Protect Our Chief

"No way, Brother Seven works hard to collect spirit stones. Every time he has to bend over and stand up, or use profound qi to suck them up, and occasionally he has to kick stones with his foot."

"Brother Seven..." Wang Ansong was almost in tears.

I can help you pick them up~~ I’m not afraid of the hardship.

If there are spirit stones to pick up, let alone kicking stones, he would even be willing to kick a mountain.

...

At roughly the same time.

Liuxian Valley.

Liuxian Residence.

At some point, Emperor Longchang had already set up a chess stand, enthusiastically playing the black and white battle game with Wang Shouzhe.

Indeed, that seemed to be the case.

Having exhausted a lot of effort without catching Wang Shouzhe in a mistake, Emperor Longchang was harboring a grudge, and it was quite difficult to make up for it in other areas. The best way to educate Shouzhe was naturally through chess.

"Shouzhe, it’s been thirty years, and your chess skills are still so lacking. I’m deeply gratified," Emperor Longchang said, holding a teapot in one hand, sipping spirit tea, and placing chess pieces with the other hand. The more he played, the more radiant and invigorated he became.

Wang Shouzhe, however, did not feel ashamed for losing at chess. On the contrary, he asked for meal allowances while playing: "Your Majesty, you are welcome to stay at the Wang Family’s residence. However, the Wang Family’s finances are limited and cannot support a Great Emperor."

Some things must be asked for when needed.

The physical strength of an early-stage Lingxu Realm Black Tortoise Cultivator was immensely formidable. Maintaining his daily consumption required astronomical amounts of money. If the Emperor ate without restraint, even the current Wang Family could not support it.

This was merely the consumption of an early-stage Lingxu Realm Great Emperor.

If it were a Lingxu Realm Cultivator aiming to rise higher, the resources consumed would be even more extensive, and the whole nation would have to tighten its belt.

Or, with the current size of the Daqian Kingdom, it couldn’t nurture someone to the True Immortal Realm, and it could hardly even support one.

"Shouzhe, don’t start changing the subject just because you lost the chess game." Emperor Longchang rolled his eyes and said, "Don’t worry, my pension will be supplied by the Ancestral Mansion and the Daqian National Treasury, so I won’t be freeloading from your Wang Family."

Though the Emperor was thick-skinned enough, he was aware of his impressive consumption. Even families like the Chen Family and the Daqian Wang Family, which were third-grade noble families, might not be able to support him, let alone the Wang Family.

He wasn’t shameless enough to bankrupt the Wang Family.

"In that case, I’m relieved," Wang Shouzhe began to play chess with the Emperor with peace of mind.

Losing at chess doesn’t mean losing face or money; he didn’t mind how many times it happened.

"Such pettiness." Emperor Longchang muttered and continued to play chess and said, "By the way, are you still planning to fight the Southern Border Barbarian Gu Race? When will it happen? Can you give me a definite answer?"

The conquest of the Southern Border was Emperor Longchang’s last thorn in his heart, and he didn’t want to end his life with this regret.

"Your Majesty, that is the work prepared by Emperor’s Son An," Wang Shouzhe said, "How could a clan leader from a small sixth-grade noble family give Your Majesty a definite answer?"

"Stop playing that game." Emperor Longchang said irritably, "The communication frequency between you and Emperor’s Son An is like the daily exchanges of young lovers. Wasn’t it you who advised him to postpone the Southern Border offensive?"

"Your Majesty, Emperor’s Son An did discuss this matter with me. However, the strategic plan proposed by the deposed Prince Kang, while generally feasible, still has many shortcomings. Acting rashly would disadvantage Daqian," Wang Shouzhe’s expression grew serious as he spoke of the issue.

"I think that plan is quite good. Conquering the Southern Border Barbarian Gu Race should be viable. You two won’t be worse than the deposed Prince Kang, right?" Emperor Longchang stared and scoffed, "Don’t just bury your heads in farming and developing internal affairs. Rather than that, it’s better to quickly conquer the Southern Border and digest it, which would significantly boost Daqian’s national strength immediately."

"Your Majesty, you mentioned that after conquering, we need to ’digest’ it." Wang Shouzhe said helplessly, while placing chess pieces, "The challenge lies in the word ’digest.’ The customs and culture of the Southern Border Barbarian Gu Race are vastly different from Daqian’s, and they have a strong belief in witchcraft. Their feelings of rejection and hostility towards outsiders, especially towards Daqian, are intense. Launching a war rashly would result in ’easy to conquer, hard to digest.’"

"But rest assured, Your Majesty, Emperor’s Son An already has a specific plan for digestion and is preparing for this work. Just some preparations remain incomplete, and soon we will launch a full-scale offensive against the Southern Border."

"All right, then I will eagerly anticipate it," Emperor Longchang felt delighted, "Both you and Emperor’s Son An are known for your prudence. With such careful planning, conquering the Southern Border should be no problem. I congratulate you in advance on your victorious campaign."

Just when the Emperor was in a great mood, Old Yao, Wu Xue Ning, and Wang An Ye arrived at Liuxian Valley.

Initially.

Emperor Longchang felt a bit awkward, as he had "abandoned" Old Yao and Snow Ning at the crucial moment, tearing through space to retreat first.

But after a moment.

Liuxian Valley echoed with Emperor Longchang’s angry roar: "No way! I will not allow this; you are meant to marry into the Immortal Dynasty."

"Old Ancestor Grandpa, but I’ve already... with An Ye, how can I marry into the Immortal Dynasty? With this reputation, they wouldn’t take me anyways."