Shangguan Yanqing was quite the character. He glanced around, then looked at Ming Huang of the Clouds standing beside Jiang Chen, and smiled before asking, "Young Lord Zhen, might I borrow you for a private word?"
It had to be said, this request was rather impudent. After all, they were on Peacock Holy Mountain, and he was addressing the Young Lord of Peacock Holy Mountain.
If they were left alone together, who knew what he might try?
Jiang Chen cast a brief glance at Shangguan Yanqing, his expression betraying not the slightest ripple of emotion. "Yunzhong, step back for a moment."
Ming Huang of the Clouds was momentarily stunned but still withdrew as Jiang Chen had instructed.
Once Ming Huang of the Clouds had gone, only Jiang Chen and Shangguan Yanqing remained. Their eyes met, and Shangguan Yanqing suddenly laughed.
"Young Lord Zhen, hearing of your fame is one thing — seeing you in person is another matter entirely. I have come here today for two reasons. First, to observe for myself what manner of genius the renowned Young Lord Zhen truly is. Second, I have an important matter to discuss with you."
"Oh?" Jiang Chen's tone was flat.
He knew perfectly well that the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect had likely figured out his true identity long ago. After all, when he had borrowed Shi Zhen's Pill King token and assumed the alias "Zhen Shi," it would have been easy enough for the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect to connect the dots.
Since both sides already knew the truth, there was no need for false pleasantries.
At Jiang Chen's current standing, he feared not the Indestructible Heaven Capital, so naturally there was no reason to fear the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect either. To put it bluntly, it should be the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect that feared him.
Shangguan Yanqing smiled. "There's no one else here, so I won't beat around the bush. Others may not know Young Lord Zhen's true identity, but our Nine Yang Heavenly Sect certainly does."
Jiang Chen remained unruffled, offering a faint smile. "Is that so? You came all this way just to tell me that?"
"Of course not." Shangguan Yanqing's smile was mild. "I am here representing the Sect Master of the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect to negotiate with Young Lord Zhen!"
"Negotiate? What is there for us to negotiate about?" Jiang Chen frowned.
"Young Lord Zhen, let's not beat around the bush. Back then, our Nine Yang Heavenly Sect was ambitious and overreaching — we laid plans in the Myriad Phenomena Region and caused you considerable offense. We don't deny that. However, the hand that truly destroyed the Myriad Phenomena Region was absolutely not our Nine Yang Heavenly Sect — we had nothing to do with it whatsoever. In the end, our Nine Yang Heavenly Sect was the one played by the Indestructible Heaven Capital. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Our Sect Master has been deeply frustrated about this for a long time. And the more famous Young Lord Zhen becomes, the more frustrated our Sect Master grows!"
Jiang Chen merely offered a cold, faint smile, his icy gaze fixed on Shangguan Yanqing. He was in no hurry to voice his thoughts.
"When Young Lord Zhen was still an unrecognized gem, languishing in such a backwater as the Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance and languishing in the Treasure Tree Sect — how laughable that our Nine Yang Heavenly Sect repeatedly sent inspectors, yet they only bickered over trivial details and failed to discover the true pearl that was Young Lord Zhen! That was our Nine Yang Heavenly Sect being blind!"
Shangguan Yanqing's words were somewhat exaggerated, yet they sounded almost convincing. But Jiang Chen naturally did not take such half-truths too much to heart.
At his current level, whether people flattered him or praised him, he did not particularly care.
"Later, when the Purple Sun Sect clashed with the Treasure Tree Sect and suffered a complete defeat — in the end, it was defeated by you alone, Young Lord Zhen. After that, our Nine Yang Heavenly Sect's plans in the Myriad Phenomena Region crumbled one after another. The subsequent destruction of the Three Star Sect, the endless string of blows — all of it made our presence in the Myriad Phenomena Region completely collapse. At the time, we were furious. But looking back now, we lost nothing unjustly! Losing to Young Lord Zhen — it was no disgrace at all!"
Shangguan Yanqing wore a smile as he continued, "Look at the Asura Great Emperor now. Look at Pill Fire City. They've all been humiliated at Young Lord Zhen's hands. Compared to that, what were our little setbacks back then? The only thing our Nine Yang Heavenly Sect can be grateful for is that we never formed a truly irreconcilable enmity with Young Lord Zhen!"
At this point, Shangguan Yanqing paused, his gaze burning as he looked at Jiang Chen. "Young Lord Zhen, it all comes down to one thing — our Sect Master wishes to seek peace with you. Let bygones be bygones. All the grudges of the past, written off in a single stroke. Yes, our Nine Yang Heavenly Sect did things that wronged you back then. But you also slew two of our true disciples and several of our talented juniors. None of these grievances have reached the point of blood feuds and irreconcilable hatred — wouldn't you agree, Young Lord Zhen?"
After all that rambling, Shangguan Yanqing had finally arrived at his true purpose.
Seeking peace!
The Nine Yang Heavenly Sect was seeking peace. This was somewhat unexpected for Jiang Chen. As one of the foremost among the eight first-rate sects of the Upper Eight Regions, the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect had always been domineering and reckless. And now they were coming to sue for peace with him, the Young Lord of the Glazed Royal City?
Jiang Chen's deep gaze settled on Shangguan Yanqing as he weighed the truth of his words.
Shangguan Yanqing met his eyes with candor and continued, "Our Nine Yang Heavenly Sect has always been pragmatic in our dealings. If Young Lord Zhen had not risen to prominence, the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect would not have stooped to seek peace — nor would we have had reason to. But Young Lord Zhen's ascent is now unstoppable. In that case, there is no need to cling to those minor conflicts of the past. True, Cao Jin and Xiao Paohui were both true disciples of our sect. But true disciples, ultimately, cannot dictate the larger direction of a sect. And Young Lord Zhen, as you rise, you will inevitably face the frenzied attacks of Pill Fire City. Surely you wouldn't want to add the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect to that burden on top of Pill Fire City?"
The Nine Yang Heavenly Sect's posture in seeking peace was fairly sincere, but Shangguan Yanqing could not be entirely submissive — that would be unrealistic as well.
After all, the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect was a first-rate sect. From a practical standpoint, they had no desire to be enemies with the Glazed Royal City.