Chapter 950: Whose Bigger Picture? (2/2)

Qianye’s gaze was incisive, but Song Zining met it with calm determination. In the end, Qianye averted his gaze and glanced toward Ji Tianqing. The latter was standing in a corner, almost as though she was unrelated. She had already lowered her hands to reveal an unassuming countenance—one Qianye had never seen before.

Qianye’s eyes landed on Song Zining after scanning the room. “If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have gone to block the gates of Tidehark.”

Song Zining sighed. “Don’t get angry first, sit down, we can talk this over slowly.” He reached out to pat Qianye’s shoulder out of habit, but the latter leaned back and evaded the gesture.

Song Zining’s hands froze mid-air. He then reached for the door, saying, “Let’s head next door, this building is ruined.”

The journey to the conference room next door wasn’t that far, but it felt like several years to Rui Xiang. He was already drenched in sweat and his breathing was heavy. Every step he took seemed arduous, accompanied by countless wisps of black and white energy.

Qianye wasn’t doing much. It was just that his gaze was fixated on the man’s back.

Only after entering the conference room did he heave a sigh of relief. He couldn’t help but glance at Qianye, his eyes full of shock and puzzlement. He was at a disadvantage against Qianye a while ago, but he could still attack and retreat at will. How did he become so terrifying in such a short span of time?

The four duly took their seats. Intentionally or otherwise, Ji Tianqing and Song Zining positioned themselves between Qianye and Rui Xiang.

“Qianye, this is how matters stand. You know the circumstances right now are quite delicate and largely different from before. Let me explain the general situation to you.”

Song Zining hadn’t finished speaking when he was interrupted by Qianye’s cold voice. “Get to the point.”

Song Zining was startled. As smooth as he was, he couldn’t find a good way to put things into words at the moment.

At this point, Ji Tianqing suddenly reached out and grabbed Qianye’s hand. The two had had close contact before, but that was in battle. The present situation was actually a first. Surprised, Qianye made to pull back his hand, but Ji Tianqing strengthened her grip on him. She didn’t use that much force, but her stance was abnormally firm.

Qianye was somewhat puzzled, but he let her do as she wished because he didn’t want to fall out. It was just that the bloody threads flickering on his fingertips could no longer be shot out since he couldn’t just pierce Ji Tianqing’s hands.

She was only grabbing one of his hands at this point. Qianye’s other hand spread out slightly as strings of blood bore out from his fingertips. Ji Tianqing’s body moved slightly. Although the movement was small, Qianye was also an expert creeping into the master level in martial arts. He immediately noticed that she was about to grab his other hand as well. It was just that this action would put them in a hugging position.

Tensing up, Qianye immediately extinguished the sanguineous threads and allowed Ji Tianqing to sit straight once more. Even when she was back in her seat, she still shot Qianye a mysterious glance.

Ji Tianqing’s countenance was never the same, and Qianye still had no idea what she looked like. Perhaps her real appearance was among the dozens of changing faces from just now, but she had covered it up. Hence, Qianye made no effort to guess her thoughts and merely pushed the issue to the back of his mind.

Rui Xiang felt greatly relieved upon seeing Qianye calm down. He was sweating and weak, greatly disconcerted by the feeling of impending death.

Song Zining weighed his words and said, “Qianye, this battle is extremely important. The most key issue is Luo Bingfeng. It can be said that the outcome of this battle hinges on whether we can restrain him. It just so happened that Rui Xiang has a common objective and can work with us. I was the captured one. Even I have managed to set aside this hatred, so why can’t you?”

Qianye sneered, “You were the captured one, but I was out there risking my neck. Now you tell me that you’ve made up?”

Song Zining shook his head. “I don’t want to, but the greater picture is important.”

“The greater picture? Tell me, what kind of greater picture?”

Song Zining laughed wryly as he cast a glance at Ji Tianqing, but the latter merely turned away without looking at him. Feeling helpless, he could only explain things himself, “Qianye, the Great Maelstrom isn’t just related to the potential of the empire’s younger generation of elites, but there are also numerous rare materials inside. So much so that it’s been rumored that the secrets of void traversal are hidden inside. Sending these people into the Great Maelstrom is highly beneficial to the next ten years of the empire’s reign.”

“So, this is the empire’s bigger picture.”

“Yes.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

For a moment, Song Zining had no words to reply.

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