Chapter 232: Ding Ning Is Beyond Saving!
"You’re not going to kill him?" Rabbit-man looked at Ding Ning in disbelief.
"Just because he’s supposedly your friend?" Rabbit-man’s voice grew louder; she couldn’t fathom how a Lord with such a sharp mind could ruin herself over a man.
Right now, her urge to cripple that man peaked.
If it weren’t for the fear that killing him would affect her relationship with Ding Ning, she would’ve finished him off already.
Unfortunately, she’d already promised Ding Ning to leave one alive.
She figured Ding Ning’s brain must have been fried by love—how could she let a territory ripe for the taking just slip by?
If you don’t move at the start, the advantage of being first to create slowly fades with time.
Because the world’s rules default to you agreeing to let the other build a dungeon next to yours; that’s something the main creator permits.
Afterwards, whoever devours whom, the initiative no longer matters.
In terms of strength, the relationship becomes equal when it comes to swallowing territories.
"Hmm..." Ding Ning’s lips curled slightly. She turned to Copper Vase. "Then let’s form an alliance for now!"
Rabbit-man was stunned, staring at Ding Ning like she was an idiot.
Copper Vase was also caught off guard. He hadn’t expected Ding Ning to agree to an alliance so quickly.
Both of them knew just how unrealistic this "alliance" was.
He definitely intended to swallow Jiang Che’s dungeon; he was just sure that Jiang Che wouldn’t actively swallow Ren Fengxiang.
After all, Ren Fengxiang’s dungeon was under his control, and Jiang Che’s dungeon was under Jiang Che’s control.
Ren Fengxiang disagreeing had nothing to do with the dungeon; he held the initiative here.
He frowned at Ding Ning. Was this really because of so-called love messing with her head?
Agreeing to this?
If it were him, he’d agree to the human man’s request on the surface—pretend not to harm his neighbor friend—but secretly deal with him. There was absolutely no reason to accept this alliance.
As for agreeing in the open yet acting in secret, that simply wasn’t possible.
He wouldn’t be as defenseless as Jiang Che.
Sensing truth or lies was a basic Lord skill. He could tell Ding Ning was telling the truth—she genuinely agreed to the alliance.
Has she gone stupid?
"A real alliance?"
"Really!" Ding Ning nodded with certainty.
After confirming again, Copper Vase couldn’t sit still anymore.
"If we’re allies, could you open up your dungeon and let him enter for a trial?" Ding Ning blinked at Copper Vase.
"You want to crack my dungeon, then go crack Ren Fengxiang’s next?" Copper Vase lowered his head and swayed his body.
He felt convinced that was Ding Ning’s plan.
"Nope. You can just let him walk right through, open all the gates—it doesn’t matter. I just want to show him what the dungeons of different Lords are like, boost his horizons," Ding Ning said thoughtfully.
"You know how it is, he’s human, totally inexperienced. I just want him to see what an honor it is to be liked by me. Otherwise, he has no concept of sss-level strength."
"Of course, if you put him through normal trials, that’s even better. Just keep him alive," Ding Ning added, echoing Rabbit-man’s request.
Copper Vase frowned, Rabbit-man was stunned too, but then replied with certainty, "He really does need to see what sss-level Lords can do—so he doesn’t take it lightly."
"I don’t see any awe in him toward you at all," Rabbit-man continued.
"But if he’s crippled in my dungeon, can he still go to Copper Vase’s after?"
"Even if he washes out in your dungeon, just treat it as a vacation at Copper Vase’s," Ding Ning laughed, waving her hand carelessly.
Her eyelids lowered slightly—Black Crow had said, so long as he emerged from ten dungeons, he’d elevate his life-tier.
That meant, regardless of the level reached, as long as he completed the goal, he’d become something else.
"You’d let him go too?" Copper Vase looked at Rabbit-man, feeling something was off.
But he couldn’t put his finger on it.
Ding Ning made a lot of sense—the human hadn’t seen much of the world. He could see it, too: that human had no awe for Ding Ning.
If he wanted to make the human truly submit—without getting his own hands dirty—a trip through other dungeons was essential.
These days, the human was quite strong, thanks to Ding Ning’s grooming.
Only a sss-level dungeon might teach him a lesson.
"I can agree to that request," he said seriously, considering her intentions.
He also factored in Ding Ning and Jiang Che’s possible plan to crack his dungeon and save Ren Fengxiang—a human slave, after all, whose fate didn’t matter to him.
He only kept Ren Fengxiang to get through the main control period at the start.
Once Jiang Che lost the initiative over swallowing nearby dungeons, lifting restrictions on Ren Fengxiang would be trivial.
Of course, keeping him was better—it would make them hesitate to act.
As long as he didn’t break the peace himself, Jiang Che wouldn’t act first. But if he started devouring, he doubted Jiang Che would hold back.
When facing an enemy out to harm you, one must strike to kill. That’s the rule that got him this far.
So once the fighting starts, he could hand Ren Fengxiang back to Jiang Che—it might even lessen his rage.
Anger is just another vessel for gaining more power. He wouldn’t give Jiang Che any chance to get stronger.
"That’s great!" Ding Ning clapped her hands. With this setup, ten Lords’ dungeons were already down to four conquered.
"He promised me before he’d show me the stunning vistas of the Human Realm, so I agreed I’d take him to tour through the sss-level dungeons of evil spirits," Ding Ning propped her chin with both hands, falling into a nostalgic mood.
She did promise Jiang Che—but it was also groundwork for adventuring through other Lords’ dungeons later.
Now she had to make all the other Lords think she was a lunatic driven by love, willing to go to any lengths.
Only that way could they hide their real plot.
Of course, Black Crow, who told her this, was an exception.
But Black Crow had that goal himself. Until the last moment, this secret would never be revealed.
If it really got revealed, that would mean Jiang Che had already become unstoppable, and Black Crow couldn’t hold him back anymore.
If it really came to that, only a few dungeons would remain.
Then break through by force!
A flash of cunning shone in Ding Ning’s eyes. Ever since she started this plan, she’d prepared to crash through every dungeon.
Now that they were giving her the opportunity, she was just riding the wave.
Clearing dungeons and leveling up—what’s not to love?
Seeing Ding Ning’s attitude, Rabbit-man and Copper Vase exchanged glances, each reading the other’s thoughts.
She’s a lost cause!