Chapter 488: Machination
"It's done."
Liu Guang had been floating in the atmosphere, gazing at the continent below.
She had been working hard when everyone was enjoying their peaceful period after the Qualifier Round. For several months, she had led her pest armies to conquer every city on the continent. Even towns of commoners were included.
Dangerous places, such as beast forests, mountains, and desolated plains on the corner of the continent was not an exception. Her insects swarmed the land, subduing any resisting force she found.
After six months of an arduous task, she conquered the continent by herself!
Liu Guang ordered her pets to either migrate into the Blood Sea or live underground. Having a trillion ferocious giant insects around was a demerit to her kingdom.
After finishing her job, she returned to Xiangyang City.
The Province Capital of the region had already been reformed by Sima Yi and Guo Jia. The two men acted as the city's secretaries, turning the desolated city into a buzzing Capital of the Southern Province.
Many cultivators, who had failed to become Siren City's citizens, had already migrated here. However, commoners and merchants were still afraid of Liu Guang's giant insects, so not many daredevils visited here.
Liu Guang entered the city palace and returned to her room. She collapsed on her bed, mentally exhausted.
Five minutes later, Guo Jia and Sima Yi rushed to the front door of her room. They knocked on the door.
"Lady Liu, we would like to discuss the future plan for our kingdom!"
Liu Guang grumbled, "Not today. I want to rest. Come back in a few months."
"My Lady, it concerns your future and the fate of Aves Continent."
"Whatever. Let Wei Yuan and Hopea deal with it. I'm tired."
Guo Jia and Sima Yi paused for a while. Then, they decided to reveal their goal.
"The current Aves Continent is without a leader. We need someone with the Blood of "Liu" to inherit the throne and become the pillar of our continent!"
BOOM
As soon as Guo Jia and Sima Yi revealed their goal, Liu Guang pointed her palm at the door and destroyed it. Both men were flung away and were slammed onto the wall.
The two scholars vomited blood and fell on their knees.
Liu Guang slowly sat up and glared at the men. Her eyes emitted dark flame, and her fingernails were broken into a million wasps.
The wasps surrounded the two men. If Liu Guang gave her permission, they would swarm Sima Yi and Guo Jia right away.
"This continent belongs to my husband. Are you trying to rebel?!"
"N-No! That isn't our intention!" Guo Jia panicked.
"Then what?!"
"Could you allow me to explain… please? It will take a while."
"You have two minutes."
"…"
Both men took a deep breath. Guo Jia explained the background of this planet and the influence of the Great Liu Clan, the owner of Aves Continent.
The Great Liu Clan was backed by an Immortal Emperor of Han Palace, Liu Bang. He was also known as Emperor Gaozu of Han. The Immortal Emperor blessed the Great Liu Clan with his Luck and Dao, allowing his people to grow faster than the local cultivators.
The Immortal Emperor also interfered with the Great Liu Clan and this mortal world's affair. He claimed the Aves Continent as the property of the Great Liu Clan, and they could appoint their clansmen as the Emperor or Overseers of Aves Continent.
Therefore, if suddenly a new emperor emerged, and that person was not from the Great Liu Clan, they might offend the Immortal Emperor.
Both strategists planned to use Liu Guang's connection with Liu Clan to avoid the wrath of the Immortal Emperor. By enthroning Liu Guang as the new Empress of Aves Continent, the Great Liu Clan could save face, and the people of Siren City could delay the confrontation or conflicts for a while longer.
This was their primary objective. They needed time for Siren City's fighters to become stronger than the seven Great Clans.
Listening to this point, Liu Guang clicked her tongue. She had doubts.
"Why do we need to postpone the fight when our backers are stronger than that Immortal Emperor? We have Nero and two deities on our side."
Sima Yi repeatedly shook his head and stood up in objection.
"We can't rely on external sources forever! First, we barely know anything about the dragon and our deities. They might be helping us at the moment, yes. But once they change their mind, it will be our doom!"
Guo Jia inserted, "What we are trying to say is, we can't expect our backers to help us forever. To begin with, Immortal Emperor Liu Bang is just a backer of the Great Liu Clan. We haven't included the backers of the other six clans in the big picture. Therefore, our protector, Nero, can't possibly handle all the immortals and deities by himself if all backers of the seven clans decide to attack us at once."
Liu Guang still didn't get it, "What about the deities?"
"Deities are here because of our liege. Again, deities are known to be aloof, and mortals like us are nothing but a speck of dust. By chance, if they deem us as insignificant one day and abandon us, we will have to fight the backers of the great clans without their help. That's why…"
Guo Jia stood and cupped his fist, "Please cooperate and buy us some time. We need the people of Siren City to be as strong as the Great Clans so that the deities can continue investing in us. Only then, we will be saved from the wrath of Immortal Emperor Liu Bang.
Liu Guang clicked her tongue. She understood their intention a bit, but she still disapproved of becoming the Empress of Aves Continent to bootlick the Liu Clan.
"Can I appoint my husband as the new emperor after I become the Empress?"
"I'm afraid you can't officially appoint him as the emperor. However, you can title him as your Prime Royal Consort, and he can still have the same authority as an emperor. The Liu Clan won't be able to find fault with you in this case."
"But do I have to listen to the Liu Clan's order?"
"No. You can always deny them..."
Guo Jia didn't hide his nervousness. He fiddled his fingers.
Liu Guang saw through Guo Jia's hesitation, "What's the catch?"
Guo Jia took a deep breath and decided to be frank, "Once we deny the Great Liu Clan's order and authority, they will start sending their men to suppress us or send someone to marry you to become the new emperor."
"I'll just kill those assholes, then. If one comes, I'll kill one. If a million comes, I'll kill a million!"
"The average strength of the Great Clans' cultivators is 8th-stage. I don't think you can handle them all."
"…"
"Unless our soldiers are as strong as theirs, we won't have a chance. That's why we need you to become the empress first. Then, we will move based on their reactions and political stance.
"In the end, I have to bootlick them?"
"Not necessarily. We'll pretend to be docile until the Holy Land Tournament is over."
"… Tell me more. What's in it for me?"
"Please follow us, so we can elaborate on the detail. It involves the potential result of the Holy Land Tournament, the rivalry between the Great Clans, your husband's role in this tournament, and much more.
Guo Jia and Sima Yi smiled. They invited Liu Guang to the palace hall, so they could openly consult with her in front of many scholars that they had gathered beforehand.
While Miaomiao and others would join the Holy Land Tournament, Liu Guang would soon play a game of grand chess, where the world was her chessboard.
…
A day later, Guo Jia flew to Siren City to inform Wei Yuan and others about the changes.
Coincidentally, Ma Moxi and others had just departed to the other realm. The women were about the gather in their Yin Slave Mansion to discuss the tournament.
Guo Jia rushed to the mansion as well. He approached Wei Yuan and gave her the letter of Liu Guang.
"Lady Wei. Lady Liu has asked me to pass you her invitation letter. It relates to her coronation ceremony."
"What?!"
Wei Yuan frowned. She took the letter from Guo Jia and skimmed through it.
After she finished the letter, she dragged Guo Jia to the mansion, so they could include this matter in the meeting's agenda.
…
Yin Slave Mansion Lobby
All yin slaves, except for Liu Guang and Fang Meirong, were present. Even Dian Wei, Hopea, Zhu Qiao, and the maid squad were there.
At first, they were looking forward to choosing their best eight representatives to join the Holy Land Tournament. But once Wei Yuan showed them the letter, their faces changed.
"That bitch! Is she rebelling?!"
Sun Yun was enraged. She, too, had a high status as Sun Wentai's daughter, but she never used it to take advantage of Miaomiao. Yet, Liu Guang did something unnecessary.
From the perspective of Sun Yun and others, the Aves Continent belonged to Miaomiao, and he should become the new emperor, not Liu Guang.
The women glared at Guo Jia, demanding his explanation.
Guo Jia sighed and repeated what he had told Liu Guang yesterday.
After listening to Guo Jia's story, Wei Yuan rolled her eyes, "You are overthinking things. Our husband's backers will never abandon us. We don't need to fear the Immortal Emperor."
"Why are you so sure that the deities won't abandon us? What if they stop investing in Lord Mao and everybody here? Won't that be our death sentence?"
"True. If we're looking at it from a mortal's perspective, it is indeed unwise to rely solely on our husband's backers to stop the Immortal Emperor as you just said."
"Then?"
Wei Yuan laughed, "Still, I'm holding a few pieces of information that I can't disclose to the public. I believe that you've miscalculated."
Guo Jia squinted his eyes, "Is that information sensitive enough that you can't reveal it to me?"
"Yes."
"… I see."
Guo Jia closed his eyes and sighed. He was both disappointed and relieved.
He was relieved that Miaomiao's influence was firm enough to repel the external threat of the higher realms. However, he was disappointed that Wei Yuan and Miaomiao didn't share the classified information with him.
"I guess I'm overly-paranoid as you said. Since Lord Mao already has a backup plan, I won't embarrass myself further."
Guo Jia cupped his fist and prepared to leave.
"Wait!"
Wei Yuan called Guo Jia back. She smirked as she injected her memory into a jade slip. Then, she passed it to Guo Jia.
The jade contained the information about the relationship between Miaomiao and Macho Joshua, including the DaoTube business. However, she didn't tell him about the Devil and the protagonist hunt quests.
Guo Jia received the jade slip and scanned it. Then, he widened his eyes.
He understood now why the deities were so protective of Miaomiao and his family. There was something to be gained from them.
Guo Jia brightly smiled and bowed to Wei Yuan. He also destroyed the jade slip, destroying the sensitive information right away.
"I shall strive harder to be worthy of your trust."
"Nah, you already do. Say, what do we need to do to make Liu Guang the empress?"
"!!!"
The girls turned to Wei Yuan in shock.
"Although this move is unnecessary, it can be used to unload some of our husband's burdens. Once Liu Guang is the new empress, we will have the influence in the Great Liu Clan, right?"
"Yes."
"Then, let's turn the Liu Clan upside down from the inside. Say, Guo Jia, tell us about the rivalry between the great clans and their backers. Share us everything you know about them!"
"Of course!"
The meeting continued as the strategist and Wei Yuan began scheming and planning for the Holy Land Tournament.
30 minutes later, Azazel and Uriel entered the mansion and joined the meeting.
Wei Yuan and Guo Jia stopped talking and listened to the deities.
"Sorry to interrupt you, but you need to present me with eight representatives to fight in the Holy Land Tournament."
Wei Yuan sighed and passed the name list of the chosen contestants to Uriel.
But the latter hadn't finished, "Next, I will need someone to act as the supreme lord of Aves Continent. He or she shall represent the face of our continent, and this will also affect my reputation. Also, we can't choose a tournament contestant as our leader."
Everyone looked at each other, "Why?"
"They will have to join in another tournament, specially designed for clan lords. The seven winners of this tournament will be acknowledged as the lords of the new Seven Great Clans while the losers will be demoted. This tournament can change the ecosystem and the shape of this planet."
"Oh!!"
The women grinned as they had a clear idea who to pick.
Wei Yuan took the name list back to fix it. Then, she returned it to Uriel.
Uriel gazed at the name list.
Seeing the name of their leader, who would join in the clan lord's tournament, he laughed.
"Are you sure?"
"Damn straight, senior."
"He's gonna complain for sure."
"He has THAT pet as a familiar. It's about time we put him to good use."
"Well, I can't argue with that."
Everyone in the room laughed while Guo Jia looked around in confusion.
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