Power! Ask the Hero, Who is the Hero!

As a leading figure of the Golden Character Workshop, with dozens of Cultivators and hundreds of Innate experts under his command, Xu Ning naturally had access to a lot of information.

Chen Dengming had barely entered Master Hu's shop when Xu Ning received a timely report from his subordinates.

He had already learned two days prior that Chen Dengming had completed the task assigned by Miss Luo. He had even heard that Xu Wei would be staying at the Luo Manor, serving as a tea-serving maid for the young lady.

The implications of this were self-evident.

Xu Ning was a smart man. He temporarily set aside all his ulterior motives, suppressing his anger and greed for the moment. He had already instructed someone to prepare wine and food, awaiting Chen Dengming's arrival.

When the two met, a round of insincere pleasantries and courtesies was unavoidable.

As they clinked glasses and drank, Xu Ning's words were full of probing, while Chen Dengming's replies were guarded and left room for maneuver.

Neither of them was a fool.

The art of conversation for old foxes in the Martial World lay in social graces.

Ultimately, it all came down to who had the stronger backing.

In terms of backing, even though Xu Ning's strength was clearly superior, he was still outmatched by Chen Dengming's "fierce tiger descending the mountain" aura. What Xu Ning feared most was the "Lüo Family Mountain"!

After three rounds of drinks, Chen Dengming didn't admit to anything, stating that he had only met Miss Luo by chance and that they had no relationship beyond a business transaction. He mentioned that he would need to return to Lüoshan City in three years to fulfill his end of the deal.

Xu Ning's heart trembled upon hearing this. He secretly thought, "This Chen Dengming is incredibly lucky, how did he manage to curry favor with Miss Luo?"

This was exactly what he had been waiting for. He thought Chen Dengming was speaking his mind after drinking, revealing a three-year pact, and he became extremely wary.

"Hahaha, I always said that Brother Chen is no ordinary person. Now that you have the appreciation of Miss Luo, your future is bound to be limitless. As your elder brother, I will have to rely on you in the future!"

Xu Ning raised his wine glass and said with deliberate flattery.

Chen Dengming immediately feigned a look of being overwhelmed and said, "Please, please, Brother Xu, it is I who should be relying on you. In the future, the Gu Worm and Gu Poison market in this Gathering Place will still depend on you to help me expand it."

Xu Ning frowned. "What are you saying, Brother Chen? How can a true man only focus on these paltry gains? This Gathering Place is so large, why don't I help you with some manpower, and you can go out on your own and build your own force?"

Chen Dengming quickly feigned a timid and sheepish demeanor, waving his hands. "Brother Xu, don't you think I look like that kind of person? I'm used to being alone and don't want to build any forces or be a boss. If you ask me to manage a hundred fish, I can do it, but managing a hundred people, I can't. This won't do, this won't do! I just want to make some money following Brother Xu. You eat meat, I'll drink soup. Brother Xu, are you unhappy that I'm taking too much? How about this, last time you said we'd split it fifty-fifty after the Gu Poison market opened, but now I'm willing to give up one percent of the profit, so you get sixty and I get forty, is that acceptable?"

"This kid really doesn't have any ambition," Xu Ning thought suspiciously, then breathed a sigh of relief, his facial muscles relaxing considerably. "That's true, after all, he's only recently emerged, and before that, he was a fish seller. How could he have such vision and ambition? I was just being overly cautious."

He immediately smiled and pulled Chen Dengming to drink, saying, "What are you talking about, Brother? Your Brother Xu said fifty-fifty, and that's how it will be. The key is your Gu Worm refining technique."

"Ah, this... this. Fairy Lüo told me when I came down the mountain that she doesn't want to see anyone else in the Gathering Place practicing the same Gu Art as her, or she will kill them without mercy. This... Brother Xu, you have people behind you, right? I think your influence is great, why don't you have your people ask Fairy Lüo? Perhaps she'll give you some face."

"Give face? What face!" Xu Ning cursed inwardly, his smile stiffening. He could only change the subject, looking at Chen Dengming suspiciously.

Is this kid really drunk, or just pretending? Are his words true or false? Or is he just messing with me?

Later that night.

Chen Dengming, mumbling drunkenly with a silly smile, was helped away from Xu Ning's mansion by a few girls from the Zan Hua Workshop whom Xu Ning had summoned. They were taking him to the residence he had arranged for the night – a smaller but centrally located courtyard.

This small courtyard was in a prosperous area of the city, with houses lining the streets. It was no longer as chaotic as the shantytown. The arched eaves, upturned roof corners, and carved window lattices were very distinctive.

Only after Chen Dengming was helped away, staggering unsteadily, did the smile on Xu Ning's face disappear. A sharp glint appeared in his eyes, and he let out a fierce, imposing snort.

"How are the people I sent to escort him?"

A graceful figure emerged from behind a screen, placing a delicate hand on Xu Ning's shoulder and massaging him. "My lord, rest assured, I personally arranged for clever individuals. After tonight, they will bring you the information you desire."

Xu Ning grunted, grabbed the hand on his shoulder, and roughly pulled her into his embrace, growling possessively, "But I'm really horny right now!"

The sky was about to brighten.

As dawn approached, the morning light broke through, and the east turned pale.

A red sun trembled as it emerged from the clouds and mist, then stopped moving.

Chen Dengming, however, stirred.

He "completely" sobered up in his new courtyard and sent away the woman who had escorted him back the previous night, her clothes disheveled.

He then rubbed his head and went back inside. After carefully checking the spirit crystals and items in his bag, he calmed down, pressed his abdomen, and spat.

"Pfft-- pfft--"

Black, slippery Loach Gu were spat from his mouth, each swelling to the size of a sea cucumber and emitting a strong alcoholic aroma.

Loach Gu could not only harm people but also be used to sober them up.

However, this was a technique only an expert like Chen Dengming, who used Gu, could employ. If an ordinary person dared to imitate him, they would either die from poison or have their intestines gnawed through by the loaches.

Yesterday, before attending the banquet, he had made preparations and secretly swallowed the Loach Gu. He had been wary from the start and, as expected, managed to avoid a disaster involving alcohol.

He splashed cold water on his face, his eyes clear and calm. Shaking his head, he muttered to himself, "Trouble."

This Xu Ning was too cautious. He had even sent people to specifically escort him back and observe him for a night, just to see if he was truly drunk.

Last night, those women had also probed him repeatedly. It had taken all his strength to barely feign drunkenness and fool them.

"This person is too fixated on power. If he had devoted most of his energy to cultivation, he might be even stronger now.

He believes I am valued by Fairy Lüo and will become the next Qian Yuan, posing a threat to him. Hence, he is testing me. Unfortunately, I truly have no intention of deliberately building influence."

Chen Dengming returned to his room, preparing to continue his arduous cultivation. At the same time, he would refine a batch of Gu to sell to Xu Ning in exchange for more cultivation resources.

Throughout history, how many great endeavors of heroes and valiant figures were built upon the foundation of "power."

Yet, many were ultimately blinded by power, their minds obscured.

If one uses "power" as their slave and wields it to achieve something, that is success.

But if one becomes a slave to "power," it is truly tragic.

In Chen Dengming's opinion, Xu Ning had become a slave to power.

He was different; he was the master of power, and power was merely a tool for him to become stronger.

Once the tool was used up, it could be discarded at any time.

He himself had once resolutely abandoned worldly power to pursue the Immortal Way. To know what to take and what to let go of, that is the mark of a wise person.

Not long after.

The women who had escorted Chen Dengming back found their way to Xu Ning's residence again, reporting truthfully what they had observed last night.

"This Immortal Master Chen was truly drunk. The three of us tried our best, and he showed no reaction. Any normal man, as long as he wasn't completely inebriated, would have reacted."

"However, he did react to Spirit Stones. All night last night, he clutched his bag. We were curious and opened it slightly. Only then did we realize the bag was full of Spirit Stones."

"Did your hands get dirty?"

"No, how could we dare to touch Immortal Master's belongings!"

"It seems my Immortal Brewing Wine, three Low-grade Spirit Stones a bottle, is indeed good stuff. That kid was truly drunk yesterday. He spoke his mind after drinking. Drunk is good, drunk is wonderful!"

"But he's really a greedy person. Greed is good; I'm just afraid of someone who isn't greedy!"

Xu Ning touched the empty wine bottle, a smile on his lips. He enjoyed watching the beautiful women dancing before him, feeling that everything was within his control.

Chen Dengming, daring to kill a cultivator with the body of a mortal, showed great courage.

Daring to cooperate with him to monopolize the Gu market with the strength of Qi Cultivation level one, showed minor strategy.

Being valued by Miss Luo, yet unwilling to build his own faction, showed a lack of ambition.

This man of great courage, minor strategy, and no ambition might be considered capable, but not a true hero. His vision and scope were too limited; he was not a threat.

He rose with a smile, raised his wine cup, and said to the woman who had just finished her dance.

"Continue the music, continue the dance!"

(To be continued. Another chapter will be updated tomorrow morning, still a double update of 6k characters. Please vote with your monthly tickets!)