Chapter 32 - Reaching an Accord

"Our training is finally over! Hell yeah!" Lu Jing screamed to the sky, prompting the other seven to sigh as they heard him.

"This kid actually survived, even reaching late Spirit Forming," Yang yawned as he emerged from his repaired dorm room. He had been practicing his serpent dragon shifting, and his snake's total length was seventy feet long and five feet thick. It seemed to be the limit of the Element Adept transformation. If he could, he would sleep in that form too, as it felt all too familiar and comfortable. Almost.

The serpent dragon form got rid of the catfish whisker; the hair mane over his entire body was replaced with a dragon beard. It looked more like a snake now, but its deer horns had changed into three horns—two on the sides of his head, while another was on the top of his head. It seemed even his serpent dragon form was like his lost snake form, constantly improving and evolving.

"Late Element Adept and only 14 years old," Guan Hai noted as he stared at Yang. The boy was too talented, even for a poison cultivator, as he did not seem to consume new kinds of poisons like they did. Guo Mei and Guo Lin were middle Element Adepts. The oldest triplet was surprisingly talented.

However, the most powerful was Guo Lin. For some reason, the boy had actually awakened his Yin Yang Divine Tattoos power, and not even most poisons affected him. Guo Lin combined fire and earth to make lava, earth and water to make mud, augmented his fire with wind, and was even able to fuse his four elements into an unstoppable force. His growth seemed to rival that of his siblings. Still, Yang always won his spars against both triplets.

"No matter how powerful I get, I can never beat you," Lin grumbled after Yang knocked him into a wall.

"Sure, you invent new ways to use your elements, but you keep inventing without implementing them into your combat style. It’s like giving a baby dozens of swords: utter waste of time and resources," Yang replied. "What's the point of learning new methods if you can't even use them effectively? That is the risk of learning too many element spirit techniques."

"Like you don't?" Lin shot back.

"I know sixteen element arts, each with its own specific use that do not coincide with each other," Yang stated.

"Sixteen? I only remember counting fourteen," Mei frowned. "Stone Breaker, Moon Slicer, Snake Specter, Light Puppet, Coiling Spirit Drain, Viper's Dominance, Paralysis Mist Breath, Pulse Rock Wave, Jade Poison Desolation Spear, Frost Snake Prison, Forbidden Sky Poison Armor, Terra Destroyer, Mirror Mirage, and Soaring Volt Dragon Arts."

"You kept count?" Yang laughed, scratching the back of his head, as the others and Guan Hai had never seen the ice, lightning, and poison art he used to kill the Meteor Vessel practitioner he called the Disintegration Lance Art, along with one he invented that could only be used in his serpent dragon form. It was a lightning and ice art known as the Slaughtering Dragon Art.

"What are the other two?" Lin asked.

"The other one. It's actually fifteen," Yang said as he pretended to count with his fingers. "And you don't want to know. Frankly, it would strike fear and horror into all poison cultivators, as it is the ultimate goal of all poison art."

"Incurable, invincible poison that kills you almost instantly with a single moment of contact," Shen Dong answered as he appeared with Sima Qing and Shen Hua. Lin Dong glanced at Sima Qing. Yang sighed as Lin still hadn't figured out Qing's true identity.

"Hi Qing," Lin smiled.

"Hello, Guo Lin," Qing nodded back.

"Forget this idiot; how did you know about that?" Mei asked Shen Dong.

"Shen Hua and I live in the palace. Swords and practitioner arts aren't the only dangers in the world. Sometimes, it is a borrowed sword or poison. Some are untraceable and undetectable but take too much time. A poison that is not only quick but incurable is the ultimate poison. There wouldn't be enough time to prove it could be cured and no time to save the victim," Shen Dong explained.

"The six of you agreed to help my cousin become the next emperor. Don't worry, we will ensure you are justly rewarded at the end," Shen Hua said, staring at Mei and Yang in particular.

------Three Days Ago, at Sima Qing's Room------------

"Your Highness, it seems that Guo Mei and Guo Yang are approaching," Guan Hai said as he stood in the room with the three royals. Shortly after, they heard two knocks on the door.

"Who is it?" Qing asked.

"We all know it's me and my elder sister. Just let us in, princess," Yang replied. "I hate the rain, especially rain during the night."

"Please sit," Qing said as Yang and Mei were let into the room by Guan Hai. Mei felt jealous of how spacious the room was. It was more like eight dorm rooms combined into one giant living space.

"Nice room you've got here," Mei observed as she and Yang sat on the couch.

"Would you like some tea?" Guan Hai asked.

"We came here for business. Imperial business. Matters in regard to your father and uncle concerning Shen Hua," Yang waved aside. "You came here for a reason. No doubt, you wish to attain the throne. You must be at a disadvantage, as a human emperor would never let one faction gain too much power. That power would be my brother, who possesses a Yin Yang Divine Tattoo of the four modern elements. Another reason would be how dangerous I am and your discovery of my sister's secret: one of the two people in hiding with a Yin Yang Divine Tattoo."

"You seem to know everything," Shen Dong sighed.

"No. I do not assume to know everything. I just have a rather clever and devious mind. I admit I am immature because I always desire what I want, getting it through any means possible. However, I do not know who you are competing against. There is the crown prince, but there should be another obvious faction. An emperor cannot tolerate another with more influence than his own. No doubt, even his greatest generals and prime minister are watched from the shadows," Yang stated.

"You came to us with a goal. We would like to hear more before we give you an answer and determine if your mission was a success, whole or in part," Mei added.

"Success in part?" Shen Hua frowned.

"Over the past few days, it has become obvious my brother likes her," Mei said, waving her head in Qing's direction. "He knows not to involve himself with you, but has not realized who you really are."

"And you're not telling him?" Qing asked, confused.

"The love life of our brother is not our concern, and connections with the imperial clan are not without benefits," Yang replied. "But that is in regards to the clan and my brother. As for myself, there is none. I cannot answer for Mei."

"Thus, we came here to learn of your plans and the overall situation. If there is something to be gained that is worth the risk and effort, then we will assist you like Lu Jing and Sun Yi," Mei said.

"You know they are helping us?" Shen Dong gasped.

"It is obvious," Yang scoffed. "Lu Jing, that weak idiot, is the son of a duke. Naturally, the duke would consider who to side with. Dukes are powerful, but the empire encompasses the whole continent. There would be more dukes than one has fingers, for such vast amounts of land. As for Sun Yi, he is smart, and his clan would indeed aspire to transcend their status."

"I'm guessing he told you all this?" Shen Hua asked Mei.

"Of course. We are siblings. We also know something about each other. While he cares not that I know, his secret scares me. It terrifies me in the event he casts aside his feelings," Mei said, the four staring at Yang, who shrugged.

"Feelings are fleeting. They are bound for change, like time. So, what is the situation in the palace? What is your mother's position among the consorts and the power held by the Eastern Palace, the influence of the crown prince?" Yang asked, avoiding the subject.

"You would really help His Highness?" Guan Hai asked.

"I am not one to let an opportunity go to waste. Of course, it must be worth the risk, time, and effort. The palace is a den of vipers. Those vipers are those with greed, lust, and betrayal carved in their hearts. Some lust for the consorts, some consorts even sleeping with them to increase the power of their faction. Some ministers desire higher offices. Even generals would desire more power and be affected by the size of their army, even inclined to have a private army of their own," Yang began, pausing as he imagined the chaos.

"Such an environment, with the schemes of the royals, would be so much...fun. It is an excellent place to nurture my deviousness to attain certain objectives that were previously impossible," Yang smiled malevolently. "I care not who sits on your throne. I don't even care for this empire. Cultivation requires you to cast the mortal to attain the immortal. Those who think otherwise are not true practitioners. I imagine you, Guan Hai, are such an individual who desires immortality. Am I wrong?"

"It is one of the reasons I retired," Guan Hai nodded.

"Then I will begin. The emperor, my father, is Shen Wukong. He is at the peak of the Earth Mortal Stage. He has been for years. My mother is the third concubine and is the medicinal expert in the palace, dwarfing the chief healer. However, the emperor favors the first and second concubine. They are twins, but only the first concubine can bear children. She is the favorite and is the mother of the crown prince. The crown prince is a perverted fatass who even slept with his own aunt, his mother's twin sister. He lacks any talent in cultivation and is thirty-four years old. The empress is in charge of matters within the palace, such as the eunuchs, maids, and concubines. She is the mother of second brother. He has a Yin Yang Divine Tattoo and is at the middle Meteor Vessel Stage. He is currently twenty-five," Shen Dong explained.