Chapter 308: Coercion
"This..."
He Daoyun was stunned.
'Does Murong Dai really intend to give up on such a prodigy?'
"If I may ask, Commander Mo, are you sure you won't reconsider?"
"Reconsider? What's there to reconsider?" Murong Dai sneered.
"The fastest way to make someone bow their head is a life-and-death crisis!"
"According to what you said, he offended the Xu family. With his strength at the Primordial Mansion Realm, he'll be in mortal danger the moment he faces a threat from them!"
"That being the case, he will have to ask us for protection sooner or later aboard this Cloud Mist Tower Ship. Otherwise, it's a question of whether he can even reach the destination alive."
"As long as we leak the news that he's no longer associated with our Treasure Gathering Chamber of Commerce, the Xu family will definitely not let him off the hook."
"At that point, he will naturally come to us on his own."
Watching Murong Dai turn and walk away, He Daoyun swallowed hard, his heart filled with hesitation.
'This plan might work.'
'But in his opinion, Ye Chen wasn't the type to bow his head to anyone easily.'
'If anything, this move was more likely to offend Ye Chen even further!'
But in the end, forced by Murong Dai's pressure, he obediently did as she said.
In truth, Murong Dai was under considerable pressure herself at that moment.
If she caused the Treasure Gathering Chamber of Commerce to lose a Sixth Grade Alchemist, not even she could bear such a cost.
But her pride wouldn't allow her to bow to a mere upstart, which was why she had resorted to this shoddy tactic.
In a room deep down the corridor, Hongyu Pill Venerable slowly opened her eyes, which shone like brilliant stars, and shook her head in disappointment.
She had seen everything that transpired in the grand hall.
And that was precisely why she was so disappointed in Murong Dai's behavior.
'Trying to coerce a Sixth Grade Alchemist with this?'
'Miss Mo, aren't you underestimating the influence of a Sixth Grade Alchemist?'
She murmured to herself, an uncertain glint flashing across her exquisite face.
True, they were aboard a Cloud Mist Tower Ship flying ten thousand meters in the air.
But the Xu family wasn't the only power staying in the Heaven-rank Section One building of the Cloud Mist Tower Ship.
A Sixth Grade Alchemist was enough to make countless major powers try everything to curry favor with them!
Murong Dai had spread the word, exposing the young man to the Xu family's threats.
But by the same token, the young man only needed to reveal that he was a Sixth Grade Alchemist to easily resolve this crisis!
Once the news spread, the entire Cloud Mist Tower Ship would be in an uproar. All the various powers would scramble to get to him, and the Xu family would lose its chance to make a move.
However, there was the matter of the young man himself, who appeared serene but possessed an inner pride every bit as strong as Murong Dai's.
'Would he really adopt such a strategy to avert this disaster?'
...
Back in the Heaven-rank Section One building, the first light of dawn was breaking on the horizon.
To be honest, Ye Chen was not in a good mood.
He had just come out to relax, not expecting his good mood to be ruined first by the Xu family and then by the Treasure Gathering Chamber of Commerce.
As he was passing the third floor, a door suddenly opened, and a delicate figure emerged.
Her pretty face was flushed, her breathing was slightly labored, and even her clothes looked a bit disheveled.
"Hm?"
Seeing the young woman, the Crimson Nether Flame Prison Carving instantly tensed up.
It was the handmaiden, the one who was a transformed Cyan Nether Bird!
But seeing her in this state, one couldn't help but let one's imagination run wild.
"Sir."
Seeing Ye Chen, the young woman immediately gave a slight bow.
"Miss Qingli."
Ye Chen gave a faint nod. He glanced at the room beside Qingli and asked casually, "Are you... very familiar with the guest in there?"
Hearing this, an almost imperceptible blush crept onto Qingli's face, and her voice became hesitant. "We're... we're acquainted."
Ye Chen smiled. He couldn't be bothered to dig for details; he had only asked for the Crimson Nether Flame Prison Carving's sake.
Sure enough, watching Qingli's shy and flustered demeanor, the Crimson Nether Flame Prison Carving felt its heart break, wishing it could immediately beg Ye Chen to grant it a method for human transformation.
'After all, if I don't take on a human form, how can I ever be with Miss Qingli?'
Of course, that was just a wishful thought.
'No matter how you looked at it, it seemed Miss Qingli was already spoken for.'
Ye Chen didn't linger and soon brushed past Qingli.
However, as he passed the room she had just left, his gaze swept past the crack of the partially open door, and he glanced inside.
The room was unlit and pitch-black—so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
And within that chilling darkness, there seemed to be a terrifying gaze staring out of the room.
The gaze contained a power that could make one's very soul tremble, like a sovereign hidden in the shadows, coldly spying on the mortal world.
With a subtle flicker of his will, Ye Chen invisibly released the power of his Red Lotus Karma Fire, easily erasing that bizarre force.
He raised an eyebrow, a flicker of surprise and suspicion in his heart.
'The guest in this room seems to be no simple character.'
'As expected, no one who can afford a room in the Heaven-rank Section One building of the Cloud Mist Tower Ship is an ordinary person.'
Of course, Ye Chen had no interest in gossip, so he quickly returned to his own room.
With nothing else to do for the rest of the voyage, he figured he could spend the time refining the Profound Armor Combat Puppet.
The Profound Armor Combat Puppet had not yet fully recovered to its Peak state and could only exert strength comparable to the Third Layer of the Divinity Transformation Realm.
This was clearly no longer of much help to Ye Chen.
Fortunately, from the battle at Kunlun Mountain, he had obtained a large number of Storage Rings, including those belonging to wealthy, powerful figures like Mr. Yun and Yu Hongjue.
With these, he had enough divine materials and spiritual ingredients to repair the Profound Armor Combat Puppet to a level approaching the Divine Might Realm!
A Profound Armor Combat Puppet comparable to the Divine Might Realm would undoubtedly be a huge asset to Ye Chen right now.
Beyond that, he could also start concocting Fourth Grade Realm-Breaking Pills to help raise his cultivation level.
Ye Chen was curious. 'How much of a boost will a Fourth Grade Realm-Breaking Pill that has reached the Pseudo-Immortal Grade give me at my current level?'
No sooner said than done!
Ye Chen immediately summoned the Chaos Prison-Suppressing Cauldron and activated his Red Lotus Karma Fire.
After picking out all the Spirit Medicines he needed, he immediately got to work.
...
「Heaven-rank Section One, Third Floor.」
After Ye Chen and the Crimson Nether Flame Prison Carving departed, Qingli was also about to leave.
But a sinister, hoarse voice suddenly echoed from within the room.
"Qingli, stay a moment."
Qingli shuddered. The shy blush on her face vanished completely, replaced by a glint of panic and fear deep within her beautiful eyes.
"Do you have any other orders, my lord?"
She forced herself to calm down and asked in a hushed voice.
"That young man from before, do you know anything about him?"
the person in the room asked.