“There’s such a thing?” Qianye was puzzled.
It was common knowledge that even two origin powers of daybreak-attribute could reject one another, unless it was an art like the Yin family’s Nurturing Rain Art which needed to be cultivated to a high level to heal someone else.
Qianye merely wanted to dissolve the origin power he had shot out. Both parties had no intention to do battle, but who would’ve expected that Song Zining couldn’t even be touched?
Song Zining said, “Enough with this topic. Turns out you’ve already progressed to such a level, no wonder you’re confident.”
“And what realm is this?”
Song Zining glared at him. “That’s a level most divine champions can only dream of! Only superior divine champions would be able to comprehend it.”
“I don’t feel anything too powerful about it,” Qianye spoke truthfully.
Song Zining was so angry that he broke out into a laugh. “If it’s not powerful, how did it make me cough up blood twice?”
Qianye only chuckled but didn’t continue with this topic. He wasn’t dumb enough to say bluntly that Song Zining’s body was still weak. Besides, he was the one to blame since he couldn’t control his attack power.
Song Zining rolled his eyes at Qianye and then said with a serious expression, “Qianye, you’re already on the path, and your future has no obstructions. Just keep walking forward! Of the things I’ve done, I’ve never withheld the information that you should know. As for the others, don’t ask and don’t investigate. Remember what I said!”
It felt as though an invisible hand had dragged Qianye’s heart down. He looked up at Song Zining, who stared back at him with calm, deep eyes.
Moments later, Qianye reached out to pat Song Zining’s shoulder. “Fine.”
The airship flew all the way to Southern Blue. The city was once again busy and thriving as the big merchant groups poured resources and craftsmen in, converting them into airship equipment, walls, and important components.
By the time Southern Blue’s system began to operate, many of the merchant managers realized that Song Zining’s arrangements were extremely efficient. Each product would be sent to the next factory as soon as it was produced and become a component for the next product.
The entire workshop area was holistically designed, and no single workshop needed to travel too far to get to the other.
The unexpected efficiency of the system allowed the merchant groups to better smell the potential gold coins involved in this business. Good efficiency meant lower costs and higher profits. It also indicated a greater number of products, which also meant higher profits.
There would never be enough airships that could adapt to the environment of the neutral lands. If they started accepting orders now, they might have a century’s worth of backlog with their current capacity.
Having experienced the last shakeup, the big merchant groups, as well as the other powers, realized that Song Zining was the real key to this entire system. He controlled the most critical technology running the entire system, so as long as he wished it, he could jam the entire production chain.
And there was no way to work around it. The warships designed by Ningyuan Heavy Industries were on par with the empire’s current warships and way ahead of the vessels employed in the neutral lands. However, they were also extremely heavy, and not many locally produced engines were strong enough to operate them. If Song Zining were to stop providing engines, this fleet would turn into a group of turtle shells.
Having sufficiently learned that Song Zining was irreplaceable, the merchant groups no longer fostered any thoughts they shouldn’t have and fell obediently in place within the system. At the very least, this business was much better paying than all the other fields they had dabbled in.
Naturally, some people weren’t willing to give up on swallowing Southern Blue. Of course, this would involve fighting power instead of just words. They set their sights on Qianye because he was an unavoidable roadblock for them.
The latter’s accomplishments in battle were almost unbelievable, but his rank on paper was only sixteen. No one knew his vampire rank because of his Bloodline Concealment. People still felt that they could get lucky because he was still not a divine champion.
Qianye understood that people considered him a breakthrough point and that Zhang Buzhou would arrive to seek revenge sooner or later. Everything was just a matter of time. Just from how he had handled the matter of Qianye’s appointment to Tidehark, one could see that the heavenly monarch had taken this to heart. Once Qianye was in trouble, Zhang Buzhou would swoop down and tear him to pieces.
However, Qianye performed his daily patrols without fear or avoidance. He even stuck to his usual routine.
The message couldn’t be clearer. He was welcoming anyone who wanted to attempt an assassination.
This actually intimidated people. They thought Qianye had laid out an ambush and was waiting for them to take the bait. Who was going to walk into such an obvious trap?
No one really believed that Qianye was just alone, that he had made no special arrangements.
Half a month went by in a flash. Qianye would patrol the city at dawn and cultivate constantly during his free time. As Qianye continuously absorbed void origin power, the skies above the Dark Flame headquarters were covered in swirling black clouds which formed a massive vortex. This phenomenon would only clear away at dawn.
There was no way those who were watching would miss this. They knew that it was caused by a cultivating expert, and only outstanding divine champions could change heaven and earth like so.
This served to confirm everyone’s doubts. They felt that there was a hidden expert in the headquarters, and that Qianye was serving as bait to draw the snakes out.
As the schemers became ever more cautious, the situation as a whole became more peaceful. Qianye, however, couldn’t wait that long, and the peacefulness actually made him long for action.
The words Nighteye had spoken before her departure lingered in his heart. At times, he couldn’t help but want to take bigger risks out of desperation. But the Profound Combatant Formula and the Song Clan Ancient Scroll were already the best cultivation arts. How was he to raise his speed?
Drawing blood to improve his vampire-side cultivation would hasten things, but the disadvantages were also evident. The absorbed essence blood would contain a fair amount of impurities that would slowly accumulate and taint his bloodline, causing a drop in quality.
This shortcut was prevalent among the vampire race because most of them already knew their lifetime’s progress at birth. With enough control, they could keep the contamination at a level where they wouldn’t drop ranks. In the Evernight world where conflict was a daily thing, it wasn’t such a bad deal to pay a small price for quick power.
This method would no longer be effective after reaching its upper limit.
Qianye possessed the Mystery Chapter, and his purified dark golden blood energy would reach the level of ancient vampires. The contamination was negligible to him, but the increase in power wasn’t without its limitations. The scroll itself was based on a balance between light and dark. A break in this equilibrium would easily break down everything.
This meant that he had to cultivate steadily without rushing.
For an entire half-month, the heavenly monarch’s manor made no movement, and neither did the Wolf King. It was as though nothing had actually happened. Qianye wasn’t accustomed to such peace—was he supposed to be guarded for ten years if Zhang Buzhou made no move for ten years?
Although Qianye was never lacking in patience, waiting like that wasn’t his style.
Having come to a decision, he walked out of the cultivation chamber and asked an attendant to prepare the most powerful bike they had.
“Sire, where do you plan to go? Just asking so that I can tell Sire Zining if he asks,” the attendant asked.
“Tidehark.”
“Tidehark?”
Qianye smiled. “I’m the city lord, so I should report in for duty.”
The attendant was shocked, but he didn’t dare say anything. He merely left in a hurry and returned with a flashy motorbike. This vehicle was over a ton in weight, not something ordinary people could even operate. This product was a gift the major merchant groups had presented to Zhang Xuance during his short stay in Southern Blue. Now, it had naturally fallen into Dark Flame’s hands.
Qianye hopped onto the bike and left, leaving a trail of dust and the thunderous roar of its engine.
The attendant ran across half the city before finding Song Zining in a workshop.
Song Zining waved his hand after hearing the news. “I knew that fellow wouldn’t be able to sit still.”
He fished out some divination tokens and calculated the fate of Qianye’s skirmish. The pieces had just left his hand when all of his hair stood on end! He caught all the tokens at lightning speed and closed his eyes to rest, almost as though he were in a state of suspended animation.
Moments later, the invisible thunderbolt roaming above his head gradually faded away. Song Zining stood up and wiped the sweat off his brows. He glanced at the tokens and found that two of them were slightly cracked.
If he had reacted any slower than he did, he would’ve been struck by a backlash of unimaginable severity. In short, it wasn’t a damage the seventh young master could take.
Song Zining shook his head with a wry smile. Qianye had already parted with Nighteye, so the divination threads should’ve weakened a bit. Who would’ve thought they had grown even stronger?
Although he had pulled back swiftly, Song Zining couldn’t help but feel apprehensive. What was the reason behind this? What major character had Qianye gotten involved with? Or was there a different reason?
After some thought, Song Zining still didn’t want to give up. He didn’t dare to calculate directly, but it was fine to glance at the general situation. Moments later, he opened his eyes from meditation and rubbed his temples.
Song Zining was rendered speechless by what he had seen just now. The heavenly mysteries were in chaos, with countless invasive star trajectories. It was akin to a ball of yarn full of stuck needles. It would seem more powerful entities had become involved. No one knew how many pairs of eyes were paying attention to him from above the nine heavens. Trying to divine Qianye’s fate was like trying to steal from a market during the daytime. It would be weird if he wasn’t discovered.
After some thought, Song Zining smiled. “That’s not so bad, either. Those trying to scheme against him will surely suffer.”
At this moment, in a certain isolated room, an old man in hemp garments was working in great concentration. After a series of incantations, he tossed the divination tokens in his hand.
