William leaned back on the sofa, exhausted, after listening. He remained silent, lost in deep thought.
Queen Guinevere and Lancelot exchanged glances and stayed quiet, accompanying William.
After a while, William spoke with difficulty, "Let's confront Lin Zhan. It's best to let Huaxia handle this matter."
Queen Guinevere looked shocked and said, "My son, that's an unimaginable amount of resources. Resources that Great Britain couldn't possibly use in thousands of years. And you want to hand it all over to Huaxia."
William said with a helpless expression, "Mother, I know how significant those resources are. But we can't protect them. Forget whether Huaxia knows about it or not.
"Even if the Western gods sealed within the secret realms awaken, while they are our nominal ancestors, given their nature, Great Britain would likely be the first to be slaughtered.
"Moreover, even if Huaxia were unaware, they would still suspect the origin of our resources. Therefore, it's far more pragmatic to hand over the secret realms and secure the return of several more Kings."
Meanwhile, Lin Zhan and the Tie family pandas were also deep in thought.
"Fourth Brother, dealing with the people of Great Britain is easy. But those slumbering remnants of the gods in the two great secret realms won't be as easy to handle. According to Old Ancestor Da Yu, should we notify Old Ancestor Shun Di in the Shan Hai Jing secret realm? This is all about the power of destiny." Lin Zhan said seriously to Tie Lao Si.
Tie Lao Si and his brothers exchanged glances and said, "In the ancient war, the gods among the ten thousand races were arguably humanity's greatest enemies. Our ancestors brought us brothers to participate in that war, along with your ancestor Zi Qi, the fourth generation emperor of the Shang tribe, and Emperor Zi Ming.
"Back then, to fight the gods, Emperors Yan Di, Huang Di, and Chi You personally led the charge. Emperor Zhulong and Ying Long of the Dragon Clan, the first generation Emperor Xuan Wu and Grandpa Xuan Si of the Xuan Wu tribe, and Emperor Xiao Kunpeng, along with Yu Long Qian Gu, our ancestor, and your ancestors Emperors Zi Qi and Zi Ming. Count how many Emperors alone were present.
"What's more, these old fellows were all top-tier combatants, each capable of fighting several Emperors of the same rank. Especially Old Ancestor Chi You, the foremost God of War in Huaxia, who single-handedly slew the four strongest Emperors of the gods.
Tie Mo also nodded in agreement, saying, "That's right. It was a group of such formidable individuals. After that battle, nearly half of them were severely injured. I won't speak of others, but your ancestor, the fourth generation emperor of the Shang tribe, a fierce being at the peak of the Emperor's position, who dared to clash head-on with Emperors, isn't he still lying in a coffin after being severely wounded?
Tie Lao Liu also nodded, saying, "Fourth Brother and Fifth Brother are right. Our ancestor was such a powerful bear. He was so battered that his fur was almost completely burned off. If Grandpa Xuan Si hadn't rescued him in time, there wouldn't be us Iron Eater beasts boasting of brotherhood. So, little brother, don't worry about this. We are too young, we can't handle this. Let the elders handle it.
Lin Zhan smacked his lips, looking incredulous, "If that's the case, then there are also slumbering Emperors of the god race in these two secret realms? They wouldn't do something so shameless, would they?"
Tie Lao Si shook his head and sighed, "Be more confident, remove that 'would they.' The gods are precisely that shameless. When it comes to doing despicable things, ten of you wouldn't compare.
"Throughout Huaxia, and even the Human Alliance, our two families are the most notorious troublemakers. You can't refute that. Yet, even we two families grit our teeth and get annoyed when encountering those gods.
Lin Zhan said angrily, "Damn it, this is the first time I've encountered such stubborn bastards. They won't let me gain any advantage. When the War of Ten Thousand Races begins, I'll make them pay back every bit with interest from their juniors."
As Lin Zhan was fuming, a small, green-light formed Xuan Bird flew out from Lin Zhan's Xuan Bird totem. It addressed Lin Zhan in front of everyone, saying, "Kid, once these four secret realms are in hand, come back to Xuan Bird Mountain. Regardless of whether it's too much for us, anything that belongs to our family must be handled by our family first."
Then, it turned to the pandas and said, "You little bear cubs, I'm entrusting this kid of ours to you. You must protect him well. If this kid of ours loses a single hair, I'll come out and break your bear legs."
The Iron Eater beasts trembled as they heard this voice, saying, "Holy cow, Brother Qi, when did you wake up? Rest assured, we brothers will take good care of this kid. We guarantee not a single hair will be missing, not an ounce of flesh will be lost. When you come out, we'll return a fair and plump grandson to you."
The Xuan Bird nodded with satisfaction and then vanished before everyone's eyes.
Watching the disappearing Xuan Bird, the pandas wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads.
Lin Zhan asked curiously, "Is this our ancestor, Old Ancestor Zi Qi?"
Tie Lao Si cautiously said, "Besides him, who else could scare us into such a state?"
Lin Zhan asked with even more curiosity, "Aren't you and our ancestor from the same generation? How can he scare you so much?"
"It's precisely because we are from the same generation that it's terrifying. That old fellow truly fights. He beats us to within an inch of our lives. We only get by because we are associated with our ancestor, sharing the same generation as Zi Qi and Da Yu. Da Yu has a good temperament and is wise, so he doesn't hold grudges against us." Tie Lao Si whispered proudly, as if afraid of being overheard.
"But your old fellow is different. In terms of seniority, he is our peer, so he doesn't have elders to reprimand him when he deals with us. Moreover, there aren't many elders who can manage your old fellow. With the strength of a peak Emperor, one of the three Fire Masters in charge of the human race's spark, he is incredibly formidable."
Then, Tie Lao Liu pointed at Tie Lao Ba, who was sweating and trembling, and said, "See Old Eight? He was always being dealt with when he was young. As soon as he heard Zi Qi's voice, he wouldn't even dare to cry. It's been thousands of years, and the child still hasn't recovered.
"Alright, Sixth Brother, don't babble. Aren't your short legs also trembling?"
Then Tie Lao Ba turned to Lin Zhan and said, "Little brother, from today onwards, I will stay and protect you. I guarantee not a single hair will be missing. Tell Brother Ba if you have any needs. From now on, all the dirty and difficult work like killing and arson will be handled by Brother Ba."
Seeing Tie Lao Ba's pathetic state, Lin Zhan knew this bear was thoroughly terrified by his ancestor. He said with a serious expression, "Alas, it seems even a fierce bear needs a fiercer person to tame it."