I Don't Agree to the Terms

Upon thinking of this, Yu Ju could not help but shiver. The dissatisfaction might truly result in him secretly crying in his bed at night.

"Chase, don't let him get away," Yu Ju said with a sinister tone.

A fellow Daoist won't die for another, but to avoid misfortune for himself, Yu Ju could only let Cai Jian take the fall.

"Yes!"

A group of people began to follow the trail in pursuit.

However, halfway through, they discovered a serious issue, "Report, the trail has vanished. It seems to have been concealed."

"This kid has some tricks up his sleeve. It seems not all of the Heavenly King devices were destroyed. He has somehow shrunk the cockpit of the Heavenly King and is carrying it on his person." Yu Ju quickly deduced some information, knowing that the poison dagger on Cai Jian did not have these capabilities.

Rather, the still unsearched cockpit of the Heavenly King was highly suspect. Actually, he had another thought, that although Cai Jian couldn't control the Heavenly King, if he relied on the cockpit of the Heavenly King, he could indirectly use some of the Heavenly King's powers.

However, the three ancient weapons involved secrets which he did not verbalize.

"Is there any way to confirm it?" Yu Ju didn't care about those details; catching the person was the priority for him.

"It will take some time and support from other naval branches." The Admiral nearby didn't say it was impossible; it was just beyond his ability.

"Notify them, quickly. Also, increase Cai Jian's bounty, citing an attack on the Island Alliance. Dead or alive!" Yu Ju thought for a moment and added, "Raise it from one million to a billion. Anyone providing information, upon confirmation, can also receive a million as a reward."

"If the Navy catches him, that counts too!"

Hearing this, the Navy members fell silent—the amount was exceedingly high, so high that even they were tempted.

Especially since they were also eligible for the reward, their motivation undoubtedly hit the peak.

As long as they could capture Cai Jian and retrieve the Heavenly King, this amount of money was mere pennies for the Island Alliance.

...

"Ah, he does have some skill, just not much upstairs," Gu Shanhai remarked. He had seen the confrontation between Cai Jian and the Island Alliance.

He could only say that too much had been invested in the Heavenly King; moreover, Cai Jian acted too swiftly. The main body of the Sea King hadn't had time to develop. If only he had come a day or two later, the situation would have changed instantly.

Hades, in combination with the Sea King, and letting Wang Qi practice, could definitely overpower Cai Jian and reclaim the Heavenly King, instead of letting the opponent escape.

However, this was all intentionally done by Gu Shanhai.

Compared to other disciples, people like Wang Qi lacked experience. Had Rein or Jiang Lu been told of three ancient weapons that could aid them, they would have immediately rushed to Gu Shanhai, ensuring he didn't cook up some bizarre schemes.

Probably it was also due to their excessive reverence for his status.

In the Azure Sea World, reverence for the Divine had deeply penetrated their bones, even though Gu Shanhai had dealt with all the Divine, thus this reverence transferred to Gu Shanhai.

Yu Ju had indeed occasionally mocked him, but only dared do so in front of people like Wang Qi and Tang Quan, knowing the limits and not daring to blabber randomly. If really so thoughtless, Gu Shanhai would have taught him first what punishment for unbridled speech was.

It was precisely because of this reverence that they didn't act with Gu Shanhai as Rein and others might, playfully and smiling. Even Wang Qi only maintained a distance.

After all, Gu Shanhai was Divine.

Regarding this, Gu Shanhai hadn't thought of correcting it, as every world had different interactions between mentor and disciple; they couldn't all be the same. They would change according to the customs and environment of each world.

"Letting them practice is also good, saves them from becoming arrogant later." Gu Shanhai let these events take their course.

And if Cai Jian truly had the capability to control the Heavenly King, it was also his ability, and having an external enemy would be a good thing, making Wang Qi and others more cohesive.

Otherwise, without external enemies and with control of these three ancient weapons, dynastic collapse could happen in just two generations.

With Gu Shanhai watching over this generation, nothing would go wrong, but the next generation would be different. Once Gu Shanhai was gone, if someone arrogant and aggressive took over, they could ruin the great foundation he'd built.

Therefore, it was necessary to put some pressure on them.

The main issue was that they were relatively green, having joined the cause midway, and at the very least, they lacked the skill of leg holding.

Possibly they also lacked thick skin.

Take Jiang Lu, for example, who never knew how to be polite and treated Gu Shanhai like an external brain. Whenever he complained, he could confidently retort, "Once a teacher, always a father. What's wrong with turning to 'dad' for help?"

Thus, Gu Shanhai never bothered to temper him since being shamelessly confident was an experience in itself.

If it were Rein, he would also come over, licking his face and saying, "Teacher, someone stole my stuff, help me get it back."

If it was something trivial, Rein might not have, but with the world's defense system, appearances mean nothing—substance is what counts.

Of course, in the end, it was a matter of capability. If Wang Qi were capable enough, Gu Shanhai wouldn't need to worry about these things.

"Now, the remaining issues have mostly been dealt with."

Gu Shanhai stretched lazily; after creating the three ancient weapons, this world didn't hold much value anymore. All that was left was to pass the time and enjoy the show.

"I hope Cai Jian makes a big enough stir. You wanted to become the Pirate King yourself; I helped you, but you have to put in the effort as well."

The other party had expressed a desire to become the Pirate King, and as a righteous warrior, Gu Shanhai was definitely willing to lend a hand.

"A bounty of one hundred million certainly qualifies one as a pirate, but promoting the situation a bit is necessary too. Otherwise, he might end up as a king of grievances instead of a Pirate King."

With Cai Jian's limited abilities, if it wasn't for the Heavenly King's influence, he would only be a small fry.

Thinking back to the Black Divine Dragon, Evil Angel, and Man-Eating Shark—three strong pirates, each with a bounty of ten million. These three were exceptionally skilled, and except for Wang Qi, Yu Ju, Tang Quan, and Fang Jin could only manage a draw against them.

The reason for their ten million bounty was that the three pirate groups had ambushed Wang Qi, accused of attacking the president.

That's right, pirate bounties are based on the crime, not the strength. Generally, strength doesn't necessarily correlate with a higher bounty, although there aren't weak ones among those with high bounties.

Well, except for Cai Jian—he's just weak.

"Just wanting to initiate a great Pirate Era, Cai Jian doesn't seem quite qualified..." Gu Shanhai pondered.

The only thing of status he had was one Heavenly King, which would end up in Wang Qi's hands anyway. There was nothing else that could usher in the great Pirate Era.

"Fake seems good enough as well; it's just an excuse anyway."

"Treasures that can be found aren't true treasures."

"And if it's fake and well-crafted, a nonexistent treasure can indeed be flawless."

Gu Shanhai squinted; it didn't matter. He said it existed, so it did. It's your problem if you can't find it.

Although he now possessed an ability akin to Divine Power, he wouldn't bother for such trivial matters.

He was all for fun and wouldn't spend money if it stopped being entertaining, preferring to enjoy the show without financial involvement.

"So, rumors do have their uses." Gu Shanhai smiled and then thought about where to start with the fabrications.