Free Web NovelChapter 883: Chapter 753: The Winds Have Changed
Qu Jianlei’s tone was rather unfriendly, and Liu Yongming was so scared his whole body trembled.
He hurriedly cupped his hands with a fawning smile. "My lord, you must be joking. I only just found out you actually have old ties with the Haiyin Family."
Their group’s relationship with the Haiyin Family was only known to Renado, but there was no way he’d go around broadcasting it.
When you got down to it, it was still Rhine’s ultimatum to the Norton Family that had alarmed the higher‑ups on Celestial Handle Star.
The Norton Family was indeed about to be ennobled, but the Haiyin Family were Earls without ever needing an investiture in the first place.
Not to mention, the one who came forward was the famous Sixth Lady Rhine—someone even Supremes had to treat politely.
Rhine hadn’t kept this matter a secret, because she also wanted to vent some anger; helping the Rhodiola rosea team draw fire was secondary.
Once this news blew up, everyone finally realized: so it wasn’t just some powerful outsiders the Norton Family had provoked.
And Rhine hadn’t hidden her relationship with Rhodiola rosea either; she instead stated that without Rhodiola rosea’s intervention, she might not have made it back alive.
The rights and wrongs in all this weren’t easy to explain clearly—after all, each side could argue their own case.
But everyone did catch one point: if Rhine and the Rhodiola rosea team joined forces, there was practically no one on Celestial Handle Star who could stand against them.
When the Military received the news, they all got a huge fright and were extremely grateful they hadn’t clashed with the Rhodiola rosea team.
As for the people in the Government... that Zaire who’d negotiated aboard Starship 8384 died in a car accident that very night after the news got out.
A B-level Warrior actually dying in a car crash—now that was something.
Liu Qingyu had heard from his grandson that there was a familiar Supreme on the 8384, and had originally been waiting for the other party to come find him.
Without exaggeration, Qingyu Supreme’s status was quite detached within the entire Celestial Hook Star Realm.
First, he’d spent a lifetime as a soldier, and his influence in the Military was astonishing; second, he was old enough and senior enough.
Hearing that an old acquaintance had arrived, he was naturally delighted, but no matter what sort of acquaintance it was, they should basically be the one to pay a visit first, right?
Yet, unfortunately, once the other party left the Star Port, they simply vanished and there was no further word.
Liu Qingyu even began to suspect a little whether someone was impersonating his old acquaintance.
But once someone’s already a Supreme, they shouldn’t be doing something this tasteless, should they?
He had his grandson help investigate, but unfortunately there was no information at all.
Liu Yongming could only judge from the fact that Starship 8384 was still docked at the Star Port: those two Supremes should not have left Celestial Handle yet.
Not until Rhine popped up and announced she was taking on this grudge did Liu Yongming finally realize: so it was the Haiyin Family who’d made a move.
In that case, all they had to do next was keep an eye on the Haiyin Family!
People thinking this way on Celestial Handle Star were definitely not limited to Liu Yongming alone.
Then Rhine came to Niaoming Stream Manor, and once certain interested parties dug around a bit, they found the manor had already changed hands!
For most people, the most frustrating kind of intelligence‑gathering was chasing leads with no direction; as long as there was a clue, tracing things became much easier.
After some analysis, Liu Yongming felt this place was very likely where the Rhodiola rosea team was resting up, so he came to pay a visit.
And then he really did meet the main player.
After hearing his explanation, Qu Jianlei could only shake his head with a wry smile. "That Rhine, stirring up such a huge commotion."
Listening to his grousing, Liu Yongming didn’t even dare echo him; on Celestial Handle Star, there really weren’t many people who dared talk about Rhine like that.
Then Qu Jianlei composed himself and gave him a cool glance.
"That one is currently recuperating. I’ll pass on your grandfather’s intentions, but how he decides, that I can’t say."
Liu Yongming hesitated for a moment, then mustered his courage to ask, "May I know... how to address that one?"
"He’s unwilling to reveal his name," Qu Jianlei answered offhand, then asked with some interest,
"So, next, is your Military still planning to come pick a fight with us?"
"We won’t," Liu Yongming quickly shook his head at that; what a joke—nobody with a death wish was that eager to ram their head into a wall.
"I’m here this time also to formally state on behalf of the Military Region that what happened last time was the Government asking us to cooperate; it wasn’t the Military’s intent."
Qu Jianlei looked at him with a slightly odd expression. "The Military openly surrounded us for that long, and all we get is a painless, itchless statement?"
Come on, we’ve got two Supremes here—don’t we get to save any face?
Liu Yongming could only give a bitter smile. "Then what would you like?"
"I’m not saying," Qu Jianlei shook his head and replied blandly. "I just want to see how much sincerity they have."
"Just say the word," Liu Yongming replied solemnly. "This wasn’t originally the Military’s business. You name it, and we’ll go to the Government and demand it!"
A slot for the Celestial Hook Enigma Mansion? Qu Jianlei couldn’t help weighing the idea.
But in the end, he dismissed that thought. He could slip into the Mist Mansion whenever he wanted; there was no need to draw attention.
So he merely waved his hand, speaking with clear disinterest. "Since there’s no sincerity being shown proactively, forget it."
Liu Yongming didn’t dare pick up that thread either, and could only carefully ask, "Would that Supreme lord be willing to meet an old friend?"
Hearing this, Qu Jianlei couldn’t help snorting inwardly. Your grandfather really isn’t qualified to be a paranoid’s friend!
But he also wasn’t interested in winning some war of words. "We’ll talk about it when the time comes."
When Liu Yongming left, his head was still full of doubts: how come this bunch feels even harder to deal with than Rhine?
In fact, that very night, while the Paranoid was taking a short break, Qu Jianlei brought this up.
The Paranoid was even more arrogant than he’d imagined. He said with clear disdain, "A little snot-nosed kid, why would I bother meeting him?"
Half a month apart and his compatibility had gone up quite a bit; at least his words and actions weren’t as stiff and awkward as before.
But right after that, he suddenly put on a serious face. "Don’t you feel like this Spirit Gathering Array’s effect... is a bit weak?"
Qu Jianlei raised an eyebrow at that. "Too weak for you? Then don’t use it."
"I’m being serious," the Paranoid said solemnly. "Right now the Spiritual Qi is enough, but it’s nowhere near enough for charging at above the Supreme."
Qu Jianlei certainly knew the Spirit Gathering Array’s Level was on the low side, but he still said, "Just make do with it for now, we won’t need to replace it for ten years or so."
He honestly didn’t believe the other side could launch another charge at above the Supreme again in the short term.
Of course, there was a bit of probing mixed into what he said—just how fast can your recovery speed really get?
The Paranoid could guess what he was thinking and said bluntly, "Within ten years or so, if it’s only me using it, it’s definitely enough."
"But can you be sure our team won’t recruit any more Supremes in the future?"
That was something Qu Jianlei really couldn’t guarantee. Instead, the way he put it kind of got his blood pumping. "In the future... recruiting Supremes?"
Two days later, Rhine came again. This time, she brought along two guys who looked completely deflated.
Her face was dark as she said, "It was these two who leaked your whereabouts. Red Supreme, I’m handing them over to you."
"Forget it." Qu Jianlei waved a hand and said calmly, "They’re people of the Haiyin Family. You deal with them yourselves; I have no opinion."
"Then throw them down below," Rhine said without any politeness, giving a crisp order. "Ten years of Starship duty, no holidays!"
Working straight for ten years, and having to stay on a Starship the whole time—the boredom speaks for itself.
The killer part was that while Cultivation wasn’t forbidden, they could only use Crystals, and only in their free time when nothing was happening.
That kind of Cultivation not only gets chopped up into tiny pieces, the key thing is it’s expensive and risky—you can only use Crystals!
People who don’t get it might think this isn’t a harsh punishment, but this kind of torment makes every day feel like a year; it’d be better to just take their punishment and be done with it.
Qu Jianlei understood this somewhat and didn’t feel she was going easy on them. He just smiled and said, "The Haiyin Family really is strict with their rules."
Rhine shook her head at that, clearly dissatisfied. "If we were really that strict, how would something like this happen? Red Supreme, don’t joke with me."
"It’s these kinds of scum that disturbed your peace. What can I do to make up for it?"
Qu Jianlei’s eyes rolled once, then he asked, "Can you get a Super Qi Gathering Array?"
He remembered Granny Jia saying that when she冲击至高之上, she’d used two Super Qi Gathering Arrays.
And the Qi Gathering Array and Spirit Gathering Array he’d modded now were both derived from the "Simplified Qi Gathering Array." fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
"Super Qi Gathering Array..." Rhine froze for a second, then looked at him in surprise. "You’ve reached that step already?"
Obviously, she knew exactly what a Super Qi Gathering Array meant. This was the perk of talking to someone who understood.
"No," Qu Jianlei shook his head in a hurry, "but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared, you know."
"Then when you do get to that step, come find me," Rhine said crisply. "I’ll help you coordinate it."
To be fair, ordinary Supremes don’t dare to make promises like that. Super Arrays are for maintaining Supreme Peak or冲击至高之上.
Qi Gathering Arrays at that Level are firmly in the Military’s hands. If you want to use one, not only do you have to go through the process, but your influence has to be strong enough.
And Rhine was only an A-level, yet she dared to make that kind of promise; it probably didn’t have much to do with her being an Earl’s daughter.
At the end of the day, it was still about the face of that above-the-Supreme backing her.
However, Qu Jianlei’s ask was a bit over the top. "I want a whole set I can take away."
Rhine was stunned on the spot, as if someone had pressed her acupoints. After a long while she finally shook her head. "Sorry."
She didn’t give any explanation, because there was no need—I’m just an Earl’s daughter, not a Duke’s daughter.
In fact, even a Duke’s daughter wouldn’t be able to pull that off.
Qu Jianlei didn’t push it either; he took a step back. "What about a standard Qi Gathering Array?"
As long as he got a standard one, it would be enough for him for a while.
"Standard Qi Gathering Array..." Rhine looked at him and spoke thoughtfully. "Also a full set to take away?"
"Yeah." Qu Jianlei nodded. "I already have the Simplified version. Now I just want to at least get a standard one."
"Simplified version..." Rhine curled her lip in mild disdain. Clearly, she didn’t think getting a Simplified version was any big deal.
But the standard version was an Array Supremes used for Cultivation. When it came to Control Power, it was way stronger than the Simplified one.
Rhine’s first instinct was to refuse, but then she remembered he’d already gotten a Simplified version. If she turned him down like this... would that really be good?
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