Chapter 396: It Was Time to Prepare

Chapter 396: It Was Time to Prepare

As a genius, if Zheng Yichen really revealed such news at this time, wouldn’t that be telling others that he completely had the ability to perfect the Semi-Awakening Potion in the future… to create a brand new version of the Awakening Potion?

Could those who had held back from taking action still restrain themselves now?

And those who knew full well they couldn’t succeed but wanted to snatch Zheng Yichen away would definitely not hold back, letting him fall into someone else’s hands and allowing one faction to dominate everything. Even if the Sanctuary Church stepped in, Zheng Yichen would still face related risks. The circles were different; disputes between families were battles of family influence. If the Sanctuary Church intervened too overtly, the Dark Church would certainly not sit by and watch.

As the eternal second place, even though the Sanctuary Church’s combat strength on the so-called “power ranking” could cover positions two through nine, it didn’t mean the Dark Church lacked the determination to be the Boss. So, after Deya heard this news, she couldn’t make a decision directly.

“Oh… is that so? Things aren’t as severe as you think.” Looking at the information in the Magic Weapon Summoning Book, Achille thought for a moment before replying to Deya. Zheng Yichen’s Talent was indeed a bit frightening. Anyone who couldn’t control such a special genius would always think about how to eliminate them.

Especially since he didn’t have any real disputes with other factions yet, making it even easier to take action. As for the possibility of relying on his potion-making Talent to mingle among major factions, building significant relationships with them, so that even if something like this happened it wouldn’t be a major incident… it wasn’t impossible, but the method he used was just staying low-key initially.

Moreover, the Magic Potions he made weren’t particularly unconventional; he mostly made existing potions, just with superior quality and strength compared to others. But looking at Zheng Yichen’s track record, since his debut, he hadn’t stuck to tradition at all—everything was new-style Magic Potions, and within less than a year, he had developed several.

Now, it was impossible for him to establish sufficient connections with other factions either. When some things reached a certain height, they would indeed be very attractive, but people definitely wouldn’t “buy” them. Just like expensive items, they were destined to be enjoyed by only a very few.

“If he really displayed such Talent, some people would indeed move against him, but handling it then might actually be easier.” Achille continued his reply. Seeing the confused emoticon Deya sent, he shook his head slightly. Well, these demonic emoticons had already become deeply ingrained in the Magic Weapon Forum, especially for some people. Not including an emoticon that expressed their mood when speaking felt like torture.

Looking at the whole sentence gave him an uncomfortable, awkward feeling.

It seemed the Saintess was starting to develop this habit too. This wasn’t a good sign, was it?

Forget it. As long as she wasn’t obsessed with it, it was fine. Getting back on topic, excessively high Talent would indeed attract many people’s murderous intent, but it would also attract many people’s “desire to cherish talent.” Although this desire was mostly considered from personal angles and benefits, having such thoughts meant they wouldn’t first think about how to kill this guy to prevent him from becoming a threat.

Good things, everyone wanted them. The reason for wanting to kill Zheng Yichen was purely because they knew they couldn’t have him. But what if there was hope of winning him over? They would definitely try. If they succeeded, it would bring long-term benefits.

Zheng Yichen didn’t have real disputes with too many factions. This was his weakness, but also his convenience. Precisely because he didn’t have much interaction with other factions, and the current situation had evolved to the point where he couldn’t have much interaction with them, it naturally gave people the impression that anyone who tried hard enough could win him over.

The premise was that the Sanctuary Church didn’t take action, and Zheng Yichen didn’t actively choose a side, always maintaining his current neutral position, not getting himself involved in various conflicts. As long as he never entered such a situation, never let his stance deviate, and firmly positioned himself as a neutral researcher, this would instead be a sufficiently significant protective talisman.

As long as Zheng Yichen definitely wouldn’t truly join any faction—since everyone couldn’t win him—then why kill him? Perhaps some would still want to, but most wouldn’t allow it. A living Zheng Yichen was much more useful than a dead one. Regarding the Magic Potion matter, aside from snatching the Magic Pharmacist, solving it from the sales side was also a good method, though more troublesome.

However, once Zheng Yichen demonstrated his value, even if other factions found it troublesome, they would shift the battlefield of competition rather than involving him. Even those who wanted to kill him wouldn’t have a way. They might have such thoughts, but since most people didn’t agree, the threat would naturally decrease.

Achille didn’t know if this was Zheng Yichen’s own idea or something else. In any case, all this was based on the premise that his stance remained unchanged and considering the Sanctuary Church’s related actions at this time. They wouldn’t go so far as to actively harm others. This matter was just something to observe. Zheng Yichen couldn’t join the Sanctuary Church anyway. What they needed to do was guard against their old rivals and watch that the Dark Church didn’t take Zheng Yichen away.

After explaining his analysis to Deya, she finally relaxed a little. Since Zheng Yichen’s side wasn’t a big problem, there probably wasn’t a need to do anything extra. She had left in a hurry before and wanted to go back again, but Achille stopped her. If she went back now, Deya’s actions would take on a different meaning.

Too many people were watching over there now. Everyone’s every move would be immediately reported to their higher-ups.

“Had enough watching? I’m right at the center of the storm now. Although I’m not worried about risks or anything, there’s no need to add new risks for myself, right?” Not long after Deya left, Dan Marina appeared. Looking at the woman who quite unceremoniously took the seat Deya had been sitting in, Zheng Yichen pursed his lips and spoke.

“What are you afraid of? Things are already like this, so why not continue to shake up those people a bit more? Maybe you’ll shake them into numbness, and they’ll give up some dangerous ideas.” Dan Marina said with a grin. “After all, there’s nothing worse than the current situation, right?”

“You already thought there would be such a result, didn’t you?” Zheng Yichen’s mouth twitched slightly as he couldn’t help but ask. With Dan Marina’s perspective, she couldn’t have failed to realize this problem that appeared back then. Yet at that time, she said nothing at all. It was only after the current influence truly emerged that she acted like a careless, innocent party.

“Oh my? Really, I just didn’t think of it… okay, okay, Yichen, you’ve gotten smarter.” The smile on Dan Marina’s face faded slightly. “To use one of your sayings, if a person stays on the headlines for too long, it doesn’t bring lasting benefits. It only makes everyone watch you constantly with a rather critical gaze. Once you have the slightest problem, waves of doubt or other voices will pile up.”

“A hundred flowers blooming together is a stable situation. Your real identity is no longer an absolute secret, so it’s time to create some new secrets in advance.”

Seeing Zheng Yichen’s confusion and lack of understanding, Dan Marina didn’t hide much and directly explained the specific reason to him. Zheng Yichen’s identity wasn’t an absolute secret; the Undying Witch already knew. So this itself was a major hidden danger. Fortunately, she didn’t know he was the Creator.

But even so, it was still troublesome. Since they couldn’t completely remove this trouble, they could only transform it into something else with benefits. For example, in the field of Magic Potions. Even if Zheng Yichen’s identity was ultimately exposed, he could demonstrate his weight. Because of his true identity, people would be even less likely to act rashly. The unfavorable factor would become a rather important protective talisman for him.

At the same time, this was also an act to confuse others’ attention. Since Zheng Yichen could show sufficient Talent in potion-making, as long as he paid attention in the future and, under the premise of his identity being “leaked,” kept some things private in other areas, it would be hard for others to associate him with anything related to the Magic Weapon Summoning Book. It would be like directly cutting off the last thread of possibility connecting him to that thing—as long as Zheng Yichen didn’t actively seek death.

Hide?

He couldn’t hide forever. After all, such a big dragon couldn’t just vanish, could it? It wouldn’t be easy to explain to the Dragon Clan either, right? So Zheng Yichen needed to occasionally reveal some related traces. For example, some time ago, his venting howl at the sky was a display of a trace, a way to remind people of his existence, letting others know he was still fine but just didn’t want to show himself easily.

“What you say makes sense, but what about the Dragon Clan?” Zheng Yichen asked with a strange expression. Dan Marina always thought too far ahead…

“Why worry about those big lizards? Over the years, they haven’t lost any Young Dragons. As long as they don’t encounter you directly, there’s no need for them to think about the Cursed Dragon aspect.” Dan Marina said quite casually. The Dragon Clan’s affairs were just like that. Having a few newborn Young Dragons in several decades was considered high yield. The Dragon Clan had been very calm these years. If they were really missing a Young Dragon… they would have exploded long ago. How could they stay so calm and not make a fuss?

Dan Marina had speculated and even gone to the place where Zheng Yichen first “hatched” to look for traces there. She indeed found the spot where he hatched back then and the remnants there. Those remnants weren’t too damaged. When Zheng Yichen crossed over back then, aside from nibbling on some rocks, he hadn’t paid much attention to the place.

Others wouldn’t go to that place for no reason. Aside from wind and sun exposure, it was preserved well. However, it was also tainted with some characteristics Zheng Yichen carried. Dan Marina couldn’t Trace anything substantial from that part, but that didn’t mean there were no clever methods. If she couldn’t Trace something from that part, she could Trace from elsewhere!

In short, Zheng Yichen’s body wasn’t that of a modern Young Dragon. Tracing back could point to the era of the Cursed Dragon war… no, even earlier than that period. To use some terms Zheng Yichen had revealed, before his Soul inhabited this Dragon Body to become a Cursed Dragon, the egg carrying this body should have been a dead egg, one that over time had deteriorated almost into a “fossilized” dead egg.

Zheng Yichen’s identity wasn’t among the known newborn Young Dragons recorded by the Dragon Clan. Unless the Dragon Clan, for no reason, Traced back through the Young Dragons that died prematurely or the dead eggs over the past thousand years, could they possibly determine Zheng Yichen’s “true identity.” This wasn’t impossible, but they definitely wouldn’t do it for no reason. To do something, they needed a basis.

As long as Zheng Yichen didn’t give them a reason to start Tracing and investigating, no dragon would suddenly say, “Ah! Today I heard about a dragon active outside. I think it might be the Young Dragon from XXXX years ago. We should investigate.” That kind of baseless talk. The biggest possibility was that Zheng Yichen would be treated as a sort of “illegitimate child” existence.

Hmm, all this was under the premise that his identity as a Cursed Dragon wasn’t exposed.

“As long as you aren’t found directly, it’s fine. They won’t be able to determine your specific identity and will only keep watching. After all, the Continent is no longer the era when the Dragon Clan was active.” At this point, Dan Marina paused slightly. “And back when the Cursed Dragons were active, not a single one of them had four Witches gathered around them…”

Well, that covered both soft and hard approaches. Dan Marina’s meaning was too clear: no matter which situation they encountered, they already had the capital to deal with it. Whether through soft or hard power.

“My mood is a bit complicated.” After thinking through some of the key points, Zheng Yichen said sincerely. “Does this mean my activities have been too cautious all along, to the point you couldn’t stand it anymore?”

Zheng Yichen had come to understand Dan Marina’s behavior pattern somewhat—the kind that would absolutely not take direct action if possible. She was the type who hid her true edge very well. After all, when ranking the danger levels of abilities, hers could be placed in the upper tier.

“It’s not really like that. After all, you’re still weak. Being low-key is good. What I’m talking about won’t truly come into play in the near future either. It’s just a preparatory measure for dealing with future changes. Whether it gets used depends on the situation then.” Dan Marina chuckled and shook her head. “Ultimately, it’s that you can’t hide forever. So while being low-key, you should also start preparing for some future matters. Not the kind of very long-term preparations.”

“Well, I understand.” Zheng Yichen nodded. He did have preparations, but those preparations… upon careful thought, mostly belonged to long-term plans for decades later. For the near term, involving plans related to his identity within the next few years, he really didn’t have anything sufficiently clear.