The Swindler

After Lin Feng left, the atmosphere in the room became somewhat oppressive and stifling.

When had they ever, lofty as they were, been ignored like this?

And by a high school senior, no less!

As the heads of branches of the Glory Star's top ten clubs, even those far stronger than them—even ninth-rank powerhouses—had to maintain basic courtesy when faced with the clubs' influence and strength.

Those talented youths hoping to enter the clubs were even more nervous and eager to curry favor with them.

"Was he putting on a bold front?" After a moment of silence, Elder Jiang was the first to break it.

Elder Jiang was ninety-one this year, a fifth-rank martial artist who had refined a seventh-rank Twin-Winged Scorpion. Though his strength was not particularly formidable, as an old hand who had weathered countless storms, he could sense that Lin Feng seemed to be carefully concealing something.

Even gifted youths, including Ye Qiu, would reveal urgency and excitement through their facial expressions or small bodily movements when faced with his invitation, no matter how calm they appeared or how well they hid it.

But Lin Feng alone did not.

Those dark, profound eyes had remained calm from beginning to end, as though he truly did not care in the slightest.

Did he really not want to join?

Or was he absolutely confident in his own talent, waiting to sell himself at the highest price?

"That's very possible!" Zhang Ling agreed.

Lin Feng's act of turning around and leaving naturally made her angry, but it was precisely that utterly arrogant attitude that made her hard to read.

Soul cultivation talent could not be measured by special instruments. After all, spiritual power was intangible. Only the person herself knew what demon spirit she could refine, so Zhang Ling could not be certain that Lin Feng was lying.

Besides, Lin Feng seemed to have no reason to lie.

Such a lie could not withstand the test of time. Could he really be lying merely for a recruiting sponsor slot?

Lin Feng was only a student. Even if he lived in Anbian Residential Area, he probably did not have many places where he needed money.

Lin Feng had drawn a great deal of attention now, but it was only temporary hype, nowhere near comparable to those Glory Stars. Therefore, his recruiting sponsor slot was not worth much. In Zhang Ling's estimation, it would be worth at most a few million.

With Lin Feng's martial arts talent, earning money would not be particularly difficult once he became a martial artist.

However, Zhang Ling did not voice those doubts directly.

This old fox is crafty. Maybe he said that on purpose and plans to observe him further in secret. Zhang Ling glanced at Elder Jiang and thought to herself.

Jiang Jun shared Zhang Ling's thoughts. Compared to the others, he was more eager about Lin Feng.

He planned to make contact with Lin Feng privately and sound him out again. If possible, he would first use an A-class contract to tie Lin Feng to Picking Wind's chariot.

"Student Lin Feng..."

Not long after leaving the tea room, several businessmen who had been waiting nearby hurried forward to speak with Lin Feng.

However, when they learned that Lin Feng had not signed with the three major clubs, their previously enthusiastic smiles sagged slightly. Some even sneered and turned away.

In their eyes, the fact that all three major clubs had chosen not to sign him proved that Lin Feng had no value worth signing for.

There had been many people waiting, and they left quickly. Yet a middle-aged woman in her forties or fifties, dressed in a capable manner, did not leave. She expressed interest in Lin Feng's recruiting sponsor slot.

"Student Lin Feng, our company hopes to obtain your recruiting sponsor slot. How much do you want?" the middle-aged woman asked.

She did not mention her company's name or what product she wanted endorsed, and Lin Feng did not ask either. As long as there was money, he could endorse anything.

"Eighteen million!"

Hearing Lin Feng's price, the middle-aged woman froze slightly. Then she looked at him as if he were a fool. After a long while, she smiled and said, "Eight hundred thousand!"

Lin Feng did not even spare her a glance and left directly.

She wanted to buy his advertisement for eight hundred thousand? How naive.

With the current popularity on the Martial Artist Forum, at least several hundred people would know about any advertisement he endorsed.

Lin Feng's lowest expectation was eight million.

"How laughable!"

The middle-aged woman sneered but did not stop him.

If Lin Feng had been signed by the three major clubs, then he would naturally have been worth eighteen million, perhaps even more. Otherwise, she felt that even eight hundred thousand was too high.

Although the Martial Artist Forum was extremely popular right now, everyone knew that such popularity was only temporary. After being rejected by the three major clubs, the post would soon fall off the rankings. In other words, Lin Feng was about to become worthless.

She had offered eight hundred thousand only because she planned to use Lin Feng's remaining popularity to stir up some publicity before he completely went cold.

In the martial arts hall lobby, Lin Feng quickly found Gao Hai and Chen Fan. The moment they met, both wore puzzled expressions. Clearly, they had already learned that Lin Feng had not signed with the three major clubs.

"Brother Feng, why?" Gao Hai asked quietly after seeing that there was no one nearby.

In his eyes, Lin Feng's martial arts talent was so outstanding, his combat talent unmatched, and he could even refine an Earth List demon spirit. Wasn't signing with one of the three major clubs a sure thing?

And he should have been signed with an S-class contract, earning at least a hundred million New Dollars a year.

During the time Lin Feng had been away with Elder Jiang and the others, Gao Hai and Yang Fan had even begun planning how to celebrate after Lin Feng signed.

"They wanted me to refine a demon spirit before signing me. Otherwise, they wouldn't offer a contract," Lin Feng explained to Gao Hai.

"Then just refine one, wouldn't that solve it?" Gao Hai asked in confusion.

"That would indeed solve it, but the Earth List demon spirits they offered were too low-grade."

Unlike Gao Hai, who carefully kept his voice down for fear of being overheard, Lin Feng made no attempt to hide it and spoke loudly.

Earth List demon spirits were too low-grade?

Why did that sound so strange?

Many people had already been watching Lin Feng. To the vast majority, the three major clubs' refusal to sign him meant that Lin Feng had no value.

If Lin Feng truly could refine a high-level demon spirit, how could the three major clubs possibly let him go?

Thus, the moment Lin Feng said those words, he drew everyone's attention.

They only knew that Lin Feng had not signed with the three major clubs, so they naturally assumed he had not been chosen.

Now, though, it seemed there might be another side to the matter.

If things were as Lin Feng said, then it was not the three major clubs rejecting Lin Feng. Rather, Lin Feng had rejected the three major clubs?

"Brother Feng, what demon spirits did they offer?" Yang Fan asked in perfect coordination.

Lin Feng looked somewhat disdainful. "I have a Water Attribute constitution. Thunder offered the Ice Mandarin Duck, ranked 177th on the Earth List. Its combat power is decent, but its innate abilities don't suit me. Gathering Stars offered the Cloud-Treading Beast, ranked 196th, but its rank is too low."

"Too low-grade? No way. Lin Feng is being far too arrogant."

"This is the first time I've heard someone say that an Earth List demon spirit was low-grade."

"Does he really think he's Ye Qiu?"

Just as Elder Jiang and the others had reacted, those who heard this were first shocked, then doubtful.

How could they not doubt him? Those were Earth List demon spirits!

Among the hundred thousand young men and women who refined demon spirits on River City's Awakening Day, only Ye Qiu had refined an Earth List demon spirit.

A genius chosen one in a hundred thousand.

Yet now Lin Feng was looking down even on Earth List demon spirits. How could anyone be convinced?

The gazes they turned toward Lin Feng carried traces of doubt and disdain.

"This Lin Feng is probably a swindler. He's just trying to attract attention so he can sell his recruiting sponsor slot."

"If he truly has that talent, he could refine the Cloud-Treading Beast first. The college entrance examination is coming up, after all. Refining an Earth List demonic beast gives fifty bonus points!"

"So what if he's a martial arts genius? Without soul cultivation talent, he still can't become an expert."

"Anyone who hires him as an endorser is a fool."

"Let him put on his little show alone!"

The crowd discussed heatedly. At this point, they looked at Lin Feng as though he were a swindler.

"Brother Feng..." Gao Hai said uneasily. He could not understand how Lin Feng had been an unrivaled genius just moments ago, only to become a swindler in the blink of an eye.

Other than Gao Hai, who believed in Lin Feng without reservation, even Yang Fan was somewhat doubtful. He thought the same as everyone else.

Giving up an Earth List Cloud-Treading Beast?

Why did that feel so unreal?

"Heh heh."

Lin Feng smiled indifferently, as though he were laughing at the crowd's ignorance.

Though he appeared unconcerned, Lin Feng was smiling bitterly inside.

Things had not developed as he expected. They had even veered completely off course.

He had come to Thunder Martial Arts Hall to earn some advertising money, which meant he needed attention.

Lin Feng had deliberately used eye-catching slogans like "High School Student Beats Up Martial Artist" and "Recruiting Sponsor Slot" on his white shirt. The effect was exactly as he had expected, quickly drawing some attention.

Afterward, the post about him on the Martial Artist Forum unexpectedly exploded in popularity. Overnight, it shot straight to first place on the daily rankings, and people even began saying, "Ye Qiu in the south, Lin Feng in the north." That was beyond Lin Feng's expectations.

Originally, Lin Feng had only planned to sell his recruiting sponsor slot for a few hundred thousand. If he got one million, he would have been satisfied.

With one million, he could post missions at the martial arts hall and have martial artists capture Purple Winged Spirit Worms for him in the Otherworld. Then, he would reveal the Purple Winged Spirit Worms' special effects on the Martial Artist Forum...

By then, he would have money to buy medicinal pills and refine Nightmare!

That had been his original plan.

But Lin Feng had not expected the post's popularity to exceed his control.

Thus, he immediately changed strategies. Borrowing this wave of popularity, he planned to sell the recruiting sponsor slot for more than ten million in one go, saving himself the trouble.

He could also use this opportunity to directly tell everyone about his talent, so that no one would grow suspicious when his cultivation speed became too fast after refining Nightmare.

Lin Feng knew that he would attract the attention of some clubs, but he had never actually planned to join one.

His Soul Power was too low. After refining Nightmare, even if he had the ability to refine other demon spirits, their ranks would not be high.

But he could not directly reject Elder Jiang and the others, so he could only deliberately choose some rare demon spirits as an excuse to refuse them.

The plan had seemed airtight!

The results he wanted had all been achieved!

Yet Lin Feng could never have guessed that because he rejected the three major clubs, everyone would question him.

Facing everyone's stares and doubts, Lin Feng remained calm. "Ye Qiu has the confidence to refuse. Why can't I, Lin Feng, refuse as well?"

He was clearly placing himself on the same level as Ye Qiu.

However, the audience did not buy it. In their eyes, Lin Feng was merely a swindler putting on a bold front.

Ignoring everyone's discussion, Lin Feng took Gao Hai and Yang Fan and prepared to leave the martial arts hall.

Among the crowd, Zhou Fu, the restaurant owner who had been watching Lin Feng all along, followed closely behind.