Overseas

Fish and Dragon City.

The largest port city in Jiangzhou.

In terms of prosperity, this city is not much inferior to Dragon Roar City.

The city has a large population and a complex web of power dynamics.

In the past month, Gu Jinlai, leading the Demon God's personal guards and the experts subsequently transferred from Star Province, swept through the land with unstoppable force. Cities along the way surrendered without resistance, and now, before them lay Fish Dragon City...

It was the only city that dared to rebel.

At this time, Gu Jinlai was resting in a camp a dozen miles outside Yulong City.

Behind him, the mechanical Tyrannosaurus Rex was devouring a mineral rich in metallic elements.

This is its food.

This is also the fundamental reason for its powerful copper head and iron arms.

Beside Gu Jinlai, Cheng Wanli was introducing him to the situation in Yulong City.

"Lord of the State, our Meteor Guard has detailed intelligence about Fish Dragon City. This city is different from other cities. It is a city jointly governed by Dragon Sparrow Manor, Li State, and the twelve overseas islands. Although it is within Jiang State, it does not belong entirely to Dragon Sparrow Manor..."

Cheng Wanli explained.

Such cities existed in Chi Province and Star Province before.

However, many cities, such as Yuanhua City, are still nominally under the jurisdiction of the state lord's government, but in reality, they have long been occupied by local forces such as the Heavenly Gang Sect.

Such forces also exist within the territory of Chi Province.

Black Sand City, which is close to the border of the Yellow Spring Sect, has been heavily infiltrated.

Although there is a city lord, the city lord is effectively usurped by the Three Great Families and four major local powers. These seven are the true masters of the city.

These seven forces nominally respect the Purgatory Sect, but in reality, it remains unknown how many belong to the Yellow Springs Sect or other forces.

"This city is less a city within Jiangzhou and more a dumping ground for foreign powers. They dump various specialties from overseas into Yulong City, exchange them for some land-based supplies, and then venture into the sea. Longque Manor also has a strong desire for some marine products, so they tacitly approve of this phenomenon."

Cheng Wanli said, "Therefore, this city has always been governed by these three parties. Among the three parties, Lizhou can be divided into several forces, and the twelve overseas islands are twelve forces."

He paused slightly at this point. "Behind each of these forces, there is Primordial Spirit True Lord in charge."

Gu Jinlai have heard this without feeling surprised.

If these parties were not powerful enough, they would not have been able to force Dragon Sparrow Manor to bow down and acknowledge this compromise of joint governance.

Lizhou, for example, is ruled by three major Aristocratic Clan, two major sects, and the island lord, with each of the six forces having Primordial Spirit True Lord in charge.

As for the twelve overseas islands...

Those were the twelve most powerful forces in the East China Sea.

Among these twelve forces, some occupy islands stretching for hundreds of miles, inhabited by millions of people, making them even larger than the previous Lingxiao City and Yuanhua City.

Of course, although these forces have many Primordial Spirit True Person, each of them acts independently.

Even though the six forces within the state are constantly fighting each other for their own interests, if any of them shows any weakness, the other five will not hesitate to kick them while they are down.

The same applies to the Dotsukai (Twelve Islands).

In terms of unity, these two sides are far from being able to compare with the five True Lords of Dragon Sparrow Manor.

In addition, the overseas areas are barren, so their Spirit Artifact are inferior to those of Dragon Sparrow Manor.

It wouldn't be surprising if the Primordial Spirit True Lord the Twelve Islands only used ordinary-level Spirit Artifact.

Gu Jinlai listened to Cheng Wanli describe the intricate complexities of these forces, Gu Chifeng walked in from outside.

"Ancestor, an envoy from Fish Dragon City has arrived, hoping to meet you."

"Messenger?"

Gu Jinlai had already guessed the envoy's purpose.

Perfect timing...

He also intended to give Lizhou and the Twelve Islands of the East China Sea some face, allowing them to leave with dignity, so as to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.

He then said, "Please have the messenger come over."

As soon as his order was given, a demon god's personal guard led a group of people in.

The leader was a middle-aged man with the Spirit Refining Realm who walked in.

"Xu Haiqing from Lizhou greets the ancient prefect. The prefect is indeed as majestic and imposing as the legends say, with extraordinary bearing."

The middle-aged man bowed and said.

"You've come on behalf of the other two factions in Fish Dragon City, haven't you?"

Gu Jinlai calmly got straight to the point. "I am different from Dragon Sparrow Manor. Dragon Sparrow Manor can tolerate your existence, but on my territory, you must abide by my rules and regulations. If you, the six families of Lizhou and the twelve islands of the East Sea, can accept this, I welcome you to do business in Fish Dragon City. If you cannot accept this, please return to Lizhou and the islands of the East Sea."

Upon hearing this, Xu Haiqing's smile froze slightly.

However, he quickly composed himself and maintained his smile, saying, "To congratulate Lord Gu on taking Jiangzhou, we have prepared a sumptuous gift for you. These are all specialties from our overseas..."

He clapped his hands.

Soon, the people behind him brought over the treasure boxes one by one.

Xu Haiqing reached out and opened one of the items.

There is a crystal-clear pearl inside.

"This is the Pearl of the East Sea, one of the unique treasures of our East Sea. When ground into powder, it is a superior product for preserving youthful appearance. The beauty pill of Dragon Sparrow Manor is made primarily from this product, and this pill brings Dragon Sparrow Manor more than 50 million in profit every year."

As Xu Haiqing spoke, he opened another box, inside which was a piece of blood coral. "This is Azure Blood Tear, an excellent tonic for strengthening Qi and Blood. If a novice martial artist can use pills made from this to aid their cultivation, their progress will be rapid. Even after one has refined True Qi, pills made from Azure Blood Tear still have a significant effect. We only started trading this with Dragon Sparrow Manor fourteen years ago, and in just fourteen years, the growth rate of Qi Refining experts in Dragon Sparrow Manor has increased by a full 60%."

After that, he went on to introduce the other treasures.

Each treasure is a unique product of the ocean.

And each of them has an extraordinary function.

Either they can make a lot of money from trade every year, or they can use it directly for their own internal consumption.

After the introduction, Xu Haiqing said, "The reason we put so many treasures in Yulong City for display and sale is because we feel that Yulong City is safe and secure and is a city we can trust. Therefore, I hope to maintain the cooperation model with the Ancient State Lord and Longque Manor as before, so that we can jointly build the prosperity of Yulong City."

"Well said."

Gu Jinlai said, "Now that you've finished speaking, take my message with you. Tomorrow morning I will lead my troops to take over Yulong City. I don't want to see any resistance, otherwise... don't blame me for being ruthless. If you don't want to stay in Yulong City, you can leave on your own. But as long as you stay in Yulong City, you have to follow my rules."

He paused at this point, then continued, "As for the specific rules, the Meteor Guard has been spreading the word everywhere for the past month, so I'm sure you've already found out."

These merciless words made Xu Haiqing's smile grow even more stiff.

After a long pause, he said, "Lord Gu, the reason why Fish Dragon City is so prosperous is because its free atmosphere suits the conditions of various overseas regions. If from now on Fish Dragon City really implements the extremely harsh rules and regulations for cultivators like other cities in Jiangzhou and Star Province... I'm afraid that very few people will come to Fish Dragon City to consume and trade. At that time, Fish Dragon City will decline at an extremely fast pace. Why should Lord Gu do this..."

"See a visitor out."

The Way of Peace Gu Jinlai.

He seemed to have lost interest in listening to Xu Haiqing continue.

"Please."

Gu Chifeng stepped forward and said in a deep voice.

Seeing this, Xu Haiqing's smile finally faded, "Lord Gu, Jiangzhou has just been established and everything is in need of rebuilding. I urge you to prioritize the development of other cities in Jiangzhou. As for the matter of Yulong City... please give us more time... This city has investments from many powerful forces and influential figures. If you, Lord Gu, were to destroy Yulong City as soon as you arrive, it would be tantamount to letting those powerful figures' investments go down the drain. If they cause trouble, it might be detrimental to the stability of Jiangzhou."

"Make a scene? Let them make a scene."

Gu Jinlai said in a deep voice, "Also, don't come next time."

Xu Haiqing's expression changed slightly.

Seeing Gu Jinlai's resolute attitude, although he didn't know why Gu Jinlai was doing this, he still added, "Lord Gu, please reconsider."

After saying that, he turned and left.

And Gu Jinlai, people have looked upon this group of six...

Six.

Only six!

However, four of the six people had Red Name.

The Karma surrounding Xu Haiqing, who was in the lead, Dark Red like ink.

This alone reveals the true nature of these overseas forces.

If sects like the Purgatory Sect and the Cold Moon Sect became more aggressive after being labeled as part of the demonic path for choosing the wrong side in the past, then what about overseas forces...?

That's truly living on the edge.

Merchants becoming pirates, and pirates becoming outlaws, is as commonplace as eating a meal for them.

Their path to adulthood has been stained with the blood of countless people.

Although he knew that keeping Fish Dragon City as it was would be beneficial to him, but...

He couldn't face his own heart.

Compromise.

There are only zero times and countless times.

Although Lizhou and the twelve overseas islands are powerful, they are nothing more than a disorganized mess. They are not powerful enough to make Gu Jinlai to go against their ideals.

Thinking to myself, I close my eyes, Gu Jinlai.

The Battle of Dragonroar City ended a month ago.

In one month, he led the Demon God's personal guards to conquer fourteen cities of Jiangzhou at a rate of almost one city per day.

These fourteen cities, along with the four cities occupied when entering Star Province, Longxiao City, and the Yulong City before us, make up a total of twenty cities, forming the entire map of Jiangzhou.

And the battles and bloodshed along the way...

Especially outside Dragon Roar City, he killed hundreds of experts from Dragon Sparrow Manor with a single blow, and the Karma on his body had reached an extremely astonishing level.

Despite repeatedly using the Clear Light to suppress his Karma level, he is still at the high level of the nineteenth rank.

In contrast,...

It is Kiyomitsu.

The quantity of Qingguang was astonishing.

One hundred and three questions.