1346 Give In!
“Soul Society?” Lord Zhen gritted his teeth as he scrutinized the golden orb. “Where are you here? Isn’t the Soul Society doing well?”
The colour of the orb in the Soul Society symbolizes their authority in their ranks. Having a golden orb meant that Lan Xiao’s status was equal to that of a governor of the 18 big zones.
Outsiders like them wouldn’t truly know how Soul Society internally functioned, but with the surface knowledge they had, the next-in-line after the Soul Emperor were the governor of the 18 big zones. All 18 governors had equal authority, so no one was more influential than the other.
Soul Society was a secret organisation with a prolific history. It had approximately more than ten thousand years of legacy behind its rather infamous name. Its roots could be found in all corners of the universe. Soul Society had always been a huge worry for the intergalactic nations, so they would always expend a lot of financial and manual resources to execute those whom they thought were members of the Soul Society. However, those who they could find were usually low-class members of the Soul Society. The upper-class members were rarely discovered. Yet, all the intergalactic nations knew the identities of the 18 governors but they were helpless in doing anything to catch them as they were doing legal businesses within the confines of their law. Moreover, there were all kinds of organizations behind them so they couldn’t touch them even if they wanted to.With such an illustrious name and background, every secret society was jealous of the Soul Society. They were the idol society they all aspire to grow into one day, a society that could do business for anyone and everyone. It was no different for the Lawless Lands, who was being suppressed by the intergalactic nations, who were also full of envy towards the Soul Society. Thus, when Lord Zhen saw the token for the Soul Society, he had mixed feelings.
“Recently, the nations from the central region are trying to cull the Soul Society with all their might,” Ling Lan replied nonchalantly. “So, the Emperor wants to give a path of retreat for the Soul Society here.”
“Haha, don’t you already have many of those?” Lord Zhen scoffed.
“The emperor doesn’t mind having more,” Ling Lan replied with a mysterious smile.
“So you laid your eyes on the Lawless Lands?” Lord Zhen mocked, “Do we have to thank your emperor for his recognition?”
“Actually, what’s so bad about it? We just want a path of retreat, and with our success, you will get another trade route for your necessities. Don’t tell me that you want to play in the palms of the mercenary world forever.” Ling Lan’s words hit Lord Zhen’s weak spot.
As the Lords of the Lawless Lands, they never like to place their fate in the hands of an outsider like the mercenary world. Even if it looked like a win-win situation on the surface for both parties, one of the parties was clearly extorting the other party for its lack of options.“You could have sent your people to discuss the terms with us. There was no need to murder.” Lord Zhen squinted. Ling Lan and her team acted quickly and ruthlessly the moment they arrived. This inconsistency made him suspicious of the Soul Society’s true motive.
“You won’t want a 14th lord to appear as it would throw off the balance of the Lawless Lands, I understand that. But, the emperor would never accept anything less than the position of a lord. However, none of you will willingly let go of your spot. Hence, we decided to make the proactive decision to take a spot for ourselves,” Ling Lan replied. Her attitude was exceptionally good but her words were domineering.
“Is the Soul Society always this domineering?” Lord Zhen narrowed his eyes and asked in a grave tone.
“Hmm, how about this? Lets just say I did this to make it easier for you to decide to give me the position of lord.” Ling Lan smiled as she played with the golden orb in her hand. She continued calmly, “Now, there is one less lord. We can take over his position while the rest of you continue holding on to your status. The status quo won’t change. Isn’t that great? Moreover, you will even have access to another trade route. Of course, you are always welcome to go to war with us to avenge the dead Lord Gen.”
“Actually, you are not the only partner the Soul Society has in mind. For instance, the mercenary world…” As she spoke, Ling Lan stretched out her left hand and opened it, revealing the colourful rainbow crystal in it. Lord Zhen knew that in her hand was White Monarch’s token which represented his promise. The same token that caused them to misunderstand Ling Lan and took her as a member of the Rainbow Raiders. They had worried about their cooperation with the mercenary world so they allowed Lan Xiao to enter the Lawless Lands while adopting a wait-and-see attitude. And now, one wrong step and everything was gone. They allowed Lan Xiao to kill Lord Gen successfully while they were still twiddling their thumbs thinking about the relationship between them and the mercenary world if they killed Lan Xiao.
Since Lan Xiao had White Monarch’s token, it meant that the Soul Society had already formed an agreement with the mercenary world. Even if it wasn’t the entire mercenary world, they still made an agreement with White Monarch from the Rainbow Raiders. Whichever it was, it wasn’t a good sign to the Lawless Lands.
“After the war, who knows how many lords will be able to survive? If we lose, the Soul Society can just leave the Lawless Lands. We have many options. But, for you, the still full strength mercenary world would come and take you over.” Ling Lan smiled deviously. Her smile was so glaring that it made Lord Zhen uncomfortable. However, he had to admit that Lan Xiao made a lot of sense. If they went into war with the Soul Society, the mercenary world would be extremely happy as the spectator. They might involve themselves to make even more mess in the situation. Who knows?
“I thought that you have already formed an agreement with the mercenary world,” Lord Zhen said. Ling Lan’s speech just now betrayed the mercenary world entirely.
“Soul Society isn’t something you can anyhow make use of.” Ling Lan raised her eyebrow. She explained why she betrayed the mercenary world.
“Working with the Soul Society is like asking the tiger for its skin.” Lord Zhen gritted his teeth.
“If you’re strong enough, you might be able to get the skin.” Ling Lan smiled knowingly.
Lord Zhen and Ling Lan exchanged glances with each other. They wanted to see weakness in the other party’s eyes. Ling Lan’s gaze remained calm and indifferent, even after a few minutes. With no clues to go by off, Lord Zhen had no choice but to give up.
“I can’t make the decision alone. I have to seek the opinions of the other lords.” Lord Zhen finally gave in.
“Sure. I’ll be waiting here.” Ling Lan smiled. “Also, tell them that Lord Gen’s territory is officially taken over by the Soul Society now. If any of your subordinates try to profit in times of trouble and raise any kind of disputes, don’t look for me when they suddenly disappear. I’m very busy recently.”
Lord Zhen’s expression darkened when he heard the blatant threat. Then, Ling Lan raised her eyebrows and used her right finger to tap on the temple of her head, reminding Lord Zhen to think carefully before doing something stupid.
“Hmph!” Seeing Lan Xiao mocking him, Lord Zhen flicked his sleeve angrily and disappeared from the hall the next second.
Ling Lan just smiled at his departure. After she made sure Lord Zhen had really left, she turned and looked at the five people hanging on the crossbeam. She asked simply, “Have you finished considering?”
Ji Ming was the first to shout, “I’m willing to recognise you as the new Lord Gen!”
The smart Ji Ming noticed that Ling Lan only tied them up but didn’t kill them. After careful deliberation, he understood why Ling Lan let go of their lives. He wanted them to do his bidding.
If Ling Lan decided to act alone, Ji Ming would choose to keep quiet. He would rather become a prisoner than to bow down to this young man. He knew what was the consequence of betraying the 13 Lords. That torture was worse than dying.
He could only think of a way to save himself and keep himself alive. After that, he would think about revenge. However, the background Ling Lan revealed was too powerful. One mercenary world was enough to let the 13 Lords hesitate. Now, there was another more powerful and mysterious organization, the Soul Society. The combination of these two organizations gave Ling Lan enough power to hold a status in the Lawless Lands. The 13 Lords had to give in to him.
As an old and experienced person, Ji Ming knew which decision was better for him. People like him liked to play up to powerful people. Ling Lan had the ability (he killed Lord Gen) and the background (Soul Society and the mercenary world). He was even stronger than his previous master, Lord Gen. Since the prospects were better, why wouldn’t he accept it?
