Chapter 835: Grasp

After a "small" meeting yesterday, the big meeting was held the next day. This was also the largest, and likely the final, major meeting the two worlds would hold in this remaining time.

The meeting was chosen to be held on a lifeboat in Huangbaijie, though not the meritorious lifeboat from before, but a new one; the original one had gone back for maintenance, and a new one had been sailed in.

This arrangement was strongly insisted upon by the Tianmo side. The Human side, acting on the suspicious spirit that "if something is abnormal, there must be a demon, and the Tianmo are harboring evil intentions," asked them why they had to go to such unnecessary trouble. The Tianmo's reply was that lifeboats are not as sturdy as a Great Ship, and a long expedition is arduous and requires maintenance, hence the replacement. The Human side then retorted: "So delicate, yet you still sail the Void? If you have to change ships every three days, you might as well stay home and rest." The other side naturally turned a deaf ear, and the venue remained unchanged.

Regardless, the scale of this meeting was unprecedented. Almost all the important figures from both sides appeared; eight Sword Saints on this side, nine Tianyou High Priests on that side, and over a dozen top-tier powerhouses. Sitting there, the pressure was also top-tier. There was no shortage of secondary powerhouses on both sides, who could only serve as atmosphere-setters while sitting on the sidelines.

The venue was on the second deck of the lifeboat. All the original cabins had been opened up, and the four walls had been adjusted to a transparent state, allowing one to see the endless Void outside.

In the middle of the empty hall, there was only one oval table, with nine chairs on each side. On this side, Qian Sword sat in the center, while on the other side, the head of the Tianyou High Priests, "Haotian High Priest," presided.

Once everyone was seated, the Spirit of the crowd sharpened. Both sides had already gone through several meetings, so there was no need for pleasantries; they went straight to the topic.

"The Airship returned from space yesterday, safe and sound." The one who spoke was the "Songtian High Priest" beside Haotian High Priest. He had a head shaped like a teapot and looked far less human than Haotian High Priest. His status was equivalent to Kun Sword, but unlike the leisurely Kun Sword, Songtian High Priest almost acted as the brains of Tianmo Jie, which was similar to "Zhen Sword." He had clashed with the Human World many times and accumulated quite a bit of hatred. His style was aggressive, seemingly wanting to completely suppress the Human spirit, while Haotian High Priest sometimes played the good cop to ease the conflict. "So you have all seen it; the external enemy is so powerful that there is simply no hope of resistance. Setting sail, fleeing the old world, finding a new world, and preserving the spark is a matter of urgency. You should also put aside your disputes and plan properly for the young people, shouldn't you?"

On this side, Zhen Sword, a refined and courteous Sword Saint, raised an eyebrow and said: "Oh? You two took such a big risk, and this is the conclusion you've reached? You encounter danger, so you have to run away immediately? But your ship can't run at all, can it? Do I need to remind you that if it weren't for the child on our side, your Great Ship would have become a living coffin. What, one coffin wasn't buried, so you're building a bigger one? Have you thought of the epitaph yet?"

Songtian High Priest frowned and shouted: "Nonsense! Being able to return safely was due to everyone working together; how could it be decided by a mere child? It's fine for everyone to boast about their own achievements, but don't blow it out of proportion."

Zhen Sword suddenly shouted loudly: "You won't even admit this? I don't expect you to have any conscience or know how to repay kindness, but you even want to erase the fact that you were saved? At a time like this, you are still lying through your teeth; it shows you have no sincerity at all, and you talk of cooperation?! Since that's the case, let's just break it off! Let's see who can drag more of the other side down to hell in the end! If we are to perish together, at least it will be a heroic end! Let's go!"

After he finished speaking, the Human powerhouses, including Qian Sword, stood up with a bang and walked toward the back together, showing no reluctance and preparing to leave the scene immediately. Songtian High Priest was also stunned for a moment, momentarily taken aback. At this time, Haotian High Priest finally stood up as well and said: "Wait! Emperor Qian Sword, Emperor Zhen Sword... don't get angry. This is just a small squabble; why get so angry? Everyone, have a drink of water, and let's talk calmly."

Qian Sword gave him some face, reached out to stop the others, and said slowly: "I do not doubt the sincerity of Emperor Haotian High Priest in wanting to achieve cooperation, but it has come to this point, and it is time for you and me to talk face-to-face and openly. Still thinking of using small tricks like letting others charge into battle while you hide in the back to maneuver will only slow down progress even more. And time is very precious right now; we cannot afford to waste it."

Haotian said: "That is true. Let everyone speak openly. I will speak. Everyone, please sit down first; there will definitely be a result today."

His attitude was quite gentle. Several people on the Human side exchanged glances: As expected. Their true colors have been tested.

Being tough from the start, and even threatening to withdraw, was a strategy everyone had discussed. The original intention was to test the other side's attitude.

In the previous negotiations, the Humans had been somewhat at a disadvantage in terms of momentum, not only because they had been at a disadvantage on the battlefield for so many years and their strength was slightly inferior, but also because this Airship plan was controlled by the Tianmo side. Technology, manpower, and resources—the Tianmo held the dominant position in every aspect.

In everyone's view, the Tianmo bringing the Humans along was at most just to make the plan go more smoothly, cost less, and make the ship larger, serving as the icing on the cake. If they were ruthless and threw away all pretense, the ship could seemingly still take off without the Humans.

So no matter how you looked at it, the Tianmo had more confidence to completely break things off. Of course, for the sake of negotiation strategy, the Humans would also pretend to be full of confidence, unafraid of a total breakdown, so as not to be completely manipulated and to gain more advantages. However, whether the confidence was real or fake, they knew in their hearts; the Humans were ultimately harboring some lack of confidence. Therefore, in the previous tug-of-war, the Tianmo side's momentum was always higher.

But yesterday, after some mysteries were revealed, everyone suddenly discovered that the Tianmo side was actually begging for the Humans' help. Of course, this "begging" was not a good kind; they really wanted to bring millions of Humans to use as fuel. If the Humans withdrew, these costs would all have to be paid by the Tianmo side, and they could not afford it either.

So... the other side was just bluffing. Both sides actually had reservations, but because of the information gap, the Tianmo side knew of the Humans' lack of confidence, while the Humans knew nothing of the Tianmo's lack of confidence.

Therefore, this time, as soon as they started, everyone performed a big act. By bluffing like this, they immediately exposed their true colors—these guys were indeed harboring evil intentions, and thus were fierce in appearance but faint in heart.

Everyone sneered in their hearts, and when they sat down again, their momentum was completely different. That Songtian also realized that he seemed to have shown weakness and was quite annoyed, but he could not help but continue to force himself to hold on.

Haotian High Priest looked very kind, like a human elder, with silver hair reaching the ground, shimmering and glowing. He said in a harmonious voice: "Regarding the matter of that child yesterday, he admitted himself that he was saved by the youth, and I admire him. He is indeed a good child with good ability. Where is that child? Let me see him."

Qian Sword beckoned, and a youth in the back row stood up and walked forward generously. It wasn't until he walked to the table that everyone noticed a person had come; they hadn't noticed him at all before.

Haotian had only noticed him approaching a little faster than the others, and was secretly surprised. He looked him up and down and praised him sincerely: "Good, only talent can be truly out..." He wanted to praise him for being outstanding, only to find that the other party was not outstanding at all; on the contrary, he was completely blended in among the crowd. He smiled and used a literary phrase: "Truly 'harmonizing with the light and mingling with the dust'."

At the same time, gazes from all directions shot onto his face from all sides, among which there was no lack of those harboring malice. The youth's expression was calm and neither humble nor arrogant, and he was not affected in the slightest.

After praising him, Haotian said: "Such a good child will definitely be able to get on the ship. The quota must be guaranteed, and there must be extra rewards. With you on the ship, our descendants will have one more layer of protection; this is also everyone's good fortune."

The Humans looked at each other, and Qian Sword shook his head and said: "Is this child's ability only for protecting a ship? Old fellow, I don't believe your vision is that narrow."

Haotian asked: "Besides the ship, is there anything else more worth protecting?"

Qian Sword did not answer directly, but asked back: "That inexplicable ship of yours, which part of it is worth this child risking his life to protect?"

Both sides were silent for a while. Xun Sword clearly noticed that there were several malicious gazes on the opposite side sweeping over the youth from time to time, almost undisguised.

Haotian High Priest hesitated for a moment. At this time, Songtian High Priest should have said something provocative, and he would then persuade them, but since both sides had agreed that the leaders would talk, he had to speak bluntly: "I know you have a grand plan, but this plan is actually very crazy and very slim. This child can be considered a gift sent by the gods, but how to use him requires us to weigh it carefully."

Hearing his wording, several people, including Kun Sword, raised their eyebrows, deeply displeased.

"However, if you let him carry out that plan of yours, everyone would be happy if it succeeds, but the risk is extremely high. There is an eighty or ninety percent chance of failure, wasting such a good opportunity in vain. If you let him protect the Airship, although it can still only exchange for a few million young seeds, it can increase the original sixty percent probability to ninety percent, with a qualitative improvement in safety, truly exerting his role. To use our proverb: rather than wanting to fly up to pick the high moon, it is better to reach out and pick the fruit on the branch."

Qian Sword laughed after hearing this and said: "I was wondering why you were so timid; it turns out you didn't understand the situation. Calling you an old fellow with narrow vision, it seems your vision really is narrow. Alright—Changle, come out and tell them, what percentage of certainty do you have?"

The youth named Changle stood generously in front of the crowd of powerhouses and said loudly: "Ninety percent."

The room was in an uproar.

That Songtian High Priest slapped the table and stood up, shouting: "A mere child dares to speak such wild words! How absurd? Ninety percent? Why don't you say one hundred percent?"

That Changle said: "That is because you are unwilling to help. I have to set aside ten percent to guard against the sword stabbing from behind. If you also stood in front of me, what would be wrong with saying one hundred percent?"

The words were resonant and forceful, and the hall fell silent for a moment.

Qian Sword laughed even more loudly and said: "Haotian... you old fellows who call yourselves Tianyou, have you heard the child's words? The youth dares to say ninety percent; what percentage do you dare to believe? Even if you are as timid as a mouse and only dare to believe half, I ask you now: there is now a fifty percent chance of survival placed in front of you. Your lives, your wealth, your careers, your relatives and friends... everything can be preserved. Can you still summon the courage you had back then to give it a try?"