Chapter 471: Tear It Apart as Soon as Obtained

“By that logic, doesn’t it mean that apart from exchanging for high-grade cultivation aids through barter, it’s impossible to get such aids from Tianwei Pavilion at all?”
Lin Dong suddenly thought of a serious problem. These death knights were heartless and rule-bound, caring neither about the owner of a building nor its managers. This meant that even if Ren Qingsong were responsible for maintaining these cultivation aids, he couldn’t take them out.
But if bartering was used, bringing too many high-grade cultivation aids would surely make him a top threat in Tianwei Pavilion’s eyes. With so many high-grade cultivation aids, countless experts could be trained in large numbers. Such a force was absolutely unacceptable to Tianwei Pavilion.
In other words, it might be possible to exchange for a few items, but trying to obtain all of Tianwei Pavilion’s high-grade cultivation aids with just one or two would be pure delusion. Though they lacked independent thinking, Tianwei Pavilion had rules that had endured for thousands of years. There was definitely no rule allowing one high-grade cultivation aid to be exchanged for several others. In fact, there might even be rules requiring them to uncover the identity of anyone who tried to exchange for more than two or three such aids at any cost. Given these rules, it was quite possible that Tianwei Pavilion’s meticulous regulations—perhaps even tens of millions of them—were why it had managed to survive for thousands of years. Lin Dong wouldn’t doubt this at all.
“That’s not the case. After learning about the existence of those death knights, I’ve been slowly gathering information related to high-grade cultivation aids,” Ren Qingsong said with a shake of his head and a smile. “As far as I know, those death knights operate independently and don’t interfere in the affairs of any building. The only rule is that no one is allowed to let a certain high-grade spirit beast go extinct. Manager Lin, each type of spirit material in the Spirit Materials Building isn’t just one or two specimens. After thousands of years of accumulation by Tianwei Pavilion, for each type of spirit material or beast—except for those added in recent centuries—there are at least ten of them…”
Lin Dong couldn’t help but let out a sigh. Tianwei Pavilion was truly formidable.
“If those high-grade cultivation aids were under my care, the death knights would definitely not intervene. Moreover, as long as I ensured that no particular high-grade spirit material went completely extinct, even if a few were damaged, they probably wouldn’t act immediately but would report it to Tianwei Pavilion first,” Ren Qingsong continued. “Then, I could just bring out all the seeds I need at once.”
Lin Dong shook his head. “By doing that, Dean Ren wouldn’t only fail to stay in Tianwei Pavilion—he’d likely be seen as a threat to be eliminated.”

“It doesn’t matter. Anyway, I’ve already satisfied my desire for official power,” Ren Qingsong said with a smile, dismissing Lin Dong’s words.
Lin Dong still shook his head. “Even so, it’s likely we won’t be able to gather all the spiritual materials needed for cultivation. I’m sure Tianwei Pavilion must have measures in place to counter the destruction of high-level spiritual materials and beasts. Besides, what I want goes beyond that—there are also high-level spiritual pills and elixirs, as well as other high-level spiritual materials and beasts.”
“Well…” Ren Qingsong couldn’t think of a solution right away.
“Once Dean Ren is qualified to take control of the cultivation materials, we can take things slowly. Today, we can cut a branch and give it to an old friend who likes growing spiritual materials; tomorrow, we can send him some seeds. Dean Ren is also just a mortal, so it’s normal for him to have personal interests—after all, they’ve been friends for decades. As long as we can contribute to Tianwei Pavilion—by finding one or two high-level spiritual materials or beasts, or getting information through this old friend about rare lands where such materials can be grown or beasts raised, or uncovering information about various sects that Tianwei Pavilion isn’t aware of… it shouldn’t be hard to make amends. As for the old friend, Dean Ren needs to personally persuade Dean Wan—he’s the most suitable person. No matter how much Tianwei Pavilion investigates, they won’t find anything, after all, you’re indeed friends for decades, and Dean Wan truly loves growing spiritual materials. As for the rest, leave it to me.”
Ren Qingsong nodded slowly. Doing this would indeed give him a good chance of maintaining his position at Tianwei Pavilion.
“Since Dean Ren agrees, the next step is to get in touch with Dean Wan,” Lin Dong said. “I’ll find a way to open a shop on Tianfeng Street, then use high-level spiritual materials to exchange for other such materials, along with the information and data we need.”
“Okay. I can’t travel far, so let Lai Ting go on this trip,” Ren Qingsong said seriously. “Old Man Wan has been our friend for over forty years. Knowing that we can grow high-level cultivation materials at his Wan Family Estate, I’m sure he won’t refuse.”
“In that case, Dean Ren, we can continue our cooperation. Wishing you success in your official duties,” Lin Dong said, picking up the glass in front of him and raising it toward Ren Qingsong.
“I also wish Manager Lin rapid progress, surpassing all geniuses to become the youngest peak warrior in the Great Han Nation,” Ren Qingsong replied in return.

Lin Dong smiled and drank it all in one gulp. If high-grade spiritual materials that aided cultivation could be grown in large quantities, then for the youngest peak warrior, with Yun Lan around, he had little hope. But for the second-youngest peak warrior, with Ren Qingsong’s help, he saw no problem in bringing him under his control.

After discussing the important matters and coming up with a good plan, it was time to enjoy the wine together.

By the large round table, Li Xun remained motionless, untouched by the lively atmosphere in the hall.

After more than an hour of drinking, Yang Laiting, who had personally taken Zhang Wanfu back, returned happily, panting. He placed a thin, yellowed piece of paper in front of Lin Dong.

A slave contract!

The three bold characters at the top, despite the passage of time, still carried a fierce aura.

“Great! Uncle Yang, thank you so much for your effort,” Lin Dong said quickly, standing up to express his gratitude.

“It’s just a short trip; it’s nothing,” Yang Laiting replied with a smile, waving his hand.

Lin Dong let out a soft sigh, pushed back his chair, and went over to Li Xun, placing the slave contract about half a meter in front of him.

“Have you seen it clearly?”

“Yes, I have!”

Li Xun’s reply filled Lin Dong’s eyes with joy. After all, this was the first time Li Xun had responded to him. Zhang Wanfu’s introduction was clearly true— whoever held the slave contract was Li Xun’s master.

“It’s good that you’ve seen it clearly!”

Lin Dong stared at Li Xun without blinking. He raised his right hand and placed it on top of the contract, then used his left hand to apply gentle pressure.

With a soft crack, the contract split into two halves instantly.

Ren Qingsong and Yang Laiting both stood up, utterly surprised by Lin Dong’s action. Even Yun Lan showed a puzzled look in her eyes, clearly unable to understand what Lin Dong was doing.

Only Li Xun remained expressionless as ever, his thin body motionless, as if Lin Dong’s actions had nothing to do with him.

Lin Dong folded the two halves of the contract together and tore it again, turning it into four pieces. Folding those four pieces together and tearing them once more turned them into eight.

It seemed Lin Dong had taken a liking to this game—continuously folding and tearing the contract. Sixteen pieces, thirty-two pieces, sixty-four pieces… In the blink of an eye, the yellowed contract turned into a pile of scraps.

With a flick of his right arm, the scraps fluttered into the air.

A piece of paper from over twenty years ago was sent flying by that gesture. A household slave was freed by that simple motion.

The snowflake-like scraps drifted down in front of Lin Dong and Li Xun.

“As long as no one can produce a slave contract, you can go to the yamen to cancel your slavery. In other words, from now on, you are free!”
Lin Dong’s voice was loud and forceful, like that of a judge announcing a verdict, or like that of a deity forgiving the sins of the world.
The echoes lingered. Seven hundred thousand taels of silver wasn’t much, but Lin Dong’s solemnity deeply moved Yun Lan and the others, who all looked at Li Xun with seriousness.
Time passed, second by second. Li Xun finally moved, turning slowly. Then, just as he had come, lifeless and like a corpse without any vitality, he slowly moved toward the door.
Yun Lan and the others were about to speak when Lin Dong raised his right arm.
“Let him go!”
Those three words carried immense weight from Lin Dong’s mouth.
“Shopkeeper Lin, why did you tear up the slave contract?” Yang Laiting slapped his thigh, as if he had suffered a great loss.
“I had no choice but to!”
Lin Dong smiled bitterly. If he hadn’t torn it up, Li Xun would have remained loyal to the slave contract. With Li Xun’s talent for cultivation and his unpredictable skills with hidden weapons, the threat he posed was simply too great. What Lin’s Inn needed most was an excellent chef, not a killer lurking in dark corners, ready to act at any moment. Lin Dong couldn’t possibly use cruel punishments like Zhang Wanfu to suppress Li Xun’s emotions and prevent him from interacting with anyone. In that case, Li Xun would inevitably come into contact with all sorts of people. Once he learned the rules of being a household slave, under the influence of freedom, Lin Dong couldn’t imagine to what extent his personality might become twisted and heartless.
If Li Xun turned against the people of Lin’s Inn—Jiang Kui, Qiao Tianhao, Hua Wuyue…—and if advanced spirit-refining materials were used to help him close the gap with Yun Lan, Lin Dong believed that even Yun Lan would find it difficult to avoid Li Xun’s frenzied attacks, aside from the two peak fighters, Old Ding and Feng Yue, whose strength far surpassed Li Xun’s, as well as him and Cheng Bao, whose spiritual techniques could restrain Li Xun.
Even if Li Xun’s personality didn’t twist to the point of killing everyone he met, the chances of him sparing anyone afterward would be slim.

Just for this reason, Lin Dong must tear up the indenture. Moreover, if Li Xun doesn’t have independent thinking, he won’t be able to integrate into the group led by Jiang Kui and others, and naturally won’t be able to form an invincible squad. If he only obeys the indenture, others won’t be able to communicate with him; to make him cook the meat as ordered, Lin Dong would have to follow him around all day giving orders. If he only obeys the indenture, once someone cleverly copies an indenture indistinguishable from the original using Zhang Wanfu’s description, not only will they use various cultivation aids to help others, but they might also leak a great deal of information about Lin Ji Inn… With so many potential problems, this indenture must be torn up.