of the Jing God’s legacy, this place could still maintain peace. The Flame clan reproduced and the population gradually increased.”
“A thousand years later, as the population of the Flame Clan increased, the higher-ups of the Flame Clan quickly discovered a problem… No one in the new generation of the Flame Clan could break through to the Ancient Realm.”
Lu Ming could not help but ask, “Why was that?”
In front of him, Roda turned around and interrupted, “It’s because there’s not enough source power. It’s also because the advancement of the Ancient Realm requires more life-and-death combat experience.”
Roxin explained in detail, “As 1 mentioned earlier, at that time, there were about a hundred Ancient Realm experts in the Flame Clan. Even if they didn’t practice, just maintaining their strength would consume an astronomical amount of source power. This ruin could absorb source power from the outside, but its capacity was limited, and supplying a hundred Ancient Realm experts was already its limit.”
“More importantly, advancing from the Source Realm to the Ancient Realm indeed required life-and-death trials. There were no external enemies here for the Flame Clansmen, so there were no opportunities for such trials.”
“In summary, the Flame Clan’s high-level power was aging, and the new generation of strong individuals couldn’t fill the gap.”
“Over time, the Flame Clan was likely to lose its Ancient Realm experts, leading to a significant decline in the overall strength of the clan.”
At this point, Roxin paused for a moment before continuing, “The event that led to the Flame Clan’s demise, the Three Kings’ Rebellion, occurred against this backdrop.”
“At that time, the ancient three kings were the Black King, the Green King, and King Lin. The Black King and King Ling were over 5,000 years old, nearing the end of their Ancient Realm limits. Although the Green King was young, he was still more than 4,000 years old. As for the current Flame Emperor, he was even close to passing away.”
“The three kings realized that all the quasi-divine experts of the Flame Clan were about to exhaust their lifespan, but a gap has appeared in the new generation of experts.”
“So, they secretly met with the Flame Emperor, hoping to open the Flame Clan’s ruin and return to the Black Mist Zone.”
After Roxin finished speaking, the three of them had already arrived at the ancestral hall of King Lin’s family.
Luo Da entered the ancestral hall.
After the restriction light flickered briefly, Roda came out of the door in a sorry state.
He shook his head and said, “It’s not here either.”
With that said, he formed a strange symbol with both hands. A faint light radiated from his eyes, scanning the surroundings.
Seeing this, Roxin explained, “This is a secret technique Brother learned from a book. This technique can help us uncover the hidden secret places of the Flame Clan.”
Lu Ming nodded in understanding.
Not long after, Roda led the way into the garden. Beside Lu Ming, Roxin spoke again.
“In the secret meeting, the negotiation between the three kings and the Flame Emperor collapsed.”
“Not long after that conversation, internal strife completely erupted in the Flame Clan. This matter directly led to the complete extinction of the Flame Clan.”
“However, according to the records in the books my brother and I read, no one has revealed the discussion between the three kings and the Flame Emperor during that secret meeting. The most detailed record is only four words: ‘Their opinions are contradictory’.”
With that said, Roxin said in a relaxed tone, “I guess that the three kings might want to bring the Flame Clan members out of this ruin and return to the outside world, but the Flame Emperor is unwilling.”
“But, Brother Lu, think about it. It’s only been a thousand years, and the gods are immortal. The enemies of the Flame Clan certainly haven’t forgotten about the Flame Clan. If they were to take away their people, the Flame Clan would surely face retaliation.”
Lu Ming nodded slightly and agreed with Roxin.
On the other hand, Roxin pinched her chin in frustration and said, “But to keep staying in this ruin is not a solution either. The experts are gradually dying, and since they’re in the ruin, it’s impossible for them to participate in the Heaven Ascension Stairs, nor can they give birth to new gods. In any case, it seems there’s no hope inside the ruin…”
As she spoke, she rubbed her hair in distress, “Sigh, this kind of thing seems really difficult to solve.”
Roxin’s current demeanor made Lu Ming smile, “Well, it’s the Flame Clan’s problem. What does it have to do with us?”
After Roxin saw this, she immediately muttered, “Immersion! Brother Lu, this is called immersion! When researching historical matters, immersion is the most crucial aspect.”
Lu Ming nodded in agreement, “However, there’s another question. 1 believe that merely deciding whether to leave the relic or not shouldn’t lead to a conflict between the Flame Emperor and the Three Kings, resulting in the complete annihilation of the Flame Clan.”
If he were in the situation of the Flame Clan at that time, deciding whether or not to leave the ruin was undoubtedly a significant matter, one that concerned the future of the clan.
However, it was not a serious problem. It should not have led to the total destruction of the entire Flame Clan…
Roxin smiled and said, “That’s why 1 told you long ago that this is just a historical story. Compared to what’s written in the books, I think the ‘power struggle’ narrative makes more sense.”
“The three kings wanted to overthrow the Flame Emperor’s rule, causing internal strife in the Flame Clan, which ultimately led to the clan’s extinction. When you hear this logic, doesn’t it sound much more reasonable?”
Lu Ming nodded, “At least it’s much more logical than fighting to the death and annihilating the clan just to decide whether or not to leave the ruin.”
Roxin continued, “But my brother and 1 found more than a dozen rare books, and none of them were written like this… One of the books even mentioned that the three kings had an excellent relationship with the Flame Emperor and had no desire to contend for the throne.”
As Roxin finished her sentence, Roda in front suddenly spoke up.
“I found it. It’s right here..”