Jiang Chen listened quietly in on the conversation between the godkings. He detected no attempt at trickery. They were genuine in their appreciation of him. He couldn’t possibly continue to keep them at arm’s length when they were being so earnest.

“I very much appreciate your kindness, my lords,” he responded seriously. “I will give you a definite answer after the conference.”

“You will?” asked Godking Righteous.

“I will,” promised Jiang Chen.

The overweight godking slapped his thick thigh. “Good, I like your decisiveness! Youths should be bold and ambitious! Let me ask you something, will your answer then be yes or no?”

Jiang Chen smiled. “We’ll see very soon.”

If his plan failed, all bets were off and nothing would matter anymore. If he succeeded, his status would reach such a height that Godking Crimsonwaters couldn’t possibly consider him a successor.

Everything would be decided after the conference.

Crimsonwaters chuckled. “Enough, I invited you here to introduce you to Elder Zhen. Stop making the young man nervous.”

“Haha, Brother Crimsonwaters can’t help but intervene. Alright, we won’t push any further.” The godking in blue added, “But, Elder Zhen is indeed quite remarkable.”

The five godkings shared a look and with unspoken understanding, made hand seals at the same time. A small godking domain emerged in an instant.

“Alright, now we can talk without worry of unwanted ears.” Crimsonwaters laughed, but it was with resigned mirth.

The court should be private, yet they had to be cautious before speaking freely. It was testament to how awful the atmosphere in Taiyuan had become.

The overweight godking sighed. “We can’t go on like this. Shouldn’t we do something, Brother Crimsonwaters? Things will only get worse, won’t they?”

“Has anyone suspicious made you offers or tried to win your allegiance?”

“Yes!” The godking in blue was the first to answer. “And more than a couple. However, they’re intentionally vague with their words. It’s difficult to tell what exactly they’re getting at.”

“Cowards, the lot of them!” Godking Righteous declared angrily. “They harbor malicious intent, but none of them dare take a stand for fear of getting themselves killed.”

“Many have approached me too,” Crimsonwaters said with a sigh. “However, I’ve stayed studiously neutral. They left without getting what they wanted.”

“Taiyuan is in a very dangerous position. It’s a balloon that’s been filled with too much air. Everyone knows it’ll explode, but no one knows when and how, and how many will end up hurt. Still, people are injecting more and more air into the balloon, accelerating its impending explosion.” There was a hint of sadness to Crimsonwaters’s voice. “If no strong leaders come forth and raise a call for action, I believe the godking conference will become another bloodbath. Another swath of godkings will be killed. Perhaps the current celestial emperor will fall from grace as well.”

“Godking Skypillar?” the godking in blue asked curiously. “How do you know he’s not the one behind everything, dao brother?”

The thin godking, who had been quiet, spoke up suddenly, “Celestial Emperor Skypillar is so obvious with his schemes and plotting. Everyone can see his true nature clear as day. If he was the one pulling the strings, Celestial Emperor Taiyuan would have suffered a worthless defeat at the hand of an incompetent foe.”

“Haha, true. Skypillar can’t be the culprit. Look at how he’s set up all of the checkpoints. He’s obviously insecure. The harder he tries, the more precarious his position becomes.”

The godkings chatted bluntly about Skypillar’s secrets.

Jiang Chen was shocked. He didn’t expect the five godkings to put such trust in him. Why would they hold such a sensitive conversation while he was present?

The realization settled heavily down on him.

“Haha, we’ve changed the subject too suddenly, haven’t we?” The overweight godking guffawed, jiggling the excess fat on his face. “Look at Elder Zhen. He’s stunned.”

Crimsonwaters looked at Jiang Chen with a generous look. “We believe you’re trustworthy, Elder Zhen, and we consider you one of our own. That’s why we talk about this while you’re here. No matter what you decide to do in the future, your temperament, potential, and character alone make you a worthy addition to our ranks. Sooner or later, you’ll be on equal footing with us. That’s why we get you involved in advance. You don’t mind, do you?”

It was a gesture of trust and recognition, and an olive branch offered.

Touched, Jiang Chen said seriously, “Your approval humbles me, seniors. I’ll make sure whatever you discuss today stays in this room.”

The godkings smiled. “You’re one of us. You may be at ease, Elder Zhen.”

“That’s right. If we wanted to keep you out of the loop, we wouldn’t have brought the Celestial Emperor up at all.”

“We didn’t want to keep secrets from you.”

“Again, Elder Zhen, we old men have high hopes for you. We believe you deserve our respect.”

Jiang Chen nodded and stopped protesting.

Godking Righteous looked at Jiang Chen with a smile. “Brother Crimsonwaters said that you are insightful despite your age, Elder Zhen, and that you understand the development of Taiyuan very well. Would you mind enlightening us?”

“Enlighten is too strong a word, but I do have some thoughts.” This was a good opportunity to test the godkings and Jiang Chen didn’t want to miss it.

“Haha, don’t be so humble. Let’s hear it.”

“Agreed. You don’t have to worry about being wrong. We just want to hear from a young man like you.”

Jiang Chen nodded and got right to the point instead of beating around the bush. “The true culprit must be remarkably shrewd to have laid low patiently for such a long time. Regular approaches won’t be enough to root him out. There are only a handful of solutions.”

The overweight godking laughed heartily. “Oh, a handful, you say?”

“The first one is the most straightforward: Free Celestial Emperor Taiyuan. He must know who the true culprit is.”

“Haha, that won’t do. Celestial Emperor Taiyuan is sealed in the Divine Prison of Eternity, the keys of which are controlled by seven godkings. You have to get all seven to work with you to rescue him. As one of the seven, Brother Crimsonwaters, you must know how difficult that will be.”

Crimsonwaters sighed. “It won’t be easy.”

Jiang Chen suddenly smiled faintly. “One of the seven godkings must be the culprit.”