Wang Hu was in no mood to engage Li Aimin in pleasantries. Besides, that was exactly his character setting when dealing with China.
However, he was indeed in need of this phone call at the moment.
Li Aimin didn’t find his lack of response strange. He had already gotten accustomed to it a long time ago.
Interacting with the Tiger King was almost completely different from interacting with everyone else whom he had interacted with in the past. One had to be direct and candid.
Without even a shred of embarrassment, he said sincerely, “Your Excellency, now that the Tiger Queen has broken through to the Third Realm, this means that she’s the second person on Earth to have broken through to the Third Realm.
“The both of you are truly astounding and amazing. None of the other living beings on the whole of Earth can compare to the both of you. It truly takes our breath away.
“On top of that, it also greatly boosts Earth’s morale. I believe that, with Your Excellency and your wife setting examples, a steady stream of Third Realm experts will surely emerge on Earth very soon. From thereon, we won’t need to fear external enemies anymore.”
Wang Hu’s lip corners spasmed from amusement.
That old man sure didn’t pass up any opportunity to flatter him. However, what this old man said was certainly rather pleasing to the ears.
As for the parts that flagrantly attempted to pull their ties closer together, he automatically overlooked them. He naturally had a mental measuring scale when it came to such things.
After thinking for a moment, he said calmly, “It isn’t hard to break through to the Third Realm in the first place. Many Third Realm experts will emerge on Earth very soon.”
His casual tone carried a sense of indifference toward the difficulty level of breaking through to the Third Realm.
To be honest, Wang Hu really was indifferent to it because he had never experienced it before… the anxiety, pressure, longing, and even despair that one would feel when one couldn’t break through.
Therefore, he wasn’t deliberately putting on an act when he said that. He wasn’t in any mood to put on an act at the moment either. He was merely giving a response to the old man’s flattery of him.
Besides, when it came to the cheat-owning humans—especially China, the king of cheats; Wang Hu really didn’t think that the Third Realm was anything difficult for them.
Li Aimin wasn’t concerned about anything else because he had detected Wang Hu’s indifference toward the topic. It made him even more envious.
It was simply impossible that he wouldn’t be envious when the other party’s aptitude had reached such a degree of excellence.
Even at this point, China’s research center still hadn’t really understood much about how to break through to the Third Realm.
For the time being, the Chinese cultivators would probably have to depend on themselves if they want to break through to the Third Realm when they reach peak-level Second Realm.
Hopefully, when that happened, someone among them would also have aptitudes like the Tiger King’s and Tiger Queen’s… and wouldn’t think anything of the difficulties in breaking through to the Third Realm at all.
After sighing emotionally with some slight anticipation, he immediately pulled himself together and summoned his confidence.
China was replete with geniuses. There would definitely be geniuses like that, and true powerhouses would definitely be born.
Even if there wasn’t any among the current batch of pioneer cultivators who were the first to gain power, there would definitely be some among the ones who would come later.
He, as well as all the senior officials of China, firmly believed in this.
This was also an important reason why they had approved of building friendly relations with the Tiger King.
Their deeply-etched self-confidence made them believe that, before long, powerhouses that weren’t that much weaker than the Tiger King would soon emerge in China.
With time…
Li Aimin calmed his emotions. Without hiding his hopeful anticipation in the least, he said, “I strongly believe in that.”
After a moment’s pause, he went on and said with a smile, “However, the Tiger Queen’s breakthrough now is a great cause for celebration on Earth. We, China, naturally have to do something.
“Your Excellency, if you don’t mind me intruding upon you again, I’ll go over two days later to offer my congratulations.”
Wang Hu’s eyes lit up slightly. He paused for two seconds as though hesitating over he replied aloofly, “Sure.”
Li Aimin’s eyes also brightened. His smile widened a couple of notches, and he said, “Great. The day after tomorrow at 9 a.m., I’ll definitely be there on time.”
“Alright,” replied Wang Hu.
“By the way, there’s also something else that I’d like to discuss with you, Your Excellency,” said Li Aimin seriously.
“What’s the matter?”
“Your Excellency, we intend to spread the news of the Tiger Queen’s breakthrough in China, too.
“I’m sure Your Excellency is also aware, but there are a lot of people in China who are fans of you and your wife. They see the two of you as their role models.
“In addition, to be frank with you, doing this will also set an example for other animal species.
“May I know if Your Excellency has any objections?” asked Li Aimin unhurriedly.
Wang Hu contemplated for a while again before he replied, “It’s fine.”
“Thank you very much, Your Excellency,” said an elated Li Aimin.
They didn’t say much else after that and hung up.
Wang Hu switched on the cartoons for the two little fellows before going over to the side. Weariness surfaced on his countenance.
This wasn’t a pretense—he really was feeling weary.
His rest in the morning hadn’t allowed him to completely recover. Far from it, in fact. At noon, he had helped Silly Girl out with her recuperation. After giving it his all, how could he possibly not be tired?
If it wasn’t real, how could he possibly keep it a secret from Silly Girl so perfectly and make her believe that he was really tired?
His plan was nothing more than just openly showing Silly Girl his fatigue, weariness, and the hard work he was doing. At most, he only added some artistic editing. He wasn’t pretending to be tired when he wasn’t tired.
He had been awfully wary during his conversation with Li Aimin just now. The brief conversation had actually been very mentally exhausting, which resulted in him becoming even more tired.
He thought back to the phone call just now—it had actually been very timely.
Firstly, Li Aimin paying them another visit was representative of China’s continued friendliness toward them.
Secondly, if nothing went wrong, they would also gift him some pills. This would help in Silly Girl’s recovery.
Thirdly, he just so happened to also have something that he’d like to speak with Li Aimin about.
He might not really carry out this particular plan, but he could nevertheless still make preparations for it in advance.
After musing for a while, upon finding that nothing was amiss, he bore with his fatigue and walked toward the cave, intending to continue helping Silly Girl with her recuperation.
As for his fatigue, it was nothing.
Male tigers should be tougher on themselves. As the famous old adage went, a man who wasn’t tough enough wouldn’t attract any women.
Sometimes, they should just think nothing of their own health.
When his toughness reached a certain degree, it was just as well that he could use it to scare Silly Girl, too.
Upon returning to the cave, without saying a word or caring about anything, he got straight down to the task in an unusually forceful manner and started the recuperation process.
This continued for the next two days. It was only when it was almost time for the appointment that Wang Hu finally rested for a few hours and suppressed his exhaustion.
That perfect, god-like figure appeared once more.
At slightly over 8:50 a.m., the helicopter flew over.
It was still the same meeting place as before. Wang Hu went forward. Unlike their previous meets, however, he didn’t deliberately transform into his tiger form this time. Instead, he met Li Aimin and his men in his Dao form.
His Dao form made an even stronger impact on Li Aimin and his men, though.
Dressed in a long black traditional-style robe with gold trimmings, he emanated domineeringness, nobleness, and icy arrogance. He stood straight and tall and had black hair that reached past his shoulders.
Together with that perfect, flawless visage; he was as though a legendary god that lived in the mundane world. He was on a completely different level from Li Aimin and the others.
One more thing—even though they were already aware that the Tiger King could transform into the Dao form, which looked more or less similar to a human, and had even seen photographs and videos of him; they nevertheless couldn’t help but be astounded when they saw him in the flesh at this point.
They were astounded by cultivation itself and by his power—to think it could actually change a life form’s physique and outer appearance!
Thanks to the combination of the two, be it Li Aimin who had been occupying a high position for a long time and held great authority or the rest who were all Second Realm cultivators, when faced with Wang Hu; all of them felt a pressure that they couldn’t shake off.
Even Li Aimin’s sincere smile seemed somewhat stiff. He quickly adjusted his emotions. Only then did he remark with a smile, “Your Excellency’s graceful bearing outshines itself again. It simply gives me such great pressure!”
He jested and made fun of himself the moment he spoke, livening up the atmosphere.
Calm and indifferent, Wang Hu emanated an imposing and awe-inspiring aura. The pressure that Li Aimin and the others were feeling wasn’t a deliberate move by him.
Were he to truly exhibit his current might at full force, all of those people would undoubtedly be flattened to the ground.
However, the current situation was also something that he was happy to see.
He said dispassionately, “My wife is still in the midst of stabilizing her cultivation realm so she’s unable to meet you.”
Nominally, the other party was here to congratulate Silly Girl on her breakthrough after all. He naturally ought to mention it.
He spoke in Mandarin. What was he to do? Roaring wasn’t presentable once he transformed into his Dao form. Although they would also understand if he were to speak in Tiger Language, he didn’t want to reveal Tiger Language to China just yet.
“It’s fine,” replied Li Aimin with a wave. Toward such an exceptionally straightforward attitude—free of civilities and pleasantries—that he had already become familiar with, he also said straightforwardly, “The main purpose in our visit this time is to congratulate the Tiger Queen on her breakthrough to the Third Realm. This is a small token of China’s appreciation. I hope the Tiger King will accept them.”
As he spoke, he took a small box that looked more or less similar to the one from the previous time from someone behind him and passed it sincerely to Wang Hu.
Wang Hu frowned at once. Only after seemingly hesitating for a couple of seconds did he wave and receive the box using his divine power. He said seriously, “Are these the same pills as the ones from the last time?”
“Yes, exactly.” Joy filled Li Aimin at once. That one line alone was enough for him to be sure that the Tiger King valued China’s pills very much.
True enough, the icy, arrogant, and domineering Tiger King—who usually adopted an exceptionally aloof and indifferent attitude toward them and obviously didn’t wish to overly-interact with them—had a serious look on his countenance as he said, “These pills are pretty effective and are somewhat useful even to me. They must be very expensive, and yet you are giving them to me and my wife just like that. What does China want?”
Mild surprise filled Li Aimin, followed by delight.
Despite several years of interaction with the Tiger King, their relations had always felt placid and indifferent, and there wasn’t any real improvement in their relations. It was far from the level of intimacy in some other countries’ imagination.
However, this one seemingly wary question had given him a glimpse of an opportunity to improve their relations.
With an incredibly stern and serious expression on his face, Li Aimin said sincerely, “Your Excellency, whether you believe this or not, but in these dangerous times when great crises may befall upon us any moment, China really is sincere in befriending you and your family and even the entire tiger species.
“We also hope to become allies that can stick together in advance and retreat… and fight side by side with each other. That’s exactly what we want.”
Before they knew it, the atmosphere had become even heavier after his reply.
Disregarding Li Aimin for now, the expressions of all the experts behind him had become even more serious.
They were well aware that, after Elder Li had given such a reply, the peerless and invincible Tiger King’s response would now hold great influence, so much so that it could even impact the whole world. Even Elder Li would seem trivial and insignificant in comparison.
This was exactly the number-one expert in the world, the Northern Tiger King’s current status and the amount of influence he held in the human world.
As though Li Aimin’s words hadn’t affected him at all, Wang Hu was expressionless—though he inwardly breathed somewhat of a sigh of relief.
The fact that Li Aimin had specially pointed out that they were currently in a time of peril and said that they wanted to befriend them during such times… showed that Li Aimin was genuine and wholehearted in his request. He also was very sincere.
This was because both parties understood that, if the huge threat from the alternate worlds hadn’t existed, it was impossible that both of them would really form friendly relations with each other.
The fact that Li Aimin’s words implied these things showed that they were full of sincerity.
Wang Hu feigned contemplation. His silence caused everyone present—including Li Aimin—to almost hold their breath, and they grew increasingly nervous.
At last, that icy and arrogant voice rang out.
“I know very well what humans are like. China is still far from being able to befriend us tigers and become allies with us.”
The arrogance and unsurpassed dominance he showed was as though China was a weakling, whereas the tigers were powerhouses. Those were words that the strong would say to the weak.
However, the truth was exactly the opposite.
In spite of that, Li Aimin and the others didn’t feel awkward or displeased.
This was because, at some point, all of them had come to feel that the Tiger King qualified to say such things. Both parties were now on equal standing, as opposed to how China was still overlooking the other animal species from above.
It was also because they knew even more clearly that China was far from being enough yet. It wasn’t because of their combat power; rather, it involved a lot of other factors. It was a very complicated situation.
Most importantly, it was probably because humans had been the hegemonic species on Earth for too long. They had given other species too much pressure and harmed them too much.
Thus, they weren’t displeased but only disappointed—he had still rejected them in the end!
“However…”
Suddenly, the voice rang out again. Faint hope welled up in them again, and they looked at Wang Hu closely with great anticipation in their eyes.
As though he hadn’t noticed anything, Wang Hu said calmly, “China has given me pills twice, and I never owe anyone any favors.
“I’m willing to slay two Third Realm-level existences within China’s borders for you in return for the kindness you’ve shown me by giving me these pills.”
Upon hearing his words that regarded all other Third Realm cultivators as nothing, Li Aimin and the others were rather disappointed, though it was still overshadowed by a joyful surprise.
Slaying two Third Realm-level existences within China’s borders for them—putting aside the fact that this was a huge guarantee for China’s safety, hadn’t they entered a transaction now?
Once an initial deal was made, they would be able to continue it. Everything was possible.
Even if there weren’t any further developments, one round of pills in exchange for a Third Realm existence was no loss for China at this point either.
Before more Third Realm cultivators emerge in China, they could continue striking deals like this.
As for whether the Tiger King wanted more or not, they weren’t worried at all.
China had a few thousand years’ worth of cultural legacies when it came to giving people gifts. There were all sorts of ways to go about it. They definitely would be able to get the Tiger King to accept the gifts.
The ones who had come were all elites; they understood all the implications in an instant. Joy bubbled up in them somewhat uncontrollably.
In fact, Li Aimin didn’t even bother suppressing it. Full of joy, he said, “To be honest with you, Your Excellency, although it’s saddening that we cannot become friends or allies, I’m still very happy that the Tiger King is willing to slay two enemies for us.
“This is extremely important to China at the moment. Our citizens’ safety would be greatly boosted. Thank you, Your Excellency.”
As he spoke, he nodded seriously.
Everyone behind him also nodded to express their gratitude.
“This is very fair. There’s nothing to thank me for,” replied an aloof Wang Hu.
Li Aimin shook his head to show that he was nevertheless still thankful, though he didn’t say anything else about it. With a serious expression on his face, he said, “Your Excellency, regarding the matter of becoming friends and allies, China won’t give up. We’ll let Your Excellency see our greater and greater sincerity.”
Wang Hu was non-committal about that. Then, his aloof voice rang out again. “I also have something to discuss with China.”
“What is it? Please feel free to say it, Your Excellency. As long as it’s something within our means, we’ll definitely do our best.” Li Aimin promised sincerely as a million thoughts ran through his mind in an instant.