Chapter 417: Chapter 416: A Bunch of Cowards

“The High Priest broke the rules set by our ancestors! He gave all the Blessing slots to members of the outer clans!”

The words shocked the Great Elder so much that he forgot to take his next step and nearly tripped over his own feet.

Xiao Cheng was stunned as well. He had only been guessing moments ago. He never expected the Clan Leader and High Priest to move so quickly, and during such a grand Warrior tournament, no less.

“What do you mean? What do you mean he gave them all to members of the outer clans?” The Great Elder quickened his pace, practically breaking into a run.

The male beastman who brought the news spoke rapidly. “According to tradition, any male who perseveres to the end is eligible for a chance to receive the Fox Clan’s Blessing.

But the prerequisite is that they must be bound to our Three-tailed Blue Fox Clan by marriage.

This time, however, many of the males already have mates, yet the High Priest still gave them the Blessings, using up all of the Fox Clan’s Blessing opportunities for the year.”

The Fox Clan’s Blessing was a special boon for the Three-tailed Blue Fox Clan. A male who received the Blessing could sire cubs with excellent talent. But this heaven-defying benefit had an annual limit, and it was one of the pillars that ensured the Three-tailed Blue Fox Clan’s continued survival. As long as talented cubs of the Fox Clan were continuously born, they could preserve their superior bloodline and await an era of prosperity and strength.

The two sites were not far from each other. In the time it took to speak a few sentences, they had arrived at the main plaza.

The members of the Three-tailed Blue Fox Clan were all incensed, shouting at the bizarrely dressed High Priest on the stage, “High Priest, you are *our* High Priest! You’ve used up all the Fox Clan’s Blessings! What are our clan members supposed to do this year? If no talented cubs are born, our Three-tailed Blue Fox Clan will fall into decline…”

“High Priest, these rules were established by our ancestors! How could you break them just like that?”

“So many of our Warriors are waiting to take the Fox Clan’s Blessing and go seek a Female Saint…”

The High Priest’s expression remained placid as he let the crowd clamor. Meanwhile, the males who had received the Fox Clan’s Blessing were smugly triumphant. TSK TSK. “I’m telling you, you Three-tailed Blue Fox Clan members are a lost cause. What’s the point of having so many Blessings? Aren’t you still dependent on us anyway? You might as well just hand them over.”

“Exactly! Leaving the Fox Clan’s Blessings to you is just a waste! What are rules for, anyway? They’re made to be broken. Tell you what, if you hand over all your Blessings, we might remember your good deed and allow you to become our Couple Brothers. You can fetch water to wash our families’ feet, do our laundry, cook our meals… HA HA… Wouldn’t that count as tying yourselves to us, just like your precious rules require?”

’How could that be the same?’ The Three-tailed Blue Fox Clan members glared furiously at the arrogant group of males on stage. Only if those Outer Clan Warriors received the Fox Clan’s Blessing *and* mated with a female of the Three-tailed Blue Fox Clan would they ever act in the clan’s best interests.

The Great Elder turned to look at the Clan Leader, who was approaching at an unhurried pace. “Clan Leader,” he asked through clenched teeth, “did you know about this?”

The Clan Leader shook his head and sighed. “I didn’t. Wasn’t I just with you? Perhaps the High Priest has his reasons.”

“Great Elder, what’s done is done. There’s no use arguing about it now. The most urgent task is to calm everyone down. We can’t have a situation where we give out the Fox Clan’s Blessings only to be resented for it. That would be a thankless effort, wouldn’t it?”

Xiao Chun took a deep breath. The Clan Leader wasn’t wrong. He could only suppress his temper for now. With a grim expression, he stood to the side and questioned a Beastman he knew.

The Beastman said angrily, “All our best Warriors went to compete for the Clan Leader and elder candidacies, so none of our clan members made it to the final round here. The High Priest looked furious. He didn’t even bother with the routine questioning and just gave the Fox Clan Blessings directly to these Warriors.”

Xiao Cheng overheard this and said to Si Shuo through gritted teeth, “I think the High Priest did it on purpose. He deliberately waited until most of our attention was on the elections to give all the Fox Clan Blessings to the males from the outer clans.”

“In previous years, a male could only receive the Fox Clan’s Blessing *after* mating with a female from our clan and obtaining a Beast Mark!”

Si Shuo’s eyes darted. She wrote a note and sent it to the Space Stone Table. In less than half a minute, a string of cubs teleported over.

She grabbed Xiao Cheng’s hand, pursed her lips, and blinked at him meaningfully.

He didn’t need her to say a word. Xiao Cheng understood immediately and moved to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Xiao Chun.

The cubs were all under the effect of a Reverse Time Law buff given to them by Father Gong You. This meant that for every fifteen minutes they experienced, nearly one Beast Hour would pass in the outside world.

They also had an Invisibility buff from Xu Ye and a Mind Reading Technique buff from Little Hong.

Each of the fifteen cubs stood behind a Beastman, pressing lightly against them as if they were just part of the dense crowd.

These Beastmen were all from the Great Elder’s and Second Elder’s factions, along with some candidates who possessed a strong sense of justice.

And just like that, these individuals began to hear the innermost thoughts of the Clan Leader and the High Priest!

The Clan Leader’s thoughts were smug. ’Heh, so what if my son didn’t become a candidate? This whole batch of males from the clan won’t be getting the Fox Clan’s Blessing! We broke the rules this year, and we can keep breaking them next year… It’s a shame, really. They’re so stupid they’ll believe anything we say. These outsiders paid me and the High Priest a fortune in resources in exchange for these Blessing slots. Why would they ever be grateful or bring any benefit back to the clan?’

’With all these resources, I can make my son the next Clan Leader no matter what…’

The High Priest’s thoughts were dripping with contempt. ’A bunch of pathetic cowards. They get bullied right on their own doorstep, and what do they do? Swallow their pride and bow and scrape to appease these outsiders.’

’No one respects the Three-tailed Blue Fox Clan anymore. If I couldn’t use my position as High Priest to rake in some extra benefits, I wouldn’t bother staying here for a second longer…’

Everyone was stunned. They never imagined the Clan Leader and the High Priest were like this—that they had no regard for their clan whatsoever, only for their own selfish interests!

Fury erupted in their hearts. One was the Clan Leader, the other the High Priest. They held the fate of the entire clan in their hands, yet they were willing to just hand over the future of the Three-tailed Blue Fox Clan!

The Great Elder spoke abruptly. “Where are the members of my Three-tailed Blue Fox Clan? This matter with the Fox Clan Blessings today is too suspicious! It must be thoroughly investigated. All males who received a Blessing are forbidden from leaving.”

“Don’t worry, Great Elder. I’ll take my brothers and keep a close watch on these Beastmen,” Xiao Beixian responded immediately.

The clan members behind him roared their agreement. They couldn’t stand the sight of those Outer Clan Beastmen on stage, looking so smug after taking what wasn’t theirs, their faces filled with contempt and ridicule for the members of the Three-tailed Blue Fox Clan.

’What right did males like that have to receive the Blessing of their Three-tailed Blue Fox Clan!’

The Clan Leader’s face was cold as he tapped his Scepter. “Great Elder, what is the meaning of this? The outsiders are watching. Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ll cause by detaining these young men today?”

“That’s right, Great Elder! I’m from the Fanjian Tribe in Guangshou City. My father is the Fifth Elder of our tribe. Detaining me here is a direct provocation against the Fanjian Tribe!”

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