Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

"Hahaha, you greenhorn! I represent the Prince of Guangling! Do you think these mere warriors would dare to kill me? Even if they had ten lives, they wouldn't dare. Otherwise, His Highness would certainly not spare them." Upon hearing Shen Qing's question about the Dongyue Sword Pool, Gao Liqiu immediately pinched his pinky finger and let out a sharp laugh, laughing until tears streamed down his face. He then took out a white handkerchief and began wiping them away.

Shen Qing ignored Gao Liqiu's laughter and instead kept his gaze on the people of Dongyue Sword Pool, waiting to see what choice they would ultimately make.

On one side was Shen Qing's amused gaze, and on the other side was Gao Liqiu's disdainful smile. Apart from Song Nianqing and Qin Shiming, whose expressions remained unchanged, the other disciples and elders of the Dongyue Sword Pool all turned extremely ugly.

Dongyue Sword Pool is clearly a top sect in the world, but it is sandwiched between two princes, so it is somewhat inferior.

"Brother Shen, is it really necessary to do this?" Li Yibai, noticing the predicament of Dongyue Sword Pool, asked with a hint of pleading on his face.

"Lord Shen, why make things difficult for our Dongyue Sword Pool?" Shan Eryi said to Shen Qing with some dissatisfaction, even changing her form of address, clearly very angry.

Zhang Fakui, along with his disciples including Song Tinglu, looked at Shen Qing with complicated expressions, feeling uncomfortable about Shen Qing's sudden coercion of the Dongyue Sword Pool.

Shen Qing calmly observed the gazes of Li Yibai, Shan Eryi, and the others. He was fully aware of the situation of Dongyue Sword Pool, but he knew that personal relationships were one thing and business was another, and they should not be confused.

Despite being located on Yuezhou's territory, Dongyue Sword Pool was trying to please both sides, not wanting to offend either the Prince of Guangling or the Prince of Yue's Mansion. Shen Qing could understand this awkward situation, but he would not let them continue doing so.

To put it nicely, this situation is called being caught in the middle; to put it bluntly, it's called being indecisive. There are some things that absolutely cannot be done without offending both sides; if you try to do that, you'll only offend both.

At this moment, Shen Qing is forcing Dongyue Sword Pool to make a choice. No matter how wronged Dongyue Sword Pool is, its location is, after all, on the territory of the King of Yue. If you want to please the King of Guangling on one hand, but not offend the King of Yue on the other, it will only make the King of Yue's mansion feel disheartened. If Dongyue Sword Pool is let off today, what will happen to the King of Yue's mansion if other Yuezhou forces follow suit in the future?

"What? Is it difficult? Or does the Dongyue Sword Pool not intend to obey the orders of the Yue King's Mansion?" Shen Qing spoke unhurriedly as the old sword god had already quietly moved behind him in case of any unexpected situation.

"Hahaha, kid, it's no use for you to force them any further. No matter how hard you try, the Dongyue Sword Pool won't dare to be an enemy of the King of Guangling." Gao Liqiu said, then turned to Zhang Fakui and said, "Second Elder, actually I have another idea. That is, your Dongyue Sword Pool should just kill this brat. Then the King will stand up for you, and I guarantee that the King of Yue will not dare to pursue the matter."

“What Eunuch Gao said is right. I think this is also a good idea. Why don’t you Second Elder or the people of Dongyue Sword Pool do the same?” Shen Qing was not angry when he heard Gao Liqiu’s words. Instead, he loudly agreed.

Upon hearing this, Yang Long and over a hundred other local militia members immediately raised their swords and shields, intending to protect Shen Qing, but Shen Qing stopped them with a gesture.

Zhang Fakui and the others, along with Gao Liqiu, were immediately bewildered by Shen Qing's bizarre actions. Who would agree to be targeted by others? They all looked at Shen Qing in confusion.

"Lord Shen, you jest. My Dongyue Sword Pool would never dare to lay a hand on you. We beg you to show mercy and let us go. We really cannot afford to get involved in the conflict between your two families." Zhang Fakui bowed repeatedly with a wry smile. If he had known that something like this would happen today, he would have sent someone to get Gao Liqiu and the others away, or gone directly to Lujiang City to pay his respects to Shen Qing, to avoid the two sides meeting face to face.

"Sect Leader Song, as the head of a sect, what are your plans?" Shen Qing ignored Zhang Fakui's words and turned his gaze to Song Nianqing.

Upon hearing Shen Qing's words, the next second, Song Nianqing's gaze turned towards Shen Qing like a sharp sword, the sword intent contained within was extremely sharp, forcing Shen Qing to not dare to meet his eyes.

Just then, the old sword god snorted softly from the side, and the sword intent contained in Song Nianqing's eyes was immediately dispelled by the old sword god's voice.

Seeing this, Song Nianqing glanced at Li Chungang with a fierce fighting spirit, then reluctantly turned his gaze to Shen Qing, saying, "Lord Shen, if you want to force my Dongyue Sword Pool to make a choice, we'll see what kind of bargaining chips you can offer. Otherwise, even if the old Sword God were here in person, don't even think about making my Dongyue Sword Pool take action." Song Nianqing's cold and firm reply showed that his determination was as unyielding as a sharp sword.

As the sect leader of the Dongyue Sword Pool, Song Nianqing usually doesn't care about worldly affairs and focuses on practicing swordsmanship. But that doesn't mean he's a fool. Shen Qing's intentions are already obvious: to make the Dongyue Sword Pool side with the Yue King's Mansion.

Therefore, Song Nianqing couldn't refuse directly. Instead, she passed the buck back to Shen Qing, saying, "Let's see what price the Yue Prince's Mansion can offer. If your price isn't right, then if I refuse, the reason is entirely your own fault." Shen Qing gave Song Nianqing a deep look, understanding her cunning plan. He thought to himself, "It seems this person isn't the kind who's gone stupid from studying swordsmanship."

In fact, Shen Qing could have easily passed the buck back, but since he was here today, he had to show some sincerity. Now that Dongyue Sword Pool had already made its demands, it would seem petty of him to keep going back and forth.

“As long as you kill them, my Yue Prince’s Mansion will take care of all the troubles that Guangling King has to deal with.” Shen Qing hesitated for a moment before tentatively saying.

Although the King of Guangling's power is immense, with the restoration of Western Chu imminent, even if he wanted to cause trouble, he probably wouldn't dare to act rashly. Anyone with eyes could sense the turbulent undercurrents in Chu.

"Not enough," Song Nianqing shook her head.

"How about adding another ten thousand taels of silver?" Shen Qing gradually increased the stakes.

“Dongyue Sword Pool is not short of money,” Song Nianqing continued to refuse.

"Add ten more martial arts manuals that reach the first rank."

"Shen Qing said again.

"Sect Master." Before Song Nianqing could speak, Zhang Fakui excitedly said from the side. A martial arts manual that could directly reach the first rank was extremely precious even in the Dongyue Sword Pool.

Song Nianqing glared at Zhang Fakui and said, "You haven't even fully mastered the sect's secret manuals, yet you dare to covet other people's techniques?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fakui retreated in shame, realizing that he had been blinded by greed. His own swordsmanship emphasized innovation, constantly updating existing techniques, which was equivalent to continuously creating new martial arts. Therefore, those secret manuals were of little help to the Dongyue Sword Pool.

Song Nianqing then shook her head at Shen Qing and said, "This sect does not need these."

"Interesting. It seems that Dongyue Sword Pool won't be satisfied unless they bring out something truly impressive." Shen Qing immediately became interested in Song Nianqing's repeated rejections.

He immediately started thinking quickly, trying to figure out what price he would have to pay to make Song Nianqing unable to refuse.

“Lord Shen, if you have no other conditions today, then please leave. My Dongyue Sword Pool will personally come to apologize later.” Song Nianqing said coldly when she saw Shen Qing lost in thought.