"But now is not the time to finish off this Wu Chunshan," Lin Qian said, a sly smile creeping onto his face. "This guy still has his uses. Moreover, letting him die so easily would be too kind, given how he has wronged my master."
Whenever Lin Qian mentioned Wei Wushuang, a cold gleam would flash in his eyes: "Because of him, my master suffered greatly back then."
Recalling the past, Master Wei Wushuang often trembled in pain and broke into cold sweats while teaching him.
The pain was so intense that at times, he would faint outright.
In the end, he could only lie weakly on his bed, his hair all turned white, silently waiting for death to come.
If not for the miracle that was the Huaxia Empire, his master would have died helplessly.
Lin Qian still remembered how Wei Wushuang once said that when he left the Yunhai Sect, Wu Chunshan came to bid him farewell under false pretenses.
Only when they were utterly alone did Wu Chunshan proudly reveal the true nature of the situation to Wei Wushuang.
According to Wu Chunshan, he wanted Wei Wushuang to know the truth but be utterly helpless against it, left to slowly await his death!
He wanted to toy with Wei Wushuang!
Now, it was time to get some interest back for his master.
"Not seeing me?" At the manor’s entrance, Wu Chunshan, who had come with Du Ziyue, was utterly dumbfounded by Zhang Nianxin’s response.
Before coming here, Wu Chunshan had prepared for all possibilities.
How Lin Qian might humiliate him or impose some unfair condition.
However, he had never anticipated that the other party would simply refuse to see him.
"That can’t be right?" Wu Chunshan couldn’t comprehend Lin Qian’s thinking.
Didn’t he want to flaunt his power and make his old enemy kneel before him in supplication?
"He asked me to tell you that there’s plenty of time to play with you slowly. As for seeing him, you’re not yet worthy. He said not to think about running away, or Mr. Li will immediately order the Carefree Sect to strike you down," Zhang Nianxin said, ignoring Wu Chunshan’s humiliated expression. After finishing his words, he turned and entered the manor, the doors slamming shut with a boom.
Wu Chunshan stared at the firmly closed doors of the manor, feeling an immense sense of humiliation.
This disciple of Wei Wushuang didn’t even grant him an audience.
Wu Chunshan’s original plan had been to appeal to Lin Qian’s young age and sincere attitude in hopes of stirring compassion.
If all else failed, he’d simply run away.
But Lin Qian didn’t give him a chance to beg for mercy; he didn’t kill him either, but instead claimed he wanted to ’play along’ with him, forbidding him to escape.
Cold dread filled Wu Chunshan as he realized Lin Qian might not be as easy to deal with as he had thought.
"Is he planning to toy with me first, then dispose of me when he’s bored?" Standing at the entrance of the temporary residence of the Eastern Division Clan, Wu Chunshan didn’t move for a long time, his eyes wide, his protective Soul Power undulating around him, "Kid, don’t push me."
Soon after, Wu Chunshan took Du Ziyue and left the manor.
Wu Chunshan did not know that, just a moment ago, behind the mansion’s gates, Zhang Nianxin had not left and had been silently watching Wu Chunshan’s expressions outside the mansion.
Through the Array, one could see the outside scene from behind the mansion’s gates, but of course, Wu Chunshan outside could not see inside the mansion.
"Has he left?" Lin Qian had come to his side at some point and, looking in the direction of the mansion’s gates, he asked out loud.
Zhang Nianxin nodded, turning to look at Lin Qian, "Your Majesty Lin, I don’t quite understand. If it was possible to have Mr. Li directly take him out, why push him deliberately? What if, driven to desperation, he does something crazy?"
"Like running off to the Coastal State, kidnapping someone you care about to threaten you, running off to vent his anger?" At this, worry filled Zhang Nianxin’s eyes, "Your Majesty Lin’s Huaxia Empire is indeed powerful, but as you have said, so far it cannot exert the full strength of the Empire."
Seeing Zhang Nianxin’s deeply worried expression, Lin Qian signaled him not to worry, "If he wants to do that, I would welcome it."
"Ah?" Lin Qian’s words were always shocking, leaving Zhang Nianxin stunned in place.
"When my mentor was in the Yunhai Sect, he had outstanding talent and contributed a lot to the Sect. Yet, after being poisoned and facing certain death, the Sect immediately abandoned him."
"Just because my mentor was certain to die, without any value for cultivation, to be discarded like trash, without a hint of sentiment. Such a cold Sect, I suspect those living under its rule in Yunhai State are living in misery, which is why I want to go and save them."
"That’s why I’m pressing him, making him take rash actions, so I have a pretext to go to war, to eliminate the Yunhai Sect, and to bring Yunhai State into the map of the Huaxia Empire."
"If it weren’t for Yunhai State, what would Wu Chunshan count for, what stature does he have to be worth my play?"
Having heard Lin Qian’s words, Zhang Nianxin finally had a sudden understanding, and he let out a cold laugh, "Good. I also have no love for the Yunhai Sect; destroying it is just fine. When the time comes, our Eastern Division Clan will also contribute."
Afterward, Lin Qian turned and left as well, returning to his own room to continue his cultivation.
The Soul Power stored in his Dantian was not very pure yet, and should a breakthrough come during battle, it would probably not be perfect.
Hence, before the fierce battle arrived, Lin Qian had to refine the Soul Power in his body further.
Although the Gambling Treasure Conference was held during the clan conference, it took place in the latter half, so Lin Qian did not need to worry for now.
Now what he needed to prepare for was to use the clan conference to enhance his strength.
The contests of the clan conference proceeded in an orderly fashion, taking up a full month before the entire first round was completed.
In that month, those who chose to cultivate did not significantly enhance their strength, as the changes were not very obvious.
On the other hand, Lin Qian and his peers, after watching a month’s worth of contests and engaging in intense debates, had a noticeable increase in combat strength, a full ten percent higher than before.
In the past, such a thing would have been unthinkable.
On the following day, the second round of fierce contests was about to begin; compared to the past month, the challenges facing the contestants would be much more formidable.
So, after watching the second round of contests, to what extent would their own combat strength increase? An expectant expression appeared on the faces of Zhang Zide and the others.
After parting ways, Lin Qian, as usual, returned to the temporary residence of the Eastern Division Clan.
It was just that at the entrance of the mansion, he saw Zhang Nianxin who had left early, and beside him, there was a figure in a white dress, her eyes bending into crescent moons as she looked at him.
A joyful expression appeared on Lin Qian’s face as he hurriedly approached, embracing her in his arms.