Chapter 227: Reward

The sky above Long Coiling City was always clear and sunny.

Countless powerful individuals were gathered here. If they wanted the sky to be clear, the sky did not dare be cloudy at all.

If there was rain, that was because these powerful individuals wanted the rain to come and beckoned it.

The most powerful individual in Long Sang Country was Lin Mengze.

Long Sang Country’s emperor.

Unlike that trash Anubi, Lin Mengze not only had the highest status, but he was also one of the most powerful individuals in all of Long Sang Country.

He possessed the bloodline of the Dragon Centipede, a Desolate Beast, and his cultivation base was at the Ultimate Emperor Realm.

He relied on the strength of a primal emperor to become Emperor of Long Sang Country.

This was the path every human had taken up until this point. In that sense, humans were actually even more violent than the Ravagers.

Lin Mengze, who was nearly eight hundred years old, had a total of three sons and two daughters.

Perhaps this was the fate of everyone who possessed a powerful bloodline, as well as the outcome considered natural by most people. The more powerful a bloodline was, the longer a person could live. If they could live long enough, a single person could even live to see the start of an entire clan.

The equilibrium of nature made powerful bloodlines difficult to pass on due to fertility issues. Even with hundreds of years of hard work sowing seeds, Lin Mengze only had five children. That was already a high number relatively speaking.

Lin Wenjun was Lin Mengze’s second child and his first son. He seemed young, but he was actually already four hundred years old.

If you were to ask Lin Wenjun what his experience of being the Crown Prince for four hundred years was like, then Lin Wenjun would definitely respond with “suffering”.

Yes, suffering.

On the one hand, he had to constantly wait for his father to someday step down from his position, and on the other hand he needed to deal with the competition from his younger brothers.

Lin Wenjun only had two younger brothers - the third child, Lin Chenyuan, and the fourth child, Lin Anguo.

Only Lin Chenyuan made him anxious.

Lin Chenyuan was only three years younger than Lin Wenjun.

If there was any regret that Lin Chenyuan had, it was probably that he was born three years after his older brother.

Considering the thousand-year lifespans of those with the Imperial Family’s bloodline, these three years were like thirty days.

Apart from the fact that he was younger, Lin Chenyuan could say that he was more outstanding than his older brother in every aspect.

Lin Wenjun was still at the Spirit Burning Realm, while Lin Chenyuan was already halfway into the Thought Manifestation Realm.

Lin Wenjun’s attitude was unruly and obstinate, while Lin Chenyuan was well-educated and polite.

Lin Wenjun had great ambitions but limited talent, while Lin Chenyuan was erudite and could see the big picture.

He really was more outstanding than his older brother in all aspects except age.

Perhaps this was the basic quality that every “dangerous younger brother” should have. If they couldn’t even achieve something like that, did they even have the right to lust after the title of Crown Prince?

There was one more thing, however, in which Lin Chenyuan was superior to his older brother.

He had much more respect for the wise than his older brother.

Su Chen had experienced this firsthand.

Because he had already met Lin Chenyuan.

Lin Chenyuan was standing at the gates of Long Coiling City, smiling slightly as he said to Su Chen, “Sir Su, you must be tired from your journey.”

Su Chen hurriedly said, “How could I possibly be worthy of Prince personally coming to greet me?”

The scholar besides Lin Chenyuan said, “He not only personally came to greet you; ever since he received your letter, he has been unable to control his excitement. As soon as the sky began to brighten, he came out here to wait for you. At this point, it’s already been two hours!”

Every important individual needed to have a suitable sidekick who would say the right thing at the right time.

Lin Wenjun had Qiu Qingzhi, while Lin Chenyuan had this sidekick, whose name was Jin Shuwen.

At this moment, Jin Shuwen’s words were timed perfectly. They demonstrated Lin Chenyuan’s respect for the wise, and Su Chen was able to take advantage of the opportunity to say that he was beyond honored to receive such a reception. In this manner, both sides were able to create a positive first impression in each others’ hearts.

Yes, Su Chen had voluntarily sought out Lin Chenyuan first.

The Crown Prince’s conflict with the Wise Prince was not a secret.

Since the Crown Prince was out for his head, Su Chen might as well find another person to hide himself under.

No one was a better choice than the Wise Prince in that regard.

To the Wise Prince, Su Chen was also a figure worthy of trying to rope in. After all, word of how he had single-handedly saved the entire Heavenly Might Battalion had spread all over Long Sang Country, no, throughout all the human territory.

The Dreamrealm made it extremely easy for information to spread. As long as the information had some value, it would spread like wildfire.

In this era, reputation was an incredibly valuable resource to possess.

He was quite a famous scholar!

As a famous scholar, he himself was an important resource. In addition, his personal strength made him quite a valuable individual to ally with.

As such, as soon as Su Chen proposed an alliance, Lin Chenyuan had immediately come and even made an obvious show of his sincerity.

Whether he was simply being shrewd or if he actually respected Su Chen, he at least had gone to proper lengths to make a good first impression.

The first stop Su Chen made in Long Coiling City was not the Long Sang Consulate but the Wise Prince’s palace.

Within the Wise Prince’s residence.

Lin Chenyuan chuckled as he poured some wine into Su Chen’s cup.

“Sir Su’s act of charging into the Iron and Blood Country alone and saving the Heavenly Might Battalion has already spread far and wide. But you were arrested and interrogated immediately upon returning from accomplishing such a great feat? That sends chills down my spine. When I got wind of this, I personally almost set out for the Flowing Gold Fort to ask those generals what the hell they were thinking.”

Su Chen chuckled, “Actually, what those generals think is not so important. The Crown Prince is more important, right?”

Lin Chenyuan shook his head. “If he didn’t have the support of the generals, the Crown Prince might not have had the boldness to do so.”

Su Chen understood his meaning. “There aren’t many that support him anyways. One is the Heavenly Enlightenment Battalion’s Long Ke and the other is the New Heavenly Might Battalion’s Hao Jiantang.”

Lin Chenyuan harrumphed. “Hao Jiantang is totally under the command of the Crown Prince. Lin Wenjun’s blatant nepotism seems to indicate that he doesn’t even care about maintaining face anymore.”

Another reason for dissolving the Heavenly Might Battalion was so that he could place one of his trusted subordinates in charge of the new battalion. After all, roping in people required there to be enough of a foundation to support these actions in the first place.

Jin Shuwen, who was standing off to the side, said, “Lin Wenjun also must be agitated. He has been in the Flowing Gold Fort for some time now but has yet to make much headway. Hong Qianzhu seems old and unassuming, but he is actually extremely tricky. Those generals are war veterans and have lived through countless bloody battles; they could not possibly have survived just based on status alone. Only a talented individual like you could obtain their support.”

Su Chen said, “So the Crown Prince doesn’t see eye-to-eye with me.”

Lin Chenyuan said, “That’s not the only reason why. He’s getting quite a bit of pressure from the back lines as well.”

Su Chen understood. “The nobles don’t like the research that I and my Instructor are performing. I would like to know what the Wise Prince thinks about......”

Lin Chenyuan chuckled. “A thousand years is too long. I just focus on making the best use of the time that is in front of me.”

The changes that Su Chen could bring about would only manifest themselves after long periods of time.

How the nobles thought was not important to Lin Chenyuan. The most important thing to him was the present.

As such, Su Chen’s research did not pose a problem to him.

However, that didn’t mean that he would definitely support Su Chen’s research.

Lin Chenyuan said, “Of course, if Sir Su can show some leniency to me, I would be extremely grateful.”

Lin Chenyuan also needed the support of the Bloodline Nobility Clans.

And any Bloodline Nobility Clan was almost guaranteed to not want Su Chen’s research to continue.

To Lin Chenyuan, if he could accomplish something that Lin Wenjun could not do, then what would the general populace think?

Many would probably think that Lin Wenjun was not as worthy as Lin Chenyuan.

Yes. This was the true reason that Lin Chenyuan placed so much value on Su Chen.

In that sense, Lin Chenyuan was actually similar to Lin Wenjun. However, his goal was different, and the methods he would use to achieve that goal were also different. Lin Wenjun didn’t want to pay too much of a price; either his opponent would acquiesce to him, or he would die. There was no need to consider anything more than that. However, Lin Chenyuan viewed Su Chen and his Instructor as a piece that would allow him to obtain the support of the nobles and knock Lin Wenjun down a peg at the same time. As such, keeping Su Chen alive was of utmost importance to him. And the letter that Su Chen had written to Lin Chenyuan made it clear that this point was not non-negotiable, which was what had caused Lin Chenyuan to be so excited. This was also the reason why he was willing to pay such an exceptionally high price.

After Lin Chenyuan had spoken, he waved his hand. His subordinates pulled out a trunk filled with Origin Stones and precious raw ingredients.

Su Chen, however, didn’t even glance at it once.

No matter how much money you have, could you possibly have more than me?

Su Chen, who had just finished plundering the Ravagers and the Beasts, didn’t have eyes for these resources. Perhaps not even the imperial storehouses possessed as much wealth as he.

Someone who possessed hundreds of millions of Origin Stones could not possibly take a gift of a few tens of thousands of Origin Stones seriously.

As such, Su Chen shook his head. “Many thanks, Wise Prince, for your good intentions, but I have no need of these things.”

Lin Chenyuan was taken aback. “But Sir Su, you mentioned in your letter that......”

Su Chen chuckled. “Don’t worry - I have no intention of going back on my word. However, I really have no need of these gifts.”

Lin Chenyuan somewhat understood. “Yes, Sir Su’s cultivation techniques have spread far and wide, so this present must not even be worth mentioning. However, this is a display of my sincerity, so I still hope that you would accept it. As for any requests you may have, please state them. As long it is within my power to do so, I will do my best to achieve it for you.”

Since Lin Chenyuan had said as much, Su Chen would seem inconsiderate if he didn’t accept the gifts, so he stowed them away in his Origin Ring before saying, “I do have something that I would like to ask the Wise Prince for his help with. If the Wise Prince agrees, I, Su Chen, am willing to swear a vow that any bloodline-less cultivation techniques I develop in the future will never be publicly distributed on the Dreamrealm or sold for a low price. Instead, they will be prudently and carefully passed along from one individual to another.”

Su Chen could not possibly agree to stop his research.

However, he did agree not to disseminate his research for such a low price like he had done before.

The Bloodline Nobility Clans might not be totally satisfied with this outcome, but it was much easier for them to accept it than what the situation was like before.

The Bloodline Nobility Clans opposed Su Chen not merely because of his research but because he was spreading it far and wide, allowing anyone and everyone to cultivate them. This caused the value of a bloodline to decrease, and the Bloodline Nobility Clans’ noble status grew less and less important. If a person were to closely guard such a technique that they had researched, then it would merely be as if a new Bloodline Nobility Clan had sprung up. It wouldn’t affect nearly as many people, nor would it damage the status of the Bloodline Nobility Clans. As such, this kind of a situation was much easier to accept.

After all, there had been people before Su Chen who had managed to develop cultivation methods that allowed them to reach the Blood Boiling Realm without a bloodline. However, their use was extremely restricted and never really spread, so the Bloodline Nobility Clans never felt threatened by them.

Of course, if they knew how Su Chen was planning on carrying out such an inheritance, they probably would think twice about it.

But at the moment, Su Chen’s promise was like a powerful drug, influencing Lin Chenyuan’s thoughts and emotions.

When he heard what Su Chen had said, Lin Chenyuan laughed loudly. “Good, good! As long as Sir Su is willing to make such a promise, I will answer any request you make of me.”

He had changed his end of the agreement to “answering any request Su Chen made of him”, an obvious indication of how important Su Chen’s promise was to him.

Su Chen smiled slightly. “Actually, what I want is very simple...... I want the Ten Thousand Swords Mountain.”