Man on the ark, forced to become king

"For the country and the people, that's a good thing, a good thing. I said back in Longmen that Golden Tree doesn't mind deeper cooperation with Yan State."

"Otherwise, I wouldn't have provided the black flames to help you fight off the demons, would I?"

"The Golden Tree needs resources, and Yan Kingdom needs sufficient military strength. We have a basis for cooperation, and cooperation will benefit both sides, so of course we can do it."

“I understand what you, Grand Tutor, or rather the one in the court, and all the other officials are worried about. I haven’t studied Yan culture for long, but I also understand the principle that one cannot tolerate others snoring beside one’s bed.”

"Trust is never something that can be said in vain."

"However, we have plenty of time and can take it slowly."

"I can only say that if Yan Kingdom can maintain its current attitude, then Golden Tree's stance will not change."

"The Golden Tree can help Yan Kingdom solve the problem of the Year Beast."

"With Mr. Lin's words, I am relieved."

Having obtained the answer he wanted, the Grand Tutor smiled and looked at the crystal ball that Nian was holding in her arms. It contained the second fragment of the Sui Beast, which was also the most troublesome of all the fragments. Over the years, the Yan Kingdom had been greatly bothered by it.

"I wonder what method Mr. Lin intends to use to resolve this? This matter requires careful consideration. If Mr. Lin has any ideas, he might as well speak them out so that the court can make appropriate arrangements. If he doesn't have any ideas now, that's fine too. Let's set a time, and I will pay him a visit then."

"No need for later, I can give you an answer now."

Lin Lu thought for a moment and held up two fingers.

"Actually, this matter is easy for Golden Tree to resolve; there are two solutions."

"Firstly, the Golden Tree has a way to restrain all the fragments of the Year Beast, separating their existence from the Year Beast's main body. In this way, the Year Beast cannot reunite or revive. Even if it has other means to forcibly return, it can only regain some of its power, but cannot be resurrected in its full strength. I believe that with the Yan Kingdom's capabilities, it is sufficient to deal with it and is not a cause for concern."

"However, in this case, all the fragments of the Year Beast would be under the control of the Golden Tree in a roundabout way. It's inevitable that some people would have doubts. Even if the Grand Tutor doesn't suspect anything, it will certainly arouse suspicion from others. It's a bad idea."

"Secondly, I used some methods to preserve only the original consciousness of the Sui Beast fragments, allowing the Sui Beasts to revive. What they are now will remain the same in the future."

"Let that beast regain all its power and resurrect with full strength. Then I will take action and annihilate it in one fell swoop, erasing it from this world completely, so that there is no possibility of resurrection. In this way, the problem will be solved once and for all. The beast will be defeated, and the fragments will only retain their consciousness, living in human form, no longer holding any authority or divine power. The Yan Kingdom can rest easy from now on. This is the best policy. Which one will you choose, Grand Tutor?"

To let the Year Beast revive in full force and then utterly annihilate it? What a grand scheme, what a bold move!

After pondering two options, the Grand Tutor was at a loss for what to do.

In terms of process, the first method, although a poor choice, is undoubtedly the safest.

As long as the true form of the Year Beast can never truly return in its former appearance, there will be no turmoil, and the problem that has plagued the Yan Kingdom for thousands of years will naturally be solved.

However, Mr. Lin was also very frank, saying that it was almost inevitable that something would happen.

With the threat of the Year Beast gone, the Golden Tree, which possesses all the Year Beast fragments, will surely be viewed with suspicion by the court. It will essentially replace the Year Beast and be even stronger than it.

When it comes to national security, it's not a matter of belief or disbelief.

So, should we choose the second one?

This brings us to the issue of strength again.

The Golden Tree is indeed very strong. Mr. Lin alone can withstand natural disasters and protect Shangshu City from major natural disasters without any damage. However, the Sui Beast is not an easy opponent.

Can the Golden Tree, in cooperation with the Yan Kingdom, truly ensure that the ancient behemoth is resurrected in full glory and wiped out before it causes any damage?

It's an unknown; until we reach that point, no one can be certain of how things will turn out.

A difficult choice.

"Ah, when people get old, they tend to overthink things."

After pondering for a long time, the Grand Tutor suddenly laughed, waved his hand, and made his choice.

"Mr. Lin, I choose the second one."

The saying goes, "If you don't kill a snake, it will cause endless trouble."

Since there is a way to completely eliminate the Sui beast, then we should not leave it as a threat to future generations.

This was a huge gamble. He was betting that the Golden Tree would abide by the rules, that the Golden Tree could use its ability to suppress the Year Beast, and that it could completely wipe out the Year Beast.

Yan Kingdom has been preparing for this for a long time. Even if they lose the gamble, they will simply continue according to the pre-arranged plan and things will not get worse.

It was decided long ago that the entire capital city would be used to mourn the mythical beast, the Year of the Sea.

However, if the gamble pays off, it will benefit the present and future generations.

He has two choices, and if he chooses this, then the true dragon, far away in the capital, will surely make the same choice.

"Alright, Grand Tutor is a straightforward man, so let's do it this way. This matter is settled. So, regarding the cooperation with Yumen, does Grand Tutor have anything to say?"

Lin Lu was not surprised by the Grand Tutor's choice, and instead asked about the Jade Gate Pass.

There, the cooperation between Yan Kingdom and Golden Tree was still in its initial stage. Now that the cooperation between the two sides has deepened, shouldn't things change over there as well?

"Haha, Mr. Lin, the Celestial Master will naturally discuss the matter with you at Yumen Pass, so I won't presume to do it for you. But Mr. Lin's method... doesn't it need to be discussed with these gentlemen?"

Brother-in-law… He heard it. The Grand Tutor’s eyes flickered, his gaze shifting between Nian and Xi, a smile playing on his lips.

Clearly, Mr. Lin's relationship with these two fragments of the Year Beast is quite unusual.

While it's surprising, it's not unacceptable; after all, strong people often have quirks, which is understandable.

His main concern was whether there would be any concerns about making these fragments lose all their former power and fall back to being ordinary people, given this relationship.

From frugality to luxury is easy, from luxury to frugality.

Having grown accustomed to wielding power, standing high above others, and comparing themselves to gods, would they really accept giving up that power so easily?

Just because that master in Yumen did it doesn't mean his other brothers and sisters can do it too.

"What is there to discuss? A few incomplete powers are not worth the Golden Tree's attention. It doesn't matter whether they exist or not."

Before they could speak, Lin Lu gave a direct answer, her tone firm.

"I trust Mr. Lin, farewell!"

Having received a reply, the Grand Tutor did not say anything more. He gracefully clasped his hands in a salute and turned to descend the mountain.

The silence in the pavilion was broken only when the old man's figure disappeared along the winding mountain road.

"I say, brother-in-law, you're really generous with other people's money, just selling us out like that? That's not fair."

"What, sister, do you really care about your power?"

Lin Lu smiled, not taking it to heart. He could tell that Ling was just joking.

“I don’t care, and neither does my elder brother. Nian and Xi will definitely listen to you. Others aren’t as easy to talk to as we are.”

"It's alright, they'll agree. It's not hard to tell whether strength or life is more important."

Hearing her say that, Lin Lu smiled even more brightly.

Whether you care or not, it doesn't matter.

Because... he only said that all the fragments of the Year Beasts would lose the power from the Year, including the Year, the Evening, and the Order, but he didn't say that they would lose the power of the Golden Tree.

Those powers, once analyzed by the Golden Tree, will become part of the Golden Tree and can be used at that time.

In fact, no matter which method the Grand Tutor chooses, the result will be the same for the Golden Tree.

The Grand Tutor may have guessed something, but he didn't say it; he was indeed a clever man.

Everyone has their little schemes, right? As long as they don't affect the overall situation, they're harmless.

Sometimes, it's better to keep things unspoken.

In this life, it's rare to be carefree and ignorant.

Chapter 167 The Truth About Age

"Not always."

Ling simply smiled at Lin Lu's statement and did not elaborate further.

It's easy to judge whether life or power is more important; any normal person would make a wise choice.

The premise is that the person is normal.

Some of her siblings were relatively normal, such as Nian and Xi. Although they were terrified, they were not crazy or stupid and had not done anything bad. Therefore, the Yan Kingdom court usually gave them leniency, saying that they were in control, but in reality, they did not care much.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to travel around Yan Kingdom so freely, nor would she have been able to reside in Shang Shu for so long.

But there are a few others who are quite abnormal, such as her second brother.

That person was eager to learn and kept learning. He learned his elder brother's martial arts, Nian's forging skills, Xi's words, and her carefree spirit, as well as the power skills that his other brothers and sisters were good at.

Learning something is always something you have to use, so he learned chess and started playing against others until sixty years ago when he lost to the Grand Tutor.

In that game, the second brother suffered a crushing defeat, and Jie died as a result.

Then, because of Jie's death, he went mad, completely mad. He learned from the original form of the Sui Beast how to split himself, cutting himself into 181 pieces, and making moves across the world, wanting to play that grand game of chess between heaven and earth.

There's no way to communicate with someone like that.

They are obsessed and mad, unable to listen to reason, and are beyond redemption. To get them to give up their power is as difficult as ascending to heaven.

"If I say they'll agree, they definitely will. They have no choice but to agree, because I have the bigger fist."

Lin Lu spoke frankly, which startled Ling Weiwei, who then tilted his head back and gulped down a large mouthful of wine.

“You speak so frankly, unlike those other people.”

Those people, without specifically referring to any one of them, but Lin Lu could guess who they were.