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"Think carefully about this decision, we’re not forcing anyone. You can stay here and wait for your allocation, and within half a year, you’ll still be able to receive a quota for immigration to the West Sea,"

In the courtyard in Lyuzhou, a group of Northern People, dressed distinctly differently from the local people of Jiangnan, looked around in awe, while Chen Ying faced these anxious wanderers.

Yesterday’s meeting had concluded that it was not wise to completely trust Wang Shiyu’s words. Cooperation was necessary, of course, but it was also essential to send personnel to the north to gather intelligence.

The differences in physique, appearance, and accents between the people of Jiangnan and those from the north made it difficult for skilled scouts from Jiangnan to blend in; only the Northern People could be used!

Chen Qing was also silently observing these Northeners, whose clothing was entirely unlike that of the affluent people of Jiangnan, feeling incredibly conflicted.

Frankly speaking, these Northern People were not well accepted in Jiangnan...

Initially, Duke of Wei had given his life to turn ice into flesh and blood, fighting for a chance at life for the northerners. He wanted to preserve the seed of the Northern People and also, having been to Jiangnan, hoped that his men could one day live like the citizens of Jiangnan, right?

But reality is harsh. Even though these Northeners were rescued by the War God Army at the cost of their lives, it was impossible for them to be treated the same as the people of Jiangnan after being saved.

With Jiangnan’s own people still waiting for land distribution, how could they possibly allocate it to refugees from outside?

With no land to distribute and not even the chance to work, the Northeners could only rely on relief food to survive.

The quality of relief food in Jiangnan was not bad, consisting of thick meat porridge and fragrant, soft fine flour steamed buns.

It was even better than what the northerners were accustomed to eating back home when working in the Northern Wasteland.

However, everything is relative. When they saw the people of Jiangnan laughing and talking cheerfully, wearing gorgeous clothes, eating better food, and even occasionally calling friends to share a drink, their own steamed buns suddenly lost their appeal. ..

Many Northeners hoped their daughters would marry a local and live such a life. In just half a year, discrimination had already set in. Human nature has its flaws, and some things are just unavoidable...

"Lord... we have thought it through," stuttered a leading northern merchant. "But you must deliver on what you promised..."

Soldiers of the War God Army around them frowned at once, "Who do you think Lord Chen Ying is? Could he possibly lie to you?"

"Enough..." Chen Ying shook his head, stopping the officers from scolding. Those who came were prepared to risk their lives; what was wrong with them confirming their treatment?

The plan required these Northeners to be secretly sent from Beihai City to the Northern Wasteland, where the Murong Family, closely connected with Jiangnan, would help disguise them and blend them into the merchants heading for the Northern Wasteland to barter with their kinsmen beneath the Serpent’s jaws, and extract intelligence!

Wang Shiyu was backed by the White Silk Sect, also known as the Sun God Sect, and this faction could actually gain power faster than the Black Sorcerer Sect because they didn’t need to compress their bodies to the extreme to descend to the human realm.

The drawback, however, was that they had to bring their physical bodies along with them.

Bringing their physical body to the human realm was a risky decision for members of the Sun God Sect, as their physical form was their most fatal weakness, greatly limiting the range of their activities.

Before each hunt, they needed to leave their body in a safe place and take many days just to scout the environment, figuring out where it’s relatively safe to store their body, where the hunting could yield the best returns, and if their body fell into danger, how quickly they could return.

This was the weakness of the Sun God Sect; they could not be as reckless as the Black Sorcerer Sect.

It was the same with coming to the human realm. These foreign creatures from beyond didn’t dare to leave their bodies out there for even their closest kin might take advantage of their physical form to steal their spirit energy while they were away.

The amount of spirit energy stored by the Sun Gods in their bodies is substantial.

While each refinement process consumes more energy, it also increases the body’s capacity to store spirit energy.

Often, this energy can be drawn upon directly as a backup, and the higher the level of the Sun God, the more energy they store.

By the time they reach the second version, the Earth Spirit top level, the body can store three times the energy of a soul, which to many Sun Gods, is like a treasure.

Not just friends and kin, even one’s spouse might seize the opportunity to strike!

To bring their physical form to the human realm, amidst the chaotic situation, was to face even greater risks. Ordinary Sun Gods, especially those at the top level, would not dare to descend carelessly for fear of being plotted against.

And in fact, the goal of Wang Shiyu and his cohort was to lure a top-level Sun God to descend!

To achieve their aim, it was first necessary to display enough enticing value.

Hundreds of millions of Northern People, refined with care and with high-quality blood and flesh, coupled with their strong resentment, could bring them more energy than capturing a top-level Earth Spirit creature from beyond.

Moreover, the Human Race is capable of sustainable production; if output can be stabilized, there will no longer be the need to live a life of erratic hunting. For many followers of the White Silk Sect’s Serpent Spirits, this is an enormous temptation!

The reason for choosing to work with Chen Qing is also due to his unique secret techniques for enhancing the quality of the human stock!

The overall quality of Jiangnan is unmatched by any force in the Central Plains. Should it improve even faster, the temptation for the Sun God would be even greater. With Chen Qing’s cooperation, it would be easier to lure high-quality Giant Serpents from the White Silk Sect.

As long as one top-tier Earth Spirit from the White Silk Sect is schemed against, they would have enough energy to summon members from the guild to descend.

Wang Shiyu’s offer was a fifty-fifty split and promised to establish a Technique pact, an offer that was fatally tempting for Chen Qing.

There are many white jade deposits in Jiangnan, but exploiting these requires a lengthy process.

It’s different for the body of a Sun God—it can directly create over a hundred Transcendent-level forces for oneself.

The boost would be tremendous, and the Sun God’s secret techniques could also be incorporated into the Magicians’ training system.

Both of these are things Jiangnan needs, but great benefits come with great risks. Scheming against a top-tier Sun God, if not successful, means the opponent loses merely a pawn, while one’s own loss could be the entire Jiangnan!

All of one’s hard work could be wasted in this one gamble...

But to give up on Chen Qing is also very hard to bear.

As a designer, he is acutely aware of how fast the world could change after the resurgence of Earth Spirits.

Jiangnan’s strength has already grown enormously, yet it still seems too little to ensure its own preservation in the upcoming upheaval.

The Celestial Serpent Palace, whether it’s the physical Giant Serpents of the Black Sorcerer Sect or the Spirit Snakes of the White Silk Sect, are all top-tier resources that could revive some ancient beings.

Even if one cannot possess these resources, one mustn’t let those so-called guild forces easily claim them — one must get involved!

Chen Ying also roughly understood Chen Qing’s intention and realized why Chen Qing said that this choice was crucial to the existence of Jiangnan!