Chapter 991: Return to Crescent Island

This time, he didn't return to stay within the Ancestral Court. Council Mountain was not the right place for clandestine activities, so he went straight to the White Tiger Grand Hotel and booked a dozen deluxe suites. By now, the previously overcrowded hotel felt a lot emptier. The accommodation here was extremely expensive, and many bidders had already checked out before the auction began. Now that the auction was over, even fewer remained. It would only get lively again once the upcoming matchmaking tournament began.

So, Tang San took this opportunity to simply reserve long-term suites for himself and the elders of the Blue Gold Tree clan, allowing them to stay until the tournament concluded.

Compared to the Ancestral Court's council accommodations, the White Tiger Grand Hotel was much more comfortable. The elders were naturally very satisfied. From now on, they only needed to wait for the tournament to start. The Blue Gold Tree clan's neutrality request had not yet received a formal response from the Ancestral Court; Sunborne had already told Tang San that a response would only come after the tournament. And now, the auction was finished, but there were still over ten days before the tournament began. So Tang San simply let everyone stay to wait and also attend the tournament. Who wouldn't want to witness such an unprecedented Battle for the Throne? Tang San certainly didn't want to be the bad guy and send the elders away.

Having settled in, Tang San surreptitiously used his divine consciousness to sense everything around him—specifically, to detect if any Emperor-level divine consciousness was probing him. He quickly confirmed that no one was paying attention to him.

Understandably so. This time, the Ancestral Court had reaped massive rewards from the auction, an enormous amount of amethystine coins. The Emperors were probably busy planning how to split and use this windfall.

Just as Tang San had settled down and was thinking of contacting Mei Gongzi, his communicator lit up.

Her voice came through the moment Tang San answered.

—Where are you?

"I'm near the White Tiger Grand Hotel. Are you at your grandfather's place?" Tang San asked.

—I am. Waiting for you, Mei Gongzi replied in a somewhat hushed voice.

"Alright, I'll be there in a moment!" Tang San responded. He quickly removed his disguise, changed into a new outfit, and activated his Peacock Transformation imprint to teleport directly to the top floor of the hotel.

There was no one else in the room, only Mei Gongzi. Upon seeing Tang San, the mighty Lord of Kali City and leader of the Peacock Demon clan immediately rushed into his arms, pouting like an angry child.

Seeing her aggrieved expression, Tang San felt a deep ache in his heart. He could barely hold himself back from telling her the whole truth.

"Were you at the auction the whole time? Do you know I was bullied?" Mei Gongzi said through gritted teeth.

With the soft beauty in his arms, Tang San kissed the fragrant strands of her hair and said gently, "I was always there, always watching. It's alright. Don't be angry, it's not worth it."

"Hmph, that jerk from the Blue Gold Tree clan! If I run into him, I'll beat him so hard he'll be looking for his leaves all over the floor!" Mei Gongzi said viciously.

Tang San could already feel his cheek aching and quickly changed the subject. "I think that sword you won is quite amazing. Based on what I can tell, its value to you surpasses all the other items. Honestly, you shouldn't feel bad. Those later items looked flashy but were mostly superficial. None of them were truly top-tier rare treasures."

"Hm?" Mei Gongzi raised her head to look at him. "Wasn't that Human Emperor's Celestial Pillar a unique treasure?"

Tang San smiled bitterly. "That's an exception, and to be fair, even that one has issues. Think about it... If it was so easy to commune with it, wouldn't the Ancestral Court have done so already? Human powerhouses may be rare, but finding one or two obedient tenth-order people with the Demonic God Transformation isn't that hard. The Celestial Fox Demon Emperor mentioned something along those lines, didn't he? But even so, they still couldn't activate it. Otherwise, why would a 450-meter Celestial Pillar be up for auction? I'm guessing its inheritance is extremely hard to trigger.

"The other divine items are even less impressive. That Light Sprite was pretty great, honestly, but it's only good for light-attribute beings, so not suited for us. The Misfortune Pearl is much, much worse. It has massive backlash, and no matter who the user is, they're bound to suffer. Remember the lotus seeds in the Hell Garden? That thing's the exact opposite. Among all the divine items, it's the most insidious, and I suspect that whoever uses it will just help the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor bear the consequences of his own actions.

"As for that Undying Golden Body, I suspect there's something wrong with it too. Ask your second grandfather about it later. If there weren't any issues, there's no way he would've auctioned it off. That doesn't align with the interests of the Immortal Flame Phoenix clan, and they really don't need the money. But speaking of that, the auction was essentially the Emperors' way of grabbing funds. The one who looked the greediest was the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor. To think he'd auction his own blood and an item like the Misfortune Pearl... If not for the matchmaking tournament, this kind of 'generosity' wouldn't have happened. So really, there's nothing to be upset about. Chances are, that Shadowfiend Sword you got is the true treasure, and no one else but the two of us has any idea just how good it is."

Hearing his words, Mei Gongzi's expression eased. She stepped back from his embrace, and with a flash of light, produced a delicate, pale-golden mask. Compared to when he'd seen it on the auction platform, the Illusion God Mask looked even more refined, and he could see array runes faintly etched into its surface.

"This is for you. It's perfect for hiding your identity and aura. I thought you might need it..." Mei Gongzi said softly.

Tang San took it without hesitation. "Thank you, dear. It feels so good to know my wife thinks about me~"

"Who's your wife? You haven't married me yet." Mei Gongzi blushed and playfully punched his chest.

Tang San caught her hand and said, "After the tournament, I'll make it official. I will marry you honorably and openly."

Hearing this, a hint of worry flickered in Mei Gongzi's beautiful eyes. "Tang San, are you really confident? With so many Emperors watching, if we lose in the end, we'll have to flee. I'll have to give up my position as clan leader and elope with you. When that happens, we'll have to head straight overseas."

Tang San chuckled. "You don't have confidence in your husband? Don't worry, I've got this. If we fail the tournament, even if we flee overseas, it'll still be hard to become Emperors. That's why I have to win this time. Oh, one more thing. Now that I have this Illusion God Mask, hiding my identity will be even easier. Once the competition starts, don't try to find me. Just treat every contestant as an enemy, because even if we face off, I won't let you know it's me. I'll decide whether to win or lose based on the situation. The goal is simple: we must make sure we reunite at the end and win the matchmaking tournament."

Mei Gongzi pouted slightly. "So confident you can beat me, huh? I've made a lot of progress lately, you know. Even my grandfathers praised me and gave me some great stuff. If you can't fully use your Sea God powers, beating me won't be easy."

Tang San's smile deepened. "We'll see when the time comes. But, my love, can you promise me one thing?"