Neither man had expected Jiang Chen to change his mind so suddenly. Both were exhilarated at the turn of events.
Imperial Prince Huo agreed readily to the demand. “Rejuvenation has its own supply of spirit stones, as do our surrounding islands. Recently, our main opponent has been the Tritalent Isles. Tritalent is especially rich in spirit stones. In fact, that is the cause of our biggest dispute.
“An archipelago between us produces them in abundance, and we both tout ourselves to be the rightful owners. As you might expect, the situation is rather pointed.”
“The Tritalent Isles?” Jiang Chen had only a vague impression of the name. Myriad Abyss was far too large for him to do better than that. How was he supposed to know all the smaller factions by heart?
That aside, an abundance of spirit stones was good news.
“Young lord, Rejuvenation has had those islands for several centuries now. It’s only recently – well, with the affair that put us in crisis, you know – that Tritalent has dared come forth to rob us of our rightful holdings. If it was just them, we wouldn’t be concerned. Alas! Tritalent has gathered a number of other factions together and incited them to action against us.” Imperial Prince Huo was positively incensed on this subject. He felt that Rejuvenation was being taken advantage of by a lesser entity.
Alas, what could they do against the pressing Tritalent isles? They could only make concession after concession, but there was barely anything left to cede.
If they backed off anymore, they would totally lose control of the territory.
It was at this time that they had heard about Rejuvenation’s occupation by another, hence Imperial Prince Huo’s anger when he came to figure out what was going on. The fact that Eternal’s young lord Jiang Chen was the one who had taken up residence here had doubled their troubles.
However, some smarter individuals in Rejuvenation immediately proposed giving away what was unrecoverable. They could thereby make his acquaintance as well as that of the Eternal Sacred Land’s.
Was finding a patron not more than enough return for merely Winterdraw Island?
This line of thought had brought Imperial Prince Huo and Chief Warden Ding continuously back. They wanted to see the legendary youth in person.
Alas, they were turned away time and again by the response that he wasn’t actually here.
Despite the perpetual disappointment, they nevertheless came back time after time to try their luck. To their surprise, the young lord was here this time!
Only after meeting him in person had they found out the delicate relationship that Rejuvenation and the young man had had in the past.
Jiang Chen largely understood what the two men were here for. His expression remaining cool, he swept his eyes casually across the prince and the warden’s faces. His teacup clattered down on the table.
“Out with it. What kind of help do you want from me?”
“Are you really so kind as to help, young lord Jiang Chen?” Imperial Prince Huo was overjoyed.
“Help, yes, but not out of kindness. Territorial and resource-related disputes between factions are incredibly mundane, and the Eternal Sacred Land cannot possibly interfere in every instance. Furthermore, there’s nothing illegal about what they’re doing.”
Jiang Chen spoke the truth. A sacred land couldn’t interfere in the affairs of ants. To do so would be discourteous. If he was to be mobilized himself, he would need sufficient payment.
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Imperial Prince Huo knew well the value of relationships. He wouldn’t have tried to build one with Polylore way back when, otherwise.
He instantly followed up. “If Rejuvenation can receive young lord Jiang Chen’s protection, we will gift half of those islands’ profits in perpetuity to you and the Eternal Sacred Land. As a token of our admiration and appreciation, you understand.”
The imperial prince was willing to go to great lengths to appease a powerful backer.
“You said those islands are rich in spirit stones? To what extent, hmm?” Jiang Chen inquired coolly.
“I haven’t an accurate estimate of exactly how much there is. Those islands are hard to develop, and there’s a lot that hasn’t been dug up. It would be a shame if Tritalent got its hands on it. They’re just a bunch of barbarians! What do they know about excavation and mining? The spirit stone vein will be wasted.” Imperial Prince Huo looked rather pained as he said this.
Jiang Chen smiled coolly. He wouldn’t trust completely everything that came out of these people’s mouths.
Still, he understood what the imperial prince meant. As long as he offered Rejuvenation his protection, he would have fifty percent claim to the archipelago’s spirit stones. This deal was entirely at no cost to him.
He didn’t care about the so-called ‘Tritalent Isles’ one whit. If they were weaker than Rejuvenation once upon a time, what could they be worth?
“Who controls the island chain right now?” Jiang Chen asked.
“As of right now? We do. However, Tritalent has declared war on us in order to wrest it from our hands.”
“Have the islands always belonged to Rejuvenation?” Jiang Chen probed curiously.
Imperial Prince Huo shook his head. “In Myriad Abyss, things change hands very quickly. The islands weren’t ours once upon a time, but that doesn’t matter now. What matters is that we are the current owners.”
“Haha, I suppose that’s why Tritalent thinks it has the right to fight you over it. How are you planning to decide this little conflict?” asked Jiang Chen.
“A gentlemanly duel would mean three or five rounds with our respective experts in the ring. A craven bout will probably mean a chaotic brawl until the winner is decided.”
“Which do you prefer?” Jiang Chen smiled.
The imperial prince shook his head. “The imperial family is divided about it.”
“Why fight then? I’ll smooth things over for you.” Jiang Chen clapped. “Go tell Tritalent that the islands are mine now.”
“Huh?” Imperial Prince Huo was astonished.
“Don’t worry, I have no use for the islands. Half of the spirit stone vein will be mine though. How about it?” The young man gazed piercingly at the imperial prince.
Imperial Prince Huo traded a look with Chief Warden Ding, heaving for breath. After a moment, a resolute look entered his eyes. “It’s decided then!” he nodded.