Thinking of this, though Tong Lie did not understand, he still waved his hand and released a stream of bronze-textured true qi, spreading it densely around the entire stone house. He said,
"Above and below, all around this room, my true qi has been laid down. Even that lord cannot eavesdrop on our conversation without my knowing. Chief, if you have something to say, say it!"
Only then did the chief ease his expression and explain,
"What I am about to tell you, Tong Lie, listen carefully. As for how you judge it, that is for you to decide, but you must be cautious—cautious beyond caution.
"First, regarding the wise man of our tribe: he is, above all, a human expert, not one of the Hundred Clans. Those not of our kind are sure to harbor different hearts. What such a man thinks and plans is beyond the comprehension of people like us. Therefore, whatever you think or do, keep two eyes open and guard against him doing us harm.
"Then there is the Supreme Scepter. You should know that its forging requires the essence blood of the Hundred Clans. Yet to this day, among the sixty-seven clans that agreed, and the clans that remain, no one can determine their exact origins.
"Take our Savage Tribes, for instance. We are one of the Hundred Clans, and a very powerful one at that. But whether we agreed back then, whether we truly sacrificed geniuses to aid in forging the Supreme Scepter, remains a mystery.
"Tong Lie, among all those I know, you are now the strongest and most gifted person of our Savage Tribes. Even compared with some of the powerful figures and ancestors in our history, you are not inferior in the slightest.
"If that wise lord came to the