Chapter 655: United Heart

“There are hundreds of millions of clans in the Upper Realm, countless as the grains of sand in the Ganges. Which clan is descending to compete with our Clan for this underground space?” A Greater Rat Demon-man wearing a purple robe with a dark face and a crescent moon between his brows took the lead in asking.

Nie Yuan looked at this person and was shocked. Then, he could not help but secretly laugh.

‘This is what happens when you copy others indiscriminately. You end up making yourself look foolish instead!’

He knew what was going on, but he still deliberately asked, “How shall I address this gentleman?”

“This official’s name is Bao Cheng, a minister from the Ministry of Justice. You can call me Minister Bao.” The dark-skinned Greater Rat Demon-man stroked his beard, putting on an act.  ¹

“Ah, so it’s Minister Bao. My apologies for my lack of manners.” Nie Yuan cupped his hands in greeting.

“All is well. General Nie, please answer my question from earlier.” Bao Cheng said seriously.

‘As expected, they took the bait. They just called me a scoundrel and traitor, but now they’re changing their tune and calling me General Nie instead…’

Nie Yuan’s heart was pleased, and he said lightly, “If you want the answer, I’m afraid I’ll have to ask the new King to agree to three of my conditions.”

“Impudent! You traitor, not only are you not thinking of redeeming yourself for meritorious service, you still dare to threaten the King!” A group of Greater Rat Demon officials began to scold.

“Silence!” Bai Shixin swiped down with his hand, and the entire hall fell into silence.

“State your conditions.”

“One, absolve all my previous crimes of rebellion.”

“Two, give me land of around 10,000 square kilometers.”

“Three, give me a death-exemption plate ² .”

“Arrogance!”

“Rapacious!”

“Just drag him out to be beheaded!” A group of ministers was outraged.

Bao Cheng did not speak. He frowned, and the crescent moon between his brows changed shapes.

“I agree. You can speak now.” Bai Shixin raised a hand again to stop the ministers’ clamor.

Seeing this, Nie Yuan felt awe in his heart.

He had to admit that when it came to controlling people’s hearts, he was too far away from his Master.

‘He’s clearly cultivation trash, but why can he make so many people loyal and devoted to him? What kind of spell did he use to befog the minds of the people?

‘Damn it, back then, Vigilante A cut me off just as I was about to steal those books. I got beat up for nothing.

‘Otherwise, I’d have learned this method of controlling people’s hearts. I wouldn’t have to fight alone.’

Holding back his thoughts, he slowly answered, “The clan that is descending is a very well-known underground clan from the Upper Realm… the Earthworm Clan. The origin of their clan was a big earthworm from underground. I believe that Master is clearer than me on other details.”

“The Earthworm Clan?” The ministers looked at each other before turning to their King.

Bai Shixin’s face chilled, and he frowned.

“They are indeed a tough enemy. You’re dismissed. I won’t forget the things I promised you.”

“Haha, I’ll naturally believe in Master’s promises.” Nie Yuan laughed and withdrew from the hall.

After he left, the hall erupted in noise.

“May I ask the King, what exactly is this Earthworm Clan?” Bao Cheng spoke first.

“Minister Bao, you’re all local Greater Rats that became Demons. You know very little about the Upper Realm.” Bai Shixin lightly said. “One of the greatest characteristics of the Earthworm Clan is their ‘united heart’.

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“My King, what is that ‘united heart’?” Bao Cheng questioned.

“As that rebel said earlier, they originated from a large earthworm. Although the common earthworms are hermaphroditic, they also reproduce allogenically. However, this is different. It was the only earthworm that achieved enlightenment, so it naturally can’t reproduce with the ordinary earthworms. Thus, it adopted a method…” Bai Shixin deliberately paused.

“What method?” The ministers immediately asked.

Bai Shixin did not answer and instead looked down…

The ministers suddenly understood. It seemed like the King was quite apprehensive about them, to the point of not knowing what to say.

This method of reproduction was indeed incredible. If an ordinary earthworm were to do this, their mortality rate was extremely high. It was not as simple as getting two earthworms by cutting one in half. There were many restrictions.

Only this kind of earthworm that was capable of cultivation and were likely to have stronger regenerative capabilities could cut itself in two and still live separately.

“However, my King, if they become two after being split from one, what’s the relationship between the two and the original one? Are they still a single cultivator or two different cultivators?” Bao Cheng asked curiously.

“For this question, let’s put it this way. The part that’s closer to the head is still the previous cultivator, while the one closer to the tail is a completely new cultivator. They come from the same source and have strong cohesion. They’re an unparalleled clan that can cover the underground, and have never been defeated.” Bai Shixin seemed to be concerned.

“Ah, in other words, they are our clan’s natural rivals?” Someone asked, deeply worried.

“No one knows who would emerge as the victor,” Bai Shixin said coldly.

“My King, our clan has just recovered from the turmoil and our vitality is badly damaged. If we were to become enemies with such a fierce and fearless race, I’m afraid the loss will be extremely heavy. It’s better to invite foreign aid.” An important officer cupped his hands and said.

“Hm, the fact that our clan doesn’t have any strong people is a large defect. If the Elder Ancestor were around…” A Greater Rat Demon wearing a white robe with a scholarly air frowned.

In times of crisis, there would always be people thinking about when Elder Ancestor Bai was in power. At least, at that time, they never had to worry about foreign invasions.

“Fan Zhong, you misspoke.” Someone reminded.

“My apologies, my King. Fan Zhong is guilty.” The white-robed Greater Rat Demon quickly rushed to the platform and bowed deeply.

“You didn’t say anything wrong, so what are you guilty of?” Bai Shixin waved his hand and said, “You don’t have to worry about this matter. Different situations call for different measures. I have my own plan to ensure that they can’t threaten us.”

“The King is wise.”

…

Three days later, at the Black Jade People’s habitat in the Great Sahara Desert.

“Elder Da, business is here!” A strong, dark man shouted into a low shack.

Behind him was a person wrapped in black cloth. It was unknown if the person was male or female.

“What’s the commotion about?” An extremely old man with white robes and a red hat slowly emerged from the shack.

“Elder Da, this person is Li Zhang. He’s the Foreign Minister from the Greater Rat Kingdom. He wants to talk to us about a big deal.” That strong man said excitedly.

“Ah, so it’s a minister from the famous Greater Rat Kingdom. Please come in, my abode is humble, but I hope you won’t take offense.” Elder Da gestured.

“Haha, as long as it’s above ground, it’s better than what we have underground.” Li Zhang laughed.

“Thank you, thank you.” The three crouched and entered the shack before sitting down.

“Pray tell, why has Sir Li come to such a desolate place?” Elder Da asked curiously.

“Haha, we wish to borrow troops.” Li Zhang said simply.

“Very well, it seems like your side is aware of my clan’s reputation. My clan lives by fighting. I wonder what price you’re offering?” Elder Da said lightly.

“It’s very fair. For each of your soldiers that die on the battlefield, we’ll give you 10 items that can raise 10 soldiers. As for how much you need to raise a soldier, just make a list for us. Also, a soldier’s salary per month would be enough to support at least 10 Black Jade People’s daily needs.” Li Zheng said straightforwardly.

“That price is quite fair.” Elder Da smiled lightly.

The black-faced man that had been leading the way was overjoyed.

In the battles in the Upper Realm, there were not that many people who could offer this price tag. It was usually only 3 or 5 people’s worth, so a person who offered 10 people’s worth was really rare.