Chapter 413 - 403: LuotianMaze, Guardian of the Narrow Sea
But as it happened, the intelligence reports stated that Su Ye himself was a high-level Array Master!
’You want the Liangyi Immortal Jade?’
’Then you’ll have to get it yourself!’
His mind raced as he formulated the key points of his plan.
And for Chu Wunian, this... was only the beginning!
As a veteran Golden Core cultivator with a deep foundation, he had far too many methods at his disposal!
HUM.
A silver gleam, representing the power of his Divine Sense, twinkled in his eyes like starlight.
Countless pieces of information surfaced in his mind, continuously filling in the details and making the plan even more precise!
As he contemplated, a conspiracy fraught with killing intent gradually took shape!
A long time later.
"Haaaah..."
Chu Wunian took a deep breath, exhaling a puff of mist.
He reached up and rubbed his temples.
Plotting against a fourth-rank combatant...
And being unable to act personally, no less.
This kind of heavily restricted, constrained scheming was incredibly draining.
Even a Golden Core cultivator felt a bit exhausted by it.
"However..."
"The Far South Continent..."
Chu Wunian muttered to himself, his resolve hardening.
To him, the Liangyi Immortal Jade wasn’t important, and neither was the grudge with the Nanyaoguang Corporation. For a Golden Core cultivator, a grudge of this level could easily be resolved.
But the Far South Continent was truly important!
’This continent absolutely contains a fifth-rank Spirit Vein. It is my destiny... No one will take it from me. I will kill anyone who stands in my way!’
’Su Ye... he must die!’
Killing intent blazed in Chu Wunian’s heart!
...
「Several months later.」
Weiyuan Immortal City.
Zhao Quling paid another visit.
Her face was full of apology as she clasped her hands and bowed repeatedly.
"I am so terribly sorry..."
At that moment, Su Ye was seated on the main throne, dressed in black robes.
His expression was blank. He leaned back against his chair in silence, his long, pale index finger tapping rhythmically on the jade armrest of the dais.
The entire hall was deathly silent.
Only the faint CLINK CLINK echoed continuously, as a thread of killing intent, mixed with immense Divine Sense, radiated out naturally!
HISS...
Zhao Quling held her breath and bowed her head in reverence.
The horror in her eyes was impossible to conceal!
At that moment, she felt as if she were standing naked in a world of ice and snow. An endless chill washed over her, threatening to freeze her body, soul, and mind!
She knew, of course, that this chill wasn’t real. Besides, with her level of cultivation, she could withstand the cold even in an ice cavern.
But Su Ye’s Divine Sense, radiating out with his fury, created an illusion in her mind, even though it wasn’t directed at her!
’How terrifying!’
’Such terrifying Divine Sense! This is definitely fourth-rank Divine Sense!’
Zhao Quling screamed internally, trying to vent the psychological pressure.
The chill grew more bone-piercing.
Zhao Quling trembled all over, her heart quaking in fear.
Even though she knew this chill was just an illusion of the mind, her mind and body both perceived it as real and reacted accordingly.
If her mind believed she had frozen to death, she might truly freeze to death right here!
’What is this nonsense!’
’Those bastards from the Chu Family should clean up their own mess... They cause all this trouble and then make me deal with the aftermath. What kind of bullshit is this?!!’
Zhao Quling cursed endlessly in her heart!
She was filled with resentment for the Chu Family.
In Zhao Quling’s eyes, this matter should have already been over.
She had resolved the grudge, secured a powerful ally for the Wanlong Commerce Association, and performed a great service!
But then, those sons of bitches from the Chu Family pulled a fast one, sending the Liangyi Immortal Jade to the Sulfur Strait.
By the time Zhao Quling learned the news, the fourth-rank wondrous item had already been refined into the Luotian Array and was difficult to retrieve.
She was on the verge of a breakdown.
What was even more maddening was the Association’s decision.
She would be the one to go and explain the situation to Su Ye.
Zhao Quling: "Huh?!"
’That damn Chu Family is going to be the death of me!’
And so, that led to the current scene.
WHOOSH.
Just as Zhao Quling felt her entire body go cold, nearly frozen solid, the terrifying chill finally receded and vanished. A hint of life returned to her pale, pretty face, which relaxed slightly.
Ignoring her weakness, she quickly said to Su Ye, "Mr. Su, please believe me this one time. It was truly an accident..."
Having witnessed Su Ye’s Divine Techniques, Zhao Quling’s attitude became even more respectful and humble.
Given the current state of the war in the sea region, stabilizing the situation with Su Ye was an extremely high priority!
Thinking of this, Zhao Quling’s heart filled with even more hatred for the Chu Family!
’Those animals!’
’Do these people have any sense of the bigger picture? Just to vent their frustration, they provoked such a terrifyingly powerful expert for the Association?!’
Su Ye’s gaze was calm, a frosty, ice-silver light shining within as he watched Zhao Quling.
Zhao Quling’s smile instantly stiffened. She forced a placating smile and said, "Mr. Su..."
After a few breaths.
Su Ye finally spoke. "For Mr. Zhao’s sake, I will trust your esteemed association one more time..."
"Thank you, Mr. Su..."
"Oh, right, Mr. Su, the Association has prepared a gift for you... It’s a record of Core Formation insights written by one of the Association’s Golden Core seniors."
"Oh? Core Formation insights? Bring it forward." Su Ye lowered his gaze slightly.
"Yes..."
Zhao Quling was incredibly relieved, her heart relaxing slightly.
Thank goodness she had managed to placate this powerhouse!
...
"As expected... Something went wrong, did it?"
After sending Zhao Quling off, Su Ye muttered to himself, his expression blank.
This outcome was within his expectations, so he wasn’t particularly angry.
He had known all along that the matter with the Chu Family wouldn’t end so simply.
His difficult behavior just now was merely posturing, a way to express his dissatisfaction to the Wanlong Commerce Association—if your interests are harmed, you must fight back. Only those who dare to cause trouble and are capable of it have any strategic value!
"However..."
"For the Chu Family to go to such lengths..."
"It seems the Far South Continent’s appeal to them is even stronger than I imagined?" A flicker of confusion appeared in Su Ye’s eyes.
After all, the grudge between him and the Chu Family wasn’t deep.
He had only killed one of their retainers, Master Yufeng.
The two direct descendants the Chu Family had sent were both unharmed, with no deaths or injuries!
A grudge of this level could clearly be resolved.
But now, the Chu Family’s hostility was resolute, as if they wouldn’t rest until one of them was dead?
Only a conflict of interest could explain such an attitude!
"The Far South Continent..."
"Is there something valuable there that I’ve overlooked?"
Su Ye muttered to himself.
But immediately after, the contemplative look in his eyes turned to killing intent!
"Heh... Once I’ve annihilated the Chu Family, I can take my time searching for it!"
The Chu Family’s hostile actions had worn away the last vestiges of orderliness in Su Ye’s heart.
His inner decisions were leaning more and more toward extermination and brutal retaliation!
KILL! KILL! KILL!
They can all go die!
A flash of savagery crossed Su Ye’s mind!
However, Su Ye was also very clear-headed.
He knew that even with his strength, if he tried to achieve this through brute force, he would likely die a miserable death.
Therefore...
"Golden Core!"
’As long as I reach the Golden Core realm, I can annihilate the Chu Family with a flip of my palm!’
"In that case."
"Guardian Envoy of the Narrow Sea?"
"Fine, I’ll play your little game!"
Su Ye took a deep breath, a cold sneer on his face.
Just as Chu Wunian had intended.
Unaware of the Far South Continent’s existence and the irreconcilable conflict between the Chu Family and Su Ye, the Wanlong Commerce Association had another form of compensation for the Liangyi Immortal Jade incident, in addition to the record of Core Formation insights.
This other compensation was to recommend Su Ye for the position of Guardian Envoy of the Narrow Sea, stationed at the Sulfur Strait, allowing him to personally operate the Array and swap out the Liangyi Immortal Jade!
—Naturally, the Liangyi Immortal Jade that was swapped out would be his.
At the same time, the position of Guardian Envoy of the Narrow Sea came with excellent benefits.
The monthly war-merit points were an astronomical sum in the eyes of low-rank cultivators!
According to Zhao Quling, accumulating war-merit points would allow him to exchange them for items that help evade tribulations!
Of course, this alone wouldn’t really count as compensation.
The special treatment for Su Ye was a promise that both his kill-based war-merit and his garrison-based war-merit would be calculated at double the rate!
This was an incredibly generous offer!
However, Su Ye didn’t actually care about these benefits. All he needed was an opportunity to get close to the Liangyi Immortal Jade.
As for whatever schemes the Chu Family had... heh, they were welcome to come and die!
For Su Ye, all he needed was a little over a year to max out the progress bar for nurturing his divine seed, and the Liangyi Immortal Jade!
Once he had those things...
...he would be able to... ascend to the Golden Core realm!