Damned Healer-Chapter 621: Fantastic And Valuable

That emblem Darian showed didn't really have much value. It only represented the leadership of the Heaven-Devouring Sparrow Clan and was the core of the central inscription that existed on the island where the clan had been established.

Everything had been destroyed, and that emblem had become useless. Even so, Ramel handed it to Darian along with the Sacred Treasure, because Darian intended to restore the inscription. To do that, he needed to find certain elements compatible with that empty core, something only he could sense.

Everyone there was shocked. That clan had been completely wiped out, and its lands destroyed in a massive battle. Officially, the Nether Beasts were named as the culprits.

However, it was common knowledge that the armies of the City of the Heaven Seal and the Primordial Empire had sent forces to help the clan. Unfortunately, they failed to save them.

In the end, those two 'allied armies' at least managed to drive the Nether Beasts out of the territory. Then something strange happened: both the clan's central emblem and the Sacred Treasure vanished.

According to the information available, both armies were certain that the Nether Beasts had not taken those two relics. So the leader of that clan must have acted wisely and hidden them somewhere.

All of this was deliberately spread so that the entire population of the islands would help search for information and clues about where those items were. Someone had them, or eventually, someone would find them.

So… no one could even dream that a madman like Darian would exist.

He had just shown that he possessed the emblem, that he carried the Bloodline of that primitive Divine Beast, and that he was the leader of the clan. Of course, he didn't say this outright, but he certainly also held the Sacred Treasure.

The entire universe would start watching him with malicious intent. He was just a young human, with only a minimal trace of bestial Bloodline, who didn't even possess the cultivation of this universe.

No matter how powerful he seemed, he was an extremely appetizing piece of meat.

After a brief pause, Darian continued, "To avoid any misunderstandings, I'm revealing myself. I came to the City of the Heaven Seal because this place is known for welcoming everyone equally, as a fair city ruled by rules."

Niara almost burst out laughing at Darian's statement.

"Anyway, this city houses many different clans and races, so it's perfect for me to rebuild my clan. We won't be a purely bestial clan anymore, but a clan of hybrids. Still, I guarantee that I'll rebuild it and honor my ancestors," Darian continued, in a heroic tone.

Ramel swallowed hard. Darian was taking on a role he would never have had the courage to even attempt.

After everything that had happened, seeing himself as the sole survivor of his race, Ramel chose to return to that isolated island and live there peacefully for the rest of his life. If something happened, he would throw the Sacred Treasure into the black sea, where no one could retrieve it.

To him, until not long ago, rebuilding the clan, seeking revenge, or even having children and trying to restore the race was a ridiculous dream. He didn't have enough power, and the enemies of his race would never allow that to happen.

After a few seconds, the Vice-Master of the clan took a deep breath and smiled. "I understand. This really is a pleasant surprise. I was present during the attempt to help your clan, and I felt deeply guilty that we failed. The City of the Heaven Seal truly is an excellent place for you to live and try to rebuild your clan. Here, everyone protects each other and has a chance to live safely."

The expressions of Saelil and the other young people present were filled with genuine concern and admiration for Darian. They believed his words and were innocent enough to think the city would truly take fair care of him.

"Please, anything you need, just tell Saelil, and she'll inform me. If the Violet Sky Clan can help in any way, we certainly won't refuse."

After saying that, the Vice-Master turned to Saelil and declared, "He is an important guest of the entire city. With the talent he has, he will surely prosper in the future. All of you should learn from Sir Darian. He's as young as you are, but many times stronger. Observe his attitude and then compare it to yours."

Pandir and the others immediately lowered their heads. Remembering the provocations they had made against Darian earlier, they felt a strong urge to hide somewhere.

Before, Darian had told Pandir that with the power he had, he wouldn't be able to withstand two of his strikes. Although Pandir hadn't accepted that at the time, he now realized that two strikes were already an absurd exaggeration. He knew he wouldn't even endure half a move.

Even Maeyu felt ashamed. Like Pandir, she had also looked down on them at first, believing her older sister was overestimating them. However, beyond the embarrassment, she felt deep admiration for her sister's insight.

"Senior, we…" Darian spoke calmly.

The Vice-Master slapped his forehead. "Oh, my apologies. When a person gets older, they end up talking too much. Please, go rest and prepare for your fight. Saelil and Maeyu accompany Sir Darian and his group. If he needs anything at all, just let me know."

Darian wanted to refuse, but when he saw Saelil's expression, he couldn't. She looked cold on the surface, but her emotional fluctuations were obvious to more experienced people.

With a sigh, he accepted, turned around, and the initial group departed, accompanied by two more members.

As soon as everyone had moved away, the Vice-Master's smile slowly faded. He sank into thought, turned around, and left.

…

"Greetings, Clan Master!"

In a private room, the Vice-Master of the Violet Sky Clan bowed respectfully before a figure seated in front of him.

The seated figure had an imposing stature. If someone saw his face for the first time, they would probably scream in shock. Half of his face was devoid of flesh and blood, exposing only bone. His single remaining eye shone with an intense light, further amplifying his intimidating presence.

With a deep voice, he spat out a single word: "Speak."

"I tested him. This Darian is extremely troublesome. I couldn't even say what I intended before he shut down my chances. I even felt like all my plans were seen through by him. I believe the clan won't be able to use him. Besides…"

The Vice-Master reported everything in detail. Immediately, the expression of that figure shifted to surprise… then to excitement.

Finally, the Clan Master spoke seriously, "Even you couldn't win him over. Then this heir really isn't an ordinary person. No wonder that old bastard trusted him and handed everything in the clan to him. He came to the city trusting in its safety? That sounds like a bad joke. Tell me, do you have any more information about him?"

"For now, we have nothing beyond his arena fight. He didn't reveal all of his power, and since he doesn't possess Void cultivation, we can't determine exactly how strong he is."

The Clan Master snorted. Throughout history, there had been terrifying figures who didn't possess Void cultivation. In fact, before the universe completely changed, the cultivation system was entirely different.

As shocking as it was, Darian's existence still seemed to make sense. Perhaps he had come from some remote island and, there, found a very ancient inheritance from someone who also didn't possess Void cultivation.

This only made the Clan Master even more excited. Darian possessed the Sacred Treasure, as well as a terrifyingly powerful cultivation technique.

"You didn't personally witness his fight? You couldn't make any kind of estimate?" the Clan Master asked, with a hint of disdain.

"All I could tell is that he cultivates a physical technique. That should be his core power. It's possible he has a legacy from a Beast with a terrifying physique," the Vice-Master replied, his tone filled with helplessness.

"Alright. Caoming is far stronger than Giltei. Even I would have to go all out and reveal a few things, though he wouldn't last long. So Darian will be forced to fight with everything he has against him. When the time comes, we'll naturally find out how strong he really is." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The Clan Master spoke with authority. Then his single eye flickered as he snorted coldly. "Hmph… Alaric and the City Lord have been there for far too long already. It's long past time for him to step down. He says nothing only because he can't do anything against us. Sooner or later, he'll be forced to abdicate. Then the real problem will be which of us, among the four clans, will be able to take his place."

"Send someone to inform them of this immediately. If Darian can't be used by us, it would be better to win the Empire's favor. With their support, our clan will have a huge advantage in taking over the entire city."

The Vice-Master fell into thought. In practice, his clan was handing everything Darian possessed over to the Empire, just to secure a good chance at controlling the city. It was better to command the second greatest power in the universe than to remain merely a powerful clan.

"Understood. I'll take care of it right away," he replied enthusiastically. Naturally, he agreed with the decision.

The Clan's Vice-Master turned around and left.

…

In a corner of the city.

"Sir Darian, this is the territory of the Wood Spirit Race. Welcome!"

The group arrived before a massive mountain. Herta smiled, relaxed, and gestured for them to enter.

Saelil had already taken a pill that Darian gave her and was completely healed physically. Her clothes had also been changed.

An older figure from that race was waiting for them and acted as a guide alongside the two.

Darian looked ahead and saw a mountain wrapped in mist and clouds. He couldn't see any buildings at the top, but within the swirling fog, he could make out gigantic trees rising toward the heavens, with thick vines coiled around them like dragons. That place was saturated with intense natural energy.

Two enormous willows intertwined in front of the mountain, forming a gate. They passed through calmly and began ascending the mountain. Its entire span was the dwelling place of the race.

"We live a simple life. We don't have much money or grand buildings. That's because all our resources are invested in the medical field. We rely on herbs and everything connected to nature to grow stronger," Hart began to explain calmly.

The place was very beautiful, but also extremely simple. Small wooden houses and tribal-style huts could be seen everywhere. They truly looked quite poor.

In short, the entire race lived on that massive mountain, which functioned as a gigantic medicinal field where they cultivated all kinds of herbs. However, they were not alchemists. Nor could they be, since they needed to absorb the herbs directly, and turning them into pills would be extremely harmful.

As a result, they became suppliers of materials for the city's alchemists, selling part of the herbs in exchange for resources. Because of this, the four clans and everyone in the city valued them, allowing them to live with a certain level of safety.

Even so, they could only sell the bare minimum. It was a cycle where they never had enough: either they gained resources, or they became stronger.

Despite the race's name, they were not good at directly manipulating the power of wood. Their combat strength was based on regenerating their bodies. At the same time, their bodies were fragile.

Yes, it was a combination that canceled out their own strengths. What was the point of regenerating easily if they took severe damage due to having weak defenses? In the end, everything balanced out, and they had no real advantage in battle.

Because of that, they decided to focus on long-range combat, using bows and arrows. They purchased countless techniques related to this and spent the few resources they had training the new generations. That way, they had some offensive power and could stay away from direct combat.

Herta and Hart were the youngest figures to reach the Heaven Saint Realm in many generations. They were considered the supreme geniuses of their race and were visiting the city for the first time. Even so, they had deep knowledge of everything about their own race.

Darian listened attentively and asked questions with curiosity as they walked through the medicinal fields filled with herbs.

This race was able to communicate with plants and had a certain degree of control over them. Even those without any intelligence or soul, simple medicinal herbs, could be subtly contacted. Because of that, they knew exactly what each one needed to grow stronger and evolve faster.

In addition, they could identify all the energies present in the herbs, as well as which combinations had the greatest synergy with one another.

From time to time, the Race Leader would allow an alchemist to visit them in exchange for large sums of money. For that alchemist, it was like finding a treasure. He would ask millions of questions and write down every syllable they said.

This race could easily point out which herbs should be used to create a pill and even what the best cooking method would be, such as temperature, order of ingredients, and other details.

All of this without any formal knowledge of alchemy, relying solely on the combination of energies and elements within each herb. They felt it naturally, and it was easy for them to explain.

Darian's eyes lit up as he heard all of this.

The herbs that existed there were the best in this universe, but to him, they looked like nothing more than trash. What really mattered was that this race was the most fantastic and valuable thing he had ever found for Veyle.

At present, that woman was no longer just the alchemist Darian had helped train. She was his brother's wife and had become part of the family. And more than that… she was pregnant when he left. Because of this, Darian would go beyond any limit to help her whenever he could.

She had never had a teacher and relied only on instinct and practice to find combinations and create better pills. If she could count on the help of this race, study and learn everything from them, using the incredible materials Darian provided, there would be no limits to how far she could go.

When they reached the midpoint of the mountain, a handsome man, very similar to Hart, appeared before the group.

Herta and Hart immediately bowed when they saw him.

"Greetings, Race Leader!"