"That's right, Young Qu. More and more people are coming here — if we keep waiting, something might go wrong in the night." Several people immediately chimed in agreement. The leaders of the seven or eight teams gathered in the area quickly voiced their support, endorsing the idea of having Qu Changfeng put forward a plan.
Qu Changfeng himself seemed to rather enjoy the feeling of being revered. His sinister expression finally softened somewhat upon hearing this. He furrowed his brows and pondered for a moment before speaking. "Naturally, we must take action. As long as everyone works together to break this seal, the Soul-Washing Divine Water will naturally be within easy reach."
"That is precisely what we were thinking." A beautiful woman nodded with a pleasant smile. "Just now, one of my junior brothers tested the seal's power and found that while it has existed for a very long time, it is extraordinarily sturdy. I'm afraid two or three people alone won't be able to break it — we'll only have a chance if everyone strikes together!"
"Then what are we waiting for? Young Qu, give the order and we all attack at once! I refuse to believe that with so many people here, we can't break through a dead seal!" A broad-shouldered man with a thick beard roared. As he spoke, he was the first to produce a hammer artifact, gripping it tightly with both hands. His stance made it clear he was ready to charge in the moment Qu Changfeng gave the word.
Qu Changfeng offered a faint smile that actually gave off a rather pleasant, spring-breeze sort of feeling. He had finally regained his previous air of dashing elegance. Speaking in an unhurried tone, he said, "Breaking this seal is no problem at all. Obtaining this Soul-Washing Divine Water is merely a matter of time. However, before we begin, I believe we should discuss how the water will be distributed."
The moment he said this, quite a few people silently furrowed their brows.
The seal hadn't even been broken yet, and Qu Changfeng was already proposing to divide the spoils. His intentions were hardly benevolent.
But there was nothing they could do to stop him. If they truly angered Qu Changfeng to the point of humiliation, the consequences would be more than they could bear. The World War Alliance had a long history of settling scores with those who offended them, and many who had crossed them had met terrible fates.
"Then… how does Young Qu think this Soul-Washing Divine Water should be distributed?" The beautiful woman who had spoken earlier asked with a delicate smile, her eyes gleaming and her gaze sweeping around as she spoke. An air of subtle allure emanated from her.
She wasn't actually trying to seduce Qu Changfeng. She knew full well that her charms alone wouldn't be enough to captivate this genius of the World War Alliance. She simply hoped that a bit of goodwill might convince him to allocate a larger share to her side when the time came.
Qu Changfeng remained entirely unmoved by her charms, his mind already made up. He swept his gaze across the crowd and said, "There are eight factions represented here. I suggest we divide this pool of divine water into four portions."
"Four portions?" The beautiful woman's brows creased slightly, though she forced a smile. "If it's divided into four, how should everyone split them?"
Qu Changfeng replied with arrogant confidence, "The World War Alliance won't take more than its fair share — only one of the four portions!"
Upon hearing this, everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief, somewhat astonished that Qu Changfeng was being so magnanimous this time. In their imaginations, it would not have been surprising for him to demand half — yet he only wanted one quarter.
This was absolutely something they had to accept! Who would be fool enough to refuse?
Everyone nodded vigorously, not a single objection raised, their expressions suggesting they had just received an enormous windfall.
Seeing that they all agreed with his proposal, Qu Changfeng was quite pleased, his smile growing even warmer.
"Then, Young Qu, how should the remaining three portions be distributed? Perhaps you could tell us as well, to avoid any trouble once the seal is broken and people don't follow the rules. We all make our living on the Dark Star — we'll see each other sooner or later, and there's no need to get into ugly fights over these things." Another person spoke up. His faction had the fewest people — only three — and he knew full well he was in a weak position. That was precisely why he wanted Qu Changfeng to decide the distribution of the Soul-Washing Divine Water; otherwise, once the scramble began, they would end up with even less.
The moment these words left his mouth, several people shot him vicious glares.
But Qu Changfeng nodded without the slightest hesitation. "That's a fair point. If none of you have any objections, I'll take charge of distributing the remaining three portions as well. How does that sound?"
While some were less than willing, at this moment who would be foolish enough to stand up and challenge Qu Changfeng's authority?
They all had to swallow their pride and accept it, hoping only that Qu Changfeng wouldn't be too openly biased toward anyone. After all, some of the factions present had a decent relationship with the World War Alliance.
Regardless of everyone's expressions, Qu Changfeng let out a hearty laugh. "In that case, I won't stand on ceremony. Mm, for the remaining three portions — this friend takes one. No objections, I trust?"
To everyone's surprise, Qu Changfeng's first allocation went to the lone martial artist standing off to the side — the man with the sharp, blade-carved features and resolute expression.
"Ahh…" A chorus of exclamations erupted. Everyone cried out in shock, staring at Qu Changfeng in bewilderment, then looking at the man, utterly confused about what Qu Changfeng was trying to do.
In their minds, the World War Alliance taking one quarter of the Soul-Washing Water was beyond dispute. But this man and Yang Kai were both solo individuals — they had neither the ability nor the standing to claim a share of the treasure.
They had already instinctively excluded the two of them from consideration!
Yet now Qu Changfeng had instantly handed one of them a full quarter — the exact same share as the World War Alliance itself.
Could there be some hidden scheme at play?