Chapter 150: The Arrow is Already Flown

Just how much temptation does a cultivation technique that allows one to become a deity hold for a martial artist? Any overestimation would not be an exaggeration.

The members of the Li family wished to practice the Primordial Spirit Visualization Technique without turning into inhuman entities and losing their true inner selves.

Thus, their only option was to obtain benefits from the Barbarian Gods.

Since Li Shaohua was able to practice it, how could Li Yuanchen, as his father, possibly miss such an opportunity?

On what grounds could they obtain such infinitely precious natural water from the Barbarian Gods?

If it were a transaction, the price paid would likely be staggering.

Therefore, when faced with a matter of such monumental proportions, would the Li family dare to let others investigate them?

Anyone showing even the slightest hint of suspicion would likely cause the father and son to launch a fierce counterattack instantly, and the resulting situation would likely degenerate into a complete and utter mess.

No one knew what kind of contingency plans Li Yuanchen had laid out after operating in Yuanjiang Prefecture for so many years.

And what attitude would the Prefect of Yuanjiang and the Special Operations Office hold toward this matter?

Would they believe that the Li family was colluding with the barbarians?

Generally speaking, suspecting the Li family was merely making the worst-case assumption.

Normal people would not think this way.

In Xiao Nan's view, there was an eight or nine-tenths chance this was true, simply because the Li family was already his enemy.

Moreover, he had previously discovered some subtle clues.

Perhaps the Qin family was the same.

Yet in the eyes of others, Li Yuanchen was a charitable gentleman and a conscience of the local business community.

To genuinely suspect them of betraying their own people and colluding with foreign enemies required a vast imagination.

Even if Xiao Nan were to tell others that the Li family were internal traitors and lay out all his reasons, those who refused to believe would still refuse to believe.

Including the City Lord's Mansion, people would likely think Xiao Nan was indulging in wild fantasies to suppress political rivals.

A man who had achieved success, fame, and immense wealth—how could he possibly do something that would destroy his own future?

Had he grown tired of living?

Was it not merely a case of an unfilial son unable to withstand the allure of the Barbarian Gods' enticements, lured away by some evil arts and secret methods?

Great men inevitably suffered from unfilial sons and unworthy wives; any family could produce a scoundrel. As for escalating the matter to the point of demanding the extermination of an entire clan?

Why not go ahead and claim that the imperial capital's Li family were all in collusion with the barbarians?

Or perhaps, even the Imperial House, whose bloodline was connected to the Li family, was simply on the side of the barbarians as well.

Therefore, evidence was paramount.

The opposing party possessed both strength and status; you could not condemn them simply on a whim. To pass judgment, high-ranking officials of the Empire would clearly need to step in and investigate.

In Qin Shuang's view, if the Yuanjiang Li family truly had issues, they certainly would not take the risk of being investigated and gathered for evidence. Instead, they would strike first.

In Yuanjiang Prefecture, no one understood the Li family's foundation and true nature better than the Qin family.

This was why she had warned Xiao Nan to be careful.

……

"I want an original version of the natural water, an authentic product without any hidden dangers. Don't tell me you need time."

Li Yuanchen slammed his palm down with a booming crash.

The fine black sandalwood square table was shattered into dust by the blow, scattering across the floor with a clatter.

Golden-red light and flames surged over three feet high around his body, making him look like a divine being.

"Wasn't it agreed that it would only be given after the deed was done? For the Family Head Li to act this way, is he not afraid of being derided by the world as someone who breaks his word?"

A thin figure in a black cloak stood in the living room, speaking eloquently and completely unaffected by Li Yuanchen's imposing aura, his tone tinged with mockery.

If not for this shadowy, concealing attire, he would have felt rather like a learned and intelligent scholar.

With a wave of his hand, a jade bottle appeared, slowly floating closer to Li Yuanchen as he smiled leisurely and deliberately, "Family Head Li, this portion of pure spiritual water is high-quality spiritual water that has not been excessively diluted, enough to help you step into the Martial Sage realm.

Right, over on your side, that would be the Dan-Origin Grandmaster realm. This sincerity should be more than enough, and to be frank with you, if there is no progress in the matter, this bottle of spiritual water will be the final remuneration."

Having said his piece, the cloaked man said no more, turned, and walked out of the Li family estate.

Walking under the sunlight, his figure gradually grew ethereal until he vanished without a trace.

Li Yuanchen tightly gripped the jade bottle, a flash of struggle in his eyes, as he murmured softly to himself, "Not enough... it merely gives a chance to reach the Dan-Origin Grandmaster realm. How can I be resigned after risking my reputation being ruined? And what about my son Shaohua..."

"Shaoyun, what do you think?"

"Father, the arrow is already nocked and the bow drawn. We surely have no turning back now, and the only way out is to trust them.

What the Barbarian Gods want is faith; they will not drive us to total extinction. A bottle of natural water, which seems infinitely important to us, is not so critical in the eyes of those beings."

"Indeed, your mind remains as clear as ever." Li Yuanchen smiled somewhat bitterly, yet with a trace of gratification, "I originally thought of first playing along with the barbarians... obtaining the spiritual water to break through my realm, reaching at least the Inner-Gang Grandmaster realm, with hopes of eventually attaining the Great Grandmaster level. Then, turning around to strike a counter-blow, clearing out Yuanjiang Prefecture, rendering great service to the Empire, and using that momentum to take control of the imperial capital's main branch.

Yet I never expected that human calculation falls short of heaven's will. I have failed Shaohua..."

At this point, tears welled up in Li Yuanchen's eyes, but his tone turned gloomy and cold: "Pass down the order, contact the barbarians, and strike immediately at noon today...

Su Yuqing, Tang Zhixuan, and those others might guess that I am about to make a move, but they will never expect that I will choose to do it in broad daylight, and with overwhelming military force..."

"This... Father, if we do this, we will truly have no retreat left. Even if we succeed, we can only spend the rest of our lives fleeing like stray dogs."

"Do you think I want to?" Li Yuanchen sighed. "Shaoyun, you may not know yet, but the internal top-secret missions of the University Alliance have been refreshed. The so-called 'Yuanjiang Beast Shadow Incident' has been upgraded from a B-minus grade to an A-plus grade. Do you know what this signifies?"

"They have already learned the details, and the people from the Empire's Arbitration Committee will soon arrive in Yuanjiang, and the ones coming will be experts. We miscalculated; I never expected Tang Zhixuan to be willing to fail her mission and call for reinforcements ahead of time."

"You still don't understand? Shaohua, the University Alliance's mission board has changed the difficulty of the Yuanjiang Beast Shadow, but why hasn't the military's mission board changed at all?" Li Yuanchen's gaze turned extremely dangerous.

"Not good." Li Shaohua's body trembled. "You mean..."

"They were guarding against me, and did not want me to receive the news beforehand."

This time, he finally understood the severity of the situation and the reason why his father wanted to launch the offensive prematurely—and why it was done so decisively, leaving no room for maneuvering.

Because being a single step slow meant nothing less than a dead end.

The Li family had done many shady things, though relying on their influence in Yuanjiang Prefecture, they had managed to cover things up from various angles.

No issues had ever surfaced, nor had anyone ever managed to catch them by their handles...

Yet since these deeds were done, traces would always remain.

Previously, it was merely a B-grade mission, and neither the University Alliance nor the military paid it much attention.

Such small-scale barbarian beast incidents were only used to train newcomers... any graduate casually dispatched from Qingning Academy or Heluo Martial University could resolve them in passing.

After all, the Empire's territory was vast, and countless cases arose in every city every day, naturally forming missions of varying difficulty.

If every casual case required high-ranking imperial authorities to dispatch powerful experts to handle it, that would be utterly impossible.

Under normal circumstances, local governments resolved them.

If the government lacked the strength and failed to solve it, the University Alliance would dispatch students for practical training, earning credits along the way while resolving the issue.

This was simply the handling method for low-level missions, and precisely why Tang Zhixuan had come to Yuanjiang No. 1 High School to serve as a martial arts instructor.

Naturally, she had not come to teach books, but to investigate the case.

In the past, the Li family had always intentionally or unintentionally misled that proud high-achieving student from Qingning, leaving her trapped in a maze from which she struggled to break free.

Things had indeed developed just as they hoped; Tang Zhixuan's missions repeatedly hovered on the brink of success before failing, without any decent progress.

The current situation, however, was completely different.

Once a mission was upgraded to A-grade, the executors dispatched would no longer be mere students.

The people rushing over would possess a strength of at least the Yuandan grade, or even higher realms, and there would be more than one person.

The only chance of victory now lay in the fact that the various cities were too far apart, with regional magnetic fields blocking the skies, making direct travel extremely difficult.

And the nearest arbitrating experts of the Empire, no matter how fast they traveled to Yuanjiang Prefecture, would still require a considerable amount of time.

At the very least, they could not possibly arrive within a single day...

This was their sliver of survival.

As for Wang Yuanzhi, who held down the fort at the Yuanjiang Prefecture base—as the person in charge of the spatial passageway and the sole Grandmaster within the Yuanjiang Prefecture territory, he was the obvious pinnacle of martial might in this region.

Unless it was confirmed that Yuanjiang Prefecture was on the verge of total annihilation, he could not easily leave his post and come to Yuanjiang City.

"And the City Lord's Mansion... Tell Ouyang Ming that I have given him the divinity in advance, and order his men to stand by and watch.

Tell them the Li family needs to settle a private grudge, to avenge the murder of my son. Once it is done, there will be heavy rewards."

When mentioning Ouyang Ming, Li Yuanchen's eyes were filled with contempt.

That was simply a clueless fool, fixated entirely on seizing the divinity to break through to the Sixth-Rank Blood-Refining Innate realm, possessing nothing more than that meager horizon.

Give him a bone, and he would do anything.

……

Some people mentioned in the book reviews and chapter notes about where there were loopholes, where problems lay, and how the book was about to collapse.

I said this was foreshadowing, but it was no use. Very well, I will explain the whole sequence of events clearly so it can be read with ease. Just don't say I'm padding the word count.

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