NOVPUBAfter passing through the portal, the scenery around Zhao Wei changed, and he curiously surveyed his surroundings.
He soon discovered that the landscape was the familiar Dead Land, and he was startled, "Your Majesty, has the Coastal State also fallen victim to the Black Blood Clan?"
"This place used to be a Sect I stayed in, and the person who did this is none other than Lu Shangda."
"Originally, when I entered the Origin State, I was somewhat worried, since we were dealing with a master from the Life and Death Realm. It would have been extremely troublesome and difficult to handle."
"Unexpectedly, after he entered the Origin State, he obtained the ancestral body of the Black Blood Royal Family but ended up tying his own hands and bungling the situation."
At this point, Lin Qian couldn’t help but laugh out loud; the development of the situation was unexpectedly smooth.
"Two years have passed, and I don’t know the current situation in the Coastal State," Lin Qian remarked with a sigh.
In order to reconnect Origin State and Coastal State, it was necessary to seal off the entire Small World, making it impossible to receive any news from the outside world.
Connecting with the warships of the Coastal State was also not an option.
Therefore, Lin Qian simply focused on cultivating, confident that with his master there, along with the tens of thousands of troops left on the warships, there was no need to worry about their safety.
However, Lin Qian soon realized he was mistaken.
Where the warship had previously hovered in mid-air, there was no trace left, but on the ground, Lin Qian saw the remains of the warship.
From the condition of the wreckage, Lin Qian could tell that the warship had not been destroyed by an attack but had self-destructed.
"Stay here." As soon as Lin Qian’s words fell, he disappeared from the spot, leaving Zhao Wei alone to return to the Huaxia Empire.
After entering the Empire, Lin Qian immediately appeared before Zhuge Ming.
"What happened in the Coastal State, why is there a warship that self-destructed?" Lin Qian asked Zhuge Ming directly, his brows furrowed tightly, "Why haven’t you reported this to me?"
Seeing Lin Qian ask this, Zhuge Ming seemed to have expected it, and knelt down, "Your Majesty, you were at a critical moment in your breakthrough, I truly did not dare to disturb you. Moreover, the situation was not dire, hence I did not report it."
Then, Zhuge Ming explained the whole situation to Lin Qian in detail. 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓅𝓊𝓫.𝒸ℴ𝓶
It turned out that just over a month ago, Shengtian Sect suddenly joined forces with the current Divine Sword Sect, as well as the Great Spear Sect, Beast Taming Sect, Quenching Fire Sect, and Medical Sect, to declare war on the Wanxiang Sect and the nearby Coastal Sect.
Seeing such an imposing force, the Sect Master of the Coastal Sect, Hai Xiaoyun, immediately switched sides and joined the forces attacking the Wanxiang Sect.
Angered, Qin Wushuang demanded from Hai Xiaoyun the storage ring that Lin Qian had originally given.
However, Hai Xiaoyun outright denied having such an item, infuriating Qin Wushuang who cursed at him intensely.
In the end, Wanxiang Sect and Divine Sword Sect, originally just a few hundred people, were taking on the rest of the powers in the Coastal State.
At that time, Zhuge Ming decided not to act rashly until Lin Qian returned.
Thus, when the large forces initially came to attack, Zhuge Ming ordered the removal of one warship and used self-destruction as a deterrent.
Zhuge Ming’s decision was highly effective, causing significant losses to the opposing side.
The remaining four warships then left the land of the Coastal State and flew to the open sea, taking no specific action.
Everything was to wait for Lin Qian’s return.
Zhuge Ming knew that once His Majesty returned from the Origin State, everything would be manageable.
After hearing Zhuge Ming’s report, Lin Qian nodded in satisfaction, "Good, I am very pleased with how you handled this. You’re absolved of any crime. Rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhuge Ming quickly got up from the ground and was moved to tears of gratitude towards Lin Qian.
"But Your Majesty, I still had two other reasons for not moving hastily," Zhuge Ming said after rising, preparing to report further.
Lin Qian, seeing Zhuge Ming bowing, chuckled lightly, "The first one I can guess, to legitimately turn the Coastal State into a second Origin State, right?"
"Indeed, Your Majesty," Zhuge Ming replied with a light laugh in response, "They struck first and have now fully occupied the Coastal State. By that time, Shengtian Sect will surely become arrogant."
"The character of the Shengtian Sect has also been investigated by your servant, fully understood."
"After some time, those who followed Shengtian Sect will start to regret, as they will find that the promises Shengtian Sect once made to them were completely a joke."
"When that time comes, with Shengtian Sect losing the support of its people, our counterattack would be justified. By then, Your Majesty’s efforts enabling you to rightfully take over the Coastal State would be completely logical."
This was Zhuge Ming’s plan; Wanxiang Sect was just a temporary residence for Your Majesty following Imperial Teacher Wei Wushuang, and they had done all that was morally required. It was not necessary to go to war with Shengtian Sect solely for the sake of Wanxiang Sect.
However, the war with Shengtian Sect was inevitable, and victory was assured; hence, before that, how to gain the most benefit for Your Majesty was what Zhuge Ming needed to consider.
"What’s the second reason?" Lin Qian then asked.
"It seems that things on Shengtian Sect’s side are not as straightforward as they appear on the surface; there seems to be someone supporting them in the shadows."
"Because of this uncertainty, your servant didn’t dare to rashly engage in battle without Your Majesty’s return, thus waiting for Your Majesty to make a decision after returning."
After finishing his words, Zhuge Ming stepped back three steps, bowed deeply, and fell silent.
Lin Qian too remained silent, a hint of surprise flickering in his eyes as Zhuge Ming had mentioned, so there could very likely be such a matter.
Who was behind Shengtian Sect supporting them? Black Blood Clan’s Lu Shangda, had already become a specimen in the Black Blood Hall of the Origin State, could it be that, apart from this, Shengtian Sect had help from others?
Could the trump cards be not only Black Blood Clan’s Lu Shangda and the elder Yuan Wuji?
"We’ll see as we go; where is the current position of the warship?" Lin Qian thought for a while then asked Zhuge Ming.
Zhuge Ming promptly reported the current location of the warship to Lin Qian.
After receiving the location information, Lin Qian left the Huaxia Empire, met up with Zhao Wei outside, and flew toward the direction given by Zhuge Ming.
"Is this what they call the sea? It truly is boundless." After leaving the Coastal State and looking at the vast ocean, Zhao Wei, who had never seen such a scene, expressed his amazement.
Flying deeper into the sea for over an hour, Zhao Wei pointed ahead and shouted, "Your Majesty, look quickly."
"Yes!" Lin Qian nodded silently, and not far ahead in mid-air, were precisely four hovering warships.
