Ye Zichen and the others had sensed no signs of this young man in scholarly robes’ arrival. It was only when he’d reached them that they noticed him. Their gazes were hesitant. More than his clothes, they couldn’t help but notice his figure; he was frail and slender, so much so that he put most women to shame.
“If you want to go to fox territory, I can send you there directly and save you the trouble of clashing with the Southern Kingdom,” said the young scholar.
Xuan Ji and the others glanced at him, then looked him up and down. “Might I ask how you know that we’re headed toward fox territory? Also, are you covering your face like that for fear others will recognize you, so as to keep your identity a secret?”
“He’s hiding his face and telling half-truths. Can’t be up to any good.” Su Yiyun snorted.
“You must be the newly crowned Emperor Hades. You’ve really inherited some of your predecessor’s imposing demeanor.” The scholar chuckled. “It’s true that I don’t want to show you my face, but in truth, we’re already acquainted. I knew you were planning to visit the foxes, so I rushed over to lend a hand.”
“What do you mean?” asked Ye Zichen.”
“The war prep chat group, Stranger!” The scholar smiled calmly, while the group members present all froze.
Stranger was the only member of the group Great Emperor Chao Feng. None of the others knew who the stranger was; they certainly hadn’t expected Stranger to just appear before them like this.
“It seems you believe me, but just in case you still have doubts….” All of them received simultaneous notifications. When they looked at their screens, they were indeed from the Stranger! “I’m sure you believe me now!”
“Might you show us your real face?” asked Xuan Ji.
“Please, don’t make this difficult for me. I chose to come here like this, and naturally I have my reasons. When I can show you my face, I will do so without reservations,” said the young man in scholarly robes.
“Then…. We’ll have to trouble you.” Xuan Ji looked Stranger over, then stepped back, her eyes carrying a hint of profundity. The Stranger nodded and smiled. Then, his slender fingers danced in the air.
Several ripples appeared in the sky, then undulated outward like a series of waves.
The forces of the Profound Pavilion and Upheaval Alliance watched the skies. Before long, the ripples intensified until they formed a tornado, which then split, revealing a grand, silver gate.
“This gate will lead you directly to the foxes’ mountain gate. Everyone, please go on in!”
The Grand Dao of Space.
Everyone standing before the gate could see that this was one of the three thousand daos, the Grand Dao of Space.
The fact that this mysterious Stranger had attainments in this grand dao was enough to make them sigh with admiration, but at the same time, they were hesitant. When you traveled through a spatial tunnel, it was impossible to tell where you were going until you got there.
The Stranger had joined the group out of nowhere, and none of them knew anything about him.
If they just went into the tunnel, who could be sure that this wasn’t a trap, or that the Stranger wasn’t up to something?
Especially since they had the Emperor Star with them!
“Are you worried that I’ll try something?” the scholarly Stranger laughed.
“Please, forgive us, but it’s true: we’re not familiar with you, and we can’t possibly trust you completely,” said Xuan Ji.
“I understand that.” Stranger nodded. “Indeed, of course my identity and background are worth considering at a time like this, and of course you wouldn’t trust me. But surely you can trust Great Emperor Chao Feng? He’s the one who introduced us, so even if you can’t trust me, you ought to trust him, don’t you think?”
Su Yiyun and Ye Zichen subconsciously glanced at Xuan Ji. They weren’t familiar with Great Emperor Chao Feng either!
“I trust Chao Feng’s character,” muttered Xuan Ji. She shot the stranger a profound look, then said, “Thank you, sir, for your assistance.”
With that, Xuan Ji entered the spatial gate with no further hesitation.
Ye Zichen, Su Yiyun, the Great Sage, Yang Jian, Pu Jingwan and went next, followed by their respective factions’ grand armies.
It was only after the last of them entered the tunnel that Stranger smiled, then waved their right arm and sealed off the entrance to the tunnel. “I don’t know if this was the right thing to do, or a horrible mistake.” The scholarly Stranger shook his head, entered a spatial rift, and disappeared.
The scholarly Stranger’s spatial tunnel was very solid. Despite the sheer number of people traveling through it, it showed no signs of imminent collapse at all.
“Auntie, can we really trust that person?” asked Ye Zichen once they were inside.
“If I didn’t trust them, I wouldn’t have led us all inside,” said Xuan Ji. “Besides, ‘he’ was right. I trust Great Emperor Chao Feng’s character. Chao Feng invited them to the group, so there’s no need to be on guard. It’s just, this ‘Stranger’ person….”
“What is it? Auntie, did you discover something?” asked Ye Zichen.
“She’s a woman.” Pu Jingwan suddenly popped her head in. When she saw Ye Zichen looking at her doubtfully, she continued, “You didn’t notice, did you? Don’t let her mens’ clothes fool you. I’m certain she’s female!”
“She is indeed,” said Xuan Ji.
Ye Zichen and the other guys were stunned. After some time, Yang Jian muttered, “No wonder. I thought ‘his’ eyes were a bit too bright and clear. They didn’t seem like a man’s eyes at all.”
“Heh, I can also assure that she’s not just female: she’s a beauty, too,” said Pu Jingwan.
“You can tell even that?” Yang Jian’s eyes bulged, and he stroked his chin. “But thinking about it, it seems you’re right. All she revealed were her eyes, but they were already that pretty. And her figure! It seemed rather decent, so I bet her face is quite something too!”
“You behave yourself. The third princess is still waiting for you home,” said the Great Sage.
“Do I need you to tell me that?” Yang Jian rolled his eyes at him. “I only said that because Jingwan brought it up, but I’m completely infatuated with the third princess. You don’t think I’m fickle in love, do you?”
“Hah? Who was it who spent all day flirting with immortal beauties back in the Heavenly Court?” asked the Great Sage.
“You’re saying that about me? Back on Mount Huaguo, wasn’t there that troop of female monkeys….”
“Quit talking nonsense!”
“What? Are you afraid I’ll reveal your secrets?”
“You’re just asking for a beating!”
No one was sure how much of what they said was true, but it was obvious that they were about to fight. Fortunately, Su Yiyun stopped them in time.
This wasn’t the outside world. This was a spatial tunnel! If they fought in here and collapsed the tunnel, all of them would be trapped.
But even as the two clowns argued, Ye Zichen’s attention was elsewhere. He seemed lost in thought.
“That’s impossible, isn’t it? How could it be her? Why would she…” Ye Zichen couldn’t help but mutter to himself, his heart full of disbelief.
A woman!
With extremely high attainments in the Dao of Space!
And a member of the god race!
When he added all these details up, Ye Zichen could only think of one person who fit that description!
