Chapter 470: Two Factions

Although Lin Dong had only been using tactics for about three to four years, talent cannot be measured by time. Moreover, having experienced many storms and hardships, his experience might not be inferior to Zhang Wanfu’s.
Undoubtedly, Zhang Wanfu had no chance against Lin Dong. Those silver bills appeared to him as mountains of silver. Yet in an instant, they turned into bloody daggers—their sharp edges exuding a chilling aura, paired with the blood, resembling the ferocious fangs of hellish demons.
His left hand clutched seven silver bills worth one million taels each, while his right hand was raised slightly, yet he couldn’t bring it close to the bills. That row of silver bills held immense allure, yet also seemed to whisper the call of death.
Without the presence of such a powerful figure as Ren Qingsong, Zhang Wanfu had no doubts—given Lin Dong’s attitude, if he chose fake bills, death or the destruction of his entire family could happen in an instant.
Carrying tens of millions of taels in silver, it was impossible not to consider such a person a monumental figure. In his eyes, such people usually carried great authority and wouldn’t joke around with a mere country-rich man like him.
Should he gamble or not?
The dilemma inside Zhang Wanfu drove him to the brink of despair.
If he chose to gamble, he would gain an additional eight million taels—enough to cover most of his family’s wealth accumulated over five or six generations. But if he lost, he would die for money, and while he wasn’t overly attached to his own life—after all, he was already old—risking his life to double his fortune wasn’t considered a loss. But losing his entire family… that was a gamble that could wipe out his descendants. Though he might not value his children more than his life, losing his vast fortune to outsiders, or even having it divided among commoners, was far more important to him than his life.
“Lord Zhang, it’s time to make a decision,” Lin Dong said calmly, observing Zhang Wanfu’s ever-changing expression, adding fuel to the fire: “I don’t like waiting.”
Zhang Wanfu suddenly stood up, gritted his teeth, and said harshly, “Shopkeeper Lin, I’ll go get my contract of sale right now.”
“Aren’t you gambling anymore?” Lin Dong asked with a smile.
“No more gambling. Seventy million taels—I’ll sell it!” Zhang Wanfu nodded firmly. Lin Dong’s earlier threatening words had already convinced him. In his mind, Li Xun was only worth thirty or forty million taels at most.
Seventy million taels was far above his expected price. There was no need to risk his life and his entire family for just eight million taels.

“Alright, then I’ll wait here for good news from Lord Zhang,” Lin Dong said casually, glancing at Li Xun before adding, “Li Xun must stay.”
“Of course, of course,” Zhang Wanfu nodded repeatedly. With the silver notes already in his possession, there was no reason to take him away.
“Uncle Yang, could you find a servant to send him off and bring back the indenture?” Lin Dong turned to Ren Qingsong.
Yang Laiting nodded and got up to arrange for a servant.
“Li Xun, if the indenture is in my hands, whose orders will you follow?” Lin Dong looked at Li Xun again.
Li Xun remained unchanged, silent and expressionless, like a stone statue.
“Of course, I’ll follow Manager Lin’s orders. Don’t worry, Manager Lin—this wretched slave only obeys the indenture. Once it’s in your hands, you’ll be his master,” Zhang Wanfu said confidently, patting his chest. “I’ve been disciplining this dog since he was young. The indenture is his life; he only obeys it.”
“Then fine. Please ask Lord Zhang to make sure he stays here!” Lin Dong nodded.
“Wretched slave, stay right here and don’t move! Did you hear me?” Zhang Wanfu shouted.
“Yes,” Li Xun replied.
“Then… Lord Ren, Manager Lin, shall I take my leave?” Zhang Wanfu looked at Lin Dong and Ren Qingsong cautiously.
“Go.”
With a wave from Lin Dong, Zhang Wanfu felt as if he’d been pardoned. He quickly nodded and left the hall with a smile.
Once Zhang Wanfu left and Lin Dong saw Li Xun back in his stone-like state, his attention turned to the purpose of his visit to Qingsong Villa today.
“Dean Ren, I heard from Uncle Yang that the other managers in the Spirit Materials Building are fiercely competing with each other, right?”
“Don’t even mention it. Each of them wants to get promoted more than I do,” Ren Qingsong sighed helplessly.
Lin Dong and Yun Lan both chuckled. They were sure there wasn’t another warrior in the Great Han Nation who wanted promotion more than Ren Qingsong. Those managers’ goal was likely to rise to the position of building master, so that they could enjoy better benefits—spirit materials, elixirs, magical weapons… These were the things warriors valued most. People like Ren Qingsong were extremely rare.
“Manager Lin, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed on this trip,” Ren Qingsong said with a bitter smile. “It’s been over half a year, and I haven’t even come across any high-grade spirit materials that can aid in cultivation.”
“I expected that. I came today to ask Dean Ren what help collecting such materials for Tianwei Pavilion could bring to you,” Lin Dong asked.

“High-grade spiritual materials for cultivation assistance?” Ren Qingsong suddenly stood up, his expression filled with excitement.
Lin Dong nodded.
“If that’s the case, it would be a tremendous help—far more than just ordinary help.” Ren Qingsong took a few deep breaths, then glanced at Li Xun beside him. He indeed looked like a stone statue, but one couldn’t really treat him as such.
“It doesn’t matter. Dean Ren, go ahead and speak,” Lin Dong said. He understood what Ren Qingsong meant but didn’t care. Whether he could successfully retrieve Li Xun or not, he believed Li Xun wouldn’t care about matters unrelated to him.
Ren Qingsong nodded, stroked his long beard, and his excitement subsided somewhat. He slowly said, “Just how great the help will be depends on the efficacy of these high-grade spiritual materials, when they’ll be ready for use, and various other factors.”
Lin Dong thought for a moment before saying, “They’re all eighth or ninth-grade spiritual materials…”
“All of them?” Ren Qingsong couldn’t help but widen his eyes and interrupted, “Are you saying you have more than one?”
If he wanted Ren Qingsong to take the high-grade cultivation assistance materials from Tianwei Pavilion at the risk of it, there was no need to hide his own cards. Lin Dong nodded and said, “I currently have four of them. If Dean Ren needs them, I can provide them whether they’re still seedlings or in the growth stage.”
“Where did you get so many high-grade cultivation assistance materials?” Ren Qingsong was stunned. He then instinctively looked at Yun Lan. “Are they from the Tianjian Sect?”
“I grew them all myself. As for where they came from, Dean Ren, better not ask,” Lin Dong denied.
“Shopkeeper Lin, go on,” Ren Qingsong hesitated for a moment before stopping further questioning. Ever since Lin Dong’s strength had suddenly improved dramatically in Southwest County, he had had countless doubts, so this wasn’t something that added to them.
“All of these materials are eighth or ninth-grade,” Lin Dong continued. “I have them in both seedling and growing stages. Even in terms of quantity, I can provide no more than a dozen of each type. The only problem is that I don’t have an environment suitable for their growth, nor the nutrients they need on a daily basis. All of these will have to be sourced separately.”
“No suitable growing environment or nutrients for these materials…” Ren Qingsong frowned slightly, puzzled, but didn’t ask further. He mused, “In that case, I have no proper reason to provide them. Finding high-grade cultivation assistance materials but not knowing where to get them would be unreasonable.”

“Is it okay to exchange with others?” Lin Dong asked. “Apart from high-level spiritual materials that aid in cultivation, I can also get quite a few other types of high-level spiritual beasts. In a few days, I might open a shop on Tianfeng Street. By then, Dean Ren can claim to be friends with the sect master behind the shop, or arrange some drama—maybe even have Dean Ren rescue a peak-level expert…”
“That probably won’t work!” Yun Lan suddenly shook her head. “This is too coincidental. If Tianwei Pavilion has information on Lin’s Inn, and Dean Ren also comes from Southwest County, it will be easy for them to get in touch.”
Lin Dong thought it over and nodded reluctantly. This method was indeed too coincidental and could easily draw suspicion onto Lin’s Inn.
“What about reclusive experts? Forget whether it makes sense or not—what matters most is having genuine spiritual materials that aid in cultivation. As long as we can ensure Tianwei Pavilion can’t trace us, that’s enough.” Ren Qingsong asked.
Lin Dong studied it carefully and nodded. “This method works. As long as we control the quantity of high-level spiritual beasts and arrays we use, along with a peak-level expert, it should be enough to cut off any pursuit. After all, even if Tianwei Pavilion knows there’s a way to obtain spiritual materials, they wouldn’t be foolish enough to risk using force against a peak-level expert. Though…”
“Dean Ren might seem fine on the surface, but in reality, he’ll probably have to stay in Tianwei Pavilion.”
“That doesn’t matter! I’m already completely satisfied to be the manager of the Spiritual Materials Building, and even have a chance to become its master.” Ren Qingsong said nonchalantly. “Actually, once you become the master of the first floor, there’s no possibility of going any higher.”
“Why?” Lin Dong was puzzled.
“When I first arrived at the Spiritual Materials Building, I sneaked away to the place where cultivation aids were grown,” Ren Qingsong explained, glancing at Li Xun. “But less than three meters away from the materials, I was stopped by several guards who appeared out of nowhere. Those guards were similar to Li Xun.”
“Loyalists?” Lin Dong was stunned.

“And they are death warriors trained since childhood!” Ren Qingsong nodded. “Later, I checked the list in the Spiritual Materials Building, and there was absolutely no information about these guards. Plus, I’ve met the head of Tianwei Pavilion and a few managers, and they give the impression of being statues—neither sad nor happy. Apart from their clear thinking, nothing else shows any signs of emotion. Moreover, the heads of various pavilions all rose to their positions from being directors of county-level martial assessment institutes, while the head of Tianwei Pavilion and those managers simply took their positions out of thin air. I’m pretty sure Tianwei Pavilion actually has two factions—one visible, where everyone except the top few are warriors willing to serve the Great Han Nation. The other faction operates in secret, ensuring Tianwei Pavilion’s eternal existence. These people must be death warriors trained since infancy.”
Lin Dong remained silent. Upon careful thought, it indeed seemed possible. After all, if the head of Tianwei Pavilion had emotions, the imperial authority could never feel at ease. Moreover, once people have independent thoughts, conflicts are inevitable, so it’s impossible for Tianwei Pavilion to remain unscathed for thousands of years.
By establishing various rules and having a group of death warriors without independent thoughts enforce these rules to maintain Tianwei Pavilion’s operations and replenish its ranks, it’s possible to ensure that Tianwei Pavilion remains independent of any external forces and avoids internal strife or the emergence of a wasteful head.