Chapter 1332: Negotiations Breaking Down
Smiling, Chu Yang replied, “Among people, be it working together or making friends, the most basic requirement is trust itself. I’ve already laid all my cards on the table; if you still don’t trust me, there’s nothing I can do.”
The look in his eyes changed as he made a haughty show of his abilities. Yet his tone remained dispa.s.sionate as he said, “If worse comes to worst, we’ll just fight to the death!”
Chu Yang looked at Li Qinglei mockingly. “I dare do so! But I wonder if the Li Clan dares to!”
Li Qinglei hesitated at once.
If Chu Yang had said this before his narration earlier, Li Qinglei would have just taken it as someone pa.s.sing hot air and scoffed directly at it! He wouldn’t even have deigned to speak a single word more and would have just struck out and smashed this shamelessly boastful kid to bits!
But right now, he was in a bit of a dilemma.
Even though words of distrust came out of his mouth, how could he possibly not have any reservations in his heart? Over there, just ninth-grade peak-level Supreme Martial Artists alone and they already had more than six! Even as he thought back and forth about it, Li Qinglei felt that it was better to be safe than sorry.
If by any chance they provoked such powerful enemies for the clan again at this timing… even dying a hundred times wouldn’t be enough to atone for their sin. But staying stubborn on the surface, he said, “Chu Yang, since this is a negotiation, you shouldn’t be so overbearing. Do you really think that the Li Clan doesn’t dare to kill you? So what even if you have Supreme Martial Artists backing you up? You need to understand that in a situation where we fight to the bitter end, no one will be able to survive!”
Chu Yang breathed a sigh of relief inwardly as he thought, “If you really dare to kill me, then what are you still standing around for? Who doesn’t know how to flap their lips?” But naturally, he wouldn’t really provoke him. He asked, “Then what do you mean by what you said earlier?”
Li Qinglei felt rather repressed. In a tone almost akin to swallowing his pride, he replied, “But… even though I don’t trust you, I would like very much to work with you!”
He smiled slightly and gave an excuse for himself. “Just as you said earlier, if we come together, it’s a win-win situation for both parties!”
Chu Yang asked, “Oh? Since you don’t trust me, yet you still want to work with me, I wonder what kind of collaboration such a partners.h.i.+p would bring?”
Li Qinglei replied, “I have only one condition! As long as you can achieve it, I’ll believe you. We’ll receive all of you with the highest form of respect and even escort you out of the northwest with a grand entourage, all the way back to the south-east!”
Frowning, Chu Yang asked, “Condition? What condition?”
Murderous intent flashed in Li Qinglei’s eyes. “As long as you hack off the heads of those four officers in front of me! I’ll believe you and also fully agree to the partners.h.i.+p!”
“This isn’t a difficult condition. Moreover, it’s a requirement in order for both of us to work together. That way, even if you spread the news that the Li Clan had killed Lang Yilang, the law-enforcement officers won’t believe you either! Because you would have become their enemy.”
Li Qinglei went on, “We would be able to set our hearts even more at ease! As for what happens after you leave, no matter whether you work with us or not, there’s something you said earlier which is very true — Right now, we don’t wish to make enemies such as all of you!”
With these words, Li Qinglei could be said to have retreated a thousand steps in compromise!
Even though he claimed to not believe Chu Yang’s golden line of ‘Two Souls Connected, One Heart Even in Life And Death’, he did hold reservations toward it in his heart. Besides, he also admitted the majority of what Chu Yang had said.
As such, when he took a step back, he retreated straight to his baseline.
In his opinion, this condition could be said to be absolutely sincere and was the same as him laying all his cards on the table. And to Chu Yang, this was also seriously too easy a task. In fact, the smile of coming to an agreement was already on his face.
He could already see the look of relief on the other party’s face.
Just as he said, he didn’t believe that Chu Yang would really keep his promise. However, the Li Clan seriously couldn’t afford to make this new group of enemies right now! After Chu Yang left, whether or not they continued to work together in the future, he would have definitely done Chu Yang a huge favor in any case.
Not becoming enemies in the future was the best scenario. Furthermore, it even solved the Li Clan’s biggest problem!
Chu Yang had a very awful expression on his face. He let out a cold laugh. “Are you threatening me? What kind of condition is that?!”
Taking a breath, Li Qinglei replied, “You have several ninth-grade peak-level Supreme Martial Artists on your side! A mere four first-grade Supreme Martial Artists won’t affect your overall strength at all! Keeping them isn’t enough to allow you to go against all odds and change the situation, and killing them isn’t enough to affect your overall strength!”
“As long as you kill them, the Li Clan will even hold responsibility for your safety during the entire journey of 35,000 kilometers!”
“I don’t know why you’re hesitating!”
Li Qinglei was rather perplexed indeed.
In his opinion, this was too easy a choice. If he were Chu Yang, he would probably drag those four over immediately and serve them a slash each to show his sincerity.
“We’ll talk again after I’ve secured my life!”— Even if he had to kill them today and then kill the others tomorrow to avenge them…
“I can’t do it!” Chu Yang shook his head lightly. “Since they’ve given me their loyalty, they are now my men! And since they are my men, I must take responsibility for them! Even if they are just powerless scholars instead of first-grade Supreme Martial Artists… as long as they’ve given me their loyalty, I am under the obligation and duty to protect them!”
“If I really cannot protect them, that is an issue of ability. But if I don’t even bother to try protecting them… then that’s an issue of att.i.tude!”
“Perhaps you would think that sacrificing a few people to protect a few important people is a very common and simple thing to do. But… you are not me, Chu Yang!”
Li Qinglei’s sharp and piercing eyes bore into him like a hawk. He replied calmly, “But if you don’t accept my condition, then it is inevitable that battle will start between the two of us! If you accept it, five out of the nine of you can survive. If you don’t, all of you being wiped out is something foreseeable. They would still die regardless, and you will even lose your life along with them. You must understand that once it reaches that point, since we’ve already offended you, then it wouldn’t hurt to go all the way! Once we no longer hold any reservations, even if you have six great Supreme Martial Artists backing you up, if the Li Clan wants to kill you, it’ll still be as easy as ABC!”
“Why are you being so obstinate!”
Li Qinglei sighed with some emotion and asked somewhat mockingly, “Or could it be… that you’re still thinking of being a hero?”
Chu Yang replied dispa.s.sionately, “Even if I’m not a hero… even if I’m just a person of some ability, it doesn’t make it right for me to easily use my subordinates in exchange for something… They may die in battle but being treated as a commodity to be used in exchange for something is out of the question.”
Li Qinglei was truly stunned.
He had already made such a compromise and he actually still rejected him? In this instant, Li Qinglei even felt like he had been treated unjustly.
Incredibly so!
What more do you want?!
You’re not even willing to kill four men who didn’t originally belong to you! You’re now in a disadvantageous situation where you could die any moment and you’re still so stubborn! Coming to negotiate with us when you’re not even willing to offer anything at all?
Do you take the Li Clan for idiots?
If I were to agree to it just like that, then wouldn’t it be entirely up to you as and when you wish to spread the news? The safety of the entire Li Clan would become dependent on your mood?
“What exactly do you want?” asked Li Qinglei rather irritably.
“This is my only condition!” Chu Yang was completely calm and collected. “Step aside and let us leave! It’s impossible for me to kill any of our own.”
“What guts you have…” Li Qinglei’s pupils contracted as he let out a strange laugh. “In the Li Clan’s all-reaching clutches and trapped in a hopeless situation where death is certain, you actually have the guts to patronize me… Hurhur, Extraterrestrial Demon Chu, you certainly fill me with admiration toward you.”
The murderous intent in his eyes intensified, gradually approaching a state where it solidified and took shape.
“Upholding brotherhood… is something that you must pay a price for!” Li Qinglei said.
“Indeed…” Chu Yang replied with much resignation, “And I’m paying the price right now…”
He raised his head. “Looks like the Li Clan does not intend to work with me?”
“It is you who have never once considered working with the Li Clan!” Li Qinglei’s voice turned from one of agitation to one of calmness — This implied that he was about to strike.
“Fine, since that’s the case, there’s no point in saying more to someone whom I cannot see eye to eye with. Unseal my restrictions and let me go back. Let’s do our respective best and have a final showdown.”
“Unseal your restrictions? Let you go back? Hahaha…” Li Qinglei stared at him as though he was staring at an idiot. Then, he suddenly let out a strange laugh. “Do you think that… I’ll let go of fresh meat that has delivered itself to my doorstep?”
Chu Yang flew into a rage. “Surely you don’t intend to detain me? Even when two kingdoms are at war, they don’t execute envoys! How can you be this despicable and shameless?”
“I’ve never had the intention to go to war with you nor do I really wish to kill you.” There was some frustration in Li Qinglei’s eyes. “I have to admit that your words earlier were effective! We indeed have reservations about the power behind you.”
Light, as though a blade’s, gleamed in his eyes. “But since you’ve taken the initiative to send yourself here… we can’t let you go just like that. Hurhur… Chu Yang, I can only ask you to suffer for a few days.”
He turned to the others. “Seize this kid and watch him closely. Feel free to be a little harsher on him. Send a message back immediately and request for the Second Grandmaster to come over and invoke the Soul Control Technique on him, so that we can completely control this unexpected windfall!”
Chu Yang’s complexion and expression changed at once!
The Soul Control Technique!
This was the most vile and cruelest technique. It made use of a Supreme Martial Artist’s cultivation where his soul of origin was already permanently stabilized to completely control someone by enforcing an internal energy seal. In this seal, they would extract the soul of the person being sealed and refine it. From then on, even if the person is a thousand miles away, they need only a thought and they would be able to give the person being controlled a taste of living h.e.l.l!
In other words, once someone fell victim to the Soul Control Technique, they would completely become someone’s slave!
Such a vile and cruel technique was usually only used in the taming of high-grade spiritual beasts. As for it being used on humans, firstly, there had never been a need for it; secondly, a person’s mind was filled with varied and complex thoughts. Thus, a human was difficult to control and the technique user could easily suffer a power backlash. Very few people would do this; after all, if the person refused to follow orders, they could just kill him.
Since they could use the Soul Control Technique on him, why would they be unable to kill him?
At present, only a few Supreme Martial Artists were at a level capable of using the Soul Control Technique. Other than the Elder Master and the guards by his side, there was only the Second Grandmaster — Li Xiangsi! That was the reason why Li Qinglei had given such an order.
With a sinister smile, the two Supreme Martial Artists stepped forward. Panic finally showed on Chu Yang’s face. Taking several steps back, he shouted, “Do you really intend to use such an inhumane and evil technique? Aren’t you afraid of being condemned by the world?”
“Condemned by the world?” Li Qinglei laughed cruelly. “Once I’ve gained control of you, that would be the same as having gained control of the forces behind you. The Li Clan cares only about success and failure when it comes to something as beneficial as this; what does the world have to do with me!”
Snickering, the two Supreme Martial Artists reached out. With one from the left and one from the right, they grabbed Chu Yang’s shoulders!
A furious Chu Yang replied, “Since that’s the case, I won’t hold back anymore!”
Li Qinglei burst into raucous laughter. This kid had already landed in their hands. Even his cultivation had been sealed and yet he could still boast and say that he wasn’t going to hold back anymore?
Amidst laughter, a jolt went through Chu Yang’s body. Suddenly, a ray of swift and forceful sword light shone intensely!