Chapter 612: No Permanent Enemies

Chapter 612: Chapter 612: No Permanent Enemies

"Big Brother, can we really not be together?"

Long Jing stared vacantly at the departing figure. For reasons she couldn’t comprehend, she had somehow fallen in love with this man.

Even now, Long Jing couldn’t quite explain what had come over her.

Looking at his own sister beside him, at the meaning revealed in her eyes, how could Long Potian possibly not understand?

He sighed heavily to himself.

Long Potian understood Long Ao very well. Long Ao already had two women he was close to: one was Ao Xue, and the other was Wang Yuyin. Even though neither of them was currently by Long Ao’s side, Potian had seen for himself how much Long Ao cared for them.

Long Ao himself was a man deeply devoted in his relationships. If not for certain circumstances, Potian believed that even Ao Xue might not have ended up with him.

In that case, his sister likely didn’t stand a chance.

In truth, Long Potian could easily understand it. How many women wouldn’t be drawn to a young man as exceptional as Long Ao?

Sighing heavily to himself again, Long Potian hated seeing his sister this way but felt powerless to help. It was better to rip the band-aid off now than for her to suffer immense heartbreak later.

"Jing’Er, you should just forget him."

"Brother, I can’t."

"Be good and listen to me. Long Ao isn’t right for you. If you keep going down this path, you’ll be the one who gets hurt in the end. You already know how this will turn out, so why insist on being so stubborn?"

Long Jing didn’t want to say any more. Her eyes remained fixed on the direction Long Ao had gone, her heart filled with a resolve only she understood.

Having successfully found Long Jing, Long Ao could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Next, the Four Great Forces found themselves in a truly miserable position. They had been caught completely off guard by the Dragon Sect’s Million Corpse Slaves. Now on the defensive, they found it incredibly difficult to seize the initiative.

Because of this, the Four Great Forces were forced back, step by step.

The leaders of the Four Great Forces knew full well that if this continued, even if they weren’t completely destroyed, their losses would be catastrophic.

But what could they do?

If it were a normal army, the Four Great Forces wouldn’t be afraid in the slightest. They wouldn’t give a damn about a million soldiers, let alone ten million. But the current situation was completely different. The opposing Corpse Slave Army possessed the Undying Body, and each one could fight a hundred men.

The Four Great Forces sealed their gates and refused to come out, letting the Corpse Slave Army attack them relentlessly. No matter what, they wouldn’t emerge, leaving Long Ao at a loss.

The Four Great Forces had sent out a massive number of troops with the goal of occupying Kyushu. But now, Long Ao had completely sealed off Kyushu. He dispatched the Corpse Slave Army to trap all their forces within the region and began a great slaughter.

The Four Great Forces could only watch helplessly as the Dragon Sect slaughtered their people, powerless to intervene.

With their four Earth Saints slain, the Four Great Forces didn’t dare send any more experts to attack the so-called Dragon Sect and Long Family. They simply couldn’t afford it. If they lost a few more Earth Saints, or even a Celestial Saint, the pain of the loss would be unbearable.

「Kyushu Spirit Realm, Imperial City.」

Long Ao arrived at the Imperial City alone. Though he knew it was filled with powerful experts, and was even guarded by a Great Emperor Martial Artist, he came anyway, seemingly without a trace of fear.

Because of this, Duan He and Duan Kai were startled when they learned of Long Ao’s arrival. Neither of them knew what his purpose was. ’Is Long Ao that confident? Is he not afraid of the Imperial City moving against him?’

Although the Imperial City and the Dragon Sect were now as incompatible as fire and water, Duan Kai and Duan He still greeted Long Ao with smiles.

"Sect Leader Long, what brings you here today?"

Getting straight to the point, Duan Kai and Duan He didn’t want to beat around the bush. After all, with things as they were, there was no need to dawdle.

Long Ao knew what they were thinking and said, "Back when we fought the Beast Tide together, I was well aware that the Four Great Forces were plotting against me. But for the sake of the bigger picture, I tolerated it—just as the Imperial City tolerated certain things back then. Am I wrong?"

Long Ao’s reason for coming to the Imperial City was simple: he wanted to form an alliance with them.

After thinking it over, Long Ao had decided to ally with the Imperial City to deal with the Netherworld Mansion, Piaomiao Palace, and the Third Level Long Family.

Despite having the Million Corpse Slaves, the foundations of the Four Great Forces ran too deep. It would be difficult to truly uproot them relying solely on his Sect’s current power and the Corpse Slave Army.

That was why Long Ao knew that if the Imperial City could keep the other three forces occupied, he might be able to achieve his goal.

Of course, Duan Kai and Duan He understood Long Ao’s intentions. The two fell into deep thought. After a moment, Duan Kai suddenly looked up and said with a smile, "Sect Leader Long, the grievances between the Imperial City and the Dragon Sect are a tangled mess. You were right—interests come first. Since that’s the case, let’s not be coy. Sect Leader Long, you’ve come here for no other reason than to propose an alliance to deal with the other three great forces."

"That’s right."

In the past, the Imperial City would never have agreed to this. After all, its power had skyrocketed after the Beast Tide invasion, and even in a one-on-three scenario, it had no fear of the other three great forces.

The problem now, however, was that the Dragon Sect’s power could not be underestimated—especially with its Million Corpse Slaves.

In this world, there are no permanent enemies and no permanent friends. It always comes down to the same thing: in the face of absolute self-interest, enemies can become friends, and friends can become enemies. That’s simply reality.

Long Ao and Duan Kai both understood this reality, which was why they were prepared to join forces once again.

The Million Corpse Slaves, combined with the power of the Imperial City, would be more than enough to deal with the three great forces. Duan Kai knew full well that the Dragon Sect’s power had already surpassed their expectations. When the time came, the Dragon Sect would become the number one power in Kyushu. Whether it would then interfere in the Kyushu Spirit Realm remained to be seen.

"Sect Leader Long, since we’re being frank, allow me to state my position as well. If we form an alliance and successfully eliminate the Netherworld Mansion, Piaomiao Palace, and the Third Level Long Family, how will we divide the spoils?"

Long Ao smiled. This was exactly what he had been waiting to hear.

Long Ao knew that by bringing up the division of spoils, Duan Kai was showing he took this alliance seriously. At the very least, he was already thinking about the final outcome and his share of the rewards.

In their previous alliance, Duan Kai had never once mentioned dividing the benefits. That was the difference.

And just like that, Long Ao knew his trip had not been in vain. Immediately, the two began to discuss the terms of their alliance and how to divide the spoils. In the end, they finally came to an agreement: once the three great forces were eliminated, Kyushu would belong to the Dragon Sect. The Imperial City would take three-quarters of the Kyushu Spirit Realm, while the remaining quarter—the lands surrounding the City of Sin—would belong to Long Ao personally.

Whatever their true feelings about this outcome, both men agreed to the terms for now.

(PS: I fell asleep at my computer at 2:30 AM last night, woke up at 5:40 AM, and got right back to work. A lot of people have been cursing me out. What I, Xiaojiu, want to say is this: there isn’t another author out there who works as hard as I do. An update schedule like this is enough to put me ahead of anyone else. If you like my work, please continue to support it. If you don’t, you can just quietly leave. My efforts are plain for all to see.)