Chapter 864: We will meet again
âYou fought very well, Fairy Yunxiâ, Wu Long spoke with a smile.
She smiled in return, âIf it was someone else who just defeated me, I mightâve thought they were mocking me. But from you⊠I think Iâll take itâ
âGoodâ, Wu Long nodded, âBecause I meant it. Though I must admit, I really wanted to see what kind of a technique it was that you were holding back from using so muchâ
Her eyes flashed with shock, and then her smile regained its previous energy, âYou were able to tell?â
âMm, along with how you kept a thin thread of connection going with every attack so you could turn it into a blunt one if needed. I must say you went quite easy on meâ, Wu Long nodded, not really used to someone holding back against him.
There appeared admiration in her eyes at how accurately he saw through her, and then a wry smile, as she realized that with his skill it was probably not hard for him to do so.
âI cannot be as certain as you areâŠâ, Li Yunxi then added, ââŠbut I suspect the one who went easy on the other among us two wasnât meâ
âHahaha, I wonât be denying itâ, he lightly laughed, putting both hands behind his back and resuming his usual relaxed pose.
âKhaa~⊠how cruel of you to admit it!â, she then made a disgruntled half-squeal and spoke with light, almost friendly frustration that finally came out with that initial, turning to the side with a sulking face, âHaa~⊠I really wanted to winâŠâ
âYou shouldâve used that move thenâ, Wu Long shrugged his shoulders.
âThat technique is not something to use against an opponent in a spar, but against an enemyâ, her tone became a bit more somber as she said that.
âA kind and honorable choiceâ
âHaha, thatâs who I am, a kind and honorable beautyâ, she chuckled with a cheeky smile.
But receiving no comment on how it was too much to call herself a beauty or something of the sort, her cheeks slightly reddened.
âKhu-khu-khu-khhmm!!!â, the Martial Alliance representative was clearing his throat â trying to get their attention â for the third time now. And this time, clearly annoyed, made an unnaturally loud sound.
ââŠâ, Li Yunxi soundlessly gasped, as if woken up, turning away from staring into Wu Longâs eyes, and looking to the Martial Alliance representative.
Wu Long made a light smile, and turned in that direction as well.
âWith a forfeit from Disciple Li Yunxi of the Profound Union Pavilion, Daoist Wu⊠ehem, becomes the winner of both challenges agreed upon. Thus, the natural treasure would be returned to the Southern Sea Island Sect, which can then trade it according to their own calculationsâ, the Martial Alliance representative spoke in a grandiose tone of voice.
Wu Long noticed the slight of hand he did, as if specifying that other Sects still could approach the Southern Sea Island Sect with their own offers, but it did not matter to him, as he knew his deal was far better than anything they could get.
Instead, his attention shifted back to Li Yunxi, âWill you be staying in the Emerald Falls City for some time?â
âEh?â, she widened her eyes in light surprise, and then raising her finger to her lips in thought, added âEhm~, no, I think I heard Grand Elder spoke with one of the Elders about purchasing tickets for a Beast of Burden going this eveningâ
âThatâs a shameâ, Wu Long nodded with a smile, causing her to question what was it that he was lamenting.
âThey were probably worried about staying here for too long thinking they were going to hold the Yang treasure with themâ, he thought, understanding the hurry.
He then added âAlthough I assume you are one of the candidates your Sect is going to send to the opening of the Secret Realm of the Great Fang Dynasty?â
âHm? Y-yesâ, she became even more surprised, not sure why he was talking about all of this all of a sudden.
âThen I suppose we will certainly meet again, Fairy Yunxiâ, Wu Long chuckled, cupping his hands in another greeting before going off to the Sect Master of the Southern Sea Island Sect who was already surrounded by a few Grand Elders from the smaller Sects.
She made a mystified expression, absentmindedly mimicking his motion of the farewell greeting, and moving away to join her Sect members. But before she did, she turned to look at Wu Long again with a strange look, not sure why his last words lingered on her mind.
Wu Long, meanwhile, approached the Southern Sea Island Sectâs Sect Master, and before any of those surrounding the latter and were already making all kinds of offers could speak up as he came up to them, raised his hand in a stopping motion.
âI will not trade away the natural treasure. Money doesnât interest me, neither does the cultivation legacy of any of your Sects. Other cultivation resources would be meaningless to offer unless they are of the same or higher quality and valueâ
As soon as he made his terms known, the people showed frustrated expressions. To which he added, âIntimidation will also not work. As you may have guessed from this whole situation, I really donât care about crossing any of youâ
His words caused a few sparks in the eyes of people around, some of them not even standing close to him.
Yun Ping, who finally regained full consciousness, although still needing the support of two other Disciples to stand, was trying to incinerate Wu Long with his eyes, though the latter never acknowledged that gaze, or was bothered by it.
Although he knew that Yun Ping would try to cause trouble for him later on, no matter when it was, he decided to postpone dealing with him, as a certain thought occurred to him, âExperimenting on stealing an Extreme Yang Physique right away is a bit too big of a hurdle, if Physiques indeed could be stolen, it is better to start with something far less powerful, and also far less precious so that itâs not too big of a loss if itâs a failure⊠like a Yang-type Variation Physiqueâ
No one seemed to possess any other means to entice Wu Long into trading away the treasure, and the Southern Sea Island Sect, with him by their side, seemed reassured, also declining any talks.
Both Wu Long and the Sect Master proceeded to meet the Martial Alliance representative in his office.
âNow, then, I know you said that you werenât willing to trade, but I am going to ask for the last time anywayâ, the Martial Alliance representative spoke without turning to open his vault.
âI do not think you possess a resource of equal value that you can tradeâ, Wu Long shook his head.
âBut if you decline to trade⊠I might just declare the whole two matches invalid on the grounds that you are not in Mortal Transcendence Realm. No one in their right mind would believe you are, when they learn you defeated a pirate in the 5th-level Essence Gathering Realm who consumed an Essence Ignition Pill, unless you are one of the few and far between Heavenâs Chosenâ, the Martial Alliance representative finally showed his hand in concealing this information.
His expression shifted to that of glee as he spoke, âI donât know how you are so masterfully concealing your cultivation, but itâs going to be hard to continue under scrutinyâ
Wu Long revealed a grin, âYou can use a Mortal Grade measuring stone if you like, itâll show you that I am exactly in the cultivation I am in, but even without that⊠this should tell you plentyâ
He placed a pass into the One Sun Fortress onto the desk.
The Martial Alliance representativeâs eyes widened with shock, first at his words about the Mortal Grade measurement stone, which would shatter if one possessing Profound Qi so much as got close to it, and then even more at the sight of the pass that indicated that Wu Long went into the Sun Shadow Secret Realm.
âY-Youâre bluffingâŠâ, he could only say with hesitation.
âYou can check the records. Go ahead and do it now, why would I bluff with something so easily disprovable?â, Wu Long shrugged nonchalantly, as he didnât even have to bluff here, speaking simple facts.
The Martial Alliance representative picked up his communication jade and a few communication talismans, a few of them glowing and withering right away as he used them.
Meanwhile, the Southern Sea Island Sectâs Sect Master stood covered in cold sweat.
He was certainly mad at their treasure being taken away and being pushed aside.
And he knew very well that while the Martial Alliance promised a reward of 100,000 gold to their Sect, which wasnât even remotely equivalent to the treasureâs value to begin with, they would be lucky to receive even a tenth of that.
The rest would be promised to be given later, then delayed, then âmistakenly recorded as being payed outâ, and then completely forgotten.
Thus, agreeing to cooperate with Wu Long was a natural choice, as what he offered was worth to them much more than the money.
Their primary motivation was, of course, the technique he offered them.
But it was also true that at least a small part of that motivation was to throw sticks into the wheels for both the Martial Alliance, and the Sects who all came here greedy for what was theirs.
At the same time, they would be doing so from a relatively safe position of putting all the blame and resentment of all parties involved on Wu Long.
If they could do that while also making profit, it was an absolute win.
However, he never expected such a direct confrontation with the Martial Alliance.
The Martial Alliance representative turned his eyes filled with shock to Wu Long, as he received a message through the communication jade.
ââŠâ, he could not believe it, but he had a hunch that even if he ordered to bring in a Mortal Grade measuring stone, it would not change the situation. Wu Long was telling the truth.
âThis youngster⊠what monstrous talentâŠâ, he thought as he looked at Wu Long, âShould I⊠crush him now?â
After all, Wu Long could bear a grudge against him for this, and if Wu Long was allowed to grow enough to threaten himâŠ
âI donât care about youâ, however, Wu Longâs cold words shook the Martial Alliance representative to the core just as he was thinking about all of that.
That gaze, full of cold indifference, it somehow saw through him completely.
It was now the Martial Alliance representativeâs turn to start shedding cold sweat as he was suddenly overwhelmed by an uncontrollable, and inexplicable existential dread.
Wu Longâs presence completely changed in his perception even though it didnât seem like anything changed to the Southern Sea Island Sectâs Sect Master, who also froze at Wu Longâs words but for a different reason.
âAs long as you give me what is now rightfully mine, without trying any stunts to try and give me something else, and donât cross me, out of your worthless worries about imagined future, I have absolutely no interest in you, what you do, how you live, and your existence in generalâ, Wu Longâs words seemed to lack any emotion whatsoever, and yet sent chills through the Martial Alliance representative.
He continued, tolerating spending a bit of time on this, as he saw that as a small price to pay for avoiding all the trouble he would get if this Martial Alliance representative didnât fully understand the situation.
âIf you decide to aggravate this situation in any way whatsoever, the prophesy you just imagined of retaliation from me will become self-fulfilling, and far earlier than you imagine. It all depends on your choice, right here and now, to just let it go and live peacefully however much you can do so without causing trouble for yourself with someone else, or to become an immortal fly. Now⊠choose⊠and choose wiselyâŠâ
As Wu Longâs last words fell, it felt like a decree of the Heavenly Daos, giving the Martial Alliance representative the final warning and choice.
The Sect Master of the Southern Sea Island Sect forgot to breathe as he looked at that scene with wide eyes, scared out of his wits and thinking that this madman was going to get both of them dead.
And then, after a full minute of silence, the Martial Alliance representative silently turned and used his jade token to open the vaultâs Formation, entering inside.
He then came out with a jade box, putting it carefully on the desk in front of Wu Long.
âWise choiceâ, Wu Long nodded, not needing to confirm as he saw the treasure through the vault long before they even started talking.
He stashed the jade box into his Spatial Ring, and throwing a jade slip with the technique to the Sect Master of the Southern Sea Island Sect, turned to leave the room.
The latter, having already collapsed to the floor from excess stress, after the tension was finally cut, caught the jade slip while sitting on his butt, turning his round eyes to it, and then to Wu Longâs figure leaving the room with a dazed expression.
Hehe ^^
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