Huaxia, a mysterious valley, clearly having entered winter, yet here it is like a sea of flowers, entirely in bloom, breathtakingly beautiful!

And in the center of this sea of flowers sits a middle-aged man. The man’s face is like etched by a knife, sharp and clear with an expression of cold sternness, and those deep eyes resemble the vast blue ocean, profoundly deep while appearing wise!

The middle-aged man is sitting amongst the flowers, playing a zither.

The beautiful zither music drifts across the entire flower sea, attracting numerous birds to circle above, seemingly drawn by this enchanting melody.

Suddenly, a cheerful laugh rings out: "Your zither skills are becoming more and more refined!"

The next moment, the music abruptly stops!

Soon, a middle-aged man slowly walks over from the east.

The man’s figure is as straight as a pine, his eyes full of spirit, draped in a black robe, exuding the aura of a grandmaster!

If Ye Xunhuan were here, he would certainly recognize this man, for he is the head protector of the nation—the Monarch!

"I truly did not expect you to come here!" The man glanced at the Monarch, speaking indifferently.

"How are you, accustomed yet?"

"Initially, I wasn’t accustomed, but now it doesn’t matter!" The man said lightly: "Talking casually about grand schemes, dreaming of the mundane world!"

"I originally thought you wouldn’t bear the solitude!"

"Even if I couldn’t bear it, what could I do, would you allow me to leave here?" The man stared at the Monarch.

The Monarch immediately shook his head and said: "No, you will remain here for a lifetime, until you die!"

The man seemed to have anticipated the Monarch’s answer, showing no surprise, softly saying: "Speak, why did you come looking for me?"

"Nothing, just checking on old friends!"

"We have known each other for over sixty years, do you think I don’t know you?"

The Monarch smiled: "You’re really overthinking this time, I am just here to see you, purely without any other intentions!"

"And to take a look at the people here by the way."

"Finished looking?"

"Of course!" The Monarch replied with a smile: "Otherwise, why would I come here!"

"You’ve been idle lately?"

"Not quite!" The Monarch spoke softly: "There’s a little fellow who makes my head ache; I want to kill him but can’t, as many people protect him, including some masters at the ethereal level!"

"Then this little fellow is indeed extraordinary, able to attract masters at the ethereal level to protect him, causing you headaches, certainly a figure of Storm!"

"Indeed, a figure of Storm!" The Monarch truthfully said: "He is called Ye Xunhuan, one of the top ten overlords in the underground world, and the only Huaxian overlord among them!"

As he spoke, the Monarch intensely focused on the man before him.

While this man remained serene, without a ripple of emotion, like a pond without any wave: "How old is he?"

"In his twenties!" The Monarch spoke softly!

"A overlord in his twenties, an impressive achievement; if he doesn’t perish prematurely, his future achievements might surpass yours!"

"Surpassing me doesn’t matter; you know, I’m not the type to envy talent!"

The man nodded: "True, but you are someone who won’t let opponents live!"

"Aren’t you alive too?"

"Perhaps I’m an exception?"

The Monarch chuckled, conceding.

"I want to kill him, but around him, suddenly emerged masters at the ethereal level; even I have no assured victory!" The Monarch softly sighed: "Moreover, he is my sworn brother Xiahao Yunting’s grandson-in-law!"

"Tell me, is this matter troubling?"

"Seems like you’ve been troubled by this matter not just for one or two days!"

"Indeed, it’s been a long time, initially planning to kill him, but this kid is lucky, didn’t die but instead gained his overlord title!" The Monarch said helplessly: "Now wanting to kill him, he has grown strong, tangled with various foreign forces!"

"Killing him might very likely trigger a holy war!"

"Hearing this, I am truly more and more interested in him!" The man smiled broadly: "A young man in his twenties can influence the global power dynamics, even potentially to the point of triggering a holy war!"

"He and the Blood Phoenix are intimate confidants, and with the Church’s Saint, I don’t know the relationship, but definitely complex, and he is closely tied with the Russian Devil, handling massive conglomerates, a financial crisis could erupt once the three overlords join forces!"

"So if you want to kill him, it must be done cleanly, leaving no traces!"

"Yes!" The Monarch acknowledged: "Initially, I could have done it, but later got disrupted by someone, leaving my efforts futile!"

"When I wanted to act again, there wasn’t the right opportunity!"

"After hearing all this, I still don’t feel he can shake the world paradigm!" The man said calmly: "His skills aren’t sufficient, and his existence should be a balance point, a mutual balance point, breaking this balance would be problematic, possibly leading to war or maybe nothing at all!"

"Indeed, all are fifty-fifty, but you know, I am someone who seeks stability!"

"Then you can only proceed slowly!" The man said calmly: "Slowly seeking opportunities, as long as you look carefully, opportunities will always be there; grasp an opportunity, and strike to kill instantly!"

"Also, your strategies, your identity, sometimes killing doesn’t require using your own hands; if he dies, if really large powers move, fight if you can, if someone joins forces, can’t fight, then just hand over the culprit!"

"At that time, let the Dark Dragon Guard eliminate them!"

"It seems you truly understand me!" The Monarch pointed his finger at the man: "That’s exactly what I think, and then, my Huaxia Protectors will ascend to become the number one power, intimidating various countries, if anyone dares to provoke, despite the distance, we will punish!"

"You actually aren’t bad, especially your loyalty to this nation is complete and thorough." The man sighed: "Just one little flaw!"

"I know what you want to say." The Monarch didn’t let the man continue, directly interrupting: "No one is perfect, just like you too!"

"And I know what I am doing!"

"Knowing what you’re doing?"

"Trading with demons, isn’t it?"

"Exactly!"

"The demon, I will make sure he dies!" The Monarch said firmly: "He’s merely a pawn in my hand; once he loses value, he won’t continue to exist!"

"Can you kill him?"

"There are countless ways to kill, and as you’ve said, killing doesn’t necessarily require your own hands!"