Chapter 11617 — Guan Chu's Methods

The more Yuhe listened, the more he felt like spitting blood.

Damn it—his man had been folded into the loss, the Toy of the Gods had been thrown in as well, and in the end he still had not managed to find out the other party's identity.

The crux was that he had no way to retort.

After all, Guan Zhengxuan was no soft touch either. If he truly made a scene and started kicking up a fuss, the moment the other side began to counterattack, he might not really be able to withstand it.

His only choice was to admit defeat.

"Guan Chu's methods—I have now had a taste of them. Truly formidable."

Yuhe gave a cold snort and turned to leave.

"Take care, Yu Chu. I won't see you out."

Guan Zhengxuan laughed, and a touch of satisfaction could not help but show on his face; but soon after, his expression turned grave again.

This time he had managed to deal with it successfully, but since the other side had made their move, they would never let the matter rest. They could come back at any time.

If it were only Yuhe, Guan Zhengxuan would not be worried.

The problem was: what was the attitude of that newly appointed leader?

To plan ahead, certain matters that had originally been scheduled for later would now, it seemed, have to be set in motion early.

The Inner Royal Court. The Han Prince's Estate.

With the transparent primordial spirit completely refined, Wei Zhao's control over the Toy of the Gods grew ever more effortless.

This was a fine thing indeed.

Handled well, it could directly control a quasi-divine powerhouse—placed in the Inner Royal Court, that was squarely at the level of a nuclear weapon.

Never mind that dozens of divine-grade powerhouses were hidden within the Inner Royal Court—Wei Zhao could clearly sense that they were all under strict restraint, none of them able to act lightly. Otherwise, the Inner Royal Court would never have the configuration it had today.

Since divine-grade powerhouses could not move, quasi-divine powerhouses were the ceiling.

With Wei Zhao's current strength, ordinary experts—including those old monsters—were already something he could handle with composure; but if he ran into a quasi-divine powerhouse, that would be trouble.

Apart from trying to capture the other party into the new world, he had no other option at all.

But now, he had gained one more trump card.

There was still one hidden risk, however.

With regard to the Toy of the Gods, Wei Zhao now had only the right of use, not the right of ownership.

And that meant that, once the Divine Domain sent someone with a higher level of authority, he would run into the same awkward predicament as the transparent primordial spirit.

The problem was that this was public property of the intelligence apparatus; transferring its ownership was by no means a simple matter.

"What the hell is there to worry about? With me here, you're still worrying about this? You looking down on me?"

Jiang Xiaoshang's voice rang out in his sea of consciousness.

Wei Zhao's spirits lifted. "Can you handle it?"

Jiang Xiaoshang pursed his lips. "Drop the 'can.' That's the bare minimum of respect you owe me. Never mind a mere quasi-divine-grade artifact—bring me a proper divine-grade artifact, and I'll transfer every last one of them to your name."

Wei Zhao shot him a sidelong glance. "Isn't that laying it on a bit thick?"

Jiang Xiaoshang choked on that for a moment. "A tiny bit thick, maybe, but not by much. Anyway, you know in your heart what your brother's capable of."

Wei Zhao nodded again and again. "I know, I know."

"Then that's settled. Wait for my word."

Jiang Xiaoshang smugly carried off the Toy of the Gods and went back to the New World to tinker with it.

Meanwhile, on Chancellor Han's estate, the frozen crowd finally regained the ability to move.

Of everything that had just happened, they were wholly unaware.

The only difference they could perceive was that Chancellor Han, so full of vigor a moment ago, had suddenly collapsed onto the table.

Han Jiechen was stunned for a moment, then asked in puzzlement, "What's going on? He's passed out before we've even started drinking?"

He was more than a little at a loss.

True, he harbored a bellyful of resentment toward Wei Zhao, but to face Wei Zhao alone—he simply did not have the nerve to hold the floor. Chancellor Han was his greatest hope.

And what a fine result: before a single thing had been done, Chancellor Han was the first to fall.

Could he have been frightened into a heap by Wei Zhao?

Han Jiechen was still conjuring phantoms in his mind when Chancellor Han suddenly stirred and came to.

He looked around at everyone present, his eyes first shocked and blank, and then at last his wits returned to him; understanding dawned on his face, and his expression grew extraordinarily complicated.

Wei Zhao nodded. "Chancellor Han. It's been a while."

The Toy of the Gods could latch onto and control a person's primordial spirit, but without outside intervention, it would not destroy that spirit.

Of course, some hidden injuries were unavoidable.

Chancellor Han let out a long breath of turbid air, gratitude in his eyes. "Brother Lin. It's been a while."

The onlookers were utterly baffled.

Hadn't he just made that speech a moment ago? What was he doing repeating it now?

Chancellor Han turned to Han Jiechen and said, "My king, what happened before is in the past. Brother Lin is a valued guest of our Han Prince's Manor. From now on, let our two houses work together in good faith—share the blessings, share the hardships."

"Huh?"

Han Jiechen was stunned for a moment, then stared at him as though he had lost his mind. "Are you drunk?"

The grudge from being forced to kneel had not yet been vented, and now he was talking about working together in good faith—whose side was this bastard on, anyway?

Chancellor Han's expression turned grave. "I am not drunk. My king, I beg you to hear this one thing I have to say, will you?"

Han Jiechen's face darkened.

True, just now he had played along with the pleasantries and had not torn off all pretense with Wei Zhao to his face, but Chancellor Han's words now were genuinely putting him in an awkward spot.

"You're siding with an outsider to force your own king to abdicate, is that it?"

Han Jiechen cursed him outright. "You traitorous dog! And to think I once believed your loyalty commendable—doing all this filthy business, do you think you're worthy of the care my father showed you back then?"

The atmosphere froze solid in an instant.

Wei Baizhan and the others rose to their feet, but Wei Zhao tapped a finger and signaled them to hold their peace.

Chancellor Han left his seat, knelt solemnly before Han Jiechen, and bowed his head to the ground. "My king, everything I have done, I have done solely for the long-term interests of our Han Prince's Manor. If there is a single false word in this, may heaven and earth disown me, may gods and men alike condemn me."

"The situation today is a churning undercurrent. Only by binding ourselves to Brother Lin does our Han Prince's Manor have any chance of passing through safely. My king, I beg you to think it over."

Han Jiechen flew into a rage. "You damned dog, spouting absolute shit!"

Wei Zhao was a scar on his heart. Others might see nothing in it, but the mere sight of Wei Zhao—the mere thought of the man—was enough to send shame and fury surging up in him.

Maintaining the pleasantries just now had already been the limit of his endurance.

Chancellor Han telling him to embrace Wei Zhao was no different from slapping him across the face before a crowd.

If he chose to bind himself to Wei Zhao now, what had everything he had done before amounted to? A living, breathing clown?

"As of today, you are relieved of your post as Chancellor. The Han Prince's Manor has no place for your voice—get out of my sight!"

Han Jiechen's words turned every face in the hall pale.