"Never… give up on yourself?" Cui Yu raised her head and looked at Ye Xin with a bewildered expression, clearly not understanding what she meant.
Seeing Cui Yu's confusion, Ye Xin gently continued, "Did you know? The Mu Ling Clan is already living in the Hua Xia Empire, which is the empire where I live."
"The Mu Ling Clan went to your empire? Is that the Eastern Continent where the humans live?" Hearing Ye Xin's words, Cui Yu's eyes widened in surprise. "So, the Mu Ling Clan ended up on the Eastern Continent after all? How are they doing now?"
The three races—Mu Ling Clan, Green Spirit Clan, and Earth Spirit Clan—had always sympathized with each other due to their similar circumstances. They shared a close bond.
When the Mu Ling Clan was expelled, both remaining clans had worried about what would happen to them.
A tribe forced to flee into the chaotic sea? Their fate seemed grim. But never would Cui Yu have guessed that the Mu Ling Clan ended up in the territory of the human race—the Eastern Continent. She certainly hadn't expected them to be living in the empire of the woman standing in front of her.
Reflecting on it, Cui Yu figured the Mu Ling Clan must have followed the advice of the three human elders, who had first been saved by the Mu Ling Clan.
"Now, the Mu Ling Clan has become citizens of the Hua Xia Empire. They're still the Mu Ling Clan, but they are also Hua Xia people," Ye Xin said as she looked at Lin Qian lying on the bed, her voice soft. "Xiao Qian saw the strengths of the Mu Ling Clan and created the Department of Agriculture, putting them in charge."
"Now, the cultivation of spirit herbs and spirit trees in the Hua Xia Empire relies on the Mu Ling Clan," Ye Xin continued, explaining to Cui Yu what life was like for the Mu Ling Clan now.
She described how the Hua Xia Empire had built a city specifically for the Mu Ling Clan and outlined the responsibilities they had within the empire and the contributions they were expected to make.
"Creating new spirit herbs and spirit trees?" Cui Yu gasped in disbelief after hearing Ye Xin's explanation.
Initially, when Cui Yu heard that the Mu Ling Clan was still responsible for cultivating spirit herbs and trees, she thought their new life sounded no different from their former servitude under the Fengxun Clan in the underground world. But as Ye Xin continued, Cui Yu found herself increasingly amazed.
Under the Fengxun Clan, the three clans had always been treated as mere tools. They built their own homes and fended for themselves, while the Fengxun Clan cared only about extracting enough spirit herbs, trees, and edible soul beasts from them. The Fengxun Clan didn't care about their survival.
So when Cui Yu heard that the Hua Xia Empire had accepted the Mu Ling Clan as citizens and built them their own city, she couldn't believe it. To her, the idea that an alien race could become citizens of a human empire was inconceivable.
And Lin Qian's directive to the Mu Ling Clan? To create new types of spirit herbs and trees? That sounded like a task only the heavens could accomplish.
"Actually, on our way here, the Mu Ling Clan successfully created their first new spirit herb: the Blood-Stopping Bone-Setting Herb," Ye Xin raised a finger, smiling. "It's a hybrid of the Blood-Stopping Grass and the Bone-Setting Grass, capable of both stopping bleeding and setting bones. One plant has the effect of ten of either herb."
"Is that true? Sister, you're not tricking me, right?" Cui Yu had initially wondered if Lin Qian was asking too much of the Mu Ling Clan. But hearing that they had already achieved such a feat left her speechless.
"Now, do you still think the Mu Ling Clan's talent is useless?" Ye Xin smiled at Cui Yu. "Creating new spirit herbs and trees—once word spreads about what the Mu Ling Clan has achieved, it will shake the entire Soul Martial Continent."
"Even the upper-class races of the Western Continent, no matter how strong, can't do what the Mu Ling Clan has done. It wouldn't be far-fetched to consider them an upper-class race now, would it?"
Cui Yu nodded repeatedly. The difference between merely cultivating spirit herbs and trees and creating entirely new varieties was like night and day.
"Xiao Qian always says that there's no such thing as a superior or inferior race, that all beings are equal. There's no such thing as the best talent—only talents that are used to their fullest potential," Ye Xin continued with a smile, glancing at Lin Qian. "If he were awake, I'm sure he'd find a way to make your Green Spirit Clan and the Earth Spirit Clan's talents just as remarkable."
Cui Yu turned to look at the young man lying on the bed, her gaze softening. "But in your empire, would the Mu Ling Clan still be looked down on by other humans?"
"In our empire, it's not just the Mu Ling Clan. There are also the Red Horn Clan, the Eight-Armed Sea Clan, and others. Mixed marriages between humans and other races have already begun to happen. While people are aware that there are different races in the Hua Xia Empire, there's a common belief that unites everyone."
Ye Xin paused, her smile growing warmer as she looked at Cui Yu.
"Everyone is part of the Hua Xia Empire."
Cui Yu stared at Ye Xin, feeling as though she had just experienced a gentle breeze in the spring, and suddenly, she longed to visit the mysterious Hua Xia Empire.
After a long moment of hesitation, Cui Yu finally gathered her courage and asked, "Sister, when you return to the Hua Xia Empire, can you take me with you to see it?"
Ye Xin smiled and nodded without hesitation, "Of course! If you want to come, it won't be a problem at all."
Overjoyed by Ye Xin's agreement, Cui Yu jumped excitedly before running off, eager to tell her friends about the wondrous empire across the sea.
A place where different races lived in harmony, where the Mu Ling Clan had already settled and even had their own city.
As Cui Yu bounced away, Ye Xin couldn't help but smile. This trip wasn't just about rescuing the three elders; if possible, she hoped to bring the Green Spirit Clan and the Earth Spirit Clan with them to make the Hua Xia Empire even stronger.
While it wouldn't be appropriate for Ye Xin to directly convince the Green Spirit Clan to join, she could plant the seed in Cui Yu's mind and let the news of the Hua Xia Empire spread naturally. This was the best approach.
Ye Xin was confident that through Cui Yu, the entire underground world would soon know about the Mu Ling Clan's new home and the potential for a different life.
Moreover, Ye Xin sincerely hoped to bring these two clans out of the darkness and away from the Fengxun Clan's exploitation.
"Big sister! You need to leave quickly!" Cui Yu suddenly came running back, her face filled with panic. She shouted at Ye Xin, "The Fengxun Clan is here!"