Novel Full Chapter 548
Chapter 548: Chapter 73: The End of the Secret Passage, Wall Interlayer Chapter 548: Chapter 73: The End of the Secret Passage, Wall Interlayer In the following days, Long Long and Long Hu explored the secret passageway with utmost caution.
The Dragon Clan still hadn’t sent anyone to visit, or perhaps they had, but were blocked by the Qilin Clan.
In the past, both might have grown anxious, but since discovering the secret passageway, they instead found this undisturbed confinement rather pleasant-at least they didn’t have to worry about someone barging in only to find the room empty.
Based on their exploration over the past few days, it was clear the passageways formed a vast and complex network, like an unseen parasite lurking in every dark corner of the Divine Dragon Tower, intricate and silently spying.
Moreover, from the way these passageways connected to the outside, it was obvious they were specifically designed for eavesdropping.
One could imagine, should a team of over thirty intelligence agents be stationed within this network, all events occurring within the Divine Dragon Tower would be exposed to them.
During Emperor Ying Long’s era, the Divine Dragon Tower served as a residence, office, and council venue for the great nobles and the Senate, leading Long Long to conjecture that it was most likely constructed by Emperor Ying Long without the knowledge of other Demon Races, intended for better intelligence gathering.
The age of the Jiaolong had passed, and although the court of the Qilin Emperor had moved into the Divine Dragon Tower, the secret passageways, after the departure of the Jiaolong Clan, had been sealed off so that no signs of recent activity could be found.
“That’s not quite right; someone has been here,” Kunlun Mirror suddenly said.
“Although the dust along the way has been cleaned and disguised, it couldn’t fool my scan-the last visit must have been between four and seven days ago.”
“Is that so?” Long Long replied cautiously, “Ah Jing, during the next explorations, remember to constantly scan our surroundings.
If you detect any movement in the distant passages, notify me immediately.”
“Understood,” replied Kunlun Mirror earnestly.
After all, although the Qilin Clan would ensure the safety of Long Long and Long Hu, the identity and attitude of any stranger in these passageways towards the Azure Dragon Clan remained a vast and completely unknown risk.
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As he continued to ascend the secret path with Long Hu, silently calculating the height, Long Long realized he was now at the midsection of the Divine Dragon Tower.
This level housed the largest library in the Eastern Emperor Realm, called the Long Yuan Pavilion, formerly a repository of books belonging to the Jiaolong Clan, and now it included various types of Secret Techniques of the Qilin Clan as well as a variety of scriptures and scrolls.
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Cultivators from all over the Eastern Emperor Realm aspiring to study esoteric and unorthodox methods would come to learn and further their education at the Long Yuan Pavilion within the Divine Dragon Tower.
Graduation from there qualified one to serve as a Guest Elder in any Demon Race.
Furthermore, over sixty percent of the Cultivation Resources such as Magic Artifacts and Elixirs produced in the Eastern Emperor Realm came from scholars who had graduated from the Long Yuan Pavilion, making it considered the “Penglai Jade Pure” of the Demon Race, with a very strong academic atmosphere.
Probably because there were always people in the Long Yuan Pavilion, the secret path here was not only narrow and concealed but also ran close to the load-bearing columns in the hall, with no designed peepholes or sound transmission boards around.
Long Long had to press his ear against the wall to faintly make out the conversation outside:
“We need to hurry with the bloodline verification project, it has been queried several times from above, and the end of this month is the final deadline.”
“You wouldn’t want the project group’s funding to be cut, would you?
The dean said that the group will expel the slowest member this month, so prepare yourselves mentally for that.”
Listening in, Long Long could hardly help but empathize deeply; was this approach of elimination in academia a sign that the wretched capitalism had spread to the Eastern Emperor Realm as well?
“Long Long,” Long Hu whispered beside him, “why would they expel someone?”
“Well…” Long Long thought for a moment, then started explaining to Long Hu.
Although the Long Yuan Pavilion was nominally a neutral academic institution, being located within the imperial capital meant it was inevitably controlled and influenced by the Qilin Clan.
In fact, it was said that over seventy percent of the Pavilion’s funding came from the Qilin Clan.
Correspondingly, if the Qilin Clan had development needs, the Wen Yuan Pavilion had to take up the task and complete it as quickly as possible, or the subsequent funding might be affected.
The deliberate expulsion of the worst-performing member was designed to foster competition amongst the team, urging them to work overtime and intensify their research efforts.
Long Hu was left tongue-tied.
In her view, cultivators were the fundamental element of all things, so how could one justify eliminating them for some project?
Wasn’t that an act of neglecting the essentials for the sake of the trivial?
Long Long had no intention of explaining to her what “expendable” meant.
The little vixen hadn’t yet reached the point where she needed to learn the Emperor’s Mind Technique.
The two of them continued to climb upward until they reached the upper levels of the Divine Dragon Tower.
The air here was noticeably fresher compared to the middle and lower parts-clearly, the ventilation outlets of the secret passage network were nearby.
Following the direction of the airflow, Long Hu dashed about and indeed found the so-called ventilation duct at the end of a certain passageway, as well as a side opening on the exterior wall of the Divine Dragon Tower.
Because flying within the Imperial City was forbidden, it was impossible for this opening to be seen from above.
It was also cleverly shielded from below by several protruding eaves, making it an exquisitely discreet design.
The opening was bell-shaped, and given the high wind speeds at this altitude, a large amount of fresh air continuously poured in through the bell-shaped hole.
Even more wondrous was that despite the swift collision of air currents in the duct, they produced not the slightest sound of wind.
Long Long examined the inner walls of the ventilation duct closely, thinking to himself that this was nothing but a Tesla valve structure.
And here I thought it was some kind of formation.
They left the ventilation duct behind and continued their climb upward through the vertical shaft.
If his calculations about the height were correct, then the end of the secret passage network at the topmost level should lead directly to the residences of the Imperial Clan.
At this thought, Long Long furrowed his brows.
If the secret passage network also ensured surveillance over the Imperial Clan, it could practically be considered foolproof.
If my father-in-law hadn’t rashly embarked on that ill-fated expedition to the Mortal Realm, he might well have reigned over the Eastern Emperor Realm for eternity!
Finally, the two of them climbed to the end and found themselves in a secret chamber.
This place was less of a secret chamber and more of a narrow gap between walls, with the back of their heads against one wall and their noses almost brushing against the panel in front.
Feeling somewhat cramped, Long Hu was about to speak when Long Long quickly used his eyes to signal her.
Then, an angry, disdainful, raspy voice sounded from outside:
“You wretched woman!”
In a flash, Long Hu subconsciously held her breath, for she heard the heavy footsteps entering the bedroom from outside.
The leader of the Qilin Clan, the king of myriad demons, Qi Weihuan.
Long Long quietly reached out and gently took hold of Long Hu’s hand, signaling to her not to make any hasty moves.
They had no way of knowing how effective the soundproofing of this bedroom’s wall cavity was, but the Demon Race generally had sharp hearing, especially those with high cultivation levels; if they were to be heard climbing the ladder, it could spell trouble.
The safest method was naturally to stay put in silence, motionless, even holding their breath, to ensure not a single sound was made.
They planned to wait until the emperor either went to sleep or left.
Then, they would carefully make their way back the way they had come, with utmost caution.
Long Long was tensely and rapidly going over these thoughts when he heard a woman’s sobbing coming from outside.
If his guess was correct, this should be Qi Weihuan’s politically arranged marriage partner, the empress named Lü Ya from the White Tiger Clan.