Chapter 640: Threaten (3)
Marquis Xia sighed, "Yeah. All eyes are on Longwu. Damn it. Therefore, we have to avoid offending those assholes. Others have a high chance of succeeding in their breakthroughs with only a few Invincible dao protectors. But our Longwu might fail unless he gets a few dozen Invincible dao protectors. Su Yu doesn't know this, but you know this very well, Old Zhu. Why are you still fanning the flames?"
Zhu Tiandao denied, "I did no such thing! I even tried explaining things on behalf of the Xia Family. But he's a hot-blooded young man. Those people have been targeting him repeatedly. How can he stay calm?"
Marquis Xia snorted and said, "Since you're all here, I don't need to visit you guys one by one anymore. Longwu will be attempting his breakthrough soon. I hope you guys can lend a hand when the time comes. If Longwu really ends up dead...my father might truly go crazy—"
Qin Zhen interrupted him, "The Qin Family is willing to help. But we can't force the others to do the same."
Marquis Xia curled his lips and said, "I'm curious. You're going to affirm your dao soon as well. Why is everyone ignoring that?"
Qin Zhen grinned, "I'll have to thank Longwu for that. Xiao'er, I have to admit that if we all attempt to break through at the same time as Longwu, a few of us might really succeed."
"Piss off."
Qin Zhen said, "I'm being honest. I personally don't think Longwu can survive his attempt. He might as well focus on being a shield. That way, the Xia Family does not need to hold back anymore. You can start killing whoever you want right away."
"Screw you!" Marquis Xia was furious. "Kill my ass. We need to at least make those people put some work in for us. It doesn't matter if Longwu is able to succeed or not. As long as we try our best, my old man will be left with no regrets. He is unwilling to give up without even trying."
Qin Zhen suggested, "Longwu can simply give up on the breakthrough. Honestly, he's already quite strong even without breaking through."
"Longwu refuses to accept that." Marquis Xia said, "Do you think I have never advised him to just give up? Worst comes to worst, he can break through in a minor realm..."
"No!" Qin Zhen said, "He's better off not breaking through. Yes, the success rate is higher in a minor realm, but that will bind him to that minor realm. He won't gain much strength from such a breakthrough either. Someone like Longwu would rather die than remain a weak Invincible for life."
Marquis Xia sighed helplessly. Exactly. That was why the Xia Family was left with no choice.
He drained the cup of liquor in front of him and said, "Cut the crap. You need to sell the cultivation method to us or the cultural researchers of Great Xia might really start rioting. Just list your terms."
Zhu Tiandao grinned, "What terms do I have? It's not even mine. It's Su Yu's decision to not sell it to you..."
"You must have instigated him to do that!"
"Nonsense!" Zhu Tiandao said, "Why are you so hasty? Let it simmer for a bit. Let the public opinion erupt and make Yuan Qingdong the scapegoat."
Marquis Xia frowned and said, "That was my plan, but we had yet to reach an agreement with those families. We can't do anything before getting their Invincibles to agree to help Longwu during the breakthrough. To be honest, we have been patient for too many years. We can't accept giving up now..."
"Is this Longwu's thought as well?"
Marquis Xia rolled his eyes and said, "He knows nothing. With his temper, he simply wishes to fight with everything on the line and kill as many Invincibles as he can. Sure, he will feel great doing that, but he has never considered what would happen to the morale of the military in the event of his death."
"If Longwu ends up dead, Great Xia would retreat from the frontlines. Let’s see if those bastards would enjoy that. I really don't know what those bastards are thinking."
Zhu Tiandao said, "Who knows? Perhaps they're looking forward to Xia Longwu's death. Some people believe that with his death, they can reduce the number of wars humanity is involved in."
"..."
Marquis Xia didn't know what to say, but that was right. This was depressing. What was he supposed to say? They did not regret all the wars Xia Longwu had started in the past. Without all those wars, he wouldn't have grown so strong. As a result, nobody would believe it even if they started claiming that he had changed. After all, he was still very young.
Qin Zhen asked, "Has Great Xia discovered any new Invincible ruins?"
"Ruin my ass." Marquis Xia said, "Do we need to stay so patient if we really have an Invincible ruin?"
"What about Su Yu's ruin?"
Marquis Xia shook his head, "We can't find it. But even if we manage to find it, do you think Longwu will agree to break through in a ruin? That stubborn bastard is too troublesome..."
"Forget it. I'll talk to Su Yu myself later." Marquis Xia glared at Zhu Tiandao and said, "Stop creating trouble for me. You have been instigating him and fanning the flames. Stop doing bad things all the time."
Zhu Tiandao said, "What are you saying, Xia'er? Back when you ripped me off with the fusion art, did I say anything about it?"
Marquis Xia was getting tired. This damn Zhu Tiandao had been getting very arrogant lately.
With a yawn, Zhu Tiandao said, "Enough with the act. You know very well the Xia Family isn't Su Yu's target. In fact, the Xia Family can take advantage of this. Yuan Qingdong created a big mess in Great Xia, forcing the Xia Family to wipe his ass. You can use this to force Great Yuan King to help during Longwu's breakthrough.
"Why are you acting like you have been wronged here? You are probably greatly pleased. Su Yu has turned himself into a free blade for you guys. Isn't it great? Don't think that I don't know what you're thinking."
Marquis Xia tried to maintain a solemn face, but he soon grinned and said, "When have I ever treated Su Yu as a blade? He is the one volunteering for this."
"Stop pretending to be miserable." Zhu Tiandao said, "This is a good thing for you. The Zhu Family is taking some of the pressure off your shoulders. Why are you crying here instead of thanking us? My old man will help. Things would be a lot more interesting if Xia Longwu remains alive."
"Hahaha, I’ve always known that Brother Zhu is different from the others. We're basically family, so of course you will help." Marquis Xia raised his cup and said, "Take a toast from me! Brother Zhu is a straightforward man. All these are minor issues. We have always been great neighbors to each other."
The others shook their heads. This Fatty Xia had changed his tone out of nowhere.
They started eating and drinking. Suddenly, Marquis Xia said, "I feel like the pressure isn't big enough. Old Zhu, why don't you pretend to be someone from the Yuan or Zhou Family and try to assassinate Su Yu before failing? That will put more pressure on those two families."
Screw this!
Zhu Tiandao cursed inwardly and didn't even deign to muster a reply.
Marquis Xia smiled, "Fine. Forget it. You can consider taking Su Yu out for a stroll instead. Maybe some actual assassins will show up. We don't need to be too greedy. We only need some blackmail materials to force those fellows to help. It doesn't matter if they are sincere or not. We only need them to keep an enemy Invincible occupied. If they can't, we will deal with them after the breakthrough."
He shook his head and said, "This is so troublesome. If Su Yu had appeared after Longwu's breakthrough, things would have been far less troublesome regardless of the result of the breakthrough. And you guys wouldn't have been able to take advantage of the chaos and steal our genius."
Zhu Tiandao grinned and did not offer a retort. Xia Longwu's breakthrough was akin to a chain around the Xia Family. It was understandable that they would feel greatly troubled.
Zhu Tiandao did not care about that. It was nobody's fault this was happening. Xia Longwu was too iron-blooded and murderous. He must have known that his breakthrough would be a lot more difficult than the others.
After a while, Qin Zhen drained his cup of liquor and sighed. "In truth, the ultimate culprit is the lack of unity. We have the war faction, the peace faction, and even the submission faction. None of the factions are able to fully overcome the others."
It was that simple.
Marquis Xia said, "Yeah. At times, I can't help but hope that Great Qin King can take another step forward. He doesn't even need to go far. He only needs to reach the same level as the two old fossils of the first divines and the original devils. That would be enough to ensure internal peace of the human race."
Qin Zhen shook his head, "It's too hard. He would have succeeded long ago if it was so easy. My father, Great Zhou King, and Great Xia King all appear to be near that level...but in truth, they are still very far away."
Zhu Tiandao asked, "Why didn't you include my father? There is hope for him as well..."
The others looked at him silently.
If even Zhu Tiandao's old man could take that step forward, Great Qin King and the others might as well kill themselves out of shame.
Zhu Tiandao snorted in annoyance. What was the meaning of that?
"Everyone, you guys can buy the distribution rights from me, but I'm doubling the price."
Yes. That was how childish he was. As for Great Xia, they would need to negotiate with Su Yu themselves. He couldn't be bothered to get involved.
***
At the same time.
Wu Lan asked curiously, "Su Yu, are you really not distributing the cultivation method to Great Xia?"
"Not Great Xia. It's the three academies."
Su Yu corrected her.
"Oh...whatever. Do as you see fit."
Wu Lan did not seem to care. She continued focusing on her work.
Su Yu laughed and said, "The Wu Family will be allowed to learn it."
"Ok..."
Wu Lan did not have that big of a reaction. She already knew the cultivation method. Meanwhile, her elder sister and the others did not require it. Thus, the ban honestly wouldn't affect them.
Su Yu rolled his eyes and decided to stop talking. He should focus on his acupoints. He needed to finish his acupoint opening and enter the Skysoar Realm as soon as possible. The more famous he became, the heavier the pressure on him would be.
"Perhaps it's time for me to pay the Bai Family a visit. Maybe I could discover something unexpected there."
Su Yu wondered if the Bai Family would be happy to see him. It wasn't necessarily a good thing for him to visit without an invitation. Perhaps they didn't want to see him.
As for Great Xia, he would let them wait for now. His ban was probably not enough to deal with Yuan Qingdong, but it should be enough to block Shan Xiong's entry into the academy.
"Perhaps...I can use this as the chance to get rid of him."
That Shan Xiong was too arrogant. He had been traveling everywhere to challenge the Skysoars of the multiple character faction. That arrogant little prick had yet to suffer the cruelty of society.
"I need to enter the Skysoar Realm as soon as possible."
Su Yu was starting to feel pressed for time. He still lacked three acupoints. And even after finding them all, he might not be able to achieve his goal of locating the source soul acupoint. Thus, it wouldn’t be wise for him to waste too much time working on his acupoints.