Chapter 477: Intuition

Chapter 477: Chapter 477: Intuition

Long Mowen’s intention was perfectly clear: eliminate the problem, root and branch, and ensure it never returned.

Be that as it may, Long Mowen ultimately did not act. The fact that the other three families still hadn’t made a move made him very wary.

When Long Ao accepted the invitation from the Imperial City, everyone in the Long Family found out. Long Haoshi and Mu Wanfeng, acting as representatives, rushed to the Dragon Sect at top speed, afraid Long Ao might leave early.

Upon seeing his grandson, Long Haoshi got straight to the point, asking impatiently, "Ao’Er, you’ve already accepted the Imperial City’s invitation?"

Nodding, Long Ao saw no reason to hide anything at this stage. "Yes, Grandpa," he replied. "I’ve accepted the Imperial City’s invitation. I’m setting out for the Imperial City tomorrow."

Long Haoshi and Mu Wanfeng were stunned.

Long Haoshi said urgently, "Ao’Er, you know better than I do what the Imperial City represents. That being the case, why do you still insist on going?"

"He’s right, Ao’Er. I know you’re proud, but you can’t be overconfident. Given the enmity between you and the Imperial City, they will definitely move against you if you go."

They didn’t give Long Ao any chance to speak.

Long Haoshi continued, "Why walk right into the tiger’s den? Why do you still insist on going to the Imperial City?"

Looking at the two elders before him, Long Ao felt not a trace of annoyance or dissatisfaction. On the contrary, a warm feeling spread through his heart.

Long Ao knew perfectly well that both his grandfather and his grandmother were just concerned for him. Otherwise, it wasn’t like the two elders had nothing better to do than come all this way to meddle in his affairs.

"Grandpa, Grandma, please, sit down."

Once the two were seated, Long Ao spoke. "Grandpa, Grandma, I can state with confidence: the Imperial City will definitely not move against me this time."

Seemingly surprised, Long Haoshi asked, "How can you be so certain?"

"Grandpa, the reasoning is simple. If the Imperial City wanted to get rid of me, they wouldn’t need to go through all this trouble, much less announce it to the world."

Neither Long Haoshi nor Mu Wanfeng said a word; they just listened quietly.

"Grandpa, the feud between the Imperial City and me has to be settled sooner or later, but now is not the time. If we can form an alliance with the Imperial City to take on the other three great forces together, we’ll get twice the results with half the effort."

Long Haoshi and Mu Wanfeng seemed to realize what he was implying, and both of them stared fixedly at Long Ao.

"Ao’Er, why are you so confident?"

"A gut feeling."

A gut feeling?

It was just a gut feeling. Hearing Ao’Er’s words, both Mu Wanfeng and Long Haoshi felt a sense of dismay. They truly couldn’t fathom why he was so confident; if he made even the slightest mistake, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Grandpa, Grandma, you don’t have to worry. I’m confident."

The two sighed deeply. Things had already reached this point; there was nothing they could do.

"Ao’Er, I know your personality, but you have to promise us—no matter what happens, your first priority is to protect your own life. Understand?"

Long Ao nodded and did his best to comfort them. After getting them settled in, he didn’t leave right away. Instead, he summoned a number of people and gave some simple instructions regarding the Sect’s affairs.

「The night was eerily silent.」

Long Ao stood silently atop a mountain peak, gazing alone into the endless void before him.

Long Ao had already made his decision. Regardless of the Imperial City’s true intentions for inviting him, he had only one goal: find a way to form an alliance with the Imperial City.

Ever since he started opposing the Four Great Forces, Long Ao had done a lot of thinking. Relying solely on his own power and that of the Dragon Sect, trying to defeat all four of them at once would be no easy feat.

This was exactly why Long Ao had decided to change his strategy: unite with the Imperial City to take on the other three great forces.

In truth, Long Ao’s plan was simple. It was a matter of setting a thief to catch a thief. Once the Imperial City was busy dealing with the other three great forces, couldn’t he just sit back and reap the benefits?

A cold wind blew in gusts.

"Ao’Er, this has been hard on you."

Without needing to turn, Long Ao already knew who had arrived. He shrugged helplessly and said, "Grandpa, if one day our Long Family could advance to become a First Level Clan, would the clan be able to handle it?"

Long Haoshi, of course, didn’t take what Long Ao said seriously. He smiled and replied, "Ao’Er, I’ve only ever had one wish: for the family to advance to become a Third Level Long Family, or for a Dragon Martial Artist to appear within our ranks. Now, that dream has finally been realized."

Dragon Martial Artist.

In the past, becoming one was a distant, unreachable goal for the family. But now, he himself had become a true Dragon Martial Artist.

Long Ao knew in his heart that for his grandfather, this achievement was more than satisfying.

He didn’t say any more, but in his heart, Long Ao silently vowed to himself that no matter what happened in the future, he would lead the family to become the Long Clan and take up residence in Dragon Valley. At that time, the family would see more and more Dragon Martial Artists emerge.

"Ao’Er, have you ever considered whether the family and the Sect, with their current power, can really annihilate the Four Great Forces?"

Long Ao of course understood his grandfather’s meaning perfectly. He said with conviction, "No matter how many difficulties lie ahead, I will continue down this path. I will annihilate the Four Great Forces, and my Dragon Sect will have its place on the Kyushu Continent."

Dragon Sect.

Hearing the words "Dragon Sect," Long Haoshi became very worried about one thing. He feared that as the Dragon Sect grew more and more powerful, his grandson might slowly forget about the family—a situation Long Haoshi was desperate to avoid.

"Grandpa, I will always be a son of the Long Family. That is one thing that will never change, no matter what happens."

Hearing Long Ao say this, Long Haoshi’s body trembled. He of course understood what Long Ao meant by these words and said with great emotion, "Ao’Er, Grandpa believes you."

Long Ao’s current achievements were already beyond what the family could even look up to. If Long Ao chose to distance himself from the Long Family, they would undoubtedly be beset by enemies on all sides and fall into a state of eternal damnation.

But Long Haoshi had great faith in his grandson. Otherwise, as Ao’Er grew more powerful, he would have started distancing himself from the family long ago. Instead, Ao’Er was constantly thinking about the family. Based on that alone, Long Haoshi knew Ao’Er would not abandon them.

Long Haoshi slowly took his leave. He knew his grandson was heading to the Imperial City tomorrow and had many things to think about, and he shouldn’t disturb him.

And so, Long Ao was left alone atop the mountain peak, standing quietly and looking out into the endless, dark void. All sorts of thoughts ran through his mind, especially concerning the Imperial City’s motive for inviting him.

’What on earth does the Imperial City want?’

Although he didn’t know what the Imperial City really wanted, the one thing Long Ao could be certain of was that they would not move against him within the walls of the Imperial City itself.