Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 176 – Marriage

Honorable Ning wasn’t surnamed Ning. His name was Qin Yu and he was a human. This was a completely absurd revelation that seemed as if it were some inane storybook, but at the same time it was also true. This left the high ranking officials with strange looks. They also couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Since when had humans become so fierce!

After all, in the short period since he entered the capital city and appeared with the identity of a sea spirit teacher, everything he did could be described as a brilliant and wondrous event. This was particularly true for the sea spirit baptism that lasted nearly 10 hours. As they thought of this, their lips twitched and they cried out deep in their hearts. The godly existence that they had followed with fervent belief all these years, had it been blind!?

Of course, whether it was Qin Yu or Ning Qin, whether it was short-sighted or not, there was one point that all the seafolk in this grand hall recognized – he could not die. This order had come down from His Majesty himself. They recalled how this human had deceived the sea races and made the entire capital into a laughingstock, and now not only could they not kill him but they also had to carefully protect him. This left them all feeling a bit saddened within.

“Everyone, the Whale Sovereign personally tried to kill this person, so you should know how deep his killing intent is. With the events of the Companion Vine still fresh in our minds, we must double our efforts to protect Qin Yu!”

“Of course. If you and I protect this person with all our strength and he still dies, then we might as well go buy a block of tofu and smash our heads in with it.”

“Keeping Qin Yu alive isn’t difficult, but what do we do afterwards? Although the rumors we started spreading have had some effect, we still have to give an explanation for how Honorable Ning was exchanged for a human right in front of everyone’s eyes.”

“That’s easy. While there aren’t many humans in the capital city, for better or worse they are still here. Let’s choose one with a similar figure and age and destroy his face. We can announce that he tried to escape and failed, killed in the process.”

“This…isn’t this too crude?”

“I think it’s not bad. Who cares if it’s a little crude? Do you think there is someone who will try to investigate it later? We should take advantage of this opportunity and use it as an example to inform those who can see things clearly that even if you are a human, as long as you stand on His Majesty’s side we will still save you. We need these people to understand just what choice they should make!”

The Sea Sovereign sat on the dragon throne, his back straight and tall as he listened to his officials discuss the situation. His eyes flashed and he asked, “Mister Turtle, what do you think about this matter?”

The old turtle’s eyes opened, a bit of a vacant look in his expression. The others quickly lowered their faces. The old turtle continued, “I do have some ideas concerning this matter, but I must personally speak with Your Majesty about them.”

The Sea Sovereign was startled. He wasn’t sure if this old fellow was trying to look for an opening to dismiss all the officials so he could find a way to sleep earlier, or whether he really had something to say. He waved his hands, “You may all withdraw first.”

Mister Turtle had an extremely high status. Although he was different from Soupman and his dog-like devotedness, he still held His Majesty’s trust. No one was stupid enough to express dissatisfaction with this command. They all rose up and started to step back.

The Sea Sovereign’s lips curled. “Feel free to speak. If mister is tired or hungry, we can take a momentary rest.”

The old turtle was legendary for having skin as thick as a mountain. Still, he found it hard to hold up his face as he was teased by the most outstanding disciple he had ever produced, since it was true that this matter had occurred several times before. However, he really did have something in his heart today. He coughed a few times and composed himself, saying, “There is proper business to discuss.”

The Sea Sovereign became serious. “Mister, please speak.”

The old turtle lightly said, “If Your Majesty remembers, you and I once had a discussion concerning the royal family’s bloodline. This here might be a good opportunity.”

The Sea Sovereign frowned, “Mister is referring to Qin Yu?”

The old turtle smiled. “That’s right! The common seafolk only know that the sea spirit baptism is a special chance allowed to Purple Card sea spirit teachers, but Your Majesty and I both know that as long as one is strong enough, then they can also receive a gift from the sea spirit. And, while the amount of this gift is related to one’s cultivation, the more crucial factor is one’s bloodline.

“If Qin Yu can galvanize the sea spirit baptism for almost ten hours as a human, then even if I ignore everything else, I can guarantee that a powerful bloodline flows within him. Perhaps, this bloodline might even have diverged from the sea and evolved separately.”

Since a long time ago, there was a legend that humans had emerged from the sea and started to multiply on the land. It was just that this fable was not approved by the proud and arrogant sea races. In their opinion, they were the incomparably noble sea races, so how could they have even the smallest relationship to the low and basely humans?

The Sea Sovereign fell silent.

The matter of the royal family bloodline that they spoke of before was the greatest secret of the royal family. Only a scant few people knew about it, and as for those that were thoroughly knowledgeable of the entire situation, that was only him and Turtle Origin.

The royal family bloodline was degenerating.

Perhaps it was because the legacy of their inheritance was too long, or perhaps it was because after becoming the royal family, the upper limits of their power had been restrained by the world, thus leading to their inevitable decline. But no matter what the situation was, in these past new generations, the power that the royal family derived from their bloodline became increasingly thin. There were even those who had completely devolved and lost their intelligence, no longer capable of taking human form.

These special royals were gathered together. Their deaths were announced to the outside while professionals were secretly gathered in an attempt to find out the reason why. A tremendous amount of time and effort had been consumed with no results. On the surface, the royal family remained as strong and full of vital potential as before, but the degradation of their bloodline continued and only grew stronger over time.

Because of this, the Sea Sovereign and Mister Turtle once had a deep conversation related to this matter to seek out a possible solution. The two of them finally came up with a very direct approach, but the effects were definitely worth looking forward to.

That was…marrying into other foreign families.

These foreign families referred to races that existed outside the sea races. This was because throughout the long years of inheritance, the flood dragon race had always maintained a tradition of kinship and alliance with other tribes through marriage. With the great power of the flood dragon bloodline, even after mixing bloodlines, one could still guarantee that the majority of their descendants’ bodies would be those of a flood dragon. It was only after several generations of breeding and with the continual thinning of the flood dragon bloodline that the characteristics of the other tribal race would begin to appear.

Thus, more or less every strong tribal race in the sea region contained some amount of the flood dragon bloodline. For instance, the incomparably formidable Whale Sovereign could in a sense be considered a distant cousin of the Sea Sovereign. Because their bloodlines had already been mixed together, they couldn’t be used to reactivate the potential of the royal family bloodline.

So, the human race had become the best choice.

But this idea had faced heavy resistance. When the Sea Sovereign once mentioned this in the past, he had nearly been drenched in sputtering saliva by that group of stubborn old fogies. They had even threatened that if His Majesty dared to tarnish the royal family’s bloodline, they would smash their heads into the royal palace gates as a means to atone for His Majesty’s sins towards his ancestors.

While he did think it would be best for these old fogies to smash their heads and save himself future headaches, in the end, the Sea Sovereign put this matter on hold for an indefinite period of time. To be fair, if there really was to be a marriage with a human, Qin Yu was undoubtedly the best possible choice. But, that stubborn Council of Elders would be difficult to deal with.

The old turtle seemed to guess His Majesty’s thoughts. He sneered and said, “Qin Yu’s existence is related to Your Majesty’s safety, so using this as the reason, who would dare to oppose it? Your Majesty, this is a good chance to intermarry families with a human, and it can also solve Qin Yu’s problem. And, there is another piece of news that Your Majesty might not be aware of. This Qin Yu was the cultivator who initially kidnapped Princess Lushy.”

The Sea Sovereign came to a sudden realization. “No wonder the Whale Sovereign flew into a rage and couldn’t hold himself back from personally trying to kill Qin Yu. This Solitude was just thinking about this matter. With that, everyone can be explained.”

The old turtle smiled. “It was a bit shameful at first, but with the Whale Sovereign’s strength, this initial matter…hehe, it was hard to mention. Well, it’s in the past, definitely in the past. What I want to tell His Majesty is that Princess Lushy has recently sent people to secretly investigate Qin Yu.”

The Sea Sovereign’s eyes flashed. “Did Soupman discover this?”

“Mm. His injuries are quite serious. Before he went into seclusion he passed these matters to me and had me handle them instead. I inadvertently discovered this.”

“Is mister trying to say that Lushy is interested in this person?”

“The only reason that I fought off the Demon Monarch and saved Qin Yu was because I was asked to by Princess Lushy…if she wasn’t interested in him, she shouldn’t have asked me to help him and then secretly investigate him from the back, right? I admit, there are some things that I have a particularly sharp eye towards. I initially chose not to inform Princess Lushy about Qin Yu because it was impossible for anything to occur between them. But now, that is a matter of the past. I can use this as an excuse now to find out Princess Lushy’s intentions.”

The Sea Sovereign thought for a moment and nodded. “Very well, do as you wish. But, Lushy must agree to this, otherwise think of another plan.”

The old turtle smiled and nodded. “Of course. This is my sea race’s royal family princess; just what sort of revered and honored status does she have? How could she be wronged and forced to marry someone against her will?”

He stood up. “Your Majesty, I will take my leave now.”

Within the sea races, they didn’t discriminate between men and women or between the old and the young. Everyone had the same right of inheritance. All that was required was sufficient talent and sufficient tactics. The winner would obtain all qualifications of inheritance.

Thus, while the princess’ palace was built outside the royal palace, it still possessed a dignified aura full of overwhelming might. The guards that manned the gates had sharp and fearless auras. They coldly stared at the seafolk who passed by the entrance, their bodies emitting an indifference that didn’t allow any strangers to enter.

But when the old turtle arrived, the several guards revealed a flattering expression, their smiles brighter than the spring. They bowed again and again, as if they were dogs leaping in joy.

“Ah, if mister is looking for Her Highness the princess then there is no need for any questioning; you may head directly in. The princess has already been informed of your arrival beforehand.” They watched with respect until Mister Turtle vanished from sight. Even then their smiles didn’t fade in the least.

Although he hadn’t been announced, Mister Turtle didn’t need to enter the residence before Princess Lushy came to greet him with her court ladies in tow. “Mister, how come you have so much free time to come visit me today?”

Her voice was calm and her complexion was serene. But, there were some minor tics that didn’t escape the old turtle’s sight. This little girl was clearly worried and was also concealing a few points of grievance. It was just that she was a smart young lady so she didn’t say anything about it.

The old turtle relaxed a bit and his thoughts changed. He pretended to sigh and said, “I just came from the royal palace. I heard so many arguments that I felt as if my head would explode. Since His Majesty didn’t wish for my presence anymore, I decided to just walk away.”

“Wait a moment! Mister, you…are you saying you were arguing?”

Mister Turtle shook his head. “They were the ones arguing? Just what sort of status do I have? I definitely wouldn’t do something so debasing as arguing with them. To be specific, it is about that Qin Yu. He concealed himself as a sea spirit teacher to play tricks on everyone, and you should also be aware of the changes that occurred to the Sea Mausoleum. It is said that this was all a human conspiracy, and now, hah, there are many calling for him to be killed.”

Princess Lushy’s face froze and a bit of worry appeared in her eyes.

The old turtle found this quite interesting. He blinked his eyes. “I was just playing with you. That boy Qin Yu is safe for now. But, what happens next will depend on what His Majesty decides to do.”

Princess Lushy bit her lips. Just as she was about to become angry she managed to restrain herself. “And what do I have to do with it?”

Turtle Mister spoke up, “It didn’t have anything to do with you before, but now it does. This is because His Majesty intends to marry you to Qin Yu. If princess agrees, then he will become the royal son-in-law of the sea races, and of course his old debts will be written off. Well, if you don’t want to, then I don’t know what will happen.”

Princess Lushy was both embarrassed and shocked. She flushed red and shouted out, “Mister, just what nonsense are you speaking of!?”

Mister Turtle nodded earnestly. “It looks like princess doesn’t wish for this. I will go and report it to His Majesty.”

As he spoke, he turned to leave.

Princess Lushy was flustered, “Hold on!”

The old turtle turned around, a teasing look on his face.

She knew she had fallen for his tricks. But after saying it, she could see past it. “Humph! Just what are you smirking about? That’s right, this princess here has taken a liking to him! Mister, you can go and tell my father that I agree to this marriage!”