Chapter 386 - 361: King Ming’s Generous Hand_1

"Thank you, King You, for your assistance."

King Ming clasped his fist in gratitude towards King You.

"The talents of the Chu family are decreasing, if we can help one, it’s still one. However, this trip was not in vain, it allowed this king to witness the heroes of your, King Ming’s, mansion. Truly, one is stronger than the other. Given time, this old bone of mine might have to rely on you, King Ming’s Mansion."

King You said with a faint smile.

"King You is too polite; please come and have a drink."

King Ming slightly bent his body as he respectfully said.

By seniority, King You ranks above King Ming and is considered his senior.

"No need. The situation is chaotic and it’s a restless autumn. This king needs to return quickly to Youwang Manor to guard it, farewell!"

With a clasp of his fist, King You vanished without a trace.

"Lu Yan, you truly surprised everyone."

Chu Tianjiao strode forward, his eyes shining, still filled with a sense of astonishment.

"Thank you to King Ming for the soul crystal he bestowed earlier, which allowed Lu Yan to elevate his cultivation level in a short period."

Lu Yan politely said, but compared to before, his attitude had changed from subservient to equal.

King Ming didn’t find anything wrong with this.

The strength Lu Yan demonstrated in the previous battle was astonishing. Although he killed Zhuo Kunsheng through ambush, if his strength wasn’t robust, he could only injure but not kill Zhuo Kunsheng.

Being able to kill Zhuo Kunsheng proved that Lu Yan’s power now rivals the world’s strongest.

"You refined those soul crystals so quickly?"

Chu Tianjiao was surprised.

"Yes, my soul is unique. It contains anomalies that allow me to refine soul crystals quickly."

Lu Yan said.

King Ming and Chu Tianjiao could only express envy for such a soul, it was rarely seen in ancient times.

When they learned that Lu Yan had also killed a White Tiger Holy King, they were greatly shocked and somewhat frightened.

They underestimated the determination of Jian Wuji and the others to kill them.

They thought that with the presence of King You, they would be safe.

If it wasn’t for Lu Yan this time, they would have been in danger.

The two exchanged a glance and silently nodded.

"Lu Yan, you exhausted a lot in this battle, rest up first. For your meritorious service in this battle, this king won’t let you go unrewarded."

King Ming seriously said.

"Wait a moment."

Lu Yan’s figure flashed out, leaving first to claim his spoils of war.

The Sumi Mustard Seed Bags of the White Tiger Holy King and Zhuo Kunsheng couldn’t be wasted.

Not to mention, the Sky-Breaking Sword.

Futhermore, there were three Destroying Demon Arrows scattered elsewhere to be collected.

He spread his spiritual sense, and quickly the three Destroying Demon arrows flew back, and the Sumi Mustard Seed Bags of the two grandmasters fell into his hands.

After that, he bid farewell to King Ming and Chu Tianjiao and went back to rest.

...

In King Ming’s Mansion, at a conference hall.

King Ming, Chu Tianjiao, Chu Long, and several other sons of King Ming were present.

At this moment, the images of the previous battle were still echoing in their minds, leaving a deep impression.

Lu Yan had actually killed a grandmaster, which left them feeling as if they were dreaming.

Especially Chu Hou, who was silently relieved that he had not targeted Lu Yan earlier, otherwise...

"Lu Yan not only killed Zhuo Kunsheng, but also the White Tiger Holy King from Spirit Sect involved in this battle. He attempted to ambush Lu Yan with Soul Power, but Lu Yan managed to destroy his primordial spirit."

King Ming began.

What?

Chu Long and the others gasped in surprise, standing in shock.

King Ming didn’t continue, leaving them time to digest the news.

After a while, King Ming continued, "The reason for suddenly summoning you here is to discuss how we, King Ming’s Mansion, should treat Lu Yan in the future, and in what capacity we should approach Lu Yan..."

"Chu Long, your relationship with Lu Yan is the best. You should understand him the most, you speak first."

"I didn’t expect this day to come so quickly."

Chu Long sighed inwardly.

Lu Yan had already reached the world’s strongest.

Which of today’s world’s strongest is not a hegemon in their own right, and which would willingly submit to others?

Except for those born from the same clan or sect.

Like the Ji family which had two strongest.

Like King Ming and Chu Tianjiao.

But Lu Yan doesn’t have that close of a relationship with King Ming’s Mansion, so would he continue to abide by it in the future?

"Father, from what I understand about Lu Yan, he is someone of high principle who repays kindness with kindness and revenge with revenge. He values loyalty and righteousness. Our King Ming’s Mansion has treated him well, so I believe he won’t become our enemy."

Chu Long honestly answered.

"He won’t be an enemy of our King Ming’s Mansion."

King Ming thought through this sentence and understood Chu Long’s meaning.

Lu Yan is not the type to be subdued by others, he won’t be an enemy to King Ming’s Mansion, but he may not continue to obey the mansion in the future.

"Tianjiao, what do you think?"

King Ming turned to Chu Tianjiao.

"Lu Yan is a person with a bright future, and we must never become enemies with such a person. Now, we have no ability to bind him. Instead of this, we might as well form an alliance with him."

Chu Tianjiao said.

"Oh? Tell me more."

King Ming was not surprised, as it seemed Chu Tianjiao’s thoughts concurred with his own.

"The six counties of Lingdong are located in Xuan Zhou, which is close to Jin Zhou. Why don’t we send troops, support Lu Yan in conquering Jin Zhou, and become a feudal prince. Then form an alliance with us, only then can our relationship remain stable."

Chu Tianjiao said.

"Father, I also support the second brother’s opinion."

Chu Long said.

"What about you?"

King Ming’s gaze once again fell on his other sons.

"I support it."

"I also support my second brother."

The others began to voice their agreement.

"A single Jinzhou is not sincere enough. After all, Lingdong’s six counties are Lu Yan’s foundation. Therefore, we will send troops to help him capture Jinzhou, and then offer him Shengxuan Sect’s former territories and Lingdong’s six counties combined."

King Ming added.

"Give him half of Xuan Zhou?"

The others were taken aback.

This was big indeed.

That territory included one fourth-level Blood Land Vein and five or six third-level Blood Land Veins after all.

"Don’t be so stingy. Now that Zhuo Kunsheng is dead and Tianque Sect has continuously lost several strong players, their strength has greatly diminished. We can easily take over the territory of Tianque Sect."

"But other forces folks may not be comfortable with our expansion. If we can ally with Lu Yan, I believe no forces would dare to stop us."

After King Ming finished speaking, no one objected.

Soon, everyone dispersed, leaving only King Ming and Chu Tianjiao.

"Father, this time the Spirit Sect has lost a Holy King. Will they retaliate? The Saint Envoy Yinyue of the Spirit Sect has reached the Seventh Transformation of Primordial Spirit. Could their Sect Hierarch have reached the Eighth Transformation?"

Chu Tianjiao asked, a hint of worry in his eyes.

King Ming fell into thought, then said, "Over two thousand years ago, during the end of the Dagu era, the Sect Hierarch of the Spirit Sect was indeed a man of the Primordial Spirit Eighth Rotate Unity Way level. However, after one battle with a Unity Way expert of Dagu Dynasty, he suffered heavy losses, and disappeared from that day."

"If the current Sect Hierarch of Spirit Sect is still the one from back then, then he must be at the Unity Way level. If not, it’s uncertain."

"But regardless, the present Spirit Sect Hierarch must lack the Unity Way level strength. If not, do you think the Spirit Sect would keep hiding themselves? They would’ve rolled over everyone long ago."

"I’ve always sent people to hunt the Martial Spirit, truly to follow our ancestors’ teachings, but isn’t another reason to probe the Spirit Sect? However, the Spirit Sect has kept quiet all along, which shows that their strength is not that strong, far less than what it was two thousand years ago."

"Hence, there’s no need to fear the reprisal of the Spirit Sect."

"Father, your strategic planning is beyond me," Chu Tianjiao admitted with a sigh.

...

In Lu Yan’s residence, in the practice room.

In truth, Lu Yan wasn’t injured at all. After refining a few Soul Crystals, he was revitalized and returned to his peak condition.

Then, he couldn’t wait to inspect the contents of the two Sumi Mustard Seed Bags.

First, he checked Zhuo Kunsheng’s bag.

However, Lu Yan quickly expressed disappointment.

Zhuo Kunsheng’s Sumi Mustard Seed Bag didn’t contain many treasures.

There were more than three million Martial Coupons though.

Apart from the Martial Coupons, there were very few valuable things.

Just a few Spiritual Treasures, a small number of Immortal Bones, and a few Demon Bones.

Even Soul Crystals only numbered around a hundred.

The lack of Soul Crystals was understandable because Zhuo Kunsheng would have used them for daily cultivation.

As for Divine-level Martial Arts, there wasn’t a single manual, probably because they were all left in the Tianque Sect and not carried with him.

"What a pauper! Zhuo Kunsheng, it’s a disgrace that you’re the head of a sect, and you’ve ended up in such a poor state!"

Lu Yan complained discontentedly.

He suspected that Zhuo Kunsheng must have consumed too many resources to recover his body after being blown apart by Chu Tianjiao and King Ming the last time, which was why he was so poor despite being a territorial overlord.

Next, Lu Yan opened the Sumi Mustard Seed Bag of the White Tiger Holy King.

A smile quickly spread across his face.

The White Tiger Holy King didn’t disappoint him.

The resources in the bag were much richer than Zhuo Kunsheng’s.

As for Martial Coupons, no need to mention. There were several times more than Zhuo Kunsheng’s, as well as various rare treasures.

For example, he found three types of extraordinary treasures and a total of five items which could transform his True Body.

There were also more than fifty tidy Immortal Bones.

And additionally, he found two pieces of the Gold of Rule.

With this, Lu Yan now had six pieces of the Gold of Rule on hand.

There were also numerous other treasures such as Spiritual Treasures and Divine Weapons.

This was truly a huge gain.

"Devour."

Lu Yan immediately took out a few Immortal Bones and allowed the Dao Book to absorb them to enhance his Yanluo Golden Body.

Then, a war sword appeared in his hand.

This was Zhuo Kunsheng’s Sky-breaking Sword.

His True Vigor flowed in, and he started refining it.

But Lu Yan soon found that the Sky-breaking Sword was very difficult to refine as it contained diverse and chaotic spiritual wills.

He estimated that even after trying all he could to refine it, he would find it difficult to bring out its supposed power.

This kind of treasure only people from the sect can bring out its true power when they get the treasure’s spiritual will approval and after refining it.

No wonder King Ming, when he got the Shengxuan Tower of Shengxuan Sect, didn’t use it.

He probably wasn’t comfortable using it and it isn’t as handy as his own nurtured Spiritual Treasures.

The next day, Chu Long visited Lu Yan and relayed King Ming’s decision to him.

"Send troops to help me capture Jinzhou, and then give me half Xuan Zhou?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yan was taken aback.

What a big move.

"Is this the change brought about by strength?"

Lu Yan had a deeper understanding of the concept of ’power reigns above all’.

But he would be a fool to refuse such a great thing.

He immediately agreed.

"Lu Yan, this mission, my father appointed me as the military commander, leading a hundred thousand troops, following you into the battle. You should return to Lingdong as soon as possible and prepare for battle. How about it?"

Chu Long suggested.

"Alright, then I will wait outside Moling Mountain for the troops."

Lu Yan replied.