"That's good, that's good!"
Ethan Chen muttered to himself, but this left the young man who had come to report the news somewhat startled.
Why was the Clan Chief still saying things were good when the people of the clan were injured? Had it not been for his status, he would have suspected that the speaker was a spy from another clan.
"Clan Chief, our clan's stored grain and dried meat are almost gone!"
At this moment, another young man approached Ethan Chen to report.
"How long can we hold out?"
"Probably less than a day, and almost all of the clan members who went out have been attacked by the Li Clan, yielding nothing."
Upon hearing this, Ethan Chen instantly understood the Li Clan's conspiracy. The blessing of the Elder Ancestor was still upon them, and to avoid injury, the Li Clan dared not attack directly, instead resorting to this method to trap the Chen Clan to death inside.
This was an overt scheme, and his Chen Clan had no means of counterattack.
"Good! What a clever tactic!" Ethan Chen exclaimed with a sense of admiration.
The two who had come to report were also downcast, understanding the crux of the matter.
But Ethan Chen didn't seem to care. Things were already so bad that they couldn't get much worse. He immediately waved his hand and said to the two: "Gather everyone outside the Ancestral Hall, I have something to say. Bring the injured clan members as well!"
"Yes, Clan Chief!"
The two who received the order quickly departed!
However, as they left, they both saw a hint of confusion in each other's eyes.
"Have you noticed the Clan Chief seems to be in good spirits?"
They spoke in unison, then looked at each other, startled, realizing it wasn't just their imagination.
Without knowing the reason, the two didn't say more and went to notify the other clan members.
***
In the Ancestral Hall, Noah Ji stood quietly in a corner, utterly bored.
After practicing all of last night, his vitality had reached 4.1. If it weren't for using a Reversal Pill, it would have been 4.2.
That worked out to an increase of 0.1 vitality every half hour.
It was just a pity that he couldn't operate his technique during the day.
If he had chosen to absorb the essence of the sun, the outcome might have been different, but then he wouldn't have been able to practice at night. It was the same dilemma.
He hoped that during the next Deduction, he would encounter the same choice again, but Noah Ji felt it was unlikely.
He also wondered when the Chen Clan would make their next offerings. He had just displayed his divine power yesterday, so it should be soon.
But considering the current predicament of the Chen Clan, the offerings didn't seem so straightforward.
As Noah Ji was enjoying the rising morning sun, the Ancestral Hall's doors were slowly opened again.
Without surprise, the visitor was Ethan Chen, the Clan Chief.
After closing the doors, Ethan Chen's gaze turned to the Sacred Tree within the hall.
Although the Sacred Tree no longer glowed at night, the improvement in his own condition was undeniable.
With the clan's situation becoming increasingly dire, and facing the Li Clan's tactics, Ethan Chen had a plan in mind, but he needed to communicate with the Sacred Tree first.
Without the Sacred Tree's healing, his plan would be nothing but a castle in the air.
Understanding this, Ethan Chen immediately laid out his plan.
Upon hearing Ethan Chen's story, Noah Ji couldn't help but cast his invisible gaze toward the elder who was over sixty years old. It seemed Ethan Chen was betting all the clan's remaining options on him.
But it appeared he didn't have much choice.
Currently, his fate was tied to the Chen Clan, and at least for now, he couldn't extricate himself from the current predicament on his own.
After sharing his plan, Ethan Chen looked at Noah Ji with hopeful eyes.
He believed the Sacred Tree was sentient and would surely respond to him.
Under Ethan Chen's gaze, the branches of the Sacred Tree swayed slightly.
Seeing this, Ethan Chen showed gratitude and bowed once more.
At this moment, there was a noisy debate coming from outside the Ancestral Hall, as if people were arguing about something.
After bowing, Ethan Chen frowned slightly and then walked towards the outside of the Ancestral Hall.
"What's going on?"
Stepping out of the Ancestral Hall, Ethan Chen looked at the assembled clan members and asked Oliver Chen who was in front.
Oliver Chen spoke with some indignation: "Clan Chief, many of our clan members who went out to hunt recently have been attacked by the Li Clan, and now there's not much food left in the clan. At this rate, we won't last much longer."
"I'm already aware of this!"
Ethan Chen replied with a sigh, but Oliver Chen continued: "Clan Chief, in my opinion, why don't we take advantage of the fact that our people still have the strength to fight and go out hunting? Otherwise, after a while, when our people lack Qi and Blood and are starving, our fighting power will decrease, and we'll completely lose our chance!"
After Oliver Chen finished speaking, many people behind him nodded slightly, thinking it was a good idea.
At that moment, a middle-aged man with a somewhat pale face stood out from the crowd and spoke against it: "This is not advisable!"
Everyone immediately looked at the speaker, who was none other than Elijah Chen, a Blood Condensation Realm Warrior of the clan. Upon closer inspection, he bore a striking resemblance to Lucas Chen, only much older in appearance.
Seeing everyone looking at him, Elijah Chen sighed and continued: "The reason the Li Clan hasn't attacked our clan is because the Elder Ancestor is still in the Ancestral Hall. If we gather to hunt, the Elder Ancestor cannot be brought along, and relying solely on the clan's current strength, we are no match for the Li Clan. This will only make our situation even more difficult!"
Some of the clan members below nodded again.
Oliver Chen's brow furrowed: "But Uncle, if we don't take a chance, won't we have no opportunity at all?"
"This method is too risky. If something goes wrong, the clan might…"
***
The two sides argued incessantly, each with their own point of view.
In the back of the crowd, Lucas Chen and Alexander Chen stood aside. Hearing the clan members' debate, Lucas Chen couldn't help but whisper: "I think my father has really become senile!"
"Oliver's idea is so good, don't you think, Alexander?"
Alexander Chen scratched his head: "Huh?"
***
"Enough! Let me say a few words!"
As Ethan Chen spoke up, the other clan members instantly fell silent.
"We have little food left in the clan, so we must go hunting! And since the Li Clan has people guarding Disordered Burial Mountain to attack us, we need to find a new path, one unseen by the Li Clan!"
After Ethan Chen finished speaking, everyone present was puzzled.
The Chen Clan was built on the ground, and the people couldn't fly, so how could they avoid the Li Clan's guards and go to Disordered Burial Mountain to hunt?
"The only way is through the clan's secret passage!"
As someone blurted out, everyone's gaze turned to the speaker, who then realized he had spoken out of turn.
"No!"
"The clan's secret passage is the last escape route for some clan members, it cannot be exposed!"
"Yes, once the Li Clan discovers the secret passage, the clan will have no way out!"
The two who had been arguing stopped at the mention of this suggestion and immediately stood on the same side.
"I was just saying!"
The person who had spoken muttered.
But everyone understood that, according to the Clan Chief, this seemed to be the only way.
"This is my plan!"
As the crowd fell silent, Ethan Chen slowly spoke up.
The two who had just been opposing were shocked to hear this.
Due to the previous anomaly with the Sacred Tree and other matters, the younger generation of the clan had not yet been moved out, but now the Clan Chief was saying that the clan members should go hunting through the secret passage.
If the Li Clan discovered the secret passage and blocked it in advance, it would completely cut off the clan's last resort.
The most critical issue was that both the previous and current suggestions had come from the Clan Chief himself, leaving the two momentarily unable to accept it, unclear about what Ethan Chen was thinking.
Even though it was the Clan Chief who had spoken, Oliver Chen still couldn't help but retort:
"But, Clan Chief…"
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan
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