Meanwhile, Jianma was having a miserable time.
A day had passed since Jianma led the Dragon Palace's elites to the Jiang Clique. Xie Guanhai timed his request for an audience with Jianma precisely, intending to give Jianma a chance to show off.
After all, by Xie Guanhai's calculations, the advantage was theirs no matter how he looked at it. He had no idea how Jianma could possibly lose.
In fact, Jianma had no idea why he had lost either.
"Why was that Xie Tianxia at the Jiang Clique?" Jianma demanded.
The East Sea Dragon King's heart tightened, and he offered a possibility. "Old Ancestor, could this have been a trap the Xie Clan set for you?"
"The Xie Clan set a trap for me?"
"Yes. Xie Guanhai first lured you to the Jiang Clique, while Xie Tianxia waited there at her ease for an exhausted enemy. They worked together seamlessly, all to deplete our Dragon Palace's strength. Xie Guanhai is very likely still Great Yu's foremost founding divine general. He has always been utterly loyal to Great Yu."
By the end, the East Sea Dragon King's voice had grown agitated.
Then Jianma smacked him to the ground with a hoof. "Fool! Would Xie Guanhai throw himself in just to set a trap for me? He's right here in the Dragon Palace. His life and death are in our hands."
"Hard to say," the East Sea Dragon King muttered. "What if Xie Guanhai has entered the game as a pawn himself, hoping to beat Heaven by half a move?"
"If Xie Guanhai were that sort of sage, he wouldn't have lived this long." Jianma scoffed. "Only the dead are true sages, like Mao Fulong. How could those who are still alive and cling to power and position be true sages? They're