129: Chapter 129 Using a borrowed knife to kill, the Heavenly Official of the Tomb Raiders!

Rolling waves of heat, carrying the scent of char, swept through, turning the reed marshes by Black Water Lake into ash.

Qin Ji stood amidst the devastation, his purple-gold pupils reflecting the gradually fading embers. He did not turn back, merely flicking the non-existent dust off his longbow, his voice cutting through the crackling of the fire and clearly reaching the ears of the two princesses.

"Is this arrow enough to serve as a bargaining chip?"

Leona stared intently at the man before her, her throat too dry to make a sound. The negotiation tactics she had prepared seemed pale and powerless in the face of such absolute, destructive power.

Princess's fingers clutched the hilt of her sword so tightly they turned white, her knuckles emitting a faint cracking sound. She knew well that if that strike had landed on the Royal Capital, half of the inner city would likely have been reduced to ruins.

"Snow Emperor, you win."

Leona was the first to break the silence, her formerly straight spine slumping slightly for a moment, as if she had let go of some burden. "As long as we can topple our father, we will give you whatever you want. But the condition is that your plan must be feasible."

Qin Ji turned around, a meaningful arc forming at the corners of his mouth.

"Currently, the Star Kingdom appears to be dominated solely by Abra, but in reality, it is beset by internal and external troubles. His desire to eliminate you is nothing more than playing with fire on paper."

"Playing with fire on paper?" Princess frowned. "Father controls the Imperial Guard and holds the Kingdom Protection Formation; the situation is clearly extremely unfavorable for us."

"You are wrong."

Qin Ji raised a finger and shook it gently. "The current situation is extremely unfavorable for your father, Abra."

The two princesses exchanged a glance, both seeing the confusion in the other's eyes.

Qin Ji did not beat around the bush, casting his gaze toward the direction of the Royal Capital, as if he could pierce through layers of mist to see the decay at the center of power.

"When I attacked Black Wind City and Ice Snow City, the defense I encountered was ridiculously lax. Although high bounties were posted, the true elite forces remained unmoved. This wasn't something you were orchestrating behind the scenes, was it?"

Leona shook her head. "We were too busy dealing with our own problems at that time."

"There are only two people with the ability to orchestrate this and keep the army from moving—Prime Minister Kesenluo and Grand Marshal Lorraine Muyuan."

Qin Ji's voice was calm, yet it exploded in their ears like a thunderclap. "Of course, Abra could do it too, but with his possessive nature, he would never tolerate such arrogance from an external enemy. Therefore..."

Princess's pupils contracted sharply; her years of experience in battle allowed her to instantly grasp the main point.

"You mean... the Prime Minister and the Grand Marshal are only feigning political disagreement? They are secretly cooperating and plotting something?!"

"Correct."

Qin Ji snapped his fingers. "Furthermore, the King wishes to eliminate all three of you princesses; in terms of internal affairs, he has forced himself into a position of isolation. Abra might be able to handle opposing three princesses with ease, but what if those two powerful officials who hold command over heavy troops are added to the mix?"

Leona and Princess's breathing became rapid.

This was a dead end, but also a huge Opportunity.

"But..." A trace of hesitation flashed in Leona's eyes. "The Demon Cave just attacked Black Wind City. If the Star Kingdom falls into civil strife, will the Demon Cave strike again? That would be inviting the wolf into the house."

"Internal fighting is one thing, but inviting an external enemy makes us sinners against the Kingdom." Princess also shook her head decisively.

"Naive."

Qin Ji sneered, mercilessly shattering their illusions. "This is a choice where you have no choice. In Abra's hands, the Star Kingdom will sooner or later be crushed by the Demon Cave. Even if the Demon Cave doesn't act, the powerhouses of the Nether Clan are already watching like tigers eyeing their prey."

He stepped forward, staring down at the two of them with immense pressure.

"Borrow the power of the Demon Cave to contain Abra, and once one of you ascends to the throne, you can fully afford to clear out the Night Walkers of the Demon Cave. This is called using a tiger to devour a wolf, not inviting the wolf into the house."

Leona and Princess fell into a deathly silence.

Everything Qin Ji said made sense. In all the years Abra had been in power, he had accomplished nothing, and the national strength had declined rather than risen. If things continued this way, the Star Kingdom would collapse on its own before any catastrophe arrived.

"We think we know what to do."

After a long while, Leona looked up, a touch of determination in her eyes. "However, merely uniting with the Demon Cave and the powerful officials is not enough to kill him in one blow. Father still has a trump card."

"The most critical link is in the inner palace."

Qin Ji grinned, revealing a set of stark white teeth. "The Queen, Fiodingyu."

"The Queen?!"

Leona's expression changed abruptly, and she instinctively stepped back half a pace. "That crazy woman? She would love nothing more than to kill us all to pave the way for Qing Fuyun!"

"She wants to support Qing Fuyun's ascension, but she knows better than anyone that Qing Fuyun, that vase, lacks the strength to take the throne."

Qin Ji's tone was flat, as if he were discussing what to have for dinner. "You just need to have a good talk with the Queen. Get her to sacrifice herself to severely wound Abra."

"Why would she?" Princess snorted coldly.

"Because you can promise that no matter who becomes King, you will ensure Qing Fuyun a lifetime of wealth, and can even grant her a fiefdom."

Qin Ji paused, his gaze becoming profound. "The current Abra harbors murderous intent toward all three of you princesses. The Queen is a smart woman; she knows that if Abra wins, in order to consolidate his royal power, a Princess like Qing Fuyun who has no backing will only end up being sent for a political marriage or something even worse. Only if you win can her daughter survive."

Leona and Princess were completely silent.

This was an extremely crazy plan: using their mother's murderer to deal with their own biological father.

But in this Shura field of power, this was the only path to survival.

"Fine." Princess took a deep breath, her silver armor gleaming coldly in the moonlight. "Snow Emperor, I hope your judgment is correct."

"That depends on how you manage the relationships in between."

Qin Ji spread his hands and said no more.

After sending off the two preoccupied princesses, Qin Ji reopened his quest panel.

The quest [Choice of Light and Dark] did not show as completed. It seemed that he would need to wait until Abra actually fell, or at least until the situation became clear, before the rewards would be issued.

He was not in a hurry.

What he cared more about now was another string of numbers.

He opened his personal inventory and locked his gaze onto the gold coin balance column.

[Current Balance: 16,500,000,000 Gold Coins]

One billion six hundred and fifty million!

As early as three days ago, he had utilized the authority of the Adventurers Guild to forcibly implement a deposit and withdrawal service.

In this game world without a mature financial system, he offered a terrifying annual interest rate of 30%. For those big-shot players and large guilds clutching gold coins with nowhere to spend them, this was simply a pie falling from the sky.

In just three short days, the deposited funds had already exceeded one billion.

And by using these funds to buy low and sell high, and to monopolize rare Materials, his daily return rate was as high as 1%!

After deducting the interest he had to pay, he could net 15 million gold coins a day!

This was a dimensionality reduction strike.

While Princess was still fighting tooth and nail for the throne, Qin Ji had already quietly seized control of the entire Kingdom's economic lifeline.

"The throne? Heh."

Qin Ji chuckled softly and closed the panel. By the time those two sisters ascended to the throne, this money would have already rolled into an astronomical figure. By then, it wouldn't be certain who was controlling whom.

After handling the trivial matters at hand, Qin Ji's figure flickered as he headed to the Frenzied Blade territory to log off.

Frenzied Blade remained as respectful to him as ever, to the very bone; not only did he specially clear out the most luxurious secret room for him to log off, but he didn't even dare to say a single word of solicitation.

...

Reality world, Jianghai City.

As the hatch of the nutrition pod slid open slowly, Qin Ji sat up from the pale blue nutrient solution.

His body did not have the usual fatigue from long hours of gaming; instead, it was filled with explosive power. The attribute feedback from the game was subtly transforming his physical body.

He glanced to the side.

In the spot that had originally been empty, there was now a brand-new, streamlined gaming pod; it was prepared for Qingqing.

On the balcony, a speck of scarlet fire flickered in the night.

Fatty Zhou, wearing large shorts, was leaning on the railing, puffing away, with a fair number of cigarette butts already accumulated in the ashtray at his feet.

Hearing the commotion, Fatty Zhou turned his head, a smile squeezing onto his round face: "Brother Hao, logged off? Calculating the time, it's about right; I figured you were going to pick up Qingqing."

Qin Ji walked to the balcony; the night breeze dispersed some of the stuffiness in the room.

He patted Fatty Zhou on the shoulder, his brows slightly furrowed: "Why are you smoking so much?"

Fatty Zhou took a deep drag and did not offer a cigarette to Qin Ji; he knew Qin Ji didn't touch that stuff.

"Brother Hao, Glasses has lost contact in the game."

Fatty Zhou exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, his voice sounding somewhat muffled. "I've been logging off to look for him for the past two days; his phone won't connect, and his status in the in-game friends list is a special gray."

Qin Ji was stunned for a moment.

Fatty Zhou had indeed mentioned it before, saying that Glasses had entered a special Secret Realm and couldn't get out. At the time, he was busy grinding passives and laying out the Star Kingdom, so he hadn't paid much attention.

"What exactly happened?"

"It's too weird."

Fatty Zhou stubbed out the cigarette butt in the ashtray and rubbed his face hard. "Not only can he not return to the city or send messages, even the log-off option is grayed out! He said he encountered a very strange female NPC."

"A female NPC?"

"Yes, that woman said his bone structure was remarkable and his wisdom roots were extraordinary, and she gave him a pitch-black seal, saying it was called something like a 'Faqiu Seal,' and told him to go to the Black Wind Mountain Range to find the Ancient Tomb of the Yellow Emperor."

Qin Ji's originally nonchalant expression froze instantly upon hearing those three words.

"What seal did you say?"

"The Faqiu Seal." Fatty Zhou was a bit puzzled by Qin Ji's reaction. "Sounds pretty intimidating, and I don't know what grade of equipment it is."

Qin Ji's heart skipped a beat.

Faqiu Seal?!

The Faqiu Seal of the Faqiu Tianguan?!

In his past life, "Zhutian" had been running for a full ten years. Although the hidden sub-class of Tomb Raiders had appeared, the legendary advanced class of Faqiu Tianguan had only existed as a legend in the background story until the game shut down!

That was the ultimate class for the tomb-raiding school!

The Heavenly Official grants blessings, all taboos are avoided!

It was said that possessing this class allowed one to ignore all mechanisms and traps in Ancient Tomb dungeons, and could even directly command zombie-type BOSSes!

Glasses was clearly just an ordinary Shield Warrior in his past life; what kind of butterfly effect had been triggered in this life for him to actually intercept such a heaven-defying Opportunity?

"Black Wind Mountain Range..."

Qin Ji muttered to himself, the map around Black Wind City instantly flashing through his mind.

There was indeed a forbidden zone there, shrouded in mist all year round; in his past life, countless top guilds had suffered crushing defeats there, unable to even enter the outer perimeter.

If that was the entrance to the Ancient Tomb of the Yellow Emperor...

"Brother Hao, do you know about this thing?" Fatty Zhou noticed Qin Ji's abnormality.

"Fatty."

Qin Ji turned his head, his eyes shining frighteningly bright in the night. "Tell Glasses, no matter what, he must die in there if he has to! Do not log off, and do not give up the quest!"

"That seal is worth more than a Divine Artifact!"

Fatty Zhou's hand trembled, and the cigarette he had just taken out nearly fell to the ground.

"More... more valuable than a Divine Artifact?!"

Qin Ji did not explain too much; Fatty Zhou was not yet able to understand secrets of this level.

But he knew that his plan had to be adjusted.

Originally, he just wanted to use the Demon Cave in Black Wind City to contain Abra, but now it seemed that the things hidden in the Black Wind Mountain Range were likely more important than the entire Star Kingdom combined.

The night wind howled.

Qin Ji watched the brilliant neon lights of the distant city, his fingers tapping gently on the cold railing.

The civil strife in the Star Kingdom, the Night Walkers of the Demon Cave, plus this suddenly appearing Faqiu Tianguan Legacy...

A huge web was slowly spreading out in the Black Wind Mountain Range.

And he would be the one to ultimately close the net.

"It seems I have to take a trip to that place."

Qin Ji turned and walked back into the room, his back appearing exceptionally tall under the stretching light, like a demon god about to step into the abyss.

On the balcony, only Fatty Zhou remained, staring blankly at the half-extinguished cigarette butt; the night wind swept up the ash, dissipating it into the endless darkness.