Legendary Clan Chief
Chapter 1174 - 1152: Two Kings Take an Oath, Together Forging the Starry Sky Battleship!

Chapter 1174: Chapter 1152: Two Kings Take an Oath, Together Forging the Starry Sky Battleship!

A thousand zhang deep, the King’s Momentum permeated the waters, which had long since stiffened to be as solid as divine iron, and the voice of Nine Springs King reverberated with a hint of chill.

"Then why hasn’t the Nine Springs Family collaborated with other Great Aristocratic Families over these tens of thousands of years, allowing the once illustrious Nine Springs Family to decline to such a state?"

Even though the entirety of the water had turned stagnant, around Xiao Chen, the currents flowed gently, completely unaffected.

"You..."

At Xiao Chen’s response, Nine Springs King was suddenly choked with anger, as it hit the fatal weakness of the Nine Springs Family.

Why had they not sought cooperation with other aristocratic families!

Was it not for fear of being devoured by the Great Aristocratic Families, leaving not even bones behind?

Cooperation requires equivalent strength or corresponding bargaining chips!

Sadly, the heavily damaged Nine Springs Family, including himself, could only rely on the nine great springs to barely survive until today.

It was true that the Starry Sky Battleship was a treasured asset of their clan, and over the years, other King-level Tribes had visited Nine Springs, but they were wary of taking too harsh an action against Nine Springs Family due to the higher echelons of humankind.

Moreover, Nine Springs King always harbored the fantasy that the Nine Springs Family could once again rise.

But struggling on its last breath for tens of thousands of years, the Nine Springs Family became increasingly dilapidated, and not a single new King emerged.

Nine Springs was no longer the clan of ten thousand years ago that shepherded a life-bearing planet for humankind, commanding a grand fleet that roamed the Starry Sea, much of their foundation was expended in that devastating war of times past.

The secret of forging a Starry Sky Battleship was arguably the last opportunity for the Nine Springs Family to rise again; owning a single Starry Sky Battleship could lift the Nine Springs Family from their current embarrassing plight.

But the downtrodden Nine Springs could only proliferate to this day thanks to the indulgence of the higher echelons of humankind, let alone gather resources to forge a Starry Sky Battleship.

Besides a massive amount of materials, just the core component of the Starry Sky Battleship is something that the present Nine Springs Family is unable to obtain.

And the core component of the Starry Sky Battleship is precisely the spirit of the entire warship, in layman’s terms, the operational system of the battleship.

Take the largest Starry Sky Warships as an example, spanning ten thousand zhang in length, an entire Starry Sky Fortress in itself. To manipulate such a colossal warship as if it were an extension of one’s own limbs, even a Half-King Peak Realm would struggle to do so with ease, requiring the warship to have a controlling core, just like the Martial Soul Qingling in the Bronze Ancient City of the Gu Yuan Clan.

And it’s this creation of the core spirit for the warship that is the most crucial secret. Without it, even if a Starry Sky Battleship were to be constructed, without a spirit, it would just be a heap of scrap metal.

"I wonder what Nine Springs King thinks, my Gu Yuan Clan is currently amassing strength to ascend to King-level Tribe, and the Nine Springs Family is likewise striving to restore its former glory of old times. Together we would both benefit," Xiao Chen said.

Suddenly, the cold light in Nine Springs King’s eyes melted away, and the water bottoms returned to fluidity, but his eyes remained alternating between brightness and darkness, clearly in deep thought.

In cooperation with Gu Yuan Clan, the greatest bargaining chip for Nine Springs Family would be the core method for constructing a Starry Sky Battleship, but once both parties cooperated, this secret would no longer be completely safeguarded.

Both were very clear about this point. Now, Nine Springs’ sole concern was how long both tribes would be able to support this cooperation. These days, warriors of Nine Springs Family had ventured out of the barrier and walked the lands of the Southern Territory, bringing back news to the clan about the Gu Yuan Clan that was as accurate as possible, eventually aggregating it to Nine Springs here.

Great fortune loomed, yet the future was difficult to measure.

This was the final conclusion that Nine Springs King had reached. If he hadn’t sustained major damage, he naturally wouldn’t fear cooperating with the Gu Yuan Clan, but though he still bore the name of a King, he no longer possessed the power of one.

If the Gu Yuan Clan grasped this great secret, setting aside the Nine Springs Family, what then could the Nine Springs Family do?

Feeling the shifts in Nine Springs King’s momentum, Xiao Chen spoke again, "My Gu Yuan Clan will stand in the Southern Territory in the future, naturally maintaining peace in our land. The Nine Springs Family is located in the Southern Territory; my Gu Yuan Clan certainly wouldn’t destroy its own foundation. That said, who can guarantee that the Nine Springs Family won’t give birth to a new King in the future and rejuvenate the clan?"

"Xiao Clan Leader should understand, just how many resources are needed to construct a Starry Sky Battleship. Back when my Nine Springs Family ruled over a life-bearing planet, after gathering for tens of thousands of years, we forged just over ten thousand-zhang Starry Sky Warships, and it’s not just about the resources, but also the core spirit," Nine Springs King said as he gazed at Xiao Chen, then continued, "And in my Nine Springs Family’s current situation, we simply don’t have the capability to obtain resources to forge a great battleship."

"That’s not difficult, my Gu Yuan Clan is located close to the Luo Long Mountain Range in the Border Wasteland Region, which is a tireless treasure trove. The resources and mineral deposits contained within it are scarcely inferior to the planet once controlled by your Nine Springs Family."

"Since that’s the case, the most critical part is then the controlling spirit of the battleship; my Nine Springs Family refers to it as the ’Warship Soul,’ which requires the souls of living beings as a primer. The best would be those born from the spirits of the Earth and Mountain Range, but it’s also possible to use the souls of strong ones from the Hundred Clans. In the past, my Nine Springs Family’s battleships were forged by integrating the souls we had gained from slaying members of the Hundred Clans into the warships," Nine Springs King said candidly to Xiao Chen, not concerned about hiding the secrets. Even if Xiao Chen came to know what materials were required, without the final step of incorporating a soul into the battleship by the Nine Springs Family, it would all be in vain.

But if the two sides cooperate, it’s inevitable that the secret of infusing the soul into the great battleship cannot be kept. The Gu Yuan Tribe might not acquire the most complete method, but who can say for sure that the Gu Yuan Tribe can’t fully comprehend it?

"Your Nine Springs Family will provide the craftsmen and methods for forging the great battleships, while the resources and souls needed for the battleships will be seized by my Gu Yuan Tribe."

Xiao Chen promptly spoke. His sentence was not yet complete when he continued, "However, during the forging of the great battleship, the craftsmen of my Gu Yuan Tribe need to be involved as well, and once our cooperation reaches a certain degree, the method for making the starry sky battleship must be transferred in full to my Gu Yuan Tribe!"

Xiao Chen’s words were very firm. He had personally come to the Nine Springs Tribe precisely for the method of making the starry sky battleship. Forging starry sky warships was not a feat exclusive to the Nine Springs Family, but those who possessed the method were all large tribes with deep-rooted heritage. If Xiao Chen were to negotiate directly, he would probably be kicked out straight away.

For a king-level tribe, such starry sky battleships are clan-treasured weapons. They could not be easily divulged.

To Xiao Chen’s words, the Nine Springs King showed no surprise. No tribe wouldn’t covet such a powerful weapon.

"My Nine Springs people are natural craftsmen. Forging great battleships is effortless, but if you want the most core secrets, it will depend on how much the Gu Yuan Tribe is willing to pay!"

The Nine Springs King said gravely. Handing over the core secrets of the starry sky battleship was not impossible, but the prerequisite was that the Nine Springs Family must be revived—this was the only bargaining chip for the now-declined Nine Springs Family.

...

A day later, at the same thousand-foot depth underwater, three figures emerged.

"Border Wasteland Gu Yuan."

"Secluded Nine Springs."

"Today, we establish the tribal alliance. Our two tribes will ally, mutually support each other, jointly guard the Great Wasteland. Whoever breaks the pact shall face the extinction of their clan and people. Our tribes bear witness, heaven and earth observe!"

Accompanied by the shout, heaven and earth resonated with a hum as two indistinct auras emitted from both Xiao Chen and the Nine Springs King, fusing into one in the void, only to finally dive out from underwater and disappear into the mysterious time-space.

Of course, the cooperation between the two tribes was not just a few oaths. On this day, the two had finalized various details of their cooperation.

First and foremost was, naturally, the forging of the starry sky battleship. The Nine Springs Family would provide craftsmen and forging methods, while the Gu Yuan Tribe was responsible for supplying various needed resources. During the forging of the battleships, the craftsmen of the Gu Yuan Tribe were not to be restricted from participating.

Moreover, the two parties agreed that after forging two starry sky battleships, Gu Yuan and Nine Springs Family each would own one. Afterward, the Nine Springs Family would transfer the core secrets of forging the battleships in full to Gu Yuan.

In truth, this was a contingency plan. The Gu Yuan Tribe had so far remained shallow in heritage, and Xiao Chen inevitably had to resort to this borrow-a-chicken-to-lay-an-egg approach. Otherwise, even if he had the method of forging battleships, the Gu Yuan Tribe would be hard-pressed to forge them successfully.

Next, the Nine Springs Family formally broke the barrier that had been sealed for tens of thousands of years, gathering a group of young girls and women from the Wind Fire Area into the family, with the Gu Yuan Tribe agreeing not to interfere.

Besides, the Nine Springs Family’s expansion of power in the Southern Territory must not exceed the Maple Blue Domain, and the Gu Yuan Tribe recognized Maple Blue Domain as the breeding ground for the Nine Springs Family.

Upon learning that the Nine Springs Family resided within the Maple Blue Domain, Xiao Chen had already excluded it from contention. After all, it was the territory designated by the human race’s higher-ups for the survival and procreation of the Nine Springs Family, who had shed too much blood in wars for humankind.

Finally, the two tribes sent elders to discuss the matter of forging the starry sky battleship, placing the forging location at the Gu Yuan Tribe’s base. After all, the Gu Yuan Tribe was near the Luo Long Mountain Range, and resources could be mined directly from the mountain range for the construction of the starry sky battleship.

Furthermore, the Gu Yuan Tribe possessed a secret realm that ensured utmost secrecy.

After the alliance oath, they settled some of the details. For example, the Nine Springs Family would send their craftsmen to the Gu Yuan Tribe in a month’s time.

To forge the starry sky battleship was not simple talk; the preliminary preparations alone constituted a colossal undertaking. Around twenty thousand people from the Nine Springs Family were the first batch to head to the Gu Yuan Tribe, tasked with building a workshop capable of forging the starry sky battleships under the protection of the Gu Yuan Tribe Warriors and completing all preparations before the forging began.

Watching Xiao Chen leave, the figure of an old man in the water spoke out—it was the ninth-generation ancestor.

"Ancestor, are we really going to hand over the core secrets of forging the battleship?"

The Nine Springs King did not speak but released a long breath, creating a current underwater.

Hum!

Immediately, the Nine Springs King’s Undying Martial Soul began to tremble violently, flickering between brightness and darkness, as turbulent currents formed underwater. A vast aura arose from the nine springs, bursting through the waterbed and turning the immense waters into nothingness.