This Street’s Best Zither Pavilion, Silver Moon City:
“This is the last dragon bone guqin, personally forged by Master Yun Mo of the Silver Moon Mountain Manor! So, I will not give it any further introduction. I’m sure that everyone is clear on its value. Let’s begin the auction now. The starting bid is one hundred superior-grade spirit stones,” the auctioneer shouted.
“I bid one hundred superior-grade spirit stones!”
“I bid two hundred!”
“I bid two hundred fifty!”
…
“I bid eight hundred spirit stones!”
“Excellent! Congratulations to this bidder. The last dragon bone guqin goes to you for eight hundred superior-grade spirit stones!” the auctioneer said with a wide grin.
Then, the auction ended.
In one of the upstairs rooms in the building, Sima Changkong and Shangguan Hen sat next to each other, watching the auction below.
“Many thanks to Lord Sima for helping out. I thank you greatly on behalf of His Majesty!” Shangguan Hen said seriously.
Sima Changkong looked down with a frown. “It is nothing much. However, you have only been auctioning these dragon bones during this time. What is Gu Hai planning?”
“These were the instructions that His Majesty sent. Naturally, there is a purpose!” Shangguan Hen shook his head without explaining.
Sima Changkong continued frowning and said, “These dragon bone instruments are made from the dragons that guarded the Silver Moon Sea, considered Duke Lu Yang’s subordinates. This has the intention of humiliating the dragons under Duke Lu Yang. Is Gu Hai trying to agitate the dragons? He is playing with fire. This is a dangerous operation. Can he deal with it? Furthermore, even if Gu Hai can hide, what about the Han Royal Dynasty at Nine-Five Island? How are they going to hide?”
“His Majesty has a plan.” Shangguan Hen shook his head without explaining further.
——
At the Heptagold Sect’s headquarters among the one hundred thousand mountains:
The Heptagold Sect was nearly completely destroyed. Only a few managed to escape; these people would not be able to accomplish anything.
Following Huangfu Chaoge’s direction, the enemy army immediately saw the terrible scene at the nest of demons. Some of the captured Heptagold Sect disciples verified the truth.
“Kill them! Kill these demons!”
“Why was my city loyal to these demons, the Heptagold Sect?!”
“City Lord, my younger sister died a miserable death!”
The millions of enemy troops immediately filled with righteous indignation. This shocking scene had overturned their long-held cognition of the Heptagold Sect. The dignified Heptagold Sect Master turned out to be an evil demon who ate human brains.
“Send out my orders. Place a bounty on all the remaining Heptagold Sect disciples. Be they dead or alive, anyone who captures them will be heavily rewarded. Also, send out word of their evil deeds to all the cities. Let the citizens know of their demonic deeds!” one of the city lords called out.
“Henceforth, my city no longer has anything to do with the Heptagold Sect.”
Even without Huangfu Chaoge needing to say anything, these people promptly changed their minds.
“Mister Huangfu, the Heptagold Sect is already destroyed. They controlled eighteen cities. If you have the capability, quickly collect them. Otherwise, other factions will come for them soon.” Gu Hai looked at Huangfu Chaoge.
“That’s true. Many thanks, Mister Gu!” Huangfu Chaoge nodded.
“There’s no need to thank me. They are the claws and fangs of Emperor Lu Yang; all of them need to die! Your identity is already exposed, so you’d best return to your capital,” Gu Hai said gravely.
“Are you not coming back with me?” Huangfu Chaoge frowned as he looked at Gu Hai.
“I did say before. Forcing Duke Lu Yang to establish his nation is the first step. Destroying the Heptagold Sect is the second step. Next is the third step. We cannot stop for a moment. Now that we managed to scare off Ao Shun, I am even more confident of my third step! I need to go quickly and prepare.”
Huangfu Chaoge sighed and nodded. “Of the spirit stones we found in the Heptagold Sect, the Divine Foundation Royal Dynasty will take half. You take the other half.”
Half of eight hundred million superior-grade spirit stones for Gu Hai? However, no one could criticize this at this moment.
Destroying the Heptagold Sect was the joint effort of the Divine Foundation Royal Dynasty and the Han Royal Dynasty. Gu Hai contributed the ritual array, and Huangfu Chaoge contributed the spirit stones. Neither could be missing.
“In that case, many thanks!” Gu Hai nodded and did not reject.
Whoosh!
Just at this moment, a beam of light shot over. A flying ship instantly approached.
Everyone’s expression changed. However, they soon regained their ease. The one coming was none other than Venerable Liu Nian.
“When I went to Foundation Deity City, I found that you were not there, so I knew that you came here,” Venerable Liu Nian said with a sigh.
Venerable Liu Nian turned his head and surveyed the messy one hundred thousand mountains. After taking a deep breath, he looked at Gu Hai and Huangfu Chaoge in awe.
“What capabilities! You destroyed the Heptagold Sect?” Venerable Liu Nian said in shock.
“It was a close shave.” Gu Hai smiled bitterly while shaking his head.
“Venerable, you are alone?” Huangfu Chaoge asked out of curiosity.
Venerable Liu Nian nodded. “Gu Hai, this is the decree that His Holy Eminence issued to you. Receive the decree!”
Venerable Liu Nian took out a decree and looked at Gu Hai.
However, Gu Hai frowned slightly and shook his head. “Many thanks, Venerable. However, I’d best not receive it.”
“Huh? Gu Hai, His Holy Eminence is installing you as the new Elite Hall Master,” Venerable Liu Nian said, feeling puzzled.
Gu Hai smiled bitterly while shaking his head. “Back when I joined Elite Hall, I did not do so to gain an official position in the Qian Heavenly Dynasty. This is still the same. Elite Hall Master? Haha! Let’s forget it. I have my Han Royal Dynasty. There is no need for me to head to the Qian Heavenly Dynasty to be an official. I only joined Elite Hall to repay a debt of gratitude. Back then, Wanqing helped me to reach the Innate Realm. I am grateful to her. That’s why I joined Elite Hall. Now that Wanqing is no longer around, I have no interest in remaining in Elite Hall.”
This startled Venerable Liu Nian. Then, he sighed again and said, “Mister Gu, it is your fortune to have met Wanqing. It is also Wanqing’s fortune to have met you. However, you’d best receive this decree.”
“Huh?” Gu Hai frowned as he looked at Venerable Liu Nian.
“You know that Elite Hall and the Divine Strategy Battalion are not formal establishments of the Qian Heavenly Dynasty. Instead, they are counted as foreign affairs departments,” Venerable Liu Nian explained.
“So what if they are foreign affairs departments?”
“As foreign affairs departments, they are not constrained by the heavenly court’s rules. They can come and go as they please, only needing to take care of some special missions issued by His Holy Eminence. They can do whatever they want outside. Foreign affairs departments establishing their own nation is not unheard-of. The Divine Strategy Battalion’s Li Shenji is one example. Although he is a member of a foreign affairs department, he also established his own sect. Did you know that?” Venerable Liu Nian said.
“The foreign affairs departments are not constrained?” Gu Hai said, feeling puzzled.
“Yes. In other words, they are more like guest officials—non-staff members. They are only responsible to His Holy Eminence. This is the same for the Elite Hall Master. Being the Elite Hall Master would not affect your Han Royal Dynasty. On the contrary, you can even use Elite Hall to help the Han Royal Dynasty grow stronger!” Venerable Liu Nian explained.
Gu Hai frowned slightly. After remaining silent after a while, he eventually shook his head. “There’s no need. I know that there are benefits. However, since I have established my nation, relying on external forces would not be good. We have to be independent and grow stronger on our own.”
At the side, Huangfu Chaoge looked at Gu Hai in shock. Huangfu Chaoge was also the sovereign of a nation. Naturally, he knew how difficult it was to establish a nation. If it were him, he might not be able to resist the temptation. Yet, Gu Hai…
“Mister Gu, I still think you had better receive it. Hah,” Venerable Liu Nian sighed.
“Huh?”
“This is the work of Wanqing and her mother. If you don’t take over Elite Hall, someone else will. Do you want someone else to control Wanqing and her mother’s Elite Hall?” Venerable Liu Nian advised.
“Huh?”
“Secondly, you promised Wanqing to take care of her younger sister, Long Wanyu. Without the Elite Hall Master identity, even meeting her would be difficult for you. What more protecting her?”
Gu Hai frowned as he pondered this.
After remaining silent for a while, Gu Hai nodded and said, “Alright. I will take the Elite Hall Master position for now.”
Gu Hai received the decree.
Venerable Liu Nian took out a purple authority token and said, “Wanqing’s Elite Hall Master authority token was destroyed. So, His Holy Eminence issued another one. This is the Elite Hall Master’s authority token, making you a marquis.”
Gu Hai received the authority token.
Boom!
Suddenly, a golden aura appeared out of nowhere and instantly covered Gu Hai.
“This is…providence? What vast blessings!” Gu Hai’s expression changed.
The providence here was at least half of what Gu Hai plundered from the Heptagold Sect.
The providence circled Gu Hai, then poured into the purple Elite Hall Master authority token. By holding on to the authority token, Gu Hai could make use of these blessings at any moment.
“Initially, Wanqing was going to bring you to the capital and register your name in the records and send in an application to His Holy Eminence. After His Holy Eminence stamped his imperial seal on the application, you would be bestowed with blessings. However, His Holy Eminence personally issued the decree, allowing us to skip this process. This is the Elite Hall Master’s blessings. One batch is bestowed every decade. This is the first batch,” Venerable Liu Nian explained.
Gu Hai looked at the authority token. The words “Elite Hall” were on the obverse, and the words “Gu Hai” were on the reverse. It was very similar to the Water Division Master’s authority token, also containing an independent space. The vast amount of blessings was contained within this independent space, ready to be used at any time.
Gu Hai nodded.
“That’s right. Gu Hai, you might need to be careful. Long Wanyu is somewhat hostile towards you. She thinks that you caused Wanqing’s death. You need to be careful,” Venerable Liu Nian warned with a bitter smile.
“Long Wanyu? Where is she now?” Gu Hai said, feeling suspicious.
“Her? His Holy Eminence does not allow her out. However, she keeps kicking up a fuss, rendering His Holy Eminence helpless. He could only send people to protect her and allow her to head to Prince Shenwu’s barracks. With Prince Shenwu protecting her, it should be relatively safe. After giving you the decree, I’ll be leaving immediately to look after her,” Venerable Liu Nian said with a bitter smile.
“Venerable, I’ll have to trouble you to take care of Long Wanyu,” Gu Hai said gravely.
“I will. Oh, right, where are Mu Chenfeng and the treants?” Venerable Liu Nian asked, feeling curious.
“Mu Chenfeng? I sent him to do something. Whether we can kill Ao Shun or not will depend on his success,” Gu Hai replied seriously.
At the side, Huangfu Chaoge raised his eyebrows slightly and said, “The third step? Your third step is to kill Ao Shun?”
“Ao Shun is a Heavenly Palace Realm expert!” Venerable Liu Nian’s expression changed as well.
“I know. Alright. I have to leave now. Speed is crucial in war. We cannot delay.” Gu Hai shook his head as he took his leave of them.
After exchanging a few more words, Huangfu Chaoge assigned three of his subordinates to Gu Hai. Then, Gu Hai rode the White Cloud flying ship to the northeast, carrying four hundred million superior-grade spirit stones and many of the Heptagold Sect’s secret manuals.
