Chapter 197: Watch the Whole Play Through

"Master Wan, speak up. What conditions do you want before you'll sell these pills to us?"

At that moment, a noble spoke. Clearly, the pills Wan Donghai had brought out greatly tempted him.

But his question voiced what everyone was thinking.

Wan Donghai smiled faintly and slowly said, "Speaking of which, our Qin State has always been weak in recent years, ranking below average among the Ten States of Youyun. I wonder, over the years, have any of you ever reflected on this?"

The crowd thought, here it comes!

Wan Donghai's words struck home! The state's weakness—whose fault was it? Surely not theirs?

Of course it was the royal family's fault!

Many glanced toward Nanfeng Tower.

"I think our Qin State's power is too fragmented; we lack an effective alliance! If we could unite our forces into a cohesive whole, we could surely make Qin strong! Now that we have Juyuan Dan, True Huiqi Dan, Huayuan Dan, and Shengling Dan—enough to empower many more martial artists!"

He paused, swept his gaze across the hall, and continued, "So I propose forming a Qin State Pill Alliance! Integrate all factions and create a stronger Qin!"

The moment Wan Donghai finished, Nanfeng Ruoqing could no longer hold back. She stood and snapped, "Wan Donghai, are you plotting rebellion?"

Wan Donghai was not surprised by her accusation. He just smiled and said, "Why does the Grand Princess say that? Forming the Qin State Pill Alliance is merely to strengthen our state. As for the royal family, what have you done for Qin all these years? Hmm?"

"That's because... because..." Nanfeng Ruoqing didn't know how to answer.

The royal family's weakness was an indisputable fact!

It wasn't that the royal family didn't want to be strong, but the Su family's constraints were too severe, and Nanfeng Yi was afraid to act rashly, leading to Qin's current situation.

In the end, the Su family was the root cause!

But this was an open secret; ultimately, the royal family itself was not strong enough!

In this world, the strong always rule, and the weak are eventually eliminated!

"Because what? Heh, can the Grand Princess not say it herself? We subjects pay taxes to the royal family, ensuring your comfort, but what has the royal family given us?"

"The country has been peaceful, the people content—isn't that the royal family's achievement?" Nanfeng Ruoqing said angrily.

"That's only superficial peace! Though we are ordinary folk, this is a world of martial artists! In the martial world, the strong prey on the weak! Other states grow stronger while ours weakens; eventually, we'll be annexed! Grand Princess, am I wrong?" Wan Donghai sneered.

Nanfeng Ruoqing was speechless, because Wan Donghai spoke the truth!

But the Nanfeng family had not been idle all these years!

Why had Nanfeng Ruoqing and Nanfeng Zhirou studied incognito at the Danwu Academy? It was for the rise of the Nanfeng family!

Nanfeng Ruoqing's talent in alchemy was unmatched; she had long been qualified to enter the Youyun Sect! Yet she stayed at the academy, hoping to strengthen the royal family through her own efforts!

Why did Nanfeng Zhirou train so hard? She too wanted to grow strong and protect the Nanfeng family and Qin State!

But the Su family pressed harder and harder, finally baring their fangs!

And the Nanfeng family had not yet grown strong!

"Everyone! By joining the alliance, we can share resources! Merchant families in the pill trade can act as agents to sell pills refined by Drunken Star Tower! Families and martial artists who join the alliance can purchase pills at discounts based on their contribution! Are these terms satisfactory?"

Wan Donghai finally dropped the bombshell!

The temptation of these terms was extraordinary.

One could imagine that with these four pills, Drunken Star Tower would completely monopolize the market in Qin.

Merchant families in the pill trade, if they didn't join the alliance, would have no access to these pills, leaving only bankruptcy.

Martial artists and families all needed to nurture their own forces, and their demand for pills was enormous!

Undoubtedly, these pills would be very expensive. Especially Shengling Dan, which would reach an exorbitant price!

Yet even so, countless martial artists would flock to them!

Though it only increased success by twenty percent, how many martial artists in Qin were stuck at that bottleneck?

Many lacked just half that success rate, delaying their breakthrough for years. A twenty percent increase would allow many Qi Realm martial artists to break through to the Liquid Realm.

Even those at the ninth level of Qi Realm with no hope of breakthrough—wouldn't they want to try?

Thus, the two terms Wan Donghai offered were incredibly tempting!

Still, these nobles were somewhat wary of the Nanfeng family. Many exchanged glances and whispered, discussing countermeasures.

Wan Donghai was in no hurry; he patiently waited for their replies.

Ye Hang grew anxious and was about to move, but Ye Yuan held him back.

"Father, such a good show—how can we not watch it through? Watch the whole play!" Ye Yuan transmitted.

"Still watch? If we wait, they'll all defect to Wan Donghai and Su Yulin!"

"Of course we watch! This is a perfect chance to see everyone's true colors! I don't mind, but after this, the Nanfeng family will likely conduct a major purge, right? If Nanfeng Lou and Nanfeng Ruoqing don't see clearly, how will they know whom to purge?"

Hearing this, Ye Hang calmed down. He looked at Ye Yuan with a different gaze.

Ye Hang never expected his son to have matured to this extent!

He, as the father, was still focused on the present, while his son had already foreseen the distant future!

Looking back, every move Ye Yuan made seemed profound. Even his own father couldn't fully understand him.

Just then, someone finally spoke up!

"Master Wan, the Wang family is willing to join the alliance!" It was Wang Jia, the Wang family head.

But as soon as he spoke, someone immediately rebuked him: "Wang Jia, you shameless wretch! Your family has received royal favor for generations, yet today you're the first to defect!"

The speaker was the head of a family loyal to the royal family.

"Hmph! A fine bird chooses its tree, a good minister chooses his lord! If you want to die with the Nanfeng family, go ahead!" Wang Jia said shamelessly.

Wang Jia's move was like a fuse, and one by one, people began to declare their stance.

"The Lin family also joins the alliance!"

"The Songtao Pavilion joins the alliance!"

...

In an instant, more than half of the families or factions had chosen to join the alliance!