Chapter 284: The Dragon Palace Plans to Form an Alliance

Time passed day by day, and four days had passed – truly a good amount of time.

In just a few days, Anyang had become busier than ever.

In a small teahouse, the people of Anyang were discussing:

“This morning, the Prime Minister of Qi arrived. What’s his name again? He’s called He Zhiguo, yes, He Zhiguo. The Prime Minister of Qi, He Zhiguo, brought over thirty officials with him. I heard they’re here to discuss cooperation with Anyang.”

“Hey, when I just arrived, I saw a procession from the state of Cai. It was led by Huang Fu, who arranged for Yan Ze to be pushed out of the state of Cai.”

“Ha, this is getting exciting. I wonder what will happen when Huang Fu meets Yan Zean? Will they have a fight?”

“I have the latest news. It’s said that Chen Kingdom from the northwest also sent people here. It seems not only the Prime Minister came, but even the Crown Prince!”

“What’s so special about that? Qi Kingdom, Chen Kingdom, the state Cai, they’re all just neighboring Kingdoms. Even Liu Kingdom sent people! I heard the Prime Minister is leading their group too.”

“Liu Kingdom? The Liu Kingdom in the south of Jin Kingdom?”

“Yes, yes, that’s the Liu Kingdom where our current Minister of Justice, Gongsun Wushang, is from. But, speaking of Liu Kingdom, I do have a question. We have the rule of law here, and I’ve heard Liu Kingdom also follows the rule of law. So why have I heard so many times that the people of Liu Kingdom are struggling?”

“Fool, the law in Anyang is formulated under the supervision of a wise king, not like the cruel laws of Liu Kingdom. But I’m more curious about when Anyang will build a nation.”

“Stop dreaming, Anyang won’t build a country. In name, Anyang belongs to Tang Kingdom, established by Li Yulong in the north, but politically, Anyang is completely independent. Actually, it’s fine like this, it just lacks a name. Who dares to extend their hands into Anyang now!”

“Right, right, this is enough. Brother, I’ve been attending many legal lectures hosted by Gongsun Wushang recently, and I’ve been deeply inspired. I plan to apply for the newly established ‘Judicial Class’ for further studies, and I want to become a judge in the future.”

“Just you? I think not. With your temperament, if you enter the Ministry of Justice, you’ll definitely indulge in corruption and lawlessness. You’ll be executed within three months at most!”

“True, then I’ll just go into business. A lot of people are doing business now. Not only do they make money, but their cultivation also improves noticeably. A business group is like a small kingdom in itself; the person in charge of the group is like an alternative king!”

“What are these two idiots talking about? Hurry up, the Dragon King’s palace in the East Sea has officially sent a delegation. The leader is the East Sea Dragon Princess. She’s so beautiful, a hundred times more beautiful than a celestial being!”

“Have you ever seen a celestial being?”

“Isn’t it said that the princess (Xia Qingqing) is like a fairy?”

“Go away, are you trying to die?”

…………

In the east of Anyang city, white clouds floated across the sky, with golden palaces and jade pearls shining brightly, radiating a mystical, ethereal aura. Leading the way was a noble and elegant woman, standing proudly. She wore a water cloud yellow imperial gown and a pearl crown, surrounded by two graceful mermaid maidens, one holding a sword and the other holding a jade seal.

A faint mist swirled around her, carrying an air of mystery and an indescribable sense of majesty and divinity.

Further back, there were fierce Yaksha warriors holding large flags, which read: “Yingzhou East Sea Dragon King’s Palace.”

The clouds floated until they reached the edge of Anyang city before disappearing. Once they landed, all the Yaksha warriors transformed into ordinary, tall, dark-skinned men, and the mermaid maidens turned into regular servants. Clearly, these Yaksha and mermaids were experts; at least they must have been at the Golden Core stage to perform such transformations.

“She really is the Dragon Princess!”

“She’s so beautiful. To see the legendary Dragon Princess in my lifetime, she’s ten times more beautiful than I imagined! No, she’s not just beautiful; she’s noble, distant, and… and… she almost completely embodies all the beautiful adjectives: graceful, dignified, with the ethereal quality of an immortal, the majesty of a ruler, and the cuteness of a young maiden!”

She was indeed somewhat adorable. To perhaps show her identity, Ao Qingxue, the Dragon Princess, had two small, cute, crystal-clear golden dragon horns on her head. They weren’t large, more like ornaments, but they were quite cute.

Li Xian led the officials to welcome her. Looking at the Dragon Princess, who seemed unusually noble, he couldn’t help but be momentarily stunned. Finally, he couldn’t help but smile faintly: “Your Highness, why have you come so soon?”

Indeed, it was unexpected for the Dragon Princess to visit Anyang so openly at this time. Other Kingdoms’ visits were expected, but the Dragon Princess Ao Qingxue’s sudden visit, representing the “Yingzhou East Sea Dragon King’s Palace,” completely exceeded Li Xian’s expectations.

Ao Qingxue smiled faintly, and in an instant, the rain stopped, the clouds parted, and a rainbow stretched across the sky. “My father has been thinking for a long time and has decided to form an alliance with Anyang.”

What? Li Xian was shocked. The Dragon King’s palace wants to form an alliance with him? Li Xian had never thought of this. In his view, Ao Qingxue was at least a late-stage Nascent Soul expert, or even a higher-level expert. The Dragon Palace was certainly not lacking in Nascent Soul experts. In any case, the Dragon Palace was a powerful force, and the Dragon King was likely a super expert at the Divine Transformation stage.

According to Li Xian’s plan, for now, Anyang would temporarily cooperate with Longgong while adopting a slightly lower stance. Once it became stronger—having more than a hundred Yuan Ying stage experts or even a master at the Transformation stage—Only then would Anyang be qualified to negotiate cooperation with Longgong. In other words, at that time, Li Xian would truly begin the “Great Maritime” era.

However, unexpectedly, Dragon Palace now sought to form an alliance with Anyang. Ao Qingxue spoke seriously, completely not joking—such matters could not be a joke. Li Xian hesitated for a moment but still welcomed the “sea monsters” led by the Dragon Princess into the “Fude Summer Resort.”

The Fude Summer Resort was a recently built place specifically designed to host foreign guests. The resort was divided into separate courtyards, with a total of 30 small courtyards, each with its own distinct features. Whenever a group settled in, the person in charge of each courtyard would use magic to temporarily create a plaque to hang up, such as “Qi Kingdom,” “Cai State,” “Dragon Palace,” and so on.

In addition to the embassies from various countries, even the various separatist forces from the Great Xia Kingdom had sent representatives. Li Xian arranged for these individuals to stay at the summer resort, but placed them in the southern part of the resort.

Meanwhile, Beichen Yuqing and Chang Lin led the ironclad fleet back and docked at the port. The navy soldiers, full of excitement and feeling refreshed, were having lively discussions.

Those who needed to come had arrived, and everyone’s gaze was focused on the south—Jin Kingdom.

Night fell, but the Jin Kingdom emissaries had not yet arrived, and various rumors began to spread. Some said that the Jin Kingdom would not come, and after Anyang’s withdrawal, Jin Kingdom had caught its breath. Now that Jin Kingdom had regained some strength, it would be fortunate if they did not attack Anyang; how could Anyang expect negotiations?

The embassies from various countries were enjoying the spectacle.

But Li Xian was not in a hurry, and neither were the people of Anyang. The final deadline would be noon the next day, at the fourth quarter of noon, precisely at 12:00.

The next day quickly arrived, and many people were counting down the hours.

On the streets of Anyang, a large clock was ticking slowly, its chimes echoing for a thousand meters. The hands moved steadily and slowly, it was 11:00, then 11:10…

Time ticked closer, but the people from Jin Kingdom were still nowhere to be seen!

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