Difference Between Heaven And Earth.

"Did you handle that situation?" Kui Lang asked one of his team captains, a young man who appeared to be in his early twenties and wore the green Gu Master attire of the Lin tribe, accented with occasional lines of black and gold embroidery.

"Yes, Elder. I already contacted her and dropped everything off at the location we agreed upon—but she didn't come..." he added, looking ashamed.

"It's fine, Hong Zhen. That's another reason to hate enslavement Gu Masters too. Besides, we can't do anything to her even if we capture her. I just wanted to make sure it was really her," Kui Lang replied, seeming to understand instantly.

"Yes, it was an ancient guardian who came and took the materials," Hong Zhen confirmed, though he didn't feel good about it himself.

"Hmph, one day I'll teach her a lesson. But for now, forget about it—we need to get Elder Ma Li's help first," Kui Lang ordered as they entered Ma tribe territory, moving with purpose toward a predetermined location.

Hong Zhen nodded and took in his surroundings. There was greenery and wildlife all around them. Elder Kui Lang and his five team captains were headed to meet with the Ma tribe's first elder to request something, though neither Hong Zhen nor any of the five knew exactly what it was.

They continued on for a while without encountering a single soul. Suddenly, a hunched old man with a wrinkled face appeared. He had a white beard that stretched past his chest, and his eyes were shut as if resting. But as they approached, he opened them—revealing deep black eyes with hints of red in their depths. Though he exuded frailty and wisdom, Hong Zhen instinctively felt he should avoid that gaze at all costs. One person even began sweating and clutched at their chest feeling an oppressive aura when they stared at those eyes.

"Oh? Esteemed guests from the Lin tribe. Excuse my rudeness—attending to people was never one of my strengths. It was simply more convenient to meet you here than back at the tribe," the old man said. The tint of red in his eyes vanished, and the oppressive air lifted.

"Greetings to the Vice Alliance Leader. How could we be so ignorant as to fault Elder Ma Li? Hahaha, it is indeed more convenient." They cupped their fists in greeting, and Elder Kui Lang chuckled and shook his head.

"Good, good. The Alliance Leader sent me an order to meet with you, but I didn't expect you to come with that," he said, glancing at an item one of the team captains was holding.

"...Hahaha, this is just a small gift. After all, if not for Elder Ma Li, we wouldn't have known about Qin Jing and his caravan of rockmen." His expression then turned serious. "Besides, this isn't the only reason we wanted to meet with you, Vice Alliance Leader."

Ma Li handed the "gift" to a subordinate who appeared silently at his side and shook his head. "Your tribe isn't short of powerful wisdom path methods to investigate these matters—but it's a shame you lack the manpower to use them. I will put this gift to good use. Now, tell me—what do you wish to discuss?" If one had only a sword but no strength to wield it, what good was it in the end?

'It will be more useful in Elder Ma Li's hands... besides... we need him...' Kui Lang sighed internally, then smiled at Ma Li.

"I don't believe Elder Ma Li is unaware—hahaha. How could we hide anything from The Eyes of The Ma?" Yet he still explained, "Alliance Leader Lin Ling Li requests the Vice Alliance Leader's assistance with the matter of the Mindless Wasp." His expression turned serious once again.

"...Jin Xiong Jianjun... huh," Ma Li muttered to himself, while remembering a conversation he didn't participate in.

...

"...No, that's too dangerous. If not for that incident a hundred years ago, this little struggle we're putting up would have been futile. That power is too dangerous to involve ourselves with..." Chen Renshu was shaking his head.

"Even if that's true, Elder Ru Da is still right. We need to at least make sure its appearance is just a coincidence and not connected to that incident a century ago." Chen Renshu frowned and didn't need to look to know who was speaking.

"Elder Long He is still young and inexperienced, after all. How can this be a coincidence? Where is Elder Ma Li when we need him?" he sighed and shook his head, continuing with a more stern and condescending expression. "We might as well just surrender to the Jin tribe if this is how our elders think. Do you understand how secretive they are about that incident? They won't even admit how much they lost, and all the numbers out there are just noisy people trying to guess how bad it really was."

"Your point, Elder Chen?" Long He didn't appear to mind his attitude and smiled instead of lashing out.

"Hmph. Beside the obvious danger, my point is, no one in the entire region is as knowledgeable about the Mindless Wasp and its creator, Jin Xiong Jianjun, as the Jin tribe. And to assume they aren't connected to the appearance of their most infamous traitor's creation is..." His words trailed off, and his smug expression sank as he saw Long He's smile blossom more and more as he spoke.

"Yes, Elder Chen Renshu is truly wise," she cupped her fist at him, then turned to the main seat. "This is definitely not a coincidence, and how can we ignore those scheming and despicable Jin tribesmen? Tribe Leader, we need to take this incident seriously and investigate where this particular Mindless Wasp came from. We can't let the Jin tribe's scheme succeed."

"I agree. We don't want to find ourselves in the same situation the Jin tribe faced back then, with a considerable number of our Gu Master brothers and sisters enslaved by an enemy," an elder said.

"And didn't Elder Ma Li's spy mention a risk like that? 'At any cost, you must not let him succeed... otherwise, our tribe—no, the alliance—will be destroyed or even enslaved by the Jin tribe eventually.' Those were his words, I believe," another added, which received nods from most of the elders.

'What the hell... I didn't mean to... I fell in her scheme...' Chen Renshu gritted his teeth in anger, but seeing the tribe leader nodding in agreement, he voiced no further disagreement.

'Hmph, I might be young compared to you old fossils, but even if you lived ten thousand more years, you couldn't suppress me. That's just the natural difference between heaven and earth.' She still smiled at him, but this time it was full of pride and contempt.

The heavens were vast and boundless, out of reach for most people—only the geniuses of the truly gifted could soar through them. While this mere rock under their feet was limited, and everyone, big and small, trembled over it with their disgusting feet.

While Ma Chen Renshu was a famous and influential Rank Three Gu Master in their tribe, compared to a talent like Ma Long He, one could call him trash—and they wouldn't be wrong.

He hadn't reached Rank Three because of talent, either. That credit went mostly to his hard work—and more importantly, his family. The Ma side of the Chen family had been under the control of his father a hundred years ago, and when he found his only son's talent insufficient to advance to Rank Three, he abandoned that year's competition for their inheritance in favor of increasing his only heir's talent.

Yet he was still barely holding on at the beginning of the B grade, and after all that time, he hadn't managed to improve it further. Well, he could have, but the cost was simply too high compared to the meager gains he would've received. Investing that same cost in the younger generation was far more worthwhile. So, he wasn't exactly a genius—and if not for a powerful family and his ancestors to rely upon, he wouldn't be sitting at this table today. Ma Long He comparing him to the filthy earth wasn't baseless.

As for her being compared to the heavens—though her family descended from Gu Masters and had produced many throughout their history—they had never once produced an elder-level expert. She was the first in that barely-holding-together bunch of strangers who called themselves a family. She was a top B grade too, and with the effort she consistently put in, she was certainly on her way to advancing to Rank Four. But that wasn't what she took pride in.

It was the way she gathered those strangers and forged them into a force equal in power and influence to the top families within the Ma tribe. Her wits and her insight into human nature and desire were what elevated her to this position, and she wouldn't trade that for greater talent in a million years, at least she believed so.

"Considering how little we know about the situation, Elder Ma Li and his abilities are needed. He can't investigate without Chen Ning's assistance. The First Elder is currently stationed just outside the Eastern gate, and 'that guy' is still herding the rockmen through the forest. He should arrive at the Lin tribe in a few hours, but they don't seem to have noticed anything yet," Chen Renshu said plainly, even though he disliked the idea of the Ma tribe helping Chen Ning. With Long He interfering, he had no better option.

'Hmph. I don't know what Chen Ning is offering you, but either way, I won't make it easy for either of you…' he thought, glancing at the blind-looking woman—Long He.

'…Even though I tried, this is all I can do with rank three power… Chen Renshu is Ma Li's son-in-law after all. How could he not suggest something like this… Still, it's not entirely bad. Chen Ning and the Lin tribe can't uncover the truth on their own, and with this support, we're bound to get results... But that result will be shared with Chen Renshu too...' She sighed at the mention of Ma Li's name. She had assumed Chen Renshu would enlist his help, but she had no way to counter it—his words were reasonable, after all.

'Even if you soar high in the heavens, there will always be someone who can fly higher—someone whose wings can overshadow you with their brilliance and talent. Wits are only a part of the whole; without the strength to back them, it's futile...' She sighed again and, in the end, decided not to interfere.

"That's only natural. How could such a serious matter not fall under the First Elder's jurisdiction? Without his Myriad Eyes watching, I wouldn't trust anyone," one elder said.

"It's good they didn't notice Qin Jing's arrival. We can inform them gradually and lull them into a false sense of security—get them to cooperate without giving up too much," another suggested.

"Then it's settled. The Mindless Wasp's appearance isn't just a threat to our tribe, but to the entire alliance. We'll collaborate with the Lin tribe for now, as their late student, Lin Chen Yan, was the first to uncover the threat—that gives us a solid starting point. If something significant is found that requires more manpower, we'll inform the Shui tribe. The fewer people who know, the better chance we have of keeping it secret—at least until we confirm whether this is truly just a coincidence," the tribe leader concluded, offering Long He a simple smile that made her uncomfortable.