“Realm Lord, have you gone crazy?! How could you agree to those conditions!?”

Once Long Chen and the others left, all that remained were a few dozen elders. They were the core of the Jiuli race, including Long Yan. Long Yan possessed a high status in the Jiuli Divine Realm, but he normally showed respect to Jiang Li. The way he had asked this question showed that he was basically panicking.

Ye Boran was also here, and his expression was one of resentment and fury. The other elders also couldn’t comprehend why Jiang Li would make such a decision. Even if it was to quickly obtain the divine capital, they had to think about it from the long-term perspective. Rushing into things like this was not his style.

Long Chen’s status was complex, and the matter of the divine capital was not something that could be decided so easily. To agree before the details were ironed out was ridiculous.

One of the elders, who had been keeping a cool head, asked, “Realm Lord, have you decided to first deal with Long Chen and see what happens later?”

When they heard this, the other elders stopped panicking and looked at Jiang Li with expectant gazes.

Jiang Li smiled slightly. “The divine capital is a big piece of meat. And when I say big, I mean too big for the Jiuli race to eat on its own. In addition, Long Chen has too many forces behind him. There’s no way he will let us keep it for ourselves.”

“Then you mean...”

“I mean that Long Chen is not going to return... ever.”

Everyone’s expressions changed. Long Yan immediately said, “I hate Long Chen too, but erasing him is not wise. If Long Chen was so easy to kill, why would Lord Brahma have left him alive until now? If he dies in the Jiuli Divine Realm, then our Jiuli Divine Realm will have to face the wrath of all the others. The Jiuli Tower is still recovering. The parts that had split off gave rise to their own wills that now must slowly merge. Before their wills have fully merged, this kind of risk is truly unwise.”

Ye Boran’s expression was dark. Half his face was still destroyed. He added in his own thoughts. “I also wish to crush this brat to dust, but now isn’t the best time to kill him.”

Hearing that, Jiang Li nodded slightly. “I’m glad that you aren’t blinded by vengeance. Later, I will have the Jiuli Tower grant you more power.”

Ye Boran was instantly delighted. “Many thanks, Realm Lord!”

Jiang Li nodded and then looked over at everyone. “The way I see things after this meeting, Long Chen is impossible to control. He’s even more arrogant than the rumors say, and there’s no way the Jiuli race can use him. However, killing him is also impossible. One reason is because we have no just cause, and another is because, as you say, we are also in the midst of recovery. It is not the time for us to face so many powerful foes. However, while it’s not right for us to make a move, others are not bound by the same limitations.”

“You mean you’re planning to use someone else to kill him?”

Jiang Li smiled. “I’ve already informed the Zither Sect and Lord Brahma that Long Chen is a guest here.”

Everyone smiled sinisterly and nodded in agreement.

Jiang Li continued, “The Heavenly Devil Zither can never become whole again because of Long Chen. They are mortal enemies, and they will jump at the opportunity. In addition, the Zither Sect will definitely pull in the Painting Sect and the Chess Sect. When they make their move, they will definitely move out in full force. As for Lord Brahma, he won’t personally take action, but... one person definitely will, as long as word gets to her.”

Ye Boran exclaimed, “Long Can!”

It was the immediately obvious answer. Long Can was innately arrogant and prideful, and she had lost to Long Chen several times now. Within Lord Brahma’s force, the person who hated Long Chen the most had to be her.

That said, Ye Boran also remembered something else. “But as far as I know, Long Can has been imprisoned ever since the matter with the Tiger Venerate line. We can’t rely on her for this, can we?”

Ye Boran might have fallen from prestige because of the Jiuli City matter, but his connection with Long Can had not been severed. He knew that what had happened last time displeased Lord Brahma. He directly imprisoned Long Can, then also went into seclusion himself. He left orders behind that no one was to let Long Can go before he came out.

Jiang Li smiled slightly. “Right, I suppose you haven’t found out yet. Just three days ago, Long Can came out of seclusion. She was the first of the eight divine commanders to become a triple manifestation Divine Sovereign.”

“A triple-manifestation Divine Sovereign? How can that be? Realm Lord, even you haven’t taken that step yet! How could she?” Ye Boran and the others were all shocked.

Jiang Li tapped his fingers on his throne. “Do you know why Lord Brahma was willing to offend our race by pulling her to his side despite her explosive temper and foolish brain?”

Everyone was startled.

JIang Li continued, “It is because of Long Can’s special bloodline. It can be considered a mutated bloodline, and it will only show its true power with the nourishment of faith energy!”

This was a secret of the Jiuli race, something that very few people knew. Today, Jiang Li was sharing this secret with them.

“How can that be? Long Can has always been the weakest of the eight divine commanders!” said Ye Boran. He was truly shocked, and everyone else also felt that way.

“That’s all because Lord Brahma is a schemer. Does that surprise you? It was all according to his plan. Long Can really is the weakest of the eight divine commanders, or at least she was, and she doesn’t have a single speck of dust between her ears. The other divine commanders all look down on her, but Lord Brahma has always protected her. Others do not understand why he would do such a thing. In fact, they assume...”

Here, Jiang Li eyed Ye Boran. Ye Boran blushed. “Long Can and I do not have such a relationship!”

Jiang Li chuckled. “It doesn’t matter whether you do or not. The important thing is that the other divine commanders actually suspected Lord Brahma himself of having that kind of relationship with Long Can, and they believed that was why he was so protective of her. Otherwise, with how many things she has bungled, she would have long since earned a thousand deaths. But in reality, the reason Lord Brahma has always tolerated her is that he knew that she would show her true potential in the new era. Until now, she has been a mere pawn; from now, she can be considered a true general.”

“Realm Lord, please explain!”

“I’m not sure on the exact details, but it’s not hard to guess that it was Lord Brahma who managed to turn Long Can into the first triple-manifestation Divine Sovereign. I may only be able to control a portion of the Jiuli Tower, but I am still its master, after all. This entire realm’s karmic luck supports me. So do you think it makes sense that she would be the first to advance, while I’m still far from getting there?”

Everyone nodded at that. Jiang Li was the realm lord for good reason. His incredible talent aside, he was the master of the Jiuli Tower, as well as the focus of the Jiuli Divine Realm’s karmic luck. He had not slacked off in the slightest, but he was still a step away from a third manifestation. But Long Can, the so-called weakest of the divine commanders, had somehow managed to break through. She had not just passed Jiang Li, but also all the other divine commanders. That truly was suspicious.

“But... will Long Can really defy Lord Brahma’s will and come here?” The elders couldn’t help but question that things would go so smoothly. After all, had it not been for Lord Brahma personally taking action when the Tiger Venerate matter happened, Long Can would have long been dead and buried. Would she really dare to defy his direct order?

“If it were anyone else, perhaps they wouldn’t. But since it’s Long Can... I believe that she will!” Ye Boran smiled bitterly. He understood this foolish woman better than anyone.

Jiang Li smiled at that. “As long as we bait Long Can over, not only can we get others to do our dirty work, perhaps we will be able to learn a bit about Lord Brahma’s methods and plans from her.”

“Then the Zither Sect...”

“Of course they will come together. And with so many powerful forces coming at once, our Jiuli race will be helpless to stop them. We will only be able to watch as they kill Long Chen. As for which of them kills him, what does it have to do with us? Long Chen’s supporters will go after them, and once all their forces are diminished, won’t it be easy for us to seize the divine capital? The moment we do that, we will immediately summon all the branches and descendants of the Jiuli race spread throughout the nine heavens and ten lands. With this one step, the entire Heavenly Magnificence Divine Prefecture will be ours. By that time, I should be a triple manifestation Divine Sovereign, and the Jiuli Tower will be recovered. Even if Lord Brahma finds out we schemed against him, so what?”

Jiang Li smiled mockingly. It seemed that, in his opinion, they had already won. Everyone else thought the same, and they were all thoroughly impressed by his plan. Flattery rained down on him.

“This is how you use others!”

“We’re also baiting our enemies to take the fall!”

“Hehe, they can do all the dirty work and we can just sit back and benefit.”

It went without saying that Jiang Li’s plan was truly grand.

At the same time, they realized that Jiang Li had agreed to Long Chen’s demands for one simple reason: to make sure that he didn’t leave right away.

Long Chen was so prideful that he thought his own plans had worked, and he had managed to gain the aid of the Jiuli Divine Realm by using the divine capital as a trump card. He had no idea he had fallen for a trap.

After discussing the finer details of the plan, Jiang Li said, “Do your best to satisfy all of Long Chen’s requests for the time being. Make it seem like we are intent on collaborating. That fellow is crafty, so don’t let him notice anything. It will be troublesome if he senses something wrong.”

If Long Chen did notice something wrong and wanted to leave, could they stop him? Maybe, or maybe not, but either way, they would lose. If they didn’t stop him, this incredibly rare chance would slip through their fingers. If they did stop him, then the plan of getting rid of him smoothly would be impossible to execute. Thus, Jiang Li’s main concern was keeping Long Chen here and keeping him in the dark.

“Realm Lord, don’t worry. I have already arranged for Jiang Yue’e and Jiang Feng Fei to accompany him. Those two have a close relationship with Long Chen, and they asked me to let them accompany him while he’s here. Since you are a magnanimous person and you care about our relationship with Long Chen, I went ahead and allowed them to do that. I even instructed them to be good attendants, so they are doing their best to take advantage of this chance and repair our relations. They will definitely work hard,” said one elder.

Jiang Li smiled and nodded in approval.

If Jiang Yue’e and Feng Fei witnessed this scene, their hearts would definitely turn cold. The patriarch that they viewed so highly was actually simply using them.

...

As it so happened, while this meeting was ongoing, they were accompanying Long Chen. They were headed for the Jiuli Divine Realm’s Heaven-tier cultivation ground.

Seeing that there was no one else around, Long Chen said, “If you want to laugh, just laugh. You don’t have to hold back!”

“Hahaha!” The two of them immediately burst into laughter, no longer giving any thought to appearances.

Feng Fei said, “Long Chen, it seems that you’re as arrogant as ever. Hehehe, as expected of the man I fell for in the mortal world!”

Long Chen also laughed. “Is it such a great thing?”

Jiang Yue’e explained, “Of course it is! Although it’s just a business collaboration, at least we won’t be enemies in the future!”

Aiya, these two children still hadn’t grown up even after so many years...

Long Chen entertained no such naive expectations. He knew all too well that things would never work so smoothly. However, he didn’t want to dampen their excitement. He said, “Bring me to where the greatest cultivation techniques and divine abilities are. Once I reach the peak of the world, I’ll make sure you get your share!”

This arrogant statement instantly made the two of them laugh. But Feng Fei quickly became serious. “Alright, if you’re so confident, then we’ll bring you to the Ten Hell Gates!”