Chapter 205: Is it useful? No!

After sensing the change at Moon Fall, Jiang Mingzhi came over alone to investigate.

This group from the Eastern Wasteland was not a monolith; the dozen or so people in their party came from different vassal kingdoms and harbored various grievances among themselves.

Although they would not turn on each other for the sake of a common goal for now, they were all exercising restraint, and who knew when a spark might cause a total eruption.

Treasures are very suitable kindling.

If something truly precious were discovered and its ownership could not be determined, it would certainly be turned over to the Chu Family in the end, with rewards distributed based on merit.

... But who the hell cares about the Chu Family's rewards!!?

Do not think that because the Eastern Wasteland is vast and sparsely populated, looking like a wilderness, the Chu Family does not play the game of imperial power.

They do!

Although the Chu Family is the co-ruler of the Eastern Wasteland, they are not good people; they play the art of enfeoffment with consummate skill.

They bestow rewards today and suppress you tomorrow; if anyone refuses to submit, they lead troops to crush them.

After the suppression ends, they take back a portion of the reclaimed land and continue to enfeoff the remaining small portion to the various kingdoms that contributed.

If this kind of enfeoffment were to continue in the mortal world, it might lead to a dispersal of power, eventually resulting in various lords rising up in rebellion.

However, this world has Dharma Power.

The Chu Family, this imperial clan of the Eastern Wasteland, has only ever enfeoffed insignificant land.

True cultivation arts, resources, and strength... all are firmly held in their own hands.

At most, they let a little trickle through their fingers to the market every few decades, inciting the world to fight over it.

Do the various kingdoms not understand this logic?

They understand.

But just understanding it, is it useful?

No.

They cannot beat them.

Strength is supreme.

Whoever has the biggest fist has the final say.

Having sat firmly in the position of Eastern Wasteland Lord for many years, the Chu Family's high-end power has accumulated year by year, and they have not been forced into a desperate situation for many years.

Any one of those trump cards they flip over casually is a top-tier expert that other kingdoms would dream of having.

But those already revealed are so powerful, let alone what kind of existences those hidden in their hands might be.

No one dares to gamble; at least... no one is willing to use their own family's foundation to gamble.

At most, they use various means to intensify conflicts within other kingdoms, then let others be the ones to stick their necks out and test the Chu Family.

Under these circumstances, the Chu Family's reaction is very intriguing.

Regarding the battles between their vassal kingdoms, the Chu Family not only did not stop them but actually maintained a supportive attitude.

"The Eastern Wasteland has valued martial arts since ancient times; fight with Heaven, fight with the Earth, fight with people!"

"If a kingdom cannot experience the tempering of blood and fire, it cannot truly become strong!"

"Fight to your heart's content!"

"Everything you gain through war does not need to be turned over; it all belongs to you!"

The Chu Family acts like a warmongering lunatic, happy only when the flames of war are lit everywhere.

But is this the real reason?

It is not.

This is a very clever trap.

In these battles, the conflict between these kingdoms and the Chu Family has been invisibly diverted to conflicts between them and other kingdoms through such means.

Accumulated year by year, they have no ill will toward the Chu Family, but they find their neighboring kingdoms to be eyesores.

A very clever point.

Their conflicts have been shifted, and their excess fighting spirit has been consumed in the infighting between the various kingdoms.

So, has no one noticed this situation?

There have always been smart people, and there have never been few of them.

But even if someone noticed, so what?

It still comes back to that classic line.

Is it useful?

No!

It is not that there are no smart people in the various kingdoms who can see through the Chu Family's overt plot, but even if they understand the pros and cons, they can only choose to enter the game.

It is like a double-edged sword; you know it might hurt you, but you have no choice but to pick it up to protect yourself.

Because if you do not pick it up, someone else certainly will.

When that time comes, others have a sword, and you have no sword in your hand...

Never mind waiting for the day the double-edged sword backfires, you might not even see the next day's sun.

There is one more point: the Chu Family at least ostensibly keeps its promise not to participate in these wars, nor does it profit from them.

War is a method that can truly allow one's country to rapidly become strong in a short period of time.

Although the Jiang Kingdom, where Jiang Mingzhi comes from, is not among the strongest, it can at least rank in the top ten.

He is very clear about the twists and turns behind this, so he will not give Chu Hairen a chance to continue intensifying the conflict.

He came alone, intending to quietly pocket the treasure.

But when he actually followed the aura and arrived, he was very disappointed.

This cave had already been reached by others first; the ore vein was empty, with only a few scattered pieces of Purple Crystal remaining.

After venting his anger by slaughtering all the demon wolves, Jiang Mingzhi, who was extracting the demon wolves' essence blood, sensed an outsider approaching.

He had assumed it was just an ordinary village rustic, but he had not expected the person to avoid his trap.

"..."

Jiang Mingzhi scrutinized the youth opposite him over and over, wanting to discern some clues from the details.

Although the youth looked refined, his simple, elegant robes were completely ordinary, showing no distinguishing features.

Finally, after observing for a long time, Jiang Mingzhi discovered the greatest point of incongruity.

The other party actually possessed no Dharma Power.

!!!

Jiang Mingzhi could not sense any Dharma Power on the other party.

Upon discovering this, his sense of vigilance was instantly maxed out.

Stopping his footsteps, he cautiously maintained a subtle distance from the other party.

He could not be careless.

Either the other party was hiding it too well, and their strength far exceeded his own.

But was that possible?

To be able to make him sense nothing, the gap in strength between the two would need to be immense, at least exceeding his own by two major realms.

And Jiang Mingzhi had already stepped into the mid-stage of the Dharma Aspect Realm; could the other party be a mighty expert of the mid-stage Void Refining Realm?

How could that be possible!

What kind of circles did he frequent when he was in the Eastern Wasteland? Even there, he hadn't seen many Void Refining Realm cultivators; in total, it wouldn't have been more than twenty times.

And after coming to Beigan, he just happened to run into one in some random, desolate mountain range?

What kind of joke was that.

What mighty expert would choose to stay in a place like this where Spirit Qi is depleted? If they really stayed for too long, they would likely suffer a drop in their cultivation realm.

Either that, or he really was just an ordinary mortal without Dharma Power.

But it was impossible for a mortal to dodge the trap he had set, and the vigorous life force radiating from his body could not be faked.

A pure Body Cultivator?

That was also...

Too backward!

People in the Eastern Wasteland often practiced both, but there were very few pure Body Cultivators; such people had already been abandoned by the era.

However, after thinking about it, Jiang Mingzhi was not too surprised.

After all, this was not the Eastern Wasteland, a place of outstanding people and divine spirits; he figured a broken place like Beigan couldn't produce any real talent.

With his heart settled, Jiang Mingzhi raised his chin and let out a cold snort:

"Hey! I'm asking you a question!"

Ren Yidao:?

Oh?