Beast Taming: Bloodline Golden Hand-Chapter 664 - 439: Restarting the Centennial Pact (Part 2)
"However, you should let President Lee Zhen go with you," said Chen Ming:
"I’ve heard that the Divine Race intends to restart the centennial agreement, but nothing is settled yet."
"You are equivalent to the one who destroyed the Holy Maiden of the Ancient Race, and they won’t let you off easily."
Lin Chen thought about it and realized this made sense.
Before, he thought Lee Zhen could stay behind and provide some support.
Now, the battle seems unlikely to occur.
Lin Chen still said, "Chairman Chen, the Spirit Alliance will surely disband later, but I still hope..."
"I understand," Chen Ming smiled and said, "Three different factions with intertwined interests, so we cannot be one force."
"However, our alliance won’t change."
"That’s good." Lin Chen cupped his hands and left.
Afterward, he went to discuss with the Great Elder, who also agreed.
Although the little blue fish was just asleep, the sooner they found Sun Ji for treatment, the less worried they’d be.
"Before leaving, I want to visit the Spirit Academy," Lin Chen said.
"I’ll go with you," said the Great Elder, who also wanted to return once more.
The Spirit Academy was not only the Great Elder’s home for many years, but it also seemed to give new hope to the Tree Ancestor recently, and he wanted to see if there was any hope left.
This time, with Qin Shaoshao’s Celestial Spirit Body erupting, it was likely to turn bad.
Then the two returned to the old site of the Spirit Academy.
The once vibrant mountain gate was now reduced to a dead and desolate ruin.
Before even approaching, a suffocatingly oppressive feeling came rushing at them.
The sky seemed permanently covered by a dirty gray curtain, with low-hanging clouds frozen in place, yielding not a ray of light.
The air was thick with the scent of blood and some ominous rotting stench, formed by the intertwined resentments of countless beings after the eruption of the Celestial Spirit Body.
As far as the eye could see, the ruins stretched endlessly, with once-towering buildings reduced to twisted frames, charred wooden beams, and shattered boulders piled haphazardly.
The ground was marked by bottomless crevices, like fierce scars on the earth that couldn’t heal, with some cracks faintly oozing ominous energy.
No bird calls, no insect chirps; even the wind seemed to vanish here, as if swallowed by the wasteland.
Absolute silence struck more profoundly than any sound.
All Beastmasters had long regarded this place as a forbidden zone, dared not approach, lest they get tainted by the destructive ominous aura or corroded by the spiritual power within the ruins.
Lin Chen and the Great Elder stood at the edge of the ruins, gazing at this former "home," feeling as if their hearts were weighed by a multitude of boulders.
The Great Elder’s white beard trembled slightly, his cloudy old eyes filled with sorrow and reminiscence.
He had lived here for hundreds of years, familiar with every plant and tree, now seeing nothing but devastation.
"Senior, can you hear me?"
At this moment, Lin Chen suddenly spoke.
The Great Elder, however, sighed.
If the Celestial Spirit Body completely released its spiritual power, it would backfire.
This meant Qin Shaoshao would have to battle countless resentful spirits.
This meant Qin Shaoshao was now trapped in darkness....
Perhaps if the Tree Ancestor was still around, they could lend a hand.
But Lin Chen didn’t understand the art of spiritual power and couldn’t help her at all.
Lin Chen called out several times without a response, but he didn’t lose hope.
Then, the Great Elder looked up at the Path to Immortality in the sky, saying, "Even such a massive explosion couldn’t destroy it, this Path to Immortality.... truly must be the work of an Immortal."
Lin Chen also looked up and agreed with the guess.
The two tried to approach the forbidden zone, but immediately upon nearing, they felt an ominous aura and were eventually forced to retreat, returning the way they came.
However, as they were leaving, a black figure appeared within the forbidden zone.
She emitted a deep black aura, and upon closer inspection, apart from her dark skin, she looked identical to Qin Shaoshao.
Watching Lin Chen’s departing gaze, she showed a greedy look and said, "What a pity, just one more step, and he’d be mine."
"If you dare touch him, I’ll make sure you die." A cold voice echoed in her mind.
"Hahaha, you can’t turn the tables now..." the darkened Qin Shaoshao laughed, "Once the Celestial Spirit Body is fully released, you’ll never turn the tables again."
Qin Shaoshao’s voice didn’t sound again, and the darkened Qin Shaoshao’s figure gradually faded away in the forbidden zone.
.....
Outside Thunder City, the morning fog hadn’t cleared.
The Great Elder handed some supplies to Lin Chen:
"In here is a letter for Sun Ji and some healing and emergency supplies."
"On your journey to Celestial Realm City, be extremely cautious. Above all, ensure your safety!"
Lin Chen nodded.
"As for the negotiations, we have already decided," the Great Elder said, "I will personally go to Celestial Capital..."
"By then, you can find out by going to the Monster Hunter Guild."
"Alright."
Lin Chen nodded again, then bid farewell to Chen Ming and the others with Lee Zhen, eventually leaving Thunder City.
Once they were some distance away, Lee Zhen said, "It feels a bit shameful, really, relying purely on such self-destructive methods..."
"At least we’re not becoming slaves," Lin Chen replied.
"True enough." Lee Zhen gave a bitter smile and then asked, "Has Xiaobai finished her seclusion yet?"
"Not yet," Lin Chen said, "It seems Xiaobai is truly facing a tough challenge this time."
Lin Chen noticed Xiaobai’s aura sometimes surged vigorously and sometimes became extremely weak.
This indicated that Xiaobai was engaged in some sort of internal struggle.
"Did the Great Elder speak to you about the Spirit Academy reconstruction?" Lee Zhen asked.
"Rebuilding the Spirit Academy would be difficult," Lin Chen replied.
"Why?"
"Firstly, Ling Mountain is unique, which is why it’s called the National Academy. There is the Path to Immortality, and various Secret Realms..." Lin Chen quickly explained, "This is unmatched by any other place."
"Although the Spirit Academy has served the Human Race well this time, to Celestial Capital, they would rather see the Spirit Academy perish quickly."
"Besides, Celestial Capital itself is struggling, not knowing where to rebuild either."
"Then why not let the Great Elder and others go to Jiuxing City instead," Lee Zhen suggested.
"That’s unnecessary," Lin Chen said, "Jiuxing City still doesn’t have the capacity, the Great Elder plans to stay in Thunder City for now and establish a temporary academy."
"Compared to Jiuxing City, Thunder City is more renowned and has a louder reputation."
"That makes sense."
Lee Zhen nodded.
The two began their journey, barely stopping except for ordinary meals and rest.
During these days, they also heard related news that some members of the Divine Race were dissatisfied and causing trouble.
Every now and then, there were reports of Divine Race destroying villages or towns.
"Doesn’t the Divine Race want to negotiate?" Lin Chen was angry upon hearing this.
If the National Defense Alliance continues to ignore this, a second war might just be on the horizon.
.....
"This is my last warning to you."
Gu Youshan, having heard about this situation, angrily told Xuanyuan Zhou: "If you can’t keep your Divine Race people in check, the centennial agreement won’t be renewed."
Xuanyuan Zhou knew he was at a disadvantage in this matter, but there was nothing he could do.
The Divine Race consisted of too many people, with many sub-races.
This time they suffered a silent loss in the war; clearly, they had the strength, but were still forced into negotiation.
Under Gu Youshan’s new centennial agreement, because the Divine Race initiated the war causing severe losses to the Human Race, all resources owed to the Divine Race were reduced by half in the new centennial agreement.
While they were still arguing over this, such incidents kept occurring, leading to the breakdown of negotiations.
The Divine Race naturally refused, but the Human Race was just stalling.
Now that Celestial Capital was destroyed, the National Defense Alliance’s forces virtually had no home left.
The location of the new capital city remained unknown.
Let alone the distribution of resources.
So the matter just dragged on, with neither side willing to give an inch.
Negotiations lasted nearly half a month, initially considering that the Divine Race planned to back down and let the Human Race recover, and then renegotiate the centennial agreement terms.
But on this day, a phenomenon appeared in the sky.
A dazzling golden pillar of light suddenly shot up from the distant direction of Celestial Capital, soaring into the clouds!
This pillar of light was not merely pure energy; within it seemed to swirl countless golden dragon shadows, exuding an ancient and majestic aura.
Even from thousands of miles away, it was palpable.
"What is this?!"
