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Shen Yuan had been feeling conflicted these past two days.

First of all, he hadn’t received any news. He had been missing for two days now, and his master hadn’t sent even a single transmission. Shen Yuan had no idea what he was supposed to do next.

Or could it be that Chen Qing thought he had betrayed him?

Compared to Jiangnan’s complete neglect of him, the White Tiger Star Officer treated him entirely differently.

Like right now.

"The Southeast expansion has three key directions. One is the Jiangnan Yunzhou region, which would allow us to directly invade Jiangnan. It is led by two constellations, Rooster of Rising Sun and Crow of Moonlight, who are commanding the troops. The current boundary is set at Yunzhou’s border, with the mountain range as a temporary dividing line and Zhangzhou City as the defensive stronghold.

Another direction is Jiangnan’s border with the Imperial Court at the South Heaven Pass, delineated by the Heavenly River.

Dog of Golden Spire and Pheasant of Earth Star are deploying the defensive lines there, while Monkey of Fiery Beak and Water Ape of Orion are focusing on clearing out any remaining Western Sea Army forces within Southeast territory. "

Shen Yuan stared blankly at the other person. This guy was openly explaining their strategic setup to him without the slightest concern about him leaking the information.

Considering this, Shen Yuan decided to probe for details: "Why such a division? Are these constellations different in some way?"

The White Tiger Star Officer batted her seductive eyes at him and chuckled.

"Rooster of Rising Sun has the Eye of Heavenly Sun. As long as daylight illuminates the area within a thousand-mile radius, there’s no one who can escape its gaze.

Crow of Moonlight possesses the Moon Eye, which, under the moonlight, can see every move within the same range.

Jiangnan lacks sufficient troops but has plenty of strong individuals, so we’re bracing for your Family Head to come personally. "

"I see..." Shen Yuan nodded, intending to ask more questions, but suddenly noticed the other person had begun removing her clothes.

"Time to rest."

Shen Yuan bit his lip, glanced at the sky, and muttered under his breath, "It’s midday..."

"Eh?" The woman flaunted her impressive curves and walked straight up to Shen Yuan. "You people from Jiangnan live such good lives, don’t you nap during noon?"

Shen Yuan: "..."

Nap? Is this what napping is supposed to entail?

"Wait... How many times do we need to do this to... complete the bloodline fusion?" Shen Yuan kept backing away.

"Why? Are you tired of it already?" She approached him, her tone carrying teasing amusement.

"No..." Shen Yuan’s face turned crimson. Saying ’no’ felt awkward, but he couldn’t admit he was tired of it either.

Indulging in pleasure, he had only just started, and strangely, despite the saying that lust saps a man’s strength, he felt more energetic every time he was with her, as though he could keep going indefinitely.

There was definitely something unusual about it.

"As long as you’re not tired of it." With a tug, the woman stripped Shen Yuan of his clothing. "The weather’s nice, and the light is great. It’s perfect for you to take a good look at me."

"I... What am I supposed to be looking at?" Shen Yuan turned his head away.

"You need to see clearly to enter properly. Like last time—it was so dark you couldn’t find the way for half the night..."

"You... Can’t you stop saying such dirty things in the middle of the day?"

"Oh, so it’s okay to say dirty things at night, huh?"

"You..."

"Hahaha..." The woman found his embarrassment increasingly amusing and lunged directly at him. The room was instantly filled with radiant springtime passion, and certain onlookers in the distance blushed furiously.

"You two..."

Chen Ying, overhearing the moans from within, couldn’t help but blush. "What’s there to see? Does this really require a crowd?"

"Isn’t this to find a weakness?" Chen Qing replied seriously, then motioned to Shen Qi. "Shen Qi, hey... that... uh, angle—can you shift it? Maybe move it around them in a circle so we can observe thoroughly."

"That’s—" Shen Qi frowned. "Won’t they notice?"

"You think they haven’t already?" Chen Qing shot him a withering glance. "Do you think her earlier words were meant for Shen Yuan, that blockhead? They were directed at us!"

"Oh, I see... Master, what part would you like to focus on?"

"I want to see the butt!" Shen Shiyi shouted excitedly.

"Enough already!" Chen Ying shouted, her face bright red.

"Ahem..." Chen Qing glanced at Shen Shiyi. "Kids should stay out of this. Is this something you should even be watching?"

"You’re not allowed to watch either!" Chen Ying furiously grabbed the floating eye-device in her hand.

"Whoa—easy, kid!" Shen Qi cried out, his face contorted in pain.

A floating eye-device remained connected to its operator’s vision, and being grabbed forcibly caused searing pain.

"Serves you right for watching nonsense. Don’t you know this could give you styes?" Chen Ying glared sharply at the men.

"Er..." Chen Qing coughed lightly. "Anyway... let’s get back to business."

Shen Er withdrew his gaze and stroked his chin. "That woman is even more... compared to our older sister-in-law..."

"Huh?" Shen San, Shiyi, and Chen Qing all turned to look at him.

"Oh, it’s nothing..." Shen Er quickly realized his slip of tongue and cleared his throat awkwardly. "Master, what were you about to say?"

Chen Qing pursed his lips but eventually spoke up. "What do you think that woman’s intentions are? A trap or..."

"Probably not a trap..." Shen Er shook his head. "Everything is unfolding exactly as you predicted, Master. Heaven’s Court ended up choosing the Southern Wilderness as their foothold, but they laid their groundwork early. We didn’t expect them to start planning in Southeast two years ago."

"Now, with the Southeast Pass secured, breaking through to challenge Heaven’s Court directly seems a bit tricky."

"So that woman is just observing?" Chen Qing mused, stroking his chin.

"Based on her attitude, that seems likely. Being sent to handle such matters indicates her rank isn’t very high. Yet, judging from her skill that day, she’s incredibly strong—Master, even you may not be able to take her down without a direct strike using the Sword Dao Fruit."

Chen Qing nodded. That woman was powerful, possibly rivaling the level of the Victorious Fighting Buddha. Without the Sword Dao Fruit, he wouldn’t even have a ten percent chance against her.

A master like that—relegated to undercover work—had clearly experienced exclusion or targeting, leaving bitterness in her heart.

Additionally, Heaven’s Court, to mobilize troops quickly, had resorted to harvesting Blood Essence from the demons in Heavenly Pond, slaughtering them indiscriminately. As a native demon herself, White Tiger likely harbored deep resentment.

"Then why not just defect outright?" Chen Ying said coldly. "This would be the perfect opportunity. If she joined Jiangnan now, it’d be like sending coal during a snowstorm—an excellent chance for her."

"It’s not that simple," Chen Qing said with a smile. "Heaven’s Court is a massive force that’s been around for billions of years.

We Jiangnan have only risen in the past few years.

With the impending calamity, even if people like her are being mistreated, it’s still a platform that looks stable enough. Why would she easily choose to leave?"

"So her intention is..." Chen Ying frowned.

"Observation..." Chen Qing chuckled. "She’s already provided us with information, which amounts to a gesture of goodwill. Whether we can capitalize on it depends on our capabilities. If we sit back and do nothing, letting them seize the Southeast and allow Heaven’s Court to establish firmly within the Southern Barbarians, she’ll cut ties with us immediately and likely capture Shen Yuan to bring him there. "

"If we want cooperation, we must demonstrate some strength!"

"I see..." Chen Ying nodded, her reaction in line with reasonable decision-making.

"Master, should we recall Xuu Hu?" Shen San asked.

The Western Sea Army had suffered devastating losses and wouldn’t recover anytime soon. To directly contend with Heaven’s Court’s forces, Jiangnan’s main army would have to step in.

But recalling Xuu Hu would mean essentially abandoning the Northern Wasteland!