Chapter 389: Chapter 85: The Alliance of All Parties, Harboring Ulterior Motives
In Yan Yu’s view, the three choices Lin Ning had were all passable, representing a standard type and not an overwhelmingly powerful must-have like the “Two-handed Sword Control Technique.”
Considering he had just acquired the Two-handed Sword Control Technique and would teach it to Lin Ning upon his return, he should have let her choose the Duan Yu Hook Sword, which would allow her to start practicing the two-handed technique right away.
But then he suddenly rembered the woman in green from the Mirror Lake Divine Palace.
She wielded a pair of swords, one of which was clearly the Green Bamboo Sword, while the other emitted a dark red light, supposedly a fire-attributed Flying Sword — and as for the Duan Yu Hook Sword, just by its na, one could tell it was tallic.
Flying Swords are ultimately easy to replace; those of poor quality wouldn’t be used for long. Although Storage Magical Treasures had a “Mysterious Realm drop rate” similar to Flying Swords, with a thousand different kinds, finding one that a Sword Immortal could use was not easy.
Better to choose the sword box!
...
Following his advice, Lin Ning smoothly acquired the Zhenze Sword Box, which had the appearance of an unadorned black ebony box, with lacquer paintings that depicted stormy winds and rains.
The thod of use flowed into her mind: The box didn’t need to be activated; simply placing a Flying Sword inside for a mont would nurture three layers of tal Lightning Qi, adding substantial power when slashing.
If she were to strike at an enemy from afar, the tal Lightning Qi on the sword could be transford into Sword Qi and shot out, with a force nearly equal to normal Sword Control, yet as invisible and colorless as the tal-Elent Impact Curse, making it difficult to guard against.
However, Lin Ning had always been one to follow set patterns in her thinking. If a teacher told her “how to use this sword box,” she could quickly beco proficient through extensive practice; but if left to figure out the thod on her own, she would subconsciously feel puzzled and could only carry the sword box on her back and let the Green Bamboo Sword fly into it to begin nurturing.
Upon leaving the Departure Palace, Lin Ning’s gaze beca sharp once more.
She saw that on the edge of the plaza outside the Departure Palace, seventy to eighty foreign Transcendents had already gathered, maintaining a standoff distance where neither side could attack the other.
The Cultivators firmly held the three steps leading up, hiding behind the railings and preparing for a possible siege.
“What’s the situation?” Lin Ning approached Yan Yu and asked.
“We’re just missing Xie Ruoxi and Ai Lu,” Yan Yu replied.
Two people had yet to arrive… Lin Ning looked towards the plaza below and suddenly inhaled sharply.
This is bad!
With so many foreign Transcendents already in the plaza, should the two of them suddenly teleport over, they would be imdiately ambushed from all directions, caught off guard. The slightest mishap could lead to a dire situation!
But there was no helping it now; she could only hope that they were vigilant enough not to blunder into such an obvious trap… On second thought, given Ruoxi’s personality, she might not even be aware of this aspect.
The perspective shifted to the plaza, where Transcendents from three factions had gathered without rushing into action.
Why? The reason was simple: If they broke through the Lu Kingdom Cultivators’ defenses and opened the way to the Departure Palace, who would enter first, and who would follow?
Those who entered first would feast, while those who ca after had to settle for leftovers. The current problem was that everyone wanted the feast and wished to leave the scraps for others. This was exactly the intention behind Lu Kingdom’s calculated leak of “better rewards for those who enter the Departure Palace first,” which was clearly ant to create discord among the three factions.
Everyone was wise: without consensus on this issue, once the path to the Departure Palace entrance was opened, it would be a mont when allies could turn on each other — before even entering the Departure Palace, the three factions might fight each other, targeting whoever was at the forefront. Wouldn’t that be playing right into the hands of the Lu Kingdom Cultivators?
“Our demands are simple,” Xiandao Jingyin spoke up first, “to join forces and fully defeat the blockade by the Lu Kingdom Cultivators.”
“After breaking through, who enters or exits the Departure Palace first will be based on individual ability. Whatever one gets is theirs, but we absolutely will not tolerate attacks on allies.”
“I object,” Park Changmin expressed dissent on behalf of Lihuayuan, “If we truly break through the Lu Kingdom’s defense, they will inevitably fight desperately to halt us. You Onmyoji from the Cherry Blossoms are the best at concealnt; escaping the opposition and entering the Departure Palace is far easier for you than for us — your proposal is clearly most beneficial to you.”
Xiandao Jingyin scoffed at this, thinking everyone proposed terms that were in their favor.
But since Park Changmin had bluntly raised his point, she countered:
“Then, what are your suggestions?”
“Each faction sends so people,” suggested Park Changmin, “to engage the Lu Kingdom Cultivators, creating opportunities for the rest to rush into the Departure Palace.”
“Agreed,” Xiandao Jingyin nodded.
“Unacceptable,” Stevenson, from the Superheroes, flatly denied, “The group responsible for suppressing the Lu Kingdom Cultivators are doing the heaviest and most dangerous work; entering the Departure Palace later than their teammates for inferior spoils is unfair to them.”
“Secure the treasures of the Departure Palace first; afterward, feel free to redistribute within your factions,” suggested Xiandao Jingyin.
“That won’t work,” Stevenson still shook his head, “We can’t force the Superheroes to relinquish their spoils; it would damage the honor of the heroes.”
The Yin Yang Bureau and Lihuayuan, fundantally, are still state institutions, and the Transcendents are currently obeying orders from above. Those who enter the Departure Palace first can hand over their spoils for secondary distribution later on, compensating teammates who contributed more.
However, Miti has its unique national circumstances; most of the Superheroes co from freelance rcenaries in Europe, bound only by comrcial interests held by the Superhero Alliance, showing little adherence to the Holand Strategic Bureau.
You want to spit out the treasures I’ve already secured for redistribution? Impossible! If you dare to pressure with your commands, I’ll just terminate my contract and go back to my country; no longer will I stay in your worthless place!
It was precisely because Stevenson knew his rcenaries’ temperants that he dismissed the proposal as “detrintal to honor,” preferring everyone to scramble for the treasures even if it ant fierce competition. At least whoever secured the treasures kept them, establishing a fait accompli on the spot that wouldn’t cause much of a stir afterward.
Park Changmin, seeing the Superhero Alliance unwilling to agree, reluctantly shrugged his shoulders, while Xiandao Jingyin frowned and said:
“Then, what is the opinion of the Superhero side?”
“We have only one goal for this trip,” Stevenson said calmly, “which is to obtain the spoils of war inside the Departure Palace. We don’t care about anything else.”
Xiandao Jingyin and Park Changmin were startled and imdiately cursed the shalessness in their hearts.
The other party was actually putting on pressure with implications: You from the Yin Yang Bureau and Lihuayuan are adjacent to Rikoku, hence you have the need to weaken Rikoku Cultivators’ power while we, across the Pacific Ocean, do not have these scruples. We just want to get our hands on the treasures of the Departure Palace—if you get less, we won’t participate. You figure it out!
But let’s not forget, it was the Holand Strategic Bureau of Miti who took the initiative to organize this tripartite alliance! So you play the good cop, and we play the bad cop, wanting to have both face and inside advantage, huh!
Considering the greater picture, Xiandao Jingyin could only swallow his anger and asked coldly:
“If everyone acts on their own, Lihuayuan disagrees; if we divide the work and cooperate, the Superheroes disagree; but we must co up with a plan, right? The Rikoku Cultivators won’t just kindly make way for us.”
Stevenson didn’t express any agreent or disagreent. In fact, he was rather in favor of Xiandao Jingyin’s plan in his heart. Even if Onmyoji excelled at stealth and infiltration to gain an advantage and secure better spoils of war, that was their own skill. At most, his rcenary teammates might grumble a few weird complaints, but it wouldn’t lead to a fallout and a fierce fight with their allies.
However, according to Park Changmin’s plan, with so people outside restraining the opponents and others taking the opportunity to enter and seize treasures, the superheroes knew what their teammates were worth and certainly no one would want to stay on the outside to distract. But if you asked them to all go in first to get the treasures, the Yin Yang Bureau and Lihuayuan would definitely disagree.
This is a tough one.
Just as Stevenson was about to state his position and endorse Xiandao Jingyin’s plan, he heard Park Changmin say again:
“In that case, I have an idea.”
“What’s your thought?” asked Xiandao Jingyin.
“We still rush into the Departure Palace in batches, but we add a process of turning everything in and subsequently redistributing it,” Park Changmin spoke confidently, “Those outside are responsible for restraining the opponents. Whatever those who enter capture, they are not allowed to hide anything. After they co out, they must turn everything over to the alliance, and only then will we negotiate and split the spoils of war among the three parties.”
“What if soone insists on hiding things?” Stevenson asked with a sneer, “How can you ensure that the first batch to rush into the Departure Palace will fulfill the agreent later, bringing out the best spoils of war for redistribution with the other two parties?”
“I see,” said Xiandao Jingyin, as if he had an epiphany, and explained, “If anyone dares to break the agreent, we all rise together to attack them without rcy. Is that the idea?”
Stevenson then also understood and started calculating in his mind.
The superheroes were undisciplined and profit-driven, posing a high risk of breaking their promises. But if the Lihuayuan and Yin Yang Bureau were to enter the Departure Palace first, since they had strict hierarchies and strict rules internally, in theory, it was possible to demand everyone to turn in all spoils of war for redistribution by the tripartite alliance.
Of course, in reality, there was also the possibility that these two parties could renege on their agreents afterward, but as Xiandao Jingyin said, “Anyone who dares to renege and break the agreent, just kill them, and that’s the end of it.”
Any party present could not withstand the combined attack of the other two, plus with Rikoku Cultivators watching like tigers, even if soone intends to breach the agreent, they would have to think carefully if they can survive and leave the Lu Kingdom’s seas with the spoils of war.
Additionally, this plan had another benefit: in the stage of secondary redistribution later on, who gets which piece of the spoils of war would be up for negotiation, increasing this captain’s say in the matter, right?
“I agree,” Stevenson finally said.
The three parties finally reached a consensus, and Xiandao Jingyin also breathed a sigh of relief, asking:
“So, what’s the order of entry?”
“We’ll go in first,” Park Changmin volunteered.
“No way,” Stevenson quickly vetoed, “Your swordsn are too fast.”
The swordsmanship lineage of the Lihuayuan Swordsn, essentially, derived from the Lu Kingdom Sword Immortal, it’s just that they refuse to admit it. If the Lihuayuan Swordsn decide to renege after grabbing the treasures, and flee at full speed using Sword Control, the other two parties would indeed have trouble intercepting them all.
“Then the Superheroes go first?” Xiandao Jingyin showed a willingness to compromise.
“Let your Onmyoji go in first,” Stevenson suggested.
After all, if the Lihuayuan Swordsn had the capital to renege, the superheroes had the strong will to do so. You can’t predict if one of those idiots would risk their lives after the fact, insisting on taking down sothing against everyone—these fools could really pull it off.
“That works,” Xiandao Jingyin nodded.
“The Onmyoji aren’t bringing live streaming caras, right?” Park Changmin said with a sneer, “If they take sothing and afterward hand over half while hiding the rest, what do we do? We have no way to verify it.”
“We are willing to be searched,” Xiandao Jingyin said, “After coming out, we will imdiately turn in the spoils of war and also undergo another search to ensure there is no private hoarding.”
“What if there are Storage Magical Treasures…” Park Changmin wanted to question further but was interrupted by Stevenson:
“Do you have evidence? Proof that they brought Storage Magical Treasures with them?”
Of course, there was no evidence. Thus Park Changmin could only scoff again and fell silent.
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