Chapter 696: Lord Zhu Xuan Chen

Inside the study, the gold-and-silver double-pupiled man called Lord Zhu Xuan Chen paid no heed to the Regent's somewhat angry words, but simply sat down on a chair to the side. His complexion was a pallor that was hard to conceal, clearly showing that although Dean Pang's earlier slash had been dodged by him using a special Mi Fa, he himself had still suffered extremely severe injuries.

"Gong Yuan, questioning an ally like that isn't quite proper, you know."

"We kept our promise and didn't let Pang Pang Qianyuan walk out of the Dark Cave — wasn't that what you requested before?" Lord Zhu Xuan Chen coughed twice, then said with a smile.

The Regent's face was dark as he said, "But you destroyed Great Xia!"

"Now that the Dark Cave has been opened, Great Xia City will be hard to protect!"

Lord Zhu Xuan Chen said indifferently, "You're not the king of Great Xia anyway, so why bother worrying so much?"

"I am the Regent of Great Xia." The Regent said expressionlessly.

"Do you think that after the little king completes his coronation, you'll still be able to continue being your Regent?"

Lord Zhu Xuan Chen smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, alright, let's stop with these meaningless words. Gong Yuan, set your sights further ahead. Once you become a King-level powerhouse in the future, you can completely found a dynasty empire a hundred times larger than Great Xia. At that time, you'll be the founding Emperor, and your achievements will be a hundred times greater than those ancestors of your Gong family."

The Regent's eyes shifted slightly as he said, "King-level... easier said than done."

Yet his tone unconsciously softened.

"With our support, King-level isn't unattainable. You should have a good idea of our strength." Lord Zhu Xuan Chen said lightly.

The Regent was silent for a while, then said, "What do you want to do next?"

Lord Zhu Xuan Chen said, "Although this time we destroyed the Phase Force Tree of the Holy Profound Star Academy and released the Dark Cave, unfortunately at the final moment we were obstructed by Pang Pang Qianyuan. His Zi Wo Feng Yin not only sealed away the two Otherkind Kings and the Malice Heihe, but also suppressed the speed at which the Dark Cave releases malice energy."

"Originally we wanted to make Great Xia fall as quickly as possible, but looking at it now, we can only stretch the timeline a bit longer."

"However, from our perspective, this is actually quite good too."

Lord Zhu Xuan Chen suddenly laughed again, saying, "Because if those two Otherkind Kings really came out, it would actually not be a good thing for us. After all, I can't exactly invite two King-level powerhouses from headquarters to suppress them, can I? Otherkind creatures have unfathomable minds; no one knows if they'll bring down backlash the next moment."

Although their Guiyi Hui had some entanglement with the Otherkind, that was because they had their own purposes. If the Fish Chi King and Corpse Mang King came out smoothly, with his strength at Reach Seventh Rank, he absolutely wouldn't be able to command them. It was even possible that if either of these two Otherkind Kings was displeased, they might turn around and destroy him — that wasn't impossible either.

And now that Pang Pang Qianyuan had helped him temporarily seal those two Otherkind Kings, it couldn't be better. He also had more time to carry out the arrangements of their "Guiyi Hui."

"Great Xia City should be abandoned next. Gong Yuan, do you have any plans?" Lord Zhu Xuan Chen asked with a smile.

"What do you mean?" The Regent frowned.

Lord Zhu Xuan Chen raised his palm, and phase-force light bloomed from it, directly forming a massive map before them — it was precisely the territorial map of Great Xia.

"This time the Dark Cave shattered, and malice energy will pour out continuously. But because of some suppressions Pang Pang Qianyuan made before being sealed, from my observations, in the future the malice energy will use the Holy Profound Star Academy as its source, then spread all the way west, forming a massive contaminated zone."

He snapped his fingers, and the Regent then saw a black region running east to west appear on this territorial map. This region was like a giant Heihe, almost splitting the entire Great Xia territory in two.

"Within the next two or three years, Great Xia should come to look like this."

"Since Great Xia City will be abandoned, the Wang Ting will seek another city to serve as the new Ducheng. Where do you think that Princess will choose to go?" Lord Zhu Xuan Chen asked with a smile.

The Regent pondered slightly, saying, "She should choose to head to the southern region of Great Xia, because there are more old officials and families supporting her there."

"And you?"

The Regent was briefly stunned, then stared at Lord Zhu Xuan Chen thoughtfully, saying, "You want me to go to the northern region of Great Xia?"

"Following the Princess and the others to the south will only drag you into endless disputes. Now that Great Xia is already in chaos, with your reputation and authority, why keep following that little king? Raise your arm in a rallying cry, head north, establish yourself as king — that's enough to split the realm with the Princess." Lord Zhu Xuan Chen said.

"Moreover, with our support, it won't be long before your strength becomes unimaginably powerful. When the time comes to recover the south and complete unification, it won't actually be that difficult."

The Regent's expression shifted slightly as he said, "You want to split Great Xia and weaken its strength to facilitate some of your schemes afterward, don't you?"

"But with your strength, you actually don't need to do all this... Looks like you were hurt quite badly by Pang Pang Qianyuan this time."

Lord Zhu Xuan Chen's expression finally darkened somewhat. He didn't deny it either, saying lightly, "You'll understand once you take a hit from a King-level powerhouse yourself."

The Regent shook his head, saying, "I'm not so foolish as to overestimate myself."

Even Lord Zhu Xuan Chen, whose strength had reached Reach Seventh Rank and who possessed many Shu De Mi Fa techniques, had been casually slashed by Pang Pang Qianyuan into such a state. He himself, at merely Fifth Rank Marquis, would probably die from a single slash.

"However, I do indeed have some interest in the proposal you mentioned." The Regent changed the subject, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Great Xia City would be destroyed, and Great Xia going forward would become extremely chaotic; the old rules would shatter along with it.

If he followed Gong Gong Luanyu and the little king in retreating to the south, even using the little king's gender issue as a pretext to make things difficult, he would still get entangled in the many constraints of various forces. That would only hamper his ambitions. Rather than that, it would be better to lead his people north, and once the timing was ripe, break away from the Wang Ting entirely, carve out the north, and establish himself as king.

With Guiyi Hui's support, his ambitions in the future would not stop at Great Xia.

Perhaps, just as Lord Zhu Xuan Chen had said, the achievements he created would far surpass those of the Gong family's former kings.

At this thought, the Regent's eyes grew somewhat fervent.

Although he understood that this would only make him increasingly dependent on "Guiyi Hui," certain things had already been pushed to this stage — he couldn't truly turn back, and the man before him wouldn't allow him to turn back either.

"This is a good proposal." In the end, he showed a smile toward Lord Zhu Xuan Chen.

A gentle smile also appeared on Lord Zhu Xuan Chen's pale face; the Regent's perceptiveness pleased him greatly.

"Regent, I also have a small request on my side." At this moment, Shen Shen Jinxiao, who had remained silent all this while, looked toward the Regent and said with a smile.

"Shen Shi, please speak freely." The Regent waved his hand.

"It's nothing else... Great Xia City will be destroyed, and the other powers here should also choose to relocate. Among them, that must include House Luolan Mansion." Shen Shen Jinxiao said slowly.

Upon hearing this, the Regent's gaze immediately flickered.

"Once House Luolan Mansion relocates its headquarters, that guardian strange formation should also be affected. I think this might be a very good opportunity." Shen Shen Jinxiao said with a smile, his ten fingers interlaced.

"Shen Shi still wants to set your sights on House Luolan Mansion? Aren't you afraid of that Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan?" The Regent said.

"Afraid, certainly afraid." Shen Shen Jinxiao smiled frankly, saying, "But the enmity has already been formed. Since it can't be smoothed over, we might as well go all the way. Moreover... with 'Guiyi Hui' backing us, we may not necessarily need to fear them."

The Regent was silent for a few seconds, then said, "What does Shen Shi want to do?"

"Lord Zhu Xuan Chen will keep an eye on the Holy Profound Star Academy side. However, the Princess is on good terms with House Luolan Mansion, so her forces here will need you to find some pretext to contain them. As for the rest, leave it to me." Shen Shen Jinxiao cupped his fists in a salute, saying.

The Regent glanced at him, saying, "On House Luolan Mansion's side, there's not only a Xi Chan now, but also that fellow called Seeing Niu Niu Biaobiao — he's also an unknown threat. Are you sure you can handle it?"

Lord Zhu Xuan Chen at the side smiled slightly, saying, "Don't underestimate Shen Shen Jinxiao. He's someone even that Fish Chi King praised. Speaking of which, he's truly well-suited for our 'Guiyi Hui.' In the future, his achievements will surpass mine."

The Regent's eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of shock in his gaze.

"Lord Zhu Xuan Chen is being far too kind to me."

Shen Shen Jinxiao gave a helpless smile, then looked toward the Regent, his smile deep and inscrutable.

"I don't want 'Divine Essence Matter.' I only want... Jiang Qing."