The Deal Was Struck

"Xiao... Xiao Han?" Hai Bo Dong's voice was thick with disbelief.

Immediately afterward, he looked at Xiao Han with respect on his face.

"Hmm?" Xiao Han was a little baffled. Although he had known Hai Bo Dong might be extremely shocked...

Where had that reverence afterward come from?

This was mainly because Xiao Han had underestimated his own influence.

To Hai Bo Dong, Xiao Han's great name could be said to be like thunder in his ears.

After all, Hai Bo Dong and Xiao Lin could just barely be considered people of the same generation. Hai Bo Dong was even a little older.

Hai Bo Dong knew Xiao Han's deeds like the back of his hand, including the fact that Xiao Han had once returned to the Jia Ma Empire when he had possessed Dou Huang strength.

And in the minds of Hai Bo Dong's generation, Xiao Han was everyone's shared goal to strive for, as well as their childhood nightmare.

Whenever they were scolded by the elders of their families, they were compared to Xiao Han. Over time, the attitude of this generation in the imperial capital toward Xiao Han split into two extremes.

One group loathed and feared him to the extreme, while the other, led by Hai Bo Dong and Xiao Lin, revered him.

Xiao Lin did so because he and Xiao Han both belonged to the Xiao Clan, and their relationship was quite good. As for Hai Bo Dong, it was because he and Xiao Han were both ice-attribute Dou Qi practitioners, which gave him a natural sense of closeness.

Especially after he cultivated to Dou Huang, as his realm became increasingly difficult to advance, his admiration for Xiao Han also grew deeper.

However, Xiao Han did not know any of this. Right now, Hai Bo Dong's strange gaze was making his scalp prickle.

If Hai Bo Dong had not still been somewhat useful, he would have been ready to take action personally.

"Hoo..." Letting out a long breath, Hai Bo Dong smiled bitterly, suddenly enlightened.

"I finally understand why Senior would help the Xiao Clan."

"Could it be to keep Senior's enemies from making a move against the Xiao Clan?

That makes sense. An enemy that even someone with Senior's Tong Xuan-like cultivation cannot deal with would naturally need to be guarded against strictly.

In the end, the Xiao Clan is still too weak." Hai Bo Dong thought he had found the reason.

At this, Xiao Han merely shook his head and gave no reply.

"My strength is indeed powerful enough, even sufficient for me to dominate the Jia Ma Empire alone, but my ambitions do not lie here." Seeing that Hai Bo Dong had already imagined a "reasonable answer" on his own...

Xiao Han followed the thread of the conversation and continued, "Moreover, the Xiao Clan's power is still somewhat lacking, so I intend to make a deal with you.

Help me with this matter, and I will resolve the Seal inside your body for you, then give you a Sect Breaking Pill. How about it?"

Hearing this, Hai Bo Dong's breathing immediately grew heavy. Either one of these two conditions struck at his vital point.

The first was the Seal inside his body. Ever since a few years ago, when his, Hai Bo Dong's, cultivation had been sealed by Medusa Queen and his strength had fallen to Dou Ling...

He had had no face to return to his family, and even now he had no way to break it. He had even prepared to live here in seclusion forever, until he returned to Dou Huang.

And breaking through to Dou Zong was not only his obsession, but also the obsession of every Dou Huang Expert in the entire Jia Ma Empire.

It was precisely because there were no Dou Zong experts that the Jia Ma Empire was often humiliated when facing other nations.

In order to break through to Dou Zong, Yun Shan, the Sect Master of the Yun Lan Sect, had even handed over the sect's affairs and entered closed-door training just a few years after the Sect Assembly ended.

Now, if he obtained the Sect Breaking Pill, then broke the Seal and restored his cultivation, with his talent, he would surely be able to break through to Dou Zong within his lifetime and fulfill the long-cherished wish of everyone in Jia Ma.

Besides, this request was not a difficult matter for the Mittel Family, which was deeply rooted in the Jia Ma Empire. So, without a doubt...

"All right. I agree." Hai Bo Dong took a deep breath and answered.

"However, I hope Senior can first help me restore my cultivation."

"No problem."

"Oh, and leave this Incomplete Map to me." Then, without waiting for Hai Bo Dong to come back to his senses, he quickly said, "I'll be honest with you. This Incomplete Map is of great use to me, but it is of no use to you at all.

If you are willing to trust me, I can offer one Royal Extreme Pill and one Dou Ling Pill in exchange."

"No problem. Naturally, I believe that." Hai Bo Dong had no objection and excitedly agreed to Xiao Han's request for an exchange.

Whether what Xiao Han said was true or not, he was willing to believe it. Leaving aside the fact that he had already studied this Incomplete Map for several years without gaining anything...

He also did not know whether it would ever produce any results in the end. Compared to that illusory future, Hai Bo Dong was more willing to seize the opportunity before him.

He had never taken a Royal Extreme Pill to this day, and the Dou Ling Pill could be given to an elder of the family to raise their strength. These were opportunities that could genuinely increase their combat power.

Moreover, from Xiao Han's offered price, he could roughly guess that this was not a secret he was qualified to touch. Since he could not grasp it, he might as well simply let go.

This time, he had been lucky enough to encounter someone with a mild temper like Xiao Han, but he could not hope to run into someone easy to talk to every time.

Not to mention that if he angered Xiao Han and was casually killed, he would suffer a massive loss.

"Then many thanks!" Seeing how sensible Hai Bo Dong was, Xiao Han was also rather satisfied.

"Next, I will break the Seal for you. Prepare a secret room for me."

"Yes, Senior. Please wait a moment." After saying this, Hai Bo Dong went out to make the arrangements.

In less than half an hour, Hai Bo Dong returned.

"Senior, the secret chamber has been prepared. Please come with me."

It had to be said that, under the temptation of breaking the Seal, Hai Bo Dong's efficiency was still extremely satisfying.

Crack.

Along with the sound of glass shattering, a huge energy Vortex gradually formed inside the secret chamber, centered around Hai Bo Dong.

Then Xiao Han waved his sleeve, sealing off the space here to ensure that the phenomenon would not be discovered by anyone else.

At this moment, Hai Bo Dong's eyes were tightly shut, his face twitching from time to time. The muscles all over his body trembled somewhat unconsciously. Clearly, the pain caused by forcibly breaking the Seal was still extremely intense.

Just as he focused on the Dou Qi inside his body, constantly strengthening his control over it, a voice suddenly rang beside his ear.

"Let me remind you: since the Dou Qi within the Seal will also remain in your body, after this Seal is broken, your cultivation will also increase by a small amount. Don't make a fuss."

Finally, an hour later, the energy Vortex slowly dissipated.

"Hm..." Feeling the sense of power once again filling his body, Hai Bo Dong let out a comfortable hum.

Who could imagine how painful it was to possess something, then lose it again? At the very least, he was unwilling to experience that weakness of losing his power ever again.

"Medusa, I, Hai Bo Dong, will return to repay you very soon." Thinking of the culprit who had reduced him to this state, anger surged in Hai Bo Dong's heart, and he gritted his teeth fiercely as he spoke.

As for not being able to beat her? Couldn't he just go after breaking through to Dou Zong? In Hai Bo Dong's impression, the strongest the Snake-People Tribe's Medusa Queen could be was only peak Dou Emperor.

"Oh, I won't stop you from taking revenge, but remember to leave her alive," Xiao Han instructed.

"Yes."

"May I ask if Senior has anything else to do? Does the Mittel Family need to provide the Xiao Clan with some convenience?"

"...Mm... That works too. Then I'll have to trouble you." Xiao Han had originally wanted to refuse. After all, his level was too high, and he looked down somewhat on the things from the Mittel Auction House.

But on second thought, the Xiao Clan still had quite a few needs, so this would make things more convenient. It wasn't as if Xiao Han could be expected to provide all these low-level resources himself. He hadn't raised a whole bunch of ancestors.

"Of course it's no trouble." If this allowed the Mittel Family to latch on to such a big shot, how could Hai Bo Dong be unwilling? It was only a little money, that was all.

"Do you need your clan members to be informed?" In Hai Bo Dong's mind, the Xiao Clan might not know that Xiao Han was alive. Otherwise, they would not have gone off to the countryside. Wasn't the imperial capital good enough?

"No need. They know about me," Xiao Han said indifferently.

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