Chapter 346: Flame Blood

"Mr. Qin Lin."

Lord Tianchuan could not help but say, "Do you know how many low-level chaotic beings exist on the Jueying Star?"

"Not entirely sure, perhaps several ten thousand? Or more?" Lin Qing said casually, "But this has nothing to do with quantity, does it?"

Lord Tianchuan shook his head slightly and said, "Among these low-level chaotic beings, quite a few have entered the ranks of us Earls, and some even take peak experts as their masters, or even belong to the Eternal!"

He looked at Lin Qing. "Several have created their own Space-Time Divine Arts and possess innate Universal Treasures. Mr. Qin Lin, are you certain you can be invincible among the low-level chaotic beings of the Jueying Star?"

"Fakes cannot become real." Lin Qing was too lazy to explain further.

"True then. Is Mr. Qin Lin's master willing to act?" He said, "We lords of the Jueying Star have a war agreement: except for provincial wars or national wars, we strive to fight for territory in ways that minimize casualties during peacetime."

He continued, "We have always determined territory ownership based on the strength rankings of lords and their subordinates. As long as half the lords agree, a contest can be initiated at any time."

"Territory ownership?" Lin Qing said, "Does that mean your territories change frequently? Even the name of this Tianchuan District would have to change back and forth?"

Lord Tianchuan laughed and shook his head. "Mr. Qin Lin misunderstands. The territory I speak of does not refer to the Jueying Continent. Although the citizen taxes and cultivated talents of the Jueying Continent hold some value, the truly important things are not these, but rather the natural regions of the Jueying Continent unsuitable for human habitation."

"Oh?" Lin Qing looked at him.

"There are thirty-one dangerous yet valuable natural regions on the Jueying Star."

He said, "These dangerous lands were born due to special factors such as planetary rules, environment, and cosmic source power, so they also come with various treasures. Therefore, these no-man's-lands are actually treasure troves for us."

He sighed, "Thus, the high-level chaotic beings of our Jueying Star are generally wealthier. Those who receive such fiefs all possess some background and connections."

Lin Qing understood.

"So, Lord Tianchuan's meaning is... if I can help Lord Qishui obtain a higher-ranked territory, Lord Qishui might give me the Dice of Fate?" Lin Qing said.

"Correct." Lord Tianchuan nodded and said, "Lord Qishui's own strength ranks in the upper-middle among the twelve Earls of the Jueying Star, but his background and connections are average. He cannot hire powerful subordinates, and his subordinates rank at the bottom among the twelve factions. Therefore, the fief he received is also relatively low."

Lin Qing pondered thoughtfully.

He said, "Two battles: one for the lord and one for the subordinates. If you can help push his subordinate battle ranking to the front, and then have your master step in to push his lord battle ranking up as well, then naturally he will be willing to give you the Dice of Fate."

"One can hire people..." Lin Qing pondered for a moment and said, "I have some questions."

"Since a ranking battle can be initiated at any time within the Jueying Star as long as half the lords agree, even if I help Lord Qishui once, if other lords initiate a ranking battle again after it ends, wouldn't that be in vain?" Lin Qing asked.

"Oh, there is a time limit." He said, "Each ranking battle must be separated by at least thirty-eight million years. The last ranking battle was two hundred million years ago."

"Two hundred million years?" Lin Qing was surprised. "No ranking battle has been initiated for such a long interval?"

"Of course."

He said, "A ranking battle is a life-or-death struggle; even lords can die. Unless there is absolute certainty, no one is willing to initiate a ranking battle lightly, preferring to keep a lower ranking."

Lin Qing nodded slowly, then looked Lord Tianchuan over again and said, "If I go to help Lord Qishui, does Lord Tianchuan not fear losing his own interests?"

"I have nothing to lose." Lord Tianchuan smiled faintly. "Among the twelve lords, I rank eleventh, three places lower than Lord Qishui. Even if his ranking rises, it does not affect me."

Lin Qing was speechless.

He shook his head and smiled, saying, "Since the ranking battle is so important, surely the various lords have hired other experts to help as well?"

"Of course." He said, "Hiring some powerful low-level chaotic beings is one thing; the cost is not too high. But hiring true experts among the high-level chaotic beings, especially to participate in such life-or-death battles, the cost is enormous. The income of thirty-eight million years might not even be enough; it would not be worth the loss."

Lin Qing nodded in understanding.

"Moreover, even among low-level chaotic beings, those true peerless geniuses from great powers simply do not look down on such small gains." Lord Tianchuan sighed. "Being able to hire a disciple of an Eternal Existence is already remarkable."

He looked at Lin Qing and said, "How has Mr. Qin Lin considered it? If you are confident, I will contact Lord Qishui for you."

"Very well, thank you, Lord Tianchuan. You may contact Lord Qishui now." Lin Qing said.

Lord Tianchuan was surprised and said, "Does Mr. Qin Lin not need to consult your master?"

"This is a trivial matter; I dare not trouble my master." Lin Qing shook his head slightly. "I have other candidates in mind. However, does Lord Tianchuan have intelligence on these lords?"

"I will send you the latest version." Saying this, he sent two pieces of intelligence to Lin Qing through the Second Universe Network.

Lin Qing immediately began to browse them carefully.

One piece of intelligence concerned the elites among the subordinates of the twelve lords. He glanced at it casually and paid it no further mind.

The other piece of intelligence was about the twelve lords themselves.

The other eleven lords varied in strength, some strong and some weak.

But the only one who truly made him feel pressure was the one ranked first, 'Fushan Bo'.

This Fushan Bo has held the first place for tens of billions of years. His strength is considered top-tier among high-level chaotic beings, and the gap between him and the peak experts among the chaotic beings is not particularly large.

"A Universal Treasure cultivated nearly to its limit, three generations of chaotic creature bloodline, a self-created Space-Time Divine Art that is already perfected? And multiple Source-Level Secret Techniques cultivated to perfection?" Lin Qing looked at Fushan Bo, ranked first, and felt a secret shock in his heart.

"How is it?" He asked, "I wonder, among the experts Mr. Qin Lin has hired, what rank could they achieve in the lord battle?"

Lin Qing pondered for a moment and said, "This Fushan Bo looks quite strong. I wonder if his self-created Space-Time Divine Art is a single Divine Art or a combined Divine Art?"

"Of course, it is a single one." Lord Tianchuan sighed. "Combined Divine Arts are rare to begin with; integrating them with Space-Time rules is even more difficult."

"In that case..." Lin Qing nodded slightly in thought.

"Actually, Yan Xue Bo, ranked second, is even stronger than Fushan Bo." He said. "Yan Xue Bo has cultivated his innate Universal Treasure to its limit. Although his bloodline development is slightly inferior to Fushan Bo's, his actual strength is superior. It is only that Yan Xue Bo is severely countered by Fushan Bo, which is why he ranks second."

He shook his head and said, "Therefore, everyone on the Jueying Star says that Yan Xue Bo is the strongest on the Jueying Star, and he is also a direct disciple of an Eternal Existence."

"Oh?"

Lin Qing glanced over and said nothing, only stating, "I am not certain if I can help Lord Qishui surge to first place, but I will try my best."

"Oh?" Lord Tianchuan was somewhat surprised.

He had only said that; he never expected the other party to truly possess such strength and connections, not only being powerful himself but also able to hire experts comparable to Fushan Bo and Yan Xue Bo?

However, this made him even more curious about who the other party's master was. Even experts of such a level, the other party considered a trivial matter and dared not trouble his master.

Could he really be a disciple of an Eternal Existence?

"Very well, I will contact Lord Qishui for you immediately."

Lord Tianchuan nodded slightly, then handed Lin Qing a space crystal and said, "This is the bounty from that witch and the ten thousand Universe Sands I purchased for the Mirror of Seeking the Divine. Please accept it."