Chapter 1072 - 825 Hand Over the Keys

In recent times, a series of conflicts have flared up once again between The Divine Auffa Empire and the Sanctuary Empire, bringing a continuous cascade of skirmishes, both large and small. Although both sides initially maintained restraint, their fragile relations quickly broke down. A succession of battles erupted, ending mostly in stalemate.

Whether it was Divine Armor or super soldiers, without Long Yi and Ai Lin, the war could only continue in the state they had left it. Both magic equipment specialists and magic research experts were virtually unable to further perfect the Divine Armor left by Long Yi and the magic formulas left by Ai Lin.

The Emperors of both nations lacked confidence in this war. Whether it was the Emperor of The Divine Auffa Empire, Saint Jialin, or the Emperor of the Sanctuary Empire, Saint Danze, they were both hoping for someone to step forward and revolutionize the current system of warfare.

It can be said that without Long Yi and Ai Lin, the days were hard to bear.

At this moment, a messenger from the Ancient Mage Tower arrived at The Divine Auffa Empire. At first, Emperor Saint Jialin thought Ai Lin had returned, but the messenger was an unfamiliar face. The messenger demanded in an icy tone that Saint Jialin immediately hand over the key that would activate the Teleportation Gate. Although Saint Jialin disliked taking orders, he dared not defy the Ancient Mage Tower.

So, he obediently led the messenger into the Imperial treasury. In a nondescript little box deep within the treasury lay a golden plaque, which was the key to the Teleportation Gate.

As Saint Jialin looked at the key, a question surfaced in his mind: Long Yi and Ai Lin had both said they planned to leave this Plane for the middle Plane, and to leave here, they had to pass through the Teleportation Gate, which required this key.

So, what significance could the Ancient Mage Tower have for wanting this key?

Clearly, none whatsoever!

Could it be that the Ancient Mage Tower intended to send Ai Lin away? But to do so, they would need this Plane`s Teleportation Gate! It made no sense for them to come here to demand the key.

Unless...

Unless Ai Lin and Long Yi had stirred up trouble over there! And the Ancient Mage Tower didn’t want to let them leave!

The more Saint Jialin thought about it, the more he felt that this possibility was extremely likely. Yes, both Long Yi and Ai Lin were definitely the kind of people who would stir up trouble wherever they went!

So, could he still hand over the key?

Thinking about it from another angle, if a rival of Long Yi had easily defeated Ai Lin and Long Yi, they wouldn’t have needed to come here specifically to demand the key.

Obviously, even the Ancient Mage Tower was powerless against Ai Lin and Long Yi!

Could it be that even the transcendent and otherworldly Ancient Mage Tower was troubled by them?

With that thought, Saint Jialin placed the key into his personal space.

"No, I can’t give this to you," said Saint Jialin, and as soon as he spoke, he immediately regretted it because all of this was based on speculation; he had no real evidence that Ai Lin and Long Yi had truly had a dispute with the Ancient Mage Tower, or that it had escalated to the point where the key was needed as leverage.

"You dare defy the orders of the Ancient Mage Tower!" The messenger could hardly believe his ears! For many years, as a messenger of the Ancient Mage Tower, he had traveled between countless nations on the surface, and no Emperor had ever dared to say no to him!

"This..." Saint Jialin couldn’t find a suitable reason in the moment. While his speculation might have had a high probability, what if he was wrong?

"What’s the matter, Saint Jialin? Do you really think that because your empire is called the strongest on this Plane, you can dare to disregard the Ancient Mage Tower?" The messenger stepped closer to Saint Jialin, his eyes filled with threat.

As an Emperor, Saint Jialin had feared only the perverse individuals Long Yi and Ai Lin over the years; when had he ever feared anyone else? Especially this man before him, who claimed to be a messenger from the Ancient Mage Tower but in fact had modest personal strength—after all, if he were very powerful, would he still be running errands as a messenger?

"I naturally wouldn’t dare disregard the Ancient Mage Tower, but I find your messenger status questionable. Unless you can prove your identity..."

"And what will you dare to do if I can’t?" The messenger was nearly driven mad, having already shown the unique Rune that only the messengers of the Ancient Mage Tower could possess, which could not be replicated. As such evidence, Saint Jialin’s demand for proof clearly was not about verifying his identity!

"Otherwise, I’ll smash you into pieces," said the messenger.

The voice of Long Yi came through, and to Saint Jialin, it was as if he heard the sound of heaven!

Indeed, Long Yi and Ai Lin entered the treasury together, and the messenger’s face turned helpless upon seeing Long Yi. Clearly, he had been ordered to secure the key before arriving, but now that Long Yi was present, everything was finished.

"Lord Long Yi..."

With his high authority, the messenger still had to address Long Yi with respect.

"What’s this? I hear you’re planning to sneak away with something that rightfully belongs to me?" Long Yi draped an arm around the messenger’s shoulders.

What could the messenger say but with a pained expression, "This... this is Master Elma’s order..."

Long Yi laughed, "Master Elma’s order, huh... That old scoundrel is still not dead, he sure is tough to kill. Go back and tell him that from now on, I will search his location throughout this Plane and if I find him, I’ll definitely rush up to him and push his old face into a toilet bowl!"

Then, Long Yi released the messenger, placing his hands on his shoulders and softening his tone, "Got that? Don’t misspeak a single word, understood?"

The messenger was already scared witless, instinctively nodding his head. Long Yi flashed him a warm, brilliant smile, then firmly placed a hand on his shoulder and made him turn halfway around, "Now you can go."

Now, the messenger truly wanted to cry but had no tears. He had thought this would be a task simple as walking—he would appear before Saint Jialin, flaunt his messenger status, and then the other party would obediently hand over the key, and he would leave. Everything had gone smoothly so far, and the key was already before him, just one step away from his grasp. But at this very moment, Long Yi made his appearance! How could it be such a coincidence! How was he going to explain this to Master Elma!

Moreover! He still had so many orders to convey!

Filled with helplessness, the messenger turned back to look; Emperor Saint Jialin had already handed the key to Long Yi. For a moment, the messenger truly wanted to rush over, kick Long Yi away, and snatch the key for himself. But he knew he wasn’t crazy; such a thing would never happen. Whether it was Long Yi’s strength, Ai Lin’s strength, or Little Zi’s strength with Silver Light, he had seen them all.

He was no match for them!

He shook his head in resignation and turned away obediently to leave.

Outside, he took out a scroll from his personal space. As the scroll opened, a space teleportation immediately whisked him away from there.

Ai Lin arrived at the same time, but then she just shook her head. Looking at Long Yi, who was coming out, she said, "I can’t find where exactly he was teleported to."

Long Yi chuckled, "That old fox definitely wouldn’t leave such a flaw for himself. He was a hundred percent certain that I would be controlled, yet he still set a trap in his room. That flawless trap sent us into the heart of a star, but he still came here to request the key. What does this tell us? It shows that this old fox operates without leaving any loose ends, so he wouldn’t have this flaw."

Ai Lin nodded, then looked around and took a deep breath, "What comes next might be a big trouble."

"Big trouble? What do you mean?" Emperor Saint Jialin behind them was totally clueless.

"Didn’t you realize it when you chose not to hand over the key to that messenger?" Long Yi said with a smile.

Emperor Saint Jialin’s eyes suddenly widened in shock, "You, you’ve had a falling out with the Ancient Mage Tower?"

"No," Ai Lin shook her head, "We’ve gone to war with the Ancient Mage Tower."

This time, Saint Jialin was truly stunned. He could not imagine someone daring to wage war against the Ancient Mage Tower!

"Why?" Saint Jialin asked urgently.

"Probably because the master of the Ancient Mage Tower, Elma, tried to control me and failed, and we almost killed him alive instead," Long Yi said with a smirk.

Saint Jialin found himself speechless. These two were truly trouble magnets, bringing conflict wherever they went. Even the lofty Ancient Mage Tower was not spared!

"So..." Saint Jialin wanted to ask something else.

"There’s nothing to it. It looks like you’ve decided to stand with us, right? Don’t worry, the Ancient Mage Tower is not yet in our sight," Long Yi said.

As he said this, Long Yi draped an arm around Emperor Saint Jialin’s neck and spoke in a low voice, "Moreover, if the Ancient Mage Tower is out of the picture... you might truly be able to claim the title of the strongest empire on this plane, right?"

At those words, Saint Jialin’s heart skipped a beat. Although the Divine Auffa Empire had always proclaimed itself as the strongest empire in the plane, everyone knew that there were two massive forces in this plane that could not be overlooked.

The ancient powerhouses, and the Ancient Mage Tower.

The battle with Long Yi shattered the myth of the ancient powerhouses, and since then, the stories of ancient powerhouses controlling empires almost vanished. And now, Long Yi was targeting the Ancient Mage Tower. If they could genuinely annihilate the Ancient Mage Tower, then his Divine Auffa Empire would indeed become the strongest in the plane!

But could Long Yi do it?

"To be honest, I don’t have the confidence," Saint Jialin admitted earnestly.

"No worries, there’s someone here who can help boost your confidence," Long Yi said, pushing Ai Lin forward.

"For example, some improved magic formulas?" Ai Lin asked with a sweet smile.

Saint Jialin’s eyes immediately lit up.

"Then, you all discuss here for a while. I’m going to make a trip to the Sanctuary Empire," Long Yi said.

"Sanctuary Empire is involved too?" Saint Jialin instinctively asked, a bit reluctant to bring the Sanctuary Empire into this dominion-over-the-plane game.

"More help means less danger, right?" Long Yi said.

Saint Jialin had no response to that; after all, Long Yi had always been on the side of the Sanctuary Empire from the start, so it seemed only natural for him to reach out to them. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)