Chapter 25: A Small Breath Won’t Kill You

After sparring with Qing Yue for so many years, Hong Lian was not without her own cunning. She thought for a moment and said, “If you only want my person, that would be easy; I can’t resist anyway. However, my true value is far more than just my body. Since even Qing Yue has submitted, it seems pointless for me to persist. But if you truly wish for me to be with you, you must show me sincerity that can move me, right?”

Qian Ye completely ignored her, as if he hadn’t heard a word. Song Zining, however, seemed interested and turned around to ask, “What kind of sincerity? For him to have only you as a woman? That’s out of the question. Don’t even bring that up.”

Hong Lian’s face turned red with anger, gritting her teeth, “Am I really worth so little?”

Song Zining shrugged, “You just said your value isn’t in your body.”

Hong Lian, furious and humiliated, declared, “Fine, my condition is that my status must be higher than Qing Yue’s!”

Song Zining made an acknowledging sound, patted Qian Ye’s shoulder, and asked thoughtfully, “Who is Qing Yue? What does she look like?”

Qian Ye almost drove the car into a ditch, sighing, “Zining, Little Seven! Can you stop thinking about women all the time?”

“But you can’t just think of one woman either, and she’s no longer related to you. Come on, tell me, what does Qing Yue look like? Is she prettier than Hong Lian?”

Qian Ye felt helpless, “Qing Yue is a Gao Hu.”

By saying this, Qian Ye implied that Gao Hu people had numerous mechanical augmentations, so they were never known for their beauty.

However, Song Zining persisted, “Gao Hu are still human!”

Qian Ye couldn’t twist his way out of it and reluctantly said, “They’re about the same, I guess.”

But Hong Lian wasn’t happy, “What do you mean, ‘about the same’? I’m clearly much prettier. That skinny, flat girl, where’s the beauty in her?”

Song Zining immediately gave Hong Lian an approving look.

The journey was full of twists and turns, and after half a day, Qian Ye felt like he had fought a great battle. Finally, when they reached the edge of the landmass and arrived at their destination, Qian Ye let out a sigh of relief.

He jumped out of the off-road vehicle and said, “We’re here, get out.”

Song Zining looked around and saw nothing but a vast snowfield and a raging storm of void origin power. He tried to divine the situation, feeling his heart stir, but he received no valuable insight. This indicated that either he had divined something too powerful to mess with or there was no target, and the discomfort was due to the violent void origin power.

“Where’s the thing you wanted to show me?” Song Zining asked.

As soon as he spoke, he noticed Hong Lian looking up at the sky, her eyes wide with shock. Suddenly, the sky darkened, and a massive, boundless shadow quickly covered the ground.

Song Zining turned around, and his entire field of vision was filled with the enormous warship!

The Valhalla slowly emerged from the void storm, silently gliding through the air, and finally hovered less than fifty meters above the ground. At this distance, the sheer size of the ship was almost suffocating!

“This, this…” Even the usually composed Song Zining, the Seventh Young Master of the Song Clan, lost his composure, unable to discern what he was seeing.

In appearance, it was half-beast, half-warship, but there was no such massive ship in the Empire. The largest war mothership could fit entirely inside this behemoth. Perhaps only the legendary Night Queen’s ship, which had been nurtured in the Blood River for a thousand years, or the Dark Faith of the Demon Emperor, could match this ship.

“This is the Valhalla, now my floating battleship. It’s only completed a small part, not even that much.”

Such a massive ship, even if it were only partially complete, or even just grounded, would be of unimaginable value.

Song Zining was only slightly flustered, while Hong Lian was completely stunned, still not recovering from the sight. For the Gao Hu, colossal war machines held an irresistible, deadly beauty.

Qian Ye patted Song Zining and said, “Let’s go take a look.”

“Okay.” Song Zining eagerly took off, flying into the Valhalla. Qian Ye turned to look at Hong Lian, sighed, and lifted her by the waist, carrying her into the Valhalla.

Zhu Feng activated his flight device, slowly rising and following them into the Valhalla.

Inside the Valhalla, over a dozen Gao Hu were working, placing equipment in designated positions. Each power sail required a large number of auxiliary devices to function. Combining eight power sails into one exponentially increased the workload, far beyond simple multiplication.

Actually, considering the height of the dragon spine, the power sails could be even larger. But with Qing Yue’s current level, she could only design a combined power sail solution for eight.

Even with just five power sails installed, the setup and tuning were a massive undertaking. Qian Ye had previously only used the power sails to accelerate the Valhalla. Acceleration was merely the most basic function of the power sails.

The Gao Hu working on the ship were Qing Yue’s trusted subordinates, so when they saw Hong Lian, they were shocked. Two of them even picked up weapons. These small details showed how bad the relationship between Hong Lian and Qing Yue was.

Qian Ye raised his hand, and the Gao Hu put down their weapons, returning to their posts. Qian Ye now had immense prestige among Qing Yue’s Gao Hu, and his authority was unquestioned. This prestige was earned through strength.

Hong Lian’s expression was uncertain, burdened with worries. Seeing the Valhalla, she finally understood the terrifying potential behind Qian Ye. Even without a single piece of land, this enormous Valhalla alone could rival a small duchy.

To be his enemy, Hong Lian had to admit, was the stupidest thing she had ever done. But her eyes did not show regret; they showed resentment, directed not at Qian Ye, but at the Gao Hu who belonged to Qing Yue.

At that moment, a voice filled with joy cried out, “Mommy!”

Upon hearing this, Song Zining’s face changed, and he instantly became intangible, trying to dodge. But he was hit head-on by a small body like a cannonball, and all his illusions were useless.

With a thud, Song Zining fell backward, landing on his back. Little Zhu Ji sat on his chest, her face full of joy, and kissed Song Zining’s face, calling, “Mommy!”

“Get off me! Now, immediately!” Song Zining roared. But Little Zhu Ji didn’t listen, smiling and planting another kiss on his face.

Song Zining struggled several times, each time with more force. But Little Zhu Ji was much stronger now, her strength comparable to a top-tier beast. With a small hand, she pushed him back down.

Hong Lian’s eyes widened, staring at Song Zining in disbelief and shock. Was this young man, who once caught her fancy, a woman?

Song Zining, noticing Hong Lian’s reaction, nearly fainted from anger. He struggled, and Little Zhu Ji used all her might to suppress him.

Poor Seventh Young Master of the Song Clan, lying on the ground, unable to turn over.

Despite his deep cultivation and refined combat skills, Song Zining was still a rare figure among the Empire’s younger generation. He wriggled and applied hidden force, nearly turning Little Zhu Ji over.

Little Zhu Ji, her face flushed, called out to Qian Ye, “What should I do? I want to kiss Mommy!”

Qian Ye coldly said, “Blow on him.”

Little Zhu Ji paused, “Isn’t that bad?”

“A little breath won’t kill him.”

Song Zining instinctively felt something was wrong and shouted, “Qian Ye! You’ll pay for this! Zhu Ji, don’t listen to him, what are you trying to do!!”

Zhu Ji opened her mouth, blowing a faint green mist onto Song Zining’s face.

Song Zining groaned, losing much of his strength, his origin power fluctuating uncontrollably, and even his domain failed to manifest. The green mist, upon contact, invaded his body, attacking his origin vortex.

Terrified, Song Zining rushed to extinguish the green mist. Fortunately, the mist was thin and diluted, and after several purges by his origin power, it was finally gone.

During this time, Little Zhu Ji had already kissed Song Zining several times, satisfied, and jumped off.

Song Zining glared at Qian Ye, extending his hand, “Help me up!”

Qian Ye smiled, pulling him up and dusting him off.

Song Zining huffed, pushing away Qian Ye’s hand, and beckoned to Little Zhu Ji, “Come here.”

Little Zhu Ji cheered, pouncing on him again, knocking him to the ground. She opened her mouth, ready to blow more green mist.

Song Zining quickly covered Zhu Ji’s mouth, stopping the mist.

Grasping the small girl by the scruff, he stood up, holding her before him. “When did you learn to use poison?”

Little Zhu Ji, puzzled, said, “I just learned it!”

Song Zining felt a headache, realizing he wouldn’t get any answers from her, and turned to Qian Ye. “Don’t you remember? Stuka’s talent is poison.”

“Stuka’s poison? It’s nowhere near as good as our Little Zhu Ji’s,” Song Zining said disdainfully, lifting the girl high.

“However, Qian Ye!” Song Zining gnashed his teeth, “Making her blow on me, are you trying to kill me faster?”

Qian Ye looked up, “A small breath won’t kill you, at most it will incapacitate you.”

Song Zining’s face turned pale, growling, “A little more and I would have been in real trouble! Why don’t you let her blow on you and see?”

Qian Ye grinned, “No need, I’m fine.”

Song Zining remembered Qian Ye’s vampire-like constitution and nearly fainted.

“You two seem close,” Hong Lian interjected.

“…You, starting tomorrow, you’ll be Qing Yue’s deputy,” Qian Ye said expressionlessly.