Dual Cultivation God Returns-Chapter 826: Point of approach
"So the ones holding on to it are the Martial Alliance Branch...", Wu Long nodded, referring to the Yang attribute natural treasure.
"Yes, it seems it was first discovered by a rather tiny Sect in this World, its Spiritual Lands located far to the South of the city, at the Southernmost edge of the continent", Kwon Qianhong nodded, having finally found someone to discreetly purchase the information from, and immediately returning with it to Wu Long.
"Heh, and Martial Alliance - being the good and just people that they are - decided to 'help and safe-keep' it after being contacted for help harvesting it", Wu Long chuckled, nodding as he was very familiar with the pattern.
After all, such precious natural treasures had to be harvested very carefully and in just the right way to not lose a lot of its value. Small Sects with little history often made the mistake of contacting Martial Alliance for such matters.
"Yes, it seems they didn't plan on publicizing it, or rather they did everything to keep it under wraps, there were apparently even covert talks between them and the Pill Tower about some kind of a deal, but rumors quickly spread and now there's mounting pressure from the Dual Cultivation Sects", Kwon Qianhong added.
"Makes sense, Martial Alliance is full of holes in terms of information security, it's famous for not being able to keep internal secrets for long", Liang Yuhan shrugged, "It's actually a miracle the information only flowed through closed channels and not publicly"
"Dual Cultivators who caught wind of it also don't have any interest in publicizing it too widely, in order to not attract the attention of more rivals, especially some powerful Dual Cultivation Sect that is just too far off to have gotten the news", Kwon Qianhong reported further.
"Not to mention, they're still in covert negotiations, they don't want to sour relations with the Martial Alliance by blowing this thing wide open if they can solve this quietly. Besides, the fact it is not public yet is also to an extent a point of pressure", Wu Long nodded.
"Pressure? What pretext do they have to pressure the Martial Alliance on this?", meanwhile, Wu Mengqi asked.
"Well, the Alliance is not some independent organization in its founding principles, principles that are still active at least formally, it's supposed to be acting on behalf of all member Sects and not in its own interests", Wu Long explained.
Liang Yuhan nodded, adding "It is explicitly stated in their charter that any valuable non-dividable treasure that is acquired by the Alliance is not the property of the Alliance but of its member Sects. And if multiple member Sects show interest in the treasure, the Alliance has a duty to act as a mediator, and organize a fair and just way to determine the owner among them. After all, they receive constant fees from the Sects exactly for that"
"This is why the Martial Alliance is often an organizer of Tournaments and Competitions all over the Seven Boundless Worlds, as well as many Auctions, Large Trade Deals and Dispute Trials", Wu Long finished explaining.
"But isn't the treasure the possession of that Sect which initially found it? They took it for safekeeping, right?", Gong Cui asked, causing some of the beauties around to make wry smiles.
"Technically, yes. But now that it came to this, it matters little. It will be framed as their contribution to the Alliance. They will be offered a compensation, of course, but it will be nowhere near the value of the treasure", Liang Yuhan answered while drawing on her pipe.
"Hmm, actually, Cui'er raised a valid point", Wu Long suddenly spoke up with a pondering look as he was tracing his chin, causing a lot of surprised gazes to turn to him.
"I did?!... Haha!", Gong Cui first rounded her eyes at him, and then puffed out her chest with a confident grin.
"Of course, why should the Sect that found the treasure be snubbed?", Wu Long smiled, nodding, as those around suddenly understood what approach he decided to take, or rather, how exactly he was going to involve himself in the dispute over the treasure.
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There was one hiccup that arose with the timing of the dispute over the natural treasure, as the first preliminary meeting was scheduled after the opening and closing of the Secret Realm that Wu Long aimed at.
He had a good understanding of how disputes like these were often solved, and it was through the Junior generation, meaning, through Disciples.
It was also rarely decided by the most Senior Disciples of the Sects, which in case of this level of Sects were those in the Essence Awakening Realm, so he was actually in prime position to meddle in the whole affair as a Mortal Transcendence Realm practitioner .
So if he, as planned, made a rapid advancement toward Essence Awakening Realm, he might find it harder to intervene.
Of course, though it was much harder to disguise Great Realm difference than it was a Major Realm, it wasn't impossible.
But Wu Long didn't need to advance in the Secret Realm specifically. This trip was aimed at helping Gong Liwei, Hong Yue and Cai Yin to pass their Heavenly Tribulations, as well as look for something that Wu Long suspected might be there. Not to mention the various opportunities that might appear for the three beauties.
Aside from that, after one of his martial skills mental training meditations, he also had a certain realization, giving him food for thought over the issue of making this particular rapid advancement.
Thus, even though he had planned it out and made preparations for it, he decided to postpone it for the moment, and only have the three beauties advance in the Secret Realm.
After all, even if he advanced now, he did not plan to make any advancements in the next decade or more until the realm of 10,000 Dynasties opened up. So the relatively small shift in timing of his breakthrough now did not matter in the bigger picture.
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Wu Long arrived in the now familiar bar, the heavy clouds of smoke parting before him as he advanced through it and sat across from Chen Hui.
The latter sat with a deeply pondering expression of a thinker, his pose adding to that. Placing both elbows on the table, he leaned forward, his fingers interlocked at the level of his nose.
Only his gaze went up and followed Wu Long as he sat down, "Were you serious?"
"I was", Wu Long replied in a neutral tone with a nod.
"Hmm~", Chen Hui heavily sighed, still baffled and confused by Wu Long's offer.
He wasn't even sure how such a preposterous and frankly crazy proposition was possible. Until he heard it, it wasn't even remotely something he could come up with in his wildest ravings.
But he did have some understanding of what kind of person sat across him at the moment. And if his hunch about Wu Long was at all right, Wu Long did not say empty things or make impossible claims. If he was offering it, it was somehow possible to achieve for him.
"Is it... Princess Wei Zhenhui?", he made a guess to which Wu Long calmly nodded along with closing his eyes a bit slower than usual to blink.
"Tsss~haa~", Chen Hui lowered his head so that his forehead now touched the interlocked fingers, with first exhaling through closed teeth and then another heavy sigh of a different kind, adding with voice full of anguish and frustration "How am I going to refuse now, you bastard?"
Wu Long smiled, seeing that reaction, as it seemed that he didn't need to worry about Chen Hui's side. It was basically a done deal on this end.
There was a great deal of anxiety in Captain Chen's demeanor.
He knew that while it seemed like Wu Long was helping him out, he was pushing him into a very dangerous game with his own calculations in mind.
But at this point, all those doubts and worries mattered little, he was in Wu Long's hands.
"Don't forget that you have a lot of self-improvement and groundwork to do in order to stand a chance, oh mighty 'princess-saving hero'. She's not going to run into your arms as soon as you show up on her doors, you know?", Wu Long chuckled.
"I figured", Chen Hui grumbled, as it was something to be expected.
"Good, that's the right mindset", Wu Long nodded, happy to see Captain Chen wasn't expecting to be just handed over a beautiful bride and status without working for it, "We can start with your Cultivation Realm. You'll have to pump that cultivation up, that's a rookie cultivation. You're entering the big league now"
Chen Hui widened his eyes at Wu Long who casually threw out a big statement as if it was just a starting brush stroke.
