Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 116 - 96: A Traitor Among the Bald Brotherhood (Double-Length — That’s All for Today)

When Wang Jiu spoke, his voice was always calm, like plain water without any emotion, but Li Tingshu felt a sense of condescension, as if the one speaking to him was not a person, but an aloof Immortal Venerable. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

At this moment, Wang Jiu continued, "You say the current world has already eliminated the Ascetic Method, and that is indeed the case. I've scoured ancient texts, and apart from a few Sects, most families and sects no longer advocate the Ascetic Method. Of course, at different times, humans have varied levels of need for Immortal Cultivation, but no matter what, it's no surprise that the general level of cultivators today is relatively low."

Such statements were truly eye-opening for Li Tingshu. A general level that is relatively low—is this not regarding the people of the world at all?

At this moment, Li Chaolu noticed the stiff atmosphere in the conversation and quickly said, "...Instructor, thank you for considering my welfare, but Mr. Wang Jiu's training method is truly effective. Although the process is somewhat painful, the results are extraordinary. I chose to accept such training of my own will."

Li Tingshu frowned: "If that's the case, prove it to me. Prove that this cruel, inhuman training is indeed efficient. Three days later, have a match with Li Qingshuang. If you win, I will never say another word about this matter, but if you can't win, as an Inner Sect instructor, I have the right to veto your absurd cultivation plan."

"Ah?" Li Chaolu was taken aback, "Qingshuang? Her cultivation level is higher than mine."

"Only by half a level. Moreover, you are about to make a breakthrough, so the gap is negligible. Besides, you are a child of the main family, while she is from the Lingshan City branch. Conventionally, it is always assumed that the strength of main family cultivators should marginally surpass that of the branch. Finally, do you not have confidence in yourself?"

Li Chaolu indeed lacked confidence. Li Qingshuang was the top prodigy of Lingshan City, having successfully started cultivating the "Cyan Sword" at just 12 years old. She was the pride of the branch for the past decade and enjoyed all the family resources, almost on par with the second uncle's only daughter, Li Wanqing. Against such a prodigious girl, Li Chaolu genuinely lacked the confidence to win.

But at this time, there was no retreat. Li Chaolu could only grit his teeth and nod: "Fine, three days from now, I will have a match with Qingshuang."

"Inappropriate." Wang Jiu suddenly remarked, "A match with Li Qingshuang is pointless."

Li Tingshu frowned: "What, you think my terms are not lenient enough?"

"On the contrary, I believe your terms are too broad." Wang Jiu explained, "You arranged a duel between them to ascertain the efficiency of my training method. Therefore, the duel's conditions should be such as to maximally showcase Li Chaolu's abilities. And Li Qingshuang does not possess such capabilities."

Li Tingshu found it amusing. According to his view, the Azure Sword Li Qingshuang of Lingshan City couldn't even push Li Chaolu to bring out his true abilities?

"My suggestion is to have Li Qingshuang and Li Junyi join forces; their combined strength is closest to Li Chaolu's."

"Ha, Li Qingshuang and Li Junyi joining forces? Do you not know that they have practiced the sword array together, and even Li Xinyu would have to concede to them when they join forces?"

"I do know, otherwise why would I suggest finding someone with similar strength for a three-on-one match, making the scene more balanced?"

"A good three-on-one... Li Chaolu has been training with you for only a few days, and he is supposed to be three times stronger? I look forward to the performance in three days!"

——

Li Tingshu left with a stomach full of anger.

The anger stemmed from two points. First, if Wang Jiu was merely bluffing, it meant that he was making a fool of him, treating him as an idiot. Second, if Wang Jiu wasn't just bluffing and could make Li Chaolu transform and become three times stronger in just a few days, then as the chief instructor of Inner Sect, responsible for guiding Li Qingshuang and others in cultivation, what would that make him if not an idiot?

After Li Tingshu left, Li Chaolu immediately became nervous.

"Mr. Wang Jiu... are we really going to make such a comparison? To be honest, even in a solo battle against Qingshuang my odds aren't high, let alone against Junyi as well."

In Lingshan City, Li Qingshuang's status was almost equivalent to Li Wanqing of Cyan Cloud City, while Li Junyi was akin to Li Xinyu, the Inner Sect Chief—of course, this comparison was quite disrespectful to Li Junyi herself. But even before the intensive training, Li Chaolu could only narrowly surpass Li Junyi and fell short against Li Qingshuang. As for after the special training... although she had complete faith in Wang Jiu's skills, currently she was battered and exhausted, and even with aid from miraculous elixirs, it would take considerable time to fully recover. How could she have the qualifications to compete against two prodigious girls?

However, Wang Jiu did not place any concern on the match in three days and simply smiled confidently at Li Chaolu's question.

"Actually, I just lied."

"Huh?"

Wang Jiu spread his hands and said, "Because essentially this duel is a zero-sum game, there is no win-win plan. Thus, I naturally have to strive to secure favorable conditions to avoid my own losses."

"... Your idea of securing favorable conditions is to turn a one-on-one into a two-on-one?"

"Exactly, because this way, it prevents the other side from adding further conditions."

Li Chaolu exhibited a baffled expression of not understanding.

Wang Jiu thus patiently explained, "This is a business trick taught to me by Shang Lanfei. For example, if there is an impoverished person... hmm, let's say it's Shen Qingming."

"Pfft."

"Because she is so poor that she cannot afford anything, she has to pawn a family heirloom, not knowing its origin or value, she can only casually price it at 100 Spirit Stones. However, at this time, I see that the heirloom is actually worth 1000 Spirit Stones. The correct way to buy it is to tell her that the heirloom is worth far more than 100, and I do not want to take advantage of her, so I offer an additional portion on her asking price, let's say 200 Spirit Stones. This way, even if she learns later that her heirloom was resold for 1000 Spirit Stones, she won't be too angry or entangled with me. And although I earn 100 Spirit Stones less, I also avoid much hassle and save my own time."