"The ultra-high quality of this thing might interfere with the transmission, I’ll need your assistance to resolve it," Shepherd reminded.
"Understood." Li Ming nodded. "If we skip this part, how long will it take to formulate?"
"If I handle it personally, it’ll take at most three months," Shepherd contemplated.
So soon? Li Ming was astonished; he thought it would take at least half a year. Was Shepherd’s technique this formidable?
This reduces the pressure significantly.
He remained calm on the surface and nodded. "Then I leave it to you."
Ending the communication, he exhaled deeply. Shepherd’s side offered an unexpected delight, significantly shortening the needed delay.
At the moment, his development progress had reached 70%, having extracted the Genetic Essence from both Sol and Garrett.
The Evolution System had reached a perfect state, all S-Class, augmenting the whole by 448 times.
Combined with his own Level Two Root Development Potential, the remaining 30% progress should be completed in four, maybe five months.
If he can pass the Peak Level sovereign trial, this time may be further reduced.
However, to pass the trial, he might have to rely on the Infinite Hammer.
Hmm... I was just thinking about something.
Li Ming frowned. Right, the blockade of Ryan’s message channels.
On Xavier’s side, Asimara is holding firm; that young Duke is clearly no match for the princess.
As for his subordinates here, Sol is still lamenting. Some mild torture and tactics will ensure he handles the message reports, likely without issue.
The most insecure part lies with Levinbeck.
Although the groundwork has already lulled him, a method to divert his attention is still needed.
He must develop great curiosity about me or the Azure Dragon, or even sense something profitable, to keep him here temporarily.
Then there are the Pioneers; without Levinbeck producing the Blood Seed.
Their plan is equivalent to failure, so they must first be stabilized to prevent chaos from ensuing.
Paper cannot wrap up fire, even though it will be exposed sooner or later.
But once exposed, investigation is needed to determine who acted; even if Ryan charges in, it will take time on the way.
The longer the delay, the later subsequent events will occur.
"First, deal with the Pioneers, laying some groundwork." Li Ming, with clarity, quickly fixed his target.
In the small room of the Iron Throne Hall, four shadows were communicating.
"I don’t know what madness Ryan took, but it’s truly a godsend," one shadow said. "If this plan succeeds, the nail of the Empire in the Sea of Stars should be completely eradicated, equivalent to having half of the Upper House’s power cut away."
"The Royal Family and the Lower House will not miss this opportunity and will do everything possible to swallow the Upper House; the unyielding Upper House will inevitably resist. This is the real moment for division."
"Indeed." The Navigator nodded.
The Fallen Blood emphasized, "But we must clarify what Ryan is preparing. He definitely can’t be insane. If he performs blood sacrifice, reaching the goal with one-fifth or even less, it won’t be a godsend."
"The trouble lies in this; we can’t meddle with Ryan’s side, and to thoroughly investigate the Northern Crown Star Ring will take time," the Navigator sighed.
"So far, all we’ve identified is something called a Blood Seed, which seems to be the core."
"What about the Azure Dragon? He should know more, right?" another shadow asked.
"He’s unwilling to speak, possibly because I seized his speaking rights last time, causing discontent," the Navigator said helplessly.
"No matter, we’ll figure it out eventually; it’s more troublesome if he seizes the speaking rights," the other remarked with a sinister tone:
"The four of us, having cooperated for so many years with one goal, but this Azure Dragon... too mysterious, is not a good thing."
"He advances step by step, first letting Blackbeard invite him in, then forcing us to let him join the Council, now he wants to seize the speaking rights; he comes with ill intent."
"Highly strategic, progressing gradually, making it impossible for us to refuse. We can no longer let it slide; your choice is without any issue."
The Fallen Blood shook his head, calmly stating, "It’s not that simple. The Azure Dragon won’t easily give up; Ryan’s actions continue, and if we don’t learn more, there’s no way to decide how many planets he can blood sacrifice or when to stop him."
"Time is our enemy. If we can’t outrun time, we can only seek help from the Azure Dragon. If I’m not mistaken, he’ll soon continue to exert pressure, forcing us to grant him speaking rights."
The Navigator pondered, "Pressure? In what way, Ryan being his enemy, if ignored, completing Ryan’s goal is also of no benefit to him."
"It’ll come down to who has more patience," the Fallen Blood said with a haunting tone.
The shadow sitting across from the Navigator constantly surged, speaking coldly, "I don’t believe he alone can pressure us four."
The Navigator shook his head, about to speak when his expression slightly changed. "How did he break through the Iron Blood Throne’s blockade?"
The Iron Blood Throne can forbid others from descending; many small groups activate this feature during private conversations.
Only the four of them can remain unaffected.
Previously, the Azure Dragon never took the initiative to descend upon the Iron Blood Throne; this was the first time he broke through its blockade.
This reminded them of the two words the Fallen Blood had just said: Pressure!
In the narrow room, the atmosphere gradually grew silent, the Fallen Blood’s voice ringing out, "He comes with ill intent."
"Let’s see how ill-intent he can be," the Navigator rubbed his fingers.
Li Ming looked at the empty hall, routinely summoning the Fallen Blood and the Navigator.
These two guys have indistinct identities, seem to have plenty of time, whenever summoned, they quickly descend.
"Everyone, something has happened." Li Ming immediately established dominance.
"What happened?" the Navigator thought to himself, sure enough, cooperating with the question, wondering what move the Azure Dragon would make.
"I just received the latest news, Ryan seems to have realized something, the next actions might become more secretive, making it harder for us to investigate," Li Ming prepared the Northern Crown Star Ring for the upcoming calm.
The calm you notice next is not because the opponent stops, but because they’ve hidden deeper.
"Harder to investigate?" the Navigator sneered quietly.
The Azure Dragon suggests that you won’t find anything, smoothly implementing the plan; you’d better hurry up and ask for my help.
The Fallen Blood remained calm, the Azure Dragon’s behavior was anticipated, seeking speaking rights would obviously involve a chain of offensives.
Just didn’t expect the approach to be so simple, or perhaps not simple at all.
If they truly couldn’t find anything, they might have to seek help from the Azure Dragon.
But, was Ryan truly this capable? He remained skeptical.
"I’ll mobilize more forces to deeply operate in the Northern Crown Star Ring," the Navigator stated solemnly, "I don’t believe that merely Ryan can render us blind."
He revealed his stance to the Azure Dragon.
Li Ming nodded in agreement, equally stern: "I have the same thought, but the situation might be more grave than expected, hoping you both are prepared."
Prepared to find nothing, prepared to ask for my help.
The Navigator discerned the Azure Dragon’s underlying message, felt a little uneasy but also stirred with a sense of anticipation.
The Azure Dragon, from early on, was their ally; aside from that incident in the Central World, he hasn’t grasped the Azure Dragon’s methods much.
Although not a direct confrontation at this moment, he could glimpse some of them; enjoying being behind the scenes, the Navigator felt a slight thrill.
An excitement of evenly matched opponents.
He spoke in a steady voice: "I’m quite confident about it, hoping Lord Azure Dragon is as well."
"Me?" Li Ming was puzzled, feeling the sentence was somewhat strange.
Are you asking me to have confidence in the Pioneers?
It’s precisely because he didn’t underestimate the Pioneers that he laid groundwork, delaying the Pioneers’ discovery.
After thinking for a moment, he also replied calmly: "I’m naturally very confident."