Smoke and gunpowder hung thick over the river.
Feeling the dire state of several of his subordinates, Yue Sheng fixed his gaze on Lin Ze, standing on the riverbank. A murderous look surfaced on his face.
He didn't need to think twice to know why Lin Ze had attacked.
It had to be because those few musclebound subordinates, with no brains to speak of, had been discussing how to deal with Lin Ze—and the other man had overheard them.
And that was exactly what had happened. After watching the group leave, Lin Ze had habitually used Gates to Heavens to pinpoint the coordinates of their boat. He'd wanted to follow them, find the Longevity Palace's location, and then track down its palace master.
But before he could find the Longevity Palace's sect headquarters, he heard Lu Lu and the others discussing how to deal with him. Lin Ze frowned at once.
Ever since their first meeting, those three had been up to no good, trying to capture him and make him work for them. Then, at the Three Yang Sword Sect, Lu Lu had tried to trick him into snatching another family's Heavenly Material Earthly Treasures, while the others had joined Yue Sheng in trying to cheat him out of the Longevity Seed.
Seeing that there were no innocent people aboard the boat carrying the three of them—and that the opportunity was so perfect—Lin Ze had opened Gates to Heavens without a second thought and arrived on the riverbank right beside their vessel. He'd then fired one of the heavy weapons he carried with him.
That shot had been immensely satisfying.
Its terrifying power had torn the entire ship apart in an instant, leaving things as they were now.
Lu Lu, whom Lin Ze's cannon fire had targeted, hadn't been able to withstand it even with her Indestructible Body. Though she'd summoned all her protective Aura and done her utmost to dodge, the heavy artillery had blown her to pieces on the spot.
Jiang Wen, closest to her, had been shielded by Lu Lu and fared a little better, but he was still on the verge of death.
Ning Heng had used two fellow disciples as shields and was in slightly better shape, but he was still gravely injured.
That was how terrifying heavy artillery was. Normal carbon-based life forms couldn't withstand it with their bodies alone. The three Peerless Experts had avoided being wiped out in a single strike; that alone showed how powerful they were.
Yue Sheng looked at Lin Ze, who stood there with an indifferent expression, unconcerned by what he'd just done.
Without a word, Yue Sheng vanished from where he stood.
In the next instant, he had crossed several hundred meters of river and appeared beside Lin Ze.
He thrust out a claw, bringing the force of wind and thunder as he struck at Lin Ze, intent on taking him down in one blow.
But his attack met the same fate as Jiang Wen's first strike against Lin Ze. Though Yue Sheng seemed to be only a hair's breadth from Lin Ze, it was as if a heavenly abyss lay between them. No matter how close he got, he couldn't shorten the distance between them in the slightest, let alone hit his opponent.
Giving up on his futile efforts, Yue Sheng stood still and stamped hard on the ground.
The force shattered the hard soil and stone. Chunks of earth and rock leapt up from the ground, infused with vast Aura, and swept toward Lin Ze like a shower of flowers filling the sky.
The Aura-empowered rocks hurtled through the air. The surging currents formed visible shock waves, while the shrill sound of objects tearing through the air echoed along the riverbank.
Rumble!
The earth trembled as if heavy artillery had pounded the ground.
In an instant, all the grass, trees, bamboo, and stones within a radius of several dozen meters were smashed to pieces.
Yet Lin Ze, the target of the attack, stood in place without a scratch. With the Within Reach Horizon ability in effect, all these attacks that couldn't turn a corner landed in empty space.
"Is this the divine ability Jiang Wen mentioned—the Within Reach Horizon, like something from the legends of immortals and gods?"
After two attacks failed, Yue Sheng stood where he was and stopped attacking. Instead, he spoke.
"Mm."
Lin Ze nodded, and that was all.
He didn't say a single word about the specifics of his abilities.
Only when he didn't care about an enemy, when he didn't consider the other party to be on the same level as himself, would he answer every question.
Yue Sheng was clearly not one of those people. He was someone Lin Ze had to take seriously.
"Even poison is useless?"
Yue Sheng frowned as he looked at Lin Ze.
During their brief exchange just now, he'd secretly scattered a colorless, odorless poison. Using the wondrous state of Heaven and Man United as One to manipulate the air currents, he'd spread it across every inch of the riverbank. Yet Lin Ze showed no reaction at all, with no signs of poisoning.
A close-range ambush couldn't reach Lin Ze. Long-range attacks couldn't hit him. His area-of-effect poison gas had been ignored outright, and even his attempt at a mental attack had failed to lock onto the other man. It was as if Lin Ze didn't exist in this time and space at all.
At this point, Yue Sheng was completely out of options.
"Shouldn't you go save your subordinate?"
As the standoff dragged on, Lin Ze pointed toward Ning Heng, floating on the river.
Jiang Wen had already gone from the brink of death to dead, but Ning Heng could still be saved.
Yue Sheng had completely calmed down by now.
He'd realized something: Lin Ze hadn't given the Longevity Seed to the Great Zhou Imperial Family. Nor had he aimed at Yue Sheng when attacking the ship. Otherwise, if Yue Sheng had been caught off guard, he might not have escaped unharmed.
When Yue Sheng had launched his furious counterattack after being ambushed, Lin Ze hadn't attacked him either. He'd only defended himself.
If Lin Ze had used those cannons against him, Yue Sheng would have had no choice but to avoid their edge.
Besides, the Longevity Palace had been the one seeking Lin Ze's help because of its funding problems, not the other way around. At least, that would remain true until Lin Ze's lifespan neared its end in two hundred years.
All things considered, Lin Ze had actually shown strong goodwill toward cooperation. If his subordinates hadn't brought this on themselves, the conflict wouldn't have happened.
Yue Sheng stopped attacking. Instead, he went to rescue Ning Heng, then gathered the remains of Lu Lu, who had been shattered into pieces, and Jiang Wen, whose body was still mostly intact.
Then Yue Sheng looked at Lin Ze and spoke in a detached tone. "You killed two Peerless Experts whom my Longevity Palace spent many resources raising. You'll have to answer to me and the palace master."
Lin Ze hadn't attacked him in a fit of rage. That meant Yue Sheng had the right to speak to him as an equal.
Though he didn't want to fall out with Lin Ze, they needed some way to step back from the brink. Otherwise, no matter how reluctant they were, the two sides would have no choice but to fight to the death.
"What kind of answer would satisfy you?"
A smile appeared on Lin Ze's face. He flicked his hand and tossed over a stack of papers.
Yue Sheng used his Aura to catch the stack. He immediately realized they were exchange certificates from Zhi Yuan Gold Bank.
Each one was worth one hundred million cash. There were four hundred of them, worth a total of forty million taels.
That sum looked enormous, but converted into the currency of the Main World, it came to less than 10.7 billion. Lin Ze paid more than that in taxes each year.
Just as Yue Sheng had sensed, Lin Ze didn't want to fall out with the Longevity Palace.
First, there was nothing to gain from it, and it would prevent him from continuing to make money in the Other World.
Second, the Longevity Palace had something he wanted. He'd soon earn back twice the amount he was giving them to smooth things over.
Yue Sheng's cold expression melted at once. Smiling, he said, "You've been most considerate, young friend. I failed to discipline my subordinates properly, and they showed you such disrespect."
As he spoke, he pointed a finger. A blast of Aura pierced the brow of Ning Heng, whom he had just rescued.
Peerless Experts were precious. Even the Longevity Palace didn't have many of them, and raising one took a great deal of resources and time.
But even several Peerless Experts together weren't worth forty million taels of silver.
Especially since a large portion of that forty million taels would end up in Yue Sheng's own hands.
And if those Peerless Experts' deaths helped him win over someone even more valuable, then they were worth even less. Their deaths didn't matter.
Withdrawing his hand as if nothing had happened, Yue Sheng continued with a smile, "Please rest assured, young friend. Once I return, I'll take care of the aftermath. I'll make sure you don't run into any trouble, and that our future cooperation isn't affected."
He was promising that once he returned, he would persuade the Longevity Palace master to let this little conflict go. He would also deal with the confidants and relatives of Ning Heng and the others, so they wouldn't come looking for trouble with Lin Ze later.
After all, these exchange certificates were merely credit notes, a way for Lin Ze to show his sincerity.
Whether they could ultimately be exchanged for money still depended on Lin Ze.
Yue Sheng would first resolve everything and show his sincerity, then ask Lin Ze to release the funds.
"It was a misunderstanding. Please forgive me, Great Elder."
"I still have things to take care of, so I won't keep you, Great Elder. Next time you come to Fengping County, you could bring all the gold and silver from the Longevity Palace. I can exchange it all for copper cash, which will be more convenient for you to use and let you quietly buy the resources you need."
Lin Ze cupped his hands.
These words were indeed meant to show goodwill toward the Longevity Palace. In this era, gold and silver were generally used for large-scale transactions.
But the Longevity Palace often needed to avoid large transactions and hide its movements among the crowds. Copper cash was much more useful for that.
Lin Ze could exchange gold and silver for the equivalent value in copper cash. That would let the Longevity Palace use it to gather the goods it needed in small quantities and hire workers, lowering the chances of being discovered by the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Of course, Lin Ze would profit too. Bringing gold back to the Main World would earn him a fortune. That was why he'd said he would quickly earn back the forty million taels he'd given away.
Before, Lin Ze hadn't shown enough strength to attract much attention from the Longevity Palace. After all, based on his past feats, he seemed to be physically weak, powerful against fixed targets, but easy to handle.
He could barely be considered the gatekeeper to Heaven-tier combat strength.
But now, even the powerful Heaven-tier expert Yue Sheng couldn't beat him. That was proof enough of Lin Ze's strength.
The Longevity Palace had only shown him three of its subordinate businesses before. After this, though, it should open up more of them to him and deepen their cooperation so they could make even more money.
"Certainly."
Yue Sheng agreed. Then Lin Ze's figure flickered several times before vanishing from the spot.
Lin Ze returned to the Two Realms Trade Base at Zihua Manor in the Main World. Through Gates to Heavens, he watched Yue Sheng's movements.
Yue Sheng began cleaning up the battlefield.
First, he gathered up the bodies of his three subordinates and bundled them in a piece of cloth. If nothing unexpected happened, they would probably be taken back and used as fertilizer for some Heavenly Material Earthly Treasure, much like the way Bright Moon Pavilion had disposed of the remains of Peerless Experts, which Lin Ze had seen before.
Then this Heaven-tier expert used his intent to summon surging river water and wash the entire battlefield clean. He even swept away the debris left by the explosion on the river's surface and buried it at the bottom.
After that, he summoned a gale and blew away all the gunpowder smoke, bloodstains, and poisonous gas from the battlefield.
Next, he imitated the strength of a Peerless Expert and pretended to be a martial artist skilled in water-related intent, making sure not to leave any obvious signs of battle behind.
And so, the battlefield where Lin Ze had ambushed them with firearms became the scene of a fight between several Peerless Experts.
"Heh. Now that's what you call a professional."
Lin Ze watched this and smiled.
If Yue Sheng hadn't cleaned up the battlefield, the White Robe Guard would have had little trouble figuring out that Lin Ze was responsible when they came to investigate the commotion. After all, Lin Ze was the only person in the world famous for firearms that could kill Peerless Experts.
They would then likely guess that Lin Ze had been taking revenge on the people who ambushed him a few days earlier. From there, they could estimate the speed of passing merchant ships and deduce that the Three Yang Sword Sect was involved.
That would expose this subordinate force.
But now, Yue Sheng only had to explain that Ning Heng and the other two had fought among themselves and all died together.
Once the battlefield had fallen quiet and Yue Sheng had left, Lin Ze kept his attention fixed on him, trying to use him to find the Longevity Palace master.
It was destined to be a long process.
Next, Yue Sheng had to escort the copper cash back. Only after that might he go find the Longevity Palace master. Of course, the master might also come looking for Yue Sheng himself, so Lin Ze needed to keep watching him.
Fortunately, Lin Ze had made some progress in Martial Arts by now and was full of energy. He wouldn't tire easily like he had before when following Xu Sheng to find the Bright Moon Pavilion's mountain gate.
Taking advantage of the lull, Lin Ze began to review his encounter with Yue Sheng.
"Actually, the best option would have been to pretend I didn't know they'd secretly discussed dealing with me, build up my strength in secret, and wait until I was completely sure I could deal with the Longevity Palace before making a move."
"After all, with Yue Sheng keeping them in check, there's a good chance those people would only talk big and never actually do anything."
"If I hadn't managed to persuade Yue Sheng just now, I'd probably be trying to kill him right about now, then fleeing World No. 2 with my family and possessions to avoid the Longevity Palace's revenge."
"But if you play it safe and give way at every turn, what's the point of life?"
"Isn't the reason I work so hard to make money and grow stronger so that I can settle scores in style when the moment comes?"
Lin Ze summed it up.
Before attacking, he had already thought about how to handle the aftermath. That was why things had ended up like this, with Yue Sheng forced to slap himself in the face.
But he couldn't do this every time.
What if next time he ran into a hothead who wouldn't listen to reason and whom Lin Ze couldn't kill?
"So I still need a world of my own to serve as my base. Then I can put all my family and possessions there and be invincible from the start."
Thinking about all this, Lin Ze thought of his temporary base, that Grotto-heaven World.
In fact, he could already move his family and close friends into it. But it wasn't a permanent world that could exist for a long time, and its living conditions were still quite rudimentary. It wasn't suitable for bringing people there.
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