Zhu Kun listened quietly. The enormous dragon body no longer trembled excitedly, but instead exuded a chilling silence.
Within the enormous dragon's eyes, emotions surged and shifted violently.
Within this was an overwhelming rage against the three Dragon Kings for splitting their race! The Dragon Might's might leaked out uncontrollably, causing the surrounding dark space to distort slightly!
There was a sliver of solace in the fact that he remained utterly loyal to East Dragon Island!
There was an immense surprise that Zi Yan was able to obtain the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit, such a heaven-defying opportunity!
But even more so, there was a surge of deeper self-blame and guilt!
He seemed to see that it was his disappearance that caused the tribe to split and fight endlessly; it was his absence that left his daughter, despite possessing a priceless treasure, afraid to return to her tribe, and forced to follow a human boy through endless dangers to this Deadly Land to find her incompetent father...
His previous blaming and complaints against Lin Ming seemed so pale, powerless, and even laughable in the face of this cruel reality.
There was no longer a trace of blame for Lin Ming! Only boundless gratitude remained! Gratitude that Lin Ming, despite the chaos within the clan, still chose to protect Zi Yan and went to great lengths to bring her to his side! Gratitude that he brought the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit, the hope for restoring the Dragon Clan's glory!
"Well..."
A long, heavy sigh, as if carrying millennia of loneliness and guilt, slowly echoed in the dark space.
When Zhu Kun's enormous dragon eyes looked at Lin Ming again, they were filled with complex and indescribable emotions.
"Little one... your uncle misunderstood you." His voice was hoarse and weary.
"You did the right thing... you did very well. If it weren't for you, Zi Yan... my Ancient Void Dragon Clan would probably have lost our only hope..."
At this moment, the once powerful Dragon Emperor finally humbled himself completely and genuinely acknowledged everything Lin Ming had done.
As Lin Ming recounted the chilling state of division within the Ancient Void Dragon Clan, and clearly explained the helpless reasons why he brought Zi Yan here on this perilous journey, the atmosphere in this dark space gradually shifted from the initial excitement of recognizing each other to a complex atmosphere that was heavy with anger, yet also mixed with a trace of relief and hope.
Zhu Kun's massive dragon head was lowered, and the light in its huge dragon eyes flickered uncertainly. It was clear that it was still digesting the infuriating news of the clan's division and the coexistence of Three Kings, as well as the lingering fear of the great crisis that its daughter had almost fallen into because of the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit.
After a long while, he finally let out a low dragon roar, a sound that was a mixture of endless exhaustion and chilling Killing Intent.
"Hmph! The Three Great Dragon Kings the South, West, and North... Very well! The day I am freed, I will personally clean house and let these traitors know what the might of Dragon Emperor truly is!"
Zhu Kun's chilling words seemed to come from the Nine Nether, causing the surrounding temperature to drop several degrees.
But then, when his gaze turned to Zi Yan, it softened instantly, filled with tenderness. "You've suffered, child, and... thank you so much, Lin Ming."
At this moment, the way he looked at Lin Ming was completely different. Before, there might have been a hint of condescension due to the difference in strength, as well as resentment for his "recklessness" in taking Zi Yan into danger, but now, only pure gratitude and recognition remained.
This young human not only protected Zi Yan during his absence, but also made the most correct and courageous choice in the face of crisis.
After the atmosphere eased, Zhu Kun's huge dragon eyes turned, looking at Lin Ming again with an irrepressible curiosity.
A question that had been troubling him for a long time came to mind.
The Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion was so deeply hidden and its location so secretive that even he himself had to go through countless hardships to finally find it, relying on the Ancient Void Dragon's unique talent for space and numerous clues. Even so, he still fell into the trap of that old bastard Tou She Ancient God and was trapped for thousands of years.
How could Lin Ming, a young human, with extraordinary talent, find this place so precisely and seem so certain that he was here?
"Lin Ming!" Zhu Kun's voice softened considerably, carrying a hint of inquiry.
"Uncle, I have a question in my mind: how did you... know that the Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion was here, and... how did you determine that I was trapped here?"
He believed he had hidden himself very well. There were many rumors about his disappearance, and it was impossible to easily deduce that he was under the magma beneath Jia Nan Academy, accompanying the Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion.
Upon hearing this question, Lin Ming thought to himself: Here it comes!
However, he had already prepared an explanation for this, a half-true, half-false, logically consistent explanation that could conceal his own uniqueness to the greatest extent.
So, Lin Ming's face showed a look of "luck" and "recollection" at the right time. He did not answer immediately, but instead flipped his palm, and the Tou She Ancient God Jade Fragment that had drawn them here with its warm luster reappeared in his palm.
"Uncle, this is a long story, full of coincidences and deductions." Lin Ming held up the Ancient Jade Fragment and began his carefully crafted narrative.
"It all started with this fragment, and... the Fallen Heart Flame."
"The Fallen Heart Flame?" A knowing glint flashed in Zhu Kun's enormous dragon eyes.
He certainly knew about this thing; it was conceived in the upper layer of the Underground Magma World Jia Nan Academy. When he descended there, the fire had just been born and could only be considered Fallen Heart Flame seed.
"Yes." Lin Ming nodded, beginning to skillfully blend his real experiences with his fictional deductions.
"When I was still at the Dou Huang Realm in my early years, I had a fortuitous opportunity to successfully refine the Fallen Heart Flame that was born here in the Jia Nan Academy."
After finishing his sentence, Lin Ming paused, seemingly organizing his thoughts, and continued, "After completely refining the Fallen Heart Flame and merging it with my soul, I accidentally discovered that this Tou She Ancient God Jade Fragment in my hand seems to have formed an extremely faint and indescribable connection with the depths of this magma."
"That feeling... was very strange, as if there was some kind of calling from the depths of this Magma World."
This part is a true story; the Fallen Heart Flame did indeed originate from this place, and the Ancient Jade Fragment did indeed have a connection to it.
"But."
Lin Ming First Revolution, his face showing a mixture of lingering fear and caution befitting his strength at the time.
"At that time, my strength was too weak, only at the Dou Emperor level. I knew how terrifying this Magma World was, and I couldn't even explore it deeply, let alone find the source of the sensation. Therefore, although I had doubts in my heart, I could only suppress them and dared not make any rash moves."
Zhu Kun nodded slightly, indicating his understanding. Dou Emperor's strength was indeed like an ant in this Magma World; caution was inevitable.
"Later," Lin Ming continued, moving on to the "inference" section.
"After leaving the Black Corner Region, I traveled through the Middle Continent. My strength gradually increased, and my knowledge broadened considerably. I began to consciously or unconsciously consult various ancient books and secrets passed down from antiquity, trying to find clues related to the Tou She Ancient God Jade and that strange sensation."
At this moment, Lin Ming's eyes gleamed with the light of a wise man, as if he were retracing the process of unraveling the mystery:
"I learned that Tou She Ancient God was the Last Place Dou Di on the continent, and his Cave Mansion was mysterious and unpredictable, with no one knowing its location. However, he also seemed to have left behind the Tou She Ancient God Jade to unlock his inheritance. Therefore, combining the special sensations I felt from the Ancient Jade Fragment in my hand with the depths of the magma, a bold guess gradually took shape in my mind."
Lin Ming's voice rose slightly, carrying a solemnity akin to revealing a mystery. "I suspect that the very depths of this Magma World that could cause such a clear reaction from the Tou She Ancient God Jade Fragment are probably... the hiding place of the Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion, which has been missing for ten thousand years!"
Even as Zhu Kun's enormous dragon eyes flashed with admiration at this conclusion, a hint of appreciation crossed his mind.
To be able to make such a close-to-the-fact deduction based solely on these fragmented clues demonstrates the extraordinary meticulousness of this young man and his keen insight.
"Then..." Zhu Kun pressed, this was the core issue he was most concerned about.
"And how did you determine that I was here?" He believed he had not left any obvious clues indicating that he was trapped here.
Upon hearing this question, Lin Ming's face showed an even more "uncertain" and "hypothetical" expression.
Lin Ming shook his head and said sincerely, "Uncle, I actually didn't know you were here. To be more precise, I don't have any solid evidence."
"Oh?" Zhu Kun's eyes narrowed.
"All my judgments are based on a bold assumption." Lin Ming looked directly at Zhu Kun, his tone clear and slow.
"I have perused some ancient documents that mention the Ancient Void Dragon, and I know that you were a powerful figure who stood at the pinnacle of the continent thousands of years ago, possessing unparalleled strength and being considered one of the strongest in the world today."
"So I've been wondering, what kind of place, or what kind of temptation, could have caused someone like you to mysteriously disappear for thousands of years, without a trace, and even neglecting the division of your people?"
Lin Ming paused, letting Zhu Kun think about the question himself, before slowly giving his answer:
"After much thought, looking across the entire Dou Qi Continent, perhaps only the ethereal Dou Di Realm, representing the ultimate power, and the Cave Mansion left behind by the Last Place Dou Di — the Tou She Ancient God, could possess such immense allure that a powerful individual like you would pursue it at any cost, and even... perhaps even face certain death as a result."
This deduction is reasonable, Zhu Kun remained silent, which can be considered a presupposition.
At his level back then, apart from pursuing the path of the Dou Di, there were very few things that could make him so persistent and even risky.
"And next, there's another crucial coincidence, or rather... corroborating evidence." Lin Ming turned his gaze to Zi Yan beside him, his voice softening.
"It's Zi Yan."
"Zi Yan?" Zhu Kun also looked at his daughter.
"Yes." Lin Ming nodded.
"Zi Yan once told me that she has been in the deep mountains Old Lin near the Black Corner Region since she can remember. Do you think a young dragon with the Ancient Void Dragon Royal Bloodline would appear near the Jia Nan Academy by such a coincidence? And the place beneath Jia Nan Academy is exactly where I speculate that the Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion might be hidden?"
Lin Ming stared intently at Zhu Kun and uttered the final connection. "Is this merely a coincidence? I don't believe it. A bolder hypothesis is forming in my mind."
"Perhaps, when you were searching for the Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion, you encountered some kind of accident and were trapped here, unable to escape. Before or during the accident, for some reason unknown to us, you had to send the young Zi Yan out of danger and place her in the Black Corner Region Forest, not too far from the Cave Mansion..."
"This might explain why Zi Yan ended up in that area, and why no one could find you after you disappeared—because you were trapped in this isolated Ancient Emperor Space!"
This series of inferences, each link connected to the next, links all the seemingly unrelated clues— the Fallen Heart Flame, the Ancient Jade's Sensation, the Ancient Records, Zhu Kun's Pursuit, Zi Yan's Place of Origin—to a logically consistent conclusion!
Zhu Kun listened to Lin Ming's narration, the light in his huge dragon eyes flashed intensely, from initial inquiry to surprise, and finally to complexity and realization.
He had to admit that Lin Ming's deduction, while not entirely correct, was very close to the truth! This boy's reasoning and associative abilities were truly astonishing.