Soaring of Galaxia

"Teacher, the exploration of Endless Eastern Sea should be in three years. Even if the Red Dragon Empire was to interfere, they would come for that Endless Eastern Sea. Besides, even if the Heavenly Lake Empire is ganging up with the Red Dragon, with the distance between them, they should not distribute the gains and losses in such a short period."

"Yes, after some analysis, the Archaic Mysteries should only have only begun to collude with the Nine Palace recently. Besides, it would be another story on how the higher-ups of the Nine Palace Faction consider this matter. Even if they are colluding, like you said, they need time to negotiate. In the end, they would need about more than half year to reach a complete agreement. During this time, we can still make a lot of things happen. If the Head Palace Master can enter the Perfect Stage. At that time, we will have some chances! Of course, the attitude of the Dragon and Tiger sect is also crucial. Shi Chenglong also claimed that he is about to enter the Perfect Stage. If he could enter the Perfect Stage, the Stargaze and them could join force and we would have a much better chance."

Tan Zhongchi judge the situation and came up with these reasonings.

Qin Wushuang nodded and said: "I wonder what the Dragon and Tiger sect thinks about this?"

Tan Zhongchi said: "The Dragon and Tiger Sect has always been a strong and righteous sect, they would not compromise. Compare to the Archaic, they have a much higher morale. The two of us have shared secret information. If the Red Dragon Empire is interfering with the Three Eastern Empires, us two sects will form an alliance to protect our land. Once the Red Dragon Empire arrives, it would be difficult to push them out. Thus, the best way is to ensure that they never come. Or we must make them realize that the price they must pay to interfere is much higher than their compensation. This is the only way out."

Qin Wushuang nodded without speaking. Suddenly, he asked: "Teacher, if the Nine Palace Faction is showing a strong attitude and decide to interfere, what will the Stargaze’s course of action be? Shall we take a step back, or..."

This question left Tan Zhongchi stuck. With his personality, of course, he would rather die than be shamed. However, if the few thousand years of the Stargaze’s legacy was to be destroyed like this, these five Palace Masters would not be able to face their ancestors even after death.

He gave a deep sigh: "Wushuang, the fight for land on the Tian Xuan Land is the fight for survival. Especially the competition between major empires, sometimes, taking one step back would leave you without any route to survive. Let me ask you, if you are the head of the Nine Palace Faction, once you’ve extended your hand toward the Eastern Three Empires, would you allow the Stargaze and the Dragon and Tiger to remain?"

Qin Wushuang thought for a moment and shook his head solemnly: "How could I allow others to snore on my bed?"

"That’s exactly why." A dark and gloomy color flashed across Tan Zhongchi’s eyes, "Once the Nine Palace decides to invade us, regardless of the consequences, there will only be two results. Either both sides lose, and the Nine Palace is forced to retreat. Or the Stargaze and the Dragon and Tiger sect disappear permanently from the Three Eastern Empires. There is no third possibility."

The power of the Nine Palace Faction had far surpassed the Stargaze and the Dragon and Tiger sect. Even if the Nine Palace Faction were to retreat, they would not face total destruction. And for the Stargaze and the Dragon and Tier sect, once they lost during the fight, the Nine Palace would have them all killed.

Thus, there were only two possibilities to the situation.

"Teacher, let’s make the best preparation and plan for the worst. If the Nine Palace is truly being tyrannical, we can evade their sharp points and seek opportunities to counterattack. It would be better than fighting them head on."

Tan Zhongchi said thoughtfully: "Regarding how to deal with the Nine Palace Faction, it has not been brought up yet, and we are not in a rush to do it. There are no news of what the Nine Palace will do. It would be useless for us to make guesses. We can only make preparations."

Qin Wushuang laughed and his heart felt somewhat heavy. From the tyrannical style of the disciples of the Nine Palace Faction, one could see their overall attitude.

If the Three Eastern Empires all formed a fortress, they might be able to hold them back. However, with the integrity of this fortress compromised by the Heavenly Lake Empire themselves opening the door for the enemy, they would have no reason not to bite into this fat piece of meat.

Thus, he was almost certain that the Nine Palace Faction would accept the Archaic Mysteries Sect’s offer. He would see what kind of reaction they would have.

"Wushuang, for your young generation, don’t feel too pressured. Even if the sky collapses, you have us, the old guys to shoulder it. Haha, it would not be easy for them to cause trouble at the gate of the Stargaze Palace. In the worst case scenario, we will send all of you young disciples out. If their Perfect Stage warriors decides to come, we will let them come, and destroy indiscriminately, regardless of anything else." When he said here, Tan Zhongchi’s tone carried traces of madness.

"Teacher, Heaven never bars one’s way. I believe that the Stargaze Palace must have its reason for staying standing for thousand of years. I believe that everything is possible! Just like you said, in the entire Tian Xuan Land, isn’t the Perfect Stage also just another step on the journey? Could these few Perfect Stage produce clouds with one wave of the hand and cause rain with another? I don’t believe it."

Tan Zhongchi laughed: "Nice nice, I love your unbridled dynamism. Such ambition, only you have it among the young generation. The other young people all follow the rules too much. Historically, the Stargaze Palace has always nurtured our disciples with emphasis on steadiness. We never had someone as ambitious and as bold as you. Wushuang, even if the Stargaze is to fall temporarily, with you and Wei Yi, I believe that the name of the Stargaze would rise up again in the Great Luo. The legacy of the Stargaze will continue in your hands."

Qin Wushuang laughed: "Teacher, don’t be so negative. I don’t believe that the Nine Palace Faction will go all out. Could it be that they don’t need to protect the Red Dragon Empire, and the Red Dragon Empire is as strong as an impenetrable fortress? In the human countries, aren’t there three Upper Ranking Empires! I don’t believe that the other two Upper Ranking Empires would allow the Red Dragon to expand their territory freely and endlessly."

The teacher and the disciple talked and laughed which helped lighten up the atmosphere.

"By the way, Wushuang, the Supreme Quality Initial Stage Pill that you previously gave me, I’ve decided to give it to your hometown friend, Tong Yao. Only, her current strength is far from being ready to consume it. Thus, she needs to start her journey as an Initial Stage disciple. However, this girl has a good breadth of mind and temperament. Although she may have less potential, with the cultivation from the Initial Stage Pill, she would have a very good future." Tan Zhongchi laughed.

"Of course, I would not object with your arrangement." Qin Wushuang was also happy for Tong Yao. In fact, Qin Wushuang felt extremely thankful to Tong Yao. She had been a very good friend and had helped him many times.

"Ok, go now and practice hard. Don’t let this burden your thoughts."

Tan Zhongchi gave some encouraging words and let Qin Wushuang go.

Qin Wushuang walked out of the Green Cloud Palace with a complicated feeling. The Red Dragon Empire was like a mass of gloomy clouds hanging over the top of his head. They had more or less caused him to feel depressed.

Qin Wushuang had a very subtle prediction as he was sure that the Nine Palace Faction would accept the Archaic Mysteries Sect’s offer. They would interfere with the Three Eastern Empires.

By that time, the Stargaze Palace would have to make hard decisions.

Qin Wushuang continued walking inattentively and when he raised his head, he realized that he had already walked to that plum forest in the backyard. Currently, it was winter again. Although the plum blossoms did not bloom, they had formed a flower bud and outshone the snow.

"To initiate the next phase in the Seven Deadly Formation Arrays, I must reach the Advanced Stage. And currently, I am a long way from reaching the Advanced Stage. Three years... In three years time, perhaps, I can try to rush to the Advanced Stage. The length of time is a somewhat optimistic estimation. Unless, I encounter some fortuitous opportunities that would give me enough Spiritual Qi to absorb." Qin Wushuang thought silently.

After he had entered the Middle Stage, Qin Wushuang had absorbed a lot of Qi. Especially that miraculous Nine Refinements of Ying Yang Wine that had already started to work inside Qin Wushuang’s body. He did not know about the effects of this treasure yet.

And after the fight with the Devil Boy, Qin Wushuang had also had another opportunity to absorb some more Qi.

The benefits of the Spiritual Qi from a Middle Stage warrior with Mutated Spiritual Roots was self-evident. However, Qin Wushuang knew nothing and did not see the effects of the Mutated Spiritual Roots.

Of course, those two changes were not enough to allow Qin Wushuang to reach the Advanced Stage. However, it had set up the road for him, at the Middle Stage.

If he were to compare the breakthrough from the Middle Stage to the Advanced Stage as building a house, the spiritual Qi from Devil Boy would be the bricks. The Nine Refinement Ying Yang Wine would be the cement. The cement would consolidate the bricks and become more reliable. It would speed up the process.

"With the difficult upcoming situation, I must speed up my process to reach the Advanced Stage." Qin Wushuang thought deeply while facing this plum forest, "If the people of the Nine Palace Faction were to invade the Stargaze Palace, the line of the Green Cloud Palace would not survive. This plum forest would also be destroyed. The entire Stargaze Palace would get razed to the ground."

With a solemn mood, Qin Wushuang ventured into the plum forest. He extended his hand and took out the Gracious Spiritual Bow.

The Graceful Spiritual Bow could be folded up. Currently, like a sleeping baby, it appeared peaceful and quiet without the slightest trace of murderous intent. Just from the appearance, no one could see through the fact that this Gracious Spiritual Bow had such power. With just three arrows, Devil Boy had been cornered with nowhere to run.

Qin Wushuang thought back to when he was using it to kill Devil Boy. In the back of the Devil Boy, suddenly, there had been sudden emergence of an extreme "gold light". That golden light did not appear to be of Devil Boy’s own making. It should have been some special protection. From Qin Wushuang’s estimation, it was most likely some talisman like the "Wind Walk Talisman".

"The Graceful Spiritual Bow could even break through that devilish defensive armour. Although it did not shoot Devil Boy to death, he still received serious injuries. And that was the first time when I used it. If I could maximize the power of this bow, how mighty would it be?" Qin Wushuang knew that this treasure given to him by Senior Brother Shang Ye was a rare gift.

Among his many trump cards, it was the only one that he could use at any time!