In the ancient, incense-swirled Ancestral Hall of the Lu Clan, the air was thick enough to choke a spirit beast. Four men stood in a semi-circle, their expressions so solemn they looked like they were carved from the very stone floor.
At the center stood Grand Elder Lu Maxi, his long gray hair tied back with a simple hemp rope. He leaned on a gnarled wooden staff, looking every bit the wise progenitor—until he let out a long, loud yawn that echoed off the vaulted ceiling.
"Grand Elder," Lu Chen, the Clan Head, whispered through gritted teeth. "The dignity of the ancestors."
"The ancestors have been dead for four hundred years, Chen; they've forgotten what a yawn sounds like," Lu Maxi grumbled, rubbing his eyes. "Besides, my Spirit Tortoise fell asleep an hour ago, and his dreams are starting to make * me* drowsy. Do you know how boring a tortoise's dreams are? It's just slow-motion footage of lettuce."
Beside them, Lu Chanwu, the First Elder, paced like a caged tiger. "The results should be here! If we don't get at least one Three-Element root this year, I'm going to personally throw the recruitment deacon into the pond."
"The pond is shallow, Brother," Lu Chanxi, the Second Elder, remarked dryly. "You'd just give him a wet pair of pants and a very confused frog."
"I don't care! The future of the Lu Clan is at stake!" Chanwu barked.
Suddenly, the heavy vermillion doors groaned open. Lu Chanki, the Third Elder, stumbled in, nearly tripping over the threshold. He looked breathless, clutching a jade scroll to his chest as if it were a newborn babe. He performed a hasty bow to the Clan Head, then a deeper one to the Grand Elder—who was currently trying to use his staff to scratch a hard-to-reach spot on his back.
"Speak, Chanki!" Lu Chen commanded, his voice booming with Foundation Establishment authority. "The results!"
Chanki gasped for air. "Eleven... eleven new disciples! Two with Three-Element Spiritual Roots! Lu Yanshi—Water, Metal, Fire. And Lu Yanxi—Plant, Water, Earth! The rest are four and five-element."
The silence that followed was absolute. Then, the First Elder, Lu Chanwu, let out a noise that sounded suspiciously like a strangled squeak.
"Two?" Chanwu gasped. "Two Three-Elements? At the same time? In this economy?"
"Not bad," the Second Elder said, crossing his arms and trying to look unimpressed despite his twitching eyebrow. "They are decent Foundation Establishment seeds."
"Decent? 'Not bad'?" The First Elder turned on him, waving his arms wildly. "When was the last time we saw talent like this? You'd call a dragon 'a lizard with a hobby'!"
"Enough, you two," the Grand Elder said, his boredom instantly vanishing. He straightened his back, and for a moment, the aura of a Mid-Stage Foundation expert flared, making the candles flicker. "For thirty years, we haven't seen a single Three-Element root. To have two is a sign. The Lu Clan is no longer just surviving; we are ascending. We must nurture these two to be our backbone."
"I agree," Lu Chen said, his hand instinctively going to the hilt of his sword. "But we cannot neglect the others. Our Imperial Beast Taming Law is the great equalizer. Even a Five-Element disciple can kill a genius if their beast is strong enough. My Swift Thunder Eagle doesn't care about the 'purity' of its prey's spiritual roots."
"Which brings me to my point," the Second Elder interrupted. "Why don't we nurture the disciples in two ways? A 'Sword' and a 'Shield' path."
"Explain," Lu Maxi prompted.
"Simple," Chanxi said. "The 'Shields' follow our old rules—contracting gentle, auxiliary beasts like our Spirit Tortoises. Reliable, safe, and great for longevity. But the 'Swords'... they should contract beasts with high combat ability. Real predators."
"Hah!" the First Elder shouted, poking Chanxi in the chest. "And where do we get these predators? Are you going to go ask a Flame Tiger to politely sign a contract? Last time you tried to tame a 'fighting beast,' it was a stray cat that scratched your face so hard you wore a veil for a month!"
"That cat was a mutated Shadow Lynx!" Chanxi hissed, turning red. "And I was five years old!"
"Gentlemen, please," Lu Chanki, the Third Elder, stepped between them. "The Second Elder has a point, but we lack the stock. My Wind Grazing Wolf is fast, but it's not exactly a frontline breaker."
"This is why we have the five-year preparatory class," the Second Elder continued, ignoring the First Elder's smirking. "We teach them the theory of the soul-bond, we harden their wills. And we teach them our history."
"Yes," the Clan Head nodded. "Let the little ones know our ancestors' sacrifices. We will cultivate a sense of belonging. By the time they pick their beast, they should be willing to die for the name 'Lu'."
Grand Elder Lu Maxi leaned back on his staff. "A Sword and a Shield. One to protect the home, one to expand the borders. It's a gamble, Chen. If a disciple fails to control a combat beast, the soul-backlash will turn them into an idiot."
"With all due respect, Grand Elder," the First Elder muttered, looking at the Second Elder, "we already have a few of those in the council."
"I heard that!" Chanxi barked.