Chapter 862: Chapter 116: Taming the Snake
The Da Ze Tian Clan is truly a breeding ground for madmen, Jiang Wang thought.
From what he’d heard from Tian Chang and Tian He, he could piece together a mad and ruthless side of Tian Anping. The legendary genius and madman started to take on a more concrete form through the words and feelings of others.
This made Jiang Wang even more curious about Tian Anping’s arrangements in the Near Sea Archipelago. What exactly was this mad genius, who collaborated with Qing Xi and schemed overseas, trying to accomplish?
But he knew that with Tian Anping’s methods, no one could be questioned for answers. The only option was to search and uncover the truth on his own.
And the result of this search might not be pleasant.
Tian Anping wouldn’t care whether he was a Grade-4 agent from Qi Country or whether he held any noble title.
"How well does your Tian family understand the Near Sea Archipelago?" Jiang Wang asked.
"That depends on which aspect," Tian He replied.
"Good," Jiang Wang nodded in satisfaction. "It seems that by following Tian Chang, you’ve also obtained a higher status."
Tian He said, "It’s even more elusive than you think."
It seemed he was quite dissatisfied with his current situation and wasn’t willing to always be dependent on Tian Chang.
However, it was possible that this expression of discontent was deliberate.
Jiang Wang didn’t want to spend time guessing the deep machinations of such a person right now. He had no energy to spare, so he directly expressed his need, "Do you know Granny Bizhu?"
"She is a hands-on elder of the Diaohai Tower. Among the twelve hands-on elders, she ranks roughly between the eighth and tenth," Tian He replied promptly, clearly possessing a thorough grip on the Tian family’s intelligence in the Near Sea Archipelago and having seriously assimilated it. "She supports the Five Immortal Sect from behind and is part of the faction led by the Diaohai Tower’s fourth elder, Gu Huaixin."
The twenty-four real power elders of the Diaohai Tower are usually divided by the outside world into four high-ranking elders, eight middle-ranking elders, and twelve lower-ranking elders.
But for the high and mighty elders of the Diaohai Tower, they certainly don’t refer to themselves in these terms internally. They’re known as Elder Jinghai, Sect’s Protector Elder, and Hands-on Elder instead.
From these titles, one can also discern that in the value system of the Diaohai Tower, maintaining peace in the seas is the top priority, followed by the inheritance of the sect, and lastly the practical affairs of the sect, at least outwardly.
The information Tian He mentioned was something Jiang Wang already knew through intelligence from Jiang Wuyou. This demonstrated the Tian family’s awareness of the Diaohai Tower surpassed that of the Zhong Xuan Family. After all, they had invested more effort and time in maritime endeavors compared to the Zhong Xuan Family.
All four Jinghai elders of the Diaohai Tower are of Dongzhen Cultivation, and with Granny Bizhu backed by True Man Gu Huaixin, it’s no wonder she’s so self-assured.
"And what about Hai Zongming?" Jiang Wang asked.
"He was a hands-on elder of the Diaohai Tower who has already passed away. He was originally ranked between the tenth and twelfth among the hands-on elders," Tian He continued without hesitation. "He was likely one of Elder Qin Zhen’s faction."
Unlike the Jinghai elders who have a strict order.
The Sect’s Protector Elders and Hands-on Elders don’t have a specific ranking; they mostly manage different aspects of the sect’s affairs, and at least nominally, there’s no distinction in status. The rankings Tian He mentioned are just the Tian family’s assessment based on comprehensive strength and influence, so they are not entirely accurate and may fluctuate.
Only the Jinghai elders have a definite ranking which determines their power within the sect and, in the event of any unexpected incidents, also largely determines their succession order.
Of course, all elders are subjected to the leadership of the Diaohai Tower Master. Only the Lord of Diaohai Tower holds the ultimate authority over the vast Near Sea Archipelago.
Jiang Wang then said, "Why don’t you tell me more about Hai Jingping?"
"He is a Sect’s Protector Elder of the Diaohai Tower, securely positioned within the top three among the eight Sect’s Protector Elders. He keeps a low profile but is quite formidable."
"To which faction does he belong?"
Tian He shook his head, "That’s unclear. At Hai Jingping’s position, there’s no need to depend on anyone. Who he cooperates with and who he has a superficial relationship with—often only those closest to him would know. It’s very difficult for outsiders to detect."
Tian Chang had been making a living on the seas for a long time, but it was only this time that Tian He, as a trusted aid of the younger generation of the Tian family, went out to sea with him.
Even with Tian Chang’s help, and with full access to the Tian family’s intelligence, his understanding of these pieces of information was indeed far too profound. It showed how much effort he had exhausted.
As long as he was willing, just this kind of earnest attitude was enough to make him stand out anywhere, anytime.
Jiang Wang found it difficult to understand why he had to stay so low-profile and restrained, patiently growing in secrecy.
Was it because the Tian family lacked opportunities for a talented person to emerge? How could that be possible?
Suppressing a genius is something that a minor family like the Fang Family of Fenglin City would do, due to their scarcity of resources. If they give to one, they inevitably shortchange another, and sometimes they really have no choice.
But no top-notch noble family would ever do the foolish thing of suppressing a genius.
Tian Chang kept a low profile and bided his time because he had plotted against the family elder and seized the famous sword Chaoxin, afraid to draw attention and expose his misdeeds. So, what was the reason for Tian He? What story lay behind him?
Jiang Wang harbored suspicions in his heart but only asked, "Do you know about Yang Liu?"
Tian He immediately shook his head, "There’s no information about this person in the Tian family’s intelligence."
"Help me check it out," Jiang Wang said casually.
"No problem. But if you’re planning to do something against this person, it would easily expose your connection with Tian Chang. That’s not a good deal for you. Tian Chang is worth more than that." Tian He considerately reminded him.
Jiang Wang simply said, "Just go ahead and do it."
"Alright." Tian He, like a loyal minister unable to persuade his sovereign, could only obey. "I’ll get you the information soon."
He left, opening the room door and exiting just as he had arrived.
If loyalty weren’t a factor, he would indeed be a very useful subordinate.
Jiang Wang only needed to follow Granny Bizhu’s instructions to establish a good relationship with Yang Liu and thereby connect with Hai Jingping, attempting to get Hai Jingping to help release Zhu Bijing.
He had no intentions to harm Yang Liu, but he wouldn’t offer any explanations to Tian He.
Because people like Tian He were terrifying, the more they knew, the more frightening they became.
Jiang Wang was able to keep him in check only because, by a fortunate coincidence, he had learned Tian He’s secret. Actually, the same was true for Tian Chang.
By comparison, he preferred to deal with someone like Yang Liu. Even though he didn’t like Yang Liu’s penchant for makeup, and he didn’t understand Yang Liu well, at least.
Someone who could still be led by emotions was easier to handle than the inscrutable Tian He with his deep schemes.
The situation now was that he was holding the lifeblood of two venomous snakes in each hand; at any moment, he could kill them, which was how he managed to control the two.
However, he didn’t want to just kill these two venomous snakes; instead, he wanted to use them to get things done. Correspondingly, he also had to bear the risk of being bitten back at any moment.
So, when dealing with both Tian Chang and Tian He, the one thing that Jiang Wang always had to do was to protect his own vulnerabilities.
He didn’t test human nature, especially not the human nature of Tian Chang and Tian He.
