“If Brother Mu doesn’t trust me, you can ask Senior Solar himself when he visits tomorrow.” Sun Lengying blew on his hot tea and took another sip in a natural manner as if everything was going according to plan.

“Solar Daoist is really visiting our clan?” The ancestor took a deep breath.

“Of course, that’s why he saved Virtuous Nephew Mu Jian. He views the young emperor and your clan very highly.”

The ancestor had a serious expression. Even though their clan was one of the three behemoths, they didn’t have an Everlasting in this generation.

In fact, Solar Daoist was the only Everlasting in all of Imperial right now. He was unbeatable in an era without progenitors.

Thus, an Everlasting visiting their clan was indeed a big deal, an honor even.

Though the ancestor has heard this through the grapevine, Lengying has now confirmed it.

“Is your clan preparing for a truce?” Lengying always had a cold expression, rendering him unreadable.

The ancestor’s expression changed several times in a short period as he hesitated.

The emperor’s defeat was a tough wakeup call to them, almost like being struck in the head by a bludgeon.

Fiercest’s power was unreal so they truly wanted to quit. If conditions allowed, they would really negotiate for peace.

“Brother Mu, you think you can actually have a truce with Fiercest? If it was possible in the first place, you wouldn’t have waited until today. This is a long-running feud.” Lengying said.

This was indeed the truth. They have antagonized him back when Mu Shaochen was still around. He had more animosity with them than any other lineage in Imperial.

“I"ll be frank.” Lengying continued after a sip of his tea: “Fiercest will absolutely try and destroy your clan. He has control over Nine Secrets, one of the three main players in our world. As you can see, Jade-break True Emperor is siding with him too, so an alliance between the Li and Nine Secrets is a.s.sured. You and the Li are certainly not friends either, so if these two powers want to have a full grasp over Imperial, who is the odd man out among the three behemoths? Who should they destroy for supremacy?”

Lengying put down his cup and gaze at the ancestor.

“Us.” The ancestor naturally knew the answer.

The three behemoths have formed a state of equilibrium. When Lucidity King was around, he wouldn’t have created an alliance with the Li or the Mu. This was the same case for the Mu and the Li.

However, times were changing. Fiercest was unstoppable now and Jade-break True Emperor seemed to be joining him. An alliance between Nine Secrets and the Li seemed inevitable.

Their clan had a terrible relations.h.i.+p with this group. Even if Fiercest didn’t move against them today, the alliance would come for them in the future.

The equilibrium would break and the entire world would belong to Nine Secrets and the Li.

The Mu ancestor could see this and became anxious.

“Are you sure you still want to negotiate for peace with Fiercest now?” Lengying pressed on.

The ancestor couldn’t respond since he had zero confidence about a potential truce with Fiercest. It has escalated beyond that point.

“Your clan must either pay an absurd price or forever submit to Fiercest and Nine Secrets to survive. Otherwise, peace is impossible. Will you kneel before Fiercest? If you say yes, then I have nothing else to say.” Lengying didn’t hold back.

The ancestor’s expression became ugly. As one of the three behemoths, their clan has been reigning over this world for many eras. They wouldn’t be able to handle submitting to Fiercest.

“The only choice for your clan is to fight. I have tried my best and managed to ask Senior Solar to join us. This is your last hope.” Lengying said.

“Will Solar Daoist really fight Fiercest?” The ancestor remained uncertain.

Their clan had a cordial relations.h.i.+p with the Lu but this was meaningless for someone of the daoist’s level. It would be hard to invite him.

This wasn’t the case for Sun Lengying. He had personally served tea to the daoist before, so the daoist would keep this old relations.h.i.+p in mind despite his current status.

“That depends on your clan.” Lengying said: “If you don’t contribute a little something, you think the senior will come help? You must be the one to seize the opportunity. The Lu only lost Lu Weijun, a distant descendant, so the senior actually has no reason to take a big risk.”

The ancestor took a deep breath and looked at Lengying: “What do you mean?”

“Go all out. Your clan will be the main battlefield. a.s.sist the senior with everything you have. We will only have peace after slaying Fiercest.” Lengying said: “After we kill him, I shall regain control over Nine Secrets and we’ll become the closest allies. The Li will be powerless to stop us then. Imperial will be ours for the taking.”

The ancestor couldn’t help but smile. This was the best news in recent days, giving him and his clan hope for a beautiful future.

“Brother Mu, you mustn’t miss this opportunity.” Lengying continued: “Solar Daoist is an Everlasting so it’s only a matter of time before his ascension to Immortal Lineage. Once he leaves, no one in our world will be able to stop Fiercest. If we can’t kill him, then it’s no problem for me, I just need to find a remote place to live through the rest of my years. I have no real grievances against Fiercest, in fact, I even helped with his coronation, so he shouldn’t have any animosity against me. On the other hand, what will your clan do when Senior Solar departs?” 

The ancestor became serious. Their clan has never lacked confidence but Fiercest was too strong. The four great masters together still got annihilated by him with only one survivor.

They weren’t confident in stopping an attack from him on their own territory. Plus, even in the most optimistic case, their loss would still be heavy. They would decline from there and no longer be one of the three behemoths.

He composed himself and said: “So let’s say that our clan will be the main battlefield, we will still need to lure him in at the perfect time. He might not be willing to jump straight into a net.”

Fighting in their clan would be the best scenario for the Mu since they would have the home advantage. With ample preparation and traps, their chance of victory became far more optimistic.

But if Fiercest attacked randomly and at the wrong location - catching them off guard - the outcome would be far worse.