Ku Zhu Ancestor's tone was resolute and unwavering.
Jiang Chen could see this firmness clearly — it was genuine, coming from the depths of his heart.
Jiang Chen clapped his hands and smiled. "Now, you should understand why I didn't kill you back then."
With that, he placed a jade slip and a pill bottle on the table.
"This jade slip contains the second half of the *Supreme Celestial Dao*. The pills in this bottle are called Heaven Cauldron Pills — for cultivators at the Heavenly realm, they can unconditionally advance you by one sub-realm. I can see you're not far from breaking through to the seventh level of the Heavenly realm. You don't necessarily need to use this Heaven Cauldron Pill right away. The insights from the *Supreme Celestial Dao* alone should be enough to help you break through to the upper stages of the Heavenly realm. You might want to save the Heaven Cauldron Pill for after you reach that point."
The benefits of the Heaven Cauldron Pill needed no further explanation from Jiang Chen.
Ku Zhu Ancestor, on the other hand, stared at the two items before him, momentarily rendered completely speechless. He had never imagined that Jiang Chen would treat him so generously.
Watching Ku Zhu Ancestor fumble in a fluster, Jiang Chen found it secretly amusing. Even an old monster like Ku Zhu Ancestor could hardly maintain his composure when faced with absolute benefits.
"Ku Zhu, I can give you these things, and I have plenty of ways to take them back with interest. I told you — I don't need to enslave you. What I hope for is that when the demon race truly ravages the Divine Abyss Continent, there will at least be a group of people brave enough to declare war on them. Do you have that courage?"
Ku Zhu Ancestor's eyes instantly became iron-hard with resolve. "The demon race, the demon race! Young Master Jiang Chen — I, Ku Zhu, may not dare to guarantee much else, but when it comes to fighting the demon race, I will absolutely be at the vanguard!"
"Mm, I don't need you playing vanguard just yet. Your mission is to go back and consolidate the Ku Barbarian tribe, then visit the surrounding major territories to understand the current strength of every region and every race on the Divine Abyss Continent. They say know yourself and know your enemy, and you'll never be defeated. Right now, our Divine Abyss Continent neither knows itself nor its enemy. The situation is grim." Jiang Chen sighed.
By all conventional logic, Jiang Chen shouldn't have given Ku Zhu Ancestor so many valuable things.
But the circumstances had long since grown beyond what conventional logic could handle. In extraordinary times, one needed boldness and the willingness to stake everything.
That was why Jiang Chen had spared no cost.
It wasn't that he couldn't keep Ku Zhu Ancestor in line — he simply wanted the old ancestor to devote himself wholeheartly to the task. If someone like Ku Zhu Ancestor committed himself fully, he would surely accomplish far more than a person like He Lao.
The reason was simple: Ku Zhu Ancestor lacked the kind of slickness that defined He Lao and his ilk. Slick people were destined to have wavering wills, and when carrying out tasks, they would inevitably drag their feet, hesitate, and second-guess themselves — never capable of going all in.
"Ku Zhu, you'll stay in the Radiant King City for the time being. I need you to put on a bit of a show. Right now, the human territories may be dominated by my Peacock Sacred Mountain alone, but some of those forces in the Upper Eight Domains still haven't grasped which way the wind is blowing. I want to use your submission as an example to put those forces in their place. Make them put away their petty schemes and truly recognize the dire straits the human territories are in. Otherwise, when the demon calamity erupts, these fellows might not be able to help — but they'll certainly be capable of making things worse."
Jiang Chen had never believed that the forces of the Upper Eight Domains had much capital to stand against the demon race. After all, the demons were simply too powerful. With the current resources of the Upper Eight Domains, how could they possibly contend?
What he feared was that these forces, lacking firm resolve, would easily have their wills broken by the demons — and end up defecting, becoming puppets, or even receiving demon bloodlines and being driven to fight against their own kind as traitors to humanity.
Ku Zhu Ancestor nodded thoughtfully. "Rest assured — I know how to handle this matter."
"Good. You may withdraw for now. Await my summons at any time."
Ku Zhu Ancestor had truly been won over — at least partially — by Jiang Chen's masterful blend of favor and pressure.
He knew, of course, that this was a calculated tactic on Jiang Chen's part. But knowing that didn't change a thing. He was utterly powerless against it. What good did awareness do?
The young man hadn't resorted to any underhanded scheme against him — it was a strategy played in broad daylight, open and aboveboard!