Chapter 157: The Transaction

"No, even if you hand this Origin directly to me, I still cannot become a Divine General!"

Gu Shanshui once again uttered words that left everyone utterly stunned.

"Shanshui!"

Someone could not help but exclaim out loud.

Standing before such a ferocious figure as Fang Qingyun and uttering such teasing words, was she genuinely courting death?

Having fought for so long within the combat zone and slain countless enemies, Fang Qingyun was shrouded in a palpable aura of slaughter. The mere prestige of a royal family name was simply not enough to deter him.

However, Gu Shanshui merely waved her hand. Fixing her gaze on Fang Qingyun's chilling expression, she said, "I want you to invest in me. The equipment for one hundred thousand men is merely a complimentary bonus!"

"Are you really that valuable?" Fang Qingyun sneered. "I'll give you ten breaths. If your explanation fails to satisfy me, then prepare to meet your end."

"Rest assured, I will grant you an instantaneous death. It will be completely painless."

Gu Shanshui's breathing hitched.

Fang Qingyun was overwhelmingly powerful. The killing intent he emitted was bone-chilling, causing goosebumps to erupt all over her skin.

If a real fight broke out, she, a high-tier General, would undoubtedly be killed in an instant.

"One fragment of the Origin can guarantee my advancement to the peak General realm. Give me just one more, and I can step into the Divine General realm!"

Gu Shanshui said in a deep voice, "I am fully confident. In other words, as long as you provide me with two Origin fragments, you will gain a Divine General."

A mocking expression surfaced on Fang Qingyun's face. "Putting aside the worthlessness of your guarantees, even if you do become a Divine General, so what? What does that have to do with me? With two Origin fragments, I can trade for equipment for one hundred thousand men anywhere."

"No!" Gu Shanshui retorted earnestly. "I can enter into a betrothal with you. How about that?"

This single sentence sent shockwaves through everyone present.

"Shanshui!"

"How could you..."

"Shut up!" Gu Shanshui snapped coldly, her eyes locked straight onto Fang Qingyun. "Well? A descendant of royalty, becoming a Divine General in your early twenties—you must know what this signifies. You will undoubtedly receive the utmost support from the Monarchs. If you form a marriage alliance with me, the benefits to you go without saying!"

"Of course, the benefits to myself will also be immense!"

Gu Shanshui looked Fang Qingyun up and down, feeling thoroughly satisfied with what she saw.

Peak General realm!

Possessing astonishing sniper proficiency!

A formidable physical body as well!

Having single-handedly swept through the entire battlefield, his future ascension to the Divine General realm was practically a certainty.

Most importantly, he was even younger than her!

Well, exactly as those words implied!

A marriage alliance between two such individuals would be a mutual victory.

The other members of the human race either harbored their own designs regarding Gu Shanshui or had other plans.

After a brief surge of agitation, as they looked at Fang Qingyun, their gazes carried a complicated mix of emotions.

It seemed that the two sides were simply incomparable!

Who could have predicted...

After glancing up and down at Gu Shanshui a few times, Fang Qingyun let out a scoff. "A marriage alliance? In your dreams!"

"You..."

Gu Shanshui was dumbfounded, her face turning crimson with anger.

Everyone else was left gaping as well.

Gu Shanshui!

Blessed with high-tier General strength at a tender age, alongside formidable secret techniques!

She was herself a descendant of a royal family!

Brilliant of mind, and born with vast spiritual energy!

Above all, she was breathtakingly beautiful. If the Human Imperial Capital were to rank its top ten beauties, Gu Shanshui would undoubtedly secure a spot in the top three.

Look at that face!

Look at that figure!

Her natural talent and noble status only served as additional embellishments!

And yet, a man had actually rejected her!

Using a reason as dismissive as 'in your dreams'!

What was going on in his mind?

"What do you mean, 'you'?" Fang Qingyun sneered. "Even if you were to genuinely marry into my Fang family, you would only be a concubine. Don't flatter yourself."

A concubine?

Gu Shanshui's breathing grew rapid.

Never, not even once, had anyone dared to humiliate her like this!

As a direct descendant of royalty, even members of the imperial family would not dare speak of taking her as a concubine.

Had Fang Qingyun lost his mind?

Yet, from Fang Qingyun's perspective, that was precisely how matters stood.

Who was he?

Fang Qingyun!

He already possessed the power of a Divine General, and his strength was still escalating at a rapid pace.

The battle for the Origin had not yet concluded; who was to say he wouldn't accumulate enough power to advance to the Monarch realm?

Even if he fell short of becoming a Monarch, his current reserves of spiritual energy might well be sufficient to elevate him to a superior Divine General. At that point, even Monarchs would have to accord him a certain level of respect.

Not to mention, he possessed an imperial-level lion, Little Black!

Dual superior Divine Generals—and such formidable, extraordinary superior Divine Generals at that.

His status was practically comparable to that of a Monarch!

Where on earth did a royal descendant like her find the audacity to chatter endlessly before him?

On the strength of that aged Monarch in her family?

"Enough, are your empty words finished?" Fang Qingyun stared coldly at Gu Shanshui. "If they are, then prepare to meet your maker!"

"You want to kill me?" Gu Shanshui's expression shifted drastically.

"Obviously!"

With a cold shout, Fang Qingyun flashed forward, appearing directly in front of Gu Shanshui as he hurled a vicious punch.

That single blow felt like an entire continent pressing down, laden with destructive force, nearly driving Gu Shanshui to scream.

Killing intent!

True, unadulterated killing intent!

This man genuinely intended to kill her!

Panic gripped Gu Shanshui. Throughout her life, everything had always gone smoothly for her.

Strength, intellect, lineage, appearance!

She lacked nothing, which was always why she could find a way out of any predicament.

Now, was she actually facing death itself?!

"Ahhhhh!!!"

Gu Shanshui shrieked as a gemstone resting against her chest shattered violently.

A faint phantom image materialized before her.

It was an elderly man, ordinary in appearance, yet radiating supreme majesty.

A powerful aura suffused his form.

Simply standing there, he seemed to be the focal point of the entire world.

A Monarch!

Instantly, that word flashed through the minds of everyone present.

"Hmm?"

High up in the sky, numerous Monarchs also raised their heads, fixing their gazes on this direction with expressions of surprise and suspicion.

"Heh!"

The Spider Monarch sneered. "Well, well. Who would have thought that old bastard still had the courage to split off an avatar for his descendant?"

The Demon Monarch calmly remarked, "He must be a very important descendant, I suppose."

Xuan Ji wore a chilling expression.

An important descendant?

Only Monarchs truly understood the implications of what had just occurred!

A Monarch Origin Avatar!

Much like the avatar of the Earth Dragon—no, even more advanced than those!

Because this particular avatar could conceal itself within certain specialized martial artifacts.

For a Monarch, splitting off such an avatar was no easy feat.

Furthermore, it would inflict damage upon the Monarch's own Origin power.

The Monarch of the Gu family was extremely advanced in age and was currently searching for ways to prolong his life.

At such a critical juncture, he would split off an avatar like this?

No matter how one looked at it, it was deeply suspicious!

The Origin!

Did he covet the Origin of the continent?

That didn't make sense either!

Given that Monarch's avatar, he was bound to claim a share of the continent's Origin this time around; why would he deliberately expend effort to detach such an avatar?

"Very well!" the Spider Monarch said calmly. "An avatar of this caliber appearing on the human side exceeds the permitted tier. It must be expelled!"

The avatar painstakingly produced by a Monarch through sheer effort undoubtedly possessed strength surpassing that of a Divine General.

"Wait!"

Xuan Ji declared coldly, "I shall descend personally and expel him!"

"No!"

The Demon Monarch stated without a moment's hesitation, "If the human race commits a violation, naturally we shall handle it. Rest assured, we will not harm that little girl!"

"You..."

"Bang!"

Before Xuan Ji could flare up in anger, the Spider Monarch had already struck, trading a vicious palm strike with him.

Seizing the opportunity, the Demon Monarch broke through the barrier and plunged deep into the battlefield.

"You two scoundrels!"

Xuan Ji was consumed with anxiety.

Did he care about that Monarch avatar?

Did he care about that royal descendant?

Utter nonsense!

What he cared about was Fang Qingyun!

It was clear that the Spider Monarch and the Demon Monarch were plotting something.

"Bang!"

Without delay, Xuan Ji and the Spider Monarch began exchanging blows right then and there.

......

"Oh?"

Fang Qingyun stared at the elderly man, his gaze filled with suspicion and wariness.

The old man turned his head to look at Fang Qingyun, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes before he calmly said, "Not bad, young one. You are quite impressive, reaching this level at such a tender age. You are even somewhat stronger than I was at your age."

Gu Shanshui was about to speak, but hearing the old man's words, her breathing hitched.

Stronger than the Monarch in his youth?

How could that be possible!

She looked at Fang Qingyun with a complicated mix of awe and suspicion, swallowing the words that had been on the tip of her tongue.

Was this youth truly this formidable?

"You flatter me!"

Fang Qingyun sneered. With a wave of his hand, Little Black materialized, glaring coldly at the old man while emitting a threatening, low growl.

"Oh!"

The old man grew even more intrigued. "A summoned beast? Remarkable. To possess so many methods at such a young age—young one, Shanshui's proposal remains valid. Will you not reconsider? Take her as your wife and enter my lineage; your future might very well hold the rank of a Monarch."

A Monarch...

A fierce, passionate gleam ignited in the eyes of many humans present.

It was a look bordering on madness!

A Monarch was essentially a living deity!

"No need!"

Fang Qingyun rejected the offer without a moment's hesitation. Fixing a cold glare on Gu Shanshui, he said, "The equipment for one hundred thousand men—remember that!"

With those words, he slowly retreated.

With this old man present, killing Gu Shanshui was out of the question.

In truth, he hadn't genuinely intended to kill her anyway.

What was the point of killing her?

Aside from momentary gratification, it brought zero benefits.

On the contrary, it would invite endless trouble.

Sparing her meant securing the equipment while avoiding excessive complications.

That punch earlier had merely been intended to frighten Gu Shanshui, preventing this conceited woman from assuming everything remained within her control.

Who could have foreseen that it would provoke such a troublesome entity.

As for the title of Monarch, he didn't need this old fogey's help to attain it; he could achieve it on his own strength just fine!

Moreover, the strange look the old man was giving him left him with an ominous premonition.

"Heh, young one, do you think you can just walk away like this?"

The old man, the Western Monarch, gazed calmly at Fang Qingyun as boundless majesty began to radiate from his form.

"Heh, you had better worry about how you're going to deal with this fellow instead!"

Fang Qingyun pointed upward.

The Western Monarch's expression shifted slightly. He raised his head as well, his gaze turning grave.

"Whoosh!"

A blanket of darkness descended, shrouding the entire area.

In an instant, this space transformed into an independent world.

A slender man with a sinister expression appeared before them.

He possessed purplish pupils, and in appearance, he looked entirely ordinary.

Yet, no one would ever mistake him for an ordinary person!

A member of the Demon race!

Undoubtedly a Demon!

And that overwhelming sensation...

Fang Qingyun drew in a deep breath.

Could it be a Demon Monarch?!

Never could he have imagined that this matter would actually alarm a Demon Monarch!

"Your Majesty the Demon Monarch, have you come here for me?"

Fang Qingyun took the initiative to ask.

Although an avatar of a human Monarch stood before him—one whose power roughly equated to a median Divine General and thus faced expulsion—Fang Qingyun was himself a formidable expert, and he could sense that the Demon Monarch standing before him had locked his killing intent firmly onto his own body.

By contrast, he felt somewhat disdainful of the human Monarch's avatar.

The Demon Monarch chuckled softly, staring straight at Fang Qingyun before nodding and answering directly, "Indeed, I am here for you. You are quite impressive, young one. What a pity that you are a human!"

"So what if I am human?" Fang Qingyun refused to cede an inch. "Is the Demon race so great? Look around you—how many of them have I killed?"

The Demon Monarch's facial muscles twitched involuntarily.

Back in the sky, he had already witnessed how Fang Qingyun slaughtered his clansmen.

However, that had been viewed from a distance!

At this very moment!

When the corpses of those clansmen were laid out squarely before his eyes, he truly experienced a piercing pang of heartache.

The reproductive capacity of the Demon race was exceedingly poor.

With so many clansmen dead, how many years would it take to recover from such a loss?

In particular, the Demons participating in the battle for the Origin were all elites of their race.

To suffer such a heavy loss in one fell swoop meant the future prospects of the Demon race would inevitably decline significantly.

Of course, the beast race had suffered too; conversely, the human race had actually...

The Demon Monarch cast a deep glance at Fang Qingyun, the killing intent in his eyes no longer concealed.

This young human could not be allowed to live any longer; otherwise, he would inevitably become a massive hazard in the future.

"What is it?" Fang Qingyun smiled coldly, a ferocious hand-cannon materializing in his grip as he challenged, "Want to make a move? Go ahead and try!"

"Oh?" The Demon Monarch looked surprised.

The Monarch of the Gu family also stared at Fang Qingyun with astonishment.

Had this youngster lost his mind?

Did he actually intend to fight a Monarch?

Could it be that a few recent victories had gone to his head, inflating his self-estimation to the point where he held even Monarchs in contempt?

"Right!" Fang Qingyun suddenly interjected. "I have a question."

"Speak!"

The Demon Monarch glanced sideways at Fang Qingyun. Time was pressing, but for a fledgling who wasn't even a Divine General, a single blow would suffice. Even though Xuan Ji's aura was now perceptible within his senses, it was still not enough to stop him.

"Why were these people not afraid of me?" Fang Qingyun gestured toward Gu Shanshui and the fallen members of the Demon and Beast races.

The Demon Monarch answered very directly, "This is a specialized zone where even the power of Monarchs cannot penetrate, making it impossible to inform them of what transpires in the outside world."

Hesitating for a moment, he added, "This is likely a characteristic of the Origin."

"I see. Thank you for clearing that up!" Fang Qingyun's spiritual energy began surging frantically into the hand-cannon.

The imperial lion also let out a roar as it charged straight at the Demon Monarch.

The Demon Monarch remained standing in place, watching them with calm detachment.

The Western Monarch hesitated slightly and made no move.

"Very wise!" The Demon Monarch glanced at him and said indifferently, "Dare to make even the slightest move, and I will destroy this avatar of yours. You are already old; the destruction of this avatar will shave at least thirty years off your remaining lifespan. Just how many years do you have left to live?"

The Western Monarch looked back at him without uttering a word.

A Monarch who had weathered countless storms would not be easily provoked into anger.

While he felt a twinge of regret for Fang Qingyun, he certainly wouldn't risk his life for him.

This avatar was far too precious!