Lin Xin knew better than Ye Xiu. The King of the Eternal Kingdom, who ostensibly stood above all but one and basked in unlimited glory, was, in reality, a house slave of the three great Judicator Families. A single word from them was all it took to replace the sovereign of a nation or elevate anyone to the throne.

As the Crown Prince of the Eternal Kingdom, why had Lin Xin come to Nanjing? It was all to cozy up to Kristina and gain the support of the Golden Family, which would give him leverage in his fight for the succession.

"You have no other path," Ye Xiu said coldly. "Either cooperate with me, or die!"

Only then did Lin Xin realize he held no qualifications or bargaining chips to negotiate with Huang Quan. He immediately compromised. "Alright. Since I’m going to die anyway, I might as well take a gamble and join forces with you. What do you want me to do?"

I’ll placate Huang Quan for now and escape back to the Eternal Kingdom. Then I can reconsider whether to actually cooperate with him.

Ye Xiu saw right through Lin Xin’s thoughts. "I don’t trust verbal agreements. You must provide some collateral to prove you’re sincere about cooperating with me."

"What kind of collateral do you want?" Lin Xin asked.

"Answer a few of my questions."

"Ask away!"

"Why is this Mist Chant Martial Meeting different from the previous ones?"

This question made Lin Xin’s pupils contract, as if the answer was a grave secret. However, he ultimately responded, "It’s to eradicate all Martial Artists at the Great Grandmaster level and above across the globe."

Ye Xiu was taken aback. Lin Xin’s answer was something everyone already knew.

Could it be that even Lin Xin is unaware of the Judicator Families’ true intentions?

He continued, "As far as I know, a person can only bear one Totem. Why does Kristina possess the Golden Totem and the Life Totem?"

This question had puzzled Ye Xiu for a long time. Aside from himself, there supposedly shouldn’t be any other human capable of bearing multiple Totems.

Lin Xin explained, "The Golden Family is very special. Each generation produces one person who inherits the Golden Totem, and that person can bear two Totems. Moreover, anyone who drinks a single drop of their blood gains the same ability."

Oh? Ye Xiu was shocked. I never expected Kristina’s blood to be so rare and potent. I must find a chance to draw a few pints of it.

He then asked, "What exactly are the Totem Organizations like Medicine King Valley guarding?"

"I don’t know about that," Lin Xin said, shaking his head.

Ye Xiu didn’t linger on the question. "As the Crown Prince of the Eternal Kingdom, you must be very familiar with all the War Gods above the Fifth Realm in the Eternal Kingdom, right? You must also know a great deal about the methods to enhance and use various Totems, correct? And you should also be completely clear about the formations on every island of the Eternal Islands, shouldn’t you?"

"I’m indeed well-versed in the first two matters, but I know nothing about the formations on the various islands of the Eternal Islands," Lin Xin replied.

"Then what do you know about the appearance and details of each island’s formation base?" Ye Xiu inquired.

Lin Xin nodded. "I’m quite familiar with that. I’ve studied the formation bases of all the islands except Eternal Island, so I know their details very clearly."

Excellent. As long as I can get the details of each island’s formation base, I can find a way to break the formations. Ye Xiu was inwardly pleased. He immediately took out a notebook and a pen.

"Draw the designs of the formation bases for each of the Eternal Islands. Transcribe the information on all the War Gods above the Fifth Realm from the Eternal Kingdom. And write down the methods to enhance and use the different Totems," Ye Xiu instructed. "When you finish writing, I will trust that you’re sincere about cooperating, and then I will let you go."

Lin Xin took the notebook and pen. "Alright!"

After leaving the cold storage, Ye Xiu changed out of his Huang Quan Suit. He prepared some medicinal ointment while Tang Bo was cooking, then returned to the film set with their meals. After he finished eating with Ye Lin’er and Chen Yang, he started back toward his tent. On the way, he suddenly saw Li Ran from a distance, wearing a black cloak as she slipped into the Director’s tent.

"I heard that Zhulu Group invested in a big-budget movie and you have casting authority," he overheard her say. "Do you think I’m suitable for the leading lady?"

Ye Xiu was speechless. How scandalous!

He stealthily shot out a few invisible surges of energy. Then he heard the Director say, "Take good care of me while we’re filming this reality show, and the role of the leading lady is yours."

Li Ran’s expression became flirtatious. "Director, you’re so naughty..."

"If a man isn’t naughty, a woman won’t love him!" the Director said lewdly. Suddenly, his body stiffened and he collapsed on top of Li Ran.

「The next morning」

At five o’clock, the production crew went from tent to tent, waking everyone up.

Li Ran, Tajiguli, Zong Rui, Su Mo, and the other celebrities, along with their agents, assistants, and bodyguards, discovered that their muscles ached so badly they couldn’t even get out of bed. Li Ran and a few of the other women were also covered in bruises.

"How could this happen? Why do I have so many bruises?" Li Ran panicked. As a celebrity, her image was her greatest concern. Filming was starting today, and if the audience saw these bruises, her pure girl-next-door image would be ruined.

"We walked for miles on a muddy mountain road yesterday, and you kept falling," her agent, Wang Xuan, explained. "You forgot to massage your muscles and apply cold compresses before bed, which resulted in soreness and bruises where you fell."

Li Ran grew anxious. "How am I supposed to film today?"

"I’ll go talk with the agents for Tajiguli and the others. We can approach the Director together and see if we can negotiate a day off," Wang Xuan said with a wry smile.

Just then, her assistant Li Meng asked, "You’re aching all over. Are we still going through with the plan to frame Ye Lin’er’s bodyguard?"

"Of course!" At the thought of getting rid of Ye Lin’er and her bodyguard, Li Ran endured the pain, got dressed, and stood up. "Let’s go. First, we’ll deal with Ye Lin’er and that detestable bodyguard. Then we’ll go negotiate with the Director."