Chapter Five: The Dragon's Judgment
Long Meifeng had considered a dozen possibilities upon entering the rift. A hidden chamber for a tense discussion. A private family court. Something tactical.
But this—this seemingly infinite space, with its clear sky, gentle spring breeze, and mild temperature—was not one of them. And from the stunned, slack-jawed expressions of her fellow council members, it hadn't occurred to them either.
She probably wasn't much different. It wasn't the impossible light from a sunless sky, nor the paradox of a winter chill carried on that spring breeze. It wasn't the distant mountains, the vast lake, or the quiet house. It was the sheer, unbelievable scale of it all.
The herb field alone was so vast that the family's entire old territory could fit within it twice over. And the crops? She had never seen such a vibrant, thriving field, not even on the lands of the Aristocratic Families who specialized in agriculture. The quality was so high she would have sworn the plants themselves were glowing.
It wasn't just the impossible sights that stunned her. It was the Soul Force—the very energy of heaven and earth. It was so pure, so dense, it felt like breathing liquid soul force. Places like this didn't exist. They were the stuff of myth.
"Mother... this..." Long Feng's breathless awe was understandable. The scene was, in a word, unbelievable. With the exception of a certain pair, who were already running through the fields like children. She watched them go, a small, ironic smile on her face. To see the two elders who usually counted every copper coin with grim seriousness now acting with such unrestrained, childlike glee was a strange but welcome sight.
"Yes, I know," she murmured to herself. "Now I couldn't bring myself to erase his line, even if I hadn't already suspected the truth." A faint, sad smile touched her lips as she thought, 'What an infuriatingly brilliant grandson I have. Just like his father. Just like his grandfather. They were all the same.' She felt the hint of a tear forming and ruthlessly suppressed it.
"Where are they?" Long Shan's impatient voice cut through the reverie. Meifeng rolled her eyes.
Without deigning to look back at him, she answered, "If you had paid attention to your surroundings instead of just the scenery, you would have noticed the house's door is open. A lack of awareness is a poor trait for the Disciplinary Branch, Elder Long Shan."
She said no more and started walking toward the house. For the first time in ten years, a path to what she desired most had finally appeared. Time was of the essence. Shen Hong would pay. Nobody provokes a Dragon without consequences.
She knew Long Qingxiao had no appetite for vengeance; he was a better man than she was a woman. But he hadn't lost a son, a brother, and a husband in a single, fiery stroke. She had. And she would ensure that when the reckoning came, their family would be the storm, not the leaf—even if she had to become the villain of her own house to forge it.
From his seat at the head of the round wooden table, Long Qingxiao watched them take their places. The sheer number of books and scrolls laid out on the table was greater than the family's entire current archive. They looked ancient, as if unearthed from a long-lost treasure vault, some so old their materials seemed alien. The undeniable focus, however, was on six scrolls arranged in the center, their colors distinct from one another: Green, Blue, Red, Yellow, Metallic-Silver, and White.
There was no formal signal to sit, but the council members began to fill the seats with a practiced deliberation.
The twins were the first to move, taking the seats closest to the Patriarch's family but on opposite sides; Long Xun sat beside Long Tian, and his brother, Long Hai, sat beside Zi Rou.
Long Hui and her husband, Long Tao, also sat on opposite sides of the table. Long Hui took the seat next to Long Hai, and Long Min from the Resources Branch sat beside her, with her branch head, Long Yun, taking the next chair.
On the other side of the table, Old Man Long An sat beside Long Tao, and next to the old man, the pair from the Disciplinary Branch took their seats, with Long Wei positioning himself closest to the respected non-cultivator.
Finally, the remaining seats were filled. Long Feng sat down, and his brother Long Jian took the last empty chair, placing both of them on either side of their mother.
The Grand Elder, Long Meifeng, now sat perfectly opposite her grandson, eye-to-eye with the Patriarch in a silent tableau of power.
The air was already buzzing with low whispers and questions. Long Qingxiao waited for them all to settle, then spoke, his voice cutting through the noise. "Let this council meeting finally begin."
"Spare us the formalities, boy," Long Meifeng's voice cut through the whispers, sharp and impatient. "I am too old for theatrics. You summoned us here with urgency. State your purpose."
Long Qingxiao met her steel-silver gaze without flinching, his own eyes calm and steady. "The purpose, Grand Elder," he said, his voice resonating with a quiet authority that silenced the room, "is to decide the future of this family. A future I believe we can now reclaim."
The tension was palpable, but Long Shan broke it. "Patriarch, while I am very curious about everything outside, and I'm sure my fellow council members are too,"—all nodded—"you promised us proof, and what you have given us are more questions."
"Why start with the dessert if we didn't even have the appetizer, let alone the main dish?" Long Tian said in a low voice.
"Patriarch, could you enlighten us as to what your son is talking about?" Long Shan asked, clearly a bit uncomfortable with the boy's interjection.
Long Qingxiao gave a small, patient smile. "All in due time, Elder Shan. My apologies for my son's flair for the dramatic. He means no disrespect, but he has structured this meeting for a reason."
Long Shan gave a curt nod. "I meant no disrespect either, Patriarch. Merely curious. Since you have promised answers, I will listen."
With that settled, the Head of the Resources Branch, Long Yun, finally saw his opening. "And not to undermine the need for the Patriarch's proof, but could you tell us about what was outside? The herbs... I've never seen so many, and of such high quality, in one place."
"And the crops," Long An added. "Even the best farms of the agricultural aristocrats could not produce such a fine harvest."
The Grand Elder just rolled her eyes and let everything proceed.
"Well, to answer all these questions, I will let my son talk," Long Qingxiao said.
All eyes turned to the youngest person in the room. The chair looked far too big for him, but somehow, he didn't look out of place.
"My apologies, Vice-Head Shan. I certainly meant no offense," Long Tian said. After the man nodded in understanding, he proceeded. "What I meant by my turn of phrase was simply this: the 'appetizer' is the content on this table. The 'main dish' is the space itself. And the 'dessert' is the plot. And my apologies to you, Head Elder Yun and Grandpa An. It just means the explanation for the fields will have to come a little later."
The two nodded, carrying understanding smiles.
"I understand. But why are you, Young Master, the one to tell us and not your father?" Long Shan questioned.
"Well, it's because of this," he said, showing them the ring, the one some recognized from the old, dusty box in the corner of the family treasury.
"I recognize that ring, boy," the Grand Elder started. "I told your father it had no use, just an old thing with failed spatial inscription patterns and some other incomprehensible ones. The ring might have been an Interspatial Ring once, but even then, it couldn't be connected to a space of this magnitude."
"And you are right. This space's connection with the ring is minimal," Long Tian said, surprising his parents. "I've done some tests. The power binds to me, not the object. I could bind this space to any piece of jewelry. But since only I can bind with this ring, I saw no need to change."
The Patriarch and his wife nodded in understanding.
"What do you mean, 'only you are capable of binding with the ring'?" Long Tao asked.
"The ring has a very restrictive condition for its binding. I assume that's what the other inscription patterns are for," he answered, then paused before adding, "Actually, in that pile, there is a book on inscription patterns with some very similar patterns used to bloodline-lock something. Everything on the table came from inside the ring."
Questions were starting to form, but Long Jian was the first to ask, "What are the requirements? From what you are saying, it's bloodline-locked, right? Couldn't any other person from my older brother's line bind with it?"
"No. It wouldn't work. Your father tried," the Grand Elder answered her son. "It's something more than blood, isn't it?"
"It is bloodline-locked, but the specifics aren't exactly about blood," Long Tian explained. "It has to do with one's Soul Form and Soul Attribute. If a person doesn't have those required traits, it's impossible to bind, and trying to force it would end in the ring's destruction."
"Your father used that term before, 'Attribute,' in regards to the beast he fused with. I thought it was a figurative language," Long Feng pointed out, then continued with the question everyone now had, "And on another note, if it's so exclusive, how did you know you could bond with it?"
Long Tian paused, and after his parents nodded, he said, "It revolves around my birth. On that day, another soul was trying to take this body. I won that fight, and in the aftermath, my soul fused with the one I defeated. As my parents are already aware."
"This explains a lot. You were always smarter than normal," Long Wei rumbled. "But it opens one question. How can we be sure you aren't that other soul, and not the son of Long Qingxiao and Zi Rou?" he asked out of caution, but he didn't notice the hardening of the Patriarch's eyes.
Before Qingxiao could say something, someone else stated, "He is their son. I was there." It was the Grand Elder. "I thought he was a stillborn. It took him a long time to draw his first breath, and when he did, it came with a powerful cry of victory. I held him in my arms. There are no marks of soul possession on him. And by the looks of it," she glanced at Qingxiao, "I assume you told this story to your family?"
Long Qingxiao only nodded.
"My apologies, Patriarch. I didn't mean anything beyond curiosity," Long Wei said, bowing his head.
"I understand. There is no need to bow your head, Head Long Wei," Long Qingxiao replied with a shrug.
"My apologies for the interruption, but I don't think I made my question clear enough," Long Feng started. "I would like to know what these 'Soul Attributes' and 'Soul Forms' you mentioned are. They must be important if they are the requirement for such an important ring, right?" he explained his interruption.
"Right!" Long Tian said, a little frustrated. He had planned the conversation with his parents, but it was already completely off track. "The conversation has gone so far from the original idea that I had forgotten about that."
"Would you like me to explain, dear?" Seeing her son's noticeable frustration, Zi Rou offered, and received a positive nod from him.
"It's fine, Mom. It's not like the entire explanation has to come from me," Long Tian said, somewhat relieved. It would be a good break for him to reorganize his mind.
"Great," Zi Rou said, and then continued. "The common way of testing talent is by the color of the soul, and everyone knows the designations, correct?"
The group nodded.
"That being the case, I need to inform you that it is perfectly possible for a person with a Red Soul Realm to reach the Legend Rank." She spoke, and the Elders' eyes widened. Some wanted to interrupt and say how absurd that statement was, however, everyone knew someone with that coloration, and hope spoke louder, making the group lean in to listen attentively. "What is needed for this to happen is a cultivation technique compatible with the Soul Attribute and Soul Form, making this possibility a reality."
"How is this tested?" Division Head Hui asked. It was her department's function to take care of this test, after all, and she needed to know.
"In the same way as the common test," the Patriarch's wife began, and this raised some eyebrows. One soon interrupted her.
"That doesn't make sense, Rou," it was Elder Tao who spoke, and he continued his speech. "If it were that simple, we would have already identified it."
"And you are right that it is not easy. After all, a pure and unadulterated Soul Crystal is required for the Soul Form and Attribute to be revealed," Zi Rou completed, a little annoyed by the interruption. However, she continued, "And this brings us to what these things are: The Soul Form is the real determining factor of talent. The more complex it is, the more talented the person is. It is talent in form, let's say. This family is talented precisely because of this, because its members have draconic soul forms. So we can say that simple forms like small animals and insects reflect a less talented person. But forms can vary between a multitude of things. Attributes, in turn, are simpler; usually linked to elements or concepts, and even a combination of the two."
"Does this answer your question, Elder Feng?" Long Tian asked the Elder politely, however, the question was for the group.
"It explains a lot. It creates doubts about other things, but I believe now is not the time for that, right? My question has already prolonged your explanation too much," Long Feng replied with a smile, and the whole group nodded, preferring to leave any questions about the subject for the future. For now, this was enough.
"So let me continue what I was explaining, then, to get it out of the way," Long Tian said, bringing the conversation back to its original purpose. "The soul I fused with knew of the ring and how to bind it. He knew it had emergency resources inside it, but not the specifics. He died shortly after receiving that knowledge. So, everything he knew died with him."
"I know I'm not the only one, so I will ask," Long Xun interjected. "This is a monumental coincidence, isn't it? Don't get me wrong, I would not accuse the Patriarch and his family of lying..."
His brother, Long Hai, continued the thought. "But it feels that everything was designed to happen like this."
Everyone looked at Long Tian, including his parents. "Yes, I agree with you," he admitted. "If not for a minor detail: the person who created the ring made it out of paranoia, from what I can gather. But the final words the other Long Tian—yes, the name makes it even more suspicious—heard from his father made the creator's mindset very clear. He thought the city would be destroyed one day and decided to gather all the knowledge his family had and put it in a ring so his line could access it. From the man's own son's mouth, he didn't trust anybody but his line. He was paranoid like that."
"So it is a coincidence?" Long Hui inquired.
"Probably," Long Tian said. "I can't discard the possibility of it being planned by him, but it's very doubtful."
"And I believe he had a reason not to trust anyone," Zi Rou interjected. "Son, take that book for me? The one with the family history."
Long Tian nodded, a little curious. He had read the book and hadn't caught anything. He did as his mother asked, and with a move of his hand, the book was in front of Zi Rou.
The sight shocked the council. "How...?" someone asked.
"It involves the space. When we get there, I will explain," he answered, turning his attention back to his mother.
Zi Rou ignored the group, her eyes already scanning the ancient text. The council observed in silence as she flipped through the fragile pages, her brow furrowed in concentration. She paused at several passages, her lips moving silently as she read, before continuing her search. The air in the room was tense with anticipation. Finally, her eyes widened with a flash of discovery.
"Here! I found it!" she exclaimed, her voice cutting through the silence and commanding everyone's attention. She turned the book on the table so all could see. "The book. Here, this passage: 'At the beast attack yesterday, someone died. There is a rumor that it is the heir of the Main Line. I am not certain; I was practicing my alchemy when they returned, but the Clan Head is saying...' After this, it's just speculation. But did you notice? The author refers to the 'Main Line' and the 'Clan Head' as two different things."
Seeing the confusion on their faces, she brought forth another passage. "Here: 'We will have to move today. The Clan is not happy. They said what we came to do here is already done, and it is time to move. Such a pity; this was a good opportunity to acquire new pill recipes.' Do you see now? The author separates the 'Clan' as 'we' and the 'Main Line' as 'they'. There are other passages showing rivalry—calling the Metal Branch 'bloodthirsty morons' and the Earth Branch 'muscle-headed idiots'—but that could be dismissed as simple professional disagreement. This 'us versus them' with the leadership is different. It's clear, at least, that the ruling line wasn't well-liked. And Tian was right," she added, "it is a frustrating read. The entries span a very long period, and it seems more like a journal that kids found to write in than anything else. But I see you aren't convinced."
She looked at the table. Some seemed to understand her point, while others were still trying to connect the dots.
"Then let me make it clear for everyone," Zi Rou said, her voice taking on a new intensity. "Let me show you why the creator of the ring may not have trusted his own kin."
She opened the book again, turning to a new section. "Listen to this entry; it's from the beginning of the Saint Spirit Empire era: 'Those idiots of the Main Line are at it again. The new cripple said he would travel to find a perfect technique for their line and finally break through to the Legend Rank. How is that possible? Father said that every two or three generations, one of them always does this, as if that's not enough...' It cuts off there. Just someone making fun of another person."
"But now listen to this," she continued, flipping to another section, "from much later, at the end of the Snow Wind Empire era: 'One of them has broken through! What a bizarre thing. He traveled and returned at the Legend Rank. Something is going to happen, I'm sure of it. And tomorrow, the family will confront those damned Demon Beasts. But what an absurd thing, one of them at the Legend Rank.' The passage ends here, abruptly. But this is one of the rare cases where the same person writes again in the book. Listen, this passage is from days after the last one, I believe: 'I knew something bad was going to happen! He didn't just advance to the Legend Rank, he challenged the Patriarch. It's impossible for him to win just by using the Soul Forming trick; the Main Line's techniques are too powerful, and he can't even fuse with a demon spirit. However, if he can, it's a frightening possibility...' This entry has a continuation, and it's the last one from this person. Listen: 'He won. The damned cripple won. He didn't even fuse with a demon spirit, and the techniques didn't even affect him. What a monster! The family is under new leadership...' Do you understand? This is the last time they use 'cripples' or 'new leadership' in the book, although challenges are mentioned from time to time."
She looked directly at her son. "Tian, what is the limitation of your cultivation technique?"
He immediately understood where she was going. "It can't fuse with a Demon Spirit unless it's a God-Rank one." A look of profound realization crossed his face. "This contextualizes a lot of things. Maybe he didn't trust them... because they never trusted him."
"Yes, it does. But it opens more questions, doesn't it?" Zi Rou said. "Like why would a group that didn't like each other stick together? The book doesn't go into detail. There's no named person in it; there's no named place in it. References to the old Empires are scattered throughout, which I used to establish a timeline, but that's all. The last entry is from sometime in the middle to the end of the Sacred Empire era."
"A fascinating history," the Grand Elder said, her tone cutting and sharp. "But ancient family drama is not the proof your husband promised. It is time you moved these explanations along."
"The Grand Elder is right," Long An agreed gently. "History is important, but our future is what's at stake."
Everyone nodded in accordance, looking to the family trio.
"Right. Everything is already explained, basically. But just to specify, the Ring doesn't contain any cultivation resources, only knowledge," Long Tian said. "The books contain explanations about things long lost, the scrolls have pill recipes and some forging designs, and the parchments have the cultivation techniques. That's all about the ring. I believe there are no more questions, right?"
There were some questions, some of them thought. But they also wanted to proceed to the Space and the so-called plot, so they just held their curiosity.
"Right. The Farm Space, as we call it. It isn't really a hard concept, and to make something clear, I'm still discovering things about it." He paused for a moment and said, "Take the things you saw outside; they weren't there until two days ago."
"What?!" Shocked gasps were heard.
"Yes. I wanted to test one of the powers I have over the space, so I took some old seeds laying around in the resources branch," he said.
"Oh! That's what you were doing five days ago, Young Master. You asked if we had some unusable seeds," the Vice-Head said, enlightened. "So this space can restore dead seeds and you can manipulate its time, right?" she asked.
"To the second part of the question, yes, obviously. I can manipulate time. But there are rules. No human can be outside this house when it's happening. I believe it's because the energy gets chaotic due to its density. But Demon Beasts can live there naturally, even in those periods." He paused, waiting to see if someone would ask something, but seeing everyone was paying attention, he continued, "But there's another cost as well, one I discovered because of the seeds. Pure and unused Soul Crystals were the price to use this power when trying to accelerate the space with things outside." His parents looked at him, curious. "The lake outside produces these Crystals, but I'm not certain of the regularity of this production. I need to do more testing. I have a speculation, but it isn't really important now."
He looked at the group, and still no interruptions seemed forthcoming. "About the seeds, no, the soil or the space can't restore the old seeds. But the water can. It has purifying and restoring capacity, and it also enhances the quality of any plant it irrigates. And this brings me to a thing I wanted to test, if the elders permit me."
"Consider me intrigued. What do you want to test?" the Grand Elder said.
"The water. It has no cultivation effects. Mother and father tested it the other day, and their cultivation didn't budge—no meridian washing or impurities purged. But I believe that doesn't affect them or me because of our age," he paused.
"You want to see if it has any effect on old people? Consider me interested, Young Master," Long An said. "It's not like it would do something bad. Just look at the plants outside; that can't be the effect of something bad." He pointed out, before contemplating, "Imagine what this water could do outside..."
"Unfortunately, Grandpa Long An, nothing generated by the space can be brought out. I have some tests in mind on how to use the water to benefit our farming land, but that's something we can discuss later," he said to everyone's disappointment. "But things produced here can be brought outside, like what you see in the fields. But let's go back to my test. Here..." He moved his hands and cups appeared in front of everyone. These cups were filled with clear, crystalline water. "Yeah, I promised an explanation, right? Well, I have absolute control of everything inside the space, except humans, of course, and maybe beasts, but I haven't had the chance to test the latter."
"But you know they can live outside. How?" asked Long Hai, very interested in this Demon Beast subject. He knew how scarce demon spirits and Demon Beast meat were outside. If they could produce it in here...
"Some of the knowledge I have is intricate; I just know. Some of it I need to test for variations. Take the water as an example: I knew its capabilities—the purifying effect, the enhancement, and the curing powers—but how extensive were they? I thought the quality of herbs could reach the point of being as effective as alchemist's pills, but I wasn't sure. I needed to test it. Makes sense?" he said, trying to clarify powers he himself didn't know everything about.
"Yes. Makes sense," Long Hai nodded in understanding.
"Now elders, back to my test. If you would," he said with a look of curiosity.
"Well, to our health. Cheers!" Long Feng said and drank. The others followed.
Its effects weren't visible, well, except for the Head of the Disciplinary Branch; his scar was gone. But people could feel their old pains going away, the stress leaving their bodies, their joints feeling as perfect as never before.
Long An was the most affected. As a man in his mid-eighties, he had a lot of chronic pains and old ailments he never thought would be possible to heal. He never felt better. He felt younger by at least fifty years but without the pains of that age. "What a wonderful feeling." His voice had changed; it wasn't gruff anymore, nor did it have any of the effects of age.
While people didn't notice what really happened to them, Long Tian did. Their bodies were restored to their peak stage. 'As I thought!' he said to himself.
"Yeah, I feel better, but that was it?" Long Meifeng said, the disappointment evident.
But to her, Long Tian only gave a smile, a mysterious smile.
"What is it, bra-" She felt something and paused. Her soul force was starting to act; she felt it rise. She knew what was coming.
Boom.
She broke through. Everyone in the room had their eyes wide with surprise.
"But you said it didn't work as a cultivation aid," Long Qingxiao asked his son in confusion.
"And it doesn't. It's in their bodies. They are now in their peak physical age, even if that age has passed for most. What happened to the Grand Elder is a mix of being at the peak of the Silver Rank, having a Demon Spirit, and having her body regress," he explained.
"And you know this because of the space?" Long Jian asked, his voice holding some emotion. He was happy for his mother's breakthrough to the Golden Rank.
"Yes. It's a strange power I have here. I know the cultivation of everyone here. I won't disclose it, because maybe someone isn't comfortable with sharing it. But I knew Father's cultivation the moment he entered here five days ago. It's how, when he told me about his suspicions about the Sacred family, that I confirmed them for him." He paused, and a book appeared in Long Jian's hand. "Here, page 173, second beast. It explains the characteristics of the Jade-Tail Forest Dragon."
Everyone stopped and looked at Long Jian, even the Grand Elder, who now had her eyes open with a little smile on her face.
It took some time, but Long Jian finally spoke. "So it's true, then?" His voice was calm, but the way he was holding the book said otherwise.
"Yes, unfortunately. But let's proceed with the explanation Tian was giving us," the Grand Elder said, and everyone looked in her direction, shocked. "Yes, I knew. But we can discuss it after the explanation."
Long Qingxiao frowned, he wanted an explanation and was going to get but his son made a question that made him pause and listen first.
"Grand Elder, what was the Demon Beast they had gone to hunt?" Long Tian asked.
"I will never forget its name. Your great-grandfather said it was a 1-Star Black Gold Sacred Fyrestorm Wyrm," she answered.
And Long Tian got pale immediately. 'This isn't good,' he thought.
"Tian? What happened?" Zi Rou asked her son, concerned.
"Oh, if my theory of family naming is correct, then..." he started.
And his mother didn't took long to understand and completed, "The Patriarch of the Sacred Family has a draconic beast very compatible with himself."
"I don't get it? It's a well-known fact that he has the Sacred Flaming Condor beast. What does that have anything to do with his name?" Long Xun inquired.
"Tian has a theory about how families name themselves," Zi Rou started, her face as serious as her husband's. "Take this family, for example. The name Heavenly Dragon Family comes from the consistency of its soul form being always a draconic one. There's some vague theory in that book about this being the reason this family can only fuse with Draconic Demon Spirits. Another example would be the Snow Wind Family. They produce Legend Rank experts almost every generation. It's possible that has something to do with the Demon Beasts in this area being mostly composed of Snow Wind ones. They were a noble family from a powerful empire once, you know? Maybe they knew the Soul Form and Attribute definition back then and because of this, named themselves this way."
"That I didn't know, and probably they themselves don't know. But it matters little now. I understand where you are coming from, and your theory is probably correct, Tian," the Grand Elder said with a proud smile. "But as Vice-Head Long Xun said, his beast is well known. In fact, he fought recently using it. Maybe the beast didn't produce a Demon Spirit?"
"It's improbable. Here." Another book appeared in thin air, this time in front of the Grand Elder. "Look at page four; it explains the characteristics of some species of demon beast. Very rarely does a Dragon not produce one."
She opened the book and looked. "You are right. But how do you do that? The book being moved at your will is your control, but knowing the content? What is it?" she asked curiously.
"Like I said, I have knowledge of everything inside this place, including the books. I just know. I will show you. Here," another book left the pile, but this time from the top of it and through the air. It landed in front of the Grand Elder. The book seemed old, almost alien in material. "Try to read it."
From the cover of the book, she knew it would be impossible. It had words from a language she had never seen before, but she opened it anyway. "It's impossible," she said. "The words here are impossible to read."
Long Tian smiled and another book appeared in front of the elderly woman. "Read this one now."
Every person in the room looked at the exchange with utmost curiosity, except one person. Long Qingxiao's eyes were focused; he looked at the Grand Elder like a dragon waiting to breathe its fire at the first opportunity.
"Is this real?" she said, having read some of the first words of the book. She was shocked.
"What you read in this book is the same content you would get from the one with the strange language," Long Tian said with a smile.
"You don't-" Nobody knew who started to talk, but what came later made everyone deaf.
Bang!
Long Qingxiao's fist met the table. The explosive crack of splintering wood shattered the silence. He was on his feet, his eyes burning with a fury that went beyond mere anger into the realm of profound betrayal. He needed his answer.
"Why?!" The Patriarch roared. His imposing figure was emanating his soul force, but it was restrained. His eyes, on the other hand, held pain, like someone who had just discovered the worst betrayal he could imagine.
"Why hinder me if you knew all along?!" he asked in calm fury, in a pained voice, a wounded beast.
Long Meifeng let out a long, weary sigh. "You needed it. You are smart, grandson. Smarter than your father or your grandfather. You had a gut feeling and you followed it. Your grandfather? He had the same instinct the moment he tested the strength of the experts the Sacred Family sent, but he ignored it." She pursed her lips, a lifetime of regret in her eyes. "You needed someone to force you to grow, to make you seek alliances beyond me, to become the leader I knew you could be. If you had lost your position because of my hindrance, then you were never meant to keep it. We would have been lost regardless."
She then turned her steel-silver gaze to her other son. "I love you, Jian. I truly do. But you are not a leader. You have spent your entire life chasing your older brother, trying to imitate him. We needed someone who wanted to be more than just the next Long Zongfeng. Your brother, for all his qualities, was too eager to flaunt the Dragon's power. We didn't need someone so focused on prestige; we needed to continue steady, as we always had. One day, we would have ascended." A spasm of profound pain crossed her face. "If they had only waited ten more years..."
A deafening silence filled the room, her words hammering into the soul of every elder present.
Long Qingxiao barely had any words capable of demonstrating his feelings right now. He now understood the reasons; he now knew why. The only thing that left his mouth was, "Thank you."