Chapter 1729 - 890: New Grudges and Old Enmities

"It's said that in the last two years, the Ether series' archaeology has inferred that before the Eternal Dynasty and the Chaos Era, before the rupture point known as the Great Break, this world once had an even richer and more glorious age… and down in the bedrock beneath the present world, they dug up fossils of something once called 'dinosaurs.'

And at the same time, humans were still like apes, not even knowing how to use weapons."

Just as Ling Shuo was still dumbfounded, Ji Jue switched topics and said, "So then, why is it that such powerful creatures didn't continue on to today, but instead it was humans who later became the Dominators?"

"Ah… uh…"

Ling Shuo let out the sound of an uneducated man, and probed, "The Chosen One?"

"Chosen? Heh. Maybe compared to us, humans of that era were the real, certified Chosen Ones."

Ji Jue laughed. "According to the theories, the extinction of the dinosaurs was caused by violent geological shifts that brought cold, massive plant die-offs, the collapse of herbivores… and in the end, those arrogant overlords froze and starved to death."

This is reality: it never reasons with you. Most of the time, version sanctions hit without warning, and version welfare is just as traceless.

Like, six months in advance, who would have believed White Deer Dominates eating Wolves, and that the Desert Market Transformation was about to begin?

On the Wilderness, the strong rule—but at the same time, those who can, by their own strength alone, open a brand-new era or even reverse an entire era are vanishingly rare.

Anyone else, no matter how fearsome, even someone like the Hermit, probably has to weigh the timing before drawing a blade, searching for a critical opening. Didn't the previous White Deer Great Monarch also try to defy the times and revive the White Deer World, only to suffer a crushing defeat and die?

Compared to those distant extremes of power, Chen Xingzhou's ecological niche happens to land right on that key point of "survival of the fittest."

The world changes; all phenomena are impermanent.

Weakness, sometimes, can turn into an advantage.

Just like now.

This Southeast Commerce Alliance pie is the base he tailored for himself!

Cliff City's size is too small, so he tossed out that old, territory-only mindset and gripped this one critical bargaining chip, raising his position up into the broader Southeast situation.

Precisely because he's too weak compared to the other delegates, he poses no threat, and the allies don't have to worry about Chen Xingzhou eating them clean and wiping his mouth.

Likewise, because he needs the assistance of many allies in order to clear this major threshold, he can offer terms that other delegates simply can't.

Even if the treaty is harsh or full of restrictions, who cares?

First get ashore, then talk!

No matter how hard it is now, how tied up his hands and feet are, as long as he reaches the shore, the sea opens wide; once he's firmly seated in the representative's chair, everything becomes negotiable.

For all the allies, if they want to realize their dream of breaking their shackles, then Chen Xingzhou is likewise the optimal solution.

They don't have to worry that Hai Province will swallow their own foundations in a short time and strip them of initiative, and at the same time they can maximize their gains.

Most importantly, if they want this pie to become real, it can't be done without him!

Cliff City's critical location, plus his tight alliance with Tide City, has already put him in an unbeatable position.

As long as he can clamp down on Hai Province, this critical sea outlet, he'll have the power to distribute the benefits; as long as he can reconcile internal conflicts and keep everyone on the same front, then this representative's seat, as long as he wants to keep sitting in it, can be welded to his backside forever.

Pivoting and maneuvering like this, relying on his head start in intelligence, he acts like a fox, reaching out to a whole pack of hyenas and vultures and binding them together.

To carve out a living among tigers and Wolves.

Ji Jue could hardly imagine all the hardships behind it—that with nothing but this vague, illusory pie, he actually managed to unite outlying hinterlands like Hai Province, Yunzhou, and Suzhou. Even if it's only unity in form, it's still a feat.

Ling Shuo was drooling halfway through the story.

Even though he wanted to perform in front of Ji Jue, to slap the table and declare, "Rest assured, sir, I can do it too"… he honestly didn't have the face or the guts to say such a thing.

"On the Thousand Islands there's too much petty scheming over scraps. The West Sea may be broad, but its waters are still too shallow."

Ji Jue patted his shoulder and comforted him. "Take your time and think it through. If you can grow by even twenty percent, then in the future you won't have to be stuck in this little corner of the Seven Cities."

"Yes."

Ling Shuo bowed gratefully, overjoyed.

So Mr. Ji's meaning is… he can pile more weight on me?!

Even though nothing was settled yet, he already believed it completely—these days it's not like the pies people draw are absolutely inedible, it all depends on who's doing the drawing.

If his cheap adoptive father said, "This old man is sickly, you must strive," Ling Shuo would treat it as a fart—even believing one punctuation mark would make him an idiot.

But if Mr. Ji said, "You can still keep improving"… then even if he held back one percent of effort while grinding, he'd wake up in the middle of the night just to slap himself.

That's what you call reputation!

After Ling Shuo left, Ji Jue looked at the table, did a quick calculation of the time—call should be in.

The screen lit up right on cue.

Chen Xingzhou.

Ji Jue leaned back in his chair and smiled. "Should I be offering congratulations?"

"And what exactly am I celebrating?"

On the other end of the line, Chen Xingzhou chuckled at himself as soon as he heard that, not bothering to hide his exhaustion.

"What? Using one man's strength to thread the whole Southeast together and laying such a foundation—doesn't that deserve a bit of celebration?"

Ji Jue countered, teasing, "Or are you just hoping I'll repeat your grand feat so you can get another high off it? That's the kind of thing I do all the time."

"If it were anyone else, I'd snatch it without hesitation. But between you and me, there's no need for that much polite nonsense. Save the champagne for when the dust has settled."

Once Chen Xingzhou's crow mouth opened, not a single good word came out. "Something's about to blow up."

He said, "We're on the brink."

"East City?"

Ji Jue was calm, already half expecting it.

"Who else?"

Chen Xingzhou lowered his gaze, staring at the ornament on the table, letting out a soft chuckle: "Han Hui just had someone send me a congratulatory gift."

A solid gold money tree, branches and leaves complete, vivid and lifelike.

On the little rosewood base, there's a gold plaque inlaid, engraved with: [Wishing You Wealth].

It looked like a sincere blessing.

But Chen Xingzhou and Ji Jue both knew perfectly well—"sincere," maybe; "blessing," hardly.

This was a greeting from East City, a declaration sent by Han Hui, and even a warning shot before a Thunderbolt strike.

Even now, he still observed all the proper courtesies with Chen Xingzhou—or rather… was this how far his contempt had gone?

He simply didn't see him as worth noticing.

Like an adult teasing a child: I'm about to make a move, are you ready?

"Looks like he really does see you as a thorn in his eye."

Ji Jue laughed soundlessly, basking in schadenfreude.

Until today, in the present world, Chen Xingzhou's name might have spread far, but nobody cared. Even with enemies everywhere, he could still cling to a fragile peace for a while.

Now that he's leapt the Dragon Gate and made his name across the land, he's the one on the chopping block.

Before he'd even made it to the table, no one cared about him. At the very least, in the crunch time of fighting for seats, no one would pull away from more urgent battles just to squeeze him to death and waste the effort.

But once Han Hui is firmly seated at this table, how could he possibly allow Chen Xingzhou to sit down as well?

Let alone…

Ji Jue's thoughts snagged for a moment, stalled; a flash of lightning seemed to cross his mind, and when he realized what he'd just guessed, it made him laugh.

He laughed so hard he nearly doubled over.

"Don't tell me… you're blocking his road too?"

He was delighted: "I always thought only stumbling blocks like me would get on people's nerves. How did you, Chen Longtou, end up falling to this level?"

"…Did I have a choice?"

Chen Xingzhou went quiet for a beat, startled by Ji Jue's sharpness, and then couldn't help sighing: "Does he have a choice?"

Just like all those craftsman in the Association who can't stand Ye Xian, or all the factories and arms dealers on Thousand Islands who can't stand Ji Jue.

Colleagues are Qiu Family.

The more alike the peers, the deeper the hatred; and when their tracks get close or even overlap, it's basically a sworn-enemies situation.

At the end of the day, looping back again and again… the problem is still the track conflict between Hai Province and East City.

Everyone's scrambling for food from the same pot, on the same road. If you eat one more bite, someone else eats one less. Everyone plans to make a fortune in Thousand Islands and Central Earth—if you earn one more plate, I'm down one.

How could a person that much of an eyesore be allowed to just keep existing?!

"Let me guess…"

Ji Jue pinched the bridge of his nose. "East City is planning to set up a Commerce Alliance too, right?"

"If you were Han Hui, how could you possibly miss where the breakthrough point is?"

Chen Xingzhou said flatly, "Whoever sits in that seat will do it—and not just do it, they'll go all in. Besides, he'd already started laying the groundwork long before this.

If not, why put in that much effort in the West Sea? Why treat you like trouble and an obstruction?"

Live off the mountains by the mountains, live off the sea by the sea—these are all Federation trade gateways by sea. If Hai Province can see the business in it, you think East City can't?

In fact, East City has been working this angle for years; it's just that the distance between each Central City held them back, so it was stuck at pilot projects and exploration, never forming a real system!

Ji Jue was silent, saying nothing.

Putting himself in that position, if he were Han Hui and wanted to expand the cake and build up momentum, he'd obviously have to set up another table and stir things up.

What's more, if you can link up the joints and channels between Thousand Islands, Central Earth, and the Empire, it's an absolute money-printing machine.

Squeeze Thousand Islands like a soft persimmon, test your grip against the White Deer in Central Earth, then lock horns with the Empire… a three-step strategy no one can fault. Whoever you replace him with would make the same call.

And that would be his flagship project—the kind you throw everything at, even if it takes Blood to push through. As long as that step holds steady, the next ten, twenty, thirty years will be peaceful, easy money while you lie back and collect.

That's core interest. There is absolutely zero room for compromise or concession.

Now that Chen Xingzhou dared to get the first move in, took that first step, and even built a whole climate off it… Han Hui absolutely cannot tolerate it. Not only can't he tolerate it—he has to throw everything he's got into hitting, into suppressing, into grinding him to pieces!

Whether it's the struggle between East City and Hai Province, the clash between their representatives, or the layout of the money flows—at this moment, Han Hui and Chen Xingzhou are unquestionably sworn enemies who cannot share the sky!