87: Chapter 86 Bewitching the Heavenly Emperor

Hun Tiandi continued his probing: "Could it be that the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan still has experts who haven't returned?"

Zhu Kun glanced at Hun Tiandi, secretly muttering to himself: Why is this Hun Clan Chief's mind so erratic? I was clearly lamenting the clansmen who died in the Dragon Phoenix war just now, yet he suddenly brought the topic to experts who haven't returned...

However, Hun Tiandi's compliments earlier were quite pleasant to hear, so Zhu Kun didn't feel like scrutinizing his motives and simply nodded.

"Mm, there are some fellows who are at a critical moment in their Breakthrough and couldn't make it back for the wedding. Otherwise, for daring to miss such an important day, I'd have to skin them alive."

He was telling the truth; the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan indeed had two or three Dou Shengs who had been Cultivating in seclusion outside, and they were currently stuck at critical junctures of their Breakthroughs, unable to pull themselves away.

Hearing this, Hun Tiandi's heart skipped a beat and sank heavily.

Of these two men, one had too high an IQ and was overly suspicious, while the other had a straightforward personality.

This resulted in the two of them talking on completely different wavelengths.

Hun Tiandi wanted to pry more information from Zhu Kun about those unreturned experts, such as their strength, the Realm they were breaking into, and exactly when they could return.

But before the words could leave his mouth, he saw Elder Qing Shan walking over quickly.

Elder Qing Shan walked up to Zhu Kun and bowed slightly: "Old Dragon Emperor, the Dragon Emperor asked you to go over for a moment after you finish things here."

Zhu Kun felt a surge of joy.

His daughter must have been moved by the dowry he prepared and wanted to find him to express her thanks or something.

He turned to look at Hun Tiandi: "That, Tiandi, I'm terribly sorry, but I have something to attend to over there and must head over first. Let's chat again when we're free."

As a devoted father, nothing was more important than his daughter's affairs.

And with his strength, he had no need to consider Hun Tiandi's feelings.

He did as he pleased.

The words at the tip of Hun Tiandi's tongue instantly choked in his throat. He froze for a moment before managing to squeeze out: "Uh, alright, Brother Zhu, please suit yourself."

He couldn't remember how many years it had been since someone dared to ignore him like this.

But he had no choice; for one, he still had old injuries that hadn't fully healed;

Secondly, he could sense that Zhu Kun seemed slightly stronger than himself. If they truly fought, he might not necessarily win...

After Zhu Kun left, Elder Qing Shan turned around and cupped his hands toward Hun Tiandi:

"Clan Chief Hun, I am truly sorry. The Old Dragon Emperor indeed has urgent business and didn't have time to host you. I shall host you from here on."

Hun Tiandi suppressed the unpleasantness in his heart and nodded. He didn't plan to give up just like that. Since he couldn't get information from Zhu Kun's mouth, he would try with Elder Qing Shan.

As an Elder of the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan, Qing Shan surely knew many secrets.

Along the way, Hun Tiandi intentionally or unintentionally looked for topics, testing him with indirect questions.

But he didn't know that before coming, Ling Yuan had specifically instructed Qing Shan that when facing Hun Tiandi's probing, he should only speak in ambiguities—neither exaggerating nor revealing the truth—to prevent Hun Tiandi from figuring out the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan's true foundation.

Therefore, the words Qing Shan spoke left Hun Tiandi even more puzzled than Zhu Kun's had.

Hun Tiandi praised the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan, saying that including those experts who were away, the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan was likely the one with the most Dou Shengs on the entire continent.

Qing Shan said not at all, not at all; since some Elders hadn't returned yet, the Gu Clan and Hun Clan were still number one.

These words were full of deep meaning. They were "still" number one now, meaning if the others returned, they wouldn't be?

Hun Tiandi asked indirectly how many there were.

Qing Shan simply said: "In the past month, about thirty Dou Shengs have returned one after another. As for exactly how many haven't returned, I'm not too sure. I'm just a junior in the clan and am not particularly clear on it."

These words also led to a deep interpretation by Hun Tiandi: Qing Shan was just a junior yet had reached Two-Star Dou Sheng. What about the others then?

Qing Shan was much more sophisticated than Zhu Kun. Although he didn't excessively exaggerate, the hint of pride in his eyes was still captured by the sharp-minded Hun Tiandi.

First there was Zhu Kun, whose conversation on a different wavelength caused Hun Tiandi to misunderstand;

Then there was Qing Shan, whose ambiguous answers added a layer of mystery to the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan.

The unknown is what people fear most.

Especially for someone like Hun Tiandi, who was used to strategizing, planning everything before acting, and being extremely cautious.

Being unable to figure out the opponent's foundation meant he couldn't formulate a corresponding plan, which made him feel very uneasy.

The Hun Clan's strength was nearly the sum of the Gu, Yan, and Lei—the top three clans—and they also had the Dead Silence Gate and the Emperor Slaying Array.

Even so, they hadn't acted immediately; wasn't that precisely because of his caution?

Hun Tiandi didn't believe the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan was just putting on a bold front or bluffing.

Currently, the Hun Clan hadn't moved against the other Dou Di Clanss, and the strength the Hun Clan displayed wasn't as strong as the Gu Clan's.

Yet the strength the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan was currently displaying was already enough to challenge the Gu Clan. There was absolutely no need for them to go through the extra trouble of intentionally exaggerating their strength to bluff.

No matter how smart Hun Tiandi was, he could never have imagined that there was a transmigrator like Ling Yuan pulling strings behind the scenes.

Because of this, Hun Tiandi's mood remained somewhat low for the rest of the time, and he lost his previous composure.

The sudden emergence of a terrifyingly powerful Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan had completely disrupted the thousand-year grand plan he had been preparing for many years.

What was originally a seamless plan now seemed to have developed a massive crack.

...

On the other side, Zhu Kun happily went to find Zi Yan.

Qing Shan going over to mislead Hun Tiandi had been Ling Yuan's idea.

From the moment he saw Hun Tiandi go to find Zhu Kun, Ling Yuan's nerves had been tense.

It wasn't that Zhu Kun was stupid; after all, having lived so long and being able to lead the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan for so long, he naturally had extraordinary qualities. However, it was true that he was straightforward and lacked guile.

This could be seen from what he had passed down to Zi Yan.

In terms of strength, Zhu Kun could slightly suppress Hun Tiandi, but in terms of guile and calculation, Hun Tiandi could crush Zhu Kun by several blocks.

Ling Yuan was terrified that Zhu Kun would be led in circles by Hun Tiandi and accidentally let the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan's secrets be fully understood, or even mention the matter of the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Cave Abode.

That was why he had hurriedly sent Qing Shan to call Zhu Kun and specifically instructed Qing Shan to deal with Hun Tiandi after he left, providing a cover so Hun Tiandi wouldn't have the chance to continue probing.

Zhu Kun's efforts as a doting father these past days, combined with the shocking spectacle and lavish dowry he specially prepared for the wedding today, weren't actually without effect.

Zi Yan wasn't cold-hearted either; she saw all of Zhu Kun's efforts.

Coupled with Ling Yuan's constant whispering in her ear lately, over time, Zi Yan's resentment toward Zhu Kun had been almost entirely erased.