Chapter 291 Mark Pays A Visit To Lan Ju

"The seed of fire was born, huh." Mark read the letter sent by the Imperial Palace.

As per the letter, he was instructed to arrive at the Imperial Palace by noon. From there, he will be teleported directly to the location.

The Imperial Palace's 100 million gold coins worth deal will only come into effect when he successfully snatches the fire seed and hands it over to the Emperor.

Once the fire seed is claimed by the Imperial Palace, the contract will come into the effect, and within three years, the Imperial Palace will make sure the overall contract order reaches 100 million gold coins.

Of course, Mark didn't have such great patience to look through the deal for 3 whole years. That's why the monthly guarantees were included in the contract, according to which, the order from the Imperial Palace will be atleast 2 million gold coins per month. The representative was chosen to be the Second Prince and every order will be given in his name.

Mark might have earned tens of millions earlier during the expo, but rather than a lump sum of money, he would want a high stable income. And this deal will give him what he wants provided that he won't get caught while working behind the scenes to fulfill his revenge.

Hence, he decided to make this mission successful no matter what kind of troubles he must face. But, that doesn't mean that he would risk wasting a precious item like the peak potion. It is like a life-saving trump card for him.

Then, what else he should do to ensure his success? His personal ether weapons are with him all the time and the Savage Baltrow is also there as a backup. Just one thing is left to make it a 100% success.

Mark decided to fetch the middle-aged fellow who probably started sweeping in the graveyard once again.

Needless to say, he has an option of summoning the Zheng directly to him but due to the latter's high cultivation and low loyalty, the chances are little, and even in the possibility of success, the cost will be damn high to store the beast in the familiars' inventory. Not to mention, there's also an issue of convincing him.

Why bother to take such risks when he can just fly there and pick him up personally? Going back and forth will roughly take 5-6 hours.

As the direct teleportation to the location is instant and the budding of the elemental seed will take place after dusk, Mark could afford to let the Emperor wait for a couple of hours.

Unfortunately, this plan has a major flaw.

Lan Jingyi, his biological mother is familiar with Zheng. Taking him to the palace might easily expose Mark's identity and spoil his plans. Or at least, that's what the weapon seller thought.

To protect his identity, he might have to go to the location by himself if he has to take Lan Ju, the Demigod realm Zheng beast with him. But, that will take a long time. Who knows… he might not even arrive in time.

Hence, Mark fell into a dilemma and was forced to weigh his options. Either having a perfect bodyguard and risking the mission as well as the deal or saving time and protecting his identity.

After pondering for a minute, Mark made the decision, "Okay, life is more important. Even if the contract gets annulled, I can find other ways to make deal with Shang Fu. Not to mention, Phoenix Empire isn't the only Empire in the world. There are other potential customers like the Kun Empire."

Mark decided not to go to the palace altogether and told Song Yue to give a message to Chang Bo when he reports to duty.

As the Android cannot leave Song Yue alone with her distrustful father who was in disguise, Mark wanted to send the welpire to the Imperial Palace to pass his message to the Emperor.

p Soon, the helicopter took off and started flying in the direction of the Kunyu mountain range.

Sometime later, at Lan Sect's graveyard;

"So, let me get this straight. You want me to get rid of all the obstacles just so that Shan Fu gets the elemental seed? How about No?" The Zheng didn't appear to be pleased by Mark's request. The latter wondered what might be the issue.

To get clarity, He asked Lan Ju a direct question, "Do you hate assisting me, or do you hate Emperor Shang?"

Lan Ju answered without hesitation, "Look Lu Zhen, when I accepted you as the sect leader, I didn't ask about your background. You are a descendant of my master, inherited his bloodline, and passed my test. That is enough for my acknowledgment.

Now, I don't know what kind of relationship you have with Shang Fu or Lan Jingyi but I cannot help anyone related to Lan Jingyi, the woman who refused to lead the Lan Sect despite inheriting the Demigod realm cultivation of Lan Gengxin.

Because of her reluctance, all the remaining disciples of the sect scattered and forced the sect to disband for good.

Shang Fu is her husband and I bet the fire seed is for one of his children to awaken the Phoenix bloodline. If you want to help them, I don't care, but don't ask me to do them a favor."

"Lan Jingyi is a Demigod?" Mark's face turned dark when he heard that. From the moment he failed to inspect her details, he had his suspicion. But, more than that, he thought it would be the work of a divine grade weapon (Mythril/Celestial/God).

Since she belongs to the Imperial family and is the favorite wife of the Emperor, he thought it is possible for her to own one. Unfortunately, the reality struck him a little bit hard.

Thankfully, Lan Ju is on the opposite side of the Imperial Palace. It is a piece of good news to Mark.

He then proceeded to ask, "What if I go against Lan Jingyi and her family, one day? Will you be neutral or will you stay on my side?"

Lan Ju didn't know why the young man asked him that question but he had a policy of not probing into the other party's intentions deeply.

"I will not kill Lan Jingyi or her blood with my own hands because my late master would be disappointed by that. However, I acknowledged you as the leader of Lan Sect, and as the guardian of the sect, it is my duty to protect you from any of your enemies," replied the Zheng beast in a firm tone.

"I see…" Mark nodded in understanding and then spoke, "Okay, so, if you treat yourself as the guardian of our Lan Sect, then, you are obligated to not harm the sect in any way."

"That goes without saying." Lan Ju felt like the young man was implying something else. He said, "What is that you want to say? Speak clearly."

Mark then revealed his deal to the beast emperor and affirmed that they were never going to do a favor to Shang Fu.

As he pledged that earned money to revive the Lan Sect, the Zheng fell into thoughts for a while before giving a nod to Mark's request, although attaching a small condition to it.

"Alright, I will do my job and eliminate every enemy that dares to eye the fire seed. However, I won't protect Shang Fu. Your contract was with the Imperial palace, not to the specific person."

Mark accepted it with a smile, "That's fine by me. Now, shall we leave? We can't waste the time."

<strong>Meanwhile, at the Imperial Palace;</strong>

Emperor Shang was in a discussion with Lin Zheng Kang (Grand Secretariat), Bai Xun (Supreme Commander), Shang Wen (Second prince), and a couple of two old men.

"Lu Zhen will be joining us at Mt. Jizu. According to the message he sent with his servant, a powerful expert will be helping us to claim the elemental seed." Li Zheng Kang said to the others.

As a few people nodded, one of the old men named Du Tianmu, a 7-circle realm expert asked the Emperor, "Your Majesty, if you don't mind me asking, who you plan on giving the fire seed if it really falls in our hands?"

"Of course, it is going to be the Crown Prince. After all, he's going to be the next Emperor." The other old man, named Si Lung voiced his opinion immediately. Feeling several pairs of eyes on him suddenly, he quickly defended himself, "I don't support him or anything. I just heard that a lot of major clans are in his favor."

Grand Secretariat, Li Zheng Kang then stated, "If we acquire the seed, then, it will be decided at the court. However, if Lu Zhen gets the seed, according to our contract, the elemental seed will go to Third Prince, Shang Wei."

"Shang Wei?" The two invited 7-circle realm experts were taken aback by surprise.

"Is Prince Wei friends with Lu Zhen?" They wondered.