Qinghong City, located in the central region of the Jia Ma Empire, was not as vast or populous as the imperial capital, yet it held immense strategic value.
It was the first line of defense guarding the imperial city. If the snake-people wanted to march into the heart of the Empire, they would first have to breach this fortress-like city.
Inside the City Lord’s Mansion, the grand council hall was packed with the Empire’s strongest experts, military generals, and elders of the Yunlan Sect. They sat divided on opposite sides of the hall, clearly separated by faction.
"Outrageous! That Queen Medusa is far too arrogant—her demands are simply intolerable!"
At the head of the hall, Yun Shan slammed his palm onto the table after reading a letter, the force behind it reducing the table to splinters with a loud bang.
An overwhelming surge of Dou Qi burst from his body—after all, he was now a Dou Zong. The moment his aura spread out, the entire hall went silent, everyone stiffening under the pressure and breaking into cold sweat.
With the Sea Demon Flood Dragon, the Empire’s royal guardian beast, now dead, Yun Shan had assumed command of the entire army.
After nearly a minute of tense silence, Yun Leng, seated among the Yunlan Sect’s faction on the left, finally spoke: "Sect Master, what happened?"
Face grim and expression cold, Yun Shan remained silent. A moment later, he used Dou Qi to send the letter over to Yun Leng.
Yun Leng received it and read it carefully—it was the response from the envoy Ge Ye, who had been sent to negotiate.
After reading every word, Yun Leng’s voice dropped into a heavy tone:
"Queen Medusa says peace is possible... but only if the Empire cedes the northeastern and northwestern provinces, along with the Magical Beast Mountain Range, to the snake-people. Only then will she agree to withdraw her forces."
"That’s absolutely impossible!"
"This is a national humiliation! We must never agree to such disgraceful terms!"
The moment Yun Leng finished reading, the entire council hall erupted in a flurry of angry voices.
Both the royal and Yunlan Sect factions were unanimously opposed to the proposal.
Mu Chen, head of the Mu Clan and one of the ten strongest experts of the Jia Ma Empire, also spoke out:
"Such humiliating terms—this old man would rather die on the battlefield than submit to them!"
After the outburst of voices quieted down, everyone turned their attention back to Yun Shan, waiting for his verdict.
Yun Shan finally spoke, "Naturally, we cannot accept these conditions."
After all, the northeastern province was too valuable to the Yunlan Sect—it held numerous industries and resources tied to them. Even their powerful vassal clan, the Mo Clan, was based there.
If that province were ceded, the Yunlan Sect’s overall strength would be cut by at least forty percent.
Everyone felt relieved at his rejection—until he said something that made their hearts sink again.
"But then... who will deal with Queen Medusa?"
Indeed—who could face her?
Even the Sea Demon Flood Dragon had been slain by Queen Medusa with a single sword strike, and its corpse still hadn’t been recovered.
Yun Shan himself had fought her for only three or four rounds and had been swiftly overpowered.
To make things worse, Queen Medusa wasn’t alone—she had a twin sister who looked exactly like her, and whose strength was at least at the peak of Dou Huang.
Queen Medusa’s audacity came not from arrogance, but from her absolute superiority in strength.
Looking down at the group, Yun Shan said slowly, "Therefore, my recommendation is—seek outside reinforcements."
"Outside reinforcements?"
The entire hall froze, puzzled expressions appearing on their faces.
Where would they even get reinforcements from?
Mu Chen frowned. "You don’t mean from the Chu Yun Empire, do you?"
Yun Shan shook his head, sneering, "The Chu Yun Empire was scared off the moment Queen Medusa revealed her true strength. They’ve already withdrawn their border troops. And don’t forget—we’ve had a deep-rooted blood feud with them for generations. We can’t rely on them."
"Then who do you mean?"
"Other reinforcements, of course. But due to the sensitive nature of the matter, I cannot reveal it to you all just yet." Yun Shan swept his gaze across the room and continued,
"So, for now, we must stall the snake-people. Agree to their conditions—for the time being. Once our reinforcements arrive, that’s when we’ll launch our counterattack."
Ya Fei had claimed she was only going to "rest her eyes for a bit," but by the time she woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.
Her body still ached with soreness, and her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she let out a soft groan.
Chen Mo, who was sitting cross-legged atop the Green Lotus Platform cultivating, instantly opened his eyes at the sound. When he saw Ya Fei struggling to sit up in bed, his mouth twitched.
"Are you serious? Was it really that bad?"
He distinctly remembered only bullying her once last night.
Sure, he’d been holding back for several months and had let loose a little... but was it really that intense?
Maybe her body hadn’t fully recovered yet?
"You heartless bastard," Ya Fei snapped, casting him a glare. "We’ve only been together for how long, and you already don’t know how to treat me with care?"
Blushing but pretending to be annoyed, she slowly got out from under the blanket, wincing slightly, and after putting on her clothes, she walked—albeit awkwardly—toward the table.
"I didn’t think it would be that intense..." Chen Mo muttered to himself. Then he remembered that when Queen Medusa had gotten out of bed for the first time, her steps had also looked a little... unsteady.
He stood up, stored the lotus into his storage ring, and spoke gently:
"Sweetheart, that was my fault. If you’re still tired, rest a bit longer. I’ll refine a qi-and-blood replenishing pill for you later."
Ya Fei picked up the paper that had been held under the teacup, then stood up, resuming her usual seductive demeanor. "I’ve been lying there long enough—I’m fine."
"Come on, I’ll take you to meet the members of the Mittel Clan."
She tucked the paper into her storage ring and headed toward the door.
Chen Mo followed to help her walk, but Ya Fei pushed him away with a playful pout.
"Don’t. My aunts and cousins are all sharp-eyed. If you support me , and they find out I spent the night with you, they’ll definitely guess what happened. I’ll die of embarrassment."
"It’s not that obvious..."
Chen Mo didn’t believe it—until he arrived.
The Mittel Clan was massive. From the main lineage to the branch families, plus various external elders, there were well over a thousand members.
They lived within a sprawling estate.
By the time Chen Mo and Ya Fei arrived...
The aunts and cousins—who had definitely guessed the two were coming—had already gathered together.
The moment they saw the pair, they all beamed and came forward to greet them.
Ya Fei’s eldest aunt, a noblewoman in luxurious robes, immediately noticed something off.
Having once been young herself, she instantly saw through Ya Fei’s strange gait and faint blush... Discover more novels at novelFirｅ.net
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