“What a pity…”
These perfected patterns instantly enlightened Si Nan. He was pleasantly surprised and his eyes widened in astonishment.
“Never knew you know so much. Over the years, we have caught a lot of martial artists from the Outer Domain, but none of them have such high attainments in Spirit Battle Methods. And few of them know our language. So, I’m really surprised today. I didn’t expect that you, a petty thief, could know so much. Tell me, what do you want?”
The perfected patterns on the wall were still separated. The person in front of him had said that he could complete the battle method, but he stopped halfway, which meant that he had a certain requirement.
As for requirement, Si Nan knew very well that he wanted nothing more than some resources.
“The Top-grade Crystal Palace will do.”
“The Top-grade Crystal Palace?”
Si Nan’s expression changed, which then became a little undecided.
He was hesitating, contemplating.
If the Top-grade Crystal Palace was gone, it would take a toll on the entire Dragon Scale City.
That basically meant the city would go bankrupt.
In that case, considering his relationship with Lord Liu, people would judge him.
Si Nan was the disciple that Lord Liu was most proud of. He needed to rely on the powerful Lord Liu to have the chance to make a faster breakthrough.
So, losing the palace was certainly not what he wanted to see, but…
The Dragon Scale City was merely a city in the Outer Domain. It was nothing compared with Spirit Battle Methods, was it?
If Zhang Han could really teach him a whole set of effective Spirit Battle Methods, then, giving him the Top-grade Crystal Palace would not be a big deal.
What Si Nan was worried about was that Zhang Han was just fooling him!
If he gave Zhang Han the Top-grade Crystal Palace and then found that the Spirit Battle Methods failed, it would be too infuriating.
“How could I ascertain that the Spirit Battle Methods can really work?”
Si Nan suddenly calmed down and said slowly, “Show me your proof.”
“Fine, then I’ll let you observe more.”
Zhang Han waved again, and some glittering lines appeared on the wall, connecting the first three pictures together.
Seeing this, Si Nan’s pupils contracted. He hurriedly performed the method according to the patterns on the wall, only to find that his spiritual force was slowly improving and it was running exceedingly smoothly. He could tell that if this Spirit Battle Method was combined with his martial arts secret skills, his strength would surely be greatly improved.
Just as he was enjoying the moment, the spiritual force abruptly broke off, instantly causing him to feel a sense of loss.
“What do you think?” Zhang Han asked.
“Good, very good,” Si Nan answered honestly. “You do know your stuff, but I can’t give the entire Top-grade Crystal Palace to you. The palace holds 8,700 crystals. If adding the scattered ones, there are 9,050 crystals in total. I can give you 5,000 crystals.”
Privately, Si Nan had already given up on the Dragon Scale City. With the Spirit Battle Methods, he would be able to go back to the King’s Domain without difficulty. As for the next City Lord of the Dragon Scale City, who would care?
He had planned to take away all the 9,050 top-grade crystals. Even if he gave 5,000 to the man in front of him, he would still have more than 4,000 at hand. He could totally go find a small mine vein and build a smaller crystal palace there so that he could cultivate on his own.
It was wonderful to think about it.
“Give me 7,000!”
The other party’s counteroffer sort of upset Si Nan.
If the man took 7,000 crystals, then he would only have 2,050 left. He wouldn’t be able to afford anything with that little sum.
Therefore, Si Nan fell silent again. He kept thinking.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He looked at the man in front of him and asked, “I want to know what happened when you came here for the first time. It seems that you can disguise yourself as a member of the Dark Shadow Clan. Is Ling Mo alive? Is Concubine Orchid really pregnant?”
In the face of those questions, Zhang Han was silent for two seconds before answering.
“Didn’t you notice anything about Ling Mo and Concubine Lan? They’re both dead. And Concubine Lan was not pregnant.”
“Buzz!”
In an instant, Si Nan’s aura surged and then quickly receded.
“Hahaha, good. Now I don’t have to kill him myself.”
He didn’t care about these people. He even had no intention to bring any of the concubines in the harem with him when he went to the King’s Domain. He had had a lot of women, so he didn’t care about them much.
“I’ll be back in minutes.”
Si Nan left a message and left the room. In less than five minutes, he came back with a small Top-grade Crystal Palace in his hand.
“The Top-grade Crystal Palace is a magic treasure. I can give it to you. There are 5,000 crystals here. I can’t afford to give you too many, but I’ll give you a chance to make a fortune.”
Si Nan’s eyes were riveted on the silver-armored subordinate standing before him, as though he wanted to see through his body and take a look at the soul hidden inside.
“Oh? What opportunity?”
Zhang Han’s heart beat. He knew that the best part was coming.
“I can give you the maps of Lingxi City and White Lotus City. I can ask the two City Lords out, and you’ll have three days to get what you want in the two cities. There are tons of treasures there. The Dragon Scale City has the least Dragon Scale City, but the other two cities have more. However, you’d better not touch the Top-grade Crystal Palaces there, because the palaces are magic treasures that we City Lords have personally refined. But I figure the resources in the herb gardens and the Holy Spirit Water there will be sufficient for you, won’t they?”
Si Nan was tempting him.
The three cities on the Hidden Dragon Land weren’t as firm as a rock. Yet, compared to ordinary martial artists, they were still in the same league. Si Nan was now planning to con his teammates.
For Zhang Han, it was indeed great news that Si Nan was so good at conning his teammates!
If Zhang Han could really get a hold of the resources of the other two cities, he would have enough, or even more than enough, to light up 720 acupoints.
But it still depended on the quality of the resources in the other two cities.
“Deal.”
Zhang Han replied. Then, with a wave of his right hand, several threads were formed between the patterns on the wall, causing them to be interconnected to form a whole.
Si Nan did not hand out the Top-grade Crystal Palace but focused on the patterns.
Moments later.
“Hahaha, wonderful, wonderful!”
“The day after tomorrow, I’ll invite the two City Lords over. You only have three days.”
After getting the whole set of Spirit Battle Methods, Si Nan finally relaxed.
He casually took back the Top-grade Crystal Palace, then, laughed and said, “This opportunity can surely earn you 9000 crystals, so I’m not going to give you this Top-grade Crystal Palace.”
He not only intended to con his teammates but also ate his words. This City Lord of the Dragon Scale City called Si Nan was indeed a conniving person.
Si Nan knew that as the other party didn’t dare to show his true colors inside the city, he wasn’t a match for him. After obtaining the set of Spirit Battle Methods, whether to give the Top-grade Crystal Palace away or not would still be up to him.
Now it seemed that Si Nan didn’t want to give it away.
He wanted to return to the King’s Domain, and the Top-grade Crystal Palace would still be useful for him.
“Oh, really?”
To his surprise, the other party didn’t panic at all but scornfully said, “You should take a closer look at this set of battle methods.”
“Eh?”
Si Nan was slightly stunned and quickly darted his eyes to the wall. After running the cultivation method for an hour, his face suddenly darkened. “You’ve tricked me?”
“Don’t play petty tricks in front of me.” Zhang Han replied blandly, “If I succeed in taking the treasures in the other two cities, this set of Spirit Battle Methods will be complete. Otherwise, you will have to spend decades to comprehend it. So, whether to study for decades or to give me the crystals in exchange for the methods is totally up to you. You only have ten seconds to choose.”
“Ten.”
“Nine.”
“…”
Si Nan did not look delighted. He gritted his teeth when the countdown went to five, and the palm-sized Top-grade Crystal Palace appeared in his palm. He gently threw it out and let it fall into the other party’s hand.
“I’ve given you the Crystal Palace, but what should I do if you go back on your word?”
Si Nan’s tone sounded a little helpless.
He was annoyed. Handing the initiative to another person made him very uncomfortable.
“It’s just a set of superficial Spirit Battle Methods. I wouldn’t bother to fool you with it. Besides, you don’t have anything worth my trickery.”
“I’ll keep it in mind. May I know your name?”
“My name is Zhang Hanyang.”
Zhang Han told him without hesitation. His name was well-known in the secular martial arts world. Although most people didn’t know his exact strength, his name had often been mentioned because of the things that had happened before.
Moreover, he was Chen Changqing’s brother. Thus, whenever one talked about Immortal King Chen, one always mentioned his elder brother, Zhang Hanyang.
His younger brother, Immortal King Chen, was truly an eye-opener for them.
Moreover, the Dark Shadow Clan living in the Ancient Mine couldn’t go up to the world outside. Even if one day they could go up, by the time, Zhang Han would have been so powerful that he would no longer need to worry about Dark Warriors like Si Nan at all.
“Zhang—Han—yang.”
Si Nan curled his lips and repeated in Chinese. Then, he looked at Zhang Han with some emotion in his eyes.
“In so many years, you’re the only one who can enter our city as easily as walking on flat ground. Though I said you had three days, in fact, you only have about two days. That’s one day for each city. I have a suggestion. Since you can disguise, why don’t you disguise as the trusted subordinates of those two City Lords? They will take them when they go out. So, using their identity, you can just go back to the cities and grab the treasures, because I and the other City Lords occasionally take some bets. That will make sure you get access to the treasures. But whether you can take the treasures away depends on your ability.”
“Sure.”
Zhang Han responded flatly and controlled the man in front of Si Nan to leave.
Seeing this, Si Nan did not stop him. With a wave of his right hand, the formation on the city wall dissipated. He raised his head and gazed at the wall, feeling a little intoxicated.
This was what he got to return to the King’s Domain!
Who cared if the other two cities suffered loss by theft?
“You, go to Lingxi City and White Lotus City to invite the two City Lords over. Tell them that I have something important to discuss with them.”
“Yes, Your Lordship!”
Upon hearing this, the two subordinates who were not far away from the door immediately set off for the two cities.
As for Zhang Han, he safely went out of the city.
On this trip to Dragon Scale City, he had obtained eight kinds of sixth-grade spirit treasures, 370 kinds of fifth-grade spiritual herbs, more than 1000 fourth-grade treasures, 5,000 top-grade crystals, and 25 bottles of Holy Spirit Water.
The haul was quite sizable. He had practically emptied the Dragon Scale City.
Even so, Si Nan, City Lord of the Dragon Scale City, was still quite satisfied, for what he had gained already made up for the loss.
Yet, he was sort of on tenterhooks. If Zhang Han succeeded in taking the treasures but the complete battle method did not show up, he would certainly feel aggrieved for have been played like a fiddle.
Fortunately, what he was worried about did not happen.
After leaving Dragon Scale City, Zhang Han didn’t go to meet Dong Chen and the others. Instead, he flew straight north for 50 kilometers, and then went east to White Lotus City.
Considering that Si Nan was an erratic and unreliable person, Zhang Han went into the city and observed for several hours before he got some news.
“The Dark Night White Lotus?
“It’s a precious treasure. But it’s a pity that it has been refined.”
This city was named after the Dark Night White Lotus, which was the City Lord’s prized treasure. It was a quite useful treasure. After refining it, one could carry it around. It could purify one’s soul. If the City Lord of White Lotus went to Mount New Moon, even the Star Formation of the Five Elements would not be able to hoodwink him. This treasure was particularly effective in resisting all kinds of illusions, as well as deceptive formations.
One more function it had was that it could absorb pure energy to speed up one’s cultivation.
With its help, one would outstrip others step by step.
There were some more uses of the treasure, but Zhang Han didn’t want to think about those for the time being. After all, he had no way to get the Dark Night White Lotus.
After the City Lord of White Lotus left, Zhang Han observed for a whole hour before he left the city. Then, according to Si Nan’s suggestion, he disguised himself as one of that City Lord’s trusted subordinates and sneaked into the City Lord’s palace. He soon got near to many treasures.
Once he was close to the treasures, there would be opportunities. Although it was more efficient to take all the treasures in one go, it was rather difficult to achieve.
After quickly pocketing some Holy Spirit Water and spiritual herbs, Zhan Han rushed to Lingxi City without a break.
The Beast King, Lingxi, was also a powerful master at the Heaven Peak Stage.
That City Lord didn’t bring any spirit beasts out with him. It could be said that Lingxi would stay in the side courtyard of the City Lord’s palace when there were no battles.
“The Dark Night White Lotus and Lingxi’s internal elixir perhaps… can be obtained in the future if I have the chance.”
