Chapter 105: Seal Gate
"Snow Moon Kingdom's imperial family, the Duan Clan's ancestors, actually reached such a realm!" A sharp glint flashed in Lin Feng's eyes. No wonder the Duan family could rule for generations—they could inherit bloodline power.
With the bloodline power passed down from their ancestors, even if their talent was poor, they would still be stronger than ordinary people. Their starting point was already a huge step ahead of others, and moreover, they could inherit bloodline martial souls!
"Because the degree of inherited bloodline power varies, the talent passed down to descendants is also different. Even this kind of bloodline martial soul is graded, some strong and some weak. Therefore, the Duan family has a rule: every Duan family descendant must have many wives and concubines, the more the better."
Lin Feng was stunned for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile. Since inheriting bloodline power was entirely a matter of luck, the Duan family naturally hoped for as many descendants as possible. This way, the more likely it was that a descendant with a high degree of inherited bloodline power would appear. Among a batch of descendants, as long as one succeeded, that was enough. Lin Feng didn't need to be told to understand that the Duan family's thinking must be exactly this.
"Because of this rule, the Duan family's descendants are a mixed bag, and not all of them can live in the imperial palace. Thus, the weak are destined to be eliminated. Although I've heard that an ancestor made a mistake and was exiled from the palace, deep down I don't agree. In my opinion, this must be the real reason. Moreover, those eliminated and expelled from the imperial family are definitely not few in number."
Duan Feng continued speaking, and Lin Feng nodded in agreement. The Duan family members had many wives and concubines, so naturally they had even more descendants. No matter how vast the imperial palace was, it couldn't accommodate thousands of years of reproduction. Besides, with so many people, how could there not be chaos? Expulsion was inevitable.
"However, because every Duan family descendant can inherit bloodline power, even those who are expelled are the same. Therefore, those in power behind the vast deep palace and numerous curtains still send people to watch over us Duan family descendants. Once they discover a descendant who has inherited more bloodline power, they immediately take certain actions."
Duan Feng paused slightly at this point, then continued: "Brother Lin Feng, I won't hide it from you. The clan brother I told you about discovered me and recommended me to the Heavenly One Academy. Moreover, this clan brother's status is extraordinary—he is the current imperial family's Second Prince, holding great power. Not only is his talent extremely high, but he is also skilled in the art of scheming. He is a very formidable figure."
Second Prince? Lin Feng hadn't expected that the clan brother Duan Feng mentioned would have such a prominent status.
"Duan Feng, it seems your talent isn't weak either, inheriting bloodline power." Lin Feng looked at Duan Feng and smiled. Being valued by the Second Prince and invited to the imperial city clearly showed that Duan Feng had inherited a considerable amount of ancestral bloodline power.
"How much bloodline power one has inherited can't be seen directly; it depends on one's cultivation talent and the strength of the bloodline martial soul one can display. However, this kind of bloodline martial soul can also grow stronger as one's power increases. Right now, the bloodline martial soul I can release is still too weak, far inferior to the Second Prince. And what's even more terrifying isn't the Second Prince. In our generation, there is a monstrous genius whose talent hasn't been seen in hundreds of years. He is hailed as the strongest genius of the Duan family in a millennium, and the one who has inherited the most bloodline power in this thousand years."
Lin Feng listened carefully. According to Duan Feng, the Second Prince was already extremely outstanding, but there seemed to be an even more monstrous figure.
"This person is the Snow Moon Kingdom's Crown Prince, Duan Wudao, the one destined to rule Snow Moon in the future. He is not only called the most monstrous genius of the Duan family in a thousand years, but even in the entire Snow Moon Kingdom, his talent is unmatched. He ranks first among the Eight Young Masters, and no one has ever been able to shake his position. He is incredibly powerful. Although the Second Prince is also one of the Eight Young Masters, there is still a huge gap between him and the Crown Prince."
"Duan Wudao, true to his name. Though he is a peerless genius, he is cold-blooded and without principles. Those who obey him prosper; those who defy him die. He has killed countless people, his hands stained with blood. It is said that after his strength first matured, he challenged his own teacher. After his teacher was defeated, he was killed directly by him. In his view, those who lose to him are not qualified to be his teacher and deserve to die. Therefore, countless people hate him, but no one dares to defy or oppose him. Whoever defies him must die. The Crown Prince is without principles, arrogant beyond measure."
Killing his own teacher, so ruthless. Duan Wudao truly lived up to his name.
"If the Crown Prince is a peerless genius, it would be fine if others were more mediocre. But unfortunately, the Second Prince is also exceptionally talented. He is a few years younger than the Crown Prince and has also entered the ranks of the Eight Young Masters. Moreover, the Second Prince is humble and very popular."
Lin Feng nodded slightly, seeming to understand many things. "Since heaven gave birth to Yu, why give birth to Liang?"—this probably referred to this situation. And the discord Old Man Wang had mentioned must certainly refer to the Crown Prince and the Second Prince.
Sure enough, Duan Feng continued: "Although the Crown Prince is a peerless genius whom no one dares to defy, the Second Prince is not willing to fall behind. He is constantly making moves behind the scenes. It is said that the conflict between the two has deepened. Of course, I'm not very clear on the specifics, as I only heard these things from my father when he was alive. As for the Celestial Wolf King you asked about, Brother Lin Feng, he is on the Crown Prince's side."
"I see." Lin Feng nodded. "So Old Man Wang slandered me by saying I was one of the Celestial Wolf King's men, deliberately getting close to you to do you a favor, and then pulling you into the Crown Prince's faction?"
"En, exactly that." Duan Feng nodded.
The marquis's mansion was as deep as the sea, and the imperial palace behind those numerous curtains was even more so, full of scheming and deceit. Duan Feng had been drawn into it all because of a single order from the Second Prince, asking him to go to the Heavenly One Academy.
But when Duan Feng encountered danger several times, the Second Prince didn't show even a trace of himself. None of his people ever appeared.
"That Second Prince is very deep. You need to be careful." Lin Feng warned.
"Heh, no one dares to openly defy the Crown Prince's will, not even the Second Prince. Therefore, the Crown Prince's men can blatantly come to assassinate, just changing their identities. But the Second Prince's men don't dare to show themselves, because there are many people like me, and it's not worth clashing with the Crown Prince over me."
A bitter smile appeared on Duan Feng's lips. This was their tragedy.
"Perhaps the Crown Prince and the Second Prince have never appeared themselves; it's just their subordinates acting on their behalf."
Lin Feng nodded again, looking at Duan Feng with some surprise. For someone of Duan Feng's age to see so far was commendable. Sitting behind those curtains, the Crown Prince and the Second Prince indeed didn't need to handle everything personally. The massive groups behind them would naturally keep operating.
"I have one more question. The Duan family's descendants all inherit bloodline martial souls. Then why do Duan Tianlang and his son, whom I've seen, both use swords?"
"This is exactly the abnormal aspect of the bloodline martial soul that I wanted to add. If a Duan family descendant inherits weak bloodline power, their martial soul won't be dominated by the bloodline. They will naturally possess other types of martial souls, while also having the inherited bloodline martial soul simultaneously. However, the inherited bloodline martial soul will be weaker. So the Duan Tianlang father and son you mentioned should both have two martial souls."
"Even if they inherit weak bloodline power, they still have twin martial souls. The descendants of bloodline powerhouses are terrifying." Lin Feng was shocked inwardly.
"As for those who inherit strong bloodline power, the bloodline power dominates their talent, and what they inherit is a pure bloodline martial soul, making the martial soul's power even stronger." A strange expression appeared on Duan Feng's face. "Brother Lin Feng, I, in fact, have inherited a pure bloodline martial soul. That's why the Second Prince noticed me and invited me to the imperial city."
Lin Feng nodded slightly. He had already guessed that Duan Feng's talent was strong; otherwise, he wouldn't have been valued by both sides—one inviting, the other assassinating.
After a moment of silence, Duan Feng smiled at Lin Feng and said, "Brother Lin Feng, don't you want to know what this bloodline martial soul is?"
"I've never heard what the imperial Duan family's martial soul is, nor have I seen Duan Tianlang father and son use it. It must be very mysterious and not easily known to outsiders." Lin Feng smiled.
"Brother Lin Feng has saved me twice; how could you be considered an outsider? Brother Lin Feng, watch closely."
As Duan Feng finished speaking, a strange aura surged from his body. Behind Duan Feng, the phantom of his martial soul appeared.
Three dark gates floated quietly there, carrying an ancient aura. They were gates of darkness, profoundly deep dark gates, open yet showing no end.
Lin Feng stared blankly at the three dark gates, his body trembling slightly. At the same time, a sense of familiarity surfaced in his mind.
"Brother Lin Feng, if you encounter Duan family descendants in the future, you must be careful. Our martial soul is called the Seal Gate. It can seal others' strength, martial souls, and even their lives. The more seal gates one has, the stronger the inherited bloodline power and the stronger the bloodline martial soul. The Second Prince has five seal gates, extremely formidable. And the Crown Prince has inherited a terrifying six seal gates. There are rumors that the Duan family's incredibly powerful ancestor had a martial soul with nine seal gates. With one move, he could seal the souls of tens of thousands, unparalleled in the world."
"When the martial soul is activated, the seal gates close and merge into the opponent's body, representing that something of the opponent has been sealed—whether it be strength or martial soul."
Duan Feng spoke slowly, while Lin Feng's body couldn't help but tremble slightly, startling Duan Feng and Meng Qing, who stared blankly at Lin Feng.
"This is... the Seal Gate!" Lin Feng muttered to himself. An icy aura surged from his body. He finally remembered where that sense of familiarity came from. In his memories, he had seen this gate before, though it was very small and closed—a seal gate. But it was at the center of his father, Duan Hai's brow!!