Chapter 400
by fanqienovelChapter 400: Better Allies Than Servants, The Dragon Palace Intervenes
‘Defeated.’
‘You have no right to negotiate with me.’
These words pierced through the defenses of the East Sea King’s manor clan elder.
Like the East Sea King, this man had been born into nobility. Such people often viewed others as mere servants beneath them.
Now a lowly servant dared call them defeated and unworthy. This condescending tone drove the clan elder into furious rage.
“Bastard! You think you’ve already won?”
“Isn’t that obvious? Proud nobles like you would never bow unless beaten bloody and cornered like stray dogs. Yet here you are.”
“Since you’ve bowed, learn some manners!”
*Crack!*
Lies don’t wound – truth cuts deepest.
Mu Lin’s words slashed the clan elder’s pride anew. He wanted nothing more than to storm out.
But remembering the manor’s precarious state, he snarled through gritted teeth: “Hmph! Your arrogance blinds you, Mu Lin. The East Sea King’s manor has a thousand-year inheritance. Our Family Resources could still destroy you.”
“But unlike your selfish kind, we protect humanity’s borders. We spare our strength for true enemies. This mercy is your only chance. Don’t waste it…”
His threats fell on deaf ears. Before he finished speaking, Mu Lin severed the communication.
Clan elder Ji Yan’s face darkened with rage. “Arrogant bastard! You’ll choke on your own pride!”
*Crash!*
He smashed the communication artifact and stormed out, leaving only the Yan and Chu clan elders behind.
They exchanged weary glances. Their regret wasn’t about Mu Lin’s attitude, but a missed opportunity.
“To think Prince Liang’s residence would benefit from our rivalry.”
“Who imagined Mu Lin could force the East Sea King’s manor to yield alone?”
They lamented not supporting Mu Lin’s assault on the East Sea Kingdom. At least they hadn’t betrayed him to side with the King – their ties remained strained but unbroken.
Now they saw fresh hope. “Report this to our family heads. Full support for Mu Lin this time – we can’t fail the second assessment.”
…
On this side, the Yan and Chu families were preparing to seize their chance.
At the East Sea King’s manor, a furious Ji Yan had returned to This Place and reported his negotiations with Mu Lin to the East Sea King.
Like the clan elder, the East Sea King clenched his fists and glared fiercely upon hearing the terms "defeated" and "you lack the right to negotiate with me."
Yet after the initial anger faded, their reactions diverged.
Clan elder Ji Yan… started leaning toward compromise.
He didn’t want to die. He knew his strength barely surpassed Ji Zheng’s, and facing Mu Lin again offered no guarantee of survival.
_’Losing face beats dying in battle…’_
While the clan elder feared Mu Lin, the East Sea King considered himself a top-tier Earth Immortal. Unafraid, he resolved to fight to the end.
But he recognized Mu Lin’s clones were scattered across the East Sea Kingdom. Hunting them would consume his entire life.
Meanwhile, Mu Lin could keep attacking the kingdom’s various locations, accelerating its decline.
Thus, the king rejected this option.
Unwilling to surrender yet unable to pursue, the East Sea King seemed trapped.
But true to his cunning nature, he found an escape route.
Such men often think: _’I’ll betray the world before letting it betray me.’_
His solution benefited himself but harmed others and the human race.
His plan crystallized:
"Contact the Dragon Palace and the evil god cultists within our borders!"
Ji Yan’s pupils shrank. "Inviting foreign powers? Must we go this far?"
No wonder he hesitated – easier to invite gods than dismiss them.
The Dragon Palace and cultists would demand heavy concessions for dealing with Mu Lin. Removing them afterward would prove impossible.
The clan elder wavered, but the king stood firm:
"If I can’t rule the East Sea Kingdom, it shouldn’t exist."
"Our position isn’t hopeless. Outsiders bring chaos – but chaos brings opportunities."
The king persuaded the clan elder. Contact was made with the Dragon Palace.
The price proved steep:
Control over all rivers and lakes went to the Dragon Palace.
Even regional rainmaking rights were surrendered.
Critical concessions. The southern coastal kingdom’s numerous waterways meant the Dragon Clan could claim half the territory alongside humans.
Water control meant survival. Humans would beg the Dragon Clan for favors, worshiping them as gods – weakening the human race’s fortune.
Such generosity to outsiders while being stingy with Mu Lin seemed absurd.
Yet history remembers the late Qing Dynasty’s madness: "Better please foreigners than empower our own." Absurdities happen. They keep happening.
……
The East Sea King’s concessions caused a stir in the dragon palace.
Splitting leadership over a human kingdom through invitation from their own rulers presented irresistible temptation for the dragon clan.
Though true dragon offspring were rare births taking centuries, hybrids remained plentiful in the palace.
These mixed-blood descendants of Dragon Kings, Dragon Lords, and Dragon Uncles required proper placement and cultivation resources.
Faced with such generous offerings from the East Sea King, they naturally wanted to seize the opportunity.
Upon learning of the proposal, the East Sea Dragon Palace master immediately summoned his council.
"You’ve all reviewed the East Sea King’s terms. Speak your minds."
"Such excessive concessions – could this be deception?"
The cautious Tortoise Prime Minister voiced first suspicions.
But doubts soon faded.
"This likely isn’t trickery… The East Sea King’s manor has suffered greatly from a human prodigy’s attacks. With restless powerful clans in his kingdom, he wouldn’t dare scheme against us now – nor would he normally."
"Our true opposition lies with the entire human race, not merely the East Sea Kingdom."
Assured of genuine intent, the aquatic council leaned toward acceptance.
During deliberations, they uncovered the king’s hidden agenda.
"Though generously offering leadership of rivers and lakes and precipitation rights, those areas are controlled by powerful clans. He aims to pit us against them."
"What of it? True control requires battle regardless."
Despite recognizing this ploy, the dragon court found the terms too appealing.
Discussions soon narrowed to their final obstacle – dealing with Mu Lin.
This remained the fundamental condition for entering the East Sea Kingdom.
Only by eliminating Mu Lin would agreements take effect.
Failure meant empty promises.
It should be noted – as the perfected Golden Race, dragons surpassed even human rulers in pride.
Human kings faced mortal lifespans.
A matured dragon became an Earth Immortal with three-thousand-year minimum longevity, some surviving ten millennia.
With balanced physical, spiritual, and magical development, one dragon could challenge three to ten same-tier humans.
How could such heaven-favored beings lack arrogance?
Their pride bred contempt for Mu Lin’s threat.
"Mu Lin’s merely at Transformation stage. Though he battles Earth Immortals, the East Sea King revealed he needed hidden assistance. His true limit is Earth Immortal confrontation at best."
"Even Earth Immortal combatants mean little! Our Transformation-stage youths have slain such foes. Eliminating him proves simple."
"Defeating him isn’t the challenge. The East Sea King says this human whelp acts like a field mouse – endlessly burrowing with countless clones. Mere defeat won’t fulfill requirements."
"Then deploy our dragon Earth Immortals. Simple solution."
Amidst heated discussion, the council resolved to act.
Some aquatic members did voice concerns about Mu Lin’s strength.
The Dragon King who’d visited Southeast Province demonstrated Mu Lin’s capabilities through illusion magic.
Vivid projections showed the human’s combat power firsthand.
But this display captured Mu Lin before his Transformation-stage advancement. To dragon Earth Immortals, he appeared pathetically weak.
Even accounts of Mu Lin’s subsequent progress only hardened their resolve.
"He’s the human race’s greatest genius… All the more reason for elimination. World resources are finite – we can’t permit human expansion."
This logic silenced even the Southeast Province veteran.
"Agreed. He must die."
……
With consensus reached, the East Sea Dragon Emperor’s avatar issued decree:
"Since we’re aligned, Ao Huan – this task falls to you."
"Understand this matters gravely. The East Sea Kingdom could be our land-reclamation foothold. No errors permitted… Take my authority to select countermeasures from our treasure vault."
This declaration erased remaining doubts and sparked envy toward Ao Huan.
While the East Sea King’s manor held millennium-old treasures, the dragon palace hoarded relics accumulated over tens of thousands years.
A single vault artifact surpassed surface clans’ most guarded heirlooms.
With such weapons against him, Mu Lin’s survival seemed inconceivable.
The dragon palace’s treasure troves were no mere legend.