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That woman... dead?

This time, Chen Qing was truly shocked. He had never considered that woman... would run into trouble so soon.

He had only met her once and could feel she was a woman with top-notch cunning and ability. After all, someone in such a high position, several dimensions above the current version, who would use her own body as a bargaining chip merely for her guild to have a good start, was always terrifying.

And it seemed that she had executed her plans very well.

She had invested in the right person, supported a real ruler of the mortal world, and kicked off the dream beginning for the Ghost Domain forces. She had almost completely seized the initiative—Chen Qing had always been most wary of her.

Despite Chen Qing’s prioritizing his efforts in the north, seemingly not considering the Central Plains a threat, the reality was that he dared not touch it lightly.

The forces of the Northern Celestial Python Palace were a jumble, with several guilds stirring within. He was willing to get involved, but he never dared to advance towards the Central Plains lightly. Why was that?

The core reason, besides the inadequate military strength, was fear.

Chen Qing had always believed that woman to be the most difficult opponent. Once the Earth Spirit fully revived and the armies of all major forces began to exert their strength, Chen Qing could foresee that the Central Plains would always be the most troublesome.

And yet, before it even began, that woman... was dead?

Coming back to his senses, Chen Qing accepted Wang Shiyu’s invitation and sat down in the middle of the back garden, while Shen Qi sensibly waited outside.

A group of people reached the middle of the garden and sat down at a beautiful pavilion there.

"Can someone start from the beginning and tell me exactly what happened?" Chen Qing spoke directly.

"I’ll explain..." At the pavilion, the first to speak was still Wang Shiyu.

"The Black Empress, the linchpin of the Fourth Guild, the lead figure in the King Xiang incident of the last cycle, the calculating woman who nearly obliterated all forces in the second version."

Chen Qing narrowed his eyes. The Fourth Guild, according to Tianji, was a latecomer among the big four guilds.

The first three were Tianhua, Shenwu, and Wanxu, while the Fourth Guild was said to have come from behind, a group of player loners who turned the tables thanks to the Heavenly Demon incident, and became the fourth recognized guild in the world.

The first three factions had always been hostile to this newly risen force, which they dubbed the Fourth Guild.

Exclusion and resistance to the new almost became the mainstream mindset of these players. But today, they were willing to reach out to him, a newcomer so new he couldn’t be newer, to discuss the upcoming issues.

"Using intelligence, this woman did the boldest thing, reincarnating as a Serpent Mother with a very low potential, killed the real Serpent Mother, continued its lineage, and gave birth to the true King Xiang."

"There’s something I’ve always been puzzled about..." Chen Qing interjected: "Digital City says that players cannot have offspring with other players, so how did the Dragon Mother give birth to King Xiang?"

"That’s where the Black Empress really showed her hand," Wang Shiyu spoke softly.

"The Fourth Dynasty rose amidst the monopoly of our three houses by taking the route of the mortal world.

Initially, when the guild forces were rather chaotic, many lone player adventurers were stirring up trouble, and the strife among players never ceased.

Everyone was vying for higher-level demon bloodlines and legacies.

Only the Fourth Guild started infiltrating the mortal forces under the radar. "

"It was then that we learned one could sway the situation through the mortal path because no matter how powerful you grow, this world will always enter the reincarnation cycle.

Your formidable power must go dormant, and to awaken it, you must start all over.

And the Fourth Guild were the experts in this domain, especially the Black Empress.

.." Wang Shiyu said with a hint of admiration: "Her eye for choosing emperors was almost never wrong.

The previous dynasty was also established by her offspring. "

"Uh... offspring..." Chen Qing hesitated, swallowing hard.

"While players can’t produce offspring with NPCs, they can with the offspring of players.

The founding emperor of the previous dynasty was a player, chosen by the Black Empress, who with his formidable military talents and charismatic personality, conquered all the families, and she became the first Empress to establish a dynasty. "

"But... wasn’t King Xiang supposed to be with the last sovereign of the fallen dynasty... Oh my..." Chen Qing gasped for air as he grasped the gist of the situation.

Players could have offspring with other players, and once those offspring carried player genes, there were no longer any birth issues.

"She did it very secretly, so secretly that we didn’t even know the founding emperor of the last dynasty was a player. While we were still analyzing the Sorcerer Dynasty, the Fourth Guild had already started laying out their plans early on."

"But that would be with her own descendant..." Chen Qing still felt compelled to point it out.

"Brother Chen... seems rather conservative," Wang Shiyu laughed lightly.

Chen Qing rolled his eyes. "Can you even compare to the people of Sunnyside Kingdom? The whole world knows you’re not conservative..."

So that’s how it is, the human line, establishing a dynasty, taking initiative into their own hands, using the Royal Family’s bloodline to give birth to King Xiang, and opening the game in this reincarnation.

"But the Emperor of Great Jin should be a pure NPC, right?" Chen Qing wondered.

"No!" Wang Shiyu exclaimed astonishingly.

Chen Qing: "....."

"Through the long years, the bloodline of those women from the Fourth Guild has already spread throughout the world.

Many families with long heritage have their player bloodline, and according to my investigation, the Siao Family is one of them.

Moreover, coincidentally, they are descendants of the Black Empress. "

"Cough..." Chen Qing coughed lightly, looking at them oddly: "Your circle... really is messy enough."

"Don’t say it like that, it’s only the Fourth Guild that likes to play this way. We aren’t that fond of such scheming."

The sole female voice in the player community spoke dissatisfied.

"Is that so..." Chen Qing nodded, but he felt extremely weird inside.

With that said, doesn’t that make the wife he married a descendant of the Black Empress as well?

Oh no...

Now the feeling is somewhat... strange.

"So, if she was that powerful, who killed her?" Chen Qing asked, puzzled.

"The Great Jin Emperor!"

Chen Qing was taken aback but then nodded slightly: "I see."

"You don’t seem to be surprised?"

Chen Qing fell silent, unable to articulate his thoughts for the moment.

To tell the truth, he was surprised, but it also seemed reasonable.

In this world, the Emperor from the Siao Family was the first to make him feel an incredible danger.

This sense of danger persisted even after he gained his current power and had not faded.

The last time he went to the Capital City and saw the other party at the arena, that person had no intention of making a move.

Under normal circumstances, that person should not have been a match for him by then.

But for some reason, he was very nervous at that time, feeling even more in danger than when he faced the King of Qin trying to take him down.

Today’s news confirmed that his feeling at that time was probably right.

That guy... has never been an ordinary NPC from the beginning. The fact that he could kill the King of Qin back then was definitely not a coincidence. The King of Qin... hid crucial information!

"Are you sure he was the one who made the hit?" Chen Qing asked curiously: "How do you know that?"

"We saw it with our own eyes!"

"Hmm?"

Wang Shiyu pointed to the ground: "Right here in King Xiang Palace, in this very garden!"

Chen Qing: "!!!"