"A Golden Blood family!" Noticing the two golden banners fluttering on either side of the carriage, from commoners to warriors alike, all reeled back. Some fell on their butts. Others dropped on their knees. But without exception, they all stood in awe of the golden banners.
And how else could it be when only members of Golden Blood families possessed the right to fly such banners?
'Humans have evolved and are far removed from the insignificant lifeforms that they used to be. By relying on their numerical advantage and tribal unity, they hunted down entire species of monstrous beasts, using their blood, organs and corpses in various rituals to create the eight warrior bloodlines.
From weakest to strongest, you have the Iron Blood, the Bronze Blood, the Silver Blood, the Golden Blood, the Jade Blood, and so on. With better bloodlines come stronger innate physical abilities and cultivation talent. But in the Extreme Plateau, you would be hard-pressed to find someone born with better than Golden Blood.
It is in fact so rare that, here in the Yin Dynasty, as long as one person awakens golden blood, their entire family gets elevated to the status of Golden Blooded family—enjoying considerable privileges.' By relying on the memories of the 300 fallen demons, Huan Yi explained the current status quo.
'But isn't it only their fourth bloodline level? Instead of admiring it, shouldn't they feel ashamed for not being able to unlock the superior bloodlines?' Confused by the reverence the Yin people showed their Golden Blooded, Taotie asked.
'It can't be helped. They're broke.'
'The whole species?'
'Yes. Here in the Extreme Plateau at least, the poverty is overwhelming. Humanity is so broke that it can't afford to properly feed its young warriors. The youth then grow up to be malnourished adults with unpolished genetics that they pass on to the next generation. Rinse and repeat across tens of thousands of years, and you get a world where the Golden Bloodline is the de facto limit.' Here, Huan Yi paused, sweeping the crowd with a neutral look.
'I mean look at them. How many women with thick thighs and shapely backsides have you seen in that crowd? All lightweight bony bitches with no meat on the bone. Makes me sick to my stomach.
And this is all because a handful of powerhouses robbed the vast majority of the world's resources, then went into hiding, relying on their stolen wealth to build hidden empires while the rest of the population fought for the scraps they left behind.' Huan Yi was only half exaggerating.
In terms of mortal resources such as food and drinks, the Extreme Plateau didn't really have any shortage. But when it came to body refinement resources, the Extreme Plateau was severely lacking. So much so that even the powerful clans couldn't nurture their youths and bloodlines to their true limits. And as Huan Yi stated, this was all due to a handful of secret forces that kept over 90% of the world's resources for themselves.
'…master, not that I mind, but…why does it feel like you're a lot more crass than you used to be?' More preoccupied with Huan Yi's word choices, Taotie asked.
The Demon Child ignored her, his eyes locking on the carriage and the armored warriors that surrounded it. Eight additional armored warriors rushed out of the carriage, adding to the twelve already outside for a formation of twenty.
"20…Congenital realm warriors!" Noticing the rosy luster and energy waves rippling from the armored men's exposed skin, the warriors within the crowd blurted out, making the commotion turn into a massive uproar.
In the Yin Dynasty, Congenital realm warriors could easily become army officers and receive nobility titles. For 20 of them to gather as bodyguards was proof that the one in the carriage possessed an astonishing background.
At the very least, it should be the close relative of a powerful general or perhaps even the child of a duke.
And indeed, as the young master stepped out of the carriage, dressed in extravagant purple robes embroidered with radiant gold patterns that dazzled in day or night, all recognized him instantly:
"The fourth son of the Southern Duke, Nangong Huanya." These words spread among the crowd, causing many to flinch in disgust while others turned heels, directly leaving the scene.
This was a cruel world. A world where might made right, and justice followed the law of the biggest fist. As one of the rare places where men and land monsters lived in tolerance of one another, the Yin Dynasty strived to be different, putting a strong emphasis on law and order.
Unfortunately, the privileges of Golden-Blood families compromised those efforts. Without irrefutable proof, children of Golden Blood families couldn't be directly investigated by law enforcement or put on trial. For obvious reasons, this made it pretty much impossible to convict men and women of Golden Blood families of anything.
Aware that, as long as they weren't too obvious about it, they could abuse the law as they saw fit, some Golden Blood relatives indulged in a variety of obnoxious crimes, ranging from simple racketeering to human trafficking.
Worst is…most of them didn't even have Golden Blood. They just enjoyed those privileges for being close relatives of one Golden Blooded Warrior.
Take Nangong Huanya for example. His father was indeed Golden Blooded, but of the Southern Duke's twelve children, not one had inherited his Golden Blood, making it very likely that, after he died, the Southern Province would fall into the hands of another family.
Still, this didn't stop the Nangong clan's young masters from abusing their power and privileges. Nangong Huanya was the worst of them all, often coercing families into selling him their daughters. Sometimes, he'd keep them as slaves for his personal pleasure. But in most cases, the daughters would get sold into various human trafficking networks and end up in some brothel of the Yin Dynasty or beyond.
Sadly, the ones that got sold to brothels ended up being the luckiest of the lot, because those that Nangong Huanya kept for himself, well…let's just say that they spent a couple of years wishing for death, before getting tossed off a bridge.