Chapter 996: Chapter 242: Mirror Flower (Additional Chapter for Alliance Hierarch Lin Youxue)
The woman in the water mirror spoke, her tone gentle, yet filled with an inescapable resentment, "Sister, what did I tell you? All men should die! When they fancy you, they are sweet as honey, fawning over you, licking the soles of your shoes. When they no longer fancy you, they cast you off like old shoes, wishing they could trample you into the mud!"
Zhu Bijing’s eyelids drooped slightly, "But he... he doesn’t fancy me."
"If he doesn’t fancy you, he deserves to die even more!" the woman in the mirror said viciously. "You’re so good, why shouldn’t he like you? He must pay the price for that!"
"Don’t," Zhu Bijing moved gently but shook her head firmly, "I won’t harm him."
"Look at him, he’s like a plague god, eager to send you away immediately. Even so, do you still think he’s good?"
"No, he’s worried about me. He fears trouble if I stay."
"Come on! He has so many friends, such strong connections, how could there be trouble for you in Qi Country? You want to help him, you still want to now. But he despises you! Despises your lack of talent, your insufficient cultivation, your lack of wisdom, your inability to help him! Men are always like this, they don’t care about women at all, only value. They only consider how many Dao Yuan Stones you’re worth! What are feelings? Men don’t know!"
"No, that’s not true," Zhu Bijing’s voice was weak, and she couldn’t speak loudly in front of Zhu Suyao, but she stubbornly objected, "There are bad people in the world, but there are also good ones. Jiang Wang... he thinks of me, he has never hurt me."
"Thinks of you? Hahaha..." The woman in the mirror burst into wild laughter, then suddenly stopped and said fiercely, "If he really thought of you, when you risked your life to send him a message, why didn’t he send someone to get you out of Diao Hai Building right away? Why did he let you suffer so much in the Sea Prison?"
Zhu Bijing pressed her lips together and said, "He’s still young, he can’t possibly think of everything. There are things he may not have considered. It’s my own fault, I didn’t think through the consequences when I was in the Diao Hai Building, I should have escaped earlier..."
"Didn’t think it through? He has gone out to sea once and talks as if it’s fraught with danger, but in reality, he made a fortune without suffering the slightest loss, didn’t he? Look at the fawning City Lord of Heavenly Mansion City! He killed Ji Shaoqing and still got away unscathed, does that sound like someone who doesn’t think things through?"
Zhu Suyao’s eyebrows inverted sharply, "When you were suffering at the End of the World Platform, were his friends truly unable to save you? Did they really try everything, made every effort, or do they simply not think you’re worth that much? The importance you hold in Jiang Wang’s heart, decides how far his friends would go!"
She stared into Zhu Bijing’s eyes through the water mirror, as if piercing her heart, "You know it yourself, don’t you, my sister?"
Zhu Bijing bit her lower lip and said, "He said long ago he considered me as a friend. He never deceived me. As for his friends... I don’t know them, they have no obligation to do anything for me. What they have done for me, I am already grateful for."
"This world is dangerous, you can’t always be so naive, always thinking the best of others. When you were in trouble, where were your fellow disciples, your brothers and sisters? Even grandmother... she values only worth, doesn’t she? As long as I could vie for resources for her, she showered you with love. Once I was gone, she wrung every last bit of value from you before discarding you."
"Not everyone is like that." Zhu Bijing didn’t know how to refute, she could only repeat, "Not everyone is like that. At least Jiang Wang isn’t..."
In the water mirror, Zhu Suyao’s voice softened, "My foolish little sister, you’re always so considerate of others. But in this world, apart from me, who truly considers you?"
"Sister..." Zhu Bijing looked at her, with tears brimming in her eyes.
Zhu Suyao in the water mirror reached out as if to wipe away the tears, "Rest well, my sister. With me here, no one will bully you again."
The waves lapped gently, the boat swayed slowly.
Sea birds flew low at ease.
From afar came the sound of a ballad, sung by someone unknown—
"They say being Transcendent is grand, with each step a climb, each step an endurance through life and death’s twists around.
Battling the Furious Sea, fighting the stubborn foes, exhausting wisdom and courage, to decide who will be the Deity of the Boundless.
They say being Transcendent is grand, a lifetime devoid of peace, calm seas and gentle winds... unseen."
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...
The grandiose April had passed.
It is worth mentioning that, until the very end, the secondary list’s top spot on the Sea Hero Chart for April was still held by Jiang Wang. The second-place holder on the secondary list was just a hundred sea honors short of pushing Jiang Wang down, but unfortunately, fell short by that very hundred points.
Progress on the Sea Hero Chart wasn’t just about one’s own strength; it also depended on whether the opponents provided opportunities. Clearly, this person was somewhat lacking in luck, or perhaps it could be said his luck was good. While the Sea Hero Chart stimulated cultivators’ enthusiasm for battle, many of them also perished in the fight.
Being able to leave one’s name at the top of the first Sea Hero Chart, occupying that premier position on the secondary list, of course, was a considerable honor. The benefits provided by Diao Hai Building were no less substantial.
A bounty of one hundred Prime Stones... of course, it was pocketed by Zhongxuan Sheng, who collected it on his behalf.
Another benefit was announced only in the last few days.
Inside the Seize Sea Alliance, a "Guard Sea Knight" system was specifically established to address sea honors.
Every Human Race cultivator who participated in the Lost World War and received the corresponding sea honors could automatically become a member of the Guard Sea Knights.
With changes in sea honors, different levels of treatment and benefits would be available, and even each rank of Guard Sea Knights would have a salary issued.
The Guard Sea Knights had nine ranks, forming a special stratum recognized by the Seize Sea Alliance but not fully belonging to it, with a thousand-point sea honor threshold for a first-rank Guard Sea Knight.
Any cultivator, regardless of affiliation, could claim a spot on the Sea Hero Chart, could become a Guard Sea Knight. All it took was slaughtering members of the Sea Clan!
This was a sizeable expenditure.
For the Seize Sea Alliance, it was an investment of resources for influence, while also closing the gap between the Seize Sea Alliance and all cultivators participating in the Lost World War.
For Jiang Wang, this was tangible benefit, tangible influence and honor.
With his eleven thousand three hundred points of sea honors, he had just crossed the threshold of a second-rank Guard Sea Knight, becoming one of only two second-rank Guard Sea Knights among all the Outer Building cultivators in the Near Sea Archipelago combat hierarchy.
The other was the individual in second place on the secondary Sea Hero Chart.
Henceforth, in addition to titles like Daqi Qingyang Town male and Fourth-Rank Green Badge Constable, Jiang Wang could add second-rank Guard Sea Knight. In some sense, the last title extended beyond the Qi Country, granted towards the Human Race.
Had there not been a conflict with Diao Hai Building, with merely the last title, he would have already been able to act unrestrained within the Seize Sea Alliance’s sphere of influence.
Of course, while it might bear greater significance, the Seize Sea Alliance had unfurled a quite large banner. Yet, in terms of actual influence, the titled nobility of Daqi still held greater deterrence.
At this time, Jiang Wang was in Linzi.
In Xia Shan Villa, he received intelligence sent by Lin Youxie.
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