Lu Yunâs greeting gift was incredibly precious. Qing Ting kept his words in mind and didnât alert anyone to his presence. She traveled to the Firmament Pavilion alone; it stood defenseless when all of its formations were dismantled.
The Fish Kingâs mastery of formations was exceedingly high. Heâd laid out a grand formation at the center of the city and connected all of the cityâs formations to it. However, as strong as the formation looked, it was uncommonly weak. A king could easily bring it down with a wave of a hand.
Additionally, a chain reaction would ensue once the main formation went down. Every formation connected to it would be dismantled as wellâsomething that not even Lu Yun had discovered when he first arrived.
Qing Ting smoothly found her way to the Firmament Pavilion and inserted the formation disk nine thousand meters below ground. And thenâŚ
A pillar of mystical purple-golden light shot up from the pavilion, transforming into a luminous curtain that enveloped Coiling Dragon City. The cityâs formations reconstructed themselves under this radiance and melded back into the city.
âWhat⌠is this?â Preoccupied with hunting down Li traitors, Dragonfeather stared tongue-tied at the grand formation thatâd suddenly reappeared in the city. He couldnât make sense of this development.
Since the formation had originated from the Firmament Pavilion, that meant the trading company was behind it. But their great formation covered all of Coiling Dragon City?
As the city was currently engulfed in martial strife, a large trading company such as the Firmament Pavilion wouldnât involve themselves in the cityâs affairs. They would remain neutral and refuse to interfere. Therefore, they would never repair the cityâs broken formations no matter how much Coiling Dragon offered in payment.
Naturally, the Li Clan wasnât fool enough to provoke this third party either. But for some reason, the pavilion had stepped away from neutrality!
Not only did they utilize a stunning array to repair all of the cityâs formations, but they were protecting Coiling Dragon as well. Though their supplemental king was one of treasure refinement, there was no rule that said they couldnât possess king grade formations at the same time.
âThe Firmament Pavilionâs taken a stand?â Far off in the distance, the Li King regarded the sudden formation with an unpleasant expression. âIt might not be the pavilion⌠Actually, it should be the Immortal Pagoda,â he murmured in deep thought. âJin Naluo is one of the pagodaâs. Maybe he planted one of the pagodaâs formations into the pavilionâs foundationsâŚ
âBut their fucking foundation is their fucking heartland! Would they so easily let a seventh step king inside?!â He abruptly jumped up with fury. âWell, well, well Firmament Pavilion! You appear to be neutral on the surface and avoid participating in the Azure Dragon Region war, but youâve actually cast your lot in with Coiling Dragon and plot against my Li Clan!â
With the revitalization of the cityâs formation, any Li powerhouses hidden within the city wouldnât have much longer to live.
The Li King took a deep look at the Firmament Pavilion before whirling around to leave. It didnât matter if the trading company was the one behind the formation or not. Their buildingâs foundation was the only place in the entire city that was still suitable to set up a formation.
The Fish Kingâs craft was so masterful that not only had he destroyed all of Coiling Dragonâs formations, but heâd also wrecked any place suitable for setting up a formation. Only Firmament Pavilion had been left untouchedâbecause they were neutral. The Fish King had destroyed only their formation and nothing further.
Based on the pavilionâs usual method of operations, they would never let Coiling Dragon City plant anything in their headquartersâ foundation. That would just be handing over their lives to the city. The only possible explanation was that the great formation covering the city was the pavilionâs own work.
âWhat, what is this?â Within the Firmament Pavilion, sixth step elder Vast King gaped at the formation soaring into the sky from their own building. He didnât know what to say.
âElder⌠who set this up?â Heilin carefully approached the elder.
âCoiling Dragon and Azure Dragon City will not win the war without the Immortal Pagodaâs help, but the pagoda cannot make a move out in the open.â The Vast King lowered his head with a soft sigh.
âElderâŚâ She didnât quite understand.
âIf the Immortal Pagoda does become involved, that will trigger a war of true kings. It will compel the true kings hidden within the Hongmengâthose waiting for the immortal dao to arriveâto reveal themselves and usher in the era of true kings.â He continued murmuring to himself, ignoring Heilin. âTherefore, if we stand by the cities at this time, they will be able to win the war.â
He lowered his head, reluctant to accept his factionâs fate.
Heilin understood now. She was a core personage in the trading company and sheâd made the call to sell Azuresky to Qing Ting. She was very familiar with the Firmament Pavilionâs important decisions and strategies.
âDo we just let someone manipulate us like this?â She, too, was unwilling.
âWhy do you think Azure Dragon City, Coiling Dragon City, Jin Naluo, and the Trueriver Sect came under the Immortal Pagodaâs banner?â the elder responded meaningfully. âThey all became the pagodaâs allies against their will! And now, itâs our turn.
âItâs a pity that we donât have a true king to our name, or even a ninth step king. His Majesty Firmament King is just a supplemental king.
âWe canât afford to gamble. The immortal dao is nigh and undercurrents are flowing strongly in the realm. We must choose sides now, and not just us. All of the top ten trading companies in the realm must do so!
âOtherwise, weâll be fattened sheep ripe for slaughter in the eyes of hungry wolves. Theyâll swallow us whole and leave not even a bone behind!
âWe can still retain our sense of self if we voluntarily join the Immortal Pagoda. If weâre taken over by the pagoda, then we will be no more.
âItâs time for His Majesty to make a decision.â
âAre we really leaving Little Yin behind?â Azureclad had changed his appearance and drifted behind Lu Yun and Qing Ting. He grumbled, âThough sheâs not of the azure dragon bloodline, sheâs still a descendent of the vermilion birdâŚâ
âBrother, why did I never know that you talk so much?â Qing Ting whipped her head back with a glare.
âAhem!â Lu Yun corrected, âHeâs not your brother at the moment, heâs our family servant. Iâm your brother.â
They were currently disguised as two noble scions with an old servant. There was another person by their sideâtheir guard, Jin Naluo. The Shapeshifting Talisman modified his appearance to be that of a third step king.
He was quite depressed. Lu Yun had hauled him back again before he could fully refine the heavy blade and told him that heâd escort them to Azure Dragon City. What in the heavens was Lu Yun plotting now?? With the little bastardâs strength, he could get to Azure Dragon in the blink of an eye. Was there a need to travel a hundred million kilometers on foot??
Not only was this a waste of his time, but more importantly, it was a waste of Jin Naluoâs time!
<blockquote><b>Translator's Thoughts</b>It feels like most of Lu Yun's allies became that way against their will...