Rong Yuan did not believe Pan En’s words but still politely greeted and bowed to the elders.

Everyone else that had lagged behind Rong Yuan and Gu Lingzhi also started to slowly arrive. They were shocked to see that Rong Yuan and Gu Lingzhi had already reached. Their speed was astounding.

They had all left at the same time when they saw the golden ray and did not catch sight of the two of them on the entire journey here. Their speed surpassed everyone else by leaps and bounds.

Fifteen minutes later, more people arrived, blocking the way to the entrance of the underground palace. Some were students from the First School, some were participants of the competition. There were also others that were attracted by the light ray.

Tianfeng Jin had also reached with Tianfeng Yi. When he caught a glimpse of Gu Lingzhi, numerous feelings flashed through his eyes. Eventually he sighed and headed in another direction.

Gu Lingzhi was not angry at this but felt relieved, “This is more like it. If he behaved extremely grateful towards me, I wouldn’t be able to accept it.”

Rong Yuan shook his head and chucked, “Everyone says it is better to make friends than lose an enemy. How come you are the opposite?”

“Because I know for a fact that there is no way that he can be anyone’s friend,” Gu Lingzhi blinked, looking adorably at Rong Yuan.

“How did you convince him to help me?”

It was impossible for her to believe that Tianfeng Yi had finally accepted the situation. It was equivalent to asking her and Tianfeng Wei to shake hands and become friends.

Why would someone who would sacrifice hundreds of his own clan’s lives and marry his daughter off to someone she did not love, help her, his ‘enemy’?

As expected, Rong Yuan shrugged and looked towards Xin Yi, “This time you guessed wrongly. The person that convinced Tianfeng Yi is him, not me.”

“Xin Yi?” Gu Lingzhi was surprised.

What bargaining chip could a Martial Practitioner have against Tianfeng Yi to make him defame his daughter and speak up for her?

Loving the way she looked right now, Rong Yuan brought her hand to his lips and gave her a kiss. In a warm and soft voice, “Although Xin Yi does not have much, the Xin Clan does.”

When the Tianfeng and Beicheng Clans collapsed, the Xin Clan who had been biding their time finally showed their strong and solid side. Within a year, they had occupied one of the positions in the Four Great Clans. Because the Tianfeng and Beicheng clan offended the Gu and Qin clans, they were destined to be exterminated and their lives were miserable. Everyone that they had offended before were now seeking revenge on them and there were members of their clan dying every day.

At a time like this, it was unlikely that someone would extend a helping hand and was willing to accept and protect them as a subsidiary clan. Even if it was fake, it was like a ray of hope in a dark pit and they were not willing to let go of the chance! This was what Tianfeng Yi chose.

Hearing what Rong Yuan said, Gu Lingzhi caught onto the crucial point and said a silent prayer for the remaining members of the Tianfeng Clan.

From what she knew, the Qin and Tianfeng Family did not have a good relationship. They must have been convinced by Rong Yuan to offer help. In the future, even if their enemies stop harassing them, the entire clan would be in the hands of the Qin Clan and it would be impossible for the Tianfeng Family to rise back in power.

“Eh? Isn’t that the previous Emperor of the North Qiu Kingdom? He is actually still alive!” An exclamation cut off what Rong Yuan wanted to say. Following the voice, he looked in the direction where Pan En stood with a few others. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he recognised the person that was said to be the previous king. He was surprised to see a young man wearing a purple robe.

The emperor from North Qiu’s previous generation was rumoured to have secluded himself tens of years ago in order to ascend to a Demigod. There had not been news about him since then and everyone believed that he had failed. They never thought that he had actually successfully became a Demigod. Even his appearance had returned to how he looked like when he was younger. This was the reason why Rong Yuan was able to recognise him as he looked exactly like he did in his old pictures.

“Stay with me later, do not leave my side.” Even the Demigods were present. This meant that the underground palace that caused the disturbance was definitely not ordinary!

“Third Granduncle, do you think we can get someone to assess the underground palace now?” Seeing more and more people gather, Pan En greeted respectfully and asked the young man dressed in purple, also known as Pan Wuyang.

Pan Wuyang, who was still analysing the entrance replied, “Yes.” Pan En then turned and addressed the bustling crowd, “Everyone, silence please!”

The noise immediately died down as everyone turned to him expectantly.

Anyone could see that this was not normal. However, this was still the North Qiu Kingdom’s territory and with a Demigod present, everyone had to behave themselves even if all they wanted was to dash in. The fact that Pan En did not chase them away meant that he was not intending to keep everything for himself. What he was going to say next was definitely related to the sudden appearance of this Secret Territory.

As everyone quietened down, Pan En gave a perfectly courteous smile as he said warmly, “I believe that everyone knows that the disturbance created by the appearance of this Secret Territory is not normal. Our North Qiu Kingdom does not have the intention of having it all for ourselves. According to the rules of Tianyuan Continent, any large-scale ancient Secret Territory that appears should be made accessible to everyone. However, the country that the Secret Territory appears in has the privilege to enter and collect the treasures first. I believe everyone is clear on this point.”

“Of course. The rule on large-scale Secret Territories needing to be shared was set by the North Qiu Kingdom, who would dare go against it?” someone intentionally lowered their voice and bellowed, the mocking tone apparent in their voice.

It was because of this rule made by the North Qiu Kingdom that numerous Secret Territories in other kingdoms were used casually by the North Qiu. Whenever a high-ranking Martial Artist lacked a certain resource, they would form a group and have a go in one of the Secret Territories, attempting to find what they need.

Some smaller kingdoms were under pressure and could not collect fees for allowing the usage of their Secret Territory. All they could do was stare as people from the North Qiu Kingdom took their valuables from the Secret Territory. It could be said that other Martial Artists that were not from the North Qiu Kingdom hated this rule. Now, it was finally time for the North Qiu Kingdom to offer the Secret Territory in their own kingdom.

Pan En’s expression did not change as his eyes glanced in the direction of the voice. Smiling, he said, “That’s right. That rule was set by the North Qiu Kingdom and we will abide by it. We will not let you all leave empty-handed.”

“But as you can see, there are still a lot of things to prepare with the appearance of this Secret Territory. How about everyone head back to rest for the night and return tomorrow morning? When we have assessed the situation, we will explain everything tomorrow morning and we can all head in then to look for treasures.”

Although Pan En was using a kind and courteous voice, Pan Wuyang who was standing behind him, had thrown out a threatening aura. He was clearly warning everyone that they were in no position to reject.

It was like Rong Yuan did not consider anything as he raised his hand to bid farewell, “Since the Second Prince has mentioned it, then we will come back tomorrow. I hope everything goes smoothly for you.”

Pan En politely replied to Rong Yuan’s greeting, “Thank you for your well wishes. If there is anything, I will invite you to enjoy it together.”

Rong Yuan then grabbed Gu Lingzhi’s hand as he headed towards the First School. Yuan Zheng and Wei Hanzi followed along. Tianfeng Jin and the others hesitated for a bit before leaving as well.

With the departure of Gu Lingzhi and her friends, a few others decided to head back to rest as well. However, a larger portion of the people decided to stay behind and check things out.

When they were out of everyone’s sight, Gu Lingzhi then asked Rong Yuan, “Why are we not waiting there?”

Although the home country of the Secret Territory had the privilege to enter and collect first, everyone else could watch as they entered so as to have a better understanding of the secret territory.

Rong Yuan did not reply to Gu Lingzhi’s questions directly but instead said, “Let’s rest early tonight. Tomorrow, we will leave at around 6 a.m. to investigate.”

Understanding that he did not want to elaborate, Gu Lingzhi did not bother asking anymore. No one else had any intention to ask anything else and all headed back to their rooms obediently. Tianfeng Yi hesitated for a bit before following Xin Yi. This caused Lang Jingchen, who had been attending to his father-in-law attentively on the entire journey, to be annoyed.

Why? He had been extremely attentive to him yet his father-in-law had followed Xin Yi. What has Tianfeng Yi been possessed by? Why was he following Xin Yi blindly?

With these questions, Lang Jingchen was feeling sullen and did not want to follow Rong Yuan’s orders. He turned around and headed back to the Secret Territory.

Since the person he was attending to did not want him around, then he was just going to follow what his heart told him to. He was going to wait at the entrance of the Secret Territory. Now that the Inter-school Competition was over, Rong Yuan could not fault him for not listening to orders.

Not long after he left, an agile silhouette sneakily entered Gu Lingzhi and Rong Yuan’s dorm.

Inside the room, Rong Yuan and Gu Lingzhi sat side by side on the bed. Wearing a rogue expression, Rong Yuan said, “Putting aside the issue of the Secret Territory, aren’t you going to reward me for solving the problem regarding the rumors?”

“Reward?” Gu Lingzhi raised her brows. She took back her hand that had been grabbed by Rong Yuan ever since the Secret Territory appeared. “Isn’t it something you were supposed to do?”

“…” It was true. Rong Yuan choked on how blunt Gu Lingzhi was. He then mimicked her and raised his brows, “What my wife says is right, it is my duty to help my lovely wife share her troubles. Then shouldn’t my lovely wife do her duty too?”

His eyes then scanned Gu Lingzhi’s body suggestively. He received a slap from Gu Lingzhi, “If you have something, then quickly say it. Don’t you have to return to serve the Princess? Aren’t you afraid that she will see through your plans?”

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