Chapter 686 – Dragon Clan’s Secret

　　Everyone’s surname was the same. The Longyao family had several side branches, and it was no longer possible to judge how closely related they were by their surnames. Despite many people sharing the same surname, their blood could be ten generations apart.

　　But Longyao Xuan and Longyao Jing were siblings born from the same mother.

　　There could only be one Holy Maiden. Unless Longyao Jing was killed, there could never be another quasi-Dragon Queen who could marry the then-Crown Prince Longyao Xuan.

　　“At that time, many elders in the clan proposed to kill Ah Jing in her infancy, so as not to bring disaster and irreversible consequences to the dragon clan. But how could I and my mother let that happen? She was my biological sister. In a dragon family with many males but few females, it was good fortune to have a female dragon born.”

　　The Dragon Emperor sighed lightly and then said, “But my father was cold-blooded and ruthless. He thought that the overall situation should be the most important, and the fate of the Dragons could not be harmed because of his own private interests. The result of the confrontation between my Imperial Mother and Emperor Father was to send Ah Jing to the Dragon Tomb and let her live or die on her own.”

　　The Dragon Tomb was not just a place where bones were buried. It was already another domain that did not belong to the Nine Lands. Legend says that sandstorms were always raging, harsh knife-like rains were always falling, and heavy snow blocking paths left no retreat. There were so many bones there that it could make a forest of bones.

　　For younger generations of the dragon clan, if they stepped into the Dragon Tomb without the permission of the Dragon God’s remnant soul, they would be injured and perhaps even killed. It was simultaneously the holiest and most terrible place in the dragon clan.

　　“Only those who obtain the inheritance can become the heir apparent. When Ah Jing was born, I had already been inside the Dragon Tomb and obtained the inheritance. I became the destined Crown Prince.”

　　Once a prince was given the inheritance, it could no longer be changed, so the only thing that could still be changed would be the Holy Maiden who had just been born.

　　After the Queen Dragon and Crown Prince tearfully put the newborn little dragon into the Dragon Tomb, they watched her disappear into the barrier. Because Longyao Xuan had already been recognized by the Dragon God, he could go in and out of the Dragon Tomb at will. He often went to look for the little dragon who couldn’t even transform yet.

　　In this way, decades passed in a flash.

　　But really, he didn’t know how many years went by.

　　Tens of thousands of days and nights passed. However, the young and handsome Dragon Emperor did not mention what they had experienced and suffered in these days, but only made a passing remark in an airy manner.

　　Finally, the Dragon Emperor said, “My grandfather fell in the battle to seal the Divine Devil thousands of years ago, and the Divine Clans of the Nine Lands declined. The Yan family ascended the throne, the Xuan family retired, and the Longyao family suffered heavy casualties in the demon sealing war, so its position among the Divine Clans also fell to rock bottom. Other would-be Divine clans were eyeing the North Land in an attempt to seize it.”

　　“After my Emperor Father ascended the throne, the living environment in the clan only grew worse and worse. After being attacked by the three quasi-Divine Clans from the North Lands, we almost lost our status as a Divine Clan. So several people proposed to marry Ah Jing to the Northwest Land’s Fu family. In this way, it would not only let the Holy Maiden marry far away, but it also allowed the dragon clan to have the next Holy Maiden once she gave birth to a child. The Fu family’s power would’ve helped the dragon clan retain its status as one of the Divine Clans, leaving us with an opportunity to recuperate.”

　　But in the end, Longyao Jing did not marry into the Fu family.

　　“On the eve of her marriage, she actually gave birth to an egg.” The ice blue eyes of the Dragon Emperor reflected the clouds in the sky, like a burning heart. “Ah Jing never revealed the identity of the child’s father, even until her death. That child is Hai Kuanglang. He was born as a snake dragon, the most inferior type of dragon in the dragon clan and the one with the smallest chances of becoming Emperor.”

　　After that, things grew simpler.

　　“After the death of Longyao Jing, Hai Kuanglang left the North Land and never came back since then.”

　　After listening, Yan Tianhen couldn’t help sighing.

　　The past events were so tangled up. He really didn’t know what evil the dragon family had done to have the Holy Maiden and the Dragon Emperor be biological siblings. It was really fate joking with people.

　　“I have another question.” Lin Xuanzhi looked at the Dragon Emperor. “Who is Zhan Fengting?”

　　He was a person whose appearance nobody had ever paid much attention to, but he would always follow Hai Kuanglang, whether it be leaving the dragon clan, climbing the mountain to learn from a master, or going to the Five Continents together – even following Hai Kuanglang back to participate in the dragon heir succession. From beginning to end, Zhan Fengting was inseparable from Hai Kuanglang, just like his shadow.

　　Such people, if they had never experienced anything, it would be difficult to achieve this level of loyalty.

　　And Hai Kuanglang would sometimes mention his own past, but Zhan Fengting would always stay silent. When asked, he would only sigh sadly or laugh it off.

　　“Zhan Fengting, this child was saved by me when I went to the Northern border to personally lead troops against the demons. I passed a small village burned by battle.”

　　Although there had been no major wars between the demon world and the Daoist sects in the past thousand of years, the small friction disputes had never stopped. The Dragon Emperor led his troops to fight, which was a war that gave them an edge in the world three hundred years ago.

　　The Dragon Emperor seemed to cherish the memory with a smile on his face. “At that time, he was still a baby in swaddling clothes. I picked him up, and his eyes looked straight at me and smiled at me. I saw that he was cute and pitiful, and it moved my heart, so I took him back to the clan for personal guidance.”

　　“I didn’t expect that Eldest Shixiong had such a past,” Yan Tianhen also sighed and asked curiously, “but why did Eldest Martial Brother follow Hai Kuanglang everywhere?”

　　According to this story, Zhan Fengting should have the closest relationship with the Dragon Emperor. But when they were outside the Dragon Palace just now, Zhan Fengting and the Dragon Emperor had no interactions from beginning to end. It seemed like they had never even known each other.

　　After a moment’s silence, the Dragon Emperor said, “It’s inconvenient to say more about the reason. If we talk about it, it can be said that I can’t educate children and almost caused a great disaster. It’s really hard to speak about!”

　　Yan Tianhen was puzzled by this. He had already imagined all kinds of dog blood scenarios in his head based on this sentence. However, the Dragon Emperor didn’t spit out any more secrets, which made Yan Tianhen smile and say, “I will never inquire about the private matters that others don’t want to say.”

　　But in fact, he was secretly cursing the Dragon Emperor up and down inside in his heart.

　　“If you want to say it, then just say it. Why mention a sentence or two if you didn’t want to say the rest?” After Yan Tianhen returned to the room prepared for them, he closed the door and rolled his eyes heavenward.

　　Lin Xuanzhi said, “I don’t quite understand the Dragon Emperor’s meaning.”

　　Yan Tianhen looked up. “I don’t understand either. What did he stop talking about halfway through?”

　　Lin Xuanzhi, “…”

　　So the boy just had thoughts full of Zhan Fengting during the second half of the conversation and didn’t pay attention to the Dragon Emperor’s words after that? Lin Xuanzhi patiently explained, “The Dragon Emperor asked us to help Hai Kuanglang win the fight for Crown Prince.”

　　Yan Tianhen felt that there was nothing wrong with this statement. “We’re supposed to help him anyway. Who else are we going to help otherwise – Longyao Lingheng and Longyao Lingguang?”

　　Lin Xuanzhi glanced at him. “The Dragon Emperor asked me to personally help him.”

　　Yan Tianhen was stunned. “Dage is already a Grandmaster. If people know that you personally helped Shixiong compete for the succession, wouldn’t it make people laugh?”

　　It was one thing to cheer him on from the sidelines, but it was another thing to personally help Hai Kuanglang.

　　A Grandmaster always had to possess a moral character to appear extraordinary. Except for major events that would affect the life and death of the Nine Lands, Grandmasters would always agree to a common custom of not asking or interfering in other small matters.

　　What’s more, of all the confirmed backers for the other participants, the one with the highest cultivation was merely half a step away from the Grandmaster Stage, and there was only one person like that – the master of Longyao Lingheng. There was no Grandmaster as backer.

　　Lin Xuanzhi was a Grandmaster. Once he made a move here, it would always seem strange.

　　Therefore, Lin Xuanzhi’s original plan was not to enter the Dragon Tomb Holy Land with Hai Kuanglang, but to send Reincarnation Palace’s Wind Envoy, Feng Jiuqing, in his place, while he secretly sneaked into the Dragon Tomb Holy Land alone to investigate what he wanted to know.

　　But the Dragon Emperor hinted that he wanted Lin Xuanzhi to help in person.

　　Lin Xuanzhi frowned slightly. “It doesn’t matter whether it will make people laugh. It’s just that if I do help, the odds of Hai Kuanglang becoming heir will be several times higher. Isn’t the Dragon Emperor afraid of the Crown Prince’s position falling into the hands of Hai Kuanglang? As a father, even if he loves his younger sister’s child, he still shouldn’t ignore his own children.”

　　Yan Tianhen seemed to have finally grasped the key point. He slapped his forehead and suddenly realized, “Yes, how can he help others out instead? Although I also feel that Longyao Lingheng doesn’t deserve that position. However, if I was his father, I would hope that he can inherit the throne… Tsk, is it because – like me – the Dragon Emperor also saw through the essence of his son and felt that he can’t be placed in an important position?”

　　Lin Xuanzhi, “…”

　　“Aiya, I’ve always felt that the Dragon Emperor had no eyes, to actually value Longyao Lingheng, who looks like a peacock. Today, I realized that I was the blind one. I didn’t expect that the Dragon Emperor had already seen through everything and already had the idea of making Hai Shixiong the heir apparent.”

　　Yan Tianhen’s expression of seeing through everything had Lin Xuanzhi laughing and scolding him, “Nonsense.”

　　Yan Tianhen refused to accept that. “Then, why do you think the Dragon Emperor did that?”

　　How would Lin Xuanzhi know?

　　If he could figure it out, why would he have to ask such a question?

　　Although Huarong Sword Venerable knew everything and looked at people accurately, the human heart was the most unpredictable thing in the world. How could he see through the thoughts of the Dragon Emperor whom he had never met before?

　　However, Lin Xuanzhi had several conjectures.

　　“There are a few possibilities. First, Longyao Lingheng did something to disappoint the Dragon Emperor so much that the Dragon Emperor would rather give the throne to his nephew than to his own son.”

　　“Second, when the Dragon Emperor went to the Dragon Tomb Holy Land, he got important information related to the Crown Prince position. That information was most likely related to Hai Kuanglang, so he has no choice but to push Hai Kuanlang to succeed the throne.”

　　“Third, the Dragon Emperor owes Princess Jing a great debt, so he wants to make it up to her only son. Or, he had honest and deep feelings for her, so his feelings for her also extended to her son, and he wants to give the best to Hai Kuanglang, which also makes sense.”

　　Under Lin Xuanzhi’s consideration, these possibilities were the greatest.

　　Yan Tianhen thought for a moment and touched his chin. “Dage’s words make a lot of sense, but I always feel that things are not so simple. The timing of when news came out from the Dragon Tomb Holy Land is too coincidental.”

　　Bree’s Little theatre

　　YTH : wants to gossip

　　Dragon Emperor : fulfills his wishes

　　YTH : wants to know even more

　　Dragon Emperor :it’s hard to speak about it

　　YTH: I will never inquire about private matters

　　…………….

　　YTH: why mention if you don’t want to talk about it .

　　LXZ: ….

　　Dragon Emperor:…..

　　Bree:…..