Lu Yurong said, “You’re still afraid of displeasing His Royal Highness?”

　　“King Jing has a great future ahead of him. Of course, I’ll need to please him a little,” Chu Li said with a grin.

　　Lu Yurong made a noise of disbelief. His words had a hidden meaning to them.

　　Chu Li said, “There’s nothing much to say. It’s about time I leave too!”

　　Lu Yurong extended her hand to direct him and accompanied him outside.

　　Chu Li shook his head and sighed. “The Emperor thinks of me as a whetstone for King An, and you take me as Leng Feng’s. It seems like that’s my purpose in life!”

　　He knew what Lu Yurong was thinking. She wanted to use him to grind and sharpen Leng Feng into someone useful.

　　Leng Feng was not getting younger now, and his personality had more or less solidified. He would need to be put through some strong and impactful stimulation in order for him to change entirely.

　　He believed that his and Lu Yurong’s slaps were enough for Leng Feng to always remember what had happened today and begin to transform into someone different.

　　Someone with his pride would work his hardest in the High Duke’s Public House, hoping to surpass and defeat Chu Li.

　　Even if King Jing and Consort Lu would feel sorry for Leng Feng, all they knew to do was to praise him and express their gratitude towards Lu Yurong. They could never have the heart to really punish him, so they had asked Lu Yurong for help in taking care of him. Grinding a capable man out of him sounded like a viable option to them.

　　Lu Yurong was an expert in grasping the workings of the human mind and manipulating a situation to her own advantage. She would look as if she was not scheming, but she was actually just playing along, waiting with a knife behind her back for the right moment to arrive. Leng Feng and Chu Li had been controlled by her like puppets putting on a show.

　　He understood the situation very well, and yet he was willing to cooperate with her. As for Leng Feng, he was most likely still being kept in the dark. He would never have understood Lu Yurong’s actions.

　　As for Leng Ying… Chu Li swept his eyes to where Leng Ying was staring emptily at the hall entrance. He shook his head and smiled.

　　If she did not know now, then someone would tell her about it soon enough.

　　All of these would remain a secret to Leng Feng only. It was to see if he would start to pick up his slack.

　　Chu Li speculated that if Leng Feng just would not work hard, it would have been time for King Jing to give up on him completely.

　　All of these thoughts had merely appeared in Chu Li’s head in passing.

　　“Not everyone can be a whetstone,” Lu Yurong said.

　　Both of them walked out of the main hall and stood at the entrance.

　　Chu Li said, “I have accepted to help King An, but Leng Feng? You better reward me for this!”

　　Lu Yurong spared him a cautious glance. “We can call it even after counting that time you had used me!”

　　Chu Li dropped his smile. “I had gotten only two grandmasters in return. How about Leng Feng? How many grandmasters can he get me? Don’t you know how much trouble I had to go through for this!”

　　“What’s the benefit of having so many Grandmasters?” Lu Yurong said impatiently. “Whatever. We can call it even between us now!”

　　Chu Li lifted four fingers. “Give me four more Grandmasters!”

　　“No!” Lu Yurong said. “You’re being greedy. Four grandmasters! The High Duke’s Public House will be empty if I give you four more!”

　　Chu Li chuckled.

　　Lu Yurong scoffed, “What are you laughing at?”

　　Chu Li shook his head. “Do you think I have no idea whatsoever about the High Duke’s Public House? Asking for ten of them wouldn’t even begin to empty the house!”

　　“We don’t have that many of them!” Lu Yurong said. “You’re being whimsical! Even the whole Great Ji Dynasty only has about two hundred Grandmasters. My house already has ten of them including me!”

　　Chu Li said with a smile, “I don’t believe that your High Duke’s Public House has only ten of them. If you don’t agree to the deal, I’ll go and apologize to Leng Feng and butter him up.”

　　The Grandmasters from the Great Ji Dynasty were mostly from first-rate guilds and the four major sects.

　　Their bloodlines originated from over a thousand years before, and they had existed well before the establishment of the Great Ji Dynasty. Only the four major sects had a Surpassing State. Only those who had entered the Surpassing State could break through and become a Grandmaster

　　If the High Duke’s Public House and the imperial court wanted to obtain grandmasters, either they had to recruit them from these major sects or deploy their own men into these major sects. There were also cases where someone just became a Grandmaster through miraculous means like Chu Li and Han Fei.

　　The Grandmasters had almost reached the peak of martial arts.

　　They only sought after three things in life. They were: to protect the major sects, to reach the Heaven God’s Boundary, and to obtain all the wealth and riches of this world.

　　If they chose to protect the major sects and live a free life, then they would enter the High Duke’s Public House.

　　If they chose to try to achieve Heaven God’s Boundary or to become wealthy, they would head to the Fairy’s Capital.

　　The Fairy’s Capital had an Enlightened Masters that was the Emperor himself. The Grandmasters might get a chance to meet him and obtain some tips and tricks that would help them on their journey to greatness.

　　Not a lot of Grandmasters resided in those major sects. It would only be seen as a waste if too many of them did.

　　That was the reason why the Fairy’s Capital had gathered half of the Grandmasters population while the High Duke’s Public House had also a small portion of them.

　　Lu Yurong understood how human nature worked, plus she was also beautiful. Looking at how she had mastered his technique to wield the Divine Blade, he knew that not many people could escape from her.

　　He also believed that she had hidden some of the Grandmasters in their respective major sects and would only use them for when the right moment came.

　　—

　　Lu Yurong chuckled dryly. “Are you sure you’ll be able to go soft on Leng Feng?”

　　Chu Li smiled and squinted his eyes. “Why not? I’m just giving him what he wanted for once. What harm will it bring me?”

　　“Hmph, I forgot that your face is as thick as a brick wall!” Lu Yurong sneered.

　　Chu Li just smiled.

　　Lu Yurong removed her veil and revealed her beautiful face. She said plainly, “Asking for four Grandmasters is a bit too much!”

　　Chu Li shook his head. “That’s not a lot at all!”

　　Lu Yurong frowned. “One Grandmaster. The most I can give you is one!”

　　“At least three or I’m going to apologize now!” Chu Li said, shaking his head.

　　Lu Yurong bit her lip and gave him an icy glare. Her bright eyes revealed a touch of hostility.

　　Chu Li met her gaze with a smile. Their eyes were locked on each other. It felt like they were fighting with their swords, trying to find out what the other was thinking.

　　Leng Ying startled out of her daydream and turned to them.

　　From where she could see, the two of them were staring deeply into each other’s eyes.

　　She felt incredibly frustrated.

　　How could elder cousin sister be like this? How could she reject big brother and fall in love with this Chu Li!

　　Although Chu Li’s Martial Art was impressive, he was too smart for someone to stay near around. You could be lied to anytime and you would not even know it until you had been sold!

　　“Two!” Lu Yurong said. “Any number greater than two, then feel free to go and apologize. I won’t stop you!”

　　Chu Li nodded with a grin. “Fine, two then!”

　　Lu Yurong gritted her teeth and spat harshly, “How can a man haggle so much?”

　　Chu Li laughed. “I’m also helpless in this situation. If the Yi Public House makes a mistake, it won’t be good for your house too. All the High Duke’s Public Houses are interconnected. Once one of them is dishonored, the others will be dishonored as well!”

　　“You don’t need to remind me!” Lu Yurong scoffed through clenched teeth.

　　Leng Ying was confused. She did not know what they were talking about. From the look on elder cousin sister’s face though, it seemed like she was being bullied.

　　Lu Yurong was a woman her big brother could not handle. Only someone like Chu Li could manage to hold her back.

　　With this thought, she could now see how perfectly they were meant for each other. No wonder elder cousin sister fell for him!

　　“Now that you have done exploiting me, it’s time for me to leave then!” Chu Li said, grinning cheekily.

　　“Hmph, let me send you off!” Lu Yurong said icily.

　　Chu Li smiled as he came to give a fist salute to Leng Ying. Then, he walked in the direction of the exit.

　　Leng Ying followed to see him off.

　　Once they reached the main gates, Lu Yurong said, “Chu Li, I feel like you’re very suitable to self-cultivate the Golden Lohan’s Power!”

　　Chu Li raised an eyebrow.

　　Lu Yurong continued, “Snatch it away from King An! You have a profound dharmic base. If you self-cultivate it, you’ll progress so much faster than him, and your power will definitely grow exponentially!”

　　Chu Li laughed and shook his head. “The Golden Lohan’s Power is obtained through enlightenment! Don’t worry, I won’t be interested in it!”

　　“That would be the best.” Lu Yurong’s mouth tugged up into a smile.

　　She would never believe that he was uninterested!