“Have you heard?”

“Heard what?”

“You know, the situation around the Patriarch and Grand Elder Qiang!”

“Shhh, do you want to get us in trouble!”

“But… their relationship… isn’t it interesting?”

“Well it certainly is but…”

“Hey what are you two doing, get back to work, we will be given our next assignment soon and Lord Qiang will also be participating!”

“Y-yes Senior sister!”

A pair of chatting women were interrupted by a superior. A particular nosy Patriarch also overheard their conversation. The place they were staying was a flag ship that was even larger than the old Argonaut and a new model with some enhancements. Currently, all of them were heading toward the open sea to confront their next enemy.

‘Why did these strange rumors start spreading about me and Qiang? Do girls like stuff like this or something? I guess guys fantasize about two girls getting it on, so it would be normal for the reverse? But me and Qiang…”

His mind wandered into a certain place but he quickly stopped as he did not want to imagine himself and Qiang hugging each other while naked. Instead, he focused back on the problem at hand which was the new armament for his wife and the next battle that was before Qiang and Zhi.

It was somewhat unfortunate that he had to split his attention between the two tasks but at the level, he was at it wasn’t that hard. While multitasking in his old world was nothing more than a myth in this, a person was actually able to split their mind and compartmentalize tasks. Thus he was able to focus on tidying up the design for his wife’s weapon and armor.

Zhi received a new weapon and was granted the middle stage of the nascent soul level. Huo Qiang was given a new armor that made him look like a demon lord and had been boosted to the late stage. His wife on the other hand would get both, a new set of clothes that she could wear and also a set of twin fans to go with it. This of course required more materials and spirit points which he hoped to receive after the confrontation between his forces and the underwater creatures finished.

For the past few weeks, he had been cooped up working and watching the screens while his forces expanded through the empire. It was quite the change of pace as he usually was the one going out on adventures to solve every problem. Now that his sect had been built up this much there was no need for that. Perhaps it was even possible to wait the hundred years out instead of putting himself in danger.
‘I don’t think my guys can handle the Emperor-level threats, Qiang would have to get to the great circle stage before even having a chance.’

Huo Qiang was his strongest combatant but even he was at most powerful enough to fight off one demi-human tribe leader at this point. Perhaps with time, he could boost him up to that level but even at it the chance of victory wouldn’t be great. Perhaps if he brought a full squadron of nascent soul masters and taught them some better attacking formations it would be possible.

‘Hm, if 100% would be the power level limit that can be achieved in this world then these emperors occupy around 90-95% and the rest is probably the wiggle room for a system holder.’

This was only in a one-on-one scenario as the Qi numbers could always be boosted above a hundred percent. This happened with his fight against Wang Long who himself was probably above Emperor-Level. At this point in time, he could not see himself losing to someone from that class.

Wang Long was stronger than the Demi-human Emperor and Zhang Dong had gone even further. This didn’t mean that he was invincible however if caught in a trap or against multiple strong opponents he would still lose. Only if he reached a new realm could he really become invincible.

‘Would be nice if I could get into one of those in-between realms, but this world’s setting erased them from existence.’

He got reminded of the Overseer that might have been in a stage between the immortal and nascent soul level. If he ever hoped to confront that being he would need to either bridge the gap or get some help. The current plan was to elevate his entire sect to such a level, as long as he could keep them from being frozen in time he might have a chance.

‘Oh, think they are confronting the leader…’

While thinking about the future he was brought back to the present. Huo Qiang was floating up in the sky and looking down at his next opponent. This battlefield was not very in favor of his flame Dao which didn’t contend with water as much. However with great enough knowledge and practice his flames could evaporate all liquids.

On one side his troops floated up in the sky on magnificent-looking mechanical ships. The materials used were all top notch and also acquired thanks to the current war. The demi-humans only cared about their hunt. While going through other sect territories they did raise the cities but they never cared about their treasures. After his forces swept through everything they uncovered a lot of raw resources that could be used.

While at first, he wasn’t sure what to do with all of them he was convinced by Zhang Jin and the others to just use them for the current war. These lands were now the sects as they had been reclaimed by combat which was a valid means in this world. The previous owners were either dead or fleed which by law relinquished their ownership over the materials. In short, mighty meant right and his forces could do with the land how they pleased until a stronger force arrived to conquer it.

He did not quite see it like this but he also believed that the sects and the old farts ruling them wouldn’t really use those resources well. With his people in power, he could at least put focus on rebuilding the cities and spreading wealth. The sects and old clans that ruled there would suffer but the general populace would see him in a favorable light.

With a high enough approval rating from each city he conquered, he would receive more and more system points which would further aid his conquest. He could not spend it on buying things from a system store but he could use them on improving the floating palace and for manufacturing purposes. Soon he would have an army outfitted with at least earth-grade treasures as a basis, no one from the old sects would ever be able to stand up to his faction.

‘The big question here is… will my dear old ‘brother’ just sit back and wait for me to outgrow him?’

After the last time, he left he didn’t hear a word from any Long Clan member. Long Qing who he remembered, felt like a person that didn’t take things all that seriously. This was probably brought on through a life of leisure. He was the strongest master in the empire, no one could compare to him, it wouldn’t be strange if he just accepted this as a fact. Perhaps he didn’t believe that Zhang Dong could ever overtake him but news of his conquests continued to flow into his ears. It wouldn’t be strange if with time he took the threat more seriously.

‘The big deciding factor is that wife of his, she can make him do whatever she wants, what if she decides to test me? She could probably whisper something in his ear and he would come running… and what should I do if he asks me to come to the Azure Palace, declining an invitation would be seen as disrespectful…’

While contemplating and working on Liena’s battle dress he could see the sea actually opening up. From within a man holding a much more robust-looking trident emerged. He was around the same height as Qiang and just as muscular. It was the enemy commander but his behavior was a bit strange considering the enemy forces usually used their many beasts as cannon fodder.

“I am Tritton, General of the Deep sees, trusted soldier of the Cerulean Empress! I will give you land dwellers a chance to lay down your weapons or surrender! “

The man in golden armor that looked like it consisted of fish scales spoke up. His voice was aided by his cultivation level which was quite tremendous. Zhang Dong and his forces had no reason to surrender but this at least gave them some information about their enemies. The name of their leader was revealed and surprisingly it belonged to a woman.

‘Cerulean Empress? I guess that’s just another shade of blue…’

Zhang Dong didn’t send any orders out as he watched. This was Huo Qiang’s and Zhang Zhi’s operation and the two had the power to make a decision. Naturally, the stronger of the two made his move first. A blazing ball of crimson flames started making the seawater evaporate. The hot steam turned the whole place into a sauna and forced a large chunk of the underwater beasts to scatter away in fright.

The massive spike in temperature was actually raising the temperature of the ocean to one that the enemy army wasn’t used to. They had probably gone through millions of years of evolution while living down in the cold dark deep sea. Their skin and scales was certainly not prepared to take in all the hot water.

“I am Huo Qiang of the United Element Sect, I challenge you to a duel Tritton! How about we decide everything through it, winner takes it all!”

‘Yeah, Qiang would do such a thing… but will the fish man agree? It wouldn’t be such a bad idea considering that his opponent is presumably only a late-stage cultivator…’

Even though with his armor on Huo Qiang could go beyond the late stage his enemy didn’t know that. His qi was at the late stage and so it would seem. People in this world weren’t really able to ascertain the quality of the Qi that someone was using. What they could tell is the unique signature a cultivator at a given level produced. This was also why a lot of Zhang Dong’s opponents thought he was much weaker than he actually was.

“You wish to challenge this Tritton? You must be a fool but I do not run from a challenge, first I will deal with you and then the rest of you will follow!”

‘I guess I couldn’t have asked for a better chance to see my product be tested…’

Both of the armies started inching away from each other while their leaders got ready for a brawl. Each side believed that their general would be victorious but no one quite knew at what cost.