"I told you Little Nine was fast."

"I'm the king! The king of the Black Tortoise Clan! Don't you have any reaction to that?"

Chen Fan sighed softly. After a pause, he said quietly,

"Kings..."

"I've seen too many."

To be honest.

At first, learning that Jiu Wu was the destined Dark Monarch from the prophecy had genuinely shocked him. But afterward, he had met a few too many kings. Even Xiaowen was a king now. Who couldn't be a king?

He was a king himself.

He was the king of the Sky-Piercing Pillar.

Mr. Na was a king too—the king of White-Cut Chicken.

His purpose in coming here was simple.

He just wanted to check in, complete the Uncrowned King task, and collect some Profound Cold Ice along the way. That was all. Finding the Black Tortoise Clan hiding here had been a complete accident, and he had no other particular thoughts about it.

His only thought...

Was...

That he had lost a pearl.

That was it.

The man and the Black Tortoise stood in silence. Some little Black Tortoises hiding behind the enormous Black Tortoise poked their heads out curiously to look at them. Chen Fan had no intention of speaking. He simply stood there, leaning on his cane and staring into space.

It was chilly.

The cane offset much of the cold.

An incense stick's worth of time later.

The Black Tortoise finally couldn't hold back and spoke again, his voice somewhat muffled this time.

"Chen Fan."

"The Third Dark Turmoil is about to begin. Every race will have to choose a side this time. No one can stay out of it, and the Black Tortoise Clan can't hide here forever. We can't join the Strange Entity Clan. We both know what would happen if we did."

"The Black Tortoise Clan can only join