"Tch."
Dongfang He sneered. "Old Yuan and the others all saw it. What's the point of being so secretive?"
"Chief Gu, the 'Bronze Arm' you revealed yesterday when you subdued Big Head Zhang is the external manifestation of the Qing King's Body," Yuan Qianjun explained. "And the 'Bronze Arm' is the unique mark of the Qing King's bloodline."
"You must have seen wrong," Gu Zheng said calmly. "The Bronze Arm I showed yesterday is a kind of innate talent..."
"Exactly!"
A bald young man interrupted, "Only someone with the Qing King's bloodline can possess the Bronze Arm talent. You don't think people from other Noble Families can have it, do you? Take me, for example. The Heaven-Cutting Sword Seal and the Heaven-Cutting Sword Shadow are the marks of my Liangqiu Family."
As he spoke, the bald young man opened his shirt a little, revealing a sword-shaped birthmark on his right chest. He grinned, "No one can fake this Sword Seal."
"Is that so."
Gu Zheng feigned confusion, but a thought stirred in his heart. He asked, "Does each of you have a unique mark?"
"Of course. Did you think you were the only special one?"
Dongfang He snorted coldly. The aura around him suddenly grew sharp and piercing. In an instant, his black hair turned crimson, his eyes became cold and merciless, and his voice went flat. "See clearly? This is the mark of my Red Eagle Royal Bloodline. Yaoyue is from the Divine Weapon Lineage; she has the mark of the Canglin Blade on her body too."
Nangong Yaoyue smiled but didn't reveal her Blade Seal. "It seems your master only taught you the Secret Technique, Gu, without informing you of your identity and origins."
Before Gu Zheng could speak, she continued, "Although our Noble Families have always remained hidden from the world, we are divided into four lineages, each with its own characteristics. For example, my Nangong Family's Divine Weapon Lineage. Everyone is born with a Divine Weapon Mark, which allows us to invoke the power of a Divine Weapon from ten thousand li away."
"My Royal Bloodline relies on Bloodline Power," Dongfang He added. "That includes Old Yuan's Half-Demon lineage, which is also primarily based on bloodline."
"That's right. Chief Gu already saw my beast arms yesterday, so I won't make a fool of myself by showing them again," Yuan Qianjun said with a smile.
Gu Zheng fell silent.
'A wave of realization washed over him, followed by a surge of secret shock.'
'The Hidden Clans are divided into four lineages, four different categories.'
'Half-Demon, Royal Blood, Divine Weapon!'
'There was still one more lineage. Since Nangong Yaoyue and Dongfang He's group didn't mention it, Gu Zheng felt it wasn't his place to ask.'
'Still, just knowing about these three was astonishing enough.'
'This kind of information was completely unknown to the outside world.'
Besides Gu Zheng, Jiang Mingjiu was the only other outsider present, standing impassively behind Nangong Yaoyue.
However, Jiang Mingjiu had already sold himself to the Nangong Family, so he was obviously aware of these matters.
It was the first time Gu Zheng had heard any of this.
'Each Noble Family possessed different abilities.'
'Half-Demon... going by the literal meaning, they must borrow power from Demon Fiends.'
'That alone showed that they had dealt with Demon Fiends long ago. They had even subjugated them and transferred their power to themselves.'
'Royal Blood was a type of gifted bloodline. I don't know if it's innate, but it's incredibly powerful, enough to contend with Demon Fiends.'
'The Divine Weapon lineage was even more incredible. They could borrow Divine Weapon Power from ten thousand li away just by using the marks on their bodies.'
'Where did these Divine Weapons come from? Were they forged by man or born from heaven and earth?'
'All these powers, far beyond the imagination of ordinary people, had always been kept hidden.'
'Only now, with the Celestial Change, were they finally being revealed.'
'According to what Li Cunyi heard from his martial uncle, the Noble Families' powers could only be maximized during the Celestial Change. Without it, they were severely restricted.'
'Following that line of thought, without the Celestial Change, would Nangong Yaoyue be unable to use her mark to borrow Divine Weapon Power from ten thousand li away?'
...
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but outwardly, Gu Zheng spoke with a hint of surprise. "I see. Thank you all for clearing that up for me. But I'll say it again: I'm not from the Qing King's bloodline. It's a huge taboo to falsely claim to be."
"Falsely claiming is a taboo, that's right, but you don't need to fake it! Your 'Bronze Arm' can't be faked," the bald young man couldn't help but say. "My, Liangqiu Changkong's, eyes are never wrong. That 'Bronze Arm' of yours is one hundred percent the external manifestation of the Qing King's Body."
"That's right. What's the point of you constantly denying it and muttering excuses?" Dongfang He said irritably. "If it weren't for your Qing King bloodline, do you think we'd even bother with you?"
"Dongfang He, shut up."
Nangong Yaoyue shot Dongfang He a look. "Before we left, your mother repeatedly warned me to keep an eye on you. Don't you know how foul your mouth is? If you don't learn some restraint and someone teaches you a lesson, don't blame me for not helping."
"What's wrong with my mouth?" Dongfang He mumbled in response, but said no more.
"It's fine."
Gu Zheng glanced at him and said calmly, "I'm serious. I mainly don't want to cause any misunderstanding. After all, I'm really not from the Qing King's bloodline."
"...Fine, whatever you say."
Liangqiu Changkong shrugged, not pressing the issue any further. He changed the subject, "Yaoyue, you've checked out Great Dragon Mountain. How is it? How many more days until the Domain stabilizes?"
"About three more days." Nangong Yaoyue didn't avoid the question in front of Gu Zheng. "The reason it's so fast is that the Domain here is relatively small, so it won't take long to stabilize. But a smaller Domain also means fewer corresponding treasures like Source Fruits, Marvels, and Magic Gold will appear."
"That's true. Fortunately, not many people came here. It's just us."
Liangqiu Changkong crossed his arms, his eyes sweeping over the group. He chuckled. "Let's agree on this beforehand. After the Domain stabilizes and we go inside, no one is to fight over any treasures."
"I've read our ancestors' records. They said that when a Domain opens, people start fighting each other instead of focusing on finding treasure. I think that's completely unnecessary. Besides, there are Demon Fiends, Evil Spirits, and Heretics inside the Domain. That stuff isn't easy to deal with."
"Right. I also don't agree with fighting over a single treasure."
"No one here will fight, but I can't say the same for Big Head Zhang."
"True. Big Head Zhang is extremely unstable. He could go crazy at any moment."
"..."
The others chimed in, expressing their opinions.
Gu Zheng listened impassively.
'Just as I thought!' he said to himself.
'There are treasures on Great Dragon Mountain!'
'Source Fruits? Marvels? Magic Gold?'
'None of them sound ordinary.'
'And the term "Domain" is clearly another result of the Celestial Change.'
'Is the mysterious power blanketing Great Dragon Mountain the Domain?'
Gu Zheng was lost in thought.
"Gu."
Nangong Yaoyue turned to Gu Zheng at the right moment and said seriously, "Gu, you are a member of a Noble Family who has been wandering outside..."
Gu Zheng's expression remained calm.
"A member of a Noble Family who has been wandering outside wouldn't know much about Domains," Nangong Yaoyue said. "Gu, you're an official here, a Chief Constable. I'm sure you don't want to see too many people die."
"I don't."
Gu Zheng asked with a grave expression, "When the Domain opens, will the disaster be great?"