The crimson grass cabin, a testament to his absolute control over his domain, dissolved back into the earth as if it had never been. The clearing was once again a silent, empty space, the only evidence of their meeting the faint, lingering scent of Liu Erlong's perfume and the even fainter, more potent scent of her fear.
Zhang Tian stood alone for a moment, his expression a mask of cold, thoughtful calculation. He began his swift, solitary journey back to his estate, his mind a whirlwind of possibilities and risks.
'Revealing the existence of the high-tier elemental pills was a gamble,' he thought, his long strides eating up the distance through the dense forest. 'A calculated one, but a gamble nonetheless.'
He analyzed the most likely outcome, his mind a cold, brilliant chessboard. 'That woman, Liu Erlong, she is a fool when it comes to her lover. She will undoubtedly run straight back to Yu Xiaogang and tell him everything. Or, almost everything.'
He knew she would omit the parts about her own humiliation, about her identity being exposed. She would present the pills as a prize she had won, a testament to her own cunning.
'And Yu Xiaogang,' Zhang Tian mused, a faint, contemptuous smirk on his lips, 'he is a man of immense, fragile pride. And flawed intelligence. When he learns of these pills, his first instinct will not be to share that knowledge. It will be to monopolize it.'
He considered the two main possibilities.
'Possibility one: He keeps it a secret. He understands, on some level, the world-shaking implications of these pills. He will try to have them analyzed, to replicate them. He will fail. Then, his greed and his desperation to see his theories validated through Tang San will force him to send Liu Erlong back to me. He will have her continue her pathetic little charade as a mercenary, a secret, private pipeline of power for his Shrek Academy. This is the most likely outcome.'
He then considered the alternative. 'Possibility two: His hatred for me, or his desire to see the Seven Treasure Glaze Tile Sect weakened, overrides his logic. He could leak the information about the pills to the other major factions. To the Empire, to the other academies, to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. He could try to create a political firestorm, to put so much pressure on Uncle Ning that he is forced to reveal the pill recipes.'
'A risky move,' Zhang Tian concluded. 'But not an impossible one for a man as desperate as him.'
He let out a soft, almost inaudible sigh. 'Either way, it will cause some political trouble for my father-in-law. But… the opportunity is too perfect to pass up.'
The thought of it, of slowly, methodically, turning the fiery, proud Liu Erlong into his personal, submissive plaything, of using her own love for another man as the very tool of her enslavement… it was a delicious, intoxicating prospect. And the thought of the pain it would cause Yu Xiaogog, the slow, grinding torment of knowing his lover was paying for his success with her body… it was a worthwhile price for the risk of a bit of political inconvenience.
His thoughts then shifted to his other rival. 'Tang San… I wonder what he is doing now? He has had the loyalty of the Strength Clan for a few months now. He should be close to formally establishing his so-called Tang Sect. Why the delay? Is he waiting for something?' The question was a minor one, a small, insignificant detail in the grand, sweeping tapestry of his own plans.
The week that followed was a busy, productive one. While Liu Erlong was presumably back at Shrek Academy, caught in the web of her own lies and her lover's ambition, Zhang Tian, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing were making moves of their own.
They sat in a private, opulent room in The Golden Goblet, the very same tavern where he had met Liu Erlong. Opposite them sat a man who was the living embodiment of a seasoned mercenary. He was a mountain of a man, his bald head covered in a network of old, faded tattoos, a thick, braided beard reaching down to his chest. He was Meng Shi, the Level 76 Spirit Saint captain of the Iron-Scale Vipers, one of the known mercenary teams in the Heaven Dou Empire.
"So," Meng Shi began, his voice a low, gravelly rumble that seemed to shake the very foundations of the tavern. He took a long, slow drink from his flagon of ale. "You are the children who have been making so much noise in the arena."
His gaze was sharp, analytical, missing nothing. "And you are the ones who now wish to… hire my Vipers."
"Not just hire, Captain Meng," Ning Rongrong corrected him, her voice a sweet, polite, but unmistakably authoritative sound. "We are offering to have you join my sect."
Meng Shi just let out a low, rumbling laugh. "Join your sect? Little girl, my Vipers have been fighting wars since before your father was born and your father should know that if your sect wants to hire us…then it will be with a very high price that even your sect is reluctant to spend. After all, my mercenary team has quite a number of wealthy clients, including the clans and even the noble families."
Zhu Zhuqing, who had been sitting in a silent, watchful grace, leaned forward. "And what is your price, Captain?" she asked, her voice a blade of cool, polished ice. "Is it really gold as we have heard? I am surprised that your loyalty can be bought with something so… common?"
The mercenary captain's eyes narrowed. "Gold is the lifeblood of my men, little girl. It buys them the best armor, the best food, the best wine. Do not look down on it."
"We do not," Zhang Tian said, finally entering the conversation. He had been silently observing, letting his fiancées take the lead. "In fact, we value it so much that we are prepared to offer you something far, far more valuable than mere gold."
He placed a small, elegant jade box on the table. He slid it across to the mercenary captain.
Meng Shi looked at the box, then back at the calm, smiling boy. He slowly, cautiously, opened it.
Inside, nestled on a bed of black velvet, were three small, crystalline pills.
"What is this?" he grunted, his eyes filled with a suspicious, wary light.
"That," Zhang Tian said, his voice a low, promising murmur, "is the future."
He began to explain. These mercenaries had already heard about the Mystic Water Pill and the Spirit Ascension Pill so Zhang Tian started from there. He told him of the newer, more potent versions, the ones that could help improve spirit power and some pills that would clear the impurities within the bodies of powerful spirit masters.
Meng Shi's initial, gruff skepticism slowly, inevitably, began to melt away, replaced by a dawning, incredulous awe. By the time Zhang Tian was finished, the big, burly mercenary captain was staring at the three small pills as if they were the holy relics of a long-lost god.
"In exchange for the absolute, unwavering loyalty of you and your Vipers," Zhang Tian concluded, his voice a soft, final note, "the Seven Treasure Glaze Tile Sect will provide you with a steady, continuous supply of these pills. Enough to turn every one of your men into a true expert. Enough to turn you… into a Spirit Douluo."
The offer was not just an offer. It was a checkmate.
The Iron-Scale Vipers, and a half-dozen other powerful mercenary teams, all bent the knee that week. The foundational strength of the Seven Treasure Glaze Tile Sect was growing, silently, powerfully, in the shadows.
Far away, in the cold, opulent heart of the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, a different kind of power was being consolidated.
Qian Renxue stood in her true, beautiful female form in the center of her private, soundproofed chambers. Before her, a young man was kneeling, his head bowed in a gesture of absolute, unwavering submission.
He looked exactly like the Crown Prince, Xue Qinghe. The resemblance was not just close; it was perfect. The same handsome face, the same calm, princely demeanor, the same subtle, almost imperceptible mannerisms.
He was a loyal, fanatical agent of the Spirit Hall, a man who had been chosen for this role by Qian Renxue two months ago.
For the past two months, Qian Renxue had been personally, ruthlessly, training him, molding him into a perfect, flawless copy of her own disguise.
"You know your duties now, right?" she asked, her voice a cold, clear chime of absolute authority.
"I do, Young Miss," the doppelganger replied, his voice a perfect, uncanny imitation of Xue Qinghe's pleasant tenor.
"You will maintain the persona at all times," she commanded. "You will continue my political work. You will manage my network. And," she added, a faint, cruel smile touching her lips, "you will find a wife."
The doppelganger looked up, a flicker of confusion in his otherwise placid eyes.
"A wife, Young Miss?"
"Yes," she said, her voice a low, dismissive sound. "Find a suitable noblewoman. A girl from a powerful, but not too powerful, family. Someone with a gentle, pliable disposition. You will marry her. And you will produce heirs. At least two of them."
It was the final, brilliant move in her game. The one loophole that the brilliant, terrifying Zhang Tian had identified in her disguise. She would close it.
'And now,' she thought, a wave of profound, exhilarating relief washing over her, 'I am free.'
She looked at the kneeling man, at the perfect, princely mask he wore. 'I am free from this pesky disguise. Free from the endless, boring duties of a prince. Free to focus on my own cultivation. And free… to focus on my own, more personal, plans.'
A slow, possessive, and incredibly hungry smile spread across her beautiful face.
'Free, at last,' she thought, her mind a beautiful, dangerous storm of new, exciting possibilities, 'to focus on him.'
One cool, moonless night, when the rest of the estate was dark and silent, Zhang Tian slipped out of the master suite. Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, exhausted from a particularly brutal day of training and a lengthy negotiation with some mercenary groups and also travelling, were in a deep, sated sleep.
He moved through the quiet, sleeping mansion, a silent shadow making his way to the secluded servants' wing.
He found Ah Yin waiting for him.
She was in his bed, the crimson silk sheets a stark, beautiful contrast to her flawless, pale skin. She had sensed him and was thus naked, her magnificent, mature body a breathtaking landscape of soft, full curves.
He did not speak. He simply stripped off his own robes and joined her.
The night was a long, beautiful, and incredibly rough symphony of passion. He was a beast, an Emperor, and she was his willing, adoring Empress.
It was sometime after midnight, in the brief, breathless lull after their eleventh shared climax, that she spoke. He was still inside her, their bodies slick with sweat, his large dick a warm, heavy presence deep within her pussy.
She lay tangled in his arms, her head resting on his chest, her fingers idly tracing the hard, chiselled lines of his abs.
"My love," she murmured, her voice a low, husky purr. "When? When do we begin to take our revenge?"
He knew who she was talking about.
"When will we take the next step against that despicable man who was my husband before? Against my… against that imposter who wears my son's face? I want to join you in tormenting those two!"
He was silent for a long moment, his hand gently stroking her long, crimson hair. "Soon," he said finally, his voice a low, promising rumble. "But not yet. I am still not strong enough. We must wait. At least until I have reached the fiftieth rank and until I have my fifth spirit ring. Then… then we will begin to make our move."
She sighed, a sound of profound, patient acceptance. She trusted him. She would wait.
"Then while you grow stronger…we must also focus on strengthening our own forces," she said, her tone shifting, becoming more practical. She began to give him her report, a secret, intimate briefing between an Emperor and his most trusted advisor.
"Our three subordinates in the Sunset Forest are doing well," she said, a note of maternal pride in her voice. "They have been following your new strategy perfectly. Their own cultivation has now reached the fifteen-thousand-year level. And they have been busy. The conversion is proceeding at an incredible rate. Almost the entire Blue Silver Grass population of the Sunset Forest is now a part of our clan, all of them hidden under a perfect illusion as harmless Blue Silver Grass."
"Good," he murmured, a deep, satisfied sound. He leaned down and bit her breast, a sharp, possessive nip that made her gasp with a mixture of pain and pleasure. "And the King?"
"He is well," she replied, her voice a little breathless as his dick began to stir inside her once more. "He has reached the eighty-eight-thousand-year mark. His growth is… incredible. But it will slow now, as he approaches the final bottleneck. And he is also diverting a great deal of his own energy to nurturing the other subjects, as you commanded. He believes it will take a few more years for him to break through to the hundred-thousand-year level."
"A few years…" Zhang Tian mused. He looked down at her, a slow, predatory smile on his face. "Tell him to be patient. Because the moment he breaks through, the real hunt will begin. We will hunt the other hundred-thousand-year-old beasts of this continent. For you. For me. For Rongrong and Zhuqing. Even for Uncle Ning. His ninth spirit ring slot is still empty, and a hundred-thousand-year-old ring would be a fine addition to his collection."
Ah Yin's eyes widened, a thrill of pure, ambitious pleasure shooting through her. The plan was audacious. It was magnificent.
"And our clan," he continued, his voice a low, conspiratorial murmur as he began to move inside her again, his thrusts slow and deep. "It is time for it to expand its borders."
He laid out his new, grand, and incredibly audacious plan. He told her to communicate with their subjects, to have them begin a slow, silent migration.
"Have them spread through the earth, through their roots," he commanded, his voice a low, powerful rumble that vibrated through her entire body. "Have them reach the Star Dou Great Forest, the largest spirit beast forest in the world. Have them begin the conversion there."
He continued, his vision expanding, his ambition boundless. "And then, further. To the Icebound Forest and even in the Extreme North. Our subjects from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well have a resistance to the cold. They will be the vanguard for going over there and for the conversion. And then even… to the oceans. Convert the whatever Blue Silver Grass there is inside the oceans. I want our domain to cover this entire world. Every forest, every mountain, every river. Even the depths of the great sea."
Ah Yin stared at him, her heart hammering against her ribs, her mind reeling from the sheer, breathtaking scale of his ambition.
"When this is done," he growled, his thrusts becoming faster, more powerful, "we will be the true, unseen rulers of this world. We will have an intelligence network that is all-seeing. No one will be able to hide from us. No one. And then… then we can truly begin to play our games. With Tang Hao. With Tang San. With anyone who dares to stand in our way."
"I will put this plan in motion…but it… it will take years," she gasped, her voice a mixture of awe and a deep, profound excitement. "Two, maybe three, to implement fully."
"Then we have no time to waste," he said, a final, savage grin on his face. He smacked her magnificent buttocks, the sharp, stinging sound a punctuation to his grand declaration.
The rest of the night was a blur of passionate, unrestrained conquest. They fucked for hours, their bodies a beautiful, chaotic tangle on her blood-red silk sheets. He took her again and again, in every position imaginable, his lust a boundless, insatiable thing that she met with an equal, joyous surrender.
It was only when the first, faint rays of dawn were beginning to peek over the horizon, after more than twenty-five rounds of glorious, hedonistic pleasure, that he finally, reluctantly, stopped.
He knew that both his fiances would be waking soon.
He kissed her one last time.
Then, with a silent, graceful movement, he slipped out of her bed. He returned to his own master suite, a ghost in the pre-dawn light, and laid down between the two sleeping, beautiful forms of Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, his arms wrapping around them in a warm, protective embrace, his body sated, his mind already planning the next move in his grand, and very dangerous, game.
~~
A/N: Check out my other novels like "Harem Master: Seduction System" and the "Villain: Manipulating the Heroines into hating the Protagonist" and I hope you like this story and those stories as well.
Check out more chapters on my P.atreon. The P.atreon will have 20+ Chapters ahead for this story. I hope you like it.
The link of p.atreon is: bit.ly/evildragon