Huang Tianji shuddered, nearly dropping his phone.
It was Chen Wanchun's phone, but why did it end up in that person's hands?
On the side, Long Dijun and the others were confused. "Uncle, whose phone is it? Isn't it Chen Wanchun?"
Huang Tianji waved his hands, turned on the speakerphone, and then coughed as if feigning composure. "Who are you? Why are you holding Special Envoy Chen's phone?"
On the other end, Qin Yexuan's mocking laughter echoed. "Chen Wanchun has already returned to the imperial capital. I told them to send someone else to negotiate. As for you, Huang Tianji, why are you acting subservient to me? Do you think I don't know you?"
Huang Tianji's facial muscles twitched, and his white hair trembled.
He could no longer pretend. "Oh, it's State Preceptor Qin. Long time no see."
"Yes, it has been a long time. The last time we met was during the decisive battle at Kunlun Mountain. Your hidden clan sent thirty thousand troops, and I believe I went alone."
Qin Yexuan's voice was casual. "I didn't pay much attention to you, the son-in-law of the Long family back then. I just heard you ran faster than a rabbit, I didn't even see you."
Huang Tianji's old face turned red, his eyes bloodshot.
He gritted his teeth, his anger burning, but... he still dared not speak loudly.
"State Preceptor Qin, you're such an old man, there's no need to bicker like a child. I, Huang Tianji, have no enmity with you. We don't need to be like this."
Long Dijun and the others were astonished.
They had never seen Huang Tianji so cowardly.
He was too scared to even breathe?
"Uncle, is that Qin Yexuan? Let me!"
Long Dijun grabbed the phone directly. "Qin Yexuan, I am Long Dijun, the patriarch of the Huanglong family!"
Qin Yexuan hummed. "Who is Long Xuanyuan to you?"
Long Dijun's eyes flickered. "He is my father!"
Qin Yexuan chuckled. "So he's your dad. Do you know how he died?"
Long Dijun clenched his fists. "My father represented the hidden clan and guarded the Great Formation at Mount Tai. He was eventually besieged by the Demonic Sect and sacrificed himself valiantly fighting against overwhelming odds!"
On the phone, Qin Yexuan burst into laughter. "That's what they told you? Wrong, terribly wrong. Your father, Long Xuanyuan, was guarding the Great Formation at Mount Tai, but when he couldn't win, he actually intended to throw over three thousand innocent people nearby into the formation for a ritual. I intercepted him midway and struck him dead at the foot of Mount Tai with a single palm."
*Crack.* Long Dijun's fists were about to shatter. He roared, "You're spouting nonsense! You're lying! My father was a grandmaster, a hero of the hidden clan, how could he harm innocents?"
Qin Yexuan sneered. "Ask Huang Tianji."
Long Dijun looked at his uncle.
Huang Tianji stroked his beard, his face extremely embarrassed. "Dijun, don't be misled by him. They say those who achieve great things are ruthless. Your father was a master. For the benefit of our hidden clan at that time, what if he had to sacrifice some low-level humans?"
"How can those human mortals compare to our hidden clan?"
Long Dijun couldn't believe it.
Was his father truly such a despicable person?
He weakly put down the phone, looking around blankly.
Long Jianye said in a deep voice, "Big brother, a man must be ruthless to achieve great things. Once you absorb the power of the Turtle Dragon and become the strongest person in the world, who would dare to speak ill of our Long family?"
History is written by the victors.
Long Dijun nodded with complex emotions. "Yes, I shouldn't have listened to Qin Yexuan's words."
Huang Tianji picked up the phone, now sneering. "Qin, do you hear me clearly now? My Long family is not afraid of you!"
"So, it was you, Huang Tianji, who emboldened them to harm the people I care about?"
Huang Tianji's eyes darted. "Qin Yexuan, I admit, you were very powerful before, inhumanly powerful. But ever since you met that Su Qing, your life was ruined. What supreme expert, what peerless national hero, in the end, you were still toyed with by a woman? Now, Su Xueqing is in my hands, and those girls around you, none of them will escape!"
*Click...*
The call ended.
Huang Tianji wiped sweat from his brow, staring at the phone in a daze.
"Uncle?" Long Dijun frowned and called out, "What are you spacing out about?"
Huang Tianji suddenly turned around, his face terrifyingly pale. "Arrange ten times the manpower around the family stronghold, and guard this place well! Also, double the patrol teams. Send at least three teams of men to patrol in the north, south, east, and west."
He looked at the Long family's stronghold. "Open the grand formation here immediately, just in case."
Long Dijun and the others were stunned, then dismissive. "Uncle, would Qin Yexuan be so foolish as to charge here to fight us? No matter how powerful he is, he can't break through the Long family's grand formation!"
Huang Tianji shook his head repeatedly. "No, you don't understand that man. As long as he stops talking, or hangs up your call, the next thing you'll face is a thunderous storm of an attack!"
"I understand Qin Yexuan too well. He's definitely coming!"
Huang Tianji was so uneasy that he couldn't even hold his wine glass steady.
Long Dijun scoffed. "Uncle, you're getting old. I don't believe that Qin Yexuan has that much capability..."
The word "capability" was still on his lips when, not far away, a pillar of fire shot into the sky.
Everyone jumped up.
In the northwest corner, a wooden beam supporting the Long family stronghold collapsed.
"That... that's the hidden foundation beam buried underground! How could..."
The Long family stronghold was intricately built, with defensive formations hidden underground.
The surface was based on wind and thunder, while the underground harbored water, fire, mountains, and marshes.
The interplay of yin and yang, the eight trigrams, formed the Huanglong lineage's iron-clad stronghold.
But with a series of explosions, the four great beams hidden underground all collapsed.
"Report, report to the Patriarch! Our, our stronghold's formation is finished!"
Long Dijun was stunned for a full thirty seconds, then grabbed a subordinate. "How many people are there? Did you see Qin Yexuan?"
The subordinate stammered. "No, no one was seen. Our stronghold was bombed!"
What?!
Long Dijun's head buzzed. He forced himself to stand upright. "Don't be afraid, the formation can be repaired. We..."
The word "we" was still on his lips when, directly beneath the wooden building they were in, a flash of fire appeared, followed by a massive shockwave.
The wooden building collapsed, leaving only ruins.
A long time later, Long Dijun and others crawled out of the wreckage, battered and bruised.
What they saw now was a collapsed family stronghold.
Even the rock gardens and fish ponds were demolished!
"Qin, Qin Yexuan! You, you son of a bitch..."
*Boom!*
Another explosion rang out, and the family stronghold in Longhe Town began to sink.
With the underground formation destroyed, the surface buildings clearly could no longer be supported.
Long Dijun was carried out by a few people!
Aaaah!
Long Dijun spat out a mouthful of blood, nearly dying of anger.
Is this Qin Yexuan's method?
How did he do it?