Malfoy Deserved a Beating, Harry Closed the Door

On the way to Jade Void Palace, you clashed with Chong Heihu. This man was a disciple of the Jie Sect and possessed considerable cultivation. Proceed with caution.

Looking at the information appearing on the system screen, Rhine felt a little numb.

He had read quite a few Primordial novels in his previous life. He basically remembered every named character in Primordial Fengshen who had notable achievements.

But Chong Heihu... who the hell was this guy?

What accomplishments did he even have?

Rhine naturally knew there was such a character in Fengshen, but the problem was that he genuinely could not recall what Chong Heihu had done. It was as if the man had made an appearance in Fengshen and then vanished without a trace.

What connection could a person like that have with Malfoy...

Wait, hold on?

He had done nothing, appeared during the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation, then disappeared?

A thoughtful look appeared in Rhine's eyes.

Why did that sound like exactly the sort of thing Malfoy would do?

In the original story, although the Malfoy family stood with the Death Eaters, had they actually done anything?

During the great battle, they had basically just been background characters. Aside from providing a manor and a wand, then defecting a few hours before the battle began, they really had barely any scenes.

Had the system found their common ground from that?

Then, Rhine gradually recalled what Chong Heihu had done.

This man came from the Jie Sect, yet he had recognized early on that the greater trend could not be resisted. He had harbored thoughts of switching sides, and the moment he found an opportunity, he rebelled outright.

The key was that after rebelling, once he had obtained the fief he wanted, he began putting in the bare minimum.

Although he still failed to escape the Fengshen killing tribulation and inevitably took a trip onto the Investiture of the Gods list, his actions while alive had earned him one of the four great fiefs under heaven. Thus, his title in Fengshen was far from ordinary—he became the Heaven-Illuminating Sacred Emperor of Mount Heng, Southern Peak.

The more Rhine thought about it, the more at ease he became.

Damn it, the more he looked at it, the more it resembled something Malfoy would do.

System, I wronged you.

Your eye for this stuff was fucking incredible!

Rhine then suppressed the stray thoughts in his mind.

How the system had identified Draco as Chong Heihu was not important. The rewards were what Rhine cared about.

His gaze turned toward the rewards derived from Chong Heihu's connections.

By becoming casual acquaintances with Chong Heihu, you may obtain the reward—Twin Axe Chain. This talent allows both hands to coordinate flawlessly, especially when wielding twin axes.

Rhine curled his lip.

Mediocre stuff.

What use were twin axes to him?

It was not even worth a hair compared to Hagrid's Staff Mastery Talent!

Only the part about coordinating his left and right hands smoothly might perhaps be useful for potion-brewing or alchemy.

The Close Friendship reward that followed likewise disappointed Rhine.

By forming a Close Friendship with Chong Heihu, you may obtain the reward—Flying Tiger Military Strategy. Combined with specific medicinal meals, armor, and weapons, this method can train three thousand Flying Tiger soldiers, an elite force even among Primordial Fengshen. At full strength, three thousand Flying Tiger soldiers can contend with Immortal Gods!

A troop-training method capable of contending with Immortal Gods sounded pretty good at first glance.

But this thing required medicinal meals, specific weapons, and armor. Rhine did not even need to think about it to know that they would definitely be items requiring spiritual energy to refine.

Setting aside how troublesome it would be for him alone to raise Flying Tiger soldiers, even if he exhausted himself gathering all those resources and found three thousand qualified recruits, maintaining them afterward would be a massive expense.

Rhine himself was still in a stage where spiritual energy resources were scarce. Where would he find the resources to train soldiers?

He did not even have enough spiritual energy to refine the Five-Colored Stone yet!

Therefore, the Flying Tiger Military Strategy was also a useless trinket.

The only reward that made Rhine's eyes light up was the last one.

By forming a Life-and-Death Friendship with Chong Heihu, you may obtain the reward—Iron Beak Divine Eagle Cultivation Method. This method can cultivate Iron-Beaked Divine Eagles. They are incredibly fast, and their pecks are impossible to guard against.

Combined with Rhine's Spirit Beast Cultivation Talent, this method had real potential.

Perhaps even Hermes, the Owl in Rhine's possession, could be cultivated in the direction of an Iron-Beaked Divine Eagle.

But the next moment, Rhine saw another line of text.

Because Chong Heihu is selfish and self-serving, he is difficult to befriend sincerely. Therefore, you can at most form a Close Friendship with him; a Life-and-Death Friendship cannot be achieved through normal means.

Because this man is also slippery and puts profit above all else, a Never-ending feud is likewise difficult to achieve through normal means.

Rhine was full of question marks.

The only reward he considered worthwhile was at the Life-and-Death Friendship level, yet the system was telling him that he could not achieve a Life-and-Death Friendship?

And conversely, he could not obtain rewards by making an enemy of him either, because a Never-ending feud was impossible?

What, was this a joke?

A moment later, Rhine frowned as he noticed the system's wording.

"Cannot be achieved through normal means... so are there abnormal means?"

The system actually provided an answer.

"Chong Heihu is two-faced and opportunistic. He is a petty man who fears power but does not appreciate virtue."

"If you show him goodwill unconditionally, he will disdain it and treat you only as someone to exploit. A Life-and-Death Friendship can never be achieved."

"If you suppress him unconditionally, then should he feel that he cannot defeat you, he will flatter you and cater to you. He will never allow the relationship to fall into a Never-ending feud."

"The only method is to first form a Close Friendship, then suddenly betray him. That may make a Never-ending feud possible."

"Or do the reverse: first reach the point of seeing red with each other in an Enemy Relationship, then show goodwill and form a friendship. That may make a Life-and-Death Friendship possible."

Rhine considered it for a moment, then immediately understood.

Why the fuck didn't you say so earlier?!

So Malfoy was just a damn masochist!

The nicer you were to him, the more smug he became. Give him a beating instead, and he would remember it to the bone!

But should he make friends with him first and then slap him, or slap him a few times first and then make friends with him?

Just as Rhine was considering it, Malfoy had already clashed with Harry and Ron, just as in the original story.

This time, Hermione, who had not originally been there, was even dragged into it.

He drawled slowly.

"If I were you, Potter, I'd be especially careful."

"If you hang around people like the Weasleys or Hagrid, or certain low-blooded, unsavory sorts, you'll be influenced by them and end up following the same path as your parents..."

Before he finished speaking, Harry and Ron sprang to their feet.

Ron's face was as red as his hair.

"Say that again?!"

Hermione, meanwhile, was so angry that her face had turned pale, tears glimmering in her eyes.

It was the first time she had encountered someone so rude.

Seeing this, Rhine had already made his decision.

It seemed there was no need to think any further.

At that moment, Malfoy looked at the rising Harry, Ron, and Hermione and sneered.

"Oh, you want to fight, do you?"

Crabbe and Goyle stood on either side of Malfoy, looking down at Harry and the others.

Just then, Rhine's calm voice, carrying an inexplicable chill, sounded in the compartment.

"Mm. I do feel like teaching a brat a lesson."

Rhine then looked at Harry, who was closest to the compartment door, and revealed an unreadable smile.

"Harry, please close the compartment door."