When this somewhat dim feather appeared in Long Jiu’s palm, it emitted an invisible ripple that shielded everything around it.

Long Jiu watched the invisible barrier formed by the feather, a complex expression flickering in his eyes.

But this complexity was soon permanently concealed.

Besides the complexity, Long Jiu’s eyes showed more of a determined look.

After taking several deep breaths, Long Jiu suppressed the complexity in his heart, and whispered, "There’s important information that needs to be conveyed to the Feng King, can you make the decision?"

Upon hearing this, a slightly mocking voice came from within the feather.

"Being able to communicate with me, I naturally make the decisions. What important news does the Ninth Prince have? Can you tell us?"

"If it’s important enough, it could very well turn the tide of the battle."

Long Jiu took a deep breath and said, "Father has sent someone to find Qin An of the Evil Extermination Bureau."

"Qin An, who is that?"

A confused voice came from the feather.

Long Jiu slowly said, "A Copper Dao Marshal of the Evil Extermination Bureau, but he’s extremely adept at alchemy. Recently, all compound pills in the Dragon Palace were made by him."

"Now, Qin An delivers corresponding compound pills to the Dragon Palace every day. If we have these compound pills, not only will the battle strength of the Dragon Demons in the Dragon Palace greatly increase, but even if severely injured, they can recover quickly."

"Your Phoenix Demons will be left without a burial place."

The feather fell silent.

After a long silence, a cold voice emerged.

"The dignified Dragon Palace is so closely tied with the Evil Extermination Bureau. Has the Old Dragon King forgotten he’s a demon?"

"In this world, humans and demon pseudo-gods are inherently opposed. He really thinks he’s become a dog of the Evil Extermination Bureau."

Upon hearing the feather’s angry voice, Long Jiu’s heart was peaceful: "I think you shouldn’t vent your grievances here now, but find a way to solve this problem. If you don’t resolve it, you might really end up without a burial place."

The feather fell silent again, before asking: "You surely have a solution since you’re telling us this news. Why not share your proposed solution?"

A hint of killing intent flashed in Long Jiu’s eyes as he coldly said: "Since the source of the battle change lies with Qin An, you should send someone to kill Qin An. He’s merely a Void Shattering Realm Copper Dao Marshal, sending some Element Transformation Realm demons should be enough to slay him."

The feather erupted in a raucous laugh: "Ah, I see. Ninth Prince, from what I heard, you seem very resentful towards Qin An."

Long Jiu said coldly: "You don’t need to worry about that, just do as I say."

After a slight pause, the feather said: "Alright, no problem. I’ll immediately inform Lord Feng King of this news. I’m sure Lord Feng King will definitely agree to your suggestion. Once that Qin An’s head is taken, the Dragon Palace’s source of pills is cut off, and with the treasure acquired by our Phoenix Demon clan, your Dragon Palace is doomed to lose."

Left and right, all about the Dragon Palace’s sure defeat.

As a Dragon Prince of the Dragon Palace, Long Jiu felt uncomfortable hearing these words.

Long Jiu took a deep breath and said: "I don’t want to say more to you. You promise me to preserve a portion of the Dragon Demons, and I’ll lead them. I want to take the position of Lord of the Dragon Palace. By then, I will become a vassal of the Phoenix Demon clan, granting you control over the seas."

The feather responded with a tutting sound: "Alright, alright, alright, don’t worry. Destroying the Dragon Palace is our dream, but we also wish to make it something we can control. The battlefield here can only close when deaths reach a certain level, so be prepared to keep your direct line Dragon Demons alive."

Long Jiu nodded: "Don’t worry, I have my own plans, and I surely won’t let too many of these Dragon Demons die. You don’t need to worry about other matters."

The feather shook slightly, no longer responding to Long Jiu.

Soon, the invisible barrier around them vanished.

Long Jiu quietly placed the feather in his heart and left the alley. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Before leaving, Long Jiu’s mood was very heavy.

But he knew that since he made this choice, he must pay the price for this choice.

He wanted the throne of the Dragon Palace too much, even if it meant becoming a vassal of the Phoenix Demon clan, it was better than missing the chance for the throne of the Dragon Palace.

Originally, after Princess Long San was severely injured, although other Dragon Princes could compete with him, he lost a powerful rival and gained some hope.

However, Princess Long San relied on her strong will to recover to her original realm.

Long Jiu knew very well the source of Princess Long San’s injury, including his sabotage when Princess Long San went to Xunyang Prefecture, informing the black-robed pseudo-god at the time to target Princess Long San.

He thought Princess Long San was doomed to die, unable to return to her peak.

But he realized his thinking was wrong, making him move further and further from the throne of the Dragon Palace.

He’s unwilling.

If so, then cooperate with the Phoenix Demon clan. Even if becoming a vassal, he would still be the master of the Dragon Palace.

Soon, the street returned to tranquility.

This palace remained in an atmosphere of solemnity.

...

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, several months were over.

During this time, the Evil Extermination Bureau remained peaceful as usual, but outside the bureau, many forces focused their attention on the Dragon Palace and the Phoenix Demon clan.

The battle between the two sides was already no secret, already known by others.

Thus, everyone awaits the return of the victor.

And over these months, the Dragon Palace and Phoenix Demon clan continued to engage in battles of various sizes.

Both sides suffered heavy losses.

No one could predict who would win, they all just awaited an outcome.

Meanwhile, Qin An lived his life regularly.

Apart from going to the Dragon Demon’s shop daily to make pills, most of his time was spent in the Evil Extermination Bureau practicing his array master profession proficiency.

In such a regular life, time quickly passed by.

As Qin An continued to cultivate, his proficiency grew at a pace visible to the naked eye.

At this moment, Qin An paused slightly and said,

"Today I need to leave first. The pills I’ve stocked recently are enough for the Dragon Palace to use for another one or two months, so I don’t need to make any more pills for now."

The Dragon Demon standing beside him nodded slightly, clasping his hands and said, "Thank you, Mr. Qin!"

Qin An shook his head and said, "No need to thank me, it’s just a transaction. By the way, if you need anything, feel free to call me. However, after I return this time, I need to take on a task, so I might not be reachable temporarily."

The Dragon Demon nodded and said, "No problem, these pills refined by Mr. Qin are enough to handle things for a long time."

Speaking of this, the Dragon Demon felt quite emotional.

He had witnessed Qin An refining the pills with his own eyes.

Even though he wasn’t proficient in the profession of an Alchemist, he could tell that Qin An’s methods were far superior to the Alchemy Master Alliance.

For the Dragon Palace to come across such a significant figure was truly a fortunate event.

Qin An nodded, without saying more, then got up and left the shop.

After leaving the shop, he directly returned to his room in the Evil Extermination Bureau.

As soon as he closed the door, lines of smoke appeared before his eyes, gradually condensing into words.

[Pill Master lv.18 (0/60000): The success rate of your pill refining is increased, with purer effects, shorter refining time, improved precision, reduced toxicity, and higher absorption rate]

[Talent: Great Success in Void Shattering Realm mastery, reduced materials needed for Void Shattering Realm pills, Great Success in Void Shattering Realm purification of materials, Great Success in Void Shattering Realm heart refining method, Great Success in Void Shattering Realm pill fusion method, enhanced toxicity of Void Shattering Realm pills]

...

[Array Master lv.18 (0/60000): Speed of setting up arrays increased, speed of breaking arrays increased, reduced materials needed for arrays, improved purification of array materials, increased strength of array materials, enhanced compatibility of array materials]

[Talent: Great Success in Void Shattering Realm arrays, Great Success in Void Shattering Realm array resistance, improved effects of Void Shattering Realm arrays, Great Success in Void Shattering Realm heart arrays, Great Success in Void Shattering Realm array fusion method, enhanced destructive power of Void Shattering Realm arrays]

...

After the words appeared, they quickly disappeared, transforming into a flood of information that entered Qin An’s mind.

The next moment, Qin An closed his eyes. After absorbing all the information, he abruptly opened his eyes.

During this tedious period of training, Qin An finally successfully advanced both professions to level eighteen, ushering in a metamorphosis to the next tier.

At this moment, Qin An finally reached the level of all professions at eighteen.

After advancing to level eighteen as a Pill Master, a new characteristic of enhanced pill absorption rate was introduced. This feature allows both Qin An and those who consume his pills to absorb the effects better.

Apart from this, all talents reached Great Success in the Void Shattering Realm.

In addition, there was a new talent of enhanced toxicity for Void Shattering Realm pills.

This talent complements the medical profession, allowing Qin An to use poison more smoothly.

Truly, they complement each other.

Besides, there’s the Array Master profession.

After advancing to level eighteen, the Array Master profession acquired a characteristic of enhanced compatibility of array materials.

This feature enables Qin An to make the materials complement each other when using array materials, maximizing their power.

The remaining talents were improved to Great Success in the Void Shattering Realm, along with a new talent of enhanced destructive power for Void Shattering Realm arrays.

This talent allows Qin An to bring about a qualitative change in destructive power when deploying arrays.

It even enables him to use arrays for combat, significantly boosting Qin An’s combat strength.

After advancing in both professions, Qin An could now improve his Scholar profession.

But before that, Qin An planned to take on a task first.

Because currently, Qin An still lacked merit.

Thinking of this, Qin An prepared to open the door.

But just as Qin An was about to step out, a figure swiftly approached.

Qin An instinctively grasped Cold Star at his waist. Turning his head slightly, he frowned.

A Copper Dao Marshal approached hastily, holding a letter in his hand.

The letter appeared very old, even with bloodstains on it.

When Qin An saw this letter, he narrowed his eyes slightly.

"This is Evil Qi."

Before he could speak, the Copper Dao Marshal quickly handed over the letter.

"Mr. Qin, something major has happened. Lord Zhu and a Silver Dao Marshal were ambushed by many demon Pseudo-Gods while on a mission and are now in grave danger."

"The Evil Extermination Bureau has already issued a task: all Copper Dao Marshals on or off-duty need to rush to rescue Lord Zhu and the other officer."

Qin An took the letter and opened it, frowning slightly.

The letter was stained with a lot of blood, and besides the blood, it was written in Zhu Xueshuang’s handwriting.

The letter stated that they were currently besieged by unknown demon Pseudo-Gods and were in grave danger.

Qin An thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "I will prepare to go immediately."

The Copper Dao Marshal did not linger, quietly left Qin An’s room, and headed towards other colleagues in the Evil Extermination Bureau.

Qin An, meanwhile, held Cold Star in his hand, and after a moment of contemplation, rushed toward the place described in the letter.

In addition, many Copper Dao Marshals, like Qin An, were rushing to the location mentioned in the letter.

As Qin An proceeded, outside Tianyun Dao, two concealed demon creatures watching Qin An’s departing figure slightly curled their lips upward.