After Ning Ri left the Heaven Defying Sect, he spent the whole way turning over the thought of [Career Planning: How Should a Rogue Cultivator with a Panel Survive in the Cultivation World—Thirty Years East of the River, Thirty Years West of the River], heading far away from the Heaven Defying Sect.
Then he saw a delicate, bedraggled, pitiful young woman fall before him.
"Young hero, save me."
"I can give you anything."
"Please, save me."
Liang Chengdao, watching from Kite Plaza, fell silent for a moment upon hearing that—
Why was he a young hero, while I was just a kind-hearted person?
Why wasn't I the young hero?
At the same time.
The moment Ning Ri noticed her, his gaze turned sharp and direct, locking onto the woman. He took in her delicate face, her fair skin speckled with mud from her frantic flight, her disheveled hairpins, and her slightly open collar.
His heart skipped a beat.
A thought that proved his mind had already been warped by the Cultivation World suddenly surged up—
Qi Refining First Rank!
Weaker than me!
Then the woman's plea, "I can give you anything," also fell into his heart.
Like a curse, those words nailed down his feet, which had been about to retreat. His gaze fixed upon her rosy lips, pearly teeth, and face so pitiable that even seeing her stirred one's sympathy.
As he looked at her, a thought abruptly rose within him, filling him with excitement—
Anything?
Then can you give me your cultivation technique too?!
In that brief instant, countless words flashed through his mind like a barrage of comments—
Men die for wealth, birds perish for food. If I don't gamble today, when will I? I'll make every major sect regret it. If the heavens do not summon me, Ning Taiyang, then the Cultivation World shall remain an eternal night. There was no sun in the Cultivation World, but once I, Ning Ri, arrived, there was one. But even the sun needs a cultivation technique to cultivate. A bandit who can't even catch a Qi Refining First Rank probably isn't that strong. Let's give it a try...
Right after that.
At some point, a saber had appeared in Ning Ri's hand. At the same time, he strategically retreated two steps, wind beginning to gather beneath his feet as he prepared Gale Step, wary that the woman might be running an immortal scam with the people behind her.
His gaze swept the surroundings, and he spotted a masked mountain bandit...
Then he read another piece of information—
Mountain Bandit, Qi Refining Second Rank!
Ning Ri's heart settled somewhat, and he swiftly chose a battle plan. Even so, he still did not dare relax his vigilance.
According to webnovel conventions, after beating the young one, the old one would come.
There might be a bandit king behind this mountain bandit.
Then the bandit approached, grinning viciously. "Heh heh, there's no one around here. Let's see how you run this time... Hm? Kid, you want to meddle in this old master's business?"
While observing the panic on the woman's face, Ning Ri calmly said, "I don't want to meddle. I want to join you."
Mountain Bandit: "?"
Woman: "?"
Everyone: "?"
Ning Ri said, "But you're weaker than me, so let me go first. Then it'll be your turn."
Mountain Bandit: "??"
Woman: "??"
Everyone: "??"
Ning Ri added, "However, there's no free lunch under heaven. Before it's your turn, you have to let me use her first. I need to harmonize yin and yang. There's too much yin, so I need some yang."
The moment those words came out, the bandit froze...
The terrified woman froze...
And everyone in Kite Plaza froze as well...
Everyone: "??????"
What kind of words were those?
What did he mean by harmonizing yin and yang?
Was harmonizing yin and yang something to be used like this?
If you can't find the book title, try searching for the author instead. Maybe it was just renamed!
Didn't you say you liked a woman who liked you back???
Xun Zang, an elder of Joyful Union Courtyard, was also slightly taken aback before revealing an appreciative look...
This child had spoken those words without the slightest hesitation...
A promising talent indeed!
Meanwhile, Mo Cuidao, who had been calm and composed among the elders' seats, hurriedly circulated his cultivation technique and connected to the two puppets...
The bandit and the woman were puppets he had refined. They had never encountered a disciple who spoke like that, so Ning Ri's two sentences had stunned them blank.
If they remained stunned for even one more breath, Ning Ri would notice something was wrong.
And just as the bandit and woman had switched to manual control...
Ning Ri suddenly raised his leg. [Gale Step]—his foot shot forth like an arrow on the wind and instantly slammed into the bandit. The bandit screamed and collapsed, unable to rise, though he was not dead...
Because Ning Ri had deliberately held back.
Then, with swift hands and quick eyes, Ning Ri yanked the woman to her feet and said in a deep voice, "I am a disciple sent by the Golden Strategy Immortal Sect to negotiate with the Heaven Defying Sect. My name is Liang Chengdao!"
Liang Chengdao at Kite Plaza: "?"
I didn't provoke you, did I?
Right after that, for some unknown reason, the atmosphere in Kite Plaza suddenly became rather strange...
Gazes filled with speculation, excitement, confusion, curiosity... all fell upon Liang Chengdao.
Liang Chengdao: "??????"
What are you people thinking?!
Ning Ri continued, "Miss, do not panic. What I said just now was not Young Hero Liang's true intention. I only wanted to save you."
"May I ask, miss, why is he pursuing you?"
When Ning Ri said "Young Hero Liang," his expression remained perfectly natural. It was normal to find an alias, and he meant no harm by it.
Liang Chengdao was a prince, while the Golden Strategy Immortal Sect was a famous righteous sect. Plenty of people knew them, mainly because that household was famous for making money...
A Liang prince, the Heaven Defying Sect, and the Golden Strategy Immortal Sect—these were the three great mountains he had moved in. If there really was a bandit king, at least those three names could stall him for a while...
The woman said mournfully, "He covets my beauty and wishes to violate me."
As Ning Ri glanced at the bandit lying prone on the ground, he patted his chest and said, "Then rest assured, I will definitely protect you. But according to the rules of the Golden Strategy Sect, there's no free lunch under heaven. Golden Strategy disciples cannot help others for free, otherwise karma becomes difficult to sever."
"So if you want me to save you, you must give something in return."
Ning Ri had not made up that rule. It genuinely existed.
But after the people at Kite Plaza heard those words, their expressions immediately turned strange...
They recalled Ning Ri's earlier words: "Let me go first. Then it'll be your turn."
Mo Cuidao, already connected to the woman puppet, and the other elders wore equally strange expressions—
Ning Ri's practiced words made them suspect that he truly had come from the Golden Strategy Immortal Sect.
At the same time, the woman paused, then asked with thirty percent apprehension, thirty percent fear, and thirty percent caution, "Then... may I ask what this young hero requires?"
Ning Ri said, "I do not wish to take advantage of your predicament or bully you. It is very simple. Since you are a cultivator, you must have practiced the Qi Refining Art as well. Lend me your [Qi Refining Art] for a look, and this karmic debt will be settled."
The woman immediately revealed a joyful expression, visibly letting out a breath of relief. Then she said gratefully, "All right, thank you, young hero!"
Then the ring on her hand flashed faintly, and a jade slip appeared in her palm—
[Qi Refining Art].
The woman puppet had not been carrying such a thing. Mo Cuidao had hurriedly put it in.
The instant Ning Ri saw the Qi Refining Art, he immediately unleashed another Gale Step kick, giving the bandit one more blow. Then he smiled slightly at the woman and began examining the Qi Refining Art...
At the same time, Mo Cuidao and the elders smiled delightedly as well, their faces filled with appreciation and praise—
Though this boy was full of nonsense, his heart was truly kind!
Not bad at all!
They had already understood Ning Ri's maneuver.
Ning Ri possessed an old-fashioned, righteous heart and wished to draw his blade when he saw injustice. Yet he was obviously afraid that the bandit had backing, so he had repeatedly chosen to invoke several names.
And to make his lie hold together, what Ning Ri did had to conform to the principle of those Golden Strategy old dogs: nothing came free.
Therefore, when Ning Ri initially diverted the bandit's attention, he had deliberately emphasized that "there's no free lunch under heaven." This was to keep his words consistent from beginning to end, so that no one would find them abrupt upon reflection.
Finally, as a Qi Refining cultivator, he must have already read the [Qi Refining Art]. He had merely been stuck at Third Stage Qi Refining because his spiritual roots were incomplete...
Under such circumstances, he still chose to examine the [Qi Refining Art], showing that he had no intention of demanding any reward at all. He was merely trying to round out his lie...
Clearly, Ning Ri had lived too long amid the deceit and treachery of the jianghu. He was exceedingly cautious in how he conducted himself, yet despite the cruel tempering he had endured, he still retained the simplest and purest kindness toward life—a Good Lad who clearly knew how to protect himself!
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