The Steward Demonic Emperor

Chapter 971: Heart of a Sovereign

Proofreader: Papatonks

Zhuo Fan’s face was in a constant frown, “Heaven Sealing Sea Ao… does that mean he is the only one in the whole wide world that can heal young Sanzi?”

“Yes, but the problem is I have no idea where he is!” Kunpeng sighed.

Zhuo Fan lit up and took out a gourd, looking nervous, “Senior, you just said that only Heaven Sealing Sea Ao can save young Sanzi, but on my way back I stumbled upon this mortal item, North Sea Gel, that proved to be of great help. Does senior know of it?”

“North Seal Gel? First time hearing of it.”

Kunpeng took the gourd and smelled it, “Young Sanzi’s wound, or more plainly spoke, the deadly war between us and Heavenly Sovereign, can never be healed by anything, no matter how special, from the mortal domain, eh?” 

Kunpeng gasped, “T-this smell…”

“What is it, senior?”

“Of course!”

Kunpeng grinned and shook his head, then he handed the gourd back with a jeer, “Kid, what did you say its name was? Where does it come from?”

Completely clueless, Zhuo Fan looked at the gourd and muttered, “Senior, on my way back I met someone who used this to save young Sanzi’s life, calling it North Sea Gel. I heard it’s very valuable. I had to pay twenty million sacred stones for just this tiny bit, yet still came up at a huge bargain for me…”

Kunpeng scoffed and gave him a toying gaze.

“What, senior, what’s the problem?” Zhuo Fan asked curiously.

Pointing at the gourd with a smug grin, Kunpeng shook his head, “You humans hail everything that’s remotely rare as valuable.”

Zhuo Fan was still not getting where he was going, but the man continued, “Kid, the old guy’s Nine Serenities Secret Records has plenty of super secret and rare medicines, right? Was this among them then?”

“Uh, no.” Zhuo Fan gave an awkward shake of his head, “Maybe since this is of the mortal domain, Nine Serenities Sovereign has no way of knowing…”

“Bull!”

Kunpeng cussed him on the spot, “There was no mortal domain in the distant past. Nine Serenities most definitely knew what this thing is, but found it unworthy to be noted down.” 

“Ah, then this is…”

“Heaven Sealing Sea Ao’s garbage.” Kunpeng cocked an eyebrow as he cackled. 

Zhuo Fan froze, then stammered, “You mean t-this thing…”

“You get it now? The waste of a sacred beast looks like an otherworldly treasure to you common folk, but to a Sovereign, it’s junk, trash, shit. Even if it were you, would you actually go and ask some random expert’s stool sample for purely academic reasons? Ha-ha-ha…”

Kunpeng was laughing it up, “Only mortals like you would think this is precious. Nine Serenities knew its use but still didn’t note it down, just so he wouldn’t become the butt of everyone’s joke.”

Zhuo Fan’s face was twitching in all the weird ways, the dirty truth finally dumped on his clueless mind, “Of course it helped heal young Sanzi’s wound, since it came from the Heaven Sealing Sea Ao. Even if it came from the other end, it still has great power.”

“Right you are, and also…” Kunpeng’s eyes shone with a vague light. Zhuo Fan picked up on his thought instantly, “The Heaven Sealing Sea Ao is in the northern lands’ sea. I’ll take young Sanzi there right now!

Zhuo Fan grabbed young Sanzi to leave.

“Wait!”

Kunpeng cut his enthusiasm short, earning a curious expression from him.

Kunpeng took a deep breath, “Northern lands is worlds apart from here and not to mention it’ll take even more time searching for the old coot’s track in the North Sea. Time is of the essence here, as young Sanzi’s life is at stake. He is fading as we speak, each passing day becoming more dangerous for him.”

“Senior means…”

Hu~

Kunpeng’s palm sported an azure flame, shooting both of his hands at young Sanzi and letting the fire pass by his acupoints, while placing the palm on young Sanzi’s forehead.

The azure flame flared and seeped into the child’s body through the acupoints, forming a faint azure glow around young Sanzi to keep him safe.

Easing a long breath, Kunpeng took back his hand, “I’m not at the old coot’s sealing level, but this little is nothing. Fire is the source of life, so I used the Chaos Flame to make a heaven seal and keep young Sanzi’s spirit in his body. It’s not enough to give the Qiling Shield time to recover, but it won’t get worse at least. Now you need to visit the old dragon too, so he’d use the Decimating Golden Flame and keep his energy from leaking as well. This should buy enough time for you to find the Sea Ao and save him.”

“Senior can’t just seal it completely?”

“No, my azure soul protects the soul, while the dragon’s refines the flesh. Against such a problem as two clashing energies, we can only do what we can. I kept his soul intact while the dragon can keep his body from deteriorating. That’s all any of us can do.”

Kunpeng explained.

Zhuo Fan nodded and hugged young Sanzi, but Kunpeng stopped him yet again. 

He had a cheeky grin, “Kid, the child’s life won’t get worse for now so there’s no need to be frantic. It’s been two years now since you last visited my Allbeast Mountain Range and I would like to understand some things. Have you made any progress?”

“I sealed three of the eight World Wind Tunnels.” Zhuo Fan spoke plainly.

Kunpeng nodded, “That’s quite fast, but that’s not the issue here. Finding them and setting a drawing array is the easy part, while getting the recoiling array the main issue. Alone, as you are, it’s going to take eons to finish. This is work that involves all of the lands. Do you have any plans?” 

“Don’t worry, I found myself a partner on the way back. With their clan’s connections, it shouldn’t take too long.”

Zhuo Fan’s eyes shone, giving a full account of the Serene Shores Trading’s situation.

Kunpeng started, then laughed, “In just three days, you had them killed and still got them to give their lives for you. Kid, that’s one good deal right there!”

“Senior Kunpeng, you mean you don’t see it? It’s not I who ruined them, but themselves. I just sped up the process.”

Sighing at the heavens he flatly stated, “In this world, there’s always a way to survive, just that you’re the one digging your own grave through your actions.” 

Kunpeng chuckled and nodded, “Zhuo Fan, you’ve grown these two years, getting closer to the attitude of a Sovereign.”

“Sovereign?”

“Yes.”

Kunpeng unraveled his doubtful gaze, “People think the Sovereign Stage is the embodiment of power. Hidden from their view is, however, the heart of a Sovereign. It means being committed to the world around you, discovering its nature and inner workings by taking the path less traveled and tempering your heart and mind, to grasp past and future, the very world itself, in the palm of your hand.

“As you are, despite the lack of power, you made headways in demeanor, following the way the world works. A true man would see the danger he is under and avoid it, but everyone else would find it hard to even distinguish it, unable to dodge calamity. You might not have noticed, but you used to think of the bigger picture, walking towards your fate, half with schemes and half with heaven. Now that you perceive the nature of the world and can grasp its opportunities. Just how the Serene Shores Trading was walking to a doom of their own making, you merely picked the best timing for you to have them escape it while also casually getting them to work for you. You didn’t really do anything but have grasped the trend of the world. Going with the flow is the Sovereign Stage!” 

Zhuo Fan’s brow shook in thought, “I never thought about it before, just finding it that by throwing the demon spirit stones at the Serene Shores Trading will cause a huge problem, since their demise was just a matter of time. As for the second young master, he’ll work with me in the end and the company will be mine. All I have to do is be patient.”

“Heart of a Sovereign, to see the future and know fate. You saw their end so you followed the world’s trend, speeding up the process. Every Sovereign is special, having shed the mortal coil, while you have done it in mind.” 

Kunpeng smiled, “When I had asked you to find Heavenly Sovereign’s remnants, I believed you would because I had a feeling this would be your future. Ha-ha-ha, I made the right choice. With you helping us, it’s practically over and done with.”

“Now take young Sanzi and go. I’ll have Three-headed Crow go along until you find Sea Ao.”

“Isn’t he an important helper? You’d let me have him?” Zhuo Fan was stunned.

Kunpeng showed a vague smile, “Yep, he is, but you need his help more than I do. Also, when you meet the old coot, you might even think the helper hasn’t much use, ha-ha-ha…”