Author's Notes
A—Ji and Chang Yi...
In the Daguoshi mansion inside the Dacheng kingdom palace complex, more precisely in the room used for meetings...
Chapter 11 - Ning Qing's plan
"No... It doesn't hurt." the honest and serious prince of the ocean replied although he stammered.
Sighing with relief, she adjusted his position a little better on her back and left the place walking along a kind of natural trail to the shell they were in.
Despite being short, the demon master prided herself on her physical aptitude being better than her sister's, with the princess not doubting that she stood out from the other demon masters.
Furthermore, the young woman trained in Kung Fu with a master after helping him and as gratitude, he trained her. No one but her knew that she was a Kung Fu master, causing her to amplify her physical skills and reflexes. Since demon masters didn't train in martial arts because they relied on their spiritual powers, they had many limitations. Only one or the other trained and even then, because they trusted their powers, they did not give due dedication.
After all, they could use the Hidden Pulse to increase their physical strength and stamina unlike demons who possess pure natural strength.
"See? I said I could carry you. Also, know that I am a Kung Fu master. That makes me stronger and more resistant than other demon masters" the princess speaks while feeling proud of her skills.
A-ji kept moving forward as he tried to walk because she feared increasing the pain if she ran with him, plus the fact that his tail was dragging on the ground, lifting the soft sand from the bottom of the sea and occasionally scraping some coral or rock.
It took some time for the newt to get used to its huge tail being dragged along the ground, making it feel the ocean sand and occasional corals, as well as rocks.
After all, the tail was always raised and when it rested on the ground it was to rest. Feeling her being dragged was a strange sensation.
As she thought of her tail dragging, with him waiting for it to happen, the prince decides to answer the princess:
"I never said you couldn't carry me and yes you are too short"
She huffs and then mutters in an annoyed voice, "Just shut up."
After a long walk, she arrives at the huge shell and places the merman in a corner, then goes to his back, starting to use magic to help heal the wounds and purify the toxin.
Unbeknownst to them, two of the subordinates sent by the king had found both of them and while one continued to watch them, the other went to fetch the monarch.
This one who watched them confessed that he was surprised by the actions of the Demon Master because he acted differently than he had heard since he was a puppy.
However, the young merman remembers that they are human and humans lie. As commendable as his actions were and equally admirable, it could just be pretending in search of something. Perhaps, luring their prince into a trap or seizing the secrets of their kind, making him understand the emperor's concern.
After all, it was the concern of all jiaoren.
When remembering that mermaid from the squid clan attacking the prince, the bluefin tuna demon realized that the crown prince did everything to protect her. The rumor of him having faced the power of the cedar, even if at the moment the monarch was using only a tiny part of his power, did not seem so far-fetched, as well as the rumor involving the tail on his father.
As he analyzed the Crown Prince's conduct, he came to believe that he was wanting to bond with the human because that would be the most plausible explanation for why he tailed his father.
Thinking about it, the young jiaoren becomes desperate because she was a demon master and it was known to the demons that they enjoyed taming or hunting because they hated their race and thought that all demons should be enslaved or killed without any distinction. Having such deep feelings for someone who was a threat to the demon race as a whole was insanity to say the least.
Therefore, he hoped that the situation would be resolved as soon as possible in order to save the prince from that human's manipulations.
After all, in his view, it was impossible for a human to have true feelings for a despised and hated race. The only plausible explanation for her actions would be that she sought to capture him to enslave him because the species was very targeted and to seize the secrets or even to use him against the emperor because if the prince was enslaved and subject to orders from the master of demons, it would be enough to have the emperor of the ocean tribes killed and take the cedar in his hands. With the ocean cedar in hand, the rest of the jiaoren would be subjugated and the ocean empire would be easily taken over by humans.
The vision he had of it coming true sent shivers down his spine, making him desperately pray to the God of the Abyss for the sovereign to arrive at the place as soon as possible.
Inside the shell, she is relieved to see that his wound is healing and that the venom has dissipated because he can move his tail, indicating that his movements are gradually returning.
At one point, the merman turns and stops what she was doing, saying, "That's good. Now, it'll heal in a matter of minutes. You're tired."
Indeed, A-Ji was tired and this was an irrefutable fact because she was perspiring and breathing heavily. Using healing magic was too tiring, plus the fact that she was removing the poison from his body. This only doubled the difficulty because she had not fully mastered spiritual healing techniques either.
When the prince was about to say something, her stomach rumbled, making her blush intensely as she hugged her abdomen, with the young woman watching the jiaoren get up while her back was practically healed.
"I'll go get you something to eat. Do you have a preference?"
"No. But I'd appreciate some tender, thornless meat if I'm going to have to eat it raw."
Chang Yi looks thoughtful and then says, "I'll be right back."
Then, the jiaoren swims towards the entrance with the young woman watching him speed away after creating a barrier around the shell with her demonic powers, understanding that it was for her protection while he did not return.
After a few minutes, the princess enters and sits where she was previously.
Hundreds of kilometers away, in the Daguoshi mansion within the palace complex of the Dacheng kingdom, more precisely in the room used for meetings, the king and queen were together with the general, as well as the Grand Master of demons, Ning Qing. Also there was the head of the castle's defensive troops, Zhu Ling.
They were all seated around a mahogany table inlaid with gold and studded with precious jewels. On the top of the table lay a map with marked points while there were some new parchments containing notes of some techniques described in detail on their respective surfaces.
"In fact, we need to do something with the jiaoren. They guard the place and in the ocean they are powerful. The bastards are only vulnerable close to land. What can we do?" the queen asks with concern, "They might jeopardize our plans."
"We'll need to make a lot of sacrifices. There's a way to seal off the ocean. However..." the Demon Grandmaster spoke as he separated some of the parchments with notes, turning them towards the monarchs.
"Is there a way to seal it?" the king asks in wonder, "If we seal off the ocean, they won't be able to stop us!"
"What a wonderful idea!" the queen exclaims in jubilation.
"I must inform you that by sealing off the ocean, no food can be taken from the sea again. The sealing will form an unbreakable barrier and will stop the movement of the sea and all forms of life, as well as sealing away any underwater demons. I I speak unbreakable because I will use the ocean's own weight and its power against itself, ensuring a virtually unbreakable seal. Furthermore, to destroy it will require the same demand of power used in its creation to undo it colossal power must be used in a single moment in the form of a burst of power to fracture the formation and free everyone who is sealed in destroy the ten formations simultaneously, thus allowing the sealed demon freedom. The other way would be a complete and utter shaking to its foundations with a powerful natural power capable of destroying any er thing, like what happened on Demon Island when the place was engulfed by hellish burning magma from an occult vein connected to the faraway Island called Leihuo, as well as forming a still active volcano in the center of the island. Breaking the seal released the Sapphire Dragon who was never seen again."
"It is a pity that this dragon could not be tamed."
"The quartet of legendary demons are impossible to tame. Their power is immense. It is only possible to seal them."
"We still have the diamond tiger in the north, plus that sealed nekomata and hell steed. Can those last two not be tamed?"
"Unfortunately, the black steed's flames can burn everything. It's considered a miracle that we were able to seal it away. This demon ardently protects the nekomata, causing both of them to be sealed away before destroying everything."
"It would be so nice if we could tame those bastards."
"It's an amazing technique." the king comments in wonder.
"I created it based on some techniques and among them was the formation of ten squares."
"We have land animals for cutting and we also have plantations. We can do without the ocean. The important thing is that we can stop these bastards."
"And if we need to ration food, we just need to make the people eat less and there will be food left over."
The Grandmaster was not surprised by the monarchs' opinions because none of the predecessors and current ones cared about the people while using punishments and demon masters, as well as enslaved demons to violently suppress any attempt at revolt or riot. This culture of oppression, cruelty and neglect has been going on for generations.
Ning Qing snapped out of her thoughts as she bent down to point at the open pages of the scrolls, "Observe these techniques" all eyes focused on where his index finger was pointing, and then he made some technical comments.
After the explanation, the monarch asks while his nephew, Zhu Ling, just watched and listened carefully to what was said.
"They look like difficult techniques to execute."
"Yes. But, it will be no challenge for a member of my sect. Their teaching is superior to that of any other demon master. I will select the most reliable ones to carry out this plan."
"What about the power needed to execute the techniques?" the general asks thoughtfully as he tries to understand the graphs why he has no hidden pulse.
"The general is right. Our beloved daughter Ru Ling talks a lot about the need for spiritual power to perform techniques. The more powerful the technique, the more spiritual power it demands." the king comments while looking at the Grandmaster of demons.
"Your observation about power is correct, Zunzhu Gaozu. In fact, they are powerful techniques because to seal the ocean a high level technique is required and that in addition to the spiritual expenditure of executing the technique, there is an amount of power necessary because we are speaking of a place that is immense. For the execution of sea sealing we will need seventy percent of all mid-ranked Demon Masters and fifty percent of low-ranked ones to be able to use the sealing when draining their powers. I will use a formation which will resemble the formation of ten squares only in a gigantic version for the ocean and impossible to be recognized by them. Then we will need the other twenty percent that will advance to the island to break any eventual seals. All high level ones among the three remaining locations will be drained of their powers for a specific sealing aimed at subjugating the sealed demon's mind. All participating demon masters will m orr by the demand of the techniques and the drain of spiritual power. Furthermore, since the demons who serve them as slaves are bound by the master-slave contract, they will be killed together with their masters because I will use this cursed contract to drain their powers as well, in order to supplement the charge of power needed for the execution of the techniques" he coldly quotes the numbers, "Of course I could be wrong because there is no data on this very powerful demon."
The sovereigns are surprised at the required amount of demon masters, only to smile afterwards, with the queen saying, "Indeed, there are many, but they can be replenished over time."
"Yes. Children are always born with a hidden pulse. We just need to intensify our search for them. Besides, it's good to reduce their numbers. They have proliferated too much. Even with the Frost curse we must be careful."
"What your majesties said is true."
"Well, summon them. I just question how you'll get them to sacrifice themselves."
"Who says they need to know the truth?" Ning Qing asks with a cruel smile on her face that is reciprocated by the king and queen, as well as the general and Zhu Ling.
"And how will you make them not suspicious?" the general asks while arching his brow.