Chapter 653: Chapter 81: The War Begins Chapter 653: Chapter 81: The War Begins The Qilin camp’s ability to keep its cool was something completely unexpected for the Dragon Clan.
Because, theoretically, the combined strength of the Qilin and the White Tiger should be much stronger than that of the Xuanwu.
But the Vermilion Bird and the Qilin are sworn enemies, and there is a high probability that the Vermilion Bird would support the Xuanwu; thus, the outcome of the battle became difficult to predict.
If the Dragon Clan were to join the Xuanwu camp, the scales of war would tip immediately.
Therefore, it was initially presumed by the Dragon Clan’s side that both the Xuanwu and Qilin Clans would be eager to court them.
But in reality, it was the Xuanwu and Vermilion Bird Clans who came to court them, while the Qilin Clan remained silent, as if they did not care which side the Dragon Clan chose.
Very strange.
After pondering for a moment, Long Long decided to thoroughly analyze the Qilin camp.
It is well-known that the core of the Xuanwu camp is the Ancestral Xuan Gui, but the Qilin Clan has two cores: one is the Qilin ancestor, and the other is the White Tiger ancestor.
The Empress Lü Ya’s actions were clear as day to the Qilin ancestor, resulting in the Qilin’s absolute disdain for the White Tiger-a disdain that was set aside only because they couldn’t tolerate Qi Weihong, whom Xuan Gui supported, taking the throne, forcing them to ally temporarily with the White Tiger.
From this point of view, the Qilin ancestor would hope to form an alliance or even a marriage with the Dragon Clan-at least to dilute the influence of the White Tiger Clan.
The fact that the Qilin ancestor personally came out to “retain” the envoy group when they left earlier was the best proof of this.
Meaning, if there is someone in the Qilin camp who does not wish to ally with the Dragon Clan, it most likely isn’t the Qilin ancestor.
So, is the problem on the White Tiger’s side?
Source: .com, updated on Ɲ0νǤᴑ.сο
Why wouldn’t the White Tiger want to form an alliance with the Dragon Clan?
Long Long relayed the situation to Long Hu and concluded by saying,
“The state of affairs and attitude of the White Tiger Clan are completely unknown to us at the moment, which was an oversight on my part.”
“Now, it seems that we should invite your aunt over to ask.”
“Speaking of which, it seems your aunt hasn’t returned for quite some time,” Long Hu commented curiously.
“Alright,” Long Long sighed helplessly.
West State is the furthest from Eastern State, and therefore their relationship is the most indifferent and distant, but he expected that the clan would have its hidden agents planted in West State.
Might as well ask the clan leader.
Long Long turned back to return to the council hall, thinking to himself, ever since joining the Azure Dragon Clan, he had indeed labored tirelessly for them, all to maintain his persona of dedication.
In the minds of the Ancestral Azure Dragon, the clan leader, and the elders, he imagined he must be seen as a “devoted contributor to the clan,” an excellent Dragon Clan member, right?
Upon arriving at the council hall, he saw all the elders had gathered, which was a rarity, with clan leader Qin Beiwang seated at the top, but not in the principal seat, rather the secondary one.
And if it wasn’t the Ancestral Azure Dragon sitting in the principal seat, who else could it be?
“Long Long, you’ve arrived just in time,” Qin Beiwang beckoned him to come quickly, “The clan meeting has just begun.”
Long Long promptly paid his respects to the elders, then sat down at the lowest seat.
No sooner had he taken his seat than he heard a bombshell announcement:
“This morning, we received definitive intelligence,” Qin Beiwang said gravely, “The Royal Court has declared war on the North State.”
The elders looked at each other but remained silent, as they evidently already knew of this development.
Long Long was left dumbfounded, thinking to himself, could it be?
Are they really that bold?
They started a war with West State without even notifying our Dragon Clan first?
So, they mean to say, even if the Dragon Clan and West State were to join forces, we still wouldn’t be enough for them to beat?
“Not only that, the White Tiger Clan has already dispatched troops from Lang Cang Mountain in West State, invading the Desolate Plain of North State and conquering thirteen cities in half a day,” Qin Beiwang continued.
“I have a question,” one of the clan elders suddenly interjected, “Isn’t there Cold Ridge Fortress in the Desolate Plain?”
Long Long quickly recalled the knowledge he had learned from his clan, and remembered that Cold Ridge Fortress is a colossal fortress constructed by the Xuan Gui Clan in the border area adjacent to West State and to the west of the Desolate Plain, along the Cold Ridge Mountains.
It is said to be interlaced with as many as three thousand Arrays, almost all of which are defensive.
The White Tiger Clan has tried to remove this thorn from their side several times, and despite several large-scale military campaigns, they were unable to succeed, evidencing the fortress’s formidable defense.
“The defensive Arrays of Cold Ridge Fortress are said to have been destroyed by a great extent,” Qin Beiwang hinted with his gaze, prompting one of the tribal elders to stand up and say, “The fortress commander Gui Ping had no choice but to order a desperate defense of the fortress, resulting in the surrounding cities being taken one after another, unable to provide aid.”
The elders looked in the direction of the speaker and realized it was Elder Shi Yao, who was in charge of intelligence work concerning West State.
“Cold Ridge Fortress has always been known for its strong defense and was highly valued by the Xuan Gui Clan.
Why has it been destroyed to such an extent?” an elder asked, perplexed.
“The reason is quite simple and unexpected,” Shi Yao said calmly.
“Lv Yan from the White Tiger Clan has been confirmed to have advanced to Immortal Rank.
Within half a day of attacking Cold Ridge Fortress, the defenders were powerless to resist.”
Upon hearing this, all the dragons fell silent.
Who was this Lv Yan anyway?
He was the eldest brother of the empress, Lü Ya, said to be of an extremely high Grade Rank lineage and possessing extraordinary combat talents, enjoying unparalleled prestige within his clan for a time.
It was rumored that his father had always wanted to pass on the position of clan leader to him, but the Ancestral White Tiger disapproved, and so the idea was dropped.
Perhaps that’s not easy to understand.
To put it another way, “the White Tiger version of Qiu Changtian,” would be an apt description.
Long Long had carefully studied his record and found that this White Tiger Cultivator was quite ordinary in other respects, but when it came to Magical Competitions, he was a natural genius.
Moreover, he was very bloodthirsty; when he fought with others, it was rare for it not to end in death or serious injury.
It might be fair to say that he’s the “White Tiger version of An Zhisu.”
However, wasn’t this guy supposed to be a long way off from the realm of ancestral return to the root?
So, he was the hidden card of the White Tiger Clan, concealing his true strength, huh?
That’s really despicable!
The surrounding elders murmured to one another, seemingly sharing Long Long’s thoughts.
This Lv Yan, known as the White Tiger’s serial killer, was already strong in the open, but now he was secretly hiding his strength, and suddenly advancing to the Ancestor’s Realm was really…
“Clan Leader!” Long Long suddenly grasped what Shi Yao was implying and immediately spoke out, “So the Qilin Clan has never sought an alliance with our Dragon Clan, could it be because the strength of the White Tiger Clan is actually far greater than we anticipated?”
This statement, once made, was like a rock thrown into a pond, causing a thousand ripples, and the expressions on the elders’ faces all changed.
West State is rich in mines, producing an abundance of Sun Crystal Stones and Moon Crystal Stones, which are similar to the Spirit Stones of the Mortal Realm; they can be used for cultivation as well as for currency.
Hence, the wealth of West State is the greatest in the Eastern Emperor Realm.
???g?.?0
Otherwise, the Qilin Emperor, Qi Weihuan, wouldn’t have married a despised tiger from the Horned Clan with a sneer.
Now that the White Tiger killer star has ascended to the Ancestor’s Realm, it comes as a sudden shock to everyone; might West State have more cards it’s hiding?
For instance, could the number of Cultivators in West State, the strength of its army, far exceed the expectations of the other lords?
Then, the reason the Qilin Clan hasn’t come to us for an alliance would be understandable – because the White Tiger Clan believes it is better to monopolize the fruits of victory rather than share them with the Dragon Clan.
What arrogant White Tigers!
Many of the elders were visibly upset, though they did not speak out.
Their glances towards the Ancestor were suggestive, basically saying, “In that case, we might as well switch our support to Xuanwu.”
Clan Leader Qin Beiwang, however, could not act on sentiment alone, so he turned directly to Long Long and asked:
“Long Long, you have always had clever strategies.
What do you think our Dragon Clan should do now?”
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter