Wang Wei was sitting in his Dragon Throne reviewing papers about the situation throughout the Dynasty. He was reading about how Li Jun was having trouble in his conquest due to the fact that the Fang Divine Dynasty suddenly received aid from someone else.
Although he also sent Yan Liling to help Li Jun, the speed of the war was too slow to his liking and he was pondering whether to participate in it himself to speed things up.
However, his study of Qi Luck had reached an important cross-road and he needed to spend his extra time and energy there. After all, without the ability to absorb luck, all of this trial would be meaningless.
While thinking about Qi Luck, another thought suddenly appeared in Wang Wei's mind. Through soul fluctuation, he has noticed that Dong Lifen has started to have certain emotions towards him that she should not have.
Well, who can blame her. After all, he, Wang Wei, was a very handsome and charismatic man. Unfortunately, he did not lie to her when he said she did not meet the requirement to be his Dao Companion.
What's more, after spending such a long time with her, he did not develop any feelings towards her. So, he decided to warn the poor girl so that she does not get her hopes up and become disappointed.
While Wang Wei was thinking such narcissistic thoughts, a royal guard brought a man inside the Throne Room to meet him. Instantly, Wang Wei recognized him as the Patriarch of the Zheng Clan, Zheng Yong.
After Zheng Yong met with his majesty, he did the proper bow before saying, "Minister Zheng Yong has seen his majesty."
"You may rise," replied Wang Wei before staring up and down at Zheng Yong without saying anything.
Meanwhile, Zheng Yong had sweat falling down his back despite having a calm look on his face.
Today can be considered the first time that he has truly met his majesty in person. Although he has seen him through image formation when he made speeches to the people of Great Xia, although he has been playing political games with his majesty for the past two years, this was still their first official meeting.
And Zheng Yong was under tremendous pressure. The deep grey eyes seemed to be able to see through all of his mind, soul, and secrets. Furthermore, somehow, he had the illusion that his majesty was holding a string that attached itself around his neck, determining his fate.
Nevertheless, Zheng Yong did not show any of his thoughts on the surface and he also did not speak any more words, just waiting in the suffocating silence.
Meanwhile, Wang Wei spent more than a few minutes observing this cunning old fox of the Zheng Clan.
The first thing he noticed was the fact that this guy was actually hiding his cultivation level. From the outside, he looked like he had just entered the Divine Altar Realm, however, the truth of the matter was that he was already at the peak with 270 Divine Veins, just one step to break through the Supernatural Realm.
Given his age of close to 300 years old, this was actually quite the extraordinary talent for someone in a Small Thousand World.
Another thing he noticed was through soul fluctuation that this patriarch was currently both in fear and wary of him, however, he still managed to compose himself and not show it on the surface.
After finishing his observation, Wang Wei opened his mouth and said, "I'm sure you have heard of the rumors that are spreading throughout the capital."
"Yes, your majesty."
"What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Your majesty, all I can say is that these rumors are false. Whoever is spreading these rumors should be arrested as soon as possible and dealt with according to the law."
"Is that so?" responded Wang Wei, this time actually releasing his own aura.
An act which made Patriarch Zheng Yong feel a terrifying pressure weighing on him. What's worse, the pressure was not physical in nature, but headed straight for his soul.
He felt that his mind, spirit, and soul would explode at any moment. However, Zheng Yong still gritted his teeth and said while blood was slowly falling from his nose, "This minister swear to Heaven that he is not lying."
After hearing this, Wang Wei removed his aura then smiled brightly before saying, "Is that so? Well, it seems that some people in the Fate Shadow Guards have been negligent in their work. Since it is just a rumor, Zheng Patriarch, you can take your leave."
Zheng Yong began to breathe heavily after the aura was removed, however, he was not in the slightest happy after seeing the smile on his majesty's face. He could feel that things were not only not as simple as he imagined, more importantly, things seemed to be out of his control or understanding.
And there is nothing more fearful for Zheng Yong. Today, he had come to the palace with the full intention of dying without revealing the news that he had the token for the Secret Realm.
He hoped that his death would shift the world's focus from the Zheng Clan to the royal family by showing to the world that his majesty Wang Wei killed him after receiving the information about the Secret Realm.
Unfortunately, his plan failed.
As such, Zheng Yong left the palace with nothing but a bleeding nose and a frown on his face.
Fang Divine Dynasty, Imperial Palace:
Fang Lijuan was sitting on her Dragon-Phoenix Throne discussing recent events around the world.
"The Secret of Longevity?" said Fang Lijuan with a sneer on her face, "Can a Small Thousand World like this one have the secret of longevity that many cultivators in our Myriad Emperor World have been searching for countless Eras?"
"According to our investigation, this Secret Realm contained countless Earth Tier Pills in it," said the Minister of War.
"So what? Does this Goddess care about a few lowly Earth Tier Pill?"
The Minister of War sighed secretly after hearing this. Normally, her majesty is quite astute and tactically driven despite her arrogance. However, her recent failures at the border have made her lose some of her edges.
As such, the Minister of War continued to explain:
"In this world, there are very few alchemists who can refine Earth Tier Pills, however, the success rate of these alchemists are abysmally low. So, it is impossible for them to refine so many pills."
"As such, we can deduce that this Secret Room was in fact one left from ancient time."
Fang Lijuan frowned after hearing and said, "What's your point?"
"Given the fact that this world also practiced the Origin Path, it is not too far-fetched to believe that a senior from the Myriad Emperor World came to this world to spread the Dao and left a powerful inheritance before leaving," responded the Minister of War while secretly cursing Li Jun.
In fact, this argument has many problems such as the fact that the majority of worlds in the community around the Myriad Emperor World cultivate the Origin Path. So, it is possible for someone from other worlds to leave an inheritance.
As such, the Minister of War continued:
"In fact, it doesn't really matter whether the secret of longevity really exists in the Secret Realm, but its location matters."
"Great Xia?" muttered Fang Lijuan who seemed to think of something.
"Yes. Sacred Son Wang Wei of Great Xia has been labeled by our factions as currently the most threatening of all the participants. However, having such a label on the head is not necessarily a good thing."
"Who among the Heaven Chosens are not prideful individuals? So they will not easily accept such praises for their competitor--especially after not even meeting him. So, with this rumor, it is the perfect chance for them to see what he is capable of and determine his level of threat."
"And if he is as threatening as their own Elders have made him out to be, the Secret Realm is the perfect opportunity to form an alliance against him to kill him--or at the very least, eliminate him from this trial."
"Not to mention the slight possibility that this Secret Realm does in fact contains the secret of longevity, how can others let the people of Great Xia easily acquire such a thing?"
Fang Lijuan immediately started thinking after hearing these words. She placed the arrogance she had before, calmed herself down and pondered deeply about the situation. After a few minutes, she said:
"Huang Min--with his insidious mind--will not pass by any opportunity to increase his power, so he will definitely send people to try to enter the Secret Realm."
"The people of the Savior Coalition are desperate, so they will also participate in the action."
"As for the Central Region, I guessed two of three dynasties there will definitely appear. Sun Wen's Great Wu Dynasty is on the verge of collapse with his war against the Great Zhou Dynasty. This Secret Realm might be the straw he needed to survive."
"As for Ji Song, given the conflict he has with Wang Wei during the Spirit Road, he will not pass this situation up. The only uncertainty is actually that guy from the Great Shu Dynasty. His motives and actions have always been mysterious."