Chapter 866: Heir of the Ancestral Tree

Without even needing to inherit the Ancestral Tree's power, Tang San was now fully acknowledged by the elders as the clan leader. Jin Miaosen could hardly believe that her brother, after being away for so many years, had returned so powerful.

Tang San smiled and said, "Elders, please rise. Since you all acknowledge me, I will humbly accept the role."

The Grand Elder sighed and said, "Clan Leader, I have offended you many times. Please punish me."

Tang San waved his hand and said, "There's no need for punishment. All of you acted with the clan's safety in mind."

Naturally, he himself didn't believe what he was saying, but he wasn't going to let a bunch of selfish elders ruin the harmonious atmosphere he had just created. He wasn't concerned about how self-serving these elders might be from now on—under the immense pressure and the radiance of the Ancestral Tree, they wouldn't dare make any stupid moves.

Hearing Tang San's words, the Grand Elder's tears began to fall, and his voice was choked as he said, "Clan Leader, you don't know how much suffering our clan has endured since the Ancestral Tree fell into slumber. While other clans outwardly show respect, hailing the Ancestral Tree as their ancestor, in reality, they have been secretly abducting our people to harvest their life energy, and even selling them on the black market. It's made us too afraid to leave the inner city. I only stopped you earlier out of fear that, if the Ancestral Tree's power weakened after it passed down its inheritance, it could truly bring our clan to the brink of extinction...."

Tang San's brow furrowed slightly, and he nodded. "Grand Elder, rest assured. The Ancestral Tree has awakened. From this day forward, no one will be able to touch our people. As for those who were abducted, I will find a way to bring them back. And anyone proven to have killed our clan members,

no matter who they are

, will face our retribution."

As he spoke, the blue light surrounding him and the light from the trunk of the Ancestral Tree behind him became increasingly radiant.

"Wise Clan Leader!" the elders cried out, their eyes brimming with tears of excitement. This was no act—after being oppressed for so long, the Blue Gold Tree clan finally saw hope. Even these selfish elders could barely contain their joy.

They had no idea that Tang San himself was just as deeply surprised, and that surprise was not entirely positive. The partial revival of the Ancestral Tree, regaining control over the life essence, was a tremendous boon for the entire Daemon Continent. This would greatly enhance the continent's fortunes. And now that he was recognized as the leader of the Blue Gold Tree clan, he essentially had control over this vast power—a downright frightening prospect. But at the same time, the Celestial Fox clan would undoubtedly benefit from this change, and by no small measure.

The Celestial Fox Demon Emperor could likely recover to his peak rather quickly, and possibly even become stronger. This was because the strength of the Celestial Fox clan was in a symbiotic relationship with the fortune of the Daemon Continent. This wasn't something Tang San wanted to see, but he could not fully control the Ancestral Tree; he had been able to benefit from such a significant opportunity precisely because the tree was functioning entirely on instinct, and that instinct was to circulate life energy.

At the same time, Tang San now hesitated to accept the Ancestral Tree's inheritance, for two main reasons. The first reason was that under the influence of his chaos energy, the Ancestral Tree had partially revived and was slowly regaining control of the planet's life essence. The sheer magnitude of this energy was overwhelming. If Tang San were to take the inheritance, he would absorb a vast amount of the planet's life essence, which might very well propel him directly to the twelfth order. However, this was something the planar ruler would never allow.

Tang San had made a certain agreement with the planar ruler. The latter hoped that Tang San would one day help the entire plane ascend, but a crucial condition of their agreement was that he did not interfere with the planet's development. If he attempted to ascend to the Emperor level by consuming the planet's life essence, the planar ruler would unleash a brutal suppression, using the full force of the plane against him. Tang San was acutely aware of this and knew that no matter how powerful he was, this was a fight he was destined to lose.

The second reason was that because the Ancestral Tree's sentience had somewhat improved, it no longer recognized Tang San as its heir. After all, he wasn't truly part of the Blue Gold Tree clan. The Blue Gold Tree elders might not be able to tell, but how could the Ancestral Tree, as the life core of the entire planet, fail to recognize whether Tang San was actually one of its descendants?

Thus, if he attempted to trigger the inheritance process now, it was very likely that he would be rejected. The Ancestral Tree instinctively accepted him due to his bloodline and his chaos energy that benefited the tree to a tremendous degree. However, being the tree's "representative" was one thing, and draining a massive amount of its power was something else altogether; the Ancestral Tree was very unlikely to permit the latter.

Therefore, considering these two factors, Tang San knew he couldn't accept the Ancestral Tree's inheritance right now. The first reason couldn't be changed—there was no way the planar ruler would allow such a thing to happen. But as for the second, gaining more of the Ancestral Tree's approval was something he could work on.

At present, the Ancestral Tree regarded him as a benefactor, and he could control its power to some extent. To earn further recognition and to be seen as part of the clan, he would need to do more for the Blue Gold Tree clan.

If he could gain the Ancestral Tree's recognition, then even if he did not go through the inheritance process, the benefits for him would be immense. First, he would receive more of the planet's life essence to nourish him. Second, this would earn him more trust on part of the planar ruler.

The planar ruler of Falan Planet was an intangible existence, a sentient but non-discrete entity that was part of the plane and at the same time superior to it. But how had this planar ruler come into being? Most certainly, the original divine consciousness of the Ancestral Tree, which had long since fused with the plane itself, had played an important role. Thus, if Tang San could win the favor of the Ancestral Tree, he would, in effect, also gain favor with the plane itself. This would greatly aid him when he attempted to ascend to Emperorhood.

Tang San had come to realize this during his recent cultivation. This was why he had accepted the position of clan leader of the Blue Gold Tree clan—it wasn't just about obtaining the inheritance, and in fact, he could forgo that altogether if needed.

Facing the elders, Tang San smiled and said, "I will need to enter seclusion for a while to comprehend everything the Ancestral Tree's awakening has brought us. Also, I've decided not to take the inheritance for now. The Ancestral Tree's life energy is far too vast, and I believe that I am not prepared for it. It won't be too late to go through with it after I become an Emperor."

Upon hearing Tang San's words, the elders present, especially the Grand Elder, couldn't help but show expressions of surprise.

No one had expected that after gaining the full approval of all the elders, he would choose to back out. The Ancestral Tree's inheritance was something every member of the Blue Gold Tree clan dreamed of, yet Tang San gave it up so easily.

The Grand Elder hesitated and asked, "Clan Leader, if you accept the inheritance now, wouldn't you have a direct opportunity to ascend to Emperorhood? Why not seize the chance?"

Tang San shook his head and said, "The time isn't right. Right now, you can think of me as the Ancestral Tree's representative. The Ancestral Tree has just regained a portion of its power, and it needs to slowly gain control of the life force of the plane. Its recovery will take time, and I can't interfere with that just for my own sake. Besides, the Ancestral Tree has given me a tremendous amount of power, and that will be enough for me to process for a long while. After I finish absorbing everything, I plan to travel through the main cities of the Solstice Empire, rescue our lost clan members, and show the other clans that the Blue Gold Tree clan is not to be insulted. Before I accept the inheritance, I must first make enough contributions to the clan to be worthy of it."

Hearing these words, all the elders present were moved. At that moment, Tang San appeared like a savior bestowed upon them by heaven itself. Jin Miaosen's face flushed with pride, and her eyes were filled with admiration.

My big brother is back!

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Tang San thus settled right in front of the Ancestral Tree and proceeded with his cultivation, and the elders took turns to keep watch over him.