"..."
Xuan Zi's face turned the color of pig liver with fury. He shot Xu Cheng a vicious glare, but could only lead the Shrek Students away in sullen defeat.
Xu Cheng smiled.
He watched Shrek Academy slink away like dogs that had lost their home, then looked at the Sea Princess Clan Chief, whose expression had softened and even gained a trace of warmth.
He knew then that the matter was already halfway settled.
Next came the discussion of how to tap into the ocean's resources. The Sun Moon Empire would give something back rather than simply take, but just imagining the ocean's riches, the endless stream of minerals transported into the Sun Moon Empire...
The negotiations went smoothly.
They encountered almost no resistance.
Upon hearing that the Sun Moon Empire had invented artificial soul rings and stood opposed to Shrek Academy, the Sea Princess Clan eagerly invited everyone into the depths of the ocean and received them with the utmost hospitality.
Once the Snow Empress and Ice Empress revealed their true forms, they trusted Xu Cheng completely. With a grand wave, they declared that, so long as the ecosystem remained unharmed, he could take all the scrap metal on the seabed he wanted.
They wanted to build an undersea tunnel? What on earth was that... never mind, it made no difference.
May friendship between humans and beasts endure forever.
"Phew..."
Standing aboard the airship.
Watching the Sea Princess Clan grow smaller and smaller below.
Xu Cheng let out a long, stale breath.
He rested his arms on the railing, his expression relaxed.
He knew they would now enter a period of steady growth. Hemmed in from north and south by the Sun Moon Empire, the Original Continent was like a trapped beast, able only to watch as the