MTLNOVEL Chapter 298: Once Again in the Palm of His Hand
Chapter 298: Once Again in the Palm of His Hand
“The Ten Thousand Peaks Stone Sea is the territory of your sea race? That’s just your one-sided wishful thinking. The human race doesn’t recognize it as such.
For us humans, the most important factor in determining territory ownership is effective control over that territory.
The upper echelons of your sea race spend most of their time in hibernation, rarely awake, and you’ve only managed to control a small central area of the Ten Thousand Peaks Stone Sea. You haven’t effectively controlled most of the region.
Therefore, the human race considers the Ten Thousand Peaks Stone Sea to be an ownerless territory.
That’s why so many herbalists venture into the Ten Thousand Peaks Stone Sea to gather spiritual herbs.
Xu Lian, with his cultivation of the Origin Tracing Realm, isn’t a sage or a supreme being. According to the agreements between the major human factions, he has every right to go into unoccupied areas to gather resources for cultivation without violating any rules.
If other herbalists can go to the Ten Thousand Peaks Stone Sea, why can’t he?
He found high-quality herbs through his own abilities. You, a Sage-level sea race powerhouse, come here to show off your strength – do you think our divine clan is powerless?”
The Goddess of Time spoke in a calm tone, but her words were enough to infuriate anyone.
The Sea Princess was indeed furious. Her attempt to question Xu Lian had backfired, leaving her on the defensive.
“The Ten Thousand Peaks Stone Sea has always been the territory of our sea race! This is an undeniable fact!” the sea princess snapped.
The Goddess of Time calmly replied, “How your sea race sees it is your own business. Regardless, Xu Lian entering an unclaimed territory at the Origin Tracing Realm is fully in accordance with the agreements of the major factions. He hasn’t done anything wrong.”
The sea princess was furious. Her massive black dragon body trembled slightly, but she couldn’t think of a counterargument.
From the sea race’s perspective, the Ten Thousand Peaks Stone Sea was their territory, and Xu Lian had looted their precious herbs and medicinal treasures.
However, this was a difference in perception between the sea race and the human race.
The Goddess of Time was firmly on the side of the humans, and considered the Ten Thousand Peaks Stone Sea to be unclaimed land. In her eyes, Xu Lian hadn’t done anything wrong.
This was the fundamental difference in how the two races viewed the situation.
When the Goddess of Time cited the agreements between the major factions, her reasoning sounded perfectly legitimate, and the Sea Princess had no way to refute it.
Accusing Xu Lian of wrongdoing would mean accusing all the herbalists who had entered the Ten Thousand Peaks Stone Sea. It would also mean tearing up the resource zone agreements that the major human factions had made. Even with the immense power of the Sea Race, they couldn’t just ignore those agreements.
“Princess, this Xu Lian has clearly violated the agreements of the major factions!” Seeing the sea princess struggling, the old sea demon quickly interjected, “He’s only at the 7th stage of Origin Tracing, while I’m at the peak of the 9th level. Still, he subdued me with just one move.
Even if he’s exceptionally strong, there’s no way he could defeat me in a single move. Obviously, he had the help of a hidden sage or supreme being, perhaps even the Goddess of Time herself, to help him steal the king grade medicine!
According to the agreements, it’s forbidden for Sages or Supremes to secretly assist those who gather resources in unclaimed areas. This is a violation!”
The octopus demon and the sea dragon demon exchanged a silent glance, but said nothing. They had been defeated by Xu Lian’s sheer strength and had no room to argue.
The Sea Princess coldly said, “When he fled earlier, he hit me with a palm attack, pushing me back several steps. Even though he caught me off guard, even someone at the 7th stage of Origin Tracing Realm shouldn’t be able to repel a Sage like me. Clearly, a hidden Supreme must have intervened to help him steal the king grade medicine and the herbs. Goddess of Time, how do you explain this?”
Xu Lian couldn’t help but admire her boldness. If you want to accuse someone, you’ll always find a reason…
The Goddess of Time indifferently replied, “I didn’t secretly help him. That’s just your baseless speculation. Where’s your proof?”
The Sea Princess scoffed, “His ability to subdue a peak ninth-stage Origin Trace Realm like the old sea demon in one move, and then push me back with a single palm strike – isn’t that proof enough?
I’ll inform the major factions and have them enforce the agreements. I’m sure they’ll be very interested in the laws of the divine kingdom inside him. They’ll strictly enforce the agreements and arrest him.
Then we’ll see how you, Goddess of Time, can save your face. No matter how strong you are, you won’t be able to protect him!”
Xu Lian emerged from the ancestral grounds of the divine clan and confronted the Sea Princess from afar. With the Goddess of Time backing him up, he wasn’t afraid. “I can prove that the Goddess of Time didn’t secretly help me steal the king grade black lotus medicine! I haven’t broken any agreements!”
The Sea Princess asked, “And how are you going to prove that?”
Xu Lian replied, “Simple. Let your subordinate, the old sea demon, come forward. I’ll subdue her in one move right in front of you. If you watch closely, you’ll know if the Goddess of Time has secretly intervened.”
The Sea Princess fell silent. If Xu Lian really could subdue the old sea demon in a single move, it would prove that the Goddess of Time hadn’t helped him and that no agreements had been broken. Even if she called on the major factions to “uphold justice”, it would be useless.
The old sea demon said, “Princess, I don’t think he can defeat me in one move without the help of the Goddess of Time. ”
“Fine. Let’s see how a mere 7th stage Origin Tracing Realm cultivator can subdue a peak 9th stage in one move,” the Sea Princess decided. “Go ahead.”
“Yes, Princess,” the old sea demon replied. She crossed through space and appeared outside the divine clan ancestral ground, standing in front of Xu Lian.
Being subjugated once wasn’t enough, now she wants to be subjugated twice… Xu Lian chuckled inwardly. Except for the Marquis and Marquise of the Ancient Holy Land and Princess Ling Ran, no one knew that he had obtained the Ancient Holy Land’s Left Divine Bone.
As a result, both the Old Sea Demon and the Sea Princess underestimated his strength and mistakenly believed that the Goddess of Time had secretly helped him steal the king grade medicine.
The old sea demon declared, “I am ready. You may attack. If you can defeat me in less than a hundred moves without the help of the Goddess of Time, I’ll admit my inferiority and accept that I’ve lost the king grade black lotus medicine.”
“Peak 9th Stage Origin Tracing Realm sea demon? One move is more than enough.”
Xu Lian remained calm. While the old sea demon was confident in her strength, Xu Lian had absolute faith in the power of the Left Hand Divine Bone.
Above the surface of the Ten Thousand Peaks Stone Sea, the massive black dragon form of the Sea Princess stood atop the waves. Her dragon eyes shone like divine lanterns, piercing through space and targeting Xu Lian from countless miles away. She watched carefully to make sure that the Goddess of Time wouldn’t secretly intervene if Xu Lian attacked.
Deep within the fog of the divine clan’s ancestral ground, the white-robed Goddess of Time was also watching Xu Lian with curious eyes. She too was puzzled – how could a mere 7th-stage Origin Tracing Realm cultivator defeat a 9th-stage peak opponent in a single move?
Xu Lian made his move. He raised his left hand and reached out across the distance, grabbing the air towards the Old Sea Demon.
The Old Sea Demon was about to retaliate when she suddenly felt an invisible force grab her neck. A tremendous force coursed through her body, rendering her immobile. She froze in shock.
What is going on? Again?
The Sea Princess, in her black dragon form, was equally stunned. She had clearly seen that the Goddess of Time had not intervened. Although the Goddess of Time’s cultivation was far superior to hers, the difference wasn’t so great that she wouldn’t notice if the Goddess had acted. After all, she was also a Sage-level powerhouse.
The beautiful eyes of the Goddess of Time flickered with doubt. Having touched the realm of the Supreme and having mastered the laws of time, she was highly sensitive to the powers of divine laws. She faintly sensed that Xu Lian’s move to subdue the old sea demon wasn’t driven by his own power, but by some strange law. Could Xu Lian have already grasped the laws of the divine land?
But that didn’t make sense. The people in the Origin Tracing Realm couldn’t comprehend divine laws. Even ordinary sages had trouble grasping them, usually it took at least a high-ranking sage.
If Xu Lian had truly mastered the laws of the divine land, not only would the old sea demon be no match for him, but even the sea princess in her black dragon form wouldn’t stand a chance. The laws of the divine land shouldn’t feel this “weak.”
So what was going on?
Even she was unable to fully understand Xu Lian.