"Uncle Yan, this is Qing He, and this is Qing Ping. They’re from Guangcheng Palace on Ancient Kongtong Mountain. They’re on our side, so don’t worry."
After a pause, he introduced them in turn.
"This is Uncle Yan, Yan Huang, the chairman of Longque Technology. And this is Xiaoyan, Uncle Yan’s daughter."
Qing Ping and Qing He exchanged a wary glance, then both gave Yan Huang a slight bow, which he returned.
They all sat down, and as they made small talk, the atmosphere gradually relaxed.
Xiaoyan, anwhile, sat practically glued to Lu Xuan’s side. Her eyes curved into crescents, her smile threatening to spill over. Lu Xuan was whispering sothing to her, his own smile just as gentle.
Seeing this sappy display, Yan Huang felt his teeth start to ache. He shot Lu Xuan an unfriendly look, only to realize that the True Immortal nad Qing Ping was now giving him a hostile glare in return.
"Don’t read too much into it." Qing He clapped his junior brother on the shoulder, then shot Yan Huang an apologetic smile before turning back to say earnestly,
"Junior Brother, you’re being too sensitive. If I were Chairman Yan, I’d have already tossed our precious charge out..."
"What?" Lu Xuan looked up, bewildered.
"Yeah, what?" Xiaoyan also looked up, just as bewildered.
The corner of Yan Huang’s eye twitched. He sighed and waved a hand dismissively.
"It’s nothing. You two just... carry on."
He felt ntally drained.
Lu Xuan glanced at Xiaoyan clinging to his side, and realization seed to dawn. He cleared his throat twice and changed the subject.
"Uncle Yan, what’s the latest with Sakata Heavy Industries?"
At the ntion of serious business, Yan Huang’s expression grew solemn.
"On the surface, Sakata Heavy Industries looks to be in a sorry state, but their foundations haven’t really been damaged. They’ve been strengthening their ties with Aotao Organism, and have even been making secret deals with Celestial God Pharmaceutical and Ancient Gene from the West Continent. I don’t know what they’re plotting."
As he spoke, a look of concern crossed his face.
Lu Xuan nodded thoughtfully. After a mont of consideration, he added,
"Barring any surprises, they’re probably targeting Longque Technology, and maybe as well... Part of the reason Qing Ping and Qing He have left Ancient Kongtong Mountain is to act as my protectors."
Yan Huang’s eyes lit up. He glanced at the two middle-aged n and asked in a low voice,
"Right, the Grand Grade Immortal who took action in the Kongtong Mountain Range that day..."
Qing He replied,
"That was Senior Brother Qing Xuan, the Palace Master of Guangcheng Palace... However, for certain reasons, he is unable to leave Guangcheng Palace. At most, he can only intervene in the region around the Kongtong Mountain Range."
Yan Huang nodded, a hint of regret in his eyes. The situation was growing increasingly tense. Sakata Heavy Industries and Aotao Organism had fully allied, working to corner and block Longque Technology at every turn. And now, Celestial God Pharmaceutical and Ancient Gene were showing signs of getting involved...
If they could secure the aid of a Grand Grade, it would relieve a great deal of pressure.
After a mont of thought, he looked at Lu Xuan and asked,
"Xiaoxuan, what are your plans for the near future? According to my sources, Sakata Heavy Industries has made you their top priority. I’m afraid they’ll..."
"It’s fine."
Lu Xuan said calmly,
"With Qing He and Qing Ping here, if Sakata Heavy Industries really cos looking for trouble, I won’t be the one to suffer for it."
After a pause, he added,
"My plan for now is to stay at Langya University for a while and reach the High-ranking Celestial Human level as soon as I can. After that, I’ll probably try to get inside the Federation’s official structure, which should make it easier to investigate the Evil Cult."
"And you promised we’d go to Taishan!" Yan Jiangxue leaned in, poking her head forward.
"Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten," Lu Xuan said with a laugh.
Old Yan’s mouth twitched. He then said,
"We’re also investigating the Evil Cult. We’re certain it’s connected to Sakata Heavy Industries, and even to Life Tower... You should ask Wu Datong about that. He probably knows a few things."
After a pause, he added,
"However, we’ve recently made another discovery. While the Evil Cult has deep ties to Life Tower and Sakata Heavy Industries, the force behind them is definitely not either of those two groups. It’s an unknown Existence that has been hiding in the shadows... You need to be careful with your investigation."
"I know, Uncle Yan."
They talked for a while longer, until Yan Huang seed to rember sothing and offered a word of caution.
"Oh, right. The Federation has allowed another batch of the Demon Race to co inside the pass. We and the Giant Bear Group strongly opposed it in the Federation council, but the other four Super Conglorates were all in favor, so the proposal passed."
Lu Xuan’s expression grew solemn as Yan Huang continued,
"This batch consists almost entirely of young prodigies from the Demon Race. They ca under the guise of an academic exchange and all went to Shengjing University. Next month, Shengjing University will have an exchange event with Langya University, and when that happens..."
"...they’ll likely use it as a pretense to hold a large-scale competition between the younger generations of the Human Race and the Demon Race. If you can, Xiaoxuan, you have to participate. Be as ruthless as possible. But be careful—the Demon Race has prodigies who have already reached the Celestial Human Level."
Lu Xuan’s eyes narrowed, his mind turning as he saw through to the heart of the matter. He asked,
"Is this the Outer Demon Race’s way of testing us?"
"Exactly. They’re probing our strength. Winning would be fine, but if we lose, we’ll be at a complete disadvantage in the peace talks. The Demon Race will hold all the cards..."
"I understand."
As they were talking, the faint sll of sothing burning drifted over.
Lu Xuan twitched his nose, and just as he was about to ask, Xiaoyan shot up from her seat with a shriek.
"Oh no! My braised pork ribs!"
She scrambled into the kitchen, and Yan Huang just shook his head, unable to suppress a chuckle.
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