901 - Two Rewards
Chapter 901 - Two Rewards
As an ancient race with a long history and deep culture, and one which had inherited the precious dragon blood of the ancient Divine Dragons, the Dragon Human Race had all along held an honorable status like no other among the myriad domains, such that even the most powerful domains and forces had to be polite to them. Whether or not the things which Ye Qingyu was alleged to have done were true or not, they had been spread throughout the Vast Thousand Domains and caused the Dragon Human Race humiliation not suffered for millions of years, and were nearly equivalent to having plucked the hair of and pissed all over the race.
Therefore, the Dragon Human Race’s response was deemed reasonable by many.
Then again, it was actually not so easy for a domain to declare war on another, especially one which had just passed their domain grading and been recognized as an independent domain by the Alliance. The impact of such inter-domain wars was way too widespread for the Alliance to sit by and do nothing, for there was no telling when a war would end once it broke out.
Everything hinged on two factors.
First, the will of the Dragon Human Race.
Second, the attitude of the Alliance of Domains.
Both factors were crucial.
Furthermore, it was highly apparent that the Dragon Human Race had failed to reach a proper agreement with the Alliance of Domains during this period of time, and so a real war had yet to transpire despite the tough talk of the incumbent emperor. Although their army was indeed assembling, they had not actually set off on an expedition.
As for the higher-ups of the Alliance of Domains, their position was as ambiguous as always. In fact, they had never made clear their position. Although a few opinions which went against the Heaven Wasteland Domain had slowly begun to spread in Heaven Connect City and were subsequently diffused to other giant cities by those with malintent, they were nevertheless just rumors and were unlikely to have a decisive effect.
To sum up, the situation of the Heaven Wasteland Domain had become a little delicate.
Or rather, the situation of the entire Road of Chaos had become a little delicate.
The situation was so confusing to the eye that only its instigators and players could possibly see through the layers of dense fog.
It was certainly far from good for the Heaven Wasteland Domain. The most direct effect was that many forces and chambers of commerce which had collaborations with them now became vague in attitude, as if looking on and waiting for something.
A new round of storms and whirlpools seemed to be gradually forming on the Road of Chaos.
...
Time flew by.
A month went by in a twinkling.
In Ren Puyang's meeting room.
Ye Qingyu was standing beside the transparent lapis floor-reaching window as he peered out at the Saint Hearing Platform below, somewhat lost in thought.
Half an hour ago, Xiao Lin, the white-robed divine guard, turned up at the Heaven Wasteland Building and brought him here under orders from Mr. Ren Puyang, who was currently engaged in some business and thus made him wait here patiently.
In reality, there were no more than two handfuls of people who were qualified enough to wait in this room, if ever one needed an indication of Ye Qingyu's place in Ren Puyang's mind.
Ye Qingyu knew this very well.
He knew even more clearly that the fact that Ren Puyang had invited him today meant that there, more or less, was a definite outcome to all the disputes of the past month.
Soon...
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
A deep and slightly-stately voice was heard.
Ye Qingyu turned his body and saw Ren Puyang walking out of the silver-colored portal.
"Mr. Ren Puyang, is there a conclusion to the matter?" Smiling, he got straight to the point as soon as he walked up to the latter.
The latter nodded but did not offer a verbal reply at once. He returned to his seat, drank a mouthful of tea, and heaved a long sigh of relief before he leaned back in an extremely relaxed manner and mocked Ye Qingyu, saying, "Why, getting excited already? Haha, you must be feeling impatient."
Ye Qingyu wanted to roll his eyes when he heard this.
But instead, he admitted, "That's right. The Heaven Wasteland Domain will become public enemy number one if there still isn't a conclusion."
Ren Puyang guffawed for some time before he slowly said, "After discussing for a long time, the Alliance's congress has finally made some progress. Debate regarding the Dragonblood Dynasty old emperor's death is still ongoing and is unlikely to reach a conclusion any time soon. The evidence you provided is now being examined by the masters in this area, while at the same time, the congress will dispatch envoys to investigate this matter. You should be aware that this matter will have great collateral implications and has become a power struggle among various parties. Therefore, for the time being, it will be argued back and forth and probably won't reach any conclusion... But you can rest assured that the Dragonblood Dynasty won't initiate a war against the Heaven Wasteland Domain because of this matter before the investigation results are out."
Ye Qingyu felt relieved after hearing all this.
As they say, war inevitably plunges people into misery and suffering, and those who get the worst of it are always the weak who cannot protect themselves. Whether it was the Heaven Wasteland people or the common folk of the Dragonblood Dynasty, nobody was willing to be affected by the scourge of war.
Moreover, the Heaven Wasteland Domain had only just been graded successfully and opened a new Domain Gate. This was the initial stage of the prosperity of business. If affected by war, everything would be set back a hundred years or more, and the losses would be too much.
To Ye Qingyu and the Heaven Wasteland Domain, the best way for the Alliance to handle this matter was unquestionably to prevent this war from happening, either by suppressing the Dragonblood Dynasty for the time being or delaying things as much as possible.
After leaning back relaxedly for a while, Ren Puyang stood up and returned to beside the table.
He casually picked up a bright-yellow silk manuscript and glanced through it before placing it back down and turning his head toward Ye Qingyu, saying, "I have a message which should be good news for you. According to it, there seems to have arisen some problems among the inner ranks of the Dragonblood Dynasty. Their situation isn't very stable and divisions have emerged."
Divisions among the inner ranks of the Dragonblood Dynasty?
Ye Qingyu's eyes lit up.
This was indeed good news.
These divisions would mean that the Dragon Human Race had not completely fallen under the control of that secretive and terrifying [Camp], or otherwise there would not be differences in opinion. To a great extent, this also erased nearly all possibility that the Dragonblood Dynasty would recklessly declare war against the Heaven Wasteland Domain, because two divided factions would certainly not dispatch troops against foreign forces and thereby weaken themselves before they had gained an absolute advantage domestically.
Stroking his chin, Ye Qingyu laughed mildly.
At this time, there was another matter which he wanted to know the conclusion of.
Keeping a straight face, he asked without hesitation, "Mr. Ren Puyang, is there already a final judgment regarding the Black Moon Immortal Palace's attack on the Heaven Wasteland diplomatic corps?"
"Regarding this... there indeed is. The Alliance eventually adjudged that the Black Moon Immortal Palace's attack on the Heaven Wasteland diplomatic corps is in violation of the Alliance's laws, and has sentenced that the mountain gate of the Black Moon Immortal Palace shall be sealed for fifty years." Ren Puyang slowly answered.
"Seal their mountain gate for fifty years? That's... all?" Ye Qingyu's eye beams flashed, indicating his utter dissatisfaction with this judgment.
Ren Puyang shook his head and sighed lightly, "Take it easy, child. I understand what you think, but this can't be helped. Many representatives among the Alliance spoke out on behalf of the Black Moon Immortal Palace, and their support couldn't be brushed aside. What's more... the Black Moon Immortal Palace is essentially also a Human Race sect, and there were many voices of support among the humans. My word isn't decisive. Having stood tall among the Vast Thousand Domains for so many years, the Black Moon Immortal Palace has extensive dealings and heritage even though it isn't a super force. You may be upset about this, but you must not do anything precipitate."
Ye Qingyu remained silent.
Although he was highly dissatisfied, he also knew that Ren Puyang had done all he could. This was the reality which could not be changed in a hurry. Ultimately, it boiled down to the fact that the Heaven Wasteland Domain was too weak and too small, or otherwise, nobody would dare bully them.
"However..." Knowing how discontented Ye Qingyu was with this punishment, Ren Puyang thought for a while and decided not to try persuading him anymore. Changing the topic, he said, "The evidence you provided played a huge role in the judgment of the Black Moon Immortal Palace this time. Many clues were discovered, helping us to address a particularly long-standing doubt. What's more, that Black Snake Demon has a significant origin, and so it was certainly one heck of a job for you to be able to seal it up... As a result, the Alliance has decided to compensate you and has specially prepared a reward for you. I'm sure you'll find it very interesting."
"Oh?" Raising his brows, Ye Qingyu's interest was slightly aroused.
Rewards provided by the Alliance were certainly no ordinary things.
And, judging from Ren Puyang's tone, it was definitely something good.
"This time, there are two kinds of rewards, of which you may choose one..." Ren Puyang smiled knowingly as if he had expected to see Ye Qingyu's current expression, before continuing, "One is for the Alliance to issue an official letter of appointment which designates you as my deputy. Thereafter, your nominal status in the Alliance of Domains will only be second to mine. However, this deputy position is only ceremonial and comes with no substantive authority for the time being. Neither does it allow you to command the white-robed divine guards."
"No command over the white-robed divine guards? So, just nominal?" Ye Qingyu was not too keen on this, feeling that this reward was a little too fluffy.
Ren Puyang shook his head and smiled, "That isn't exactly the case. There are still many things you can do as a deputy. At the very least, it would serve as protection for you. In the future, any sect or force who wants to lay a finger on you cannot possibly strike you directly and openly. What's more, with this added status, you'd be able to do things from a high position and wouldn't be accused of acting without reason."
Ye Qingyu nodded thoughtfully and vaguely understood what Ren Puyang meant. He then asked, "What's the other choice?"
"The other choice is relatively much simpler. You'll be allowed to enter the [Divine Weapon Hall] and pick out a treasure below an emperor weapon." Ren Puyang slowly explained.
Ye Qingyu was slightly shaken after listening to these words.
Both rewards were highly valuable.
Although he had expected the Alliance to reward him for submitting those pieces of evidence, he never imagined that the reward would actually be this valuable.
On second thought, he understood what was going on.
The Alliance could not be this generous per se. The reason why he could obtain such precious rewards from them was mostly related to the importance of the letters he submitted, with one huge possibility being that he was unaware of the actual value of those pieces of evidence. Another likely reason was that Ren Puyang had put a great deal of thought into striving for these rewards on his behalf.