161: Chapter 161 Friendly Exchange, Testing Hearts

The night wind was still swirling around the mountain peak, causing the cloaks to flap loudly.

The light patterns of the twelve lighthouses flowed slowly across the ground, like rivers of stars that were both frozen and flowing.

The starship's hatch was fully open, and the adjutant of the Angel Race merchant caravan was leading the crew down the light steps, their footsteps so light they were almost inaudible.

Chen Wuwang didn't move, and neither did Aelia.

The two of them still stood ten paces apart, facing each other, neither speaking first. The polite greetings from moments ago were like a thin layer of ice; once stepped over, deeper undercurrents lay beneath.

Finally, Chen Wuwang raised his right hand, palm up, in a "please" gesture: "The road is long; standing here in the wind is no way to treat a guest."

Aelia's eyes flickered slightly, and a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth: "The Family Head is quite composed. One moment it was mecha formations and bright lights, the now it's talk of wind, moonlight, and welcoming guests. Which side of me do you actually want to see?"

"I want to see if you are willing to move forward," he said. His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear. "You brought a trade group, not a battle group. Since you're here, don't calculate every step as a battlefield march."

She laughed softly, her finger brushing the edge of the cloak on her shoulder. "Three years ago in the black market, you sold me a broken furnace as a high-grade Magical Artifact, swindling me out of three tons of crystal ore. Now you've learned to talk about 'sincerity'?"

"I didn't have resources back then," he said frankly. "I do now. And—" He stepped aside, and a pale blue light screen suddenly lit up on the mountainside behind him, with dense streams of data scrolling like a waterfall. "The distribution map of the Eastern Wasteland Spiritual Veins, real-time monitoring, with an error of no more than three feet. This is the first meeting gift I can offer."

The moment the light screen appeared, Aelia's pupils constricted slightly.

She naturally recognized this kind of technology—it wasn't runic deduction, nor was it a Divine Sense scan, but some kind of "systematic presentation" she had never seen before.

The data was neatly arranged, the feedback was instantaneous, and even the Spiritual Qi fluctuation frequencies were marked as waveforms.

"This doesn't look like something from the Cultivation World," she whispered.

"It shouldn't have been boxed in by the words 'Cultivation' to begin with," Chen Wuwang said calmly. "The Eastern Wasteland is rich in resources but geographically isolated and poorly informed. You of the Angel Race travel the Myriad Worlds of the Starry River; what you lack is never goods, but a stable foothold. My place can become your transit station."

"The conditions?" she asked bluntly.

"No conditions," he answered just as bluntly. "At least not for now. What I want is for you to see for yourself and then decide—if it's worth discussing."

Aelia stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed. "Do you know what the most dangerous kind of opponent is? It's not the one brimming with Killing Intent, but someone like you, who smiles while hiding a blade in the tea."

"Then you might as well pick it up and take a sip," he said, spreading his hands. "It might just quench your thirst."

She shook her head, her gaze sweeping toward the three Ruins-Breaker Mechas standing silently in the distance, the green patterns on their armor still breathing slightly. "I heard that in your Family, even children at the third level of Qi Refining can control those iron lumps?"

"More than that," Chen Wuwang nodded. "Youths can pilot mechas to patrol the mountains, and elders can control Spirit Arrays to farm the fields. We don't rely on a few Geniuses to keep up appearances; we rely on giving everyone a place to use their talents."

"So your breaking through seven realms in three years wasn't due to Heaven And Earth Treasures or external support?" Her tone shifted, her eyes becoming sharp. "It was this... 'System' of yours that you can't quite explain?"

Chen Wuwang fell silent for a moment.

He knew what she was testing—was there a higher-level power involved? Was there a forbidden Legacy? Had some great expert targeted them to be used as pawns?

He smiled and said only one thing: "We crawled out of the ruins. Back then, no one helped us, and no one respected us. We survived because we didn't want to be stepped into the mud again."

These words were plain, without sentimentality or slogans. But Aelia heard their weight.

She took two slow steps forward and stood side-by-side with him, looking out at the silhouette of the brightly lit mountain city. "The path you are taking is very dangerous."

"But if we didn't take this path, we would have been trampled into ruins long ago," he replied without hesitation.

The wind poured in from the mountain pass, ruffling her hair and stirring his long silver hair. His Mechanical Prosthetic Eye flashed with a very faint blue light, like some kind of silent response.

"You are breaking the rules," she whispered.

"No," he corrected. "We are creating new rules. The old ones don't work anymore, so we change them."

Aelia turned to look at him, her eyes complex. "Aren't you afraid of a backlash? Aren't you afraid the traditionalists will join forces to crush you?"

"I am," he admitted. "But I'm more afraid of staying in place. By the time they come to kill you, you'll find you don't even have the right to resist."

She didn't speak, just quietly watched the mountain before her—the layered workshops, the automatically operating teleportation arrays, the figures of youths patrolling in formation, and those five mechas standing in the center of the plaza like night-watching divine generals.

This wasn't just a Family rising.

This was a model taking shape.

After a long time, she asked softly, "What is your proudest work?"

Chen Wuwang didn't answer directly but smiled. "I will present it tomorrow for your appraisal."

"Unwilling to show your hand now?"

"It's not that I'm unwilling," he looked at her. "It's just not time yet. What you can see is only what I want you to see. The truly powerful things are hidden where you can't see them."

Aelia narrowed her eyes. "Are you telling me you are stronger than you appear on the surface?"

"I am telling you—" his tone was steady, "—that the premise of cooperation is mutual respect. If you want to test my depths, I can play along; but if you come with a heart for plunder, then there's no need for us to continue this play."

The two locked eyes for a moment, neither backing down.

It was as if invisible strings in the air were stretched to their limit.

Finally, Aelia sighed softly. "You're still the same. You never say a word fully, yet every sentence hits the mark."

"You are the same," he said indifferently. "Your mouth speaks of doubt, but your eyes have been recording every detail. You've been evaluating the value all along, haven't you?"

She was startled, then laughed. "No wonder you could pull a small, marginal Family to this position within three years. Anyone else would be either too soft or too ruthless. You're right in the middle—tough enough, and not stupid."

"It's just survival," he said. "Those who live long aren't necessarily the strongest, but they are certainly the best at calculating."

She nodded and finally took the first step.

The light steps rippled beneath her feet, spreading out in circles. She walked to his side and said softly, "Lead the way, Lord Family Head. Let me see just how deep this mountain of yours really is."

Chen Wuwang didn't move until she had walked five paces, then he turned to follow.

He waved his hand, and the Star-Track Stage behind him slowly sank into the ground. The lighthouse light patterns turned from intense to soft, and the Ruins-Breaker Mechas simultaneously retracted their shoulder cannons, the green light in the armor gaps fading like a breath.

The welcoming ceremony was over.

The real contest had only just begun.

The mountain wind remained, and the lights were not extinguished.

He walked half a step behind her to the side, neither being impolite nor appearing humble.

Ahead, the steps of the Main Hall were already in view, and the Spiritual Energy Lanterns on both sides lit up one after another, reflecting a path leading to the unknown.

Aelia suddenly stopped and glanced back at him. "Can this path of yours really be traversed?"

"I don't know," he looked directly into her eyes. "But I know that if we don't walk it, it definitely won't be."

She looked at him for a long time without speaking.

Then, she gave a light nod.

Chen Wuwang gestured with his hand. "Please come inside. The tea has just been heated."