202: Two scoundrels discussing heroes

Han Xin nodded, “That does make some sense. I thought the Lord would also get involved, so I was quite worried. This group of people coming here means trouble.”

“That Cold Blade has a mysterious background, and no one knows his true origins. However, the Gongsun family warlords in the Northeast possess a Celestial Vein. At critical moments, the Gongsun family can gain support from extra-space-time beings. Their family has thrived for thousands of years; even when the Great Qian Empire's imperial family was at its strongest, they didn't dare to neglect them, only trying to win them over.”

“Celestial Vein?”

“Lord, the Celestial Vein, like the Chaos in the Elf Sea, is also a rift connecting to a terrifying intelligent race. They and the Gongsun family have formed an alliance, one inside and one outside. However, that rift is quite special; the creatures within cannot directly come to our continent.”

“They can only gain the support of powerful beings through sacrifice, an equivalent exchange between both sides.”

Han Huohuo listened, dumbfounded. This world is truly complex; you can even exchange for opposing armies through sacrifice?

“What kind of race is in the rift? Are they very strong?”

“The Celestial Vein’s rift connects to a place called Cloud City. Cloud City has the strongest seventh-tier troops in this world: Archangels!”

Han Huohuo frowned, remembering this name.

The name Angel exists in his own world, and there are legends of Angels in both the East and the West.

Eastern Angels refer to deities who transmit messages for the Heavenly Emperor. For example, when Taibai Jinxing went to Flower Fruit Mountain to recruit Sun Wukong, Sun Wukong called him an old Angel.

Western Angels are winged warriors.

According to Han Xin's description, this Cloud City seems more like the kind of incredibly powerful beings from Western legends.

“Strongest seventh-tier? That arrogant?”

“Lord, you must not underestimate them. Though they are also seventh-tier, Archangels are absolutely unique. I even suspect that in a true crisis, with enough sacrifices, they might even summon eighth-tier Angels.”

“Oh? There are eighth-tier Angels? How do you mean?”

Han Xin studied under Guigu Sword Saint. It is said that Sword Saint is quite mysterious and enjoys researching various historical secrets, so Han Xin also knows many strange historical inside stories.

He slowly began, “There’s a historical legend that once, the Ice Field Beasts suddenly invaded the Central Plains from the south. The Gongsun family bore the brunt, and their family suffered heavy losses. Then, suddenly, a type of Angel with blood-colored wings appeared. Historical legends call them Blood Angels; they were exceptionally powerful and managed to block the Ice Field Beasts outside the northern mountains, preventing them from entering the Central Plains by even half a step.”

Han Huohuo was stunned, “Wait, isn’t the Ice Field to the north of our Barbarian Tribe? How is it also connected to Gongsun Leopard’s territory?”

Han Xin smiled slightly, “Lord, you probably haven't studied the map of the Great Qian Empire carefully. The Ice Field’s southward invasion isn't just here; there are three paths in total.”

“One is the canyon north of Snow Wave City, called the West Route;”

“One is north of Gongsun Leopard, called Snow Ridge, known as the East Route;”

“And directly north of the Great Qian Kingdom, there's another path called the Central Route. However, the Central Route is difficult to traverse because it passes through the Vast Sea Desert, which is a true land of death, thousands of miles without a soul. That area is undefended but relatively safe.”

Han Huohuo nodded, learning a lot more. So the Ice Field connects to so many places. Although he was a poor student, he started to study seriously.

As he pondered the Ice Field invasion, he felt something was off. The Time-Space Eye on his forehead spun, and he suddenly remembered Nigen’s diary, where he had opened a rift in the Ice Field, from which terrifying creatures emerged.

“How long ago was the last Ice Field invasion?”

“There's no exact time, perhaps hundreds or even thousands of years ago, so now only legends remain. If it weren't for Guigu Sword Saint’s hobby, these matters would probably have been lost in the dust of history.”

Han Huohuo nodded; the time indeed matched Nigen's era.

Therefore, there's a possibility that the rift Nigen opened, and the monsters that came south, might have been blocked by the Gongsun family hundreds of years ago.

So, that time-space shard is likely in Snow Ridge.

Gongsun Leopard cannot be provoked!

Let them fight it out first, and then he would see their trump cards.

What abilities does that Southwest warlord Sun Yong possess?

“Everyone says that the Southwest warlord Sun Yong possesses a supreme treasure of heaven and earth called the imperial jade seal, and its power is extremely terrifying...”

“Wait, you said imperial jade seal? Shouldn't that be in the Mu family's hands?”

“If the Mu family truly had the imperial jade seal, they wouldn’t be so downtrodden. When the previous dynasty was overthrown, the imperial jade seal suddenly disappeared. Everyone speculated that the Sun family took it. A few years ago, the Grand Marshal tried to pacify the realm and once infiltrated the Sun family alone, but he returned injured. It is said he was wounded by the imperial jade seal.”

“What is the function of that imperial jade seal?”

“Unknown. Aside from the person holding the imperial jade seal, no one else knows. In short, it’s very terrifying...”

Isn't this just 'impressive but incomprehensible'?

Perhaps the Marshal's defeat had nothing to do with the imperial jade seal; anyway, any unexplainable things happening in Sun Yong's family are just attributed to the imperial jade seal.

Han Huohuo nodded, thinking that these guys all had some hidden power. Since he didn't know their true strength, he really couldn't blindly get involved.

As for that foreign Lord Cold Blade, he must also have unknown secrets; otherwise, he couldn't be so strong.

“Han Xin, facing such a complex situation, do you have any advice for me?”

“Lord, my suggestion is, if we don't participate in the struggle for dominance, then we should act as a balancer from the sidelines. Don't let any feudal lord gain absolute advantage. We will always support the weaker side, letting them constantly fight among themselves. After a few years, a few decades of infighting, all their trump cards will be exposed...”

Han Huohuo nodded. If they fought among themselves, he would be relatively safe. This idea was very insidious, quite malicious, and not very friendly to the common people, as the period of war would be long.

Who cares? He needed to survive first.

The common people's matters could wait for now.

Han Huohuo thought Han Xin's suggestion was excellent.

The two discussed all night, a secret talk of ten hours. The next morning, Han Huohuo’s eyes had dark circles before all the details were finalized.

These two started the infamous Muddy Waters Plan of later generations, intending to turn this world into a chaotic mess, never finding peace.

In the morning, Mu Jiu had prepared breakfast. Han Huohuo returned home, still looking excited. Mu Jiu felt he was off and couldn't help but advise, “That Han Xin is not a good person; he’s full of wicked schemes. Don't let him lead you astray.”

Han Huohuo chuckled, thinking that women are short-sighted and don’t understand the principle of 'no venom, no true man.'

Han Xin also returned to his Generals Residence in a daze, thinking, he was originally a pure and kind five-good youth, how did the Lord lead him astray, becoming more and more insidious and despicable? He felt an endless sigh.

Of course, later generations' evaluation was that they were two scoundrels who were birds of a feather, with no one being rated higher than the other.

...