Pressure from the Periphery
Zhang Xuezhou only believed five-tenths of what Badun said.
He's fine with listening to gossip, but getting him to actually fight is extremely difficult.
Zhang Xuezhou's personality isn't that split. In his other world, he's timid and avoids trouble by keeping a low profile. It's impossible for him to come to the real world and immediately launch a fierce attack, making enemies everywhere.
The reason for resisting Huang Daoxian lies in the conflict of their techniques. Huang Daoxian has caused too much destruction within the Scarlet Alliance State, and attacking Donghua is a life-or-death struggle, leaving Zhang Xuezhou no room to back down.
He only ever fought a desperate battle on a very few occasions, rarely taking the initiative to cause trouble.
The disaster in the Aomeijia Alliance was not yet at the point of being urgent, Zhang Xuezhou would not recklessly rush into danger just because Badun said a few words to him.
"Take good care of your injuries and think carefully about what you can come up with. This will also help you find some helpers. Once we investigate and find that the matter is feasible, we can accept the payment and act together. If the matter is too risky, then I can only suggest that you make a plan for population relocation!"
He expressed his opinions earnestly and sincerely, and also pragmatically stated his needs.
This attitude made Badun sigh, but he also knew that it was the best response.
Zhang Xuezhou is not a national leader and cannot order people to risk their lives in dangerous places. Only sufficient interests can establish a relationship.
Only after assessing the risks can Zhang Xuezhou and others take action.
Badun felt somewhat disappointed, but when his gaze swept over Changkong Yinghao and the others, he felt a renewed sense of anticipation.
As long as the Sequence Holder in the sinkhole can successfully cultivate and emerge, the number of top-level experts will increase significantly.
Moreover, he noticed that Changkong Yinghao and the others seemed to have changed somewhat, showing signs of resembling Changkong Luo.
Using "Changkong Luo" to describe him is by no means a derogatory term. Changkong Luo was the first person in the Scarlet Alliance State to step into the Seventh Sequence, and he fought with Badun for more than ten years. He was a genius who truly created the high sequence era and entered the ranks of grandmasters.
It is difficult for children to surpass their genius fathers, but Badun vaguely sensed that the two were like a polished sword, seemingly showing signs of surpassing their master.
"The 'fast and slow' you've mastered upon entering the Eighth Sequence are particularly suited for unleashing violent swordsmanship. I know some special Swordsmanship- forging methods that can create top-quality swords, along with matching sword techniques. I wonder if you'd be interested?"
Badun glanced at Zhang Xuezhou. He couldn't meet Zhang Xuezhou's demands, so he had no choice but to try people one by one.
"Huh?"
Changkong Yinghao gave an awkward laugh.
Badun had clearly misjudged the situation; they didn't emerge from the twist by having control over it, but rather by the aid of the sword-drawing technique, which allowed them to leap out.
However, he did not reject Badun, after all, Badun's identity was rather special, and he might really have some unique and powerful manufacturing technology.
"The weapons need to be actually forged, and the sword techniques need to be translated into the Scarlet Alliance State. If it can't be done properly, then it's not worth it!"
He was about to agree when Zhang Xuezhou said something that gave Badun a headache, and he realized in an instant that he had almost fallen for Badun's trick.
"I'm sure I can both build and translate," Badun assured him.
"Then come back once it's done. You have plenty of time to recover from your injuries, which is perfect for the creation and translation," Zhang Xuezhou said. "If this benefits the Gene Sequence, then you'll be a welcome friend to our Alliance States!"
"We've known each other for so long, and we're still not considered good friends?!"
Badun spoke softly, his expression subtly shifting, unsure whether to do so and thus help his competitor grow stronger.
"Currently, the development of the Aomeijia Alliance in Gene Sequence is significantly slower than that of our Alliance States. If the country is shattered in the future, all of Badun's preparations will be in vain," Ren Anran interjected. "Cooperating with our Scarlet Alliance State to move forward together is the right choice!"
"He's worried that if we develop too fast, we'll suddenly have a lot more competitors," Zhang Xuezhou said with a smile.
"Hmph!"
"To be honest, one Seven Spiders is already giving you a lot of trouble, and then there are those fiery meteor creatures like Tiger Hao, Tiger Yu, Nine Heads, Hundred Eyes, Six Ears, and White Bone. I don't think you have much of a chance to win!"
Badun grunted twice, while Zhang Xuezhou shrugged.
"Do you know the names of the other fire meteor beings?" Badun asked gravely.
"I've heard Hu Yu mention it," Zhang Xuezhou nodded, "Hu Yu said that even he could only avoid these creatures when he saw them."
"Those damned old bastards!"
Badun gritted his teeth and cursed, completely disregarding the fact that he was a centenarian.
Clearly, compared to the ages of these meteoroid beings, Badun is also a young man.
Those beings that have survived for so long and stood at the pinnacle of cultivation are all formidable, and even if they cannot adapt to the environment for a while, they must possess formidable abilities.
If these creatures were to adapt to this world, Badun would shudder at the sight of them.
"This world is likely no longer a paradise occasionally discovered by pioneers, but rather one that has probably already been targeted. I think the troubles we'll have to deal with in the future will definitely go far beyond these fireball creatures," Zhang Xuezhou warned. "If we wait until then to be open and honest in cooperating, it might be too late!"
"You have this feeling?" Badun asked cautiously.
"This isn't a premonition, it's a fact," Zhang Xuezhou said. "We once saw Presenel send out spatial coordinates in the Thousand Islands Alliance. Without a specific, deliberate search, I don't think sending out spatial coordinates could attract five fireballs in such a short time!"
"Perhaps this is just an occasional occurrence," Badun said with a hint of bitterness.
Are you willing to gamble?
Zhang Xuezhou asked a question, but Badun did not respond.
If one is already very powerful, one will not become a pioneer.
The biggest advantage of pioneers is time; they have decades or even centuries more to adapt than later arrivals.
This advantage of having time allows them to establish a firm foothold early on, and continuously eliminate opponents who are not yet able to adapt to the environment, thus constantly using resources to reach the top.
In the original world, Badun was merely a member of a declining Lineage; in this world, he is the master of an Alliance States, ruling over a vast country of over 30 million square kilometers.
The accumulation of vast resources has enabled Badun to grow from a small town to a powerful one.
Those who reach the top undoubtedly don't want to fall to the bottom, and they won't even allow competitors at the same level to appear, thus constantly hindering any potential rivals from advancing.
But Badun did feel the strain.
Over the years, he had repeatedly investigated the backgrounds of the tigers and other creatures in Qinmeng, and discovered that the destruction of Qinmeng was not solely due to the actions of these two ferocious tigers. However, before he could fully understand the situation, other fiery meteor creatures descended upon the region.
Zhang Xuezhou was right; the Seven Spiders alone had left him helpless.
The other party was even physically dead, leaving only an empty shell, which brought him enormous and difficult-to-manage trouble.
Even without considering the combined might of numerous fire meteor creatures, Badun wouldn't dare claim certain victory in a one-on-one duel, let alone the potential chaos that might ensue in the future.
If we only try to prepare at the last minute, we might end up as vulnerable as the current Aomeijia Alliance, unable to find even a few people to cooperate with.