NOVPUB
Chapter 235: Chapter 232 Overseas
Fish Dragon City.
The largest port city within Jiangzhou State.
In terms of prosperity, this city is hardly inferior to Dragon Roar City.
The city has a large population, with an even more complex array of powers within it.
In the past month, Gu Jinlai led the Demon God Guards and the masters subsequently summoned from Star State—a force as unstoppable as a bamboo splitting a cane—sweeping through cities that fell without a fight, and now, Fish Dragon City...
is the only city daring to resist.
...
At this moment, Gu Jinlai was resting at a camp a dozen miles outside Fish Dragon City.
Behind him, the Mechanical Tyrannosaurus was devouring a type of ore rich in metallic elements.
This was its food.
It was also the fundamental source of its metallic strength.
Next to Gu Jinlai, Cheng Wanli was briefing him on the situation in Fish Dragon City.
"State Governor, we have detailed information about Fish Dragon City in our Meteor Star Guard. This city is different from others; it is governed jointly by Dragon Sparrow Manor, Lizhou State, and the Overseas Twelve Islands. Though it’s within the territory of Jiangzhou, it doesn’t entirely belong to Dragon Sparrow Manor..."
Cheng Wanli explained.
This kind of city had existed in Red State and Star State before.
However, many cities like Yuanhua City were nominally under the control of the State Lord Mansion, but in reality, they had long been occupied by local powers like the Heavenly Gang Sect.
Red State territory also had such powers.
For example, Black Sand City, close to the borders of the Netherworld Sect, was heavily infiltrated.
Though it had a City Lord, the City Lord was overshadowed by the local Three Great Families and Four Great Powers, the real rulers of the city.
While these seven powers nominally revered the Purgatory Sect, it was still unclear how many belonged to the Netherworld Sect or other forces.
"It would be more accurate to describe this city as a dumping ground for overseas powers rather than a city within Jiangzhou. They dump their various overseas specialties in Fish Dragon City, exchange them for terrestrial materials here, and then delve deeper into the ocean. Dragon Sparrow Manor also greatly desires some marine products and naturally turns a blind eye to this phenomenon."
Cheng Wanli said, "Therefore, this city has always been governed by these three parties, and among them, Lizhou can be split into several forces, while the Overseas Twelve Islands are made up of twelve forces."
With that, he paused slightly in his speech, "Behind each of these forces, there sits a Primordial Spirit Monarch."
Gu Jinlai listened, not surprised in the slightest.
If these powers weren’t strong, they wouldn’t have forced Dragon Sparrow Manor to agree to such a compromise of joint governance.
Like Lizhou, ruled by the Three Great Families, Two Great Sects, and the Island Master—six powers, each led by a Primordial Spirit Monarch.
As for the Overseas Twelve Islands...
They were the most powerful twelve forces in the Eastern Sea Territory.
Among these twelve forces, some occupied islands hundreds of miles wide with millions of inhabitants, a scale exceeding those of Lingxiao City and Yuanhua City.
Of course, although many Primordial Spirit Real People existed among these forces, everyone pursued their own agenda.
Even within the six powers of Lizhou State, continuous strife for interests occurred, and should any show a hint of weakness, the other five wouldn’t hesitate to kick them while they were down.
The same was true for the Twelve Islands.
In terms of unity, neither side could compare with the solidarity of the Five Great Monarchs of Dragon Sparrow Manor.
Additionally, due to the overseas’ barrenness, their configuration of Spiritual Artifacts was also inferior to that of Dragon Sparrow Manor.
The ordinary level Spiritual Artifacts possessed by some Primordial Spirit Monarchs behind the Twelve Islands wouldn’t come as a surprise.
As Gu Jinlai listened to Cheng Wanli describe the intricate complexities of these forces, Gu Chifeng walked in from outside.
"Patriarch, an envoy from Fish Dragon City has come, hoping to see you."
"An envoy?"
Gu Jinlai pondered for a moment, having already guessed the envoy’s purpose.
Just right...
He planned to give Lizhou and the Eastern Sea Twelve Islands a bit of face, allowing them to leave with dignity to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.
He then said, "Let the envoy come in."
Following his order, a Demon God Guard soon led a group of people in.
Leading them was a middle-aged man in the Refining God Realm.
"Lizhou’s Xu Haiqing, greeting Governor Gu. The Governor is indeed as majestic and eminent as the legends describe."
The middle-aged man bowed respectfully.
"You represent the other two forces of Fish Dragon City, don’t you?"
Gu Jinlai calmly got straight to the point, "I am different from Dragon Sparrow Manor. Dragon Sparrow Manor can tolerate your existence, but on my territory, you must follow my rules. If Lizhou’s six families and the Eastern Sea Twelve Islands can accept this, I welcome you to do business in Fish Dragon City. If you cannot, please return to Lizhou and the Eastern Sea Islands."
At these words, Xu Haiqing’s smile stiffened slightly.
However, he quickly adjusted, maintaining his smile, "To congratulate Governor Gu on taking over Jiangzhou, we have specially prepared a lavish gift for you; all these are our overseas specialties..."
He clapped his hands.
Quickly, the people behind him began bringing over treasure boxes.
Xu Haiqing reached out and opened one of the items.
Inside, there was a crystal-clear pearl.
"This is the Eastern Sea Pearl, one of the unique treasure beads of the Eastern Sea. Grinding it into powder makes an excellent substance for preserving one’s youthful appearance. The Beauty Pill of Dragon Sparrow Manor is made primarily from this substance and brings in over fifty million in profit each year for the manor."
As Xu Haiqing spoke, he opened another chest, which contained a piece of blood coral, "This is Green Blood Tears, a superb medicinal supplement that enhances Qi and blood. For cultivators who are just entering the Martial Arts, elixirs made from this substance can advance their cultivation at the rate of a thousand miles a day. Even after cultivating True Qi, the elixirs made from Green Blood Tears still have a significant effect. We only began trading this with Dragon Sparrow Manor fourteen years ago, and in just fourteen years, the rate of increase of Qi Refining Realm masters at the manor has increased by a full sixty percent."
Having said this, he continued to introduce a few other treasures.
Each treasure was among the unique marine products.
And each had an extraordinary function.
Either they could fetch a great price in annual trade, or they could be used internally, entirely within one’s own family.
After completing the introduction, Xu Haiqing said, "The reason we put such precious treasures on display and for sale in Fish Dragon City is that we believe in the security of Fish Dragon City, a city we trust. Therefore, I hope to maintain the past cooperation model with Governor Gu and Dragon Sparrow Manor to jointly cast the prosperity of Fish Dragon City."
"Well said."
Gu Jinlai stated, "Now that you have finished, convey my message there. Tomorrow morning, I will lead troops to take over Fish Dragon City. I do not wish to see any resistance; otherwise... do not blame me for being ruthless. If you don’t wish to stay in Fish Dragon City, you may leave on your own. But as long as you’re in Fish Dragon City, you must follow my rules."
At this point, he paused, "As for what exactly those rules are, the Meteor Star Guard has been announcing them everywhere for the past month, so I assume you’ve already made inquiries."
Such unreserved remarks made Xu Haiqing’s smile increasingly stiff.
It took him a while before he responded, "Governor Gu, the reason why Fish Dragon City is so flourishing is due to its freedom that suits the conditions of various foreign parties. If from now on, Fish Dragon City follows the extremely stringent laws and regulations for cultivators as other cities in Jiangzhou State or Star State... I fear it won’t take long before few people will come to Fish Dragon City for consumption and trade, leading to a rapid decline, so why must Governor Gu... "
"Show the guest out."
Gu Jinlai calmly said.
He seemed unwilling to listen to Xu Haiqing any longer.
"Please."
Chi Feng stepped forward and spoke gravely.
Seeing this, Xu Haiqing finally restrained his smile, "Governor Gu, as Jiangzhou is freshly settled and many things need to be built, I urge you to primarily focus on the development of other cities in Jiangzhou. As for the matters of Fish Dragon City... please give us a little more time... This city has investments from many significant powers and individuals. If Governor Gu plans to ruin Fish Dragon City upon arrival, it would mean wasting those individuals’ investments, and if they cause unrest later, it might not be conducive to the stability of Jiangzhou."
"Let them cause unrest."
Gu Jinlai declared gravely, "Also, next time, don’t come."
Xu Haiqing’s expression shifted slightly.
Seeing Gu Jinlai’s firm attitude, though not knowing why he wanted such a course, he still added cautiously, "Governor Gu, think over it thrice."
With that, he turned and left.
And Gu Jinlai watched this group of six people leaving...
Six.
Only six!
But among the six, four had a Red status.
The leader, Xu Haiqing, had his Karma as dark red as ink.
Just from this, it was evident what kind of characters these foreign powers were.
If the Purgatory Sect or Cold Moon Sect stood on the wrong side and were thrust into the Demon Path sects, becoming more intense in their actions, then these foreign forces...
It meant truly living on the edge of a knife.
Moving from merchants to privateers, and from privateers to pirates was routine for them.
On their path of growth, they had tainted their hands with countless peoples’ blood.
Though he knew, maintaining the status quo of Fish Dragon City was harmless and beneficial to him, but...
He couldn’t face his own heart.
Compromise.
It’s either none or innumerable times.
Lizhou State and the Overseas Twelve Islands might be strong, but they were no more than loose sand. They were not yet powerful enough for Gu Jinlai to betray his own principles.
Thinking this, Gu Jinlai closed his eyes.
The battle of Dragon Roar City had ended a month ago.
In that month, he had conquered fourteen cities of Jiangzhou at a pace nearly of one city a day, leading the Demon God Guards.
These fourteen cities, along with the four cities he occupied when he entered Star State, Dragon Roar City, and the current Fish Dragon City, together formed the entire map of Jiangzhou.
And the battles and killings along the way...
Especially outside Dragon Roar City, eliminating hundreds of experts from Dragon Sparrow Manor in one strike, his Karma had reached a tremendously alarming level.
Despite repeatedly suppressing his Karma level with Qingguang, it was still at the high nineteenth rank.
In contrast...
It was Qingguang.
The quantity, astonishing enough to be deemed incredible.
One hundred and three.
