The Divine Martial Emperor’s expression was grave as he reminded, even thinking of quickly sending these two away to avoid trouble.

"You need not remind me of this; I, the village chief, naturally know as well."

Jiang Dali laughed heartily, seeing clearly through the worries and concerns of the Divine Martial Emperor, and said, "I came to find you, Emperor, not to trouble you. As long as you mobilize the intelligence network to help me find Zhu Wushi who disappeared after the battle in Unrivaled City, then tell me about the descendants of Unrivaled City and provide me with the design drawings of the Lingyun Cave from back in the day, I will be immensely grateful to you."

"Master Jiang... You are indeed not an easy person, and these three things, each is not simple..."

The Divine Martial Emperor gently shook his head and sighed; if it were others, even strong individuals from the Returning to Truth Realm, he would directly refuse one or two of these requests.

But facing this person who appears reasonable but is in fact unreasonable, he must not neglect.

Jiang Dali said, "If it were simple, I wouldn’t have come to you, Divine Martial Emperor, to solve it. On your territory, Divine Martial Country, these difficult matters can only be handled by you. Besides, the design drawings of the Lingyun Cave are known to be hidden in the Imperial Palace, who else should I seek if not you?"

The Divine Martial Emperor slightly furrowed his brows, realizing that since the other party had come, even if he didn’t want to give it, he must give it now. If his strength was at its peak, he could directly refuse, but alas...

Suddenly feeling a lack of enthusiasm, he leaned against the Dragon Throne and said, "Alright then, since Master Jiang is coming to my Divine Martial Country for the first time seeking a favor, I have no reason to deny Master Jiang your face the first time. Regarding the news of Unrivaled City’s descendants and the design drawings within Lingyun Cave, I will have them delivered to you tonight.

As for Zhu Wushi’s whereabouts, further investigations are needed.

So I ask Master Jiang to wait outside the palace for a period of time with Nie Renwang."

"Refreshing!"

Jiang Dali’s spirits were greatly lifted; he stood up, his hands behind from his back, gazing with bright, tiger-like eyes at the Divine Martial Emperor whose aura was imposing yet evidently weak, and said, "If these three matters are accomplished, I will owe you, Divine Martial Emperor a favor. In the future, if there’s anything that Divine Martial Emperor needs from me, Jiang, do not hesitate to speak."

The Divine Martial Emperor’s dragon eyes sparkled with divine light, gazing at Jiang Dali, feeling much better, and slowly nodded, saying, "With these words from Master Jiang, I am greatly comforted!"

Jiang Dali shifted the topic, "Before leaving, I have a very curious question; may I dare to ask?"

The Divine Martial Emperor was startled, immediately realizing what Jiang Dali might ask, and faintly smiled, saying, "Is there anyone in this world you’ll dare not ask, Jiang Dali? You want to ask about this Emperor’s strength, don’t you?"

Jiang Dali’s eyes flashed with curiosity, "Correct!"

The Divine Martial Emperor’s face turned cold and said, "It is indeed a bold question; had it been others, their heads would have already rolled. But the reality is indeed such, the strong are king, strength reigns supreme..."

At the end, his expression became despondent, appearing somewhat elderly and disappointed, and said, "You have the qualifications to ask, and I am willing to tell you. In the past, I was called Divine Martial Supreme, with the strength of six stages of the Returning to Truth Realm, making my Divine Martial Country the strongest vassal state, even once surpassing the declining Qin State, shoulder to shoulder with the big man.

But alas, fate is cruel. The Fire Qilin was suddenly invaded by evil thoughts, on the verge of downfall, and stormed out of Lingyun Cave, causing chaos in the world, and my Divine Martial Country was the first to suffer disaster, with people perishing in flames. I then called upon the Ten Great Sects and top martial world experts to join forces against the Fire Qilin.

Unfortunately, I underestimated the Fire Qilin’s strength and underestimated the evils of human nature.

At that time, the Ten Great Sects all feared my strong strength and imitated the Holy Dynasty’s act of suppression over vassal states to suppress the Martial Arts, feigning compliance, but in reality, not only did they contribute little, they secretly worked to create obstacles.

Fortunately, there were also righteous martial world heroes like Da Fantian and Nie Ying who understood the righteousness, but..."

The Emperor of Divine Martial’s voice grew heavier, he slapped his palm on the platform and angrily said, "But who would have thought that the Ten Great Sects, a group of hypocrites, dared to harm Da Fantian with an evil hand after he severely wounded the Fire Qilin with ’Heavenly One Divine Energy’ shooting ’Nine Heavens Fan Arrow,’ causing Da Fantian to fall into Lingyun Cave, never seen since, probably dead."

Upon hearing this, Nie Renwang roared angrily in resonance, "Those ten sects are despicable people, they deserve death. Did the Divine Martial Emperor execute those selfish people afterward?"

"No!"

The Emperor of Divine Martial sighed, saying, "In the past, Da Fantian severely wounded the Fire Qilin; it was by hitting the Reverse Scale of the Fire Qilin, which was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I had no choice but to postpone punishing the Ten Great Sects, and took advantage of the victory against the Fire Qilin, punching out and knocking the Reverse Scale off its brow, severely injuring the Fire Qilin, causing it to flee back to Lingyun Cave.

However, I also suffered grievous injuries during that battle due to the evil fire invasion caused by the Fire Qilin’s fallen Reverse Scale, and later bore the backlash of the world’s auspicious energy for many years, having to withstand it with the nation’s Qi Fortune, leaving my strength unable to be fully exerted. Otherwise, at least affecting you like the Nie Family Mad Blood, killing indiscriminately in the martial world, at worst completely transforming into Qilin Demon, not meeting a good end.

If not for these circumstances, I wouldn’t have eyes while letting Xiong Ba of the World Association, this ambitious person, develop so recklessly these years...

"Backlash of auspicious energy... Qilin Demon?"

Jiang Dali felt a sudden thought about the Dragon Vein in the Dragon Vein Land within the Lingyun Cave.

The Dragon Vein has a miraculous effect in suppressing all evil, if this Divine Martial Emperor obtains the Dragon Vein, wouldn’t he be able to fend off the backlash of auspicious energy and restore his strength?

As these thoughts arose, prompts quickly appeared on his dashboard.

Divine Martial Emperor flashed a cold light and said to Jiang Dali and Nie Renwang, "Since suffering from the backlash of the Fire Qilin’s auspicious energy, my strength indeed has not been fully exerted, but if someone pushes me to the brink, I can also take them down with me! So for so many years, even Xiong Ba and Dugu Yifang never opposed me.

And regarding those hypocrites in the Ten Great Sects, I had a righteous young hero, who went to each one and defeated and killed all their false gentlemen, nearly erasing the Ten Great Sects entirely! Until today, that young hero already retired from the martial world; he was once the martial arts legend of my Divine Martial Country—Mu Yingming!"

"Wu Ming!"

Jiang Dali took a deep breath, understanding that this Divine Martial Emperor was warning him, as his strength still exists, and he maintains a close relationship with Wu Ming.

However, he never intended to act against the emperor, naturally nor would he care, and he already knew through ancient books that this Divine Martial Emperor might still have some strength, but the content in his speech wasn’t entirely true.

But these matters, he naturally wouldn’t break through them face-to-face.

"The Divine Martial Emperor, for the country and people, with a body full of righteousness, is indeed a wise king!"

Jiang Dali cupped his fists and said courteously, "Knowing everything I wanted to, we shall not disturb further and go wait outside the palace for your good news."

The Divine Martial Emperor stood tall and ordered, "Lin Dexiang! Escort these two esteemed guests out of the palace and arrange their stay and meals!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

From the side door walked out an old eunuch, respectfully accepting the command with a unique narrow voice.

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(Late night addition!)