Chapter 543: Chapter 286: Faction Strife, Conference Reconvenes, Giant Ape Kingdom!
This situation, for the King’s Council, doesn’t count as a loss and is rather a good thing.
However...
The Sandstone Scorpion King looked at the Lion King’s corpse, the helpless expression on his face growing more intense.
"From the moment this guy attacked the forest, I was already aware and rushed over, but still was a step too late."
"This old brother’s strength... is even more terrifying than I imagined!"
The Sandstone Scorpion King glanced deeply at Lu Sheng, his words carrying a different intention within them.
Lu Sheng seemed as if he didn’t catch the deeper meaning of Sandstone Scorpion King’s words and spoke calmly, "Those who trespass my territory must be killed without exception."
"I don’t care if he’s a member of the King’s Council. The moment he stepped into my territory, he became my enemy."
"Once someone becomes my enemy... there’s only one option: complete eradication!"
Lu Sheng’s words made the Sandstone Scorpion King’s heart skip a little.
Yet after taking a few deep breaths, the Sandstone Scorpion King smiled slightly, "Those are your words, but the Lion King is ultimately a member of our King’s Council. Now that you’ve killed him, I fear next time at the King’s Council meeting... someone might give you a hard time!"
Upon hearing the Sandstone Scorpion King’s words, Lu Sheng’s eyebrows raised slightly.
What does the other party mean by this?
Is it a reminder for me?
Lu Sheng glanced deeply at the Sandstone Scorpion King and had to admit that his impression of him was quite good; from the beginning of their contact, the other party had been expressing goodwill towards him.
But when the Lion King attacked his territory, the other party also hurried over at the first moment.
If he had been weaker and not the Lion King’s match, the other party could have saved him too.
One must admit, the Sandstone Scorpion King indeed treated him quite well.
However... to say there is no ulterior motive behind this goodwill would be hard for Lu Sheng to believe.
"Oh? What do you mean?"
Lu Sheng’s eyebrows slightly raised as he asked the Sandstone Scorpion King.
The Sandstone Scorpion King slowly said, "Even within the King’s Council, different factions are formed. Now that the Lion King is dead, the faction behind him will naturally harbor ill intentions toward you; they might use this as an excuse to make things difficult for you at the meeting."
"After all, I invited you in; in a certain sense, you are on the same boat with me, and part of the Lion King’s hostility towards you was due to this reason."
Listening to the Sandstone Scorpion King’s explanation, Lu Sheng immediately understood, yet couldn’t help but smirk coldly in his heart.
"A bunch of Exotic Beasts, yet managing to create different factions! Indeed, anywhere there is intelligent life, there will always be struggles!"
Lu Sheng mused internally.
And then the Sandstone Scorpion King slowly explained, "But regarding this, you needn’t worry, the faction behind the Lion King targets you, but my faction... will protect you; after all, you being able to kill the Lion King is also a kind of proof of strength."
Upon hearing this, Lu Sheng’s internal cold laughter grew stronger.
"As expected, just as I had previously said, the King’s Council is ultimately a place that respects the strongest fists. If I hadn’t displayed such strong power today, I’d surely be part of the Sandstone Scorpion King’s faction."
"They would only stand on their own ground, but now that I’ve demonstrated great strength, their stance... will change because of my will."
"Strength... is always the root of everything!"
Lu Sheng couldn’t help but reflect internally.
"However... even with our faction protecting you, you still need to showcase some degree of strength; only then... can your interests be maximized!"
The Sandstone Scorpion King smiled slightly at Lu Sheng.
Lu Sheng’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he then nodded.
With that, the Sandstone Scorpion King didn’t waste any more words and turned to leave Lu Sheng’s territory.
Watching the Sandstone Scorpion King leave his territory, Lu Sheng lowered his head and gulped down the Lion King’s corpse.
Then he instructed his subordinates to clean up the battlefield, also dividing some of the corpses of the Lion King’s men who invaded the forest among his subordinates.
To make the horse run, one must provide grass to eat, otherwise, even the fastest horse won’t have the strength to gallop.
Lu Sheng currently still needed the assistance of these fellows.
After returning to the valley, Lu Sheng quietly began to operate the Dragon Transformation Technique, refining the bloodline power within the Lion King’s body while also starting to ponder.
"Within the King’s Council exist different factions, but overall, whoever has the strongest fist holds the greatest voice."
"Thus... increasing strength is always necessary."
Lu Sheng lightly murmured and then closed his eyes, accelerating the refinement.
Days later, Lu Sheng slowly opened his eyes, and a powerful aura roared from his body, causing him to swell somewhat along with the strengthening aura.
"Mid-stage Tier Five!"
"Reaching the Late-stage Tier Five... won’t take much longer. After all, I’m still a King of the Lions. Although my power is lacking, the enhancement I received is immense. Devouring the bloodline of a Giant Beast King accelerates my progress far more than consuming ten giant beasts!"
A faint gleam flickered in Lu Sheng’s eyes.
"Now, even if I face the Tier Five Peak Giant Beast King, I can still fight!"
"Unless a Tier Six Giant Beast King intervenes, no creature in this world can threaten me!"
As Lu Sheng spoke, a slight curve appeared on his lips.
"Next, I shall see how the faction behind the Lion King plans to deal with me!"
Lu Sheng spoke leisurely, then closed his eyes again, unconcerned.
...
After some time passed, the King’s conference resumed.
Lu Sheng emerged from the valley, heading to the canyon to participate in this session of the King’s conference.
However, when Lu Sheng arrived at the canyon, numerous gazes swept over him, their eyes filled with complex emotions.
The most common sentiment among them... was a fierce hostility.
Clearly, these looks were from the Giant Beast Kings aligned with the Lion King’s faction.
However, Lu Sheng paid no mind to these gazes, calmly taking his seat as he awaited the meeting’s commencement.
Before long, the Sandstone Scorpion King also arrived at the canyon. It glanced at Lu Sheng, and upon sensing his aura, a hint of surprise flashed through its eyes.
Yet soon, that look of surprise was replaced by joy.
As the Giant Beast Kings gathered, a Tier Five Peak Giant Beast King spoke in a deep voice.
"Now that everyone is here, let’s begin this session of the King’s conference!"
"The topic of this meeting is once again the matter of the King of the Forest!"
Upon hearing this, many eyes fell on Lu Sheng, but he acted as if completely unaware, simply keeping his eyes closed, seemingly too lazy to even open them.
"Hmph! Sleeping during the meeting! It seems some individuals don’t take this conference seriously at all!"
Seeing Lu Sheng’s demeanor, a Giant Beast King snorted coldly, speaking in a deep tone.
"Haha, this fellow even dares to kill his conference peers. Him not taking the conference seriously is rather expected, isn’t it?"
"Who knows whether accepting this fellow into the conference was a right choice at all!"
"I say, we should punish this guy directly; otherwise, won’t the conference’s rules become meaningless?"
"The King’s conference explicitly prohibits conflicts among conference members, let alone that the Lion King was tasked with defending the Giant Ape Kingdom’s front line. Now that the Lion King is dead, there’s a breach in the defense line!"
A torrent of voices echoed through the canyon, all vehemently criticizing Lu Sheng.
Lu Sheng listened to these comments, slowly opening his eyes and revealing a sliver of sight.
Giant Ape Kingdom!
Lu Sheng had learned of the Giant Ape Kingdom’s existence during the previous King’s conference.
In the Beast Realm, aside from the Exotic Beast factions like the King’s conference, there are three other major forces.
These forces are entrenched within the Beast Realm, occupying specific territories, yet frequently attempt to invade the territories of other forces to expand their own influence.
One could say...
Conflicts occur between the four forces quite often, especially in areas where the territories are adjacent, leading to more frequent skirmishes.
The desert jungle territory of the Lion King borders not only Lu Sheng’s forest territory but also the territory of a Giant Beast King from the Giant Ape Kingdom.
Hence, the Lion King’s territory was a defensive line against the Giant Ape Kingdom, endorsed by the King’s conference.
Now, these fellows bring this issue to the conference, likely to amplify Lu Sheng’s alleged crimes.
Nonetheless, Lu Sheng disdained these accusations.
No matter what these guys said, Lu Sheng had no interest in responding, not even sparing them a glance.
For a while, the canyon reverberated with their condemnation of Lu Sheng, causing even the hosting Tier Five Peak Giant Beast King to frown slightly.
It glanced over the speakers before eventually focusing on Lu Sheng, speaking in a grave tone.
"King of the Forest, do you have anything to say?"
Lu Sheng listened, slowly opening his eyes, a flash of disdain evident in his gaze.
"Say what? That guy deserved to die. It invaded my territory. Am I not allowed to kill it?"
"I have nothing to say."