Chapter 182: Meeting Old Friends

At the Gu Palace.

Gu Xinrong sighed incessantly within the room now that she knew the whole situation.

“It’s my fault for being so brash,” the old woman sighed. She had never lowered her head to anyone before in the past, but now she appeared to be breaking the mold by apologizing to Su Chen.

This wasn’t just because she had made a mistake, but even more so because she had made this mistake to Su Chen.

He had complete control over the three curses and was the human race’s Worldly Sage, and he was even strong enough to resist her own consciousness

Since someone who was his elder had apologized to him, Su Chen graciously let it go.

Gu Xinrong was even more awed when she discovered that Gu Qingluo had been given the Mother Goddess Sect’s Sky Armor.

Divine Tool! A Divine Tool!

The old woman had lived for nearly a thousand years, yet had never even laid hands on a single one of those.

Now, her great-great-great-etc. grand daughter had managed to get her hands on one. Gu Xinrong’s eyes glowed with fervor, and she felt like her horizons had been broadened just by looking at it. Gu Qingluo almost thought that Gu Xinrong was planning on snatching the armor away from her because of how intently she was staring at it......

An hour later.

Gu Xinrong finally put down the Sky Armor.

She was still sighing incessantly.

“Qingluo, you’ve found yourself an incredible man.”

Aren’t you just saying this because Su Chen also gifted you an incredible Origin Tool as well?

As if she could sense Gu Qingluo’s thoughts, Gu Xinrong quickly pulled out two Lifesource Candles. “Here. Don’t think that I’m just taking advantage of you.”

Su Chen was able to put these Lifesource Candles to good use, so he immediately accepted her offer. “Many thanks, Ancestor.”

Gu Xinrong was very pleased by this. “Su Chen, it’s rare for you to make a stop here. Why not spend a few days with us?”

Su Chen smiled slightly. “That’s what I was thinking.”

Gu Qingluo was taken aback. “Aren’t you headed for Water Sheen soon?”

If Su Chen wanted to quell the conflict between the three kingdoms, then he needed to convince Water Sheen to withdraw from the conflict as well.

Su Chen chuckled. “I don’t need to go in person.”

Don’t need to go in person?

What did that mean?

A few days later, they realized what he meant.

Because people from Water Sheen came to visit him.

Jiang Xishui.

Ji Hanyan.

At this point, Jiang Xishui and Ji Hanyan were already married.

Jiang Xishui’s monopoly over the waterways near Clear River City way back in the day was quite an outstanding accomplishment.

Once he stopped pursuing Ji Hanyan so obviously, Ji Hanyan also began to realize that Jiang Xishui was quite a reliable man.

That was how the two of them got close.

Not long after Su Chen left Clear River City, Jiang Xishui also returned to Water Sheen. At this point, he was the Deputy Commander-In-Chief of the Subdued Sea branch of the navy, and he had managed to form four Lotus Platforms at this point. Ji Hanyan had borne Jiang Xishui a three-year-old fatty three years ago and sent news to Su Chen, who had sent them a congratulatory gift.

They had been friends for so long that there was no need for any fake courtesy when they interacted with each other.

Jiang Xishui hugged Su Chen tightly before punching him. “What are you trying to do?”

“What am I trying to do?” Su Chen asked with a smile.

“Still pretending?” Jiang Xishui said with fake anger. “You visited Liaoye Country and Empty Mountain but didn’t come to Water Sheen at all. What are you trying to say?”

“So Your Highness was expecting me to arrive and waited for me the entire time?”

Jiang Xishui rolled his eyes. “How could we not wait for you? Liaoye Country and Empty Mountain both gave up on the expedition. There’s no way we would try to attack the Harpies all on our own.”

“That’s also why I didn’t come on my own,” Su Chen replied calmly.

Even though the Harpies had been dealt a serious blow by the Thousand Poisons Toad’s invasion, the Floating Points were still no easy target to deal with. As such, the alliance of the three kingdoms was necessary to carry out this invasion.

Now that two of the three parties had backed out, Water Sheen was put in a difficult spot.

You guys aren’t playing any more? What’s the point in playing alone? We don’t have much of a quarrel with the Harpies, so what’s the point in traveling all that way for seemingly no benefit?

Water Sheen wasn’t particularly interested in fighting anymore, so it would have been a piece of cake for Su Chen to convince them to back down.

However, Su Chen had chosen not to show up at all.

Because he could sense Water Sheen’s awkward position.

Usually, with an alliance like this, things would fall apart very quickly if one link crumbled.

Liaoye Country had taken the initiative to back out. Empty Mountain followed suit not long after, and now it was Water Sheen’s turn to do the same thing.

As such, they sat and waited for Su Chen to come to them, preparing a list of demands for him.

However, Su Chen ended up not showing up at all.

What a cheapskate.

This made Water Sheen’s emperor quite displeased.

The three countries had allied to prepare to attack the Harpies, but only two of them had managed to get any benefit out of the situation. Why were they the ones who were singled out?

This wasn’t just a question of profits, but also of face - after all, this meant that Water Sheen were the ones who had been cheated.

Even though Jiang Jusheng was not a person who lusted for glory, he still needed to care about the face of the country.

This was also the reason for Jiang Xishui’s arrival.

When Jiang Xishui heard Su Chen’s reply, he found it quite amusing. “I knew it, you slimy bastard. There’s no way you would ever pay a price if you didn’t need to. See, Hanyan? I told you I was right.”

Ji Hanyan replied, “Xishui and I made a bet on the way here. He thought that you weren’t coming to Water Sheen because you had anticipated that Water Sheen wouldn’t make a move. I didn’t think you were so selfish as to put Xishui in that kind of a tough spot.”

Su Chen chuckled, “You two do make a pretty good pair. Even if I had managed to foresee this outcome, I probably wouldn’t want to say it aloud; otherwise, that could be misconstrued as me harming Xishui. Then, the emperor would believe that Xishui spent all those years in the Hidden Dragon Institute for no reason, seeing as he is totally unable to influence his friends - especially a friend like me.”

Ji Hanyan’s eyebrow jumped. “As long as you know. So? How about an explanation?”

“What if I told you that it’s because I want to give Xishui some help?” Su Chen countered.

Jiang Xishui and Ji Hanyan glanced at each other, both clearly excited by this prospect.

Jiang Xishui said, “What exactly do you mean, Brother Su?”

Su Chen said faintly, “There’s not a big difference between herding one herd of sheep and two. In addition, Luo You’s bloodline is the first Desolate Beast Bloodline I encountered. My Primordial Blood Aspect came about because of it, so my understanding of its properties is quite deep. Actually…… I did it before you even showed up.”

As he spoke, he pulled out a scroll. Jiang Xishui took it and was ecstatic as he scanned its contents. “This is a way for you to upgrade the Luo You Bloodline!”

Ji Hanyan was delighted. “So Xishui did lose to me.”

“Not entirely, because there is one thing I need your help with.”

“What is it? Speak.”

“I heard that Xishui is now the Deputy Commander-In-Chief of the Subdued Sea branch of the navy, and that the navy is the most powerful military force in the entire country,” Su Chen commented.

“That’s right.”

“I want Xishui to become the Commander-In-Chief of the Subdued Sea branch of the navy.”

“That’s impossible!” Jiang Xishui and Ji Hanyan immediately refuted.

Unlike most other countries, Water Sheen’s navy was their most powerful force. There were three branches of the navy in total - Subdued Sea, Calm Sea, and Shaking Sea, with Subdued Sea being the strongest.

Because of how important the navy was to the country, the person placed in charge of any one of these branches must be one of the emperor’s trusted aides.

Jiang Xishui was not the Crown Prince, so becoming the Deputy Commander-In-Chief was already quite an impressive accomplishment. If he were to ever gain complete control of the navy, it was possible that he could threaten the Crown Prince for his spot - and who knew what would happen after he gained control of the navy?

Jiang Xishui had traveled all the way over to the Hidden Dragon Institute to study in order to avoid drawing attention.

This was the reason why he had never appeared to show much ambition, and his relationship with Jiang Shaoxuan, the current Crown Prince, was pretty good as a result.

But pretty good was just pretty good. Permitting Jiang Xishui to become the Deputy Commander-In-Chief was already quite gracious, but it was impossible for him to allow Jiang Xishui to climb any higher.

Su Chen chuckled. “I know, but what if it’s only temporary?”

Jiang Xishui was taken aback. “Is there something you need the Subdued Sea branch to help out with?”

Su Chen nodded.

“If that’s the case, I can talk to the Commander-In-Chief for you. He should be able to……”

“No!” Su Chen shook his head. “This is an extremely sensitive matter. I need a person who has complete faith in me and is willing to sustain losses on my behalf.”

When he heard this, Jiang Xishui squinted his eyes. “A military operation?”

Su Chen nodded. “Since Water Sheen is itching to fight, but the Harpies are no longer a viable target, why not choose another group?”

Ji Hanyan hurriedly said, “Su Chen, you might not know this, but the humans and the Oceanids are not on bad terms. Even though there have been some skirmishes between us during the past tens of thousands of years, we have been friends most of the time.”

Unlike other countries, Water Sheen was not at odds with their neighbors, the Oceanids.

“I know. I’m not asking you to fight the Oceanids, just the beasts in their territory,” Su Chen said.

When Jiang Xishui and Ji Hanyan heard this, they both visibly relaxed. “There shouldn’t be an issue with that. Actually, Water Sheen and the Oceanids have teamed up in the past for this express purpose.”

Water Sheen and the Oceanids weren’t enemies primarily because there were even stronger creatures prowling the waters - Sea Beasts.

These Sea Beasts were almost unimaginably powerful. Their bodies were massive, and they often traveled in hordes. In some sense, they were far more terrifying than the land-prowling beasts.

Very few beasts could ever reach that size on land. Beasts the size of the Thousand Poisons Toad were a dozen a handful in the waters.

Of course, just because they were larger didn’t necessarily mean they were stronger than a Desolate Beast. They were still Demonic Beasts in nature. However, it was still an undeniable fact that their physiques were superior to many at the same tier as them.

It was far more likely for a Sea Beast to be stronger than any beast living on the land, assuming they were at the same tier.

As such, Demonic Lords in the sea were equivalent to Demonic Kings on land, Demonic Kings to Demonic Emperors, Demonic Emperors to Sovereigns, and Sovereigns to Desolate Beasts.

This made it abundantly clear just how difficult it was to survive in an environment like the sea.

Desolate Beasts didn’t exist in the seas, but plenty of Sovereigns did.

The fact that the Oceanids could withstand a virtually daily assault from Sovereigns and make it out alive was quite miraculous in many ways.

And part of the reason for this was the support that they received from Water Sheen.

Even though the Oceanids lived underwater, that didn’t mean they couldn’t survive on land. They were, in some sense, amphibious, but they preferred to live in the water.

But no one could ensure what would happen when they did go on land.

To prevent the Sea Beasts from getting that opportunity, Water Sheen chose to lend their support to the Oceanids, relying on them to keep the Sea Beasts at bay.

As such, the relations between the human race and the Oceanids were quite good. Even though there were some unavoidable conflicts from time to time, the general trend was a positive one.

Jiang Xishui had no issues with Su Chen wanting to attack the Sea Beasts.

“Then what about Sovereigns?” Su Chen asked.

“This…… If the plan is appropriate and aren’t too excessive, that is something we can consider,” Jiang Xishui replied after a moment’s thought.

Su Chen asked, “Then what if it was a bunch of Sovereigns? What if we targeted a Sovereign lair?”

Jiang Xishui and Ji Hanyan were immediately stunned.