With the end of the discussions, and with no one blaming anyone anymore, the following conversation flowed naturally.
Grudges set aside and allies finally recognized, even though a strange atmosphere still lingered, the trust both sides had in each other strengthened greatly.
Aotian then began asking about the small world and discovered many things.
For example, what had frightened the Dragon King on that shadowy battlefield—where the challenge was to use the Weather Control technique—were actually ancient Dragon Kings who had fallen in battle and become corrupted.
The title of Dragon King was granted only to dragons who reached the perfection of Tribulation Transcendence, becoming leaders—or rather, kings—of their race.
Those Dragon Kings had been there for millions of years, having fallen mainly in the early days, when the human families were channeling impurities into the mansion.
According to Old Long, some had not even fully reached the level required to be called Dragon Kings when they fell, having only reached the Tribulation Transcendence Realm. Yet as their corrupted bodies absorbed vast amounts of impurities over time, they advanced to the very peak of that realm.
Aotian obtained much information from the conversation, but his main focus now was on the matter of authority.
As guardian, following the precepts of his family, senior Long could not leave the immortal mansion to venture into the outside world while an heir carrying 99% of the authority had not been selected—which was the maximum that would be granted.
And yes, from the beginning it was only 99% of the authority that would be given, with the dragons retaining 1%, after all, they were not completely foolish.
From the moment they devised their plan to find an heir, the dragon race that survived the calamity of that era claimed the sea and all its islands within the mansion as their domain—the very site of the heir's trial in which Aotian participated. With 100% Authority, they forbade any human from setting foot in the dragons' domain without their permission.
As a precaution for the safety of their race, only 99% of the Authority could be granted to the human heir, so that he could not revoke the orders established with total authority.
In addition to this order, there was only a second one that had been established with 100% authority and which became irrevocable without complete authority, and that was the global protection for cultivators and beasts with realms lower than their opponent.
This rule, in fact, was never intended to protect humans, but rather the dragons. Beasts are naturally stronger, and the dragons—the royal lineage among them—possessed an undeniable advantage within the same realm.
In doing so, this restriction served to protect the race capable of fighting one against many cultivators of the same realm.
It was not that the dragons were petty or deceitful in their intentions, but simply that they needed to protect themselves from humans, whose intentions were highly unpredictable.
The Dragon Sovereign had left the mansion to them, but by their own choice they sought an heir for him after his fall, to honor his memory and establish a legacy he had not had time to build.
Thus, in fact, aside from those two rules meant to maintain a safe home for the dragons, giving 99% of the authority already granted all the benefits and controls of the Mahayana mansion to the heir, being no different from total authority, which was very generous on their part.
With this known, during this time they conversed, Aotian was not entirely focused only on the subject, as his many minds also planned endlessly his next move.
After about two hours, everything that needed to be explained had already been said.
At that moment, everyone shifted their focus to worrying about how to obtain the authority and complete the sect mission, while the dragon and the little girl wondered how to help Aotian become the heir.
The young man in question was also thinking about it at full speed.
'If I want to obtain full authority and transform the mansion into the sect's base, I have to play on two fronts.'
Aotian reflected seriously.
'To lift the restriction on entry limits of age and cultivation, allowing my avatars to enter, according to the dragon I need to become the true heir of the mansion, with 99% of the authority in hand.'
'This is a big problem, since 43% of the Authority is in the hands of those from Dragon Peak. Fortunately, Old Long assured us that no cultivator from the Tribulation Transcendence Realm has appeared in this small world, since humans only began inhabiting the mansion after its fall, within the last ten thousand years.'
'Even so, if I want to obtain their authority, my main body simply isn't capable, while senior Long can only injure humans within the sea, since they also opened a backdoor in their territory to strike invading humans, regardless of realm.'
'Old Liu also has too high a realm, besides not being able to fight for long, so his help is out of the question. As for my avatars, well, they are the origin of the problem and cannot enter at all, since the formations cannot identify their age, making them useless.'
But instead of helplessness before this reality, a small and strange smile appeared on Aotian's lips.
'Fortunately, this problem only involves humans, while beasts, especially dragons, can enter without these restrictions. And don't I have a little snake in the sect perfect for this situation?'
While everyone was racking their brains trying to think of how to obtain the authority, they suddenly saw Aotian smiling calmly and looked at him in confusion.
"Don't worry, I have a plan." Aotian laughed, then turned to the dragon and the little girl. "Senior Long, beautiful little sister, can you help me obtain some Void-Tier herbs? This will help me greatly in my mission to become the heir."
He made the request suddenly, surprising the two.
"Hmm… Void-Tier herbs still exist in reasonable quantities within the mansion. What types do you need?" Senior Long nodded casually.
This type of material, although valuable, was not so rare that he would be stingy with the mansion's future heir. Especially when considering that he might even be someone from a sect capable of saving the world, if Liu Taixuan was truly telling the truth. Then such an investment would not be a loss.
Aotian nodded, and suddenly began counting on his fingers.
"I need Dragon Blood Ganoderma, Cyan-Scaled Lychees… Crimson Dragon Flame Flower… Draconic Heart Fruit… Heavenly Dragon Pulse Root and Azure Dragon Mist Tea leaves."
Aotian recited a long list with more than fifteen names, causing the corner of senior Long's mouth to twitch, but he quickly recomposed himself, unwilling to lose the dignity of the dragon clan.
"The herbs you requested are very valuable even among Void-Tier herbs. You might not even find them elsewhere in the world, even if you searched, but fortunately for you, since this is the living environment of my dragon clan, it is natural that herbs with such attributes would emerge after so many years bathed in the aura of my race, being very useful to us."
Senior Long gently shook his head, seeming to praise Aotian's luck, but in truth he was complaining.
'Little friend, can you take it easy with your requests?!'
He wanted to say that, but his face was not thick enough.
"So…?" Aotian prolonged the word, looking at him with a smile.
"Hmph… greedy brat…" the powerful dragon could not help but mutter in a low voice with a bitter expression, and, with pain in his heart, glanced at his Big Sister with a touch of resignation.
Understanding the intention, the little girl nodded, smiling in amusement, and with a wave of her hand, a storage ring was teleported into her palm, which she tossed directly to Aotian.
"The things you asked for are in there," Old Long explained, casting a sad look at the ring before composing himself. "But why do you want these herbs? They are basically all oriented toward the properties of my race and are usually not very useful for alchemy meant for humans."
He asked in a curious tone, after freeing himself from the pain of the loss, his blue eyes shining in confusion.
Aotian looked inside the ring and, seeing all the herbs he had been searching for over a year inside it, smiled in satisfaction.
"Don't worry, it's not for humans. And it will be very useful, you'll see soon."
He explained while placing the ring over his thumb against his closed fist and flicking it upward with a finger, letting it fall back down before flicking it again, playing with it.
Senior Long's eyes followed the ring rising and falling, filled with rare and precious herbs, with bitterness, already regretting granting the request of that careless fellow.
"Well, senior Long, it's time to go. I need to meet my companions and finalize the pla—"
Just as Aotian was about to say goodbye, he was suddenly interrupted by another voice.
"NO!! Disgusting and cowardly little thief, you will not take my authority!"
A hoarse shout sounded from behind, causing everyone to turn and stare at young master Chun, ragged, rising from the ground where he had been pretending to be unconscious with a crazed smile.
"Hahaha! I heard everything you said! The dragon can only attack me in the sea, right?! And now that we're not there, I can kill you all and he can't stop me! Hahaha! Are you afraid, little ant?!"
"Tremble, tremble! Hahaha!! You'd better return my authority, or I won't let you leave with an intact corpse."
"HAHAHAHAHA!!"
The insane laughter echoed as a sinister bloodlust emanated from him, dominating the environment under his madness.
But instead of being frightened, everyone looked at him in confusion.
"Err… friend, I think you forgot that we are in realms below yours, so you also cannot attack us," Aotian suddenly said, scratching his head.
"HAHA—COUGH! COUGH! — Pfff!!"
The insane laughter was suddenly interrupted by violent choking. Young master Chun, still gravely injured, could not endure and began coughing blood, nearly fainting again.
"NOOOOO!!"
Aotian fell into thoughtful silence, scratching his chin as he watched the madman collapse to the ground and begin banging his head there in madness while screaming.
"You know, you are very irritating and threatened me repeatedly, even intending to order your lackeys to kidnap me, my wife, and my fellow disciples to torture us, and I know you were serious, so I also want to kill you."
He suddenly said, a smile appearing on his lips, drawing everyone's attention, including the mad boy who slowly stopped and raised his head to stare at him with an emotionless gaze, seeming to have truly lost his mind.
"So I'll give you a chance. Give me one hour, and then I will attack you, disabling your protection, so that we can finally fight to the death. What do you say?"
His proposal surprised everyone, but on the side of the Infinite Dao Sect no one underestimated Aotian, who besides being strong and capable, came from the immortal world. As for the dragon and the little girl, they were left speechless by his proposal.
"You, young one, are truly strong and impressive, but I saw your strength before, and it is impossible for you to defeat someone at the perfection of Soul Formation with your Golden Core cultivation!"
The dragon warned sternly with a firm gaze, trying to put sense into the boy. He could not lose his chosen heir.
"No, you did not see my full strength. But you are right, it is a bit tight and dangerous even for me, with my current realm, to fight him." Aotian shook his head and sighed.
"Then—" The dragon sighed in relief and was about to speak, when he was interrupted.
"That's why I won't face him with the Golden Core realm," Aotian suddenly said, as he walked to an open space and sat cross-legged, smiling. "Please give me some space, things are about to get electrifying."
As soon as his words fell, everyone understood what the madman intended to do.
Young master Chun finally regained his senses and, upon processing Aotian's words, began laughing insanely once again.
"Hahahahaha!! Go, go, little ant, become stronger and more confident, so that you'll have the courage to fight! It won't change your end, which is me crushing you. The authority of this world is mine! I am the greatest genius ever born! Hahahahaha!"
He opened his arms and began spinning while laughing madly.
Aotian scratched his ear, feeling irritated by the man's shouting.
"Shut up! Or I won't fight!" he barked coldly.
Young master Chun widened his eyes and immediately shut his mouth tightly, unwillingly stopping his spin with his face red with rage. His eyes nearly spat fire, but he did not dare speak and risk losing the opportunity he desired so much.
So he just stood there trembling in place, unwilling and powerless.
"Ah! Finally, peace."
Aotian nodded in satisfaction, smiling excitedly.
"With everything calm, now let's see what it feels like to undergo a real tribulation."
'With my main body, that is.'
He added mentally, amused.
"Nascent Soul realm, here I go."