9: Long Ao took the blame and offered the S-level ruins map!

Inside Hidden Dragon Abyss, there was a deathly silence.

A faint smell of blood permeated the air, reminding everyone present that the bloody scene just now was not an illusion.

Long Ao’s question, filled with lingering fear and self-mockery—“Do I… deserve it?!”—was like an invisible heavy hammer, striking hard at the heart of every follower, shattering their last trace of contempt and indignation towards the number zero heir.

A Martial Ancestor Rank guard, whom Long Ao considered his confidant, finally mustered the courage to step forward and asked in a dry voice, “Third Young Master, then… what should we do now? Should we just let him…”

“Let him?” Long Ao sneered, interrupting him. He turned around and sat back on the throne made of thousand-year-old cold iron, but at this moment, his domineering Aura had been replaced by a deep, rational, almost icy calm.

He looked at the group of subordinates who were still somewhat bewildered and unwilling, and decided to let them understand clearly.

“Do you think he’s just simply talented?” Long Ao’s voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone’s ears. “Breaking the gaia record, do you know what that means?”

He answered his own question, with a hint of awe that even he had not noticed in his tone: “That means he is no longer just a Genius of my Long Family, but a ‘future hope’ certified by the Global Martial Arts Alliance and the entire Human Race civilization! His growth may concern the future destiny of our Human Race! Is such an existence someone you, or I, can provoke?”

“Furthermore, haven’t you understood Third Ancestor’s attitude yet?” Long Ao’s gaze swept across the room. “His Excellency personally descended and conferred ‘Number Zero’ in front of all the Global Martial Gods. This is a declaration to the entire Family, and even the whole world—Lin Tian is the only successor he has chosen! His will is the Long Family’s highest will! Anyone who dares to defy him is an enemy of Third Ancestor, and an enemy of the entire Long Family’s future!”

These words made everyone present break out in a cold sweat, finally realizing the seriousness of the matter.

Long Ao looked at the lingering bloodstain, a hint of determination flashing in his eyes. He knew that Long Xiaoqian’s foolish provocation, though he had promptly suppressed it, must have already reached the ears of the number zero heir.

With that domineering style of action, where he punched and exploded the testing equipment, who could guarantee that he wouldn’t hold this against himself, the “number three heir”?

No, absolutely no hidden dangers could be left!

For such an existence with unfathomable potential, a heaven-shattering background, and an utterly domineering way of doing things, any hint of hostility could evolve into a catastrophe in the future!

The only way was to completely extinguish his anger with the most thorough and humble posture before it truly ignited!

“Deliver my command,” Long Ao stood up from the throne, his voice resolute.

“Prepare a generous gift.”

“Then, everyone, follow me to the Dragon Perch Residence…”

He took a deep breath and uttered the four words that made all his followers’ faces change drastically.

—“Beg for forgiveness!”

...This news, like a magnitude 12 earthquake, swept through the entire Long Family Manor within half an hour.

The number three heir, Long Ao, was going to personally visit the residence of the number zero heir, Lin Tian, to apologize for his subordinate’s transgression!

When Long Ao, dressed in a simple green robe, followed by dozens of guards who had also removed their armor and looked solemn, walked from the Hidden Dragon Abyss, through the Family’s core public area, to the Dragon Perch Residence, the sides of this several-kilometer-long road were already packed with Family disciples who had rushed there upon hearing the news.

Everyone looked at this silently advancing “apology” team with shock, complexity, and disbelief.

“Oh my god! Am I seeing things? Is that… is that Your Excellency Long Ao?”

“He’s actually going to apologize to a five-year-old child? This… this is practically rubbing the number three heir’s face on the ground!”

“What do you know! This precisely proves Your Excellency Long Ao’s wisdom and courage! It also indirectly shows how terrifying the pressure from that number zero heir truly is!”

“Exactly! To make a Prodigy as proud as Your Excellency Long Ao choose to publicly bow and admit his mistake like this, the prestige of that number zero heir needs no further words to describe!”

Amidst the discussions, no one dared to show any disrespect towards Lin Tian.

This grand “public apology” displayed Lin Tian’s majesty more than any victory. It was like a silent coronation ceremony, placing the supreme and unquestionable crown upon this “number zero heir” in the hearts of all the younger generation of the Long Family… At this moment, inside the Dragon Perch Residence’s exclusive training ground.

Lin Tian was currently testing the defensive limits of his Dragon Scale Astral Energy with great interest.

Long Ling’er held a Family-customized C-grade high-energy particle gun, continuously shooting at Lin Tian. Each energy beam, powerful enough to penetrate three-meter-thick steel plates, would vanish without a trace upon hitting the faint golden Dragon Scale Astral Energy on Lin Tian’s body, merely stirring up ripples, like a mud ox entering the sea.

“Increase the power,” Lin Tian said calmly.

“Yes!” Long Ling’er nodded, adjusting the energy gun’s output to maximum.

Just as she was about to shoot again, the villa’s smart housekeeper System emitted a soft prompt.

“Master, the number three heir, Long Ao, requests an audience outside the residence.”

The monitoring screen was then projected into the air in front of Lin Tian, clearly showing Long Ao and his group standing humbly outside the gate.

“Oh?”

Lin Tian raised an eyebrow, stopping the test.

He came?

He looked at the complex expression on Long Ao’s face in the image, thinking that the other party couldn’t swallow his pride after all, and was using “apology” as a pretext, but actually wanted to “spar” and regain his dignity.

After all, no proud Genius would be willing to be suppressed by a five-year-old child.

Lin Tian’s mouth curved into a playful arc, and he began to calculate internally.

“That’s good, it saves trouble later. It’s a good chance to test the practical effect of Dragon Blood Boiling. I’ll defeat him in one move, and let him know his place.”

He waved his hand in the air, signaling the housekeeper to open the door.

Soon, Long Ao was led to the training ground.

He looked at the exquisitely carved child in front of him, and the vigilant, Qi-condensed Long Ling’er behind him, and his last shred of hope was completely extinguished.

He didn’t say any unnecessary words, lowering his posture extremely, and bowed deeply to Lin Tian.

“Long Ao, I have come to beg for forgiveness for my subordinate’s offense against Your Excellency!”

As he spoke, he took out an encrypted data chip made of memory metal, flashing with a faint blue light, from his embrace and offered it with both hands.

“Long Ao knows that any verbal apology would be pale and powerless. This item is a complete map of an S-grade ruin—the [Atlantis Outpost]—that I acquired from the black market at a great cost. Today, I specially present it as compensation, hoping to gain your understanding!”

Long Ao’s heart was bleeding. This map was originally his biggest trump card, which he had prepared to use to find an Opportunity and impact a higher Realm after breaking through to Martial Ancestor Rank. But for the future of his Family, and for his own life, he could only reluctantly part with it.

Lin Tian looked at the chip, about to say something, when the cold System prompt suddenly sounded in his mind!

“Ding! Special location information detected…”

“New Sign-in Mission has been refreshed!”

“Mission Objective: Host, please proceed to the core power room of the S-grade ruin ‘Atlantis Outpost’ to complete the Sign-in!”

Upon hearing this, Lin Tian’s eyes slightly brightened.

Someone sent a pillow when he was sleepy?

So he calmly extended his small hand, took the data chip, and said lightly, “Don’t let it happen again.”

Seeing Lin Tian accept the gift, the heavy stone in Long Ao’s heart finally lifted halfway. He knew he had made the right gamble.

Just then, Lin Tian, as if unintentionally, pointed at a rockery made of hard granite dozens of meters away.

A highly condensed faint golden Protective Aura flashed from his fingertip!

Boom!

The ten-meter-high rockery couldn’t even hold on for a second before, with a loud bang, it was completely pierced through the middle by that seemingly slender Qi, exploding into a sky full of dust!

Long Ao’s pupils suddenly contracted to the size of pinpricks!

He looked at the scattered stone dust, a thin layer of cold sweat instantly seeping from his forehead, and his last trace of unwillingness and luck, under this one refer to, was completely blasted into thin air.

He knew how wise his decision to offer the map was.

This five-year-old child in front of him was simply… not human!

But a… young god in human skin!