"Our Song family withdraws from the martial arts tournament to select a spouse."
Song Boran, without any hesitation, made the decision immediately after understanding the other party's intentions.
Old Master Song remained silent, only sighing, "If Mr. Ye requires anything, the Song family will go through fire and water without hesitation."
Old Master Song did not object to what Song Boran had said, effectively agreeing.
The older one gets, the wiser they become.
Old Master Song's ability to form an alliance with the Kong family and the Murong royal family, creating a closed loop of interests, was enough to show his ambition. However, after encountering Ye Longlin, that ambition clearly vanished.
The other party had come for their alliance partner; how could they dare to clash with them?
With their scale, they could crush them in an instant.
Moreover, Old Master Song's words, both explicitly and implicitly, conveyed one meaning: the Song family wishes to hitch a ride on your prosperous ship, and we hope you will agree.
But Ye Longlin paid them no mind. After he left, the scene remained silent.
"Regarding today's events, everyone must keep silent."
Song Boran, feeling a sense of loss, opened his mouth as if to say something more, but ultimately couldn't. He also feared that a single wrong word could bring disaster to the Song family. At this stage, keeping silent was the best choice.
Keeping certain secrets hidden in his heart would be beneficial for him and for the Song family.
Having already learned his identity, there was no need to offend him further.
Besides, Jinling was so lively right now.
One by one, people arrived, each believing themselves to be the center of attention in Jinling, unaware that in the clouds, a colossal dragon had long been overlooking the city.
When his identity was revealed, everyone would have to watch from the sidelines obediently.
"Grandfather, do you think that Dragon Ascending Platform, which the Murong royal family built by the Jinling River, will welcome the most esteemed and influential person to ascend it in decades?"
Upon hearing this, Old Master Song almost fell out of his wheelchair.
He was so startled by his grandson's words that his hair stood on end, and goosebumps covered him.
However, upon careful consideration, since that person came for Murong Yuhan, it was highly probable that he would ascend the Dragon Ascending Platform.
Song Yuanfeng stared blankly in the direction of the main gate, his eyes unfocused. He suddenly felt envious, thinking that if he were a woman, he might also be unable to refuse such a man.
He had once believed that he should have been Murong Yuhan's true dragon prince.
But now, all that remained was a heartbroken man.
...
The next day, news once again swept through Jinling.
Ye Xingchen had arrived!
This was the second person with such high status and position to enter Jinling in recent times, besides Ye Longlin!
Furthermore, the individual had confirmed his participation in the martial arts tournament to select a spouse. Although the reasons were unclear, Ye Xingchen's arrival meant that the national Murong family's return was not far off, either today or tomorrow.
After all, the tournament was scheduled to begin the day after tomorrow, and they would surely return.
"Ye Xingchen's arrival means the Ye family is personally intervening in Jinling's affairs. If Ye Xingchen were to have an accident here, the Ye family would certainly not let it go. I am more inclined to believe that Ye Nantian is testing the waters. Moreover, I have a feeling that over the years, the Ye family's cultivation of the name 'Ye Xingchen' has reached an almost fanatical level.
When things are abnormal, there's often a hidden reason. I feel that the Ye family must have someone more capable than Ye Xingchen secretly operating behind the scenes. For a family like that, they would never place a vague hope in the open, let alone publicize it so widely."
The facts indeed supported this.
"In addition, I believe Jinling needs to guard against the Dark Hall this time."
"The Dark Hall is omnipresent, and there are definitely their people in Jinling. With the scale of this event, there will undoubtedly be members of the Dark Hall appearing. We must guard against them."
Yuan Gang pondered for a moment and then spoke.
These matters were not his concern in the past; he only needed to obey orders.
However, with the transfer of power, if nothing unexpected happened, Yuan Gang would be the next leader of the Dragon Pavilion, and thus, he needed to consider things carefully.
With his superior providing support now, once his superior retired, there would be no one to back him up. Every decision needed to be made with great deliberation.
This was actually not good news for him.
"Mm."
Ye Longlin said nothing more, merely nodding slightly.
Seeing his demeanor, Yuan Gang rubbed his temples and said helplessly, "It's so tiring, Boss. Why don't you just not retire?"
Ye Longlin playfully smacked him on the head and rolled his eyes, "You know that too!"
Yuan Gang opened his mouth and drooped his head, "I'm sorry."
In the past, we were ignorant and didn't realize how tiring it was to be in this position. Now that we know, and I have the capability to share the burden with you, you are choosing to retire.
"Ye Xingchen heard you were in Jinling and asked you to go and pay your respects. His attitude was incredibly arrogant."
Qing Long returned from outside and said with a cold gaze.
Who dared to ask the dignified Heavenly King to pay his respects?
Ye Xingchen was arguably the first.
"Ignore him."
He would defeat him in the martial arts tournament to select a spouse later and test what the Ye family intended to do.
"How is the investigation of the war criminals going?"
Ye Longlin asked slowly.
Before his retirement, it would be impossible to capture all the war criminals. According to current reports, many war criminals had already fled overseas, especially the SSS-class war criminals!
"They are all here. As for those who haven't been identified yet, we are still investigating. Currently, only ten have been identified."
These ten were all individuals whose identities had been confirmed.
Ye Longlin nodded and sent a message. In just half an hour, a man and a woman, one dressed in black and the other in white, appeared before the three of them.
"Greetings, Heavenly King."
The Black and White Impermanence!
This was also the dark division he had been developing.
It wasn't that he wanted to do this, but to leave himself a fallback.
Before the end of this year, around the time all matters in Jinling were concluded, he would retire. At that time, enemies from the capital and those lurking in the shadows would want to kill him, and at that point, the dark division would be his foundation for survival.
"Rise."
"How has the development been over the past few months?"
Ye Longlin asked casually. He had only learned of their arrival in Jinling that morning. With so many events in Jinling, many of his enemies had followed the trail.
"Currently, the dark division has developed to 160 members, with 100 Martial Viscounts and 60 Martial Kings."
To be honest, the strength of the dark division had not yet reached his desired level; it was still far from it.
"By the end of the year, I want at least 100 Martial Spirits. I don't care what methods you use. If you fail to meet this requirement, you can go to East Sea Prison yourselves."