As Kellan walked out the door, he began to think about everything that had happened to him recently.
"First," he thought to himself, "I almost got killed in an ambush by the Nightshade Clan.
Then, I nearly died again when a girl from the Frey Clan tried to poison and freeze me to death.
After that, I had a life-and-death battle with the Nightshade Clan again, but this time I actually won—and even killed someone for the first time."
Kellan clenched his fist.
"The Nightshade Clan..." A feeling of hatred bubbled up inside him; never before had his life been threatened to this extent.
"Why do I keep running into them anyway? It's like every time I go into the Mystfall Forest, I find them," he grumbled.
Before he could think about it further, his friend Shi Yan approached.
"Hey, Kellan!" Shi Yan exclaimed, his eyes widening.
"Why the hell are you so injured? Did you get into another fight?"
Kellan looked embarrassed.
"Nah, it's because I went into the Mystfall Forest. I was out on a mission to hunt red-tipped boars, you know, to strengthen my physique."
"That's actually a pretty good idea," Shi Yan replied, "But aren't red-tipped boars pretty strong?
Some of them become full-fledged demonic beasts once they reach the third level of the Blood Solidification Realm, right?"
"Yeah, I got into a bit of trouble fighting them, but I managed.
I got their tusks too—I'm bringing them back to the Missions Office right now," Kellan replied.
"Elder Shi Quan might look tough on the outside, but he's actually a good person.
He's strict because if he lets just anyone take a mission, they might die, and the responsibility would be on him.
That means he probably already knew how strong you were before he let you leave the clan," Shi Yan explained.
"Hey, Shi Yan," Kellan asked
"What do you know about the Nightshade Clan and the Frey Clan? How strong are they?"
"Hmm, why the sudden interest?" Shi Yan looked concerned.
"Is it because of that attack on you and Big Bone a few days ago?"
"Haha, yeah, that's right," Kellan said.
"I was just a bit curious about them, that's all."
"Well, anyway," Shi Yan began,
"Generally speaking, the Yan Empire is divided into five territories:
The Central Dominance, where the Yan Imperial Clan lives; the Eastern Dominance, headed by the Frey Clan; the Western Dominance, led by the Ashran Clan; the Northern Dominance, ruled by the Kaelhar Clan; and the Southern Dominance, controlled by the Voss Clan.
"As you know, the Shi Clan is located in the Eastern Dominance, under the jurisdiction of the Frey Clan.
We pay taxes to them annually, and in return, they ensure our position in the Eastern Dominance remains stable," Shi Yan explained.
Kellan looked shocked at all the information suddenly pouring into his head, yet he couldn't help but ask,
"But where does the Nightshade Clan fit into this picture?"
"I haven't gotten there yet," Shi Yan laughed. "We, the Shi Clan, the Nightshade Clan, and the Conqi Clan, all live in the Mystfall Region of the Eastern Dominance.
We're essentially on the border of the Mystfall Forest, which technically isn't owned by any of the three clans. So, there are constant skirmishes there."
"Oh, so that's why," Kellan replied.
"Exactly. Technically, the Mystfall Forest is neutral territory, which means life-and-death battles between the three clans happen there often.
It's known as a dangerous place, but generally speaking, unless you venture too far into their side of the forest, you won't encounter them.
The Mystfall Forest is huge," Shi Yan said seriously.
"Which is why the clan is very concerned that you were attacked by the Nightshade Clan so close to our side of the forest. It seems they've become bolder in recent years,"
Shi Yan added, a bit apprehensively.
"I wasn't just attacked once—I was attacked twice by those bastards,"
Kellan thought to himself. "How strong are the other clans compared to ours?"
"Although people say our Shi Clan has been declining in recent years, that's relative.
As long as we have people in the Bone Sacrifice Realm, our clan won't fall.
That is, of course, unless either the Nightshade Clan or Conqi Clan has a Heart Essence Realm cultivator. But that's unlikely," Shi Yan replied.
Kellan felt a chill run through him as he remembered what Onru and Lehen had told him about the Nightshade Clan's alleged alliance with the Frey Clan.
"Are the Frey Clan helping the Nightshade Clan's head break through?" he thought, feeling worried.
"What do you think about the upcoming inter-tribe trial by fire?" Kellan asked.
"Oh, that? Yeah, I heard about it. It's about the Mystfall Springs, right?" Shi Yan asked.
"Yeah. Why are the Mystfall Springs so important, anyway?" Kellan asked.
"Essentially, the more of the Mystfall Springs a clan controls, the more powerful they become.
The sort of 'proxy war' for the springs only happens once every four years.
It's crucial because the springs are a cultivation paradise.
When a person in the Bone Sacrifice Realm cultivates inside the Mystfall Springs, they cultivate twice as fast as they would outside of it," Shi Yan explained.
"For people like us in the Blood Solidification Realm, it doesn't make much difference. However," Shi Yan suddenly looked excited,
"When you reach the peak of the Blood Solidification Realm, if you can get a hold of a Mystfall Bead and consume it, it increases your chances of breaking through to the Bone Sacrifice Realm.
But only one Mystfall Bead appears every four years, and for the last few years, our Shi Clan has come in last, so we haven't gotten any," Shi Yan added, looking a bit disheartened.
Kellan frowned, "So not only are we just barely holding on to our position in the region but we've also not had any more mystfall beads in the last few years?"
Shi Yan sighed nodding, "That's right, and every time we lose in the inter-tribe trial by fire, the other clans get stronger, especially the nightshade clan, their younger generations keep putting our Shi Clan youths down"