When talking about the future situation of forces and families, they were all worried, but now they were horrified, as if they had really reached the point of being on the verge of death.
“Impossible. We’re the only ones who know of that secret, and no one could have leaked any information about this matter. Do you suspect that one of us had…” As soon as Cridia said that, the people in the room immediately became paranoid again as they sized each other up, as if anyone could be the traitor.
However, just when the crowd began to suspect each other, Burgess hurriedly explained, “No, I’m not saying that anyone among us is a traitor, but don’t forget that many people ended up in the hands of the royal family and the Illuminati after the Ocean Dragon Family rebelled. Although the ancestors have agreed that this matter can only be told to the successor of the family, we can’t guarantee that nothing happened with the Ocean Dragon Family.”
After hearing Burgess’ explanation, the people in the room finally stopped suspecting, though they all still looked grim with grave expressions on their faces. Just as Burgess said, after the rebellion of the Ocean Dragon Family failed, many of the important members of the Ocean Dragon Family were captured by the royal family and the Illuminati. No one was certain that none of those who were captured were aware of the secret.
Everyone in the room fell dead silent for a while, and all that could be heard was the sound of the slightly rapid breathing of the crowd. Although almost all of them were Legendary powerhouses, they still couldn’t control their emotions under that terrifying pressure. Seeing this, Cantory felt a little puzzled because he had never heard his father mention anything about the secrets of the ancestors.
“Father, what exactly do you mean by that?” After a long time, Cantory still could not help but voice the doubts he had in mind. His question immediately broke the silence in the room, and so the atmosphere in the room eased up immediately.
Burgess snapped back to his senses and looked at his son, but he shook his head indifferently, and said, “It’s not the time to tell you yet. You just need to know that the ancestors of our families are keeping a common secret that concerns our survival. Unfortunately, the Ocean Dragon Family refused to take our ancestors’ advice, and as a result, not only did they get defeated and perish, they also left such a huge problem for us.”
Since the several old families managed to follow the founding lord of the Gilded Kingdom and establish the Gilded Kingdom in the Endless Ocean, they were naturally no ordinary people. Although they were loyal to the royal family of the Gilded Kingdom at that time, it didn’t mean that they wouldn’t consider the interests of their own families. In this world, all subjects had to obey the king’s orders even if they were ordered to die. However, they would often prioritize their families’ interests.
During the years when the Endless Ocean was barren, there were many secrets waiting for explorers to discover. Thus, it was a great opportunity for them to explore the countless uninhabited barren islands and abysses deep under the sea. The Gilded Kingdom could rise and develop not only because the founding lord was wise. Opportunities were a crucial factor too.
For example, the fleet of alchemical ships of the Gilded Kingdom could now dominate the four seas, and they could develop impressive alchemical technology allegedly because of the ancient relics they had found in the beginning. Without that discovery, the Gilded Kingdom would probably only have been a small, struggling country in the sea, if they could’ve been established at all. They would also be on the verge of getting destroyed by any force at any time.
However, seeing that his father did not intend to tell him the truth, Cantory did not continue to ask more questions. Instead, he remained seated and contemplated for a while. He then suddenly looked up at his father, and said, “Father, I still have no idea what that secret really is, but I think we can be slightly more optimistic about things for the time being.”
Cantory’s words immediately caught everyone’s attention. Of course, that did not mean that they believed Cantory. After all, Cantory didn’t know what the secret was yet. With some bewilderment and hope, Burgess nonetheless asked, “Oh, is that so? Tell us what you think.”
Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Cantory didn’t feel intimidated at all. Instead, he raised his chin confidently, and said, “I think we’re all thinking too much about that secret. If the royal family and the Illuminati had really found out the secret from the Ocean Dragon Family, they would have probably already done something. However, why have the Illuminati and the royals not taken any action after thousands of years? I reckon that even if they got some information from the Ocean Dragon Family, it must be vague, and the authenticity of it must be indistinguishable. So, we can’t mess up and get all flustered lest we attract their attention.”
Cantory’s words made them come to a sudden realization, and they finally looked more at ease. In fact, they were not being nervous for nothing, but rather they all knew how torturous it had to be to keep such a massive secret that was related to the survival of the families. Cantory managed to tell at a glance what they had neglected precisely because he was a spectator.
Seeing that they had finally felt less nervous, Cantory was naturally smug, but he didn’t show it. Instead, he continued, “I think that we should now consider how to deal with the consequences that might come with the cooperation between the Supreme Council and the Illuminati.”
“Do you have any good suggestions?” asked Burgess, who liked his son more and more. Having a son like Cantory was probably the thing that he was the proudest of in this life.
Cantory smiled modestly, looked around, and then unhurriedly said, “If they can get some allies, so can we.” After saying that, he looked away toward the depths of the Endless Ocean.
They initially wanted to say something about their so-called allies, but after seeing Cantory’s gaze, they immediately seemed to have understood something.
While the people of several old families were being uneasy and discussing countermeasures to take after seeing Edmund’s attitude toward Lin Li, King Bradlor was also asking Saint Edmund for advice about what had happened in the council hall during the day.
Burgess and the others were shocked by the change in Edmund’s attitude, while Bradlor was confused as to why the lofty saint of the Illuminati would suddenly be so friendly to Lin Li.
Of course, Bradlor also knew that Lin Li had the identity of a fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council. However, he knew that in terms of seniority, Edmund was still a Sanctuary powerhouse who was more senior than the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council. Even if Lin Li was the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council, he was probably several generations junior to Edmund.
However, Bradlor hadn’t had the time to ask in detail after going to the back of the council hall with Edmund back then. They had no choice but to resolve the matter according to Edmund’s wishes first.
After they sent Lin Li away, while Burgess and the other ministers left, Bradlor finally couldn’t contain the doubts within him. With no one else in the room, he gestured for Saint Edmund to sit down, but just as he was about to speak, he was stopped by Edmund who raised his hand.
“I know what you want to ask, but I must tell you this, don’t underestimate Felic!” Edmund exclaimed as soon as he spoke, making Bradlor frightened.
His sentence might sound like nothing, but coming from Saint Edmund, it was definitely significant. As the latter was the saint of the Chaos Sanctuary of the Illuminati and a powerhouse from the Dark Age, there were probably less than five people whom Saint Edmund wouldn’t dare to underestimate.
Although in Bradlor’s opinion, Lin Li could be considered a rare genius who had reached the Sanctuary-realm at the age of 20, Lin Li was, after all, a member of the Supreme Council. Even if he could become a god in the future, he wouldn’t bring any benefits to the Illuminati. On the contrary, the Illuminati should actually kill him in advance. Otherwise, how could the Illuminati contend with the Supreme Council in the future?
Geniuses would only have infinite value when they were alive. A dead genius would be no different from an ordinary person. How could the Supreme Council possibly take revenge on the Illuminati at all costs for a dead genius? The three arbitrators of the Supreme Council who had also ruled the Supreme Council for thousands of years wouldn’t make such an unwise choice, so there was nothing for the Illuminati to worry about.
Besides, Edmund was close to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and he had been in the Sanctuary-realm for thousands of years. Meanwhile, Lin Li had only stepped into the Sanctuary-realm for a short period of time. Even if he had incredible talent, how could he be compared to Edmund who had thousands of years of experience? How could Edmund be wary of him?
“Saint Edmund, I remember hearing from High Priest Poer that Felic is only slightly stronger than him. I’m afraid Elder Zumar alone will be enough to suppress him, even if you don’t step in. I’m really confused by your words,” Bradlor said with puzzlement.
When Lin Li destroyed the Fifth Fleet, Bradlor didn’t hold it against him on the surface, but he obviously wasn’t pleased with it, so he asked High Priest Poer how strong Lin Li was. However, High Priest Poer was an arrogant person, so there was no way he would say that he was far inferior to a greenhorn like Lin Li. Hence, he naturally said that he had been negligent and belittled his enemy.
Although Bradlor took into account High Priest Poer’s vanity and prideful nature, he also felt that even if Lin Li was stronger than High Priest Poer, his strength had to be limited. That was also the reason that Bradlor had the courage to look for Lin Li and confront him about the matter of the royal guards in the council hall. After all, as the head of a country, Bradlor was well aware of how great the impact of his own safety was on the entire kingdom. Hence, he wouldn’t be so silly as to put himself in danger.
However, Bradlor’s question made Edmund sneer in disdain. Edmund sized up Bradlor, making him feel a little ashamed. He then shook his head, and said, “Even I can overcome your defensive means, let alone that President Felic. You should be thankful I came back just in time. Otherwise, he would have probably demolished this palace and killed you.”
“How is that possible?!” Bradlor was immediately shocked to hear that. Although he knew that Edmund would not joke about such a thing, he still couldn’t believe his words. Edmund was simply saying that Felic was stronger than him!
Although Bradlor had only sent 20 to 30 special guards during the crisis, and had activated the magical defense of the throne, those methods had been verified by Sanctuary powerhouses, and ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses would not be able to break through the two layers of defense in the first place.
Even though a single Legendary-level guard would not be able to defeat a Sanctuary powerhouse, they could get into a powerful battle formation created by the ancestors of the royal family of the Gilded Kingdom. With the power of the battle formation, they could unite and become one. Although they might not be able to contend with a Sanctuary powerhouse, they could buy precious time for the king.
What was really powerful was the defensive mageweath on the king’s throne. It was not a simple defensive mageweath, but part of a massive mageweath array that was set up in the entire palace. When Bradlor activated its defensive power, he also mobilized the mana in the entire palace through the mageweath array. That was not something that ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses could break through.
Although it was said that even the most powerful defense could be broken, only a Sanctuary powerhouse of Edmund’s level could break through the defense of the defensive mageweath array of the palace. Otherwise, if it were another Sanctuary powerhouse, Bradlor would have enough time to leave unhurriedly even if the former could break the defense.
Seeing how amazed Bradlor was, Edmund didn’t explain any further, and instead calmly said, “Level does not represent strength, I’m sure you’re aware of that logic. I’ve seen him attacking on Cursed Island before too, but even I couldn’t quite see through his strength.”
In the underground world of Cursed Island, Edmund had seen Lin Li execute lethal techniques like the usage of the Light and Darkness Sword and the World Sword. Hence, he naturally had a deep understanding of Lin Li’s overwhelming offensive power. Logically speaking, Lin Li should have gone all out when fighting High Priest Poer, who had already entered the demigod realm. However, Edmund had a vague feeling that even in that situation, Lin Li should have reserved some power and retained his last trump card.
