A quarter of an hour later, Li Feng slipped out through the back door of the bar. Neither Fu Yanxiong nor Su Yangjian could be exposed yet; both were now his hidden pieces.
After leaving the bar, he cut through the narrow alley behind it and entered a civilian house.
“Young Master Feng.” The moment he stepped inside, a middle-aged man greeted him.
“Have all the men been positioned?” Li Feng asked in a low voice.
“Rest assured, Young Master Feng. Everything has been arranged,” the man replied.
Li Feng nodded in satisfaction. “Good. Now you will do the following…” He leaned in and quietly explained his plan.
“Do you understand?”
The middle-aged man nodded.
“Go at once. Once it is done, scatter and disappear,” Li Feng instructed.
“Your subordinate understands.” The man bowed and left the house.
Li Feng watched him depart, a smile playing on his lips. This middle-aged man and the ten Eagle-Eye Elites were the second phase of his plan. Results would take time to show, but time was something he had plenty of.
With that thought, he left the house.
Seeing that it was still early, Li Feng decided to visit the Wenjun Pavilion Pharmacy.
If Tu Lao had not given him the Ancient Martial Artists Association’s invitation last time, he would never have gained so much in the underground city. It had been many days since he last left that place; it was time to thank the old man properly.
Entering the Wenjun Pavilion Pharmacy, Li Feng immediately spotted Tu Lao behind the counter.
“Elder Tu.” Li Feng stepped forward and bowed respectfully. He now knew the invitation had been a golden one, something extremely rare even within the entire association. Previously he had thought Tu Lao was an ordinary person; the idea now seemed laughable. Anyone able to produce a golden invitation must hold considerable influence in the association. Such a person had to be at least Innate realm.
“My young friend has arrived?” Tu Lao looked at Li Feng, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. Every time Li Feng visited, he was different. This time the change was especially striking.
Ninth-level Postnatal strength?
Even Tu Lao felt inwardly shocked.
Young ninth-level Postnatal ancient martial artists existed, but what stunned him was the speed of Li Feng’s progress.
From the first time Li Feng had come to the pharmacy until now, how long had he actually been cultivating? Among everyone Tu Lao knew, no one had ever advanced this quickly.
What astonished him even more was Li Feng’s cultivation method. Without special techniques of his own, Tu Lao would never have detected Li Feng’s true strength. That was precisely why he had taken special care of the young man from the very first meeting.
Tu Lao was deeply curious about what technique Li Feng practised. If not for decades of self-discipline, he might have asked outright long ago.
“Elder Tu, thank you for the invitation last time,” Li Feng said directly, without pretence. Though he did not know why Tu Lao had helped him so much, he was certain the old man harboured no ill intent, at least for now.
“Hehe, it was a small matter,” Tu Lao replied with a smile, waving it off.
A small matter?
Li Feng shook his head. He did not consider it small at all. That golden invitation had not only secured him a private box at the underground city auction and allowed him to overdraw ten billion at the arena; its very appearance had shocked many people. Without it, who knew how many would have come after him for the thousand-year ice dew he won.
“My young friend has been to the underground city, so you know our Wenjun Pavilion Pharmacy belongs to the Ancient Martial Artists Association, correct?” Tu Lao asked, looking at him.
Li Feng nodded. Zhong Shuhui had told him as much long ago.
“Then has my young friend ever considered registering as a member of our association?” Tu Lao continued.
Membership in the Ancient Martial Artists Association?
Li Feng’s eyes instantly lit up. He did not care much about the title itself, but he was very interested in the privileges members enjoyed. For example, that golden invitation had granted an eight-fold discount at the underground auction. An eight-fold discount might sound minor, but it had saved him billions on the thousand-year ice dew alone.
More importantly, the association possessed vast resources unavailable to outsiders. He had asked Zhong Shuhui; ordinary people could not purchase the resources the Black Eagle Squad currently needed at Wenjun Pavilion. The reason he had been able to buy so many cultivation resources there recently was entirely due to Tu Lao’s special favour.
Though he did not know why Tu Lao favoured him, that was unimportant. What mattered was that the old man might not continue doing so forever.
Membership was different. Once registered, he would receive a VIP card and be able to purchase whatever resources he needed directly from the association.
“Elder Tu, where does one register?” Li Feng asked at once.
“Come with me, young friend.” Tu Lao stepped out from behind the counter, called over a young assistant to watch the shop, and led Li Feng toward the rear courtyard.
“Here, young friend. Take this.” Tu Lao handed him a mask.
It was a dragon-shaped mask. Li Feng glanced at it once and put it on. He knew the association’s rules: members did not have to reveal their real-world identities. This prevented revenge disputes. If people had known it was Li Feng who won the thousand-year ice dew last time, he would never have had peace again.
“This mask can block divine sense. Even Innate experts will not be able to see through it. From now on, it belongs to you,” Tu Lao explained.
Li Feng’s eyes brightened. A mask that blocked divine sense was exactly what he needed most. Below the Innate realm, few could threaten him now. What he truly feared were Innate experts. There were many in the association, and he would inevitably visit its trading areas often in future. With this mask, he no longer had to worry about Innate experts probing him with their divine sense.
At the same time, he was inwardly shocked. He had never imagined anything could block divine sense. Clearly, this was no ordinary mask.
“Thank you.” Li Feng placed the mask on his face.
Tu Lao also donned a mask of his own, then led Li Feng to a room. Under Li Feng’s astonished gaze, the old man pressed a hidden switch.
Click, click…
With a series of soft sounds, a deep passage appeared before them.
“This…” Li Feng looked at Tu Lao in puzzlement.
“Follow me, young friend.” Tu Lao entered the passage first.
Li Feng followed without hesitation, curiosity burning. He wondered what the association’s branch in Tianhai City was really like.
The long passage was lit only by night-luminescent pearls embedded in the walls every few metres, giving off a faint glow. It was dim, but sufficient for martial artists.
Li Feng walked silently behind Tu Lao, mentally calculating the direction of the tunnel.
Soon, however, shock appeared on his face. They had been walking for nearly half an hour and still had not emerged.
Wenjun Pavilion was located in the city centre of Tianhai, yet at their speed they had long since left the city limits.
Was the association’s branch built in the suburbs? Then why take this underground passage?
Li Feng could not help but marvel at the association’s resources. Constructing such a long tunnel required enormous manpower and wealth, and it probably served other purposes as well.
Suddenly, a thought struck him.
Could Tu Lao be taking him to the underground city where the auction had been held? Was that the real location of the association’s branch?
“The Ancient Martial Artists Association’s Tianhai branch is indeed located in the underground city you visited last time,” Tu Lao said lightly, as if reading his mind.
“Then Elder Tu, why don’t we…”
Li Feng was about to ask why they did not enter through the abandoned factory in the suburbs, but Tu Lao interrupted. “I brought you this way for my own reasons.”
Reasons?
Li Feng was puzzled, unsure what the old man meant.
“We have arrived,” Tu Lao said, stopping.
Li Feng looked up. Ahead stood a massive aluminium alloy door.
“Elder Tu, is the underground city on the other side?” Li Feng asked curiously.
“Yes and no.” Tu Lao smiled.
Li Feng blinked. What kind of answer was that?
Tu Lao inserted a card into a slot on the door.
Click!
With a soft sound, the door slid open automatically.
“Come in, young friend.” Tu Lao stepped inside.
Li Feng followed and found himself in an enormous hall, easily over a thousand square metres.
“This place is…”
“Follow me, young friend.” Tu Lao led him onward.
Li Feng nodded and entered a room containing a strength-testing machine. Seeing it, a gleam flashed in his eyes. He had not expected the association to have one too, though he wondered how it compared to the one he had assembled.
“Young friend, this machine tests your strength. In the Ancient Martial Artists Association, the higher your strength, the higher the grade of your VIP card,” Tu Lao explained.
A sharp light flickered in Li Feng’s eyes. He understood that Tu Lao had seen through his concealment.
“Elder Tu.” At that moment, a middle-aged man entered and bowed to Tu Lao.
Only then did Li Feng realise that “Tu” was probably not the old man’s real surname, but rather the name he used within the association. That made sense; even ancient martial artists needed private lives outside the association.
“This young friend wishes to join. Please test his strength,” Tu Lao said, indicating Li Feng.
“Yes, sir.” The man turned to Li Feng. “Friend, you only need to strike the machine with your full power.”
Li Feng nodded, stepped up to the machine, and threw a powerful punch.
