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Chapter 918: Chapter 920: The Choice

The so-called Skeleton King was the supreme ruler of the Skeleton Clan, whose authority surpassed even that of a saint among the skeletons. A true sovereign.

But Wang Ku\'s identity was even more enigmatic. If this was true, he was the former Skeleton King!

"Should we report this to the main alliance, inform the elders and the king?" one of the skeletons pondered aloud.

"Discovering the previous king must be reported to the main alliance!"

"Indeed, the main alliance will definitely reward us for this. Our soul fires have reached their limits. Advancing further is almost impossible. Only the rewards from the main alliance can help us continue to advance!"

"This is a great opportunity!"

"Old Five, what do you think?" the first skeleton suddenly asked.

"Yes, Old Five, what\'s your take? Your mind is the sharpest here," another skeleton added.

Old Five thought for a moment and said, "I think our discovery is very sensitive. If handled poorly, it could bring about our doom!"

"Doom?" the first skeleton asked, puzzled.

All the skeletons turned their attention to Old Five, their initial excitement dissipating.

"Yes, either we pretend we never found out and leave the Zhuanlun Territory, not getting involved, or we involve ourselves and risk getting crushed in the conflict between the old and new Skeleton Kings. We could be pulverized to dust!" Old Five said gravely.

"Pulverized? That can\'t be!" one skeleton exclaimed in disbelief.

"Let\'s analyze this. If we choose to get involved, we now face two Skeleton Kings. If we stay neutral, both sides will likely eliminate us. We can only choose one side. Let\'s consider the former Skeleton King first. If we choose him, he\'s currently weak and seems not to have fully recovered his strength. Standing with him means facing the current Skeleton King and possibly the entire main alliance of the Skeleton Clan," Old Five continued.

"That\'s pure suicide!" a skeleton immediately responded.

"Let me finish. Following the former Skeleton King, advancing would not be difficult. There\'s a saying among mortals, \'Better a timely help than a mere show of prosperity.\' Supporting the former Skeleton King now would ensure our rise if he regains power," Old Five asserted.

"But can he rise again?" one skeleton doubted.

"Hmm, let\'s set that aside for now. Let\'s talk about joining the new king, the current Skeleton King\'s camp. Firstly, there\'s a small chance that the Skeleton King might kill us to silence us!" Old Five said.

"Kill us? Why?" the first skeleton asked. All the skeletons looked at Old Five.

"Because we know too much. The Skeleton King doesn\'t want the former Skeleton King to reappear, nor does he want us to know too much. After all, we aren\'t his loyal followers. There are many elders in the main alliance. He might even want to eliminate the former Skeleton King without alerting the other elders. In that case, we would naturally be unnecessary," Old Five explained.

After Old Five finished, the skeletons fell silent again.

"Of course, there\'s also the possibility that the Skeleton King will reward us. But such rewards would likely be less significant than what we could gain by helping the former Skeleton King in his time of need," Old Five concluded.

The skeletons began to understand a bit more.

"But there is another danger. If the former Skeleton King rises and retakes the throne, we five will be doomed," Old Five said.

The hall fell into a stunned silence, the skeletons filled with a mix of shock and fear.

"But can the previous Skeleton King truly rise again?" one skeleton doubted.

"Why not? Sixty thousand years ago, when the current Skeleton King ambushed him, it was a perfect death trap, seemingly inescapable. Yet, the previous Skeleton King managed to escape, albeit heavily wounded. He must have extraordinary abilities. Furthermore, isn\'t it possible that some elders in the main alliance still hold allegiance to the previous Skeleton King? Would his reappearance necessarily mean defeat?" Old Five said with conviction.

"Old Five, you\'ve got me all confused. What should we do?" a skeleton asked, perplexed.

"The options remain: either we leave, pretending we saw nothing and stay alive, or we get involved and must choose the right side. Either we thrive, or we face destruction," Old Five stated.

The hall descended into silence once more. The skeletons hesitated, deep in thought.

"Leader, what do you think?" one skeleton inquired.

"Comrades, we\'ve been at our current level for many years. Our soul fires cannot advance, and we are stuck in the Daxian Realm. Do we wait for our soul fires to extinguish? Opportunities for advancement are rare, and perhaps this is the chance we\'ve been waiting for. We must seize it!" the leader declared.

The skeletons nodded in agreement.

"Old Five, which side do you think we should join?" the leader asked.

"We\'re betting our lives on this, so we can\'t afford to lose. I believe that if we are to take such a risk, we should go all in. I choose Wang Ku! Our goal should be to become the strongest skeletons, not to survive on mere scraps," Old Five said, revealing his ambition.

"But what if we fail?" one skeleton worried.

"Failure means death. I know the odds of success with Wang Ku are low, but there is still a chance. Wang Ku will not mistreat us if we support him when he needs us the most, far better than currying favor after he has risen to power," Old Five affirmed.

"But that means we would be opposing the king and the main alliance!" another skeleton expressed concern.

"Great achievements often come at great costs. As I said, if we lack the resolve to face a thousand adversaries, we should leave now and avoid this conflict within the Skeleton Clan," Old Five stated resolutely.

"Why not choose the current Skeleton King?" one skeleton asked.

"I\'ve already mentioned the three major drawbacks of siding with the Skeleton King: first, we might be silenced; second, our advancement in soul fire won\'t match following Wang Ku; third, if Wang Ku rises, we will be his first targets. Furthermore, there are certainly elders in the main alliance who support Wang Ku. If we gain favors by helping eliminate Wang Ku, these elders will see us as enemies. At that point, we will have nowhere to turn," Old Five explained.

The skeletons fell silent once again.

"Leader, what do you think? We will follow your lead," the skeletons looked to the leader.

The leader thought for a moment and said, "We will visit Wang Ku. I want to see what kind of skeleton he is. If he lacks the spirit to inspire our loyalty, we will leave Zhuanlun Territory and go into hiding."

The skeletons nodded in agreement.

A month later, in Changjing of the Dazhen Sacred Court.

"Lord Wang, five great skeletons seek an audience outside Changjing," a golden skeleton reported to Wang Ku.

"Five great skeletons?" Wang Ku was slightly puzzled.

"Yes, according to my assessment, these five skeletons likely come from the Manggu Holy Land, possibly the masters of the Manggu Holy Land," the golden skeleton respectfully replied.

"Bring them to my hall," Wang Ku ordered solemnly.

Not long after, the five great skeletons from Manggu Holy Land were brought to Changjing and entered Wang Ku\'s grand hall. The hall doors closed as Wang Ku met with the five formidable beings.

Three hours later, the hall doors opened, and Wang Ku emerged with the five great skeletons. The skeletons bowed respectfully to Wang Ku before swiftly departing.

Soon after, Yi Yan arrived at Wang Ku\'s palace.

"General Wang, those five seem to be the great powers from Manggu Holy Land," Yi Yan said with a smile.

"Yes, it won\'t be long before Manggu Holy Land joins Dazhen," Wang Ku nodded.

Two months later, the great skeletons returned. This time, however, there were only four of them.

The four great skeletons knelt on one knee.

"What happened?" Wang Ku asked sternly.

"Old Fourth betrayed us. He broke our initial oath and left Zhuanlun Territory. It\'s highly likely he\'s headed to the main alliance of the Skeleton Clan!" the leading skeleton said with shame.

"What Old Fourth? I have no such brother. From now on, it\'s just the four of us," another skeleton declared firmly.

"Why didn\'t you leave?" Wang Ku asked in a deep voice.

"We swear to follow you unto death!" the skeletons immediately responded.

"Stand up," Wang Ku nodded.

After securing the loyalty of the four skeletons, Wang Ku went to see Zhong Shan.

"Sacred King, I apologize for the previous concealment and hope for your forgiveness," Wang Ku said respectfully.

"No need for forgiveness. I could guess as much. When the ancestor Guoshi emerged from the Zhuanlun Hall last time and you arrived faster than even the ancient immortal Luoxingchen, I had my suspicions. Besides, I didn\'t ask about your matters, so there\'s no crime of deceiving your lord," Zhong Shan said with a shake of his head and a smile.

"I have brought trouble to Dazhen. The powerful beings of the Skeleton Clan will undoubtedly besiege Zhuanlun Territory. I wish to leave immediately to avoid bringing disaster upon Dazhen!" Wang Ku said solemnly.

"Nonsense! Can Dazhen not protect a single subject? Wang Ku, remember this: as long as you are the commander of Dazhen\'s Ninth Corps, Dazhen will safeguard your safety. The Skeleton Clan? What of them? Can they hinder Dazhen\'s progress? In the future, Dazhen will face many races. Will a single Skeleton Clan make us falter?" Zhong Shan thundered.

"Thank you, Sacred King!" Wang Ku was slightly moved.

"Things will remain as they were. Rest assured, with me here, there will always be a solution," Zhong Shan said firmly.

"Yes! I have a request for the Sacred King\'s approval," Wang Ku said after some thought.

"Speak."

"I don\'t know when the main alliance of the Skeleton Clan will attack. I wish to seize this opportunity to quickly enhance my cultivation. The clay Buddha is deciphering the major nodes of Zhuanlun Hall. I know of a place, the Turbid Land of the Five Turbidities, where I can accelerate the restoration of my former cultivation and perfect myself. I request that the clay Buddha send me to the center of the Turbid Land through Zhuanlun Hall to aid my cultivation," Wang Ku said with certainty.

Zhong Shan considered Wang Ku\'s request and nodded, "I will send word immediately. Go and arrange your Ninth Corps, the Skeleton Corps."

"Yes!" Wang Ku responded promptly.