Both Cao Yun and High Mother Lisha were taken aback. They had expected many things, but not that. After all, Lord Wanghuo had always shown respect toward the Sisters of the Abyss. Although he could tease the Sisters when he was in his own palace, it didn't mean that he would act against them or their guests.
Unfortunately, Cao Yun had to be present to negotiate with Lord Wanghuo as he would be the one who would use the boat. After thinking a long time about it, he had decided to come in person. There could have been other ways but it was the most direct. According to everything he knew about Lord Wanghuo, this should have been very easy to convince him to help. In fact, Cao Yun had thought that other things would be difficult obstacles. They had turned out easier than he had imagined though.
What calmed Cao Yun's heart was that Lord Wanghuo's punch wasn't backed with his full strength. Still, it was enough to break even Cao Yun's skull. Of course, with his full strength, Lord Wanghuo had probably enough strength to simply take his entire head off with a single punch. So that was him showing a huge amount of restraint.
Lord Wanghuo's punch connected with Cao Yun's forearm as the young man had barely enough time to protect himself. He didn't even use any martial arts. Instead, he simply tried to rotate his body while closing his arms in front of his face. Under the strength behind Lord Wanghuo's fist, Cao Yun's arm broke in several places. Despite his own strength, Cao Yun's arm then hit him right in the face.
The young man felt that his skull almost ruptured. Thankfully, it resisted. But Cao Yun was sent flying in the distance. Since he was still in the royal palace, Cao Yun decided not to use his spiritual senses. Honestly, he could have done so as he already knew how to get rid of the array formations around him. But he didn't know enough about the seals and blood runes to be absolutely sure. Moreover, he didn't want to show his hand right now.
Cao Yun's body broke apart the steps as he crashed into the stair. He had still enough velocity to damage the courtyard. However, this didn't inflict any injury to his body at all. Only Lord Wanghuo's fist had caused any harm.
High Mother Lisha was flabbergasted as she simply couldn't fathom that Lord Wanghuo would act in such a way. Looking at him though, she saw a fire that had been extinguished. There was no malice or bad intent in his eyes. He had the eyes of a child who had just found a new toy and was too excited to control himself. And that was exactly the case.
In fact, thanks to his mind cultivation, time had seemed to freeze around Cao Yun. Unfortunately, no matter how fast his mind was, he was limited by his body. Still, he used some time to assess the situation. He simply couldn't fight in the royal capital. Thus, he didn't take out his spear, he didn't use any pill or poison. In Lord Wanghuo's eye, he saw that the fat king was simply testing him out. So Cao Yun decided to show him what he was capable of. The more impressed Lord Wanghuo would be, the easier for Cao Yun's plan.
When Cao Yun finally stopped crashing into the pavement, he simply stood up. Covered in dust, he strongly tugged on his robe. All the dust flew away. Although Cao Yun's forearm was broken, he didn't show any sign of pain. In fact, such a fracture would heal in a matter of minutes. On his face, the redness caused by the shock of his own forearm was mostly gone already.
Lord Wanghuo's eyes were ecstatic. Before High Mother Lisha could say anything, she saw Cao Yun signal her to stay quiet. He could tell that she was incredibly upset. First of all, Lord Wanghuo had teased her to have some fun. And now he had literally punched her guest in the face. Obviously, this was not appropriate, even for the king of the Nalupu Kingdom. After all, High Mother Lisha had the religious authority here.
Apparently, Lord Wanghuo had not lost all of his mind. Indeed, he turned toward her and bowed slightly.
"High Mother, please accept my sincerest apologies. When I saw your young companion, my blood simply took over. Sidina will pay for the building of another temple in order to show my contritions. High Mother Lisha may choose any location and any amount of riches."
Then, he turned toward Cao Yun.
"Young man, you've truly impressed me. Not only were you fast enough to block some of my punch, but you even survived it with no lasting injury. The last time I punched someone like that, they literally flew away from the palace entirely. The very fact that you're still in the courtyard is impressive. I had heard about your skills in seals, but clearly my reports were lacking in huge areas.
"Once again, my deepest apologies, High Mother. I couldn't resist when I felt his blood. It was as though he awoke something in me..."
Cao Yun knelt in the courtyard.
"Lord, this humble one cannot accept your praises. If you had used all of your strength, I couldn't even have survived such an attack."
"Oh?! Really?! Something tells me you could have. After all, you didn't even take out your weapon, you didn't use any martial arts, any seal, any array formation. I took you by surprise and you still did so well. In fact, you've even thought about fighting me head on and you changed your mind right before blocking me. Although your body is not as fast as mind, your mind clearly is. Now, I do want to see you at full strength."
Completely disregarding High Mother Lisha, Lord Wanghuo walked toward Cao Yun. The sluggishness that was in him mere instants ago was gone. However, Cao Yun could still tell that he was not at his peak. For decades now, Lord Wanghuo had lived in indolence and comfort. His will had obviously diminished. Compared with Cao Yun's Dao Heart, Lord Wanghuo was only motivated by the prospect of having some fun. That was it.
Thankfully, this was motivation enough for Cao Yun to make him do what he wanted. And what he wanted was a boat. But if he could push it a bit further, he would.
"Lord, your praises are just too much. This humble one would never dare to show his meager skills in front of such an august warrior."
"Enough of this ridiculous prattle. You're under the protection of the Sisters of the Abyss, I understand that. But I don't want to kill you, that would be no fun at all. I want to spar with you, at your full strength. I'll even restrain my cultivation to your current level. Hell, I won't use any weapon apart from my bare hands. On the other hand, you may use whatever means you desire, weapons, array formations, martial arts, blood runes, seals, whatever you can throw at me.
"Just tell me what you wish for and it is yours. My only condition is that you do fight me with everything you have. If I find it amusing enough, I'll give you everything you desire and even more. What say you?"
Faced with Lord Wanghuo's frankness, Cao Yun was a bit dumbfounded. Clearly, this man was a great warrior but a terrible politician. It was no wonder City Lord Sihe had been able to grow so influential and powerful. The Sisters of the Abyss and the Xinian Confederation were the real rulers of the Nalupu Kingdom. From what Cao Yun knew, there were a few good ministers but they couldn't really compete with those two powerhouses.
The Sisters controlled the religious and spiritual life of the Desolate Sepulcher while the Xinian Confederation ruled over its economy. Sidina had stayed so powerful thanks to the sheer strength of its king, but also to its port. Indeed, Sidina had the largest port of the Desolate Sepulcher attached to it. Besides, they controlled all the boats that went to the God's Land. In other words, they could completely shut down the import and export. Thus, they controlled the Xinian Confederation to some extent.
"Lord, I appreciate your feelings. Unfortunately, I have no face before you. I'm nobody and I can't ridicule myself showing meager tricks in front of such a powerful and noble king. After all, I'm just a lowly guest of her excellency High Mother Lisha."
Frustration could already be read on Lord Wanghuo's face. This time, he turned toward High Mother Lisha. And he was forced to take a more respectful tone.
"High Mother, forgive this stupid one for his jokes earlier. Surely, a woman of your nobility won't take it to heart. Please, help this foolish king to convince your guest. I will let your Sisters preside over this sparring session. I can assure you that no harm will come to your guest. Please, talk some sense into him."
Although his words were a bit clumsy, High Mother Lisha could feel his sincerity. He truly was like a little boy who just wanted to play with his new toy. No matter how much he claimed he wouldn't break it, he just might. High Mother Lisha wasn't worried about Cao Yun, she was worried about herself and her order. However, she heard Cao Yun's voice in her mind.
The young man didn't even need to alter the array formations of the royal palace. He simply used the seals that were already within her soul to talk directly to the old woman.
"Guest Mo Yun, this is a great opportunity for you as well. Few can boast that they sparred with the strongest demon in the Desolate Sepulcher. I am certain that Lord Wanghuo will prove very generous."
"Indeed, indeed. Well spoken, High Mother. Sir Mo, I imagine that you do not need money at all considering your business and who your friends are. But you certainly need a bit of support against this... City Lord... what was his name again?"
"City Lord Sihe."
Perplexed, High Mother Lisha finished Lord Wanghuo's sentence.
"Yes, that's him! I could suppress this idiot for you. Of course, I don't doubt that you already have some idea to deal with him, hence why you're here. But I can get rid of this problem in an instant. Even though I can't kill him, I can make sure that he won't be supported by anyone else in the entire Desolate Sepulcher. For a city lord, it's as close to dead as can be."
"Lord, I appreciate your words, but this wasn't the reason why I visited you. City Lord Sihe is a thorn in my side and I will deal with him myself. However, I was hoping for something else from you. This is quite a lot, so I don't know if I should ask..."
"Ask! Ask away! If I can give it to you and it can make you accept the fight, I'll do whatever!"
"Lord, your words are very generous, but my needs are large indeed."
"Enough, enough! Just spew it out already!"
"I'm sorry, Noble Lord, for wasting your precious time."
Cao Yun was clearly toying with Lord Wanghuo. High Mother Lisha wondered whether it was some form of revenge for his unprovoked attack. But it was also a way to weaken Lord Wanghuo's determination before asking for something big. Of course, she thought about the boat, but it didn't seem like a huge deal. What could be a problem was the navigator, not the boat.
"Lord, the truth is that I have some business to deal with on God's Land. And I would need a few things."
"On God's Land?! Then, you've come for a pass? Wait! No, you've come for a boat and... a navigator?!"
"Not only that, Noble Lord. This is why I said that... No, you're right. This is just too much to ask of you. Please, forgive this unworthy one."
"Enough already! Yes, this is quite a lot... And more would you want beside that?!"
Lord Wanghuo was getting nervous. Right now, he could only think about his sparring session with Cao Yun. The young man's bloodline had truly excited the martial artist within him. He couldn't tell exactly what it was, but Lord Wanghuo sensed something deep within the young demon in front of him. He had to spar with him. Moreover, if he wanted to leave the Desolate Sepulcher, this might be his only chance to do so.
At the very least, Lord Wanghuo had decided to protect Cao Yun from City Lord Sihe. Without even trying, Cao Yun had found a great protector. On the other hand, despite all his claims, Lord Wanghuo might clearly be carried away and severely injure, maim or even kill him during their sparring session. Neither Cao Yun nor High Mother Lisha had neglected this part. He wasn't the most trustworthy of men. Although he was sincere now, no one could tell if he would be able to control his excitement.
Apparently, Lord Wanghuo was also learning the meaning of the word frustration. Despite his vices, Lord Wanghuo had the mind of a little brat. Strangely enough, Cao Yun was convinced this might have helped him when dealing with his Turbid Demons. His mind was a bit too naive for them to affect him too much.
"Lord, this humble one would like to make sure that the Blazing Swallow survives my departure. Unfortunately, Boss Gui's death by the hands of your former Marshal Weiji dealt a heavy blow to this hope. Thus, I would like for Lord Wanghuo to make sure that the Blazing Swallow endures."
"Of course, this isn't a big deal. What would put your mind at ease?"
High Mother Lisha didn't even wait for Cao Yun's cue. Indeed, she was smart enough to know exactly where he was going with that.
"Lord Wanghuo, with City Lord Gui's death, a new city lord should be appointed for Duma City. Might I suggest that you appoint Dan Yao? He is the best alchemist of the Blazing Swallow. Our land lacks great alchemists, this could also be a huge opportunity for Sidina. Having tight ties with an alchemist isn't a bad idea at all."
"Indeed, indeed. What a great suggestion!"
Lord Wanghuo's sudden agreement shocked both Cao Yun and High Mother Lisha. In fact, Cao Yun could imagine the headaches this king was causing for his ministers. In a way, he reminded him of both Chief Instructor Peng and Chief Elder Baishen combined in one man. This was a very dangerous combination. Cao Yun truly pitied his poor ministers.
"What do you say, Sir Mo?"