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"What did the family say?"

In a tavern located in Yan Yun City, several young men and women had gathered. Among them, aside from Murong Qingsnow, who had just recently returned home, there was also Bei Yu—the other leader originating from one of the Northern Wasteland’s prominent families!

"My family is alright, the great elder and a few key elders all insist on moving to Jiangnan to leave this place of trouble. How about you?"

"Us..." The youths exchanged glances, including Bei Yu, whose expression wasn’t very good.

If only their elders were as clear-headed as the Murong Family.

But it was evident, those avaricious fools had been totally manipulated by those giant serpents!

"In just a few short months, all the noble families have actually resigned themselves to human sacrifices, even if as slaves... but that’s also..."

"Not just slaves?" one of them scoffed coldly. "I’ve heard that many families are running out of slaves and have already started to target others, laying their hands on people of good families!"

"No way? Even targeting people of good families?" the others listened in horror. "Is that true?"

"What wouldn’t they do for profit?" Bei Yu sneered. "Good people, once kidnapped, aren’t they just slaves? Sell them off, swap locations, you sell mine, I sell yours, we all make an exchange, and don’t the good citizens become slaves?

Are the women and children who have disappeared these few days few in number? "

"This..."

"Have they gone mad?" Two of the youths were so angry their faces turned scarlet.

Having spent the better part of the year in Jiangnan, accustomed to the harmony among people, and accustomed to laughter and joy, they returned to find their homeland even worse than before.

The noble families were now secretly trafficking women and children, an utterly despicable act, and they felt both shame and anger.

If their schoolmates were to find out that their families had been involved in such things, they didn’t know how they would be viewed!

And the thought of those women and children being trafficked and then used as food for the serpents sent chills down their spines...

"However, this kind of kidnapping won’t last long.

Over time, everyone will become fearful, and the government will have to give an explanation.

.." Bei Yu sighed. "And to appease the anger of the people, the government will surely place blame on neighboring countries. The people’s resentment needs an outlet, and the pretext for war will arise. "

"The great elder of the Murong Family isn’t wrong; as long as human sacrifices are necessary, slaves from all countries will not suffice, and war will have to be waged to gather enough slaves.

In no more than two months, the Northern Wasteland’s warfare is bound to reignite.

This is probably what those giant serpents want to see! "

The neighboring youths nodded silently.

The academies of Jiangnan have undergone changes. The academy in Lyuzhou has now become a junior academy, mainly for laying foundations for newcomers, but for those who aspire to a higher level of heritage, they will need to gain entrance to the Dragon Palace Academy!

And the current dean of Dragon Palace Academy is Mister Ziyue.

Mister Ziyue visits once a month to inspect the students and selects outstanding ones to be promoted to Dragon Palace Academy for specialized inheritance.

Six descendants from the Northern Wasteland were chosen for their excellent scholarship and regarded highly by Mister Ziyue, who then granted them an application to return to the Northern Wasteland.

Mister Ziyue not only teaches them the secret transmissions of the Dragon Palace but also provides the general course on the current world situation to all magicians.

Half a year ago, Chen Qing from Jiangnan was fully recognized by the Imperial Court and titled King of Qin!

And according to Mister Ziyue, half a year ago, the King of Qin seized West Sea Dragon Palace from the four dragon palaces for Jiangnan’s students, paving the way for a new inheritance.

Now, the four seas have been reorganized, and a mysterious force has occupied the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace. The states of Eastern Sea, it is said, have received protection, but as for who is behind it, nobody can clearly state, including Mister Ziyue, who has always been reticent about it.

The Imperial Court has taken control of the Southern Sea, while those giant serpents in the north have taken over half of Beihai Dragon Palace!

Why say half?

This is now the main point of contention for Jiangnan—they have accepted a billion Northern People.

Years ago, the Duke of Wei shed dragon blood, opened up Beihai City, allowing Jiangnan to create a passage in the Northern Sea, used the Beihai Dragon Palace’s Xuan Ice Formation to continuously freeze that ice road left by the Duke of Wei, and split the Beihai Dragon Palace.

The current situation is that Jiangnan and those giant serpents from the north are confronting each other on both sides of the Beihai Dragon Palace, each owning half of it!

About these matters, Mister Ziyue never conceals information from the students but teaches them diligently and encourages them to actively share their views on the situation, not just the situation but all magicians who enter the Dragon Palace get to know the original secrets of this world.

That concerns the theory of Earth Spirits!

Bei Yu said, "According to Mister Ziyue, Earth Spirits are attracted to the death and suffering of our Human Race.

Those Giant Serpents that generously hunt high-level Demons for the Human Race, even protecting the citizens of the Northern Wasteland, are not truly kind-hearted.

They are very aware that once the Human Race is slaughtered too quickly by those growing Demons and the Earth Spirits ebb, they will have to return to slumber in the Celestial Serpent Palace! "

"Therefore, they have to feed Demon Flesh to us.

Their aim is to strengthen the Human Race quickly, to ensure we have the ability to protect ourselves.

Ideally, our birth rates should also increase rapidly.

They are consciously enhancing the reproductive capabilities of the bloodline families.

With enough flesh and blood, these lineages can continue their lineage without restrictions.

In at most a hundred years, the number of bloodline descendants might multiply by more than tenfold! "

"But the war must also continue..." Murong Qingsnow nodded and said, "The Earth Spirits need the attraction of war’s suffering and death, so the continuation of civil wars within the Human Race is necessary. I’m afraid, just as Mister Ziyue has said, these ancient forces, once awakened, will first control the Human Race and then deliberately cause internal wars. "

"If that’s the case, we must hasten to disassociate our family from the Northern Wasteland," Bei Yu stated grimly. "Once the war starts, victory or defeat is uncertain, and any family could potentially become slaves!"

"Why do you say that?" someone asked, puzzled. "Shouldn’t only the lower-ranking soldiers become slaves?"

"Heh..." Bei Yu sneered. "Do you think the Demons would sit by and watch the families monopolize power? Cruel competition is what can faster induce internal purification. Petty squabbles, the deliberate creation of slaves—you think they’d allow that?

No, once the fighting starts, those Giant Serpents will definitely intervene, causing the flames of war to escalate instantly.

Those noble families may still be deluding themselves into thinking they can control the battle, but how could they be allowed to do that? "

"So what should we do?" The others furrowed their brows. "After all, we are still young. Even if we bring resources from Jiangnan, it’s not likely that our family will heed us."

Upon hearing this, Bei Yu also fell silent, biting his finger. Now, in Murong Bingyun’s absence, among the younger generation, there was no one left who could negotiate with the older generation.

With just a few of them, trying to persuade the family to hold back seemed impossible.

Should we just give up like this?

"Right, I just heard some news coming from the Capital City."

"Hmm?" Bei Yu turned to the speaking youth, puzzled. "At this time... what does Capital City have to do with us?"

The others also looked over, equally bewildered.

"Your family... still has the leisure to learn about Capital City’s intelligence?" Murong Qingsnow asked curiously.

The rest gazed at the speaker inexplicably.

They also knew about the current situation in Capital City, having been briefed by Mister Ziyue. The Capital City’s Imperial Family, after the event at Dragon Palace, had started to construct Divine Temples on a large scale, and within the temples, they had begun to practice harsh human sacrifices!

Moreover, the Central Plains were currently rife with ghosts and haunts. Many land-owning Scholars were trying to flee to Jiangnan, leading to utter chaos!

But... with the Northern Wasteland in such a terrible state, it was truly surprising that they still had the inclination to investigate Capital City.

"Well... ahem..." The youth said, somewhat embarrassed, "Didn’t our family have a connection with the Wang Family of the Central Plains? After the northern Giant Serpent attack half a year ago, which was so terrifying that ten countries were planning to relocate to the Arctic Land, our family members naturally didn’t want to follow the sovereigns to explore the Arctic Land.

So they took a gamble, trying to break through to Capital City. "

"At that time, they sent the death warriors to break through to Capital City to request aid, but unexpectedly, upon reaching the Northern Territory, these warriors were not attacked by the Giant Serpents.

They traveled safely, which is why few people know that our family is, in fact, maintaining contact with the Wang Family of the Capital City. "

"Uh..." The crowd’s faces twitched. Was there really such a thing?

"What is this intelligence, that you now bring it up?" Bei Yu furrowed his brows, because even so, what did Capital City’s intelligence have to do with them now?

"The intelligence said, Wutu Mu’er, the young master of the Nanman Wuzi Kingdom, is seeking to marry the Great Jin Princess: Siao Mingxue!"

"What did you say?"

Bei Yu was immediately stunned, his face turning sour, "Are you sure?"

Upon hearing this, the faces of the others also darkened. Chen Qing was now the Lord of Jiangnan, and Siao Mingxue, who was engaged to Chen Qing, would be the future Lady of Jiangnan!

What was the Imperial Court trying to do?

Could it be a probe?

Because some were aware, King of Qin Chen Qing... hadn’t appeared in Jiangnan for half a year now!