Chapter 278: Know the person, know the face, but not the heart
"Not from this world?" The woman in black and crimson armor frowned, trying to process what she had just heard.
"You mean... you people are outworlders?" she asked, glancing toward the portal behind them.
"Yes! We are outworlders!" the diplomatic team leader, Brandon Lee, replied with a smile.
The moment the woman heard that confirmation, however, the vanguard team suddenly felt an overwhelming pressure descend upon them.
Before they could react, they all lost consciousness.
Their bodies collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious.
"You people, follow me. Bring them along as well," the woman said to Brandon Lee, who was stunned by what had just happened.
He quickly checked on the members of the vanguard team before letting out a sigh of relief. They were all still breathing. They had merely been knocked unconscious.
He then instructed his team and several assistants accompanying the scientists to carry the unconscious soldiers while they followed the woman.
Everyone present knew better than to provoke someone capable of knocking out an entire elite special operations team with nothing more than her presence.
Brandon Lee could only hope that coming here would not turn out to be the biggest mistake of his life.
— A Day later - Ximen Clan —
Wei Chen’s flying ark arrived at the Ximen Clan with Mo Xingyao, Dream Butterfly, Song Wan, and, lastly, the little troublemaker, Ningning.
Most of them had come with the mindset of enjoying a leisurely trip rather than settling scores or clearing up misunderstandings.
Only Song Wan had come with the intention of settling the score.
During the journey, Wei Chen received a call from Youqi informing him that Yan Rongjun had detained a group of people from Earth.
These people had crossed through the portal into this world.
According to the interrogation, the group consisted of a vanguard team made up of elite special forces, including Navy SEALs and Delta Force operators, followed by a diplomatic team and a group of scientists.
The reason they had come was because a flood dragon had appeared in their world. After killing it and dissecting its body, they had discovered that its remains possessed many miraculous properties.
That was why the U.S. government had sent an expedition here to survey the area and determine whether they could gain any benefits from this new world.
Wei Chen had already read the full interrogation report that Youqi had sent him.
There were several things in that report that concerned him.
First, according to Youqi’s analysis, the flood dragon must have been at the Void Refining Realm, on the verge of breaking through to the Great Ascension Realm and becoming a true dragon.
In this world, a Void Refining Realm cultivator was an extremely powerful existence. They could destroy an entire mountain with a single palm strike and fly freely through the sky.
Even though a flood dragon was restricted by its bloodline and couldn’t truly fly until it evolved into a true dragon, despite possessing the cultivation realm to do so, the fact that such a creature had been killed by mortal weapons was difficult to believe.
It wasn’t that he doubted the report.
He believed it completely.
That was precisely why it worried him.
There had to be another factor involved.
For example, the weapon the U.S. military had used to exploit the flood dragon’s weakness and eliminate it.
Why had their attack been so precise?
From his perspective, even if the military had somehow learned the flood dragon’s weakness, they should still have needed time to verify it.
More importantly, after only a single strategic meeting, they had chosen to trust the analysis of one doctor from China.
Then the higher-ups had immediately launched a perfectly coordinated operation to eliminate the flood dragon after just one meeting.
Wei Chen knew the U.S. military was among the strongest and most efficient in the world.
Even so, this was simply too efficient.
They had been dealing with a creature like that for the very first time.
It would have been far more believable if they had spent a week or two probing for weaknesses before launching a decisive operation.
There had to be something else at work.
He also suspected that the Laws of Heaven and Earth in that world were fundamentally different.
Even if the flood dragon had been weakened by crossing into that world, it shouldn’t have become so weak that it couldn’t even retreat before being eliminated in a single military operation.
His guess was that the world’s laws had already weakened it considerably, and then the mysterious Chinese doctor’s knowledge of its weaknesses had weakened it even further, allowing the military to finish it off.
Regardless...
Wei Chen couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.
It was only a hunch, but he couldn’t ignore it.
The flying ark docked at the Ximen Clan’s sky port, and Wei Chen set everything aside before stepping out to meet Ximen Hao, who was waiting for him at the dock.
Ximen Hao had come to receive him with a small entourage. Most of them were servants and bodyguards responsible for his safety and assisting him with his duties, including Butler Ma, who was always by his side.
Ximen Hao waved as he walked toward Wei Chen.
"Welcome to the Ximen Clan, Brother Wei," Ximen Hao greeted.
Wei Chen nodded and lightly patted Ximen Hao on the shoulder.
"So, where’s our troublesome guy? I want to finish what I came here to do before going on that leisurely tour of the city with you."
"Already? He’s in the main hall, causing a fuss. It seems he knew you’d be arriving today, which is why he’s been waiting for you there," Ximen Hao said.
"Oh? Interesting. Lead me to him, then."
Ximen Hao smiled and gestured for Wei Chen’s group to follow him.
"Right this way."
Wei Chen’s group followed Ximen Hao and boarded the small flying ark he had prepared for them.
It had to be said that the Ximen Clan’s territory was incredibly vast. The estate alone was comparable in size to an entire city from Wei Chen’s previous life. That was why Ximen Hao had prepared a small flying ark for them. Otherwise, traveling on foot would have taken hours before they reached the main hall.
The small flying ark landed in front of the main hall. The building was enormous, and its architecture was both opulent and majestic.
The statues of twin dragons, one red and one green, immediately caught Wei Chen’s attention. Both looked incredibly lifelike, but after sweeping them with his spiritual sense, he confirmed that they were merely statues and not petrified dragons.
Of course, true dragons were creatures that could only be found in the Immortal Realm, not the Lower Realm.
However, there was someone in his group who seemed even more interested in the statues than he was.
It was Dream Butterfly, who stood quietly gazing at them with obvious fascination.
"Sister-in-law! If you like them, just say the word. I’ll have our finest craftsmen make new dragon statues for you. I can’t give you these two because they belong to my father," Ximen Hao immediately offered.
Hearing that, Mo Xingyao immediately spoke up.
"Ximen Hao, I’m also your good brother’s future wife! I’m your future sister-in-law! And I’m very interested in one of your spirit stone mines. Can you give me one too?"
Ximen Hao rolled his eyes.
"You’re not married to my brother yet. You’re only engaged. Also, if you want to dream, at least go to sleep first!"
Hearing Ximen Hao’s retort, Dream Butterfly burst into giggles along with Wei Chen.
"You! You two! Stop laughing!" Mo Xingyao protested with a pout.
The group entered the main hall.
The interior was enormous, comparable to a large exhibition hall Wei Chen had visited in his previous life. Rows upon rows of seats were arranged in an orderly pattern.
There were seats reserved for the clan elders and councilors, while at the very center stood the seat of the Clan Patriarch, Ximen Hong.
"Father!"
Ximen Hao’s confident voice echoed throughout the hall.
"Allow me to introduce someone."
He gestured toward Wei Chen.
"This is my good brother, Wei Chen, the Young Master of the Underworld Palace, one of the top Hidden Ancient Forces!" he said proudly.
Hearing the introduction, the clan elders began murmuring among themselves. Some nodded in acknowledgment, while many others glared at Ximen Hao, clearly disapproving of this unexpected development.
Ximen Hong rose from his seat.
"Welcome to the Ximen Clan, Young Master Wei! I must thank you for your help. Because of you, my foolish son has finally grown up and begun taking responsibility for the duties he should have accepted long ago."
Ximen Hong spoke with a warm smile. The gratitude and sincerity in his eyes were unmistakable.
"Father! There’s a saying, ’Know the person, know the face, but not the heart.’ I advise you not to trust this villain!"
The familiar voice rang out, interrupting the amicable atmosphere.
Ximen Ren stepped out from among the seats occupied by the council elders. Beside him stood Bodyguard Zhao, glaring at Wei Chen with deadly intent. His stance was taut, ready to lay down his life to protect his young master at a moment’s notice.