Chapter 1258: Shang Zhui’s Request
"His name is—"
"Zhang Xiaolong." Unlike Nalan Wangzi, Tian Shuixiang knew that Zhang Fei always used that name as his disguise while in the Three Mortal Realms, so he gave it to his father. "As I said before, he came from the Three Mortal Realms several years ago, so he has no connection to the Zhang Clan of the Starfall Martial Domain."
Shang Zhui nodded in understanding. "The Zhang Clan of the Starfall Martial Domain has never favored any demon race, so he couldn’t possibly be one of them. Even if he were, they would have killed him long ago because he was a disgrace to their clan. Then, what do you mean by wanting to help him build his power? Does he want to dominate this realm?"
"You are mistaken, Uncle Zhui." Shang Zhui looked at Nalan Wangzi. "My brother-in-law is the opposite of Mo Shentian or Shang Zhanluo, and he has never been interested in dominating this realm. He wants to build his power so he can live a free life and protect those closest to him, and he also wants to build a place that will be a sanctuary for all races."
"A sanctuary for all races?" Shang Zhui was surprised to hear that.
Tian Shuixiang immediately spoke to his father. "Wangzi is right, Father. In fact, Zhang Xiaolong has a good relationship with all races, whether human races, demon races, beast races, winged races, or natural races. Many of them have sent their representatives to join him, and they live in one place in one of the domains now. My wife and I joined him after we witnessed all his past actions for ourselves, and we believe that he will succeed in uniting all races."
"Who are the people who have joined Zhang Xiaolong?" Shang Zhui found it difficult to believe Tian Shuixiang’s words, as Long Wuzhao had once tried to unite all the races in the past, but he ultimately failed, leaving only Zhang Fei, who hadn’t ascended to their realm for long.
Tian Shuixiang and Nalan Wangzi exchanged glances for a moment. "Among the demon races, both my Soul-Devouring Race and the Eternal Demon Race have joined him. My mother decided to join him because he is her son-in-law, and Aunt Mingran decided to join him because he is Ye Futian’s great-grand disciple."
"Oh?" Shang Zhui was surprised by Zhang Fei and Ye Futian’s relationship. "How could he become Ye Futian’s great-grand disciple?"
"Father, do you remember when my father-in-law descended to the Three Mortal Realms to look for us?" Shang Zhui nodded to Tian Shuixiang. "He met a sword master there, and he was interested in his swordsmanship, so he took him as his disciple. His disciple was dead, but that same deceased disciple took on a new disciple, who later became Zhang Xiaolong’s master. Therefore, he became my father-in-law’s great-grand disciple."
Shang Zhui nodded in understanding. "This universe is so vast yet so small. Zhang Xiaolong and Ye Futian should have never met each other, but they already had such a relationship before he ascended to this realm. He even met Ye Zhiye and you there, and he took the two of you back here. So, who are the other people?"
"Tian Yizu’s daughter and Tianshi Bailong’s daughter are also on his side now." Shang Zhui was shocked again after hearing those two names from Tian Shuixiang. "In fact, he has a good relationship with Long Wuzhao, and the dragon emperor has helped him resolve various issues several times, including those that arose in the Endless Night Dungeon some time ago."
Shang Zhui furrowed his brows. "I’ve heard reports from members of our race who went into that dungeon, and they said that Long Wuzhao appeared there along with Long Xukong and Tianshi Bailong. I heard they captured the ten evil mythical beasts, but I didn’t hear about Zhang Xiaolong."
"Hehe." Nalan Wangzi chuckled. "Naturally, you wouldn’t hear about my brother-in-law, Uncle Zhui. He didn’t make public appearances; instead, he carried out all his actions behind the scenes. When he noticed the presence of the ten evil mythical beasts, he immediately asked Tianshi Shengjie to contact Tianshi Bailong, and he came there with Long Wuzhao and Long Xukong. Thus, you should already understand about his relationship with them, right?"
Shang Zhui nodded to Nalan Wangzi. "Since Long Wuzhao and the two dragons were willing to come to answer Zhang Xiaolong’s call, their relationship was obviously very deep."
"The Ice Phoenix Race has also joined my brother-in-law, as one of his wives is an ice phoenix." Shang Zhui stared at Nalan Wangzi in astonishment, as the ice phoenix race had never been involved with any race, let alone a demon like Zhang Fei. "Several natural races from this realm have also joined him, one of which is Jia Xianzu."
"Huh?" Jia Xianzu’s name shocked Shang Zhui again. "Did he really decide to return?"
"Yes." Nalan Wangzi nodded at Shang Zhui. "You don’t know it yet, but Jia Zizhen’s secret has been exposed, and the rumors that he conspired with demon races to kill the previous Fairy King have been proven true. Mo Shentian and Jiu Mozu helped him to gang up on the previous Fairy King, and he absorbed his power before killing him."
Shang Zhui himself had long suspected that Jia Zizhen was colluding with several demon races, but he never expected the Fairy King to be in cahoots with Mo Shentian and Jiu Mozu. "Who managed to uncover Jia Zizhen’s secret?"
"Who else but Long Wuzhao?" Nalan Wangzi then explained to Shang Zhui some of the things about how the dragon emperor could know the truth, but he did not tell him about Zhang Fei’s relationship with Jia Yuyan. "Jia Xianzu already knew the truth, so he decided to return and join my brother-in-law, and several members of the fairy race will follow him soon, such as Jia You. In fact, there are several natural races on my brother-in-law’s side now, such as elves, dwarfs, dryads, and many others."
Shang Zhui took a breath after hearing all that, as Zhang Fei’s feat was simply too fast, and no one was aware of his action except for the people in his inner circle. "Xiuluo, I understand your desire not to return to this domain, but you are still part of our asura demon race, and you are one of the candidates to replace our emperor in the future."
"Father, I—"
"I’m not asking you for anything difficult, and I just want you to maintain your relationship with Zhang Xiaolong." Without Shang Zhui saying it, Tian Shuixiang had long decided that he would always stay by Zhang Fei’s side. "If all your stories are true, I believe he will continue to grow, and he will become a great power in this realm. I am familiar with our emperor’s character because I have been his advisor for so long, but I can’t guess anything for now. He hasn’t done anything to him now, but he might change his mind if he becomes too strong in the future, and he might consider him a threat."
"You mean—"
Shang Zhui nodded slightly. "Our emperor’s ego and pride are too high, and he will never allow anyone to threaten him. If Zhang Xiaolong becomes too strong, I believe he will attack him even if he knows the depth of his strength. However, many members of our race are different from him, and many of us desire a more peaceful life, including me. I hope something like that will not happen, but I can’t stop our emperor with my strength. If it happens in the future, I hope you will be the liaison between him and our race, and you must lead our race to a better future."
"Father—"
"How about you, Uncle Zhui?" Nalan Wangzi asked.
Shang Zhui shook his head at her. "Little Wangzi, I am Shang Zhanluo’s subordinate, and you know that I cannot disobey his orders because of my oath. If he decides to attack Zhang Xiaolong, I will have no other choice but to help him."
"I see." Nalan Wangzi nodded in understanding. "Actually, we don’t need to think about things that might not happen, and we still have plenty of time to think about the best solution for the sake of all parties. I don’t know how the oath in your demon race works, but my brother-in-law might have a way to break your oath, so you don’t need to follow Shang Zhanluo’s orders."
"Haha." Shang Zhui laughed while shaking his head. "Little Wangzi, our oath was ingrained in our soul when we took the oath to be loyal to Shang Zhanluo, so no one will ever be able to break it, and the only way to break it is death."
Hearing that, Tian Shuixiang and Nalan Wangzi exchanged glances before laughing softly, confusing Shang Zhui.
"Is there something funny?" Shang Zhui asked with raised eyebrows.
"Hehe." Nalan Wangzi giggled while shaking her head. "There’s nothing funny, Uncle Zhui.
Tian Shuixiang then told Shang Zhui. "Father, Zhang Xiaolong is an expert soul cultivator, and his soul level has already reached the half-perfection stage of the divine soul level. On the other hand, Shang Zhanluo is a warrior and not a soul cultivator, so I believe he can remove your oath to him from within your soul."
Shang Zhui wore an incredulous expression after hearing that. "Is his soul level really that high? How can he learn so many things at once? Alchemy path, soul cultivation path, and sword path."
- To Be Continued -