Chapter 1525: 1623: Bad Luck

Chapter 1525: Chapter 1623: Bad Luck

“Chief of the Dragon Family can rest assured for the time being, my Sky Swallowing Palace hasn’t yet contemplated the complete overthrow of the Pill Alliance, at least not for the moment,” Palace Master Dugu said calmly.

Hearing this, Dragon Haotian nodded, “In that case, Dragon Haotian must thank the Palace Master in advance.”

Palace Master Dugu glanced at the Long siblings standing behind Dragon Haotian, especially taking an extra moment to look at Long Zhixin, with a faint smile emerging on her lips.

“The two behind Chief of the Dragon Family are also old acquaintances of this Palace,” Palace Master Dugu said.

Dragon Haotian felt puzzled, wondering what Palace Master Dugu meant by saying this?

“Long Zhiming and Long Zhixin, come and pay your respects to the Palace Master of Sky Swallowing Palace,” Dragon Haotian said.

The expressions of the Long siblings looked somewhat strange, but still, they moved forward a step and bowed respectfully to Palace Master Dugu.

“There is no need for such formalities. Considering I am about the same age as these two, having them bow to me might be somewhat uncomfortable for them,” Palace Master Dugu said with a laugh. Despite her words, she still carried the demeanor of a superior, looking down at the Long siblings.

“I dare not,” said Long Zhiming in a deep voice, feeling indeed somewhat awkward.

Back then, at the Wuji Battle Temple, Fang Lin entered alongside Palace Master Dugu, and Long Zhiming met her too. However, at that time, Long Zhiming didn’t pay much attention to Palace Master Dugu, thinking she was merely a slightly talented Pill Alliance genius.

But today, Palace Master Dugu has become a formidable ruler, holding the reins of the Sky Swallowing Palace, even the Family Head of his own clan, Dragon Haotian, maintained a degree of reverence in her presence.

Naturally, Long Zhiming found this change hard to accept, but facts were facts, whether he accepted them or not.

As for Long Zhixin, there was no need to mention her; back in the day in the Pill Alliance, her reputation far exceeded that of Palace Master Dugu, and even compared to Fang Lin at the time, she was not inferior.

Although Palace Master Dugu was also an Alchemy Tao prodigy, the gap with Long Zhixin was not small, at least it was obvious from their renown. Long Zhixin was known to everyone in the Pill Alliance, and any Pill Refiner would spontaneously praise her from the heart.

But the fame of Palace Master Dugu was far from reaching the heights of Long Zhixin, be it in Martial Arts or Alchemy Tao. Though talented in both, she was not exceptionally outstanding.

However, now, although Long Zhixin has also become a very strong Pill Refiner, her achievements paled in comparison to the current Palace Master Dugu.

Amidst light-hearted conversation, Palace Master Dugu could stir the changing winds and clouds of the Nine Countries, making all warriors from various places pale in comparison – that was something Long Zhixin could not do.

“Palace Master Dugu, may I dare to inquire whether Fang Lin is also within the Sky Swallowing Palace?” Long Zhixin asked, biting her lip, unable to restrain herself from asking after all.

Long Zhiming frowned, glanced at his sister, and inwardly sighed, this girl was still thinking about Fang Lin.

Yet Dragon Haotian inwardly cursed, fully aware of the relationship between Fang Lin and Palace Master Dugu. By directly asking Palace Master Dugu about Fang Lin’s whereabouts, aren’t you courting trouble with Palace Master Dugu?

Long Zhixin, however, was fearless, her bright eyes directly gazing at Palace Master Dugu, waiting for her response.

Palace Master Dugu’s face wore a faint smile, looking at Long Zhixin with interest.

“Why do you seek his whereabouts?” Instead of replying, Palace Master Dugu asked back.

Long Zhixin paused, and then said, “I just want to know if he really isn’t dead.”

“You can rest assured, he’s alive and well,” Dugu Nian said nonchalantly, sounding utterly ordinary.

However, a person like Dragon Haotian was very shrewd and immediately detected a hint of impatience in Dugu Nian’s tone. He shot a glance at Long Zhixin, signaling her to step back and stop speaking.

But Long Zhixin, as if she hadn’t seen Dragon Haotian’s look at all, stubbornly stood her ground.

“Then, is he at Sky Swallowing Palace?” Long Zhixin pressed on.

Silence fell heavily in the hall. Dugu Nian didn’t speak. Dragon Haotian inwardly cursed; knowing this girl would cause trouble, he wouldn’t have brought her along. Now the situation was difficult—if Long Zhixin angered Dugu Nian, it would not be easy to resolve.

Moreover, if Dugu Nian truly despised Long Zhixin and decided to kill her in a fit of anger, Dragon Haotian feared he would be unable to stop it.

After all, this was the Sky Swallowing Palace. Never mind Dugu Nian’s current strength—who in the Nine Countries could match it?

The sheer power of the masked figures in the Sky Swallowing Palace was enough to make Dragon Haotian extremely wary.

This was a genuine dragon’s den and tiger’s lair. If one entered respectfully and left the same way, there would be no issues.

Yet Long Zhixin continued to inquire, especially about Fang Lin. It would be entirely reasonable for Dugu Nian to get angry.

“Why should I tell you?” Dugu Nian asked with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, his tone carrying a trace of playfulness.

Dragon Haotian quickly pulled Long Zhixin behind him, while Long Zhiming shook his head at her repeatedly, signaling her not to speak recklessly.

“Palace Master, Zhixin is still young and has spoken out of turn. I hope the Palace Master won’t take offense. I will certainly severely reprimand her when we return,” Dragon Haotian bowed and said.

Dugu Nian waved his hand dismissively: “It’s nothing. I’m just curious. Miss Long seems so concerned about Fang Lin—perhaps she has taken a liking to him?”

Upon hearing this statement, Fang Lin, standing at the back of the hall, was somewhat helpless. He knew Dugu Nian wasn’t angry or annoyed; it was probably just that he found Long Zhixin’s reactions amusing and wanted to tease her a bit.

Dragon Haotian, however, was taken aback, fearing that Dugu Nian was already furious, and sweat began to bead on his forehead.

“Your words are too severe, Palace Master. Zhixin is just a friend and half-disciple of Fang Lin. When he visited the Long Family, he taught Zhixin the Pill Refining Skills of Shaking Three Mountains. I believe she is just concerned about Fang Lin and therefore inquires further, without any other implication,” Dragon Haotian explained hastily.

He purposefully described the relationship between Fang Lin and Long Zhixin as one between friends and mentor, in hopes of dissolving Dugu Nian’s wariness.

However, his words seemed to have the opposite effect, as a chill appeared on Dugu Nian’s face.

“So, Fang Lin also taught Miss Long the Shaking Three Mountains? I was not aware of this. I thought he had only taught me,” Dugu Nian said, his face growing visibly more ominous.

Dragon Haotian nearly slapped himself for bringing up the worst possible topic. He had intended to clarify things but seemed to be making them worse.

If only he had known that Fang Lin had already taught Dugu Nian the Shaking Three Mountains, he would never have mentioned it.

Long Zhixin was not foolish, realizing now that she might have angered the head of Sky Swallowing Palace. Yet she truly wanted to know Fang Lin’s whereabouts and situation.

“Fang Lin is right here. Go find him yourself,” Dugu Nian said with a wave of his hand, not even casting a glance at the three from the Long Family.

PS: The fourth update is here. Finally, I can go eat; I’m starving. Continued tomorrow.

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