Return Countdown 16:00:00.
Qing Chen's airship arrived outside City 18.
A mber of the Shadow Squad's shipboard crew said, “Boss, if the Li Clan pushes things too far, you might be in danger on the airship.”
“No,” Qing Chen calmly shook his head, “Communicate with the Li Clan and have them let us in. My concern right now is Li Yunshou’s unwillingness to see , not that they would attack at this ti.”
At this ti, the access electronic beacon in the airship lit up green. Before they even communicated with the Li Clan, City 18’s city defense system opened a passage for them.
Qing Chen was a little surprised. After all, both sides were facing off at Mianchi Bridge on the Spring Thunder River. He thought Li Yunshou wouldn’t want to see him. However, the airship passed unimpeded. The airport tower even guided them directly into the Ban Shan Mountain Estate. This is the Li Clan’s headquarters, where Clan Head Li Yunshou resides, and where the Li Clan Intelligence Agency is located.
If this airship carried biological weapons, it would only take three minutes to kill all the core mbers of the Li Clan in Ban Shan Mountain Estate.
Even without weapons, with Qing Chen’s current Demi-God strength, it would be effortless to kill everyone in the manor. Qingshan Fortress isn’t nearby.
Yet this place, without warning, opened up to Qing Chen.
The airship slowly landed on the helipad. A servant led Qing Chen towards the Baopu Building, cheerfully saying along the way, “It’s been a while since you’ve been back. Autumn Leaf Manor has been constantly cleaned; it’s absolutely spotless.”
The servant's kind and enthusiastic deanor was the sa as before, as if Qing Chen had never left. The servant led Qing Chen to Dragon Lake, where the Old Master used to fish.
He looked up and saw Li Yunshou sitting on the broken bridge fishing.
For a mont, he even seed to see the Old Master who used to sit here every day. It felt like a lifeti ago.
Back then, he was Instructor here, competing wits with other Instructors in the Martial Arts Hall. Now Instructor Zhou Xing has retired, and there’s a new Instructor.
Back then, he was still teaching Li Ke, Li Shu, and Qing Yi cultivation in Autumn Leaf Manor. Those students would cultivate during the day and leave together in the evening, bickering along the way. Now Qing Yi is solely responsible for the Qing Clan Secret Intelligence Agency, and Li Shu and others have beco mainstays in the military.
Back then, the Old Master was still alive, and Qing Chen would trick him into eating Dragon Fish, without worrying about conflicts of interest between him and the Li Clan, and without having to make so many difficult choices.
Now, even this deeply affectionate Li Clan stands at a crossroads with him, ready to part ways at any ti. But that’s life; everyone has their choices.
In just half a year, Li Yunshou’s hair had turned much whiter.
The servant withdrew. Qing Chen naturally sat beside Li Yunshou, smiling and asking, “Aren’t you afraid I’m here to kill you?”
“The thoughtless copper bell on the Baopu Building didn’t ring; you have no killing intent. If a Knight Demi-God truly wanted to assassinate an ordinary person like , they couldn’t be stopped,”
Li Yunshou chuckled.
Qing Chen sighed, “You’ve aged a lot. Why do you have the leisure to fish here?”
Li Yunshou gazed at Dragon Lake, lost in thought, “Sotis when faced with choices, I’ll sit here and think about what Father would do if he were still alive. Now that I think about it, it wasn’t easy for him to manage such a large Li Clan.”
Li Yunshou said blankly, “In the past, no matter how busy Father was, when the first snow of the year fell outside Baopu Building, he would take us siblings to the Dragon Lake to have a snowball fight. After the seventh child beca a Knight, he changed the snowball fight to building snown. Now, looking back, my siblings and I were exhausted, collapsing by the lake, watching the snow falling into the lake. It was so beautiful.”
Li Yunshou looked at Qing Chen and smiled, “But I think the Dragon Lake snow scenes won’t be as beautiful as before.” Dragon Lake only raised Dragon Fish; after Qing Chen and Li Ke finished them, there were no fish left in Dragon Lake.
Li Yunshou sat here, rely missing his father.
“What would he choose this ti?” Qing Chen asked.
“Qing Chen, if he were still alive, he would do the sa,” Li Yunshou turned to the young man beside him, “This isn’t a choice made by or him, but by the Li Clan, this family, this conglorate.”
“Yes, I understand,” Qing Chen nodded.
Although the Guardians’ Union is currently blocked at Mianchi Bridge, Qing Chen doesn’t think the Li Clan’s actions are particularly bad.
It’s no longer a matter of ‘good’ or ‘bad.’
It’s about everyone making their choices in the face of the tide of the tis. Is the Li Clan wrong?
No.
It’s just that their positions are different. Qing Chen has what he needs to protect, and Li Yunshou does too. The Guardians’ Union is withdrawing to consolidate its forces in the Southwest.
Utilizing the geographical advantages of the Shu Road in the Southwest to establish a defense line is the best option. This way, the West Continent’s ground chanized forces will have difficulty passing, relying only on air forces. Although Qing Chen still doesn’t know how to stop those air forces, war is the art of precise calculation; every bit of enemy strength weakened is a victory.
However, the Guardians’ Union can leave because the Qing Family’s foundation isn’t in the Central Plains. The Li Clan can’t.
Does the Li Clan have the ability to face the Chen Family and the Roosevelt Kingdom alone? No.
At this mont, even if stopping the Guardians’ Union might tear apart the alliance between the Li Clan and the Qing Family, Li Yunshou must bind the Guardians’ Union and the Qing Family together.
If he lets the Guardians’ Union go, Li Yunshou wouldn’t be a competent Clan Head.
Li Yunshou suddenly smiled, “I thought you’d be furious after sitting on the airship for two hours, but you’re calr than I imagined.”
“Yes, there’s nothing to be angry about,” Qing Chen replied.
Li Yunshou asked, “Is the West Continent really that strong? That you imdiately chose to retreat instead of fighting?” He knew what kind of person Qing Chen was. For others, he would think this was a cowardly coward, but Qing Chen was different. Qing Chen’s reputation was earned through battles.
Therefore, Li Yunshou imdiately understood that the West Continent was too strong, to the point where Qing Chen didn’t know how to win. Li Yunshou said, “You’ve been to the West Continent. Tell , how strong are they?”
“Yes,” Qing Chen said, “First, the number of Air Fortresses. The West Continent has four: Blackwater, Phoenix, Storm, and God. We only have two: Qingshan Fortress and Scepter. Then, the technological strength of the Air Fortresses; they have the ability to conduct long-range strikes, while our main firepower electromagnetic cannons are outdated.”
“Next, the land chanized forces. Although we both have two army groups, their exoskeleton armor is more complete. We also have exoskeleton armor, but ours are mostly auxiliary and don’t carry 40-caliber howitzers.”
“Finally, the number of tahumans. For Demi-Gods, the East Continent has two Knights: Li Shentan and Yan Liuyuan, and we don’t know if they can even fight. The West Continent has four: Storm Duke, Duke of Blackwater, Phoenix Duke, and King Roosevelt.”
“Gene Soldiers. They have A-Class, while we don’t yet.”
“Their B-Class tahumans are also several tis ours.”
At this ti, Qing Chen didn’t know that the royal family had obtained the Death’s Cup. If you count the old monsters in the seven golden coffins, the West Continent’s Demi-Gods also crush the East Continent’s.
Li Yunshou sighed, “When Koshima and Shendai arrived, they indeed planted too many hidden dangers for the Federation. If the Federation were a monolith, I think we could give it a try. But now that you say this, I don’t think we have a chance of winning. I understand your decision to retreat. If it were , I wouldn’t waste the Guardians’ Union on an undefendable away ga. Returning to the Southwest is the wisest choice.”
“Yes.”
Both fell silent, each understanding that the other hadn’t done anything wrong, but that’s the problem. Li Yunshou suddenly asked, “Can the Guardians’ Union mbers who left due to the black magic curse return?”
Qing Chen shook his head, “I’m not sure. The current thods to restrain black magic have limitations.”
“I understand, you don’t have a good solution,” Li Yunshou sighed.
Qing Chen turned and stared straight at Li Yunshou, “No one from the Li Clan has been to the West Continent. How do you know the Guardians’ Union left because of black magic?”
City 10 currently has no spies; they were all eliminated by the giants’ ntal perception. City 10 is also in communication silence; only the internal local area network can be used.
So, how did Li Yunshou know?
Li Yunshou looked at the shimring lake, “Don’t look at like that. People from the West Continent have already been here and told about black magic’s effects. Moreover, the nas and birthdays of the Li Clan’s main mbers are already in their hands.” In other words, not only are the core mbers of the Guardians’ Union firmly in their grasp, but the Li Clan is too. The Guardians’ Union can temporarily hide in the Black Leaf Plain, but what about the Li Clan? Is it in ti?
Even if it is, if all the core mbers of the Li Clan leave, this leaderless Li Clan will be in shambles.
Qing Chen finally understood why the Li Clan would make the decision to stop the Guardians’ Union.
Li Yunshou suddenly said, "If Old Master were still here, he would definitely feel troubled too. And that kid Li Ke, if he finishes the Trials of Life and Death and cos out of the Fire Pit, hearing about this, will definitely bla this father of his. Changqing also called from the front lines, advising not to stop the Guardians’ Union. But, we are at their rcy. The information of all 41,231 direct-line descendants of the Li Clan is in their hands. Resistance is brave, but what happens after resistance?"
Li Changqing, Li Shutong, Li Ke, and Qing Chen’s Li Clan disciples; the bond between the Li Clan and him is too deep. The problem is that being killed by black magic is utterly aningless.
It’s not sacrificing oneself while seizing a position, nor is it dying on the way to completing a cause, making a risky contribution to a cause. Instead, you die aninglessly, at most consuming a little energy for the Arbiters, that’s all.
Black magic is now like a dark cloud hanging over everyone’s heads.
At this mont, Li Yunshou suddenly said, “Qing Chen, if you were to take over the Li Clan, would you treat it well?” Qing Chen was startled.
Li Yunshou smiled, “I’m not asking you to be the Clan Head of the Li Clan, but if the Li Clan abandons its foundation and retreats to the Southwest with the Guardians’ Union, would it face ostracism?”
Doing so would an the Li Clan would abandon its industrial base and economic lifeline in the Central Plains, entrusting the fate of all Li Clan mbers to the Qing Family.
Once the Qing Family cuts off supplies or deliberately isolates them, the Li Clan will be in great danger. Qing Chen asked, “Why make such a decision?”
Li Yunshou looked at the lake for a long ti, “I’m kidding. Qing Chen, I’ll ask you one last question. Are you determined to fight the West Continent to the death? We no longer have a chance of winning; why make pointless sacrifices?”
Qing Chen said, “I have no other choice, because I won’t watch the people of this land beco slaves to others.”
“I understand,” Li Yunshou nodded, “Go back. You definitely won’t be able to cross Mianchi Bridge peacefully. If you want to cross, then fight your way across. We must part ways.”
Qing Chen got up and left.
Li Yunshou listened to the footsteps fading away without getting up.
He just quietly looked at the lake, seemingly still echoing with the laughter of his siblings when they were children.
“Old Master, you left at just the right ti,” Li Yunshou sighed with a smile, “If you lived another year, you would have had to make these difficult decisions. Now, it’s all on . I wonder if you did it on purpose…”
“Big Brother!”
“Yes?” Li Yunshou almost thought he had misheard, but he quickly realized it was soone calling him from behind. He turned to look at the person behind him, smiling and saying, “When did you co? You didn’t even make a sound.”
“You were too focused,” the person behind him replied.
“Let’s begin; we don’t have ti to hesitate,” Li Yunshou stood up, patted the dust off his clothes, and walked towards the Baopu Building alone. Return Countdown 13:00:00.
A piece of news spread from the Li Clan’s high-level video conference: the Li Clan discussed whether to go to war with the West Continent. As a result, the pro-war faction led by Li Changqing and the pro-peace faction led by Li Yunshou split.
At the eting, Li Changqing demanded that Li Yunshou open Mianchi Bridge to allow the Guardians’ Union to pass.
However, Li Yunshou rebuked Li Changqing for disregarding the family’s interests and betraying the Li Clan for a man. The siblings argued for over an hour at the eting, parting unhappily.
After the eting, the Li Clan’s logistics departnt cut off all supplies to Li Changqing’s faction; they even revoked Li Changqing’s military rank and electronic permissions.
For a ti, Li Changqing’s troops couldn’t even start their armored vehicles because they lacked the authority! That afternoon, Li Changqing’s troops only had one Qingshan Airship Fortress left. Under the pursuit of the Li Clan’s air fleet, they retreated to the Southwest Qing Family and requested political asylum.
If the Air Fortress itself weren’t a physically independent military system, they might not even be able to take it away.
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