While Su Ping pondered about the Golden Crows, many people in the palace noticed his absentmindedness when everybody was looking at him.

He wasn’t losing his cool because of nervousness; rather, he was too relaxed.

“Interesting.” A God Emperor smiled. The human genius became increasingly mysterious and strange to him.

Some mentors of the institute approached Elder Chan and Su Ping to lead the way.

The pair moved to the front of the hall where nine elders were seated. Aside from the five who had monitored the Dao Child challenge, there were four more. The rest of the elders were either training in seclusion or otherwise occupied.

“Give him the identity badge,” said the elder who hosted the ritual in a low voice.

His voice was gentle, and yet was able to reach every corner of the hall.

A crack in midair was formed, and a pair of fair and slender hands reached out from within. The hands were incredibly beautiful. Once open, they revealed a purple identity badge.

Su Ping accepted the badge and soon discovered that it was also an artifact.

The elders then presented him with gifts, one after the other.

There were blades, defensive equipment, boats, rare medicines, and many more. They seemed to have discussed between themselves to prevent the type of gift from overlapping.

Su Ping was surprised, not expecting to receive all those goodies just because he became a Dao Child.

Each of those treasures would have caused endless conflicts outside. After all, the elders were all God Emperors. None of them were stingy when it came to treating Su Ping, a Dao Child. Their gifts were quite rare.

Su Ping offered thanks to each and every one of them. He also made some mental notes about those elders’ faces, as he was determined to return the favor later on.

After the gift giving stage, Su Ping learned more about Dao Children from the elders. He also received a special divine mountain to use for his cultivation.

Although he had never been to the divine mountain, he could speculate that it was certainly a top cultivation land.

Once the ceremony proceeded, Su Ping gradually realized how precious Dao Children were. Almost all the resources of the Heavenly Path Institute were offered to him for free, and had access to all the mysterious realms and libraries. He was free to pick from the ultimate beasts domesticated by the institute. He couldn’t take them all, but they could definitely meet his demands.

Once the elders finished, Su Ping could clearly sense that the eyes of all the mentors in the palace became passionate.

Dao Children enjoyed a higher security clearance than the mentors.

All the outstanding students had a chance to become mentors, but much fewer were Dao Children.

Once the ritual had finally concluded, those present in the palace could bear it no longer. They all started talking.

One of the God Emperors stood up and offered a sincere invitation, “I’m from the Baichuan Clan of the Tianmu Continent. Are you interested in joining the Heavenly Radiance Palace of my clan as deputy leader? You’ll have access to all the palace resources!” Su Ping was surprised. He also realized that his identity had changed.

The attitude of those God Emperors was different because they thought he too would become a God Emperor.

Making proposals to a would-be God Emperor was much less costly then, compared to when he truly became one.

Besides, the real God Emperors had their own clans which they needed to serve.

However, unlike the other Dao Children, Su Ping’s own clan was too weak. Even if he wanted to serve his clan, it was impossible for humankind to keep him fed while he was growing. Even if the clan was able to, his growth would be better if he received resources from another clan.

“The Heavenly Radiance Palace is just a second-rate organization. It’s nothing remarkable, even if you have access to all their resources.” An alluring woman stood up. Flames formed a domain around him, isolated her from the palace. She seemed to be there, but she was actually in another time and space.

“Dao Child, I’m the master of the Red Dome Realm of the Beicang Continent. If you’re willing, you can become the deputy of the Red Dome Realm, a position that is only second to me. You will also receive the special Nine-Flavored Heavenly Fire of the Red Dome Realm!”

“The Nine-Flavored Heavenly Fire?” Su Ping looked at Elder Chan curiously.

The latter understood the cue and said telepathically, “It’s one of the best fires for refining, unique in the Red Dome Realm. It’s a remnant from the age of chaos which can refine both items and the body. A rare treasure even for God Emperors.”

Su Ping was stunned, not thinking he would be offered such a treasure. The master of the Red Dome Realm was truly generous.

The other God Emperors were also shocked by the woman, and weren’t as eager to step in as before. It was obvious, unless Su Ping were stupid, that he would surely choose the Red Dome Realm’s offer.

“Human Dao Child, I belong to the Liluo Clan,” said a tall and graceful God Emperor at a slow and serene pace, then ending with a smile, “If you’re willing, you can be the deputy leader of the Thousand Shadows Hall of my clan. Humans may also become a core vassal race of my clan. All your people may cultivate in our holy land and enjoy the resources and privileges of the tier-3 folk of our clan.

“In addition, you will receive a special accolade from our clan. You will have the same status as our princes!

“Are you willing to accept?”

He looked at Su Ping with a confident smile.

Many were surprised by such favorable conditions.

Considering the reactions from those present, Su Ping realized that those terms were extraordinary. He looked askance at Elder Chan.

Elder Chan calmly replied, “The Liluo Clan is one of the seven greatest clans. They have two Ancestral Gods, making them stronger than other high-ranked clans, including the Rain Clan currently hunting you! I don’t think they would dare continue the chase if you join the Liluo Clan. Of course, even if you don’t, they would no longer dare mess with you from this point on!

“As for the Thousand Shadows Hall, it’s a major organization of assassins under the Liluo Clan’s command. It’s full of high-tier assassins.

“If you take the deputy position, your connections, your income, and the forces at your disposal will be terrifying threats.” Su Ping nodded. He didn’t know it was one of the seven greatest clans. The previous reaction from the people present made more sense.

Su Ping looked at the elder and directly asked, “Senior, are there other benefits?”

Many were surprised by the question, but his status warranted such an easy going attitude.

The other Dao Children would also have a solid attitude in the presence of God Emperors.

“What else do you want?” asked the God Emperor of the Liluo Clan with a smile.

“Training resources,” said Su Ping, “The Thousand Shadows Hall is great, but I don’t have many enemies, except for the Rain Clan It is clear to me that the organization would not go all out and eliminate the Rain Clan for me; at most it would only cause them some pain. So, I need resources to raise my level. For instance, the Nine-Flavored Heavenly Fire mentioned by the master of the Red Dome Realm is very tempting.”

The sexy master of that clan raised her eyebrows; there was delight and pride in her eyes.

The Nine-Flavored Heavenly Fire he had control over was indeed a treasure that everybody wanted.

Su Ping’s request caused many strange expressions. The grudge between Su Ping and the Rain Clan was no longer a real secret, but none of them expected him to speak about that matter as openly. It was like a public announcement, claiming that the Rain Clan was his enemy. After all, it was a high-ranked clan!

In any case, considering all their clashes thus far, it made no difference whether or not he said it aloud.

“The Thousand Shadows Hall is not the most precious thing for you.” The God Emperor of the Liluo Clan gazed at Su Ping, his smile gone. “We don’t have the Nine-Flavored Heavenly Fire; it’s unique in this world. However, the identity of a prince and the privileges of a core vassal race can’t be traded with any treasures.”

Su Ping finally understood. He wasn’t angered by the answer; rather, he felt really disappointed.

According to that guy’s standpoint, giving him a princely identity and the privileges of a vassal race was already a competitive enough proposal when compared to that of the woman who offered him the Nine-Flavored Heavenly Fire.

How arrogant was that!

He had experienced the same arrogance from the Rain Clan and some of the other clans. He didn’t expect to find the same mindset in one of the seven greatest clans.

Su Ping finally understood that the Rain Clan wasn’t special, and the entire world of gods was no different.

Even while studying in the Heaven Path Institute—where all races lived and studied competitively–he had also detected the arrogance radiated by students from the high-ranked clans, mainly because of their superior bloodline. The attitude was less obvious, though.

“Sorry. I think I need to think about it.” Su Ping wasn’t angry. He simply chose to courteously decline.

He discovered that he would no longer fall prey to anger because of the gods’ arrogance.

The God Emperor of the Liluo Clan slightly changed his expression after the answer, clearly not expecting such an outcome. He deemed it impossible for Su Ping to turn down the offer. Someone in his clan had proposed a marriage between a princess and Su Ping, even suggesting that they could help Su Ping alter his bloodline and turn him into a member of the Liluo Clan. But the idea wasn’t approved.

They considered it humiliating to go as far as changing his bloodline and offer such privileges just because he was a Dao Child.

“Then, are you willing to join the Red Dome Realm?” asked the beautiful lady with glittering eyes.

She had been truly worried for a moment that he would accept the Liluo Clan’s offer.

After all, there were a billion clans in the world, but only seven were at the peak of the pyramid.

Countless races and lives had dreamt to even become remotely related to the seven clans.

Even some people of the high-ranked clans had considered changing their bloodlines and turning into members of the seven greatest clans. It seemed to be some sort of obsession caused by their obsessively hierarchical society.

Su Ping turning down the Liluo Clan’s offer caused her both relief and delight.