Chapter 416

Donghua Emperor smiled without speaking, he had some doubts about the Dragon Ancestor, but still stubbornly clung to the attitude of "making excuses" and did not speak to rebuke him.

He merely raised his hand and tapped his own brow.

The Dragon Ancestor was first startled, then his expression changed dramatically.

Clearly, he had thought of something.

There is a made-up poem as proof——

On the brow is traced the pattern of Houtu; heaven and sun can bear witness to my loyalty!

"How many years ago was that?" Donghua Emperor said with a smile at the corner of his mouth, "Habit, however, is a truly terrifying power."

"In the end, although you did not forget, you instinctively overlooked it."

"Now, must I, an outsider, remind you…? It shouldn't be! It shouldn't be!"

The Dragon Ancestor remained silent.

Donghua Emperor pressed his advantage, earnestly persuading, "Close relations—this sort of thing, besides siblings and dao partners, those loyal subordinates whose allegiance was long decided also count."

"Under special circumstances, they transmit power, with a white-glove stand-in for the leader to do the work—is that difficult?"

"Think hard… at that great event of the Heavenly Court, wasn't the Empress Nüwa right there sitting on the scene?"

Watching the Dragon Ancestor sink completely into silence, deeply doubting his own origin, Donghua Emperor was quite pleased, "Moreover, there actually is a rather terrifying tiny possibility."

"It is this comrade Fengxi—he truly is someone's trumpet, but that someone… is none other than Nüwa herself!"

"However, for certain reasons she also donned a disguise, flashing like a night-blooming cereus, she put a mosaic on herself, hoodwinked the trumpet, unilaterally severed ties, and kept her own trumpet in the dark."

"And then what appears before us all is a very amusing scene—"

"As the trumpet of the 'Yandi', he is fundamentally unable to detail Yandi's true circumstances!"

"He can only say that Yandi was frightened and driven off by the awe-inspiring Nüwa—Houtu, fleeing without a trace, a ruthless tuba; the trumpet says sell and it sells."

"This way, his acting is utterly genuine, with not even a hint of a flaw—no, because this is literally playing himself, to him it is simply fact!"

"But behind the scenes? Could it be 'the thief crying thief'? Haha… perhaps only by asking Yandi and Nüwa themselves, the parties involved, can we know the truth."

Donghua, while gazing at the battlefield where carnage had gone mad and a single climactic strike decided victory, at the same time cleansed the Dragon Ancestor's worldview and opened for him the door to a new world.

——And there are still so many twists and turns?

Seriously pondering, it's not impossible!

"And besides, you think again."

The emperor coaxed gently, "In Nüwa's work establishing the fire masters, isn't she extraordinarily devoted?"

"She meticulously picks and chooses, sending out many of her own retinue, seeking only perfection."

"With such devotion, she isn't afraid of drawing water with a bamboo basket—of laboring in vain?"

"Although Fengxi now appears very loyal… time is a force not to be taken lightly."

"No one knows whether, under the erosion of years, he might change—this point, do you say the Empress Nüwa would not have foreseen it?"

"Loyalty is not something that can be used to test."

"But Nüwa remains generous and magnanimous; her core cadre says give and gives, even allowing that person to observe, reference, and study the Wu Clan's various incomes and expenditures, as well as their behind-the-scenes methods."

"The Dragon Ancestor—"

"If it were you, would you do that?"

Donghua asked with a smile.

The Dragon Ancestor's expression shifted endlessly, like a dye shop opened.

Put yourself in his shoes.

He?

"He at most gives a startup fund, then a slight tilt in orders to look after him, and then kicks him out to fend for himself!"

"How could he be like Nüwa, so devoted? Her devotion makes him feel over the top."

"He poured all his capital in, then gambled on human hearts?"

"Unreliable."

"But switch the line of thought: when all this investment and construction is done, the controlling interest remains his own, wouldn't it?"

"Then there's no problem!"

"The Dragon Ancestor, following his own line of thought, reached a conclusion; the scales in his heart began to waver, showing a leaning posture."

"Although there is no ironclad evidence like a mountain, it's all just Donghua speaking off the cuff."

"But it still fits a little bit of basic logic, doesn't it!"

"And just then, Donghua Emperor added the final straw that broke the balance."

"Time can prove everything."

"My guesses—whether right or wrong—perhaps you and I will both have a chance to witness."

"How so?" the Dragon Ancestor asked in a low voice.

"I gained inspiration from the present-day human Feng clan, and suddenly felt a stir." Donghua did not answer directly, but launched into a seemingly unrelated topic: "Who is the ruler of the Feng clan?"

"Need you ask? It's Paoqi."

"That's the nominal leader; I'm asking about the behind-the-scenes… not the one who cooks excrement, but the true mastermind."

"Then… it should be Feng Lixi." The Dragon Ancestor paused, as if in thought.

"Yes, it's Feng Lixi… what has she been operating? In the leadership succession of the Feng clan?" Donghua Emperor's tone was full of deep meaning.

"Feng Hou candidate!" the Dragon Ancestor replied instantly, and then his whole body shuddered as if struck by lightning.

"He, guided by Donghua, fully understood."

"The Feng clan has a ruler in office, yet also a crown prince waiting to inherit."

"But this crown prince is special."

Nüwa devoted her feelings and contributed, forging the Fire Master's core team for him.

In the end, will Fengxi be honored as Lord of Wind, or will he establish his own line as the leader of a new power?

Well, this actually doesn't matter.

What truly matters……

"We just need to see whether this Lord of Wind who commands the Fire Master will also be ordered to confirm the heir."

Donghua Emperor Lord's voice was faint and distant, his eyes unfathomably deep, as if he had seen through the ages of history, foreseeing the story that would unfold countless years later.

"Fengxi will step down still as Lord of Wind…… and then his heir will be Nüwa's true Killer's Trick."

"Originally she let Paoqi ascend because too many mountain strongmen had joined the human race, needing a true hero who could stand heaven and earth to sit in command, awe the four directions, establish the core, gather cohesion, and build the central concept."

"This is a tool person, and moreover the Number One tool person."

"Having a Number One, there should be a Number Two."

"This Number Two should be, on the foundation Paoqi laid, attempting to wipe away the originally too noisy voices, to achieve a tightening of authority."

"In here, a Dragon Master with too deep traces of an old dragon can actually be thrown into the trash bin, replaced by a Fire Master built from Nüwa's own core team."

Donghua teased.

The Dragon Ancestor couldn't be happy at all, his face so dark water could drip from it.

"Of course, considering avoiding breaking relations, Nüwa herself does not immediately step onto the stage, merely pulling strings behind the scenes, which leaves much room for maneuver; on the other hand, governing a great state is like cooking a small fish—actions cannot be too large, needing to progress from pilot to whole, gradually advancing reform." Donghua said, "In short, I suspect that Fengxi…… is actually playing the role of a vanguard for the king."

"His pilot project is finished, his mission is nearly complete."

"Then his successor will be able to ascend, raise the banner, and inaugurate an era!"

"The era of Yandi!"

Donghua spoke with conviction.

"Going to all this trouble, is it necessary?" the Dragon Ancestor snorted coldly, "You said that under the passage of time, loyalty cannot be guaranteed, replacing the heir…… is there any difference?"

"Of course there is!" Donghua scoffed, "Nüwa can personally go into battle herself!"

"Arrange a Trumpet to sit on that king's position and receive all the fruits."

"Just as Paoqi is to Fuxi now…… Paoqi, the King of the Wind Clan."

"He can also be honored as the Green Emperor."

"At that time."

"Nüwa is Yandi! Yandi is Nüwa!"

"Justified and proper, name and substance match!"

If these words were a thunderclap, they exploded in the Dragon Ancestor's heart.

If not for this moment, with their spacetime specially treated so the conversation wouldn't leak…… then this thunderclap would blast not just the Dragon Ancestor.

Countless Great Luo would be overturned, severely frightened.

"We just need to wait and see."

Donghua's brows relaxed, his smile bright, "Let's see how Nüwa's integrity will be at that time."

"If she isn't scrupulous……"

"Perhaps, in Fengxi's successor list, Nüwa's own name might appear…… uh, possibly with a slight alteration."

"For example…… Nüwa? Nüku? girl?"

"Anyway, it's that kind of name that seems unrelated at first glance, but the more you say it, the more you feel it can be repeatedly pondered and is self-evident."

Donghua clicked his tongue, "Nevertheless, considering the issue of fist-size comparison and embodying the fair principle of the human race's legal tradition of selecting the virtuous and capable, I suppose no clueless fool would dare expose it."

"Those who understand, understand; those who don't, explaining won't help. Nobody should ask, the stakes are too high, speaking benefits no one. Those in the know can only say the water is deep, the data stored in the Heavenly Dao network have been deleted, only to be grasped intuitively, not spoken. Still don't get it? Then there's nothing to be done."

"It's just that the original Dragon Master troops will be pitied in the future…… one emperor, one set of ministers; those who should step down, step down; those who should roll away, roll away."

Donghua clapped his hands, full of interest, as if always ready to watch the show.

The Dragon Ancestor forced a few laughs, wanting to say something but not knowing what else he could say.

"Ah…… haha……"

Laughing and laughing, even he felt embarrassed.

Once again gazing at Nüwa's distant battle‑worn silhouette, the light in his eyes kept shifting.

"Sigh……" Donghua Emperor Lord seemed to be consoling, yet also stoking the fire, "I say, old dragon, you shouldn't take this too to heart."

"After all, although tightening power will harm the Dragon Master's system…… perhaps this is Nüwa considering the big picture!"

"Otherwise, with so many mountain strongholds mixed together, being unable to coordinate when war breaks out would be a loss, wouldn't it?"

"The Fire Master rising, Yandi taking the stage—over the long run, the benefits still outweigh the drawbacks!"

"Of course, I also want to criticize—Nüwa doing this easily wounds the sincere spirits of her comrades, which is really not good."

"But having said that, old dragon, you must learn to accept…… but you must never, in a hot-headed rush, take a risky shortcut by directly urging your own lackeys to assassinate Fengxi's next successor—that Trumpet of Nüwa, preventing him from retiring, making him continue as a buffer step, to buy time and wait for the strategic opportunity."

"That would truly be piercing the heavens!"

Donghua sighed.

The Dragon Ancestor's eyes brightened for a moment, then immediately dimmed again, as if nothing had happened.

"I am an honest dragon, participating in the Wu Clan's Heaven‑Conquering undertaking solely for the sake of humanity and all beings to welcome a beautiful era." The Dragon Ancestor said righteously, "As for personal honor or disgrace, I have never taken it to heart."

"So how could I ever do such a despicable thing?"

"Donghua, don't tarnish my noble virtue!"

"Don't deceive me with empty words and then turn around to stab this matter to Nüwa, sowing discord among us ancestral witches!"

The Dragon Ancestor's tone was resonant and forceful, truly too upright!

It made Donghua's mouth twitch; even someone as eloquent as him didn't know what to say.

"Good, good, good, your virtue is noble, your integrity pure……" Donghua gave a hollow reply, "Hopefully one day you won't regret…… ruling the world as a dragon? Tsk tsk! Go make a grand dream for the ages!"

"The Five Direction Heavenly Emperors, so overbearing, you can't beat any of them…… and you still want to be the final winner? Hah!"

"Cough cough cough…… Dragon Ancestor kept coughing, 'Fellow Daoist, don't blame me, I just overreacted…… Could you continue explaining the Five Direction Heavenly Emperors' theory? Why do you doubt those five?'"

"Especially, among them there are two titans with completely opposing stances."

"You mean Di Jun? Hongjun?" Donghua wore an inscrutable expression, "Think about it…… To ascend to heaven and become emperor, to govern the mountains and rivers of Honghuang, the realm of Taiyi is necessary."

"Looking across the whole world, there are only a few who have attained Taiyi Daluo!"

"Let me say something unpleasant."

"The Five Direction Heavenly Emperors, five supreme human sovereigns…… given the current foundation of humanity, it's hard to supply."

"That's why."

"These five people, more or less, all have support behind them."

"Behind Qingdi is Fuxi, behind Yandi is Nüwa…… as for Huangdi, I suspect it is the collective will of the Human Dao, directly drawing the power of all Daluo who have joined humanity!"

"Then, what about the rest?"

"After all my calculations, I think Di Jun, who bears the hearts of the Heavenly Court's people, and Hongjun…… they both possess it!"

"It's just…… beyond everyone's expectations."

"I also have some evidence."

"Even if the Heavenly Court suffers defeat, it is still deathless…… If humanity wants to ensure stability, should we give Di Jun a better treatment, like buying a horse with a thousand gold?"

"Moreover, Heidi's Absolute Earth Heaven-Piercing, a single strike to slay heaven…… Is that advisable?"

"Wanting to defeat the Heavenly Dao, almost only Pangu can do it!"

"But there is another possibility——chaos arising from within."

"No matter how strong the fortress, it can also be breached from within."

"Donghua spoke incessantly, giving Dragon Ancestor guidance."

"Dragon Ancestor listened, entranced and intoxicated, feeling as if bathed in sweet dew."

"But in the end, Donghua changed the subject."

"After saying all that, I want to tell you a sentence……"

"'What words?' Dragon Ancestor became solemn."

"'The above content……'"

"Donghua showed an embarrassed expression."

"'It's all made up by me…… you must absolutely not believe it.'"

"……" Dragon Ancestor widened his eyes, blood and qi surging, fury erupting.

"A mouthful of blood, stuck in his throat, he couldn't spit it out no matter what."

"You…… you…… you……"

"How much feeling he wasted!"

"At this moment."

"Dragon Ancestor had only one thought in his heart."

"That is——"

"Donghua!"

"Go die, you bastard!!!"

"(End of chapter)"

(End of chapter)