Chapter 47: The Eight Tribes and Ten Clans of the Grasslands

"He's not from any known family!"
"He bears some resemblance to Murong Quan from a hundred years ago!"
Murong Yu hesitated before she spoke. As a martial artist already attuned to spiritual power, her memory was flawless. The man who had just passed by, though far less handsome than Murong Quan—
Nevertheless, his features bore a striking similarity to the portrait of Murong Quan.
From the very first glance, Murong Yu was reminded of the man once hailed as the most handsome on the grasslands a century earlier.
Even if their looks differed greatly, her instincts as a spirit medium left no room for doubt—
She was convinced that the man who had just passed by was somehow connected to Murong Quan!
"Murong Quan?"
"A man from a hundred years ago?"
Duanmu Yun was evidently not as familiar with the name as Murong Yu and only recalled who he was after a moment’s thought. He said to Murong Yu,
"The Murong Quan you mention—is he the one who, over seventy years ago, nearly destroyed the Murong clan?"
"But his appearance is very different from Murong Quan’s!"
Though Duanmu Yun had never seen Murong Quan’s portrait, he knew the man once called the most handsome on the grasslands—
Must have been astonishingly attractive!
The man who had just passed, while possessing a certain bearing, had left little impression with his looks—
He was not handsome at all!
The difference between the two was simply too great!
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"Perhaps I was mistaken."
Murong Yu offered no further explanation to Duanmu Yun, her tone calm. Yet inwardly, she was already on high alert.
A century ago, the Murong clan had been one of the eight tribes and ten great families on the steppe. It was because of Murong Quan—more precisely, Luhun Quan—that the Murong clan fractured and scattered.
Her own branch had drifted all the way to the Western Regions.
With such a bitter history, it was little wonder she paid so much attention!
"The portrait might differ, but a martial artist’s memory never errs—"
"Perhaps I should notify the family and have them come to confirm!"
Though seventy or eighty years had passed, there were still members of the Murong clan who had seen Murong Quan.
For instance, Murong Yu’s great-uncle Murong Xian was still alive—
Now already ninety-eight years old!
"Seventy-seven years ago, when Murong Quan incited civil war within the clan, my great-uncle was only twenty-one."
"Though his status was low at the time, he met Murong Quan on several occasions."
"With his memory as a grandmaster, surely he could tell!"
With this in mind, Murong Yu immediately instructed her family’s attendant to deliver news of the suspected descendant of Murong Quan, hoping someone would be sent to investigate.
Then, together with Duanmu Yun, Duanmu Qun, and the others, she proceeded toward the shrine in the area.
Not far away, the leader of the Snow Eagle Branch of the Fire God Sect, having received word, was already hurrying out to greet them!
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"Murong Quan?"
"What connection could he possibly have with Great-Grandfather Lu Quan?"
Far away, Lu Sheng, who had already departed, pondered to himself.
Though he had no intention of prying into the Fire God Sect’s secrets, his wariness toward Duanmu Yun had led him to plant a mind-controlling parasite on the man’s horse.
Unexpectedly, he had overheard this very conversation.
"Lu Quan, Murong Quan—though the surnames differ, the names sound identical—"
"Could it be that Murong Quan was Great-Grandfather’s alias on the steppe?"

As for the stories about Great-Grandfather Lu Quan, the Lu family of Blackstone Island had few records, only that he lived on the steppe for many years, later journeyed to Blackstone Island, where after discovering sea dragon ginseng, he married a local woman and founded the Lu family there.
"The Lu family of Blackstone Island, originally from the Lu clan of Bingzhou, are descendants of Emperor Jing’s second son, Prince Jin Lu Xiaokun."
"This branch, compared to the ever-flourishing Lu clans of Central Province and Yangzhou, was never particularly strong."
"In the days of the Great Jing’s might, there was no problem."
"But after the dynasty’s decline, troubles began to emerge!"
Reflecting on the history of the Bingzhou Lu clan, Lu Sheng’s thoughts drifted to the Western Regions:
"Come to think of it, the decline of the Bingzhou Lu clan is connected to the Long River Blade King of the Western Regions!"
"In the 432nd year of Great Jing, the People’s Sect instigated a rebellion, marking the beginning of the dynasty’s weakening."
"At the same time, a formidable grandmaster rose in the Western Regions—the Long River Blade King."
"This man not only unified the Western Regions but, taking advantage of the Central Plains’ vulnerability, crossed the steppe and desert to invade Liangzhou!"
"In the end, though he was thwarted by the Qin clan of Yongzhou and the Sword Sect of Yizhou—"
"His campaign enabled the Heavenly Horse and Sand Camel tribes of the steppe to blend into Liangzhou!"
"Thereafter, they became a major threat in eastern Liangzhou!"
The Heavenly Horse and Sand Camel tribes were ancient totem clans of the steppe, venerating the heavenly horse and sand camel as their totems.
Both had once ranked among the eight tribes and ten great families.
Even after the Sand Camel tribe was driven out of Liangzhou by the Heavenly Horse tribe, it remained one of the Eight Tribes, its strength formidable.
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At this point, one must speak of the steppe itself.
East of the Western Regions, north of the Central Plains, and south of the Snowfields lies a vast grassland.
Here, countless nomadic tribes eke out their existence.
By their bonds, these tribes can be divided into totem clans and clan-lineage tribes.
Totem clans are bound by the worship of a common totem. Anyone sharing the totem is considered a member of the clan.
However, to be part of the core, one must awaken the bloodline of the totem—
For the cultivation arts passed down in these clans are mostly tied to blood.
For instance, the Heavenly Horse clan’s totem is a celestial steed. The core members all possess celestial horse blood.
Later, when the Heavenly Horse tribe integrated into Liangzhou and transformed from a clan into a lineage, those who awakened the celestial horse blood formed the core and, in imitation of Central Plains custom, established the Ma family—
Eventually, they became the renowned Ma clan of Western Liang today!
Ma Buting and Ma Buti, brothers who died in the Snake Pit of Blackstone Island at Lu Sheng’s hands, were scions of this family.
Their cultivation art, the Heavenly Horse Soaring Technique, could only be practiced by those with awakened celestial horse blood.
Even outsiders who joined the family found it nearly impossible to master such arts.
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In contrast, clan-lineage tribes are centered around familial bloodlines, often descended from formidable steppe warriors.
For example, the ancestor of the Murong clan had once ruled vast swathes of the grasslands as a grandmaster. Over the centuries of his life, his descendants flourished, eventually forming the Murong clan.
Due to their emphasis on blood ties, such clans rarely admitted outsiders.
However, as their inherited arts rarely required particular bloodlines, outsiders who changed their surname could potentially become core members.
Moreover, these bloodline-based clans were even more cohesive and thrived on the steppe.
Thus, over millennia, many totem clans faded as their bloodlines thinned, while clan-lineage tribes flourished. In fact, most tribes on the steppe today are clan-based.
This has also altered the power structure at the top.
Where once the assembly of the eight great totem clans could decide all matters on the steppe and were collectively called the "Eight Tribes,"
Now, the ten largest clan-lineage tribes must be included in such decisions, and all tribes are collectively referred to as the "Eight Tribes and Ten Clans."
Thus arose the saying—
Sometimes they are simply called the "Eighteen Tribes of the Steppe!"
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"The transformation of the Heavenly Horse tribe into the Ma clan of Western Liang was driven by a grandmaster named Ma Xingkong!"
"This grandmaster rose to prominence resisting the Blade King’s invasion and gradually took control of Liangzhou, driving the Sand Camel tribe back to the steppe desert."
"Afterward, he invaded eastward, entering Bingzhou!"
The Lu clan of Bingzhou had never produced a grandmaster, and with the court in decline, the Prince of Jin was forced to seek help from clans on the steppe that had once been enemies of the Heavenly Horse tribe.
That decision not only failed to repel the Ma clan of Western Liang but instead invited disaster, as steppe clans took the opportunity to pillage Bingzhou, even dragging the Prince of Jin’s line into the grasslands.
"Later, the descendants of Bingzhou Lu in the grasslands grew and eventually established the Luhun clan."
"Centuries later, after the Huan King slew the Golden Wolf King, the steppe tribes suspected the Luhun clan of colluding with the Central Plains’ Lu clan and betraying their secrets—"
"The Luhun tribe was massacred!"
"Only Ancestor Lu Quan survived by chance, eventually making his way to Blackstone Island, where he founded the Lu family."
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"The Lu family of Blackstone Island has continued for three generations, always marrying plain women, and their appearance has long since changed—"
"However, now I might resemble Great-Grandfather very closely!"
Rebirth reshaped Lu Sheng’s form from infancy, allowing him to refine his body anew.
Though he hadn’t altered it deliberately, the finest traits of his lineage had manifested, as if he’d inherited the most perfect features of his ancestors—
His appearance was not much changed overall, but anyone who’d seen him before could tell he was now far more handsome.
That was why, on entering the city, he’d made himself seem older and more ordinary.
"Though Great-Grandfather never left a portrait, my father and grandfather all say he was extremely handsome."
"But apparently, he was dissatisfied with his looks, so when he married on the island, he chose a plain woman."
"And he left a family rule that neither my grandfather nor my father should marry a beauty."
"Thus, after my rebirth, it’s very likely I strongly resemble my great-grandfather."
Rebirth had strengthened his innate essence, revealing the best of his lineage. If his great-grandfather truly had such remarkable looks, it was entirely possible Lu Sheng resembled him greatly.
"My altered face is simply an older, more ordinary version of my eighteen-year-old self—"
"My features, though, are little changed."
"That must be what allowed that woman to see through me!"
At this, Lu Sheng could only sigh that it was no fault of his own—
Who could have imagined that, in the Western Regions tens of thousands of miles from Blackstone Island, he would encounter someone with a grudge against his great-grandfather?
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"It seems, next time I change my appearance, I’ll have to alter my entire face!"
With this thought, Lu Sheng recalled a stack of animal hides he’d seen when inheriting the family legacy on Blackstone Island:
"Though Great-Grandfather never spoke of his time on the steppe,"
"those hides show his status there was far from low."
"Eagle Eye Technique, Wolf Eye Technique, and those martial arts all have distinguished origins!"
Eagle Eye and Wolf Eye were both mystical techniques, closely guarded secrets on the steppe, passed down only to those of high status.
"Perhaps, during his time on the steppe, Great-Grandfather took the Murong name and became the very Murong Quan those two mentioned—"
"This matter, I must be wary of!"
Though he did not know the exact relationship between Murong Quan and the Murong clan, Lu Sheng could tell from the tone of their conversation that it wasn’t a happy story—
He might well be caught up in the old feud!