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Chapter 306: A Century of Allegiance, The Dragon-Capturing Martial Emperor!
🕑 Added 2024-10-31 16:27:30 +0000 UTC"Let's negotiate."
After a brief silence, the Lord of the Heavens spoke in a deep voice, "As long as you release the old man, we can negotiate any terms."
At this point, there was no other option.
Although he possessed the Forgotten Self form, which made him nearly impossible to kill, Qin Chuan had captured Cang Lao, holding his greatest weakness.
"Any terms?"
Qin Chuan squinted at him, smiling faintly. "Then how about exchanging your life for his?"
The Lord of the Heavens' face darkened, and he replied coldly:
"You know that’s impossible. We both understand that a deal without any backing is meaningless. If I die, who’s to guarantee you will uphold your side of the bargain? Dying would be pointless."
Any negotiation had to begin with preserving one’s life—no one trusted the word of a dead man!
"Alright, let's change the terms then."
Qin Chuan smiled. "How about this: your Tianheng Clan serves me for a hundred years and obeys my commands. What do you think?"
"Impossible!"
Before the Lord of the Heavens could respond, Cang Lao shouted:
"The Tianheng Clan and the Nine Cang Realm are mortal enemies. If we serve you, what if you sell us out?"
It was indeed a possibility.
Qin Chuan might dig a pit and trick the Tianheng Clan into jumping in, only to bury them all once they were inside.
"Ah, don't assume everyone is so evil. Most people in the human race still have some sense of honor."
Qin Chuan shook his head helplessly.
What did they take him for?
A human trafficker?
He wasn’t that kind of person!
At most, he was a pig trader!
"How do you guarantee you won’t take the opportunity to eliminate the Tianheng Clan?" the Lord of the Heavens asked coldly, staring at Qin Chuan.
"Do I need to?"
Qin Chuan tightened his grip on Cang Lao and asked in return.
"Naturally."
The Lord of the Heavens didn’t mince words, his tone steady as he said, "Just because you have Cang Lao doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want. While I respect Cang Lao, I’m not going to sacrifice the entire clan for him."
"Alright."
Qin Chuan wasn’t angered at all; instead, he smiled suddenly. A golden flash appeared in his hand, revealing a piece of white paper with golden edges.
"This is an ancient contract. Once signed, there’s no going back. I promise, as long as your clan serves me faithfully for a hundred years without disloyalty, I won’t do anything to harm the foundation of the Tianheng Clan."
As he spoke, golden characters appeared on the white paper, exuding an air of mystic authority.
"Does this really work?"
The Lord of the Heavens asked skeptically. He had never heard of such a thing before—there was no precedent in history.
"Try it and see," Qin Chuan smiled confidently. After all, he had spent 2,000 Patriarch Points to exchange for this treasure, so how could it not work?
After a long period of hesitation, the Lord of the Heavens decided to take a chance, signing the contract under Qin Chuan’s terms.
After all, it was worth a try.
He had already agreed to the conditions, and if the contract didn’t work, he could simply break it. But if it really was unbreakable, then so be it.
A hundred years.
For someone at his level, a century was but a fleeting moment. To exchange that for Cang Lao's life was a small price to pay.
Even without personal feelings involved, from a purely pragmatic standpoint, gaining a True Self Realm expert in exchange for a hundred years was a huge profit.
After all, even in the current golden age of the Nine Cang Realm, it wasn’t possible for a new extreme realm expert to emerge every century!
"Buzz!"
As soon as the contract was completed, the Lord of the Heavens felt a thunderous roar inside his head, as if the world itself had just been split open.
Immediately after, he sensed a supreme force hovering over him, one that seemed to promise that any violation of the contract would result in his utter destruction.
He wasn’t the only one.
The rest of the Tianheng Clan also felt the awe-inspiring power of the contract and were instantly gripped by terror.
"Swear allegiance to Qin Chuan for a hundred years?"
"Who is Qin Chuan?"
"What is happening?"
"I’ve been in seclusion for ten thousand years, indifferent to worldly affairs. How did it come to this, where I suddenly have to serve someone? What is going on?"
In short, the entire Tianheng Clan had been bound by a single contract.
So why had this incredibly powerful contract only cost 2,000 Patriarch Points? Because the contract itself wasn’t what was valuable.
It was like signing a business agreement.
You could print a pile of contracts for a hundred bucks, but without the other party’s signature, it was just a bunch of useless paper!
Securing the deal itself was far more valuable than the paper contract.
"From now on, work diligently for me. If you perform well, you might even reap great rewards in the future."
Qin Chuan released Cang Lao and smiled.
"Sigh…"
The Lord of the Heavens sighed, lowering his once-proud head. At this point, there was no other choice but to accept the situation.
Qin Chuan then released Qin Zi.
"Huh, what’s going on here…?"
Qin Zi looked around, confused by the sudden shift in the atmosphere.
Qin Chuan briefly explained the situation.
Instantly, Qin Zi let out a huge sigh of relief. Then he turned to the Lord of the Heavens and asked, "Shui Qinghan, where’s Qingrou? What did you do to her?"
The Lord of the Heavens was silent for a moment, his expression complicated, before he replied, "She’s probably training with an elderly woman now."
"She’s not with you?" Qin Zi was stunned.
A look of melancholy appeared in the Lord of the Heavens’ eyes as he said quietly:
"After I saved her from the Lava Sea, I knocked her out and sent her to an extreme realm elder with a similar physique. That physique is rare, and if nothing goes wrong, the elder will likely take her as a disciple."
Qin Zi was incredulous. "You just abandoned her?"
The Lord of the Heavens looked at Qin Zi with a complex expression and said, "I am Shui Qinghan, but I am not just Shui Qinghan… It’s hard to explain, and I doubt you would understand."
"I am the leader of the Tianheng Clan, and she is a true Nine Cang human. For both her sake and the sake of the Tianheng Clan, I cannot bring her into my world, so we must forget each other."
Qin Zi gritted his teeth and asked, "Have you really forgotten the days when you depended on each other? Can you really forget the bond of siblings?"
The Lord of the Heavens shook his head, laughing bitterly. "You still don’t understand. I am Shui Qinghan, but I am not just Shui Qinghan… I have lived many lives, and my primary identity now is the Lord of the Heavens."
"If I have memories from many lives, what makes you think this one is the most important to me?"
Qin Zi was left speechless.
Who someone truly is, it seems, is something only they can decide. In his eyes, Shui Qinghan was his sister's brother, but to Shui Qinghan himself, that was no longer the case.
"Boom rumble!"
"Kill!!"
"Tianheng remnants, come out and face your death!"
Suddenly, there was a violent tremor outside, as if space itself was being shattered. Someone had broken through into the chaotic void.
The black fortress of the Tianheng Clan was floating in the chaotic void, well hidden. But the commotion from the recent battle had drawn the attention of the outside world, and now the Nine Cang human forces were breaking in.
"Sky-Shaking Dragon Capture!"
A voice of overwhelming power echoed like thunder, and then a massive hand, covered in golden dragon scales, appeared above the black fortress, exuding an awe-inspiring divine might. It seemed intent on uprooting the fortress entirely!
"The Dragon-Capturing Martial Emperor!"
Qin Chuan’s face twitched slightly.
He had long wanted to meet this terrifying figure, but why did it have to be now, when it looked like they’d been caught red-handed?
After all, he and Qin Zi had long been branded as "Tianheng Clan spies," and this time, it seemed like the accusation would stick!
How was he going to explain this?
He wanted to say, "A real man doesn’t need to explain," but in this case… he wasn’t sure if he could take on the Dragon-Capturing Martial Emperor.
The Dragon-Capturing Martial Emperor—the strongest human warrior, and possibly the most powerful figure in the entire Nine Cang Realm!
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