Chapter 469 - 271: A Deal Struck, Unlucky Destiny!

The teacup in the old man’s hand rippled. His expression froze for a moment, then he suddenly let out a chuckle. As expected, people weren’t so easy to fool. At once his eyes narrowed, and from that slovenly body burst forth a wave of formless oppression.

The formless oppression that flashed and vanished felt like a great mountain crashing down, yet also like locust branches swaying uncertainly in a torrential downpour.

"Crack, crack!"

In just an instant, every inch of Su Mu’s skin, every bit of flesh and blood, every tendon and bone tightened abruptly as if facing a deadly enemy. When the formless oppression disappeared, a fine layer of sweat beaded out from his hair and skin.

"You don’t fear me?"

"I don’t. You won’t kill me..." Su Mu met the old man’s tightly furrowed brows; from beginning to end he had never sensed the slightest killing intent from the person before him.

"Give me time, and I will definitely surpass you."

Su Mu’s neither-humble-nor-arrogant attitude already made the old man inwardly surprised, and when he heard that firm, unequivocal latter half of the sentence, the old man’s eyes grew even brighter, as if looking at a precious treasure.

The latter half was wildly arrogant. To surpass him would be to become an Upper Three Grades Great Cultivator. The path of cultivation is an act against heaven itself; ninety percent of the world’s cultivators cannot reach even the Middle Third Grades in their lifetime.

And among tens of thousands of Middle Third Grades cultivators, it might not produce even a single Fourth Grade peak expert. To cultivate to this step, talent, effort, and opportunity all must be almost flawless.

At that point, among a thousand geniuses who have reached the peak of Fourth Grade, it still might not give rise to a single Great Cultivator. The Upper Three Grades are the second watershed on the cultivation path, like a heavenly chasm.

A single Great Cultivator, placed in any county outside the Ancient County, could easily create a major power; even across the entire land of Qingzhou, such a person would rank among the notable names.

Even the Ancient Qingzhou’s One Academy, One Temple, One Monastery, as well as the Liu, Yang, Li, and Zhong of the Three Gates and Four Families—these top-tier Qingzhou forces—would not dare slight a Great Cultivator and must treat him with respect.

Yet at this moment, Su Mu’s tone was incomparably calm, and that firm confidence was written plainly across his face!

"This old man is Li Heng. If you can help my Li Family in the Four Clans Grand Competition, this old man will allow you to select any two treasures from the Li Family’s treasury, and the Li Family can also grant you one promise..."

Li Heng—so it really was the Donglai Li Family!

Two treasures from the Li Family’s treasury and one promise from the Li Family—Li Heng’s offered sincerity was by no means lacking. However, Su Mu did not agree straight away.

"This junior wants to exchange the Li Family’s promise for another condition."

"Oh? Then let’s hear it."

Li Heng’s expression stayed the same, but displeasure had already risen in his heart. The terms he had offered were already extremely generous; in over a hundred years, the promises made by his Li Family could be counted on ten fingers.

To give a single promise already meant Li Heng regarded Su Mu very highly. Now he wanted to see what medicine Su Mu was trying to sell in this gourd.

"This junior wants to trade that promise for a chance... to observe up close the profound mysteries of impacting the Profound Realm."

When his words fell, Li Heng’s narrowed eyes abruptly widened by three points. His cold, sharp gaze swept over Su Mu like blazing torches, brilliance flickering in his eyes, his favor toward Su Mu utterly undisguised.

"I really did underestimate you. But charging into the Upper Three Grades is perilous beyond measure... This old man may not be able to cross that threshold; you might well end up wasting this hard-won opportunity for nothing."

"This junior has no regrets."

Su Mu did not hesitate in the slightest and agreed directly.

"Good. But before that..." Li Heng nodded, then abruptly shifted the topic as he took out a sealed scroll from his sleeve. "This old man will give you three days. If you exceed that time, then what we agreed upon today will be considered void."

The sealed scroll unfurled. Words such as Jiao Blood Gang and Fifth-Grade Daoist Cultivator filled his vision. Su Mu merely glanced over it, then rolled the scroll back up and stored it in his Sumeru Ring.

"Very well, this junior Wang Chan accepts."

Seeing that Su Mu’s expression did not change, Li Heng let out a chuckle. He took a sip of tea, and the Spiritual Power enveloping the two of them dispersed without a trace. After that, the two simply sat at a corner table eating pastries and dried fruits.

"That man is Wu Qing, Hall Master of the White Whale Gang. His talent is mediocre; his entire realm was mostly piled up by elixirs, so his foundation is hollow... In this life, his hope of impacting Fourth Grade is slim, but he’s lingered at Fifth Grade for nearly ten years, so his strength is barely passable."

"Heh heh, look over there—that’s Gu Xue’Er, Direct Disciple of the Third Pavilion Master of the Pill Cauldron Pavilion. She’s just a bit over twenty, yet already a Seventh Grade alchemist. Her potential isn’t bad, and more importantly, she’s quite the feast for the eyes, a little beauty."

A feast-for-the-eyes little beauty?

Following his line of sight, Su Mu glanced over. A classical-tempered young woman dressed in white robes, brows and eyes like a painting, stepped into the pavilion, immediately stirring a commotion. Quite a few young lords and scholars crowded around her, their gazes burning.

From a purely appreciative standpoint, this Gu Xue’Er was indeed very beautiful; aside from the Little Doctor, none of the women Su Mu had seen before could compare to Gu Xue’Er.

At the same time, out of the corner of his eye Su Mu noticed the way Li Heng’s brows and eyes lit up—something he hadn’t shown when seeing Wu Qing. That expression came straight from the heart, not at all like an act. Noticing this trace of emotion, Su Mu’s lips twitched slightly, and his expression couldn’t help but turn a bit strange.

Gu Xue’Er did not linger on the first floor for long; her figure soon vanished around the stairway’s bend.

The scions of Donglai County’s major powers had long since ascended to the upper levels of Clear Moon Pavilion. Many on the first floor felt disappointed. Most of them had come hoping to make connections with the disciples of great powers and the talents who would soon participate in the autumn examination, but now they had failed to get their wish.

Just then, a sudden commotion arose at the entrance.

Everyone turned to look, only to see a woman with her high ponytail tied up, brows like distant mountains, striding into the building. Her Martial Robe was tightly fastened, her bearing valiant and heroic, instantly drawing every gaze on the first floor. Quite a few men present secretly swallowed another mouthful of saliva.

"Tsk tsk, here comes another little beauty—each with her own charm. That’s Baili Hongtang, younger sister of the Cyan Fish Gang’s Young Master. Her Martial Dao talent is extraordinary, even surpassing that Baili Feng. If not for being born a woman, the next Cyan Fish Gang Leader would very likely have been her..."