Upon hearing Bibi Dong's question, Yu Xiaogang turned around, all unnecessary emotions already vanished from his eyes, leaving only his usual, indifferent demeanor.
"Your Holiness the Pope, I have come to discuss a matter with you."
Bibi Dong: "?"
Yu Xiaogang continued.
"Our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan wishes to cooperate with Martial Soul Hall. From now on, we shall advance and retreat together, contributing our strength to the long-term peace and stability of the Soul Master World."
Bibi Dong: "???"
What had she just heard? The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan wanted to cooperate with Martial Soul Hall? The matter was so bizarre that it even sobered up her love-struck brain.
The first question that crossed the sobered Bibi Dong's mind was whether her Soul Hunting Plan had been exposed. Otherwise, given that the entire Yu Family—aside from Yu Xiaogang—was composed of stubborn and self-opinionated individuals, would they ever want to cooperate with Martial Soul Hall?! Who was he trying to fool!
Seeing Bibi Dong's look of disbelief, Yu Xiaogang offered an explanation. He sighed deeply with his hands behind his back.
"Sigh!"
"Although I have spent these years residing on the borders of the two empires, I have still come to understand some of the grievances between my clan and Martial Soul Hall."
"Martial Soul Hall is a sacred place in the hearts of soul masters, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is a pillar of the Soul Master World. Conflict between the two will only lead to turmoil and instability in the Soul Master World."
"Therefore, upon returning to the clan this time, I argued my case with my father and finally convinced the old man to cooperate with Martial Soul Hall."
Yu Xiaogang turned back, looking at Bibi Dong with sincere eyes.
"Your Holiness the Pope, this is all I can do. I wonder what your thoughts are on this?"
What were Bibi Dong's thoughts? What else could they be? The moment Yu Xiaogang mentioned 'understanding the grievances between the clan and Martial Soul Hall,' her love-struck brain had suppressed her rational brain and automatically taken control.
In her ears, Yu Xiaogang's speech was automatically translated to: 'He has been watching over me all these years, he didn't want to see his family fight with me, so he went home and argued with his father, and in the end, he won. Do you want to stop the fighting?'
As expected, this is the choice he would make. He is still as good as ever! Just like before, Bibi Dong thought to herself.
As for whether the facts were truly as Gang Zi had said? That was certainly not the case! In a Giant Dragon's nest, how could a piglet possibly have any say?
After analyzing the situation on the continent, Yu Yuanzhen had ultimately decided to join Martial Soul Hall.
The Two Great Empires were fine in every way, except for their lack of powerhouses. In this era of turbulent change, powerhouses were the most important foundation for any major force. Even with the addition of his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the foundation of the Two Great Empires remained unstable—so why bother? As for the opposition within the clan, this time Yu Yuanzhen chose direct military suppression; it was high time to discipline those vermin.
As for sending Yu Xiaogang to Martial Soul Hall, he simply thought that since his good-for-nothing son once had a relationship with the current Pope—though he didn't know if it still held any weight with Bibi Dong—what if it did? That was the reason. However, even Yu Yuanzhen did not expect that his whim would lead his useless son to pull off something so significant.
What happens when a love-struck brain is paired with a White Moonlight filter? Bibi Dong provided the answer. She had forgotten her previous suspicions about the plan being leaked; now, she only knew that this was an opportunity to be with him again, and she had to seize it. Even if she felt she was no longer worthy of him, just being together as friends would be enough.
As for the origins of the Soul Hunting Plan—the idea of intimidating the Soul Master World or clearing obstacles for Yu Xiaogang and his little lover to unify the world—it was all forgotten. Because Yu Xiaogang had separated from her due to his little lover, she had transferred all the blame onto her late, wretched master, which was partially a lucky guess. Now, Bibi Dong only wanted to enjoy the present.
Afterward, the two engaged in a detailed discussion regarding the terms of their cooperation.
Through Grandmaster's honeyed words, the Pope conceded almost all the benefits, granting the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan an exceptionally generous cooperation agreement. Most of the commercial information and resource channels within Martial Soul Hall that the Yu Family could utilize were shared, the profit share the Yu Family had to concede to Martial Soul Hall was minimal, and the starting guarantees for Yu family members taking positions within Martial Soul Hall were high, and so on.
Looking at the Pope's seal on the cooperation agreement—which offered so many benefits and so few restrictions—a faint, genuine smile appeared on Yu Xiaogang's stiff face. Let those people in the clan look down on him; today, with just a slight effort on his part, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had won big in this negotiation. As expected, even if his talent was average, he, Grandmaster, remained a trendsetter who could stir the tides of the era.
At this moment, within the clan land of the Breaking Clan.
Yun Ming opened his eyes, pondering in his heart, Strange! Why do I have a feeling of being blessed with good fortune?
The things he had done over these past few days were primarily for the sake of his family or the world, and he had done nothing for his own personal gain, so having such a feeling was normal. But how could he have imagined that by merely giving the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan a choice, the Yu Family would return the favor with a brain-dead version of Bibi Dong? This was truly an unexpected joy!
Unable to figure it out, Yun Ming continued his cultivation.
With the cooperation reached and the objective achieved, Yu Xiaogang planned to leave. He couldn't wait to return to the clan and show those brainless brutes what a real strategist was! What was the point of being able to fight? Could they fight his father?!
"Bibi Dong, I shall head back now. Such a major matter concerning the world must be conveyed to the clan as soon as possible!"
Yu Xiaogang stood up and bowed, intending to take his leave.
Seeing that Yu Xiaogang was leaving so soon, Bibi Dong felt a bit dissatisfied, but she had no reason to block him, so she could only let him go with a cold tone.
"Safe travels, Elder Yu."
Grandmaster nodded silently and walked toward the main gate. When he reached the gate and placed his hand on the handle, he suddenly stopped and said softly.
"Twenty years... Bibi Dong, you are still as beautiful as ever, but I have already grown old. However, I am very happy to see you again."
After saying this, he didn't linger, pushed the door open, and left.
The slight displeasure that had just risen in Bibi Dong vanished without a trace because of that one sentence from Yu Xiaogang. Watching the figure receding behind the door, she also whispered.
"Xiaogang, I am also very happy to see you again."
As she spoke, a sweet smile appeared on her face—a heartfelt smile that had been missing for over twenty years.
A smile that could topple a city, yet there was no one in the world to witness it.
From this point on, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had effectively drawn a line between themselves and the Two Great Empires. The Soul Hunting Plan had been declared over before it even began. Furthermore, the Lower Four Sects had long since submitted to Martial Soul Hall, and the unification of the stances of the upper-tier soul master forces on the Douluo Continent was essentially complete.
As Yu Xiaogang walked out of the Pope Palace, he reverted to his usual appearance of someone whose pride could not be contained, which made the Hall Guardian Knight who had reported to the hall earlier furious. If not for the sake of his own life, he would have sliced this piglet into pieces right then and there.
Sensitive to gazes, Yu Xiaogang immediately noticed the malicious look from the Messenger Knight. He remained calm on the surface, but secretly made a note of it in his heart. He was in a rush this time, but next time, he would definitely report the man to Bibi Dong for his shifty eyes and disrespect toward an elder, as a warning to others.
Yu Xiaogang's side was finished, but on the other side, Qian Renxue's subordinates were still waiting, having received no response regarding the Yang Wushuang incident.
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader