The women were really shocked when they heard what Zu An said. They looked at him with surprise, but they were all smart and quickly hid their shock. Inside, however, they were still confused. He had clearly just started learning the monster language from Suolun Shi, so they knew how far he'd progressed. Even though he learned a bit faster, it couldn't have been to this extent yet, right?
More importantly, his speech was even more fluent than Suolun Shiâs, as if he was a pure native. In that instant, they even started wondering if Donaire had taken their big brother Zuâs place.
Adiljanâs mouth hung wide open. He hadnât expected the other party to actually be the real deal.
Iâm done for!
That was the only thought left in his head.
The great elder immediately said with an apologetic smile, âWhat is the young master saying? The young master shoulders an important responsibility, so we were only worried about your health. Since you are fine, old third doesnât need to go through all the trouble.â
The third elder tactfully stopped. If he insisted on going through with the examination, wouldnât he be a target of everyone else's blame?
The elders secretly gave Adiljan a look.
This guy really is full of nonsense, and we were blind for believing him. Why did we ever listen to someone like him?
When he sensed their dagger-like looks, Adiljan felt as if his hands had turned ice-cold.
Zu An harrumphed. âSince youâve already seen me and you donât need anything else, you can return now.â
He turned around afterward, as if he was seeing them out. He knew that politeness was useless in the Monster World where strength and status reigned supreme. It would only bring even more problems.
Sure enough, when they sensed his dissatisfaction, the elders felt even more awkward. They looked at the great elder as if hinting at something. The great elder could only brace himself and ask, âYoung master, we also came here to ask, why is there no food this time?â
He knew this really wasnât a good time, but they ate fasting pills day after day and were being driven crazy from hunger. They really missed the taste of meat.
âDonât be impatient. Once the passage is completely opened, there will be more than enough meat for all of you to eat.â Zu An naturally hadnât prepared any food for these people this time. He was now the master of a cultivation world. He definitely wouldnât use the living creatures of his world to satisfy the cravings of these monsters.
âBut of course, of course.â The great elder still had many things he wanted to ask, but when he saw that the other party was unhappy, he could only swallow those words back down. This really wasnât a good time. If they pissed off this young master, none of them would have anything to eat.
Itâs all that Adiljanâs fault.
They bowed respectfully, and also took Adiljan with them.
â¦
When they saw the True Demons leave, the women all sighed in relief. They all surrounded Zu An.
âBig brother Zu, what was going on just now?â
âThatâs right, how did you suddenly learn the monster language?â
When he heard their lively discussion, Zu An revealed a jade strip in his hand. âThis jade strip contains the True Demon raceâs language, as well as the common language of the monsters.â
âYou got this from Adiljan, right?â Pei Mianman recalled what had happened earlier.
âThatâs right. Adiljan was planning to use this to make up for his mistakes if the situation turned against him,â Zu An said with a smile. Who wouldâve thought that this would end up benefiting him?
Ji Xiaoxi was confused. âBut even if the jade strip records the monster language, thereâs no way you could have learned it that quickly!â
Jiang Luofu also responded, âThatâs right. If you absorbed the information on that jade strip, the ki would definitely have alerted the monster elders. Also, even if you really did absorb it, thereâs no way you couldâve learned it so quickly.â
There were many techniques and skills that were recorded on jade strips. This was less burdensome than carrying books and also saved time that would normally be spent on learning. Still, that method was only a bit faster than normal. The actual technique and skills would still need to be slowly comprehended by the learner; such a thing had never represented instant success.
Zu An explained, âI have a skill that allows me to immediately learn certain abilities by paying a small price.â
He had naturally used the keyboard systemâs skill to directly learn the monster language. Because of the foundation Suolun Shi had already helped him establish, learning the monster language had actually only cost 500 Rage points. Compared to the tremendous costs of the other skills, this skill was really cheap.
It was no wonder that the monsters couldn't sense this skill from Zu An. Even the Keyboard System probably thought it really wasnât worth mentioning and hadnât bothered detecting it before. Those True Demon Elders were formidable, but they clearly couldn't sense the Keyboard Systemâs functions.
â¦
Meanwhile, the elders were looking at Adiljan with frustration.
When he sensed their rage, Adiljan felt his legs grow weak. âElders, I didnât know it would be like this either!â
âDidnât you keep saying again and again that the young master seemed to have been replaced by someone else? That he didnât even know our raceâs language?â The great elder stared coldly at him.
âThe young master was a bit strange when he came back this time! I just felt that he was a bit different from beforeâ¦â Adiljan quickly explained. âThatâs not all! Even if I had ten gallbladders, I still wouldnât dare to say anything bad about the young master!â
âJust what part of him is strange?â the great elder retorted with a sneer.
âYou canât really tell from the surface, but he just feels off. Great elder, you need to trust me! I am the most trusted and closest aide of the young master, and know him the best. My suspicion is definitely not unfounded!â Adiljan answered anxiously.
âBut you already saw earlier that the young master is clearly the same young master as before. And yet you actually said that he just used some appearance transformation skill, and that he didnât even know the True Demon language.â The great elder was getting a bit annoyed now too. He felt really stupid for believing this guyâs nonsense. It was just because Donaire was too important that he couldn't show any carelessness.
Adiljan was also a bit stunned. But this was related to his own safety, so he quickly said, âThere is definitely something wrong with him. Otherwise, he could clearly have spoken earlier, but why did he only have that women talk to me when he first got here? He even claimed that he was injured and couldn't speak! Right, he mustâve secretly learned it from that language jade strip he took from me!â
It was already too late for regrets.
Why did I have to bring that damn thing with me?
The second elder harrumphed. âWhat a joke! If he could learn my raceâs language through a jade strip, why didnât we sense any ki fluctuations? Even if we took a thousand steps back and assumed that he has some concealment method, is language something that can be learned instantly from a jade strip?â
Adiljan was now really panicking. âThen that Suolun Shi woman next to him taught him!â
The great elder was finding it harder and harder to keep listening. âEnough! Itâs only been around four hours since you sought us out and when we went to take a look. How could he have learned it in that short amount of time?!â
Language wasnât like other things; how could it be learned so quickly?
âBut he really isnât the young master!â Adiljan said in alarm. âI could sense that he was different from the young master when we were together earlier!â
âHow?!â the third elder said coldly. They had already gone and taken a look. That was clearly Donaire!
âI⦠I canât say.â When he sensed the strong killing intent from the eldersâ eyes, Adiljan quickly said, âElders, please give me some time to investigate. I will definitely bring back proof.â
âThereâs no need for that!â The great elder finally had enough. With a cold snort, he grabbed Adiljan's head.
â¦
Meanwhile, Zu An handed the jade strip to the women in the cave dwelling so they could use this chance to study the monster language. That would make everything easier later. He even participated in teaching them alongside Suolun Shi. After all, he was now proficient in the monster language too.
He suddenly noticed something and made made a shushing signal to the women. Then, he walked up to the cave entrance.
There was someone wrapped entirely in black robes standing there. When he saw Zu An, he couldn't help but say with a chuckle, âI didnât expect you to be more vigilant than I expected. I thought you forgot about important matters because of all the women around you.â
Zu An was a bit surprised. Judging from this guyâs tone, it seemed that he was an old acquaintance of Donaireâs. He could tell that this person wasnât up to any good and definitely didnât want to be noticed, so he asked, âThe elders just left, and yet youâre already here?â
âDonât worry, those trash wonât be able to detect me.â The black-robed being harrumphed. âI came here to ask you how your mission went!â