Chapter 278
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Chapter 278: Mutual Testing
The flying treasure shaped like a palace hovered in the air.
Suddenly, the palace gate opened.
Lu Qingxian felt a surge of excitement.
After standing outside for a whole day, and endlessly discussing the importance of human interests, had he finally moved Yi Chen?
This thought flashed through his mind and vanished just as quickly.
It was absurd; those who achieve great things do not easily change their decisions or yield to influence.
After leaving him standing for a day, Yi Chen suddenly agreed to initiate the second round of negotiations, which only confirmed his and the other leaders’ judgment.
Yi Chen was definitely planning something they were unaware of.
Because Yi Chen had left him waiting for a day, it was unlikely he was doing so to gain a better deal or more initiative.
Such tactics could be useful in negotiations.
But given the current situation, it was clear the human federation wanted to achieve an overt reconciliation at any cost.
Almost any condition regarding benefits proposed by Yi Chen would not be refused; there was no need for any additional tactics to gain more.
He took a deep breath and quickly stepped into the flying treasure.
Yi Chen remained his usual self, indifferent and continuing his cultivation.
Bai Ruo Xin was the same.
Only the Little Gold Ball waved its tiny fist at Lu Qingxian, its small, green eyes gleaming with fierce light.
"Country Lord!"
Lu Qingxian slightly bowed.
"Let’s hear about the new conditions you’ve researched!"
Yi Chen spoke calmly.
"Alright!"
Lu Qingxian remained neither sad nor happy.
He understood that Yi Chen asking about new conditions was not a sign of a change in attitude.
The initiation of the second round of negotiations had nothing to do with any new conditions from the human federation.
However, he still introduced the new compensation plan with a feeling of guilt and sincerity.
In essence, they would double the existing compensation terms.
To achieve reconciliation, the leaders of the parliament and the military had really made significant concessions.
But as Lu Qingxian expected,
Yi Chen merely listened, his heart remaining calm and unaffected.
He was unwilling to pledge loyalty to the Tree-Dwelling Tribe, let alone sign a similar contract with the human federation, his enemy.
Being loyal to the interests of the human federation was an unsolvable deadlock.
Yi Chen had long decided to eliminate the human federation and would never sign such a contract.
Once he signed, he wasn’t confident he could find a way to break the contract in a short period.
He had continuously delayed and refused to sign this contract with Ketes for this very reason.
This contract had witnesses and guarantors from the laws of heaven.
No matter how high his talent for creating skills was, he felt uncertain inside.
Moreover, this contract was created by the powerful beings from the Tree-Dwelling Tribe, making it even harder to find a way to break it.
If he signed this contract, escaping it would become nearly impossible.
Neither the Tree-Dwelling Tribe nor the human federation were fools.
Knowing his talent and character, once he signed the contract and held the initiative, they would undoubtedly find ways to strengthen their Control Power over him.
It would be like boiling a frog in warm water.
He would only sink deeper.
If things went poorly, he could end up forever trapped as a subordinate to the Tree-Dwelling Tribe, or reduced to a tool for creating skills as the human federation desired.
Conversely, the human federation would not miss the opportunity to have some restrictions on him through the contract.
If they let him grow stronger, the result would only be him controlling the human federation in return.
"When will the powerful being from the Tree-Dwelling Tribe arrive?" Yi Chen suddenly asked.
Relying on the information he got from Bai Ruo Xin, he felt he knew the conditions well when facing the human federation.
In contrast, the human federation, lacking many key pieces of information about him, had not yet grasped his true thoughts or plans.
It was nearly impossible for them to deceive or scheme against him like before.
Instead, Yi Chen had already begun to seek more information.
The main reason he initiated the second round of negotiations was to see if he could extract any information about the Tree-Dwelling Tribe from Lu Qingxian.
“An unexpected situation has occurred; the envoy will be delayed for a while,” Lu Qingxian said calmly.
“He has instructed that the Country Lord can hand the contract to me for transmission.”
“Let’s wait until the envoy comes to guide me on my skills and teach him then!” Yi Chen replied lightly.
“I’m afraid it might take some time. The envoy mentioned that after the contract is signed, it must be returned to the Tree-Dwelling Tribe quickly for preservation; that would complete his task,” Lu Qingxian explained.
“Currently, he is occupied and cannot come at the moment, so we must return the contract to the Tree-Dwelling Tribe ourselves. If the Country Lord is worried we might ruin the contract you signed with the Tree-Dwelling Tribe, we can contact the envoy remotely and let him talk to the Country Lord about it.”
“That works too!” Yi Chen nodded.
“Is the Country Lord satisfied with the terms we proposed?” Lu Qingxian asked, feeling a headache coming on.
Before coming here, he intended to implement the first main plan, using various means to persuade Yi Chen to agree to sign a contract with the human federation.
But Yi Chen left him hanging for a whole day before suddenly starting the second round of negotiations.
He had changed his mind and decided to activate the backup plan.
He wanted to obtain the contract signed by Yi Chen and Ketes to learn Yi Chen’s true thoughts and intentions.
However, even the backup plan was not ideal.
While he was trying to deceive Yi Chen, it seemed that Yi Chen was also deceiving him, as he not only refused to present the contract but also hid his true thoughts and intentions very well.
It was just like the contract.
For reasons unknown, Yi Chen never took the bait.
The human federation could use advanced technology to simulate Ketes’ image, but Yi Chen only needed to ask a few questions he previously shared with Ketes through divine consciousness to see through the deception.
The back-and-forth of deception only led the human federation to find an excuse that Ketes was in a special environment and could not communicate remotely.
The contract stayed firmly in Yi Chen’s hands.
“Not bad, if I don’t have to sign a contract pledging loyalty to the interests of the human federation, I am quite satisfied with these terms.”
In his heart, Yi Chen also cursed the old coin.
He could sense that Lu Qingxian was equally meticulous, making it hard to extract detailed information about the Tree-Dwelling Tribe.
“I have said that our human federation is absolutely sincere in gaining the Country Lord’s understanding,” Lu Qingxian shook his head.
“But just in case, we must also get the Country Lord’s promise not to cause serious harm to the interests of the federation. Moreover, that’s only the least of it; this is the baseline for restrictions on the Country Lord.”
“Not signing a contract is also my baseline.”
Yi Chen replied decisively.
“Then, we can only explain the reason to the Tree-Dwelling Tribe and have the contract in the Country Lord’s hands annulled so that our human federation can sign a separate contract with the Tree-Dwelling Tribe,” Lu Qingxian could only temporarily set aside the biggest point of contention and find other breakthroughs and avenues for probing.
“Then it will depend on the attitude of the Tree-Dwelling Tribe!”
Yi Chen suggested a retreat by advancing: “The human federation could also try using a Large Battleship to force my concession.”
“That’s impossible! How could our human federation do such a thing to the Country Lord?” Lu Qingxian shook his head repeatedly.
The parliament and military leaders had considered a plan to use a large Defense System to create an energy shield, completely trapping the exile planet and then using military force to threaten and coerce Yi Chen into submission.
However, since Yi Chen controlled the core interest of the human federation, they naturally wouldn’t do that unless absolutely necessary, in a situation where both sides would completely tear apart their relationship.
If they truly forced Yi Chen into a deadlock, the human federation would lose the opportunity for rapid evolution.
Even sending a few Large Battleships into outer space around the exile planet to exert pressure was still under continuous study and analysis by the federation’s think tank.
After probing each other for a moment and finding that both sides were meticulous, the second round of negotiations came to a hasty end.
Lu Qingxian left with a heavy heart.
Yi Chen continued his training, moving towards the seventh level of the Crossing Tribulation Stage.
