Chapter 71 - Enemies
Chapter 71 Enemies
At night, Chen Yiming and the rest of the transport team arrived at the most expensive bar, Royal Nest Century, in the city center.
The interior of Royal Nest Century was luxuriously decorated. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling of the corridor to the main hall. The ground was also made from the high quality skins of mutant beasts.
As they were being treated, everyone had a good time.
Two hours later, Chen Yiming swiped his card and paid the bill. He had spent nearly a million yuan in total.
After returning home, he took out a leather scroll that he had found on He Xuanlin’s body. On it was a map of the Nuhe Mountain Range.
The map detailed the roads, forests, rivers, and mountains on the outskirts of the mountain range. It also used red symbols to mark out the territories of the mutant beasts.
The library of the Mantis Snake Sword School also had information about this, but one was only allowed to check and not copy the map. This map allowed him to grasp his position at any time when he entered the mountain range.
The next day, Chen Yiming headed to the headquarters of the martial arts school and spent 13 million yuan in the library to buy the Nine Tides Sword Technique.
This sword technique imitated the principle of the ocean waves moving up and down. It could gather the force at the tip of the sword and penetrate the defenses and go straight into the body. It was a sword technique with penetrative force. At this point, his original plan had basically been achieved. After grasping several different types of offensive sword techniques, there would always be a sword technique that he could use to counter his enemy.
In the blink of an eye, a week had passed. The Li clan from the south of the city suddenly sent someone to inform them that they needed help with something. In the evening, a banquet was held at the Li clan’s manor.
Chen Yiming didn’t think for long and agreed to go.
Back then, he took over three shops in the city center from them. If he missed the appointment for no reason, it would easily leave an impression that he had taken the money and not done anything in return, which would damage his reputation.
In the evening, in the main hall of the Li clan’s manor,
Li Tiancheng sat at the head of the table, flanked by representatives from the Li clan’s allies.
Li Tiancheng’s expression was a little ugly. Other than a few powerful figures from various clans, most of these allies that he had given out his clan’s assets to had only sent an ordinary member to participate. The so-called allies who had agreed to help each other were just a group of people who bullied the weak and feared the strong. If they really encountered any problems, they would use countless excuses to shirk the responsibility.
“Friends, I won’t hide it from you. The Li clan is currently in some trouble and needs everyone’s help.” Li Tiancheng went straight to the point.
He looked at the people around him.
“We signed an agreement back then. If you guys go back on your word, your reputation in East Lake City will be damaged.”
After the representatives from the various clans heard this, some of them fell silent, while others whispered to the representatives beside them. They had all received some news before coming here.
The representative of the Wind and Rain Sect was the first to speak. “Li clan head, the leader of our sect has led a team out of the city to hunt mutant beasts. I’m only an ordinary middle-level personnel. I can only help you deliver the news as soon as possible, but I can’t make the decision.”
When Li Tiancheng heard this, his expression darkened even more.
“Li clan head, the head of our Tan clan was injured a few days ago, and it’s not suitable for us to make a move for the time being. I apologize on behalf of the Tan clan, but this doesn’t mean we are breaking the agreement,” the Tan clan’s representative was the second to speak.
One by one, the representatives offered various reasons for their refusal.
“Li clan head, please tell everyone the details of the incident,” Chi Zhongwei said.
He was tall and burly, with black hair draped over his shoulders. A long blade was hanging from his waist. He was one of the few people with authority in the audience.
Li Tiancheng’s tightly knitted brows immediately relaxed. Finally, there was a representative who was willing to help.
“My Li clan has indeed encountered some trouble, but as long as everyone is willing to contribute, the matter is not difficult to resolve.
My deceased father, Li Changhe, had chased an opponent out of East Lake City in his early years. Now that he has returned from the nearby Nightwater City, he has directly attacked the Li clan’s businesses and injured many people.”
“Who is this person? How dare he disobey the rules and implicate ordinary people in the disputes of the martial arts world,” Chi Zhongwei said angrily.
“That person’s name is Long Denghua. I heard that he had some other fortuitous encounter in recent years. He abandoned his fist to cultivate the sword and has earned quite a reputation in Nightwater City,” Li Tiancheng said directly.
“Tsk! Long Denghua.”
“That person isn’t easy to deal with.”
“I heard that he is extremely fierce, and is a lone wolf. He fears nothing.”
The representatives who had heard of Long Denghua began to whisper among themselves.
Li Tiancheng looked at Chi Zhongwei, who had fallen silent, and the hope that had lit up in him was quickly extinguished.
“Everyone, no matter how powerful Long Denghua is, he hasn’t broken through to the sixth transformation. If we work together to deal with this person, I believe he will back off.” Li Tiancheng tried to persuade them.
“What the Li clan head said is right. No matter how strong that person is, can he fight three people at the same time? He can’t fight three experts of the same level at the same time. If there are two more people who are on board with this, I’m willing to lend a hand,” Chi Zhongwei said after a moment of silence.
Chen Yiming nodded but didn’t say a word.
He had been assigned to a position furthest away from Li Tiancheng. Clearly, his strength had not been recognized and he was only called here to make up the numbers.
“My Li clan will have one person to take part in this plan, and also fork out 20 million yuan as additional remuneration. Everyone, please do your best to help us.” Li Tiancheng endured the pain and tried to bribe the others to help.
After he finished speaking, he felt that his heart was bleeding. He did not have the strength himself, so he had to spend a lot of money to get others to help him.
Long Denghua had also bided his time. As soon as Zheng Qiming left the city to attend an exchange in the provincial city, he had come to take his revenge.
Li Tiancheng tried to turn to the Zheng family for help, but they ignored him.
After a few minutes, a few people started to get restless.
“Long Denghua… It’s true that I don’t have the confidence to win against him alone, but what’s so scary about three people attacking him at once?” He Jinwu was the second to speak up.
He was dressed in black training robes and appeared to be in his thirties. A black headscarf was tied to his forehead.
Li Tiancheng slapped the table and stood up. He said excitedly, “Alright, Brother Chi, Brother He, it’s decided. The three of us will deal with that person together and make sure he can’t leave East Lake City alive.”
After he finished speaking, he took out two safes and promised, “Brother Chi, Brother He, these safes each contain a deposit of five million yuan. After this matter is resolved, we will definitely not go back on our word regarding the remaining five million yuan.”
Chi Zhongwei and He Jinwu received the deposit and smiled.
With the three of them working together, they did not think that Long Denghua would stand a chance. This ten million yuan was equivalent to a free lunch.
Chen Yiming was also interested. Not long ago, he had killed the head of the Heavenly Crane Fist School, He Xuanlin, and now there was another expert from Nightwater City.
Although Long Denghua was definitely far inferior to He Xuanlin, for someone who was willing to switch from the fist to the sword, his swordsmanship had to be outstanding. Otherwise, why would he give up what he had learned for so many years?
The atmosphere in the hall became relaxed.
With someone standing up for them, the other representatives heaved a sigh of relief. No one wanted to be labeled as someone who had kicked others to the curb after using them.
The reason was that Long Denghua had made a name for himself in the wilderness, and no less than ten people of the same cultivation level had died at his hands.
They were all worried that if they did not manage to take down this person, their clans would have to bear the brunt of Long Denghua’s revenge whenever they left the city. The gains from the additional remuneration were not worth the risk.
As for Chi Zhongwei and He Jinwu, they were both independent martial arts practitioners who relied on themselves. There was no such worry for them.