Chapter 63: The Former Palace Master

"I am a member of the Wu family, but I am not a direct descendant of the Battle Ancestor. I come from the Wu family of Yun City, and I am a descendant of the Fierce Ancestor. The reason I have remained undercover in the Wu family of East Lodge City is to protect the bloodline of the Battle Ancestor so that it may be passed down continuously."

Wishing not to waste any time, Wu Er'gou explained, "East Lodge City is currently a gathering place for all sorts of people, and the Wu family is also facing a crisis of survival. As a member of the Yun City Wu family, I must utilize every available force to ensure the survival of the Battle Ancestor's bloodline."

Of course, after saying this, Wu Er'gou did not forget to add a threat, "In the Thick Earth Continent, across its four continents, two regions, and one valley, the status held by Yun City within the three major empires of the Eastern Continent is something I am certain Steward Zhao understands very well."

As for Yun City, Steward Zhao had never been there, and he had heard very little about it. However, Steward Zhao had certainly heard of the Eastern Cloud Empire, one of the three major empires of the Eastern Continent. Furthermore, Steward Zhao was well aware that the descendants of the Fierce Ancestor and the Thunder Ancestor—three ancestors of the Wu family—had left the Kun Kingdom years ago. Yet, even if all of this were true, a visitor wishing to see the Old Palace Master placed Steward Zhao in an extremely difficult position.

The Old Palace Master had been in secluded cultivation for years on end, showing no signs of activity for millennia. The only thing the Beast-Trapping Palace could currently confirm was that the Old Palace Master was still alive. As for the location of his secluded cultivation, even the current Palace Master and Lord of East Lodge City, Zhao Shoulin, did not dare to disturb him.

Just as Steward Zhao was feeling deeply troubled, a hoarse elderly voice rang in his ear: "Bring him here."

The moment the old man's voice reached his ears, Steward Zhao was startled. As a steward of the Beast-Trapping Palace, he only knew that the secret chamber on the third underground level was a forbidden area; without the summons of the Old Palace Master, unauthorized personnel were strictly forbidden from approaching it.

Having served as a steward in the Beast-Trapping Palace for decades, this was the first time Steward Zhao had ever heard the voice of the Old Palace Master.

Glancing at Wu Er'gou once more and seeing that he seemed oblivious to the Old Palace Master's voice, Steward Zhao trembled all over with excitement. For millennia, among all the past stewards of the Beast-Trapping Palace, it seemed he was the only one ever summoned by the Old Palace Master.

Daring not to hesitate any longer, Steward Zhao fought against the trembling of his body and said respectfully, "My lord, please follow me."

Beneath the tall buildings of the Beast-Trapping Palace lay three levels of secret chambers—a fact known to very few. The passage leading to these underground chambers was located nowhere else but beneath the bed in Steward Zhao's room.

Before the exact mechanism could be seen clearly, Steward Zhao activated the passage. A set of array patterns lit up, the bed in the room automatically slid aside, and a tunnel lay revealed before them.

After Wu Er'gou and Steward Zhao stepped into the secret passage, the bed returned to its original position, and the illuminating stones along both sides of the tunnel lit up automatically.

Winding their way through the intricate underground chambers, Wu Er'gou and Steward Zhao arrived at the heavy doors of the third underground level's secret chamber after the time it took to burn an incense stick. Just as Steward Zhao bowed to announce their arrival, the doors of the secret chamber opened automatically.

At a single glance, an elderly man with white hair was seen sitting cross-legged facing the entrance in the center of the vast chamber. The chamber was impeccably clean, and the only bewildering sight was the presence of so many large turtles slowly crawling around inside.

"What are you standing around in a daze for? Hurry up and come in to pay your respects to the Old Palace Master."

At that moment, a massive turtle shell beside the old man suddenly poked out its head and shouted at Wu Er'gou and Steward Zhao.

***

The old turtle was actually able to speak human language; it must have attained sentience.

Steward Zhao hastily stepped forward, dropped to one knee, and said, "Zhao Yu, one of the current stewards of the Beast-Trapping Palace, pays respects to the Old Palace Master."

Holding the Black Iron Token directly in his hand, Wu Er'gou stepped forward, cupped his fists, and said, "Wu Er'gou, descendant of the Fierce Ancestor, greets the Old Palace Master."

The Old Palace Master slowly opened his eyes, looked at the Black Iron Token in Wu Er'gou's hand, and said unhurriedly, "The aura on the Black Iron Token indeed comes from the Fierce Ancestor. To see the Black Iron Token is to see the Fierce Ancestor. Descendant of the Fierce Ancestor, what do you wish this old man to do for you?"

Getting straight to the point, Wu Er'gou said, "The army of the Yao Kingdom is already pressing at our borders, and within East Lodge City, the Shadow Fiend clan harbors ulterior motives. The Wu family has already been infiltrated by the Heavenly Fiend clan. Coming to see the Old Palace Master today, I only hope the Old Palace Master can buy twenty years of time to ensure the continuation of the Wu family's bloodline in East Lodge City."

The Old Palace Master knew very well that, despite the special secret arts he cultivated, his remaining lifespan was running short. However, if the younger generation of the Wu family could mature within twenty years, it would give him a reason to fight with everything he had. Perhaps the young man upstairs was the final hope for the Wu family in both the Kun Kingdom and East Lodge City.

The Old Palace Master's hoarse voice sounded, "Regarding the affairs of the Wu family, even if you had not come to see me, having guarded East Lodge City for so many years, I would never allow the bloodline of the Battle Ancestor to vanish from the Kun Kingdom. However, the members of the Heavenly Fiend clan employ numerous tricks. Against the Heavenly Fiend clan, even if the three major empires of the Eastern Continent were to resist them, I fear it would prove extremely difficult. As for the Wu family's bloodline in East Lodge City, I will only exert my full strength to protect the young man upstairs. As far as I know, he is likely the very first person in the Thick Earth Continent capable of controlling the power of curses."

Placing the entire continuation of the East Lodge City Wu family's bloodline solely upon the shoulders of Wu Shu sounded like an enormous gamble.

Having met the Old Palace Master and perceiving that his strength far surpassed his own, Wu Er'gou said respectfully, "I beseech the Old Palace Master, for the sake of the Wu family's three ancestors, to do your utmost to preserve more of the Battle Ancestor's bloodline."

Seeing that Wu Er'gou persisted in asking him to aid the East Lodge City Wu family further, the Old Palace Master's hoarse voice sounded once again, "Leave the Black Iron Token behind, and I will do my utmost."

Wu Er'gou was well aware of the significance of a single Black Iron Token. Naturally, if it could compel the Old Palace Master to intervene with all his might, handing over the token was well worth it. After all, the Yun City Wu family was hardly lacking in such Black Iron Tokens nowadays.

Without any hesitation, Wu Er'gou bowed and said, "Old Palace Master, please accept this Black Iron Token from the Yun City Wu family."

Steward Zhao, kneeling to the side, hurriedly accepted the Black Iron Token and moved to hand it over to the Old Palace Master, but the Old Palace Master instructed, "Steward Zhao, as a descendant of the Kun Kingdom's imperial lineage, keep this Black Iron Token with you for now. When a day comes that the Kun Kingdom encounters a difficult and momentous crisis, simply hand it over to the Weapon Forgers' Alliance."

The administrative personnel of the Beast-Trapping Palace had always hailed from collateral branches of the Kun Kingdom's imperial bloodline. Though honored with imperial descent, they still bore the stigma of a collateral branch. Terrified, Steward Zhao fell to his knees and said, "Old Palace Master, the Black Iron Token is of such immense value that this unworthy descendant fears to keep it by his side."

If the direct imperial lineage were to discover this matter, Zhao Yu feared it would bring down a capital offense upon his head.

"It is fine. Since the people of the Eight Great Clans of Imperial Kun have all arrived in East Lodge City, he must surely be here as well. Find the right opportunity and hand the Black Iron Token to that descendant of mine. Very well, I am tired; you may both withdraw."

*He?* The first person that came to Steward Zhao's mind was the current emperor of the Kun Kingdom, Zhao Zilai.

***

Being granted an audience with the Old Palace Master today had already come as a massive surprise to Steward Zhao. Now entrusted with a heavy charge by the Old Palace Master, he dared not push the matter further. Hastily storing the Black Iron Token away, Steward Zhao said respectfully, "This subordinate obeys the Old Palace Master's command and takes his leave."

Wishing to raise the matter concerning the Lord of East Lodge City, Wu Er'gou cupped his fists and said, "This junior has one more matter to remind the Old Palace Master of: the City Lord's Mansion is problematic."

The old man gave a slight nod, wearing the expression of someone who already knew.

Yet, upon reflection, it made sense. The current Palace Master of the Beast-Trapping Palace was City Lord Zhao Shoulin; if Zhao Shoulin were not problematic, why would Wu Er'gou have directly produced the Black Iron Token and had Steward Zhao lead him to meet the Old Palace Master in the first place?

After all, people always had their own agendas; no one was a fool. Those who merely revolved around others without a single thought of their own existed only within stories.

Upon emerging from the secret chamber, Wu Er'gou parted ways with Steward Zhao and headed straight into the spectator area on the ground floor, awaiting the grand tournament about to commence.

After Wu Er'gou's departure, Steward Zhao's expression turned gloomy. Gazing at the Black Iron Token in his hand, he thought to himself, "You old monster, I never expected you to still be alive. For millennia, how much of our youth has our collateral branch sacrificed to guard the Beast-Trapping Palace? And how have your direct descendants treated our branch? They treated us like beasts of burden behind our backs and to our faces. Now that our branch has produced a peerless talent, we must give the imperial lineage of the Kun Kingdom something spectacular to look at this time."

Steward Zhao Yu likely had no idea that every single action he took within his room could be clearly seen by the old turtle resting beside the Old Palace Master. The core of the Beast-Trapping Palace's grand array was inscribed precisely upon the shell of the old turtle.

Witnessing the repulsive side of Steward Zhao Yu, the old turtle could not help but stretch out its head and complain in displeasure, "Divine Ability? It's not that I want to criticize you, but knowing full well that this Steward Zhao also has issues, why did you hand such an important Black Iron Token over to him?"

The old man seated nearby, his eyes already closed, merely shook his head, offering no intention of speaking.

As night fell, the preliminary matches were about to begin.

With the stewards of the Beast-Trapping Palace stepping onto the stage once more, the tens of thousands of people in the spectator stands instantly erupted into excitement.

"The tournament's supplementary matches are about to begin. There will be three battles in total. Representing the Kun Kingdom in the first match is Wu Jingtian, a talented junior of the Wu family from Imperial Kun City, who will face Fu Xin of the Shadow Fiend clan's Ying family. Representing the Kun Kingdom in the second match is Wang Pingshan of the Wang family from Imperial Kun City, who will face Ying Mei'er, the young master of the Shadow Fiend clan's Nether Shadow family. Representing the Kun Kingdom in the third match is Wu Shu of the Wu family from East Lodge City, who will face Fei Yu of the Shadow Fiend clan's Dust-Past family."

"Distinguished guests, I shall dispense with idle talk. The matches are about to commence—let us wait and witness them together."