Chapter 1053 Negotiations
1053 Negotiations
"I don't have a problem lending you the merit," nodded Wang Wei after pondering for a moment. "However, I don't want merit with interest."
After hearing these words, Huo Fenghuang immediately became on guard. Suddenly, she felt she was making a deal with the devil, and such deals were never worth it.
"What do you want then?"
"I want to borrow your Ancient Clan's Qi Luck Condensing Artifact for the duration of my reign," directly stated Wang Wei, and Huo Fenghuang wanted to reject this idea immediately. But she controlled her urges and thought about the trade for a few minutes.
"It's not impossible to let you borrow it if it's only for this generation," said Huo Fenghuang. "However, the small amount of merit I will borrow is not enough for a deal of such a caliber." She had already amassed a large quantity of merit but was short. The early stages of the expansion are over, so gathering merit is no longer as fast and efficient as it used to be. Nevertheless, they were still gathering merit, just at a turtle crawling space compared to before.
Huo Fenghuang will gather the merit needed for the transition as long as she waits. After seeing Ao Shen's success, she only asked for a loan because of her competitive nature.
"That's a fair point. What do you think is a fair exchange?"
"Let me think. Besides the merit I need, I want a few World Communities for the Ancient Clan when the court further expands," said Huo Fenghuang. "Additionally, I want the position of Regent for ten generations."
Wang Wei shook his head.
"Do you feel it's not worth it?" asked Huo Fenghuang. "I know you've been trying to gather the Qi Luck Artifact of the world that has contributed to the cultivation of civilization. I can tell you all the others cannot compare to our Ancient Clan-including the Dao Opening Sect."
She was not boasting, as their clan contained the unique blessing of all the others: Daofather Qi Luck, Alchemy Ancestor Qi Luck, Talisman Ancestor, Array Ancestor, and Weapon Ancestor. Their clan's Qi Luck is not as potent as the others because they are from an old Era Cycle, but it's still significant since these destinies have been blessed for the fact they were the first. And that's not to mention the countless other types of Qi Lucks fused in the mix.
As such, the price she asked for was more than worth it.
"Let me explain a misunderstanding you might have," countered Wang Wei. "The expansion will not be a conquest where we take over other world communities, including establishing a court and taking over God Positions."
"It's not?" Many people assumed that was the next step and prepared for the upcoming World/Planar War.
"I will use a less aggressive approach," replied Wang Wei. "Our expansion will be the Mortal Civilizations, Dream World, and Enlightening Temple."
Overaggression and conquering will be detrimental to the longevity of his era. So, he will use a more peaceful approach. Of course, Wang Wei also knows his method will also garner him a lot of enemies. These worlds will not be kind to foreigners for changing or influencing their history, and Wang Wei is prepared to use any means necessary to spread these things and gather merit. He's also prepared for the consequences.
Huo Fenghuang frowned after hearing this news.
"I know what you're thinking," continued Wang Wei. "This time around, 95% of the merit for the mortal civilizations will go to you, and I will only take 5%."
"That will indeed make up for the Divine Positions and other benefits," nodded Huo Fenghuang, who also felt extremely jealous thinking about the benefit for everything else that Wang Wei and the Dao Opening Sect will receive.
"Are we allowed to establish our own court in other World Communities?" asked Huo Fenghuang
"Yes, but you must reduce your power in this court, just like the Great Talisman City."
Huo Fenghuang's eyes narrowed. Despite the increase to 95% of the merit, the expansion will not be as simple as it seems because confrontation and war will be involved. In other words, the risk will increase, and many people will begin to wonder whether the benefits are worth it.
"Forget the benefit of the expansion," she said. "If you want our luck artifact, the Regent Position is non-negotiable."
"I have no problem with granting it to you, but ten generations is too long," argued Wang Wei.
"It's really not if you consider the instability of the position itself. With the effect of all you've accomplished, how difficult do you think it will be for a Second Class Emperor to appear and not be eligible to sit on the throne?" persuaded Huo Fenghuang.
"Everyone knows that in the next hundred generations, the Myriad Emperor World will usher in an Era of countless geniuses and top-tier Emperors. So, who knows when our Ancient Clan will have the opportunity to use this Regent Position."
"Good argument, but also very flawed," replied Wang Wei calmly. "I already stated that I will leave tests to determine who can inherit my legacy. So, even if someone meets the strength requirement, they can't become Heavenly Emperor if they don't meet my other requirements."
Wang Wei looked her in the eyes, "The Regent Position will be used more often than people believe. So, I can only give you one generation. After all, I'm the only one using the artifact, and it's only for a short period."
"No, that's too little," countered Huo Fenghuang. "A Regent Position with probably powerful Emperors who failed is dangerous and not conducive to business."
"You cannot just want the benefit and not the trouble that comes with the job."
"Since I'm negotiating benefits, of course, I can," argued Huo Fenghuang. "If the Ancient Clan has to worry about a potent enemy while using the Regent Position, then the position's value has depreciated."
"Do you have any idea how much the position will be worth by the time I leave?" asked Wang Wei.
"Don't use this useless trick on me," countered Huo Fenghuang. "You and I both know many people or worlds will instantly reverse some of the things you've accomplished the moment you leave."
Wang Wei's eyes secretly twitched as he had long predicted this outcome. Sadly, this was the price for using force to forcibly make these people and worlds develop, for the rapid development without preparation, and the backwater and conservative mindset of the cultivation world.
His Dream World will be fine as most people will find it helpful and want to protect it. Furthermore, True Heavenly Dao won't want such a thing to be removed from the lower dimension after seeing its positive effect. The courts will also be okay as they have been the trend of Heaven and Earth for a long time.
The progress he brought to mortals is the one he knows will be dismantled. Cultivators have always despised and looked down on mortals despite once being one. So, they will never accept such people have equal rights as them; even worse, many won't even accept the fact that mortals are no longer the dirty and ignorant individuals they were and should be.
Luckily, the mortals will have the Enlightening Temples to protect them and give them a fighting chance. And if some world might create a miracle where a mortal's art could reach the level of an Immortal, these worlds will be saved.
"Things will not crumble as fast as you say," replied Wang Wei calmly. The fear his strength will bring to the world will prevent those people from actively acting on his legacy for at least a few dozen generations. Furthermore, he will also leave a fighting chance for the mortals.
The [Sage] Statues in the temples are the first step. At the right moment, they can manifest a spirit and bear the destiny, karma, and luck of their people, who worshiped them as sages and protected them. With these Sages, the mortals will have a fighting chance of survival even if a Great Emperor is the one trying to erase their civilization.
"Under the fear of my power, no one will touch my things for the next few hundred generations," Wang Wei calmly stated.
"Still over exaggerating,"
"No, you're simply underestimating me," countered Wang Wei. "None of you know how powerful I will be before leaving and to what length I'm willing to go to protect my legacy."
Huo Fenghuang felt a chill run down her spine. However, she quickly regained her bearing and continued this negotiation. They talked for more than an hour before agreeing. In the end, Wang Wei was not willing to give the Regent Position for more than one generation; there were too many benefits to being a Regent, and he only had to use the Ancient Clan's luck until his ascension.
So, Huo Fenghuang had to settle for other benefits like keeping all hundred percent merit in a few of the worlds during the community-wide expansion. After her departure, Wang Wei summoned Ao Shen to have an official chat with him.