Starting My Cultivation With Time Management-Chapter 916 - 56: Good Son-in-Law

Chapter 916 -56: Good Son-in-Law freewebnσvel.cøm

A few months later.

Long Long was speaking with Long Hu when he suddenly heard Shi Yao knocking on the door outside.

“Long Long, come out for a moment.” Judging by his master’s tone, something seemed peculiar.

So he pushed open the door and saw Shi Yao glance at Long Hu in the room, a look that seemed to say, “Did you tell her or not?”

Long Long nodded at first, then shook his head.

The meaning was, “I told her, but not everything.”

Shi Yao: ?

Shi Yao decided not to dwell further on it. Since Long Long didn’t call Long Hu over to listen, it was better to keep her uninformed for now.

They went to a nearby quiet room and, after confirming they weren’t under surveillance, Shi Yao said with a complex expression:

“Just as you anticipated, West State has declared war on North State.”

“Huh?” Long Long looked bewildered.

Currently, the situation in the Eastern Emperor Realm is such that North State is forced to stake everything, while West State can remain somewhat composed… logically, it should’ve been North State striking first, shouldn’t it?

“Just as you mentioned earlier,” Shi Yao continued, speaking slowly, “North State has strictly sealed its borders, not allowing any foreign cultivators to enter.”

“West State seems to believe that North State is planning to reignite hostilities and so has decided to strike preemptively.”

“The White Tiger Divine General certainly is capable.” Long Long mused thoughtfully.

If the two states are destined to go to war, striking first is certainly more advantageous compared to retaliatory defense. After all, the former can push the battlefield into the opponent’s territory, while the latter will have to fight in their own land.

A classic example would be the earlier invasion of South State by Central State, which devastated the northern parts of the Two Rivers Plain, leaving Yuanjiang City in ruins and years away from recovering its vital energy.

But the problem is, not everyone possesses strategic foresight… Who can guarantee that North State will indeed attack?

With Qi Qiaosong’s prolonged rule, the internal factions in West State don’t see any clear benefit in reigniting war, and the dovish faction’s influence has undoubtedly surged significantly.

Being able to unify opinions and rally West State to preemptively strike North State—other than the White Tiger Divine General, there’s hardly another likely candidate.

“This time, it’s not the White Tiger Divine General.” Shi Yao finally revealed a “You can’t always be right” expression, rare as it was, with a faint smile. “It’s Elder Princess Qi Yingzhu who personally went to West State and persuaded the White Tiger Patriarch to agree to war.”

So it was that little tiger… Long Long fell silent for a long time before saying:

“In any case, it does help us.”

“When do you plan to leave with me for West State?” Shi Yao asked.

Leaving East State for West State—on the surface, the Dragon Clan would absolutely not approve, meaning they’d have to leave without saying a word.

When the time comes, East State would undoubtedly be shaken, and there would be no turning back.

“The sooner, the better,” Long Long sighed. “It seems the clan’s patience with me is running out.”

“Are they forcing you into marriage?” Shi Yao chuckled mockingly.

“I can’t tarnish someone else’s reputation.” Long Long replied.

“Once in West State, there’s one thing you must watch out for.” Shi Yao suddenly remembered something and said, “You must not let anyone recognize you.”

“Naturally.” Long Long responded as if without hesitation, then furrowed his brows and asked, “Why?”

“What do you think?” Shi Yao said with profound meaning.

If West State discovers your identity, wouldn’t the White Tiger Clan be able to produce dozens, if not hundreds, of Mao Clan women? Not to mention, Elder Princess Qi Yingzhu—isn’t it possible she’s somewhat interested in you? And perhaps she’d directly haul you back to Central State as her Prince Consort.

“I have no idea what Master is talking about.” Long Long muttered awkwardly, “Let’s avoid discussing this topic. For the preparations in West State, I’d like to ask Master for help arranging things with Long Hu.”

“Humph!” Shi Yao finally felt her grievances cleared, took the yang scroll of the Mortal World’s Hundred Eras Diagram triumphantly, and left the room in high spirits.

Long Long, still in East State, suddenly found himself summoned by Clan Leader Qin Beiwang to discuss matters.

In an instant, he felt a sense of guilt, as if his plans to flee had already been seen through. But he quickly calmed himself, attending the meeting with composure.

As expected, the meeting had gathered all the Dragon Clan elders to discuss the current tense situation between West State and North State.

“West State absolutely wouldn’t launch an attack lightly.” An elder of the Dragon Clan spoke up, “The political landscape of Central State is essentially stable now, and Qi Weihong is no longer a contender for the throne. With no profit to be gained, why would West State proactively attack North State?”

“Exactly, exactly.” The other elders chimed in to echo the sentiment.

“If West State doesn’t intend to engage in war, then why has it mobilized its various clans and gathered its troops once again?” Clan Leader Qin Beiwang asked leisurely.

“It must be due to the heightened vigilance caused by North State’s sealed borders,” another elder proposed.

Qin Beiwang did not accept this explanation, his brows remaining furrowed, and the room fell into silence.

Long Long, as a newly appointed elder, simply stood composedly with arms folded, observing coldly from the sidelines.

Such “over-vigilance” reasoning was clearly untenable. Defensive countermeasures and invasion preparations require vastly different troop deployments. A careful examination of West State’s situation easily reveals that these Dragon Clan elders were blatantly turning a blind eye to the truth.

But Long Long understood why—because no one really wanted to fight another war.

If North State, Central State, and West State each had clear interests to pursue, and South State held a grudge against Central State, then East State was the only realm with neither the interests nor the adequate motivation to participate in this conflict.

Everyone with any wit knows that if the others tear each other apart, eventually the flames will spread your way. Not taking sides isn’t an option.

But whether it’s West State or East State, most people fall short of being truly wise, do they not?

Since all sides harbored reluctance for war, naturally Long Long wouldn’t step up to argue the contrary. Yet Clan Leader Qin Beiwang refused to let him remain silent and directly named him:

“Long Long, what do you think?”

What do I think—are you the clan leader, or am I?

Long Long sighed inwardly for a moment before slowly replying:

“If West State truly goes to war with North State, what will our clan do?”

The room fell silent.

Upon hearing the question, everyone’s instinctive first thought was, “What does that have to do with us?”

West State warring with North State would concentrate the conflict in the northwest of the Eastern Emperor Realm, naturally having little impact on East State. The main issue would be how to respond politically.

“It depends on South State’s stance.” Seeing the silence, Long Long offered a reminder once again.

If West State fights North State, it may indeed have nothing to do with us. But if South State sees West State tied down and seizes the moment to attack Central State, then we will have to get involved.

The so-called “strategic landscape, where a single move impacts the whole,” is precisely this.

“Correct.” Qin Beiwang nodded approvingly.

What initially seemed a chaotic web of relations was instantly unraveled by Long Long’s concise remarks, laid out clearly and logically.

If South State attacks Central State, East State would inevitably need to follow suit. Otherwise, not only would they offend allied South State, but given prior wartime grievances, Central State would not look favorably upon East State either—leaving East State caught on both sides.

However, if South State remains inactive, East State naturally wouldn’t need to provoke Central State, seeing as no benefits could be gained. What’s the point of fighting then?

With these insights, Qin Beiwang’s regard for Long Long grew even stronger.

This boy truly is my ideal son-in-law!