One "Little Friend" Sends Shockwaves Through the Primordial World-Do You Dare Leave the Ancestral Land?

"You have earned my approval. From this day onward, I, Hongjun, will regard you as someone capable of facing me as an equal. I hope you won't disappoint me."

In truth, the instant Hongjun and Zhu Jiuyin met each other's gaze, the attention of every great power in the Primordial World had already focused on the two of them.

But no one knew that the first to speak would be Hongjun.

More importantly, Hongjun's words meant that he regarded Zhu Jiuyin as someone capable of facing him as an equal.

That was simply absurd.

What kind of transcendent existence was Hongjun in the Primordial World now?

Even being a Sage was the least of his many identities.

Yet the distinction between a Sage and a non-Sage alone was enough to place Hongjun and Zhu Jiuyin on entirely different levels.

All beneath the Sages were ants. That had never been an empty saying.

The reason the Heavenly Dao and Hongjun had repeatedly come up short against Zhu Jiuyin wasn't that Zhu Jiuyin was stronger than Hongjun. It was that Zhu Jiuyin—and, indeed, all the Ancestral Witches—had a powerful father backing them.

The legacy this father had left the Twelve Ancestral Witches was so abundant that even the Heavenly Dao had no choice but to meekly back down.

If Zhu Jiuyin truly had to face Hongjun alone, lasting three rounds would already be his limit.

And above the Sages, Hongjun was still the Dao Ancestor, the teacher of all the Sages, and the future Spokesperson of the Heavenly Dao.

In other words, in the entire Primordial World, being a Sage was the bare minimum to associate with Hongjun as an equal. In fact, even Sages had to pay their respects to him as disciples.

It could be said that with those words, Hongjun had raised Zhu Jiuyin's status by more than a single level.

Zhu Jiuyin frowned.

He sensed that there was something less than well-intentioned about Hongjun's words, as though Hongjun meant to put him on the spot.

"The Dao Ancestor flatters me. I, Zhu Jiuyin, am merely a lowly Ancestral Witch. I'm hardly worthy of such regard! But you can certainly consider the Witch Race capable of facing you as an equal. In fact, that's how you've always treated us, hasn't it?"

Hongjun smiled. "Clever. But in my eyes, there's only one and a half truly important people in the Witch Race now. You're one..."

As he spoke, Hongjun glanced meaningfully at Houtu, who stood beside Zhu Jiuyin. "Houtu counts as half."

Then Hongjun looked back at Zhu Jiuyin. "I never speak empty words. When I say I regard you as someone capable of facing me as an equal, I mean you have the potential to do so."

Those great powers secretly watching the exchange felt a pang of bitterness as they listened to Zhu Jiuyin and Hongjun.

Yuanshi was so furious his stomach hurt. "Why? What on earth is the reason? And what do you mean, 'face you as an equal'? Master, you might as well say Zhu Jiuyin can address you as a peer! But if you treat him as a peer, what does that make me, Yuanshi?

"Am I going to have to call Zhu Jiuyin Martial Uncle when I meet him in the future?!"

The more Yuanshi thought about it, the angrier and more frightened he became.

There was no helping it. Yuanshi had always cared deeply about his dignity. Just imagining that he might have to call Zhu Jiuyin Martial Uncle one day made him feel as though his Heart Demon was about to emerge.

Yuanshi wasn't the only one. Even Laozi, who followed the Way of Non-Action, was starting to lose his composure.

He, too, had thought of it: "Am I going to have to call Zhu Jiuyin Martial Uncle in the future?"

Though Laozi was devoted to non-action, deep down he was arrogant to the extreme.

He called Hongjun Master because Hongjun truly had the power to crush him completely. Hongjun had also bestowed a Saint Position and supreme treasures upon him in turn. Only with both kindness and authority had Hongjun earned that respect.

But when it came to Zhu Jiuyin, there were only three words: "Why should I?"

In truth, even Tongtian was struggling to keep his composure.

But Tongtian was, after all, the kindest and most spirited of the Three Pure Ones.

"Master, Zhu Jiu, what a lesson the two of you have taught me together—in the Primordial World, strength is what matters most.

"That's right. Even the Heavenly Dao has come up short against the Ancestral Witches. Zhu Jiuyin, the one directing all this, truly deserves Master's praise.

"But don't think that means you can underestimate me, Tongtian. One day, I'll become someone even Master—and even the Heavenly Dao—will have no choice but to take seriously!"

The Three Pure Ones were variously losing their minds, swallowing their humiliation, and vowing to improve. The other Innate Demon Gods were another matter entirely.

Di Jun and Tai Yi ought to have been furious. After all, with the Dao Ancestor praising Zhu Jiuyin so highly, it made the two demon emperors seem far inferior to this Ancestral Witch.

But now, after seeing the Heavenly Dao come up short against the Witch Race, no matter how proud they were, they had to admit one thing.

In terms of foundation, the demon race truly was far inferior to the Witch Race.

"Ah, having a powerful father really matters."

Di Jun and Tai Yi were brothers through and through. After a long silence, they said it in unison.

Back with Zhu Jiuyin.

Seeing that no matter what he said, Hongjun was determined to put him on the spot, Zhu Jiuyin had no choice.

At the end of the day, Hongjun was praising him. What could he do?

This was praise meant to destroy—the most sickening trick of all.

It was like someone starting a business, only for Pony Ma to suddenly announce that he had great faith in the industry they were working in, and that it might one day rival Tencent. What did they think would happen?

As the ancients said, "When virtue does not match one's position, calamity is sure to follow." That was exactly what this meant.

Zhu Jiuyin didn't want to keep arguing with Hongjun about this.

"The Heavenly Dao has already left. Why is the Dao Ancestor still lingering outside my Ancestral Land?"

Zhu Jiuyin's words were so blunt they were practically an order to leave.

Unfortunately, Hongjun had seen far too much for such words to affect him in the slightest.

In fact, a faint smile appeared on his face, which had remained unchanged for ten thousand years.

"Little friend, don't be hasty!"

Those four words made the great powers wince all over again. "Dao Ancestor, you really mean it, huh!"

He'd even called him "little friend." This was too outrageous!

Seeing that Zhu Jiuyin was already impatient, Hongjun knew that if he kept avoiding the point, Zhu Jiuyin might really lead the other Ancestral Witches and countless members of the Witch Race back to their Ancestral Land to lie low. If that happened, he would be the one losing face—the Dao Ancestor.

Hongjun cut straight to the point. "You're a clever man. You surely understand why the Heavenly Dao came this time.

"I have only one thing to say about it: the Heavenly Dao will not allow your plans, and neither will I!"

Zhu Jiuyin smiled. "Does the Dao Ancestor really think one sentence from you will make me back down? Even the Heavenly Dao lacks the power to do that, let alone you!"

Zhu Jiuyin was still as blunt as ever, but Hongjun's expression remained unchanged. "Very well. I'll make it clearer. Even if you've gained the upper hand for a time in your confrontations with the Heavenly Dao and me, there's one thing that cannot be changed: in the end, your Witch Race is still only defending passively!

"Do you dare leave the Ancestral Land?!"