At the entrance of the villa halfway up the mountain, Long Zhanguo and Xiao Tiance stood side by side, their spirits soaring as the wind blew. In this moment, they were the undeniable focus of everyone present. Long Zhanguo was the fourth most powerful figure in Daxia and the commander of the Long Kingdom's War Department. Xiao Tiance, on the other hand, was the formidable leader of the Temple of the Gods, a force to be reckoned with beyond the nation's borders. Despite their age difference, both wielded power far beyond that of ordinary war gods, making them top-tier figures in the current era.

What no one had expected was that these two peerless powerhouses, who were anticipated to clash, seemed instead to be engaged in a moment of succession. It was as if Long Zhanguo intended to pass on the command of the Long Kingdom's War Department to Xiao Tiance. Given Xiao Tiance's strength and capability, could he oversee all the war departments of Daxia? The answer was a resounding yes. After all, in just five years, he had established the Temple of the Gods, a force nearly as formidable as the Long Kingdom's War Department, and that was without any substantial resources backing him. One could only imagine how much stronger the War Department would become under his leadership if supported by the entire Daxia nation. This was something beyond the imagination of everyone present.

After Xiao Tiance accepted the tokens from both Long Zhanguo and the Third Elder, Long Zhanguo’s smile grew wider. His eyes reflected a deep sense of relief as he looked at Xiao Tiance. For many years, he had single-handedly supported the War Department of Daxia. But now, he was growing old and often felt the weight of his responsibilities becoming too much to bear. The constant pressure of defending against external threats and countering the hidden sects that sporadically emerged had long since left him mentally and physically exhausted. Furthermore, his strength had reached a plateau, making further breakthroughs difficult.

However, upon discovering Xiao Tiance's true identity today, the gloom that had long overshadowed Long Zhanguo's heart seemed to dissipate in an instant. Xiao Tiance’s current combat power was no less than his own, and it was clear that the War Department of Daxia would be in capable hands for the future.

"Child, do your best. Follow your heart, as long as you don't go against your principles or cross the line, we, the old men of Xiajing, will always have your back..." Long Zhanguo said to Xiao Tiance, his voice filled with deep satisfaction.

Xiao Tiance, however, remained silent. From Long Zhanguo's eyes, he could see a deep fatigue. The old man before him, though still giving the impression of immense strength, seemed close to his limit. A heavy weariness was emanating from him, evident even in his gaze.

At that moment, understanding the true feelings in Long Zhanguo’s heart, Xiao Tiance’s expression became serious. After a long silence, he finally looked up at Long Zhanguo and said, "Senior, I... I may not be as capable as you think. I might not be able to bear the heavy responsibility of the War Department..."

"Hahaha... Hahahaha..." Long Zhanguo suddenly burst into hearty laughter. His laughter was bold and unrestrained. The next moment, he pointed to the four powerful generals under Xiao Tiance and said, "If even you aren’t qualified, then who in the Long Kingdom is? These four, when combined, are not a sure win for me. And Wang Changsheng, who became a Central Region war god after leaving the Temple of the Gods—are you telling me you still think you’re unqualified?"

Long Zhanguo’s gaze swept across the crowd as he shouted, "Tell me, is Temple Master Xiao qualified to take over the War Department?"

At this moment, Long Zhanguo’s words sent a shiver down the spines of everyone present, whether they were from the Temple of the Gods or other factions from Qianjiang City. Indeed, if a peerless hero like Xiao Tiance wasn’t qualified, then who was? More astonishing was the realization that Long Zhanguo wasn’t merely speaking in jest; he genuinely intended to hand over the War Department of Daxia to Xiao Tiance.

After all, Xiao Tiance was still so young—not yet even thirty, perhaps only twenty-seven or twenty-eight. He was exceptionally young. If Xiao Tiance did take over the War Department, he would become the youngest elder in Daxia’s history! The crowd was in shock, while Shen Qingtian, who had made the right choice, was trembling with excitement. His family, the Shen family, was about to rise to prominence. As long as he clung tightly to Xiao Tiance’s powerful support, the Shen family might even expand into the Central Plains and become one of the top aristocratic families in Daxia. At this moment, Shen Qingtian was so overwhelmed with emotion that he was on the verge of tears, feeling as though his blood was boiling.

Long Zhanguo turned back to Xiao Tiance and continued, "Child, you should also consider your brothers. They are all top-tier powerhouses and, after all, are people who came from our Long Kingdom. We have a saying in the Long Kingdom: ‘A fallen leaf returns to its roots, and one returns home in glory.’ I think if you take over the War Department, they would be happy to follow you..."

Xiao Tiance frowned slightly, deep in thought. After a long moment, he looked at Long Zhanguo and said, "Tiance thanks Senior for your kindness, but I don’t want to take on any responsibilities right now. I... I have a daughter now, a daughter waiting for me to come home, and someone I’ve hurt in the past. There are many things I need to do. I want to stay by their side..."

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By the end of his words, Xiao Tiance’s voice had grown hoarse. Deep down, he had always considered himself a person of the Long Kingdom. If the Long Kingdom needed him, he would step up, but right now, he didn’t want to think about that. He only wanted to return quickly, to be with his daughter and the person to whom he owed so much... Weiwei.

Long Zhanguo paused, his gaze towards Xiao Tiance growing more complex. At that moment, he recalled the photograph he had seen—Xiao Tiance holding his four-year-old daughter, standing in a pigsty, vomiting blood before fainting.

“Ah…!” A deep sense of frustration welled up within Long Zhanguo, all because of the Zhou family’s actions, which had clouded Xiao Tiance’s mind. The next moment, Long Zhanguo let out an angry roar, moved swiftly to Zhou Zhenghao, who was paralyzed with fear, and struck him down with a single palm. Then, with a sweep of his long blade, he wiped out the entire direct line of the Zhou family!

He spared Zhou Fei, but the Zhou family could not be left for Xiao Tiance to deal with. It was more appropriate for Long Zhanguo to take care of it. After slaughtering the Zhou family’s direct line, Long Zhanguo turned back, his bloodshot eyes glaring at Zhou Fei, and shouted, "Zhou Fei! Take a good look, the one who killed your family was me! If you ever want revenge, come after me!"

With a loud thud, Zhou Fei knelt down, tears streaming down his face, and cried out, "I wouldn’t dare! Senior did the right thing, they deserved to die..."

In that instant, Zhou Fei understood everything. At this moment, it wasn't just Long Zhanguo, but perhaps even the entire Long Nation, that might have chilled Xiao Tiance's heart because of the dirty deeds committed by the Zhou family, making him unwilling to return to Long Nation. Thinking of this, Zhou Fei's teeth clenched with rage. He suddenly drew the long knife from his waist and charged into the remaining Zhou family members, slaughtering those from the branch families.

"It's all because of you! You! I'll kill every last one of you! Kill, kill, kill..." Zhou Fei also erupted in fury. But he hadn't been killing for long when the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from the base of the mountain. In the next moment, Hou Zonghua arrived with squads of fully armed members of the Xuntiansi.

However, when he saw Long Zhanguo and Wan Tianxue, his expression drastically changed. He never imagined that the two highest leaders of the Long Nation's War Department would also be here. Moreover, their expressions were not good. Long Zhanguo's anger was palpable, his face dark as coal. Xing Feng, who was following behind him, was so terrified by the scene before him that his face turned ashen, and the muscles in his legs began to tremble. So many big shots, so many powerful figures—there were at least hundreds here who could easily kill him...

Xing Feng swallowed hard, cold sweat dripping down his back. He didn't dare look any further and quickly lowered his head, following behind Hou Zonghua. Hou Zonghua hurriedly approached Long Zhanguo and saluted, "Director Hou Zonghua of the Xuntiansi in Qianjiang City, reporting to the Marshal..."

"Hmm..." Long Zhanguo, in a foul mood, waved his hand dismissively and ignored him.

Wan Tianxue pointed at the remaining Zhou family members and said to Hou Zonghua, "Deal with them! Tenfold punishment—those who should be executed, execute them. The rest, imprison them in the Tixingsi to atone for their sins!" Wan Tianxue was also in a bad mood and immediately decreed a tenfold punishment for the people brought by the Zhou family. This was severe; even those who survived would likely never recover...

"Yes!" Hou Zonghua quickly nodded. Xing Feng then arranged for the Xuntiansi personnel to escort the Zhou family members down the mountain...

"By the way, issue a gag order on everything that happened here today. Everyone must sign the highest-level confidentiality agreement. Anyone who dares to leak information will be executed on the spot!" Long Zhanguo said hastily as he saw Xing Feng leading the people away. It was clear that Xiao Tiance did not want his identity revealed, so he naturally had to assist.

Hou Zonghua quickly nodded and said, "Don't worry, sir. I'll arrange for a small memory-erasing procedure for the bystanders to erase the events of the past two days. It's not difficult..."

"Good, that's for the best..." Long Zhanguo nodded. Hou Zonghua hurriedly wiped the sweat from his forehead.

After Xing Feng had led the people away, Long Zhanguo walked over to Xiao Tiance and said, "Child, what's done is done. No one wanted to see you suffer. But rest assured, with us old guys around, you and your wife and children will never face such things again in Daxia. I'll be waiting for you in Xiajing..."

"One last thing, think carefully about what I said. I'm getting old and can't hold on for much longer. I hope you will take over the War Department! Sigh..." Long Zhanguo patted Xiao Tiance on the shoulder one last time and then turned to walk down the mountain.

Wan Tianxue also walked up to Xiao Tiance, nodded at him, and said, "Lord Xiao, if you ever need anything in the future, just let me know. If there are any troublesome matters that you're not convenient to handle, I'll take care of them..."

Xiao Tiance nodded, "Thank you, Senior Wan..."

With Long Zhanguo and Wan Tianxue gone, and the people brought by the Zhou and Shen families also escorted away, the remaining Shen Qingtian and Hou Zonghua in the field now looked at Xiao Tiance with extreme reverence.

All because of the words Long Zhanguo had said before leaving. Xiao Tiance would become the future successor of the Long Nation's War Department, the one in power! That was the Long Nation's War Department, the force that suppressed the universe and fought on all fronts for Daxia! How immense must that power be?

But in the future, would Xiao Tiance really take over the Daxia War Department? Who could say for sure? Would he? If he took over the Daxia War Department...

Would he? Would he?