Yang Wenqing, the Nation's Focus

Ao Qin lowered his dragon head, his vertical pupils half-closed, his breathing slow as the tides rising and falling in the deep sea.

Before him, Deng Ming stood with his head lowered in a respectful posture, quietly reporting something. His voice was softened by the echoes off the Spirit Spring's surface in the vast hall:

"Line E-17 has been completely exposed. I've arranged for everyone connected to it to conceal their movements. Does this line need to be rebuilt?"

Ao Qin opened his half-lidded eyes slightly and looked at Deng Ming. "The line targeting the Third Guard Station?"

"Yes."

Ao Qin raised his dragon head slightly at those words before lowering it again, as though considering something. Only after a moment did he speak. "So be it if it's exposed. Its purpose was for this very occasion."

He closed one dragon eye and fixed Deng Ming with the other. "Will our warning have any effect?"

Deng Ming immediately replied, "With your name behind it, Ninth Master, that brat from the Profound Peak Sect is probably too scared even to leave his door."

Ao Qin suddenly let out a deep laugh. As it echoed through the hall, the surrounding Water Spirit Aura stirred with it. Fine ripples spread over the Spirit Spring's surface, expanding outward in rings, striking the pillars before rebounding and intertwining with the ripples that followed. Only after several breaths did the water settle again.

After laughing, he lowered his head and stared at Deng Ming. "This is not a Dragon Palace council meeting. There's no need to flatter me. Just discuss the matter at hand."

His dragon claw lightly stirred the Spirit Spring, sending a ripple across the surface. Then he continued, "The Redstone Archipelago is extremely important to us, but the meaning of that importance can