323: Chapter 323 Fence-Sitter

Shang Yuqing walked into the reception room and immediately demanded of High Priest Shang Yuleng with irritation.

"Why are you looking for me at a time like this?"

"Me? Looking for you?" High Priest Shang Yuleng frowned.

Shang Yuqing sneered twice. "I knew it! That guy hasn't said a single true word lately!"

She turned and walked out as she spoke, but High Priest Shang Yuleng hurriedly called her back.

"Come back!"

Shang Yuqing turned back and glared. "What is it? At a time like this, are you going to try to convince me to be magnanimous too?"

High Priest Shang Yuleng walked up to her, sighed, and persuaded her in a low voice.

"What else can you do if you aren't magnanimous? The rice is already cooked; she is already ahead of you."

"On what grounds?!"

Shang Yuqing's voice suddenly rose an octave. "I've already asked. That woman has known him for less than three days. On what grounds is she ahead of me?"

"On the grounds that she is a princess of the Blue Blood Clan, her sister is the Howling Queen, and her brother-in-law is Ye Baiqiao!"

Upon hearing the name Ye Baiqiao, Shang Yuqing froze for a moment, then immediately became impatient again.

"So what if he is Ye Baiqiao? He isn't even in Dongyu. Even if he were, he might not be stronger than you."

"You are confused! He touched the edge of the Huagai Realm twenty years ago!"

"As a Genius who suppressed his generation, can you even fathom what height he has reached now?"

"Not to mention Ye Baiqiao, her sister is notoriously ruthless. Can you afford to provoke her?"

"She is a dozen years younger than you, more beautiful than you, and has the entire Blue Blood Clan as her dowry. What do you have to compare with her?"

"You can make a scene, and you can be unreasonable. But I am telling you, Tang Long is destined to not have only you as a woman, and even the main position won't be yours."

"The fact that he is still willing to lie to you now shows that he still cares about you."

"If there comes a day when he doesn't even bother to lie to you anymore, what will you do then?"

These words made Shang Yuqing feel dejected, her expression dimming.

High Priest Shang Yuleng sighed again. "It is I who delayed you, letting you end up like this today. Otherwise, how could my sister lose to anyone else?"

Shang Yuqing shook her head. "The blisters on my feet were caused by my own walking. I cannot blame you for this; it can only be called fate."

As she spoke, she let out a giggle. "Even if she is younger and prettier than me, and her backing is stronger than mine, so what?"

"I naturally have ways to ensure Tang Long always has a place for me in his heart."

"Rest assured! She is just a yellow-haired girl; I can handle her."

A weight was finally lifted from High Priest Shang Yuleng's heart. He nodded and spoke again.

"By the way, there is one more thing. You need to prepare yourself mentally in advance. The situation ahead will be more complex and dangerous. Tang Long wants you to leave early."

"Leave?" Shang Yuqing's expression was astonished. "Is it really necessary?"

High Priest Shang Yuleng smiled bitterly. "I am not the High Priest of the Red Religion, and he is not a Saint of the Red Religion. Now that the Pope is targeting him, do you think it is necessary?"

Shang Yuqing's expression changed several times, but after remaining silent for a long while, she still shook her head.

"I am not leaving. Although my ability is not great, there are many things I can do to help you all, and I won't hold you back. Besides, where else can I go?"

High Priest Shang Yuleng sighed. "I knew I couldn't persuade you. You should discuss it with Tang Long later."

"As long as he agrees, I have no objections."

"Also, if you must stay, you need to hurry up and Cultivate."

Shang Yuqing nodded deeply.

————

Just as Tang Long walked out the door, Mad Dog and Golden Scorpion scurried over sneakily, glancing left and right.

"Tang Long, are you alright?"

"Brother Long, you don't look like you've been beaten up. You probably didn't even get water splashed on you."

"Indeed, looking at how relaxed he is, it seems like he has no pressure at all."

Tang Long looked at them with disdain. "You two unloyal guys, you don't help me carry the burden when things happen, but run out to suck up once everything is fine. You really have let down our friendship."

"What kind of talk is that? Your pile of wives, big and small, were setting up a stage to fight. What else could we do but hide?"

"Brother Long, is that silver-haired woman really your wife? I heard she is... the Howling Queen's sister. Is that true?"

Tang Long snorted. "It's genuine and authentic!"

"Dog Brother, I married your Master's wife's sister, so the seniority will have to change from now on."

"You tell me, what should you call me?"

Mad Dog's face immediately twisted, his features contorted. His dog face turned purple-red, and he didn't dare to answer.

Seeing his awkward state, Tang Long really couldn't hold back his laughter.

"Forget it, let's just stick to our own ways of addressing each other."

"By the way, Dog Brother, there is another matter I must notify you of."

"I just received news brought by your aunt; your Master's wife has found your Master."

Although it sounded incredibly awkward, Mad Dog immediately perked up.

"Really? Where are they?"

Tang Long sighed long and hard. "The Ancient Kingdom of Heaven's Legacy, it is said they are trapped in an underground river of fire."

"Lyria sent the news back to the Blue Blood Clan, wanting to seek the clan's help."

"However, the Blue Blood Clan has just experienced a war against the Alien God. King Laita was killed in action, the clansmen suffered heavy casualties, and they still have to constantly guard against new threats."

"As the newly appointed Blue Blood King, I cannot just recklessly send out the few elites left in the clan like this."

"So what I mean is, can you go ahead and act as the vanguard, see what the situation is, and then we will figure out a way."

Mad Dog was dumbfounded. "I... I am willing to go. But the Ancient Kingdom of Heaven's Legacy is located on the Quicksand Continent, separated from the Red Earth by the entire Sea of Despair."

"And there is a legend that the Ancient Kingdom of Heaven's Legacy is deep within tens of thousands of miles of quicksand desert, and outsiders cannot walk in at all."

"With my meager abilities, can I go?"

Tang Long smiled and patted his shoulder. "If your abilities are not enough, don't we still have Group Leader Yun? She is also a Disciple of the Six Marshals; shouldn't she contribute some effort? Go find her now and see what she says."

Although Mad Dog was afraid of that Junior Sister from the bottom of his heart, since it involved his Master, he steeled himself and gritted his teeth to agree.

"Fine, I will go find her!"

"Big Brother! I will go with you!"

Tang Long watched their receding figures, a meaningful glint flashing in his eyes.

The news about Ye Baiqiao was a form of pressure, but was it not also an opportunity?

First, for the next two days, Yun Zhuoyue and Mad Dog would pester Princess Lai Anniya, so he could spend less energy dealing with his 'wife'.

Second, when this news leaks out, some people will be very flustered, and when they are flustered, they will make mistakes.

Third, he wanted to make drastic changes in Dongyu later, and perhaps he would have to do some cold-blooded things. Sending away the people he cared about could also relieve some psychological burden.

————

Near the Dajiao Mountain camp, the saucer descended slowly, drawing cheers from the players.

The hatch opened outward, and Ye Baiming walked out of the spaceship under the protection of guards, his gaze somewhat dazed.

Seeing many players jumping and surrounding them, the guards couldn't help but feel a bit nervous, raising their guns one after another.

But Ye Baiming stopped them. "Do not use force unless they attack first."

The guards received the instruction and immediately released waves of Qi, pushing the players away, carving out a path through the tens of thousands of people, and arrived at Tang Long's side.

Tang Long welcomed him with a smile. "Duke, it is a pleasure to meet you."

Ye Baiming also nodded slightly at him. "Let's not mention the title of 'Lord'. I was blind back then. Who would have thought that after a short two months, you would actually become the premier person in power in Dongyu?"

Tang Long shook his head repeatedly. "You overpraise me. The premier one is Your Majesty. I am just a small fry, I cannot afford such flattery from you."

"Your Excellency is too modest."

"Governor Xu Mingyang and his son fell into your hands, and now you have the final say in Song City."

"The people of Sangyu must be extremely in awe of you. If you send a message over, I don't believe they would dare not listen."

"And these Chaos Walkers. They have greatly affected our hunting gains, and I fear the impact will only become greater in the future."

"According to the news I received, even the Yuanwu Kingdom has exhausted huge amounts of energy to suppress them, yet with little effect."

"If it weren't for that, how could they not come to join in the fun during this civil strife in Dongyu?"

"But in front of Your Excellency, they are so obedient; with a wave of your arm, there are thousands upon thousands."

"Plus the support of my Feng City."

"In my opinion, even if you wanted to change the dynasty and become Emperor, it would probably be easy."

Tang Long grinned. "Duke, you are testing me."

"To tell you the truth, the number of Chaos Walkers is not small, but they are still vulnerable when fighting against regular armies."

"Duke, you also have the surname Ye. If you are interested in that chair in Huaidu, I am willing to be your vanguard."

Ye Baiming narrowed his eyes and stared at him, and Tang Long also looked back with a smile.

After looking for a while, both of them laughed out loud simultaneously.

"No more nonsense, let's talk business."

"You speak."

"The first thing, we are going to war, and I will need your full support when the time comes."

Ye Baiming rubbed his forehead. "Are we going to fight after all? Is there no gentler method?"

Tang Long smiled and replied, "You misunderstood. I am not going to attack Huaidu; I am talking about... Haixing, Chilin, and Nanhe."

"What! You want to go to war against these three countries at the same time?"

"Of course not at the same time. Even if I controlled the military power of the whole country, I couldn't be so reckless. One by one, I plan to hit Haixing first. They have already mobilized troops to the East Pass Fortress; this is a very good opportunity..."

"Wait a moment." Ye Baiming asked Tang Long with knitted brows. "After fighting this entire circle, how much loss will Dongyu have to bear? What is the point of fighting this war?"

Tang Long narrowed his eyes at him. "Duke, are you really not understanding, or are you playing dumb?"

"Haixing has already become a bridgehead for the Blue Sea Federation, and Nanhe and Chilin are the same. Even in our Dongyu, the currency we use is blue sea coins."

"Caught between the two behemoths of Yuanwu and the Blue Sea, if we don't use extraordinary means, can we ever be secure?"

"The war I am talking about is not a small skirmish; the goal is to wipe out these three countries, not a single one can be left."

"Only then will we truly be qualified to become the fence-sitter between Yuanwu and the Blue Sea."

"Otherwise, Dongyu will surely perish!"

Ye Baiming couldn't help but gasp.