Chapter 56: Meeting the Trio of Bullies (2)

Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Meeting the Trio of Bullies (2)

His eyes narrowed.

"Or have you gotten so full of yourself that you’ve forgotten who you’re talking to?"

Li Jian looked at him quietly.

Then a faint smile returned to his face.

He had been wondering how to make these three repay their debts without wasting too much time.

Now, they were practically making the process easier for him.

Li Jian wasn’t afraid of a confrontation.

However, he had no intention of fighting three people at once simply to prove a point.

There were still plenty of dangers in the Fragment Realm, and he had already sustained a minor injury from the horned lizard.

More importantly, physical strength wasn’t the only way to deal with people.

He raised his free hand and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Senior Brother Wang, before we go any further, let me ask you something."

Wang Hun frowned.

"What now?"

Li Jian smiled.

"Do you really think the three of you can afford to offend me?"

For a brief moment, the forest fell silent.

Then Wang Hun burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! What did you just say?"

He turned toward Zhang Zhao and Chen Lei, as though he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.

"Did you two hear that? Li Jian is asking whether we can afford to offend him!"

Zhang Zhao couldn’t help but laugh as well, while Chen Lei shook his head with an amused expression.

"Li Jian, did that mission frighten you so badly that you lost your mind?" Zhang Zhao sneered. "You’re only at the Fifth Stage of Qi Refinement. What makes you think you can threaten us?"

"Exactly!" Wang Hun’s smile gradually faded as he looked at Li Jian with disdain. "Don’t think that reaching the Fifth Stage suddenly makes you someone important. I could still teach you a lesson with one hand!"

Li Jian listened to their mockery without showing the slightest anger.

He had no interest in wasting his breath arguing with people who refused to understand their situation.

Instead, he quietly focused his attention on the system.

’System, how much Favor Debt would it cost to make these three obey my orders and act as my lackeys while we’re inside the Fragment Realm?’

He wasn’t interested in making them his permanent servants.

That would be too wasteful, even if the system allowed it.

Right now, what he needed was manpower.

Exploring the Fragment Realm alone was troublesome.

Not only would gathering resources take more time, but he would also have to remain constantly vigilant against demonic beasts and other dangers.

Even if his cultivation had improved, he couldn’t afford to let his guard down.

Having a few people to help him search for resources and watch his back would make things much easier.

Of course, he wasn’t naive enough to trust these three completely.

They had already shown what kind of people they were, and he had no intention of turning his back on them without taking precautions.

[Ding!]

[Request: Obey Li Jian’s reasonable orders and assist him in exploring the Fragment Realm until both parties leave the realm.]

[Estimated Favor Debt Cost: 200]

Li Jian’s lips curled into a faint smile at this cheap price.

’Not bad. If I can get three people to work for me for a few hundred points each, that’s a pretty good deal.’

Of course, the system’s wording caught his attention.

Reasonable orders.

That meant he probably couldn’t force them to do something completely unreasonable, such as charging into a group of powerful demonic beasts to serve as bait.

Nor could he expect them to hand over every treasure they found without any justification.

But that wasn’t what he needed anyway.

He wanted them to help him explore, gather resources, and provide support if they encountered danger.

As long as he didn’t deliberately lead them to their deaths, those requests shouldn’t be too difficult to fulfill.

Besides, Wang Hun was already at the Sixth Stage of Qi Refinement, while Zhang Zhao and Chen Lei were both at the Fifth Stage.

Together, the three of them would provide a considerable boost to his group’s strength.

Li Jian glanced at the trio standing before him.

They were still looking at him as though he were an idiot who had suddenly grown a little too bold.

Seeing the trio’s mocking expressions, Li Jian’s eyes twitched slightly.

...On second thought, simply making them obey his orders and assist him in exploring the Fragment Realm didn’t seem like the best deal.

If they discovered valuable herbs, rare ores, or other treasures along the way, wouldn’t they still be able to keep everything for themselves?

That would defeat part of the purpose of bringing them along.

Since he was already spending Favor Debt to make them work for him, he might as well get a little more out of the arrangement.

Li Jian mentally adjusted his request.

’System, revise the request.’

’In addition to obeying my reasonable orders and assisting me in exploring the Fragment Realm, they must hand over all the resources and treasures they obtain while exploring.’

The arrangement will end when we leave the Fragment Realm.

[Ding!]

[Request Updated!]

[Request: Obey Li Jian’s reasonable orders, assist him in exploring the Fragment Realm, and hand over all resources and treasures obtained during the exploration until both parties leave the realm.]

[Estimated Favor Debt Cost: 300 per person]

Li Jian’s eyebrows rose slightly.

’Only 300?’

The price had increased by just 100 points compared to the original request.

Considering that he would gain three temporary subordinates who could help him explore the Fragment Realm and collect everything they found, this was an excellent deal.

After all, these three had never been generous toward the original Li Jian.

They had frequently ordered him around and taken advantage of him whenever they had the chance.

Now that the situation had changed, it was only fair that they experienced what it felt like to work for someone else.

Besides, the request wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

They would still be able to cultivate and explore as usual, and the arrangement would only last until they left the Fragment Realm.

They simply wouldn’t get to keep the treasures they found.

For Li Jian, however, the benefits were obvious.

With their combined strength, they might even be able to explore areas that he would hesitate to enter alone.

Of course, he still wouldn’t blindly trust them.

Even if the system forced them to follow his orders, he would remain cautious.

After all, the Fragment Realm was full of dangers, and no amount of manpower could guarantee his safety.

’Very well. Let’s see how useful these three former bullies can be.’

Li Jian’s smile deepened as he looked at the trio.

Wang Hun, Zhang Zhao, and Chen Lei had no idea that their fate had already been decided.

They were still busy laughing at Li Jian, convinced that he had become arrogant after surviving a single mission.

Li Jian didn’t waste any more time.

His gaze swept across the three men as he silently issued the request.

’System, make Wang Hun, Zhang Zhao, and Chen Lei accept the arrangement.’

[Ding!]

[Request Confirmed!]

[Target: Wang Hun]

[Favor Debt: 1320 → 1020]

[Request Accepted!]

[Target: Zhang Zhao]

[Favor Debt: 1580 → 1280]

[Request Accepted!]

[Target: Chen Lei]

[Favor Debt: 1850 → 1550]

[Request Accepted!]

Three consecutive notifications appeared in Li Jian’s mind. His smile widened slightly.

Meanwhile, the expressions of Wang Hun and the other two suddenly changed.

The mocking smiles on their faces gradually disappeared, replaced by brief looks of confusion.

For some reason, they suddenly felt that cooperating with Li Jian for the remainder of their time in the Fragment Realm wasn’t such a bad idea.

In fact, the thought seemed rather reasonable.

After all, the Fragment Realm was dangerous.

Even though the three of them had entered together, having another person to help search for resources and deal with unexpected situations could be beneficial.

As for handing over everything they found? Well, they could always search for more resources later.

Besides, the arrangement would only last until they left the Fragment Realm.

It wasn’t as though they would lose anything particularly important.

At least, that was how they rationalized it.

Wang Hun was the first to recover.

He glanced at Li Jian, his expression still somewhat awkward, before giving a reluctant snort.

"Fine. Since you insist on working together, we’ll cooperate with you for now."

Zhang Zhao nodded in agreement, while Chen Lei merely shrugged.

Li Jian nearly laughed at that.

It was always fascinating to see these arrogant people changing their stance awkwardly toward him.

"Of course. I look forward to working with you, Senior Brothers."

His agreeable response seemed to put the trio at ease.

Wang Hun even patted Li Jian on the shoulder as though they were old friends.

"That’s more like it. Since you’ve finally learned to behave, we’ll look after you a little."

Li Jian smiled without saying anything.

"Since we’re all working together now, let’s get moving. We shouldn’t waste our time standing around here."

The three men exchanged glances before nodding.

With that, the group began following Li Jian, who had walked away... none of them realizing that from this moment onward, every treasure they discovered would effectively belong to Li Jian, while they themselves served as his lackeys.