Chapter 1521: The King
"He is in the Realm of White Tigers? How did he end up there?" Zhu Chang inquired.
"He tried to get out of the Ancestral Temple and got caught in the Spatial Temporal. From there, he ended up in the White Tiger Realm," Long Chen explained. "There, I told you everything. Now I'm free."
"The story about him getting out of Spatial Crack to land in a world matches with what she said. There might be some truth to it," Zhu Chang muttered, tilting toward believing the clone.
"Not some truth; it's the complete truth." Long Chen rolled his eyes. "Now, answer me. Am I free?"
"Not yet. Even though you might be telling the truth, we can't just trust your words. As long as we can't find the real Long Chen, you won't be free. Once we can see him with our own eyes, and if it turns out that you're telling the truth, you'll be freed," Zhu Chang explained. "Until then, you'll be with us."
He turned to the Demon Princess. "As for you, Princess. You don't need to stay here. We can send you back to the Demon Realm. We will start the preparation. Only after sending you back shall we go look for Long Chen."
The Demon Princess thought for a while before she ultimately refused. Her goal in trying to stop Long Chen was because she didn't want the future God Beast Kings to be flamed against the Demons. She wanted them to stay neutral if possible.
However, now that she was here and things between the two sides were better, she could see an opportunity in these troubled times.
If she stayed with them and helped her even more, she could create some good feelings between the two sides to tilt the balance to her Empire.
"Since I'm here and created so much trouble for you, I don't think I can go back before everything is over," she answered. "I want to help you find the person you are looking for. Can I accompany you?"
"You..." Zhu Chang gazed at his father, leaving this decision to him since he was going to have to explain to the White Tiger Clan why so many people were there.
"If you want, you can come with us. I have no problem with it. With more hands, we should be able to find him faster." The old man didn't find any problems in bringing the young lady together. It wasn't as if he was going to sneak inside that place.
He was going to go through the official channels.
After everyone was on board, it was decided that they were going to bring Long Chen back. Only four people were to go to the White Tiger Realm: Zhu Chang, his father, Demon Princess, and Long Chen's clone.
After some requests from Snake Monarch, they decided to bring him as well since only he could differentiate between Long Chen and any clone without much trouble.
****
Back in the Maze of Death, Long Chen was still advancing ahead. Fortunately, he had learned from his last mistake. Before taking any path, he waited to see if the paths switched and how long they took to switch.
Even though it meant that crossing the entire maze was going to take longer, he didn't care at this point. It was better to wait and be safe than to be hasty and spoil things.
Unlike before, the group didn't move fast and recklessly. Instead, they moved slowly, steadily, and safely.
For two days straight, the group didn't face any problems. They had already crossed halfway through the maze, according to Long Tian. All that was left was the other half, and they needed to be even more careful for that part.
"So that one changes after every five minutes and this one, every three minutes, and that every two minutes. So we have two minutes to cross the path," Long Chen reminded everyone. "We need to be fast."
He held Xun and Tensha's hands as he waited for Tensha's signal to move.
"Now!" Tensha let out, sensing the change in the atmosphere.
As soon as Long Chen got the signal, he shot ahead without looking back. He only had two minutes to cross.
Right beside him, Baihu Ling also flew at her fastest, keeping Long Chen company.
Time kept trickling away, but fortunately, Long Chen managed to reach the safe zone before the time was up. He slowed down and breathed a sigh of relief. "The time distance is getting smaller and smaller with each passing choice. We can't ignore this."
"It's to be expected. It's the Maze of Death, after all. The second half is supposed to be harder to clear. It doesn't only need luck in selection but also speed. A usual person would never know such things, so even if he's lucky for the most part, he'll end up reaching a dead end."
"That's sadly true," Long Chen agreed. "Fortunately, we have Tensha."
"Hmm? What's this aura?" He stood up and looked behind him, surprised. He felt as if someone powerful was coming toward him. The aura became even stronger and stronger with each passing second.
Long Chen brought out his Sword of Time, preparing for a battle that seemed highly likely. Some powerful threat was coming toward him. He was sure he hadn't reached the dead end. That could only mean the Maze was starting to change and send threats directly to them this time.
"Why are you standing still like an idiot?. prepare for a battle," Long Chen scolded Baihu Ling, who was standing still. It was as if she wasn't worried about the incoming attack.
"I would advise you to stand like an idiot as well. Don't you dare attack the person who is coming," Long Chen responded.
"You know that person? Ah, wait. Could it be...?"
Long Chen sent his Sword of Time back, taking a guess as to who it could be. The only person that could bring such expressions from Ling could be her Father. Who else could it be?
Finally, it was time he had been waiting for. The White Tiger King was the exact reason why Long Chen had gotten close to him. He didn't want to fight the old man, and the only way to avoid that was if his daughter supported him.
Just as he expected, a middle-aged man came into his sight. The man seemed to be the epitome of strength and ferocity. Just his aura was enough to make people go down on their knees. He was the White Tiger King, who was known as one of the strongest God Beast Kings! He was said to be stronger than Zhu Chang's father and comparable to the Dragon King!