Chapter 162: Undercurrents-This Martial Artist Is Too Dangerous(Square Five)

Fang Qingyun had always believed that his starting hand was quite good.

People whose parents both died early on were generally not ordinary individuals.

Only now did he realize that each of those thoughts was a massive pitfall.

His mother's identity was extraordinary, yet she possessed no cultivation talent.

Within the Imperial House, lacking cultivation talent meant one would never be taken seriously.

His father's identity was also extraordinary; while gifted, he had suffered a miserable death.

Moreover, the identities of both individuals were sensitive, and combined together, the situation was simply atrocious.

"This..."

Xuan Ji hesitated for a moment before saying, "Strive to elevate your strength."

"Just that?"

"Just that!" Xuan Ji said helplessly. "Right now, it is unclear what that old man of your family is actually thinking. If he values you, no matter how much trouble you cause, nothing will happen to you; conversely..."

Fang Qingyun was noncommittal, as he did not like placing his fate in the hands of others. "What about the Imperial House?"

"Ghost knows what goes through their minds," Xuan Ji retorted in annoyance. "I am considered a king of the Imperial House, but I truly have no idea what those madmen are thinking. Of course, I will offer you as much help as I can."

This statement was sincere.

Disregarding the face of the Prime Minister of the Heavenly Kingdom, Fang Qingyun's talent was more than enough to warrant an investment from him.

He would inevitably become a pillar of the human race in the future.

As a member of the Imperial House and a king of the human race, it was imperative for him to protect Fang Qingyun and provide him with a certain degree of assistance.

"Become a Divine General as soon as possible, little fellow!"

This was Xuan Ji's final injunction. "Although your current strength is no less than that of a Divine General, the two words 'Divine General' in themselves carry a form of deterrence."

"Even if your power surpasses that of a Divine General, people will fear a Divine General, not you."

"Is that so?"

Fang Qingyun smiled faintly, bowed to Xuan Ji, and then turned to leave.

He had asked everything that needed to be asked.

Unsurprisingly, the moment he stepped off this warship, a new game of chess would begin.

As for becoming a Divine General, there was no need to rush!

People feared Divine Generals, but not those at the General rank.

Wasn't that even better? If he attained the Divine General rank too early, wouldn't those individuals simply remain hidden in the dark? It was better to wait until all of them revealed themselves.

And the reality proved to be just that!

When the warship landed and the group stepped out of the vessel, someone was already waiting for them.

It was a smiling, slightly plump middle-aged man. Upon seeing the group, his eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "Ah, the heroes have returned! Welcome, welcome!"

He trotted all the way up to them, showering them with warm regards and praising them to the heavens.

This attitude brought a sense of comfort to the group, who had been immersed in brutal slaughter for so long.

Xuan Ji, however, merely cast a cold glance at him, didn't even bother to disembark from the warship, and flew away directly.

The middle-aged man did not mind at all and said, "I am Yi Yangbo. Please follow me, everyone; the Imperial House has prepared wine and food to welcome you back."

Yi Yangbo?

Still an Earl?

The expressions of the crowd softened even further.

At that moment, a squad of honor guards stepped forward, escorting the group in the middle.

Many people wore strange expressions.

An escort?

Why did it feel more like surveillance?

Were they afraid that they might run away?

Why?

Those who were unaware of Fang Qingyun's situation instantly associated the move with the Origin essence.

Could it be that the Imperial House was eyeing their Origin essence?

This made those who had acquired Origin essence secretly anxious.

During this battle for the Origin essence, although only a few had managed to obtain it, there were still several recipients.

Of course, the lion's share was in Fang Qingyun's hands, so many people cast gloating glances in his direction.

A single person holding nearly half of the total Origin essence—such a massive quantity was not easy to keep.

However, what people found strange was that only Yi Yangbo and the security squad were present.

Not a single person from the other great families had appeared.

This group seemed to have been forgotten.

Yet, that was absolutely impossible!

Among those present, quite a few were direct descendants or even heirs of major families.

These people were not anxious at all, looking at Fang Qingyun with playful amusement instead.

As members of major families, while they might not be clear on Fang Qingyun's specific identity, they were well aware of what the Earth King's Wrath represented.

Fang Qingyun, however, remained expressionless as he followed the main group.

He could sense that Yi Yangbo had concentrated most of his attention on him.

He could also feel that the auras of many powerful experts in the surroundings had locked onto him.

As for these honor guards...

Heh, the killing intent emanating from their bodies was so dense it was almost impossible to suppress. What kind of honor guards were these?

"Heh, wanting to play?"

A cold smile tugged at the corner of Fang Qingyun's lips.

Since the other party was so eager to play, how could he possibly refuse to accompany them?

[Origin Essence - 400]

...

[Strength +1]

...

[Speed +1]

...

[Constitution +1]

...

[Host: Fang Qingyun]

[Occupation: Martial Artist]

[Level: Ninth-Rank General]

[Strength: 59 (+)]

[Speed: 59 (+)]

[Constitution: 59 (+)]

[Spirit: 59 (+)]

[Spiritual Energy: 2999 (+)]

[Marksmanship: Supreme]

[Blade Technique: Beginner (+)]

[Swordsmanship: Supreme]

[Traps: Intermediate (+)]

[Spiritual Energy Mastery: Advanced (+)]

[Cultivation Technique: Slaughter Art (32 Revolutions) (+)]

[Summoned Beast: Emperor Lion]

[Origin Essence: 1,253,296]

In the blink of an eye, Fang Qingyun elevated all of his attributes to their absolute limits.

With just one more step forward, he could become a Divine General.

And this was still not his limit.

"No rush, no rush..."

Fang Qingyun muttered to himself silently, continuously circulating his power to let his body grow accustomed to the new strength.

If anyone came looking for trouble, he would make a single push and elevate all his attribute points to the Divine General tier.

Including his spiritual energy!

Now was not the time; breaking through to become a Divine General would inevitably cause a reaction.

Right now, he could still suppress the anomaly of a breakthrough, but once he officially stepped into the Divine General rank, suppression would truly become impossible.

At present, he was probably close to being a high-tier Divine General.

Once he broke through, he would directly possess the power of a high-tier Divine General.

A massive palace came into view.

At the entrance, rows of gorgeously dressed young maidens smiled sweetly, looking at them and offering their blessings.

This scene truly looked like welcoming heroes home.

However, Fang Qingyun noticed that the gazes fixed upon him had only increased.

Probably several hundred pairs of eyes!

The Earth King's Wrath was certainly attractive enough!

And his own identity was dazzling enough as well.

Silently, Fang Qingyun followed the main group into the palace.

Inside, the hall had been prepared long in advance.

Fine wine, delicious food, beautiful women...

And seated in the very center was a middle-aged man with a benevolent expression. Watching the Generals walk in, he stood up with a smile on his lips.

"Why is it him?"

Several cries of surprise rang out near Fang Qingyun, as if the identity of the middle-aged man had shocked them.

Fang Qingyun glanced at Gu Shanshui.

Gu Shanshui immediately explained, "He is no ordinary person. He is a Prince of the Imperial House, and a Prince with real political power—Prince Gong!"

"Is that so?" Fang Qingyun remained expressionless.

Gu Shanshui lowered her voice. "This person is a truly formidable figure. Even my family's ancestor cannot ignore him upon meeting him and must show him a certain degree of respect. Strange, why do I feel like he's looking at me? No, wait, it seems he's looking at you!"

Fang Qingyun glanced sideways at the young woman.

He scoffed inwardly.

As for the Earth King's Wrath, he refused to believe that members of the royal families wouldn't recognize it—how sheltered would one have to be for that?

Gu Shanshui was likely just reminding him.

In truth, Fang Qingyun did not need her reminder, because the moment he stepped in here, Prince Gong had already locked his aura onto him without any restraint.

Very strong!

Probably even stronger than the Serpent King, Liu Hen!

A veteran high-tier Divine General, perhaps?

A cold edge and deep impatience flickered at the corners of Fang Qingyun's lips.

Enough was enough!

Did every single one of them truly view him as a docile lamb?

"This is His Highness, Prince Gong!" Yi Yangbo hurriedly introduced him to the crowd. "A Prince of the Imperial House!"

"Greetings, Prince Gong!"

The crowd bowed in unison.

"Rise!"

Prince Gong smiled. "You have all worked hard. Please, take your seats."

"Thank you, Prince Gong!"

Next came a string of polite pleasantries.

To be more precise, Prince Gong merely started the conversation, and the others began flattering him endlessly.

A Prince of the Imperial House who was also a high-tier Divine General—one didn't need to guess to know his power was overwhelming.

A tiny sliver of benefits leaking through such a person's fingers would be enough for the Generals to enjoy endlessly.

Of course, not everyone was willing to butter up Prince Gong. Many sat quietly, appreciating the dancers gracefully performing in the center of the grand hall.

Fang Qingyun was among them.

He sat with a cold expression, as if he didn't even exist.

Influenced by his demeanor, the Generals under his command also sat quietly in their places.

Not a single person touched the food and drink on the tables.

No one was a fool; even without understanding the full situation, they could sense that something was wrong.

"Clap! Clap!"

Prince Gong suddenly clapped his hands, and the dancers immediately stopped, quietly retreating from the hall.

The low murmurs among the Generals also ceased at that moment.

All eyes converged on Prince Gong.

In an instant, the entire world fell silent.

Prince Gong wore a smile as his gaze landed on Li Zhan and the others.

These individuals had not touched their chopsticks, nor had they touched their wine cups.

Speaking in a gentle yet resonant voice, he asked, "What is the matter, you few? The wine and food here were all brought out from the Imperial Palace and are of the highest quality. Why not have a taste?"

"Thank you, Prince Gong!" Li Zhan's voice was firm and powerful; as a warrior accustomed to decisive slaughter, he replied, "It's just that we are not hungry, nor do we drink alcohol."

"Today is a celebration for you all; why can't you drink?" Prince Gong chuckled good-naturedly. "Drink without worry. With me here, I will take responsibility if anything goes wrong. Or is it that someone has forbidden you from drinking?"

As he spoke, Prince Gong shifted his gaze toward Fang Qingyun.

Fang Qingyun didn't even raise his head.

Li Zhan and the others, however, changed expression slightly.

Were they going to make a move directly?

This was Prince Gong!

He had actually stepped into the fray personally, aiming directly at Fang Qingyun!

Fang Qingyun continued to ignore him, acting as if he hadn't heard Prince Gong's words at all.

At this, Prince Gong furrowed his brow slightly.

"Ahem!"

Yi Yangbo stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Fang Qingyun, is it? Prince Gong is speaking to you. Did you not hear him? How extremely rude."

Fang Qingyun raised his head, his cold eyes locking onto Yi Yangbo with a chilling intensity. His voice was so frigid it felt capable of freezing a person's soul: "Which of your eyes saw him speaking to me?"

Yi Yangbo shivered violently, almost falling back onto his backside.

Fang Qingyun shifted his gaze to the others.

Including the Generals who had just walked off the battlefield.

Under his icy glare, those individuals quickly收敛 their playful smiles and lowered their heads in fear.

In that moment, they remembered the absolute power Fang Qingyun wielded.

They, too, had once been dominated by him!

The Imperial House might not like Fang Qingyun and might even plot against him, but that did not mean these people had the qualification to bark in front of Fang Qingyun.

Because Fang Qingyun's hands were likewise stained with blood.

If the Imperial House couldn't kill Fang Qingyun, then they would have to bear the full fury of a Divine General.

"Hmph!" Fang Qingyun let out a cold snort, stood up, and asked Prince Gong, "Does Prince Gong have any other business?"

A smile remained on Prince Gong's face as he asked, "Fang Qingyun?"

"Correct!"

"Take a seat first!" Prince Gong said with a smile. "I indeed have a few matters to inquire about with everyone, including some orders from above."

"Then please make it quick!"

"Very well!"

Prince Gong's smile remained warm from beginning to end.

Fang Qingyun sat down with an expressionless face.

Prince Gong looked at the Generals present one by one before slowly speaking: "Everyone, during this battle for the Origin essence, our human race achieved a massive victory. We monopolized over half of all the Origin essence. The void beast Earth Dragon took away one-third of the remainder, and the Demon and Monster races together took less than one-third of the total. This is a great victory."

"Let us drink to you all!"

A General immediately stood up and proclaimed loudly, "Everything for the human race!"

"For the human race!"

The crowd raised their wine cups in unison!

Even Fang Qingyun and his people picked up their cups, though naturally, not a single drop passed their lips.

At the same time, many people wore strange expressions at Prince Gong's words.

Humanity monopolizing over half...

That statement wasn't false, but the vast majority of that "over half" was concentrated on Fang Qingyun alone. Did everyone else combined even have ten pieces?

Of course, as long as the Origin essence didn't fall into the hands of the Demons and Monsters, it was considered a victory for humanity.

Though in the eyes of many, for Fang Qingyun to take so much Origin essence by himself yielded a lesser effect than distributing it among more people.

After the toast, Prince Gong said in a deep voice, "The Imperial House has decided that all military merits acquired during this struggle will be increased by one-third! You are all fully entitled to exchange your military merits for corresponding resources, martial equipment, and even peerage titles!"

Swish!

The Generals were instantly ignited.

Though they had considered that the higher-ups would grant them special rewards, they had not expected them to be so generous.

Especially the one-third increase in military merits—this greatly exceeded everyone's expectations.

Regret blossomed on the faces of quite a few people.

Had they known, they would have hunted down more Monster race members.

In the combat zone, other things might have been scarce, but members of the Monster race were certainly abundant.

If they had joined forces to conquer a city, the resulting heavenly merits would have been enough to push them into the rank of Counts.

A Count—that was enough to establish one's own principality!

Moreover, peerage titles were actually being opened up for exchange, which was extremely rare.

In the past, titles were awarded discretionarily by superiors based on merit; this time, they could be exchanged directly.

Too rare!

Fang Qingyun's subordinates also drew in a sharp breath of air, looking at him with a trace of unease.

They held a great deal of merit in their hands.

However, the vast majority of those merits were earned through Fang Qingyun's kills, with only a small fraction belonging to them.
Now that the rewards from above were so substantial, would Fang Qingyun still attribute those merits to them?

If Fang Qingyun wanted them back, what should they do?

They hadn't obtained any Origin essence, only those military merits; and if those merits were taken back by Fang Qingyun, they would truly walk away empty-handed this time.

No, they would suffer a colossal loss.

How many people had poured their entire net worth into this battle for the Origin essence?

Suspicion...

Unease...

Such emotions began to spread among Fang Qingyun's subordinates.

Fang Qingyun furrowed his brow slightly, casting a cold gaze at Prince Gong.

Was this intentional?

Indeed, a simple and crude plan, yet it was enough to drive a wedge between him and his subordinates.

Were they planning to isolate him and deal with him individually?