No one present knew quite what to make of Emperor Hades’ words. Ye Zichen and Xue Mo looked at each other, and saw utter bewilderment in each others’ eyes.
They were bros, nothing more. They hadn’t become lovers or anything like that.
It seemed like Emperor Hades had overthought their relationship, but as juniors, they couldn’t argue to his face.
Xue Yang’s expression was unsightly, and his gaze was practically locked onto Ye Zichen.
The more he looked at his “son-in-law,” the angrier Xue Yang got. He’d actually had a pretty good impression of Ye Zichen, not now, he saw nothing but flaws no matter where he looked.
“This is just great. He took it seriously!” Even Ye Zichen could see the displeasure in Xue Yang’s eyes.
He smiled and nodded, but all he got in return was a cold glare.
“Haha, Old Man Xue, you really took me seriously!” Emperor Hades burst into laughter. “I was just joking. Look at you! I actually just wanted to tell you that Ye Zichen possesses two of the God Realm’s top treasures. He lives on your Northern Divine Mountain, so take care of him, alright?”
“Hmph. Divine Artifacts belong to the strong. If he isn’t strong enough to protect his treasures, he might as well give them away. I don’t have the time to watch him all day.” Xue Yang’s gaze was still unfriendly. He glared at Emperor Hades, then continued, “I represent the Sea of Innocence in agreeing to forge an alliance with you. I’ll send one of my incarnations in two weeks. Farewell.”
He cupped his hands, then rose to his feet. “Little Mo, follow me.”
“Dad, I’ll just go back with Ye Zichen,” said Xue Mo.
“What are you talking about? Follow me.” Without letting Xue Mo get in another word, Xue Yang waved his sleeves, and a beam of polar energy whisked Xue Mo away. The two of them turned into a beam of light and disappeared from Emperor Hades’ secondary residence without a trace.
The atmosphere was unbearably tense.
Ye Zichen shrugged as he watched them leave. Su Yiyun felt that something was a bit off, too.
Only Emperor Hades…
“Emperor Hades, Xue Mo and I are just good bros!” Ye Zichen couldn’t help but explain himself.
“I know that, of course.” Emperor Hades nodded calmly. “I’ve lived for so long. It’s only obvious that I can discern the nature of your relationship.”
“Then you….”
“I did it on purpose!” Emperor Hades shrugged and laughed. “I said it just now: I was joking! Who knew he’d be so stuffy and take it so seriously?”
Emperor Hades seemed completely calm, as if none of this mattered to him. And for him, it really didn’t matter. He’d already successfully accomplished his goal of forming an alliance with the Northern Divine Mountain’s Sea of Innocence.
In just a few weeks, Xue Yang would, as promised, send his avatar to keep watch over the River Styx. Emperor Hades had succeeded.
As for whether Xue Yang was angry or not, well, that had nothing to do with him.
“….”
Ye Zichen had nothing to say in regards to this great emperor’s irresponsible attitude. He cupped his fist respectfully and said, “If there’s nothing else, this junior shall take his leave.”
“Go on, go on, but for now, you’d best stay in the Lower Lands. That’ll make it more convenient for you to come pick up the Xuan-Yuan Sword.”
Was there really any need for you to tell me that? Ye Zichen muttered internally. With the Xuan-Yuan Sword in Emperor Hades’ hands, there was no way he could just leave.
“I’ll wait here, then. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Hm. When you come to pick it up, I’ll resurrect that Chen Guangfa kid and send him off with you.”
“Farewell for now, then.”
Emperor Hades chuckled and watched Ye Zichen leave. As soon as Ye Zichen faded from view, the emperor’s expression darkened. “Yiyun, while I was in seclusion, did any of the divine spirits or vicious beasts disobey your orders?”
“Yes.” Su Yiyun nodded.
“Let’s go, then. As your master, I’ll help you handle them. Those guys have lived in peace for too long. They must have forgotten who their master is!’
…..
After leaving the River Styx, Ye Zichen headed straight for Raging Flame City.
Upheaval and the Parliament of Stars had fused a full year ago. Ye Zichen knew about that. Both factions had built their headquarters in Raging Flame City. After checking in on the gang’s affairs with Wei Jie and the others, Ye Zichen had a rough idea of what was going on, so he let them return to work.
“Why did you descend to the Lower Lands?” After Ye Zichen and Zuo Mo broke through the ambiguous veil separating them, they lost their former reservations.
Zuo Mo wore a thin silk dress and carried a platter of fruit up to Ye Zichen, then sat down right on top of him.
Ye Zichen pressed his lips into a smile and grabbed a piece of fruit. “I went to the River Styx. A friend I made on the Divine Mountain died, so I went to ask Emperor Hades to revive him.”
“You can bring back the dead?” exclaimed Zuo Mo.
Ye Zichen nodded slightly, then asked, “How are things going with the information network? Also, how is the trade association we established getting along?”
“Although we established it a little late, due to Upheaval’s power, the various family clans are giving us a baseline of respect. We’ve monopolized roughly eighty percent of the trade in the Lower Lands.” Zuo Mo smiled as she replied, but Ye Zichen knew that their Trade Association’s enormous success had a lot to do with her efforts.
Otherwise, Upheaval’s strength alone wasn’t enough to shake the Skyspan Trading Company’s position.
After explaining the trade company’s status, Zuo Mo continued, “Our information network currently covers all the Lower Lands, and of the Divine Mountains, only the Northernmost lacks coverage. However, we should be able to extend our reach up there within a few days. As far as equipment goes, I established a factory as soon as you returned from the Lower Three Realms. Before long, our first batch should be ready to go out into the world.”
Ye Zichen hadn’t predicted such rapid development. It seemed that having capable subordinates could really save an enormous amount of trouble.
Now he just had to wait for the first round to finish production. Then all he had to do was promote them. Before long, cell phones would spread to even the Yao and Demon Realms.
Also, Ye Zichen had an in with Emperor Hades. He could use the emperor to pull the other great emperors into a chat group.
Once he instilled a “bad habit” of sending each other red packets, all he had to do was lurk in the group and swipe them. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
“Not bad at all. For the near future, make sure you pay attention to the network, not just the trade association. Has anything strange happened in the Lower Lands recently? A few yao and demons recently arrived on the Divine Mountain. If this happens again, I want to know as quickly and accurately as possible.”
“That’s simple. All I have to do is train a few intelligence officers. I’ll select them from our subsidiary bases as well as the trade association.” Zuo Mo nodded in response.
“If you’re taking care of it, I can relax.” Ye Zichen put his hands on her waist, only for his phone to buzz.
He fished his phone out of his pocket and tapped on his social media app. He saw the message at the top of the screen immediately.
But when he saw it, he froze like a statue.
It wasn’t the message itself that was so shocking, but rather the person who’d sent it….
Taibai Jinxing!
