The little incident was over, Zhang Liu clasped his hands before his opponent that seemed dejected. While it was only a draw to the young man from the Long Clan it was closer to a defeat. He was not able to defeat someone that he considered to be trash from a rural area. The fact that Zhang Liu was the disciple of the man that was equal to the Emperor was the only saving grace.
During the staredown between Zhang Dong and Long Qing, both the disciples were shocked. Each of them believed that their side was the mightier one but after the auras clashed it came out to be about equal. They were only core formation experts but even they knew that if a fight between these two elders broke out there was no set winner.
Yet Long Qing was still the favorite as he had the home advantage. With the help of the Azure grand formation, the Emperor's powers could apparently be boosted even further. In their long past, the Azure Palace had never fallen and the name of the Azure Dragon had not been challenged in what seemed to be forever.
Luckily for everyone involved both of the elders reached an agreement. Both Zhang Dong and Long Qing backed away after putting their energies up against each other. Yet the silence remained and it was obvious that the people were left speechless.
'I guess their perceptions of me have been shattered…'
Zhang Dong pointed out with his finger towards Zhang Liu around whom a bubble of golden energy appeared. With a little wiggle, his disciple floated right up to the VIP booth where all the other people close to him were.
'I bet their little cultivator brains can't process what had happened. It looked like Long Qing had backed off, some of them probably think that indicates that he is wary of my power and unwilling to confront me…'
This was not an outlandish claim, they were both top experts with miraculous powers that were not confirmed. Long Qing's behavior worked in Zhang Dong's favor as it indicated that he was indeed strong enough to make an expert like his brother to think twice before attempting something.
In this world, it was common for the party that was challenged to retaliate. Only when both parties were at similar levels of power the conflict would cease. Thus Long Qing's actions could be taken as the Azure Dragon accepting his brother's strength before all of these people. With this revelation, his worries would actually decrease as everyone would think that he was at a similar level as their Emperor and perhaps even above him in some ways.
"Well then my brother, I shall return to my Golden Palace, I'm sure my wife and children would love to see it. It's not part of the Azure Palace so I will also invite the rest of my retainers that are waiting for us outside."
"Is that so? I wished to guide you through some of the sights but restoring the palace is probably the most important issue on your mind but don't be a strange, if you need a helping hand I will be here."
"That is indeed reassuring, I promise to invite you and your family into the Palace after I go through it. I think it's not quite safe for the kids and it needs a lot of cleaning."
Long Qing didn't seem to be mad about the little wrestling match they had with each other. Long Fengge on the other hand looked pale in comparison. The youngest son of the emperor was probably stunned after his father couldn't overpower his uncle whom he disliked. Even he would now be afraid to speak in ill will against Zhang Dong which made things easier.
Zhang Dong's main priority was to get his people off the streets. While his brother was acting cordially he was not sure why. Long Qing was too relaxed and didn't seem to care about his face as much but why was this so? Could he truly be a good brother or did he have some ulterior motives?
'There is that Goliath thing they have talked about but I haven't been shown what it is… Feels like there are some restrictions on activating it that have something to do with me and now perhaps also the palace.'
He had a small idea of what this thing could be but to be sure he would need to restore the flying fortress that he had received. Perhaps after it was operational he would be given a clue but for now, there was a lot of work to do. The first thing he needed to get in order was a teleportation gate to allow his people to get into the golden palace.
Normally this would be impossible without strict permission from the Azure Emperor and his people. Their grand formation blocked all possible teleportation techniques from piercing their shield. Yet after the Palace was fused with his system it recieved a slight boost. It was seen as a domain connected with his main sect ground. This meant that he could circumvent the outside grand formation to let his people in.
'It's impossible to see what is happening inside the palace…'
Luck was on his side again, the outside of the palace was covered with that miraculous metal. With that 'engine' room that was powered by the golden egg working well the exterior was now even shinier. He could even surround it with a smaller barrier that resembled the egg.
'Was that design intentional? Doesn't matter, thanks to that I can just get my people over here without the Long Clan finding out.'
Zhang Dong didn't trust his dear brother quite yet. The man was still a cultivator from this world that could throw him to the wolves if something happened. His ancestor the previous Golden Dragon apparently gave up his life during the last war but was this the truth? Could his brother have anything to do with it? There was always a possibility that after everything was over Long Qing would bare his fangs.
'Better safe than sorry….'
"Well then, we will excuse ourselves, we won't need an escort. I know my way around here."
Finally, it was time to take his leave, there was a lot of work to be done. After leaving the arena he could hear many people burst out in shouts. Some of them were flying into the distance probably to tell about what transpired during the fight.
Even though he had said that he didn't require anyone to show him around the city, that didn't mean that people weren't watching. He could feel some nascent soul elders trying to hide from his spiritual sense but doing a bad job. It was clear that he would not be allowed to just wander around without anyone shadowing him.
"Liena, we need to call gramps over and the rest of the elders that went along with him to the city."
With the family, dinner being over and a lot of time already wasted he just wanted to move along. Yet without knowing anyone in this place it would be hard to get around. Even now people evaded his gazes and no one showed up to help them. The show of force was not enough for people to go against the reigning emperor. Everyone was afraid to associate themselves with someone that could usurp the throne.
"Do you know where he is? Should we go together or split up?"
"It would be better if we remained together, don't worry I know where all of them are, just give me a moment."
Luckily he had his mapping function that allowed him to pinpoint the location of his faction members. Zhang Jin's loyalty level was quite high so it was even possible to teleport to him directly. With the added bonus from the golden palace, this would not even burn that many spirit points as they could be now quickly recovered.
"Come, he is together with everyone else, follow me."
With the location on the map, he took up into the sky along with his entire family and disciples. They were in neutral territory where they needed to watch out but this didn't stop everyone from looking. The whole city in the skies that they were in now was truly beautiful. Various flying creatures and spiritual treasures were flying around making it look even more astonishing.
Just as he expected the nascent soul masters that were shadowing them slowly followed after them. Shaking them off was an option but then he would probably irritate the grand elders that probably sent them to watch his movement. Luckily after grabbing his people this would not be that easy anymore.
"He should be in that hotel?"
Where his map pointed him to was a large building with many floors. It looked like a luxury hotel for rich cultivators and a resort of some sort. Even though the Long Clan kept to themselves they still had members that visited from outside.
"This… yeah this is where he would stay…"
Even before entering he could see some ladies hanging out close to the windows to look as alluring as possible. There was soft music playing that sounded somewhat sensual, it was clear that this place was somewhere that Zhang Jin would like to spend his time. Yet other elders were together with him and spread out throughout the entire establishment.
"Liena, take care of the children I'll go get him…"
Both Zhang Xue and Liu started blushing as they found themselves before the building. This was probably the red light district of this city. He hoped that perhaps the Long Clan members were above such things but it seemed that the oldest profession survived even here.
'I bet that horny old fart could not help himself to see it… but did he bring his wives in there as well?'
That was the surprising part as the delegation that he brought along to talk business with some of the Long Clan members seemed to be in there as well. Was this just a horny outburst of an old man that regained some of his youth or was he doing something else? He couldn't imagine both of his wives being fine with their husband going to a whore house when they were around.
'One way to find out…'
With many questions on his mind, he took a step towards the large red building from which he could smell all sorts of scents. When stepping closer he could feel that the music playing and the air around here was not simple. Everything carried a certain dao that could lower a person's defenses.
'I hope he isn't getting brainwashed by some vixen inside…'