"Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts?"
Lin Chen turned around and looked at the old man with the crutch, a trace of coldness appearing in his eyes.
"Young brother misunderstands, when I called out to you, it wasn’t to take back those treasures but to discuss a big business deal that I’m sure you will be interested in," said the old man with the crutch, smiling hurriedly as he explained himself to Lin Chen.
He did not want to let go of Lin Chen, who was a talented individual.
"Oh? What kind of big deal? Tell me about it," Lin Chen said, showing a curious expression as he asked.
The reason why Lin Chen took the risk of approaching the old man with the crutch was, in fact, motivated by a specific reason.
Lin Chen still did not fully understand the true purpose and motives of these assassins from Moon Shadow Pavilion; their daring move to initiate a crisis that could obliterate Cloud Sky City confirmed there were more developments to come.
Control over Cloud Sky City was probably only one aspect of their plan. To thoroughly understand their intentions, Lin Chen had to become one of them.
Lin Chen had a sudden idea, to impersonate Li Chu, a man who licked blood off his blade and valued wealth as if it was his life—this was an opportunity.
"There are still some matters I have to attend to here. Young brother, why don’t you head to the dilapidated temple ten li to the east of the city outskirts? Wait for me there. Once I’m done with the business here, I’ll head straight to the temple to have a detailed discussion with you," said the old man with the crutch, pointing in the direction of the temple as he spoke.
Upon hearing this, Lin Chen nodded, with an extremely curious expression on his face, convincing the old man with the crutch that Lin Chen was staying because of the opportunity for a big deal.
"Good, I will go to the temple and wait for your good news," Lin Chen replied and then dashed toward the temple with a swift movement.
After Lin Chen left, the old man’s two subordinates looked at each other, confusion written across their faces, and turned to the old man with the crutch.
"Boss, this kid is nothing but trash at the Seventh Layer of the Spirit Gathering Realm, won’t he slow us down if we bring him into the fold?" one of the old man’s cronies asked.
"Fools, if this boy managed to poison us without making a sound, how can he be a nobody?"
"He values wealth over his life, daring to gamble with us for money. This kid is indeed a character. What I value is his low cultivation level, which won’t escape our control. As long as we give him a few treasures as a reason, he will be fully at our disposal," the old man with the crutch scolded his subordinates and then turned his gaze to the sects in the distance.
Time quickly passed, and after two hours,
Although Lin Chen felt somewhat uneasy, he wouldn’t back down after having contacted the old man with the crutch taking a risk.
He sat quietly in the dilapidated temple, meditating and adjusting his breath, with Spiritual Bees placed outside to monitor every movement.
After arriving at the temple, Lin Chen had thought that if the old man with the crutch decided to return suddenly with men intending to kill him, Lin Chen would escape the moment he detected their ill intentions.
Suddenly, the Spiritual Bees outside detected a disturbance—it was the old man with the crutch and a group of assassins heading towards the temple.
Lin Chen stood up, his spirits lifted.
However, just as Lin Chen stepped out of the temple and saw the people in front of him, one of the assassins in black flew out from behind the old man and aimed a palm strike at Lin Chen.
Seeing this, Lin Chen did not retreat; he too raised his palm and struck back at the assailant.
He knew they wouldn’t so easily trust him or perhaps the subordinates felt he wasn’t fit to be among them, so they decided to test him.
Lin Chen had anticipated this and knew he had to display some strength to convince them.
In response to Lin Chen’s counterattack, Liu Zhu curled his lips into a disdainful smile.
Lin Chen had only reached the Seventh Layer of the Spirit Gathering Realm, and for Liu Zhu, that was nothing to take seriously.
However, the old man with the crutch didn’t say anything to stop the fight; he believed Lin Chen wouldn’t be so easily defeated.
If Lin Chen dared to stand up to Liu Zhu, he likely possessed some real skill. It appeared that Lin Chen wasn’t only formidable in using poison, his combat strength couldn’t be taken lightly either. Fresh chapters posted on NoveIꜰire.net
With everyone watching, Lin Chen and Liu Zhu’s palms collided, and both were sent flying back dozens of yards by the force of their spiritual power.
Even Liu Zhu felt a sharp pain in his arm, while Lin Chen looked quite relaxed in comparison.
"How is this possible!?"
Liu Zhu and the others couldn’t believe their eyes as they looked at Lin Chen. Liu Zhu’s strength was among the best of these assassins, yet he couldn’t overwhelm Lin Chen. They knew Lin Chen’s cultivation was only at the Spirit Gathering Realm.
"This kid is weird," Liu Zhu and the others finally realized why the boss had incorporated Lin Chen into their team—clearly, Lin Chen was no ordinary Spirit Gathering Realm martial artist.
The old man with the crutch’s gaze fell on Lin Chen, a smile creeping across his lips as he considered how to utilize Lin Chen in the future.
With Lin Chen’s talent, if he was introduced into Moon Shadow Pavilion, the higher-ups would surely reward him, given that such a young and strong talent would be highly valued for cultivation by the Pavilion. Recommending Lin Chen would be a great merit for himself.
"I was merely testing you just now, but I refuse to believe you can truly stand up to me," Liu Zhu declared with a vicious look in his eyes, unhappy about being bested by Lin Chen in front of the boss.
He then started to channel his spiritual power, conjuring a powerful killing move in his hands, readying another attack on Lin Chen.
Upon seeing this, Lin Chen’s mouth twitched slightly; this assassin was indeed fierce. It was one thing to test him, but now the man was going for a severe attack.
Seeing the immense aura in Liu Zhu’s hand, any ordinary martial artist at the Seventh Layer of the Spirit Gathering Realm would undoubtedly be killed by that palm strike.
Liu Zhu attacked once more.
Lin Chen couldn’t afford to take any chances and promptly began to circulate the spiritual power within his body. If he was going to fake Li Chu’s identity, he had to commit fully to the act.
In an instant, Lin Chen reversed the flow of his spiritual power, and a Yin Sha Qi appeared on his palm, looking exceedingly strange.