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*****
Shangguan Tianyue knew he was being overly fastidious. However, this was a necessary consideration to ensure the absolute safety of the Hallowed Vast Palace. When it came to the matter of the Palace Master's succession, one could never be too cautious.
Across the continent's hundreds of nations, cases of "inviting the wolf into the house" within royal families were common. While the Holy Lands hadn't seen such an example yet, it didn't mean they were immune. It was simply that such an opportunity had never presented itself before.
Of course, there were solutions. For instance, simply focusing on strengthening the current descendants.
As it stood, the Hallowed Vast Palace didn't need to worry about succession. Shangguan Tianyang was in his prime, and Shangguan Xue'er was a confirmed heir; there was no immediate crisis regarding the Alexandrite Cat's Eye. If they used Su Wen's ability to elevate the talent of Shangguan Fei'er and Shangguan Bing'er, allowing all three sisters to awaken the Alexandrite Cat's Eye, it would solve a massive long-term problem.
One Alexandrite Cat's Eye versus three—the probability of the trait appearing in the next generation would be vastly different. It would mirror the current generation where both brothers possessed it, resulting in at least one heir for the next.
This, of course, assumed that an artificially expanded Alexandrite Cat's Eye could be passed down genetically.
Shangguan Tianyue voiced his concerns truthfully. "Senior, this is a matter our Hallowed Vast Palace must consider. Since you are using this method as a bargaining chip, you must have considered this as well, correct?"
Su Wen's mouth twitched. Considered my foot. I hadn't prepared for this at all.
He had to admit, the Second Palace Master was a shrewd leader. He managed to sound respectful while kicking the ball right back into Su Wen's court. Since you brought this to the table, you should have the solution. It's not that we're suspicious; we just want to know how you've addressed this flaw.
"It's quite simple," Su Wen said calmly. "I can solidify the book pages. When you need to use them, you can simply activate them yourselves."
Fortunately, Su Wen's technology was already highly refined. He had mastered the art of recording and solidifying pages long ago. In his original world, he had named his Martial Soul the "Heavenly Book" to signify its transcendence, not because he was comparing it to the Investiture of the Gods, but it had coincidentally gained a similar "divine granting" ability.
"Solidified pages?" Shangguan Tianyue's interest was piqued. He wondered if "solidification" meant what he thought it meant.
Su Wen began the demonstration. With a wave of his right hand, a page flew out. The primal energy of heaven and earth surged, eventually condensing into a physical substance. The page became tangible.
"This page can remain stable for three years. As long as the power within isn't activated, the energy won't dissipate. After three years, the energy will slowly leak out over the following five years," Su Wen said, directing the page to float into Shangguan Tianyue's hand.
Shangguan Tianyue used his Heavenly Energy to probe the page, sensing the physical solidification. On the Hallowed Vast Mainland, because of Physical Jewel Consolidation, such solidification techniques existed, so he was able to perform a basic check.
"Exquisite craftsmanship."
The solidification was perfect. Three years! It could definitely last that long. While solidification methods existed on the mainland, they usually only lasted a few days, or a few months at most. Three years was simply unheard of.
Shangguan Tianyue looked at Su Wen as if he were a living treasure trove. The man was relatively unknown, yet he possessed so many extraordinary means. He squeezed his right hand, crushing the page. The power merged into his body, the familiar guidance appeared, his Heavenly Energy circulated, and he once again entered the Fire Demon Overlord Body state.
"Senior's methods are truly profound," Shangguan Tianyue said, fully convinced.
This way, Su Wen only needed to provide a batch of solidified pages to the Hallowed Vast Palace. As for whether the pages themselves constituted the "final method"? It didn't matter. The Palace could use the pages as a safe tool to conduct their own development without Su Wen's direct interference in their heirs' bodies.
"That was just a basic solidification. If I put in the effort, I can guarantee the power remains intact for ten years," Su Wen added.
Shangguan Tianyue didn't argue. Su Wen's performance had been effortless; it was easy to believe three years wasn't his limit.
"Of course, if the Hallowed Vast Palace trusts me, I can also provide a new batch of pages every ten years," Su Wen suggested indifferently.
Shangguan Tianyue's lip curled slightly—he wanted to refuse. Installment payments were never ideal. But ten years was plenty of time for their own research.
"However, regarding the quantity of these pages..." Shangguan Tianyue began tentatively. More was always better, especially since developing their own method would consume pages for testing.
"Four types of basic control skills for Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind. One hundred pages of each," Su Wen stated his plan.
That was a total of four hundred pages per "set." In his mind, he was essentially offering the Manual of Ten Thousand Laws. Back in Douluo, these pages were a priceless resource that every major power fought over. Here, he was ready to trade them in bulk.
Of course, what he was trading for was the entire library of the Hallowed Vast Palace—everything except the Palace Master's core inheritance techniques. Furthermore, these recorded basic elemental control skills, not high-level techniques like the Soul Ascension Method, so the individual value was balanced differently.
"Four hundred pages..." Shangguan Tianyue took a deep breath, calculating if that was enough.
Then, he moved to another question. "Senior, I wonder... do you master any other attributes?" he asked respectfully.
The initial offer was already sufficient, but this question was for himself and his brother, Shangguan Tianyang. Both were Alexandrite Cat's Eye possessors with Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind attributes. They had four attributes, but they were all "Lower-tier." If there was a chance to master a "Higher-tier" attribute, who wouldn't want it?
Tang Xian, hearing her husband's question, had a strange look on her face. Before Su Wen could even answer, she couldn't help but close her eyes.
He's going to get slaughtered. A massive, heavy blow to the wallet...
Even though it was her husband about to be extorted, she felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.
(End of Chapter)