1548 Messing With the Qin Family
After acquiring the techniques, they left the Myriad of Techniques. However, even after successfully leaving the store with the techniques, Bai Lianhua couldn't believe that she'd managed to acquire so many powerful techniques for free.
Even if she had her family's full backing, it would still be difficult for them to purchase this many rare and valuable techniques without severely damaging their finances. Yet, she was able to acquire them for free because of Yuan.
"How exactly did you manage to do that again?" she looked at him with wide eyes.
"Did you know that factions also exist in Cultivation Online? I am part of the faction that owns the Myriad of Technique, so it's a member's privilege…of sorts."Yuan gave a brief explanation.
"Do you think I can also join your faction?" Bai Lianhua knew the answer even before she asked, but she still had to take her chances.
"Probably not, and I am not looking down on you when I say this, but their requirements are quite high, as they're one of the top factions in the upper heavens. In fact, you won't even meet them unless you ascend at least to the Sixth Heaven."
Bai Lianhua showed a bittersweet smile and shook her head, "No, it's fine. I completely understand. I am not foolish enough to think that I have even a fraction of your talents."
"There's no need to drag yourself down like this. You're plenty talented. With enough experience and time, you'll definitely qualify for my faction."
Bai Lianhua nodded and said, "So, what are you going to do now? Return to the Fourth Heaven?"
"Not yet. I still have some business in Third Heaven. By the way, do you know of a Qin Family?" Yuan said.
"I know of several. Which one are you referring to?"
"The one close with the Walkers Family and the Gu Family."
"Oh, yeah, I know of them. They've been quickly rising in reputation and power recently with the Walkers Family and Gu Family's help, after all. Why are you asking about them? Did something happen between you guys?"
Yuan nodded, "I'm not directly involved, but they've been bullying the family of someone who's very close to me, even going as far as to use poison."
"Poison? What a nasty bunch… but I'm not surprised that someone closely affiliated with Fiery Queen has such a nature. What are you going to do with them?"
"I'm not sure yet. The family they've been targeting has been losing business because of the bullying, so I'm thinking about messing with their operations within Cultivation Online as a warning."
"If you want, I can help you locate their businesses. It shouldn't be too hard with my family's resources."
"Really? That'd be great."
"Consider it my payment for the techniques—even though it's nowhere enough to pay for everything." Bai Lianhua showed a bashful smile.
She continued, "Then I'll contact you once I have the information prepared. It shouldn't take too long. A few hours at most."
"Alright. By the way, take this."
Yuan handed her a spatial ring filled with treasures that he had picked up but had no use for.
"T-this is a lot… There are even Divine-grade treasures inside! Are you sure about this, Yuan? The techniques are already more than enough…"
"Just take it." He nodded.
"Thank you… really…"
Bai Lianhua logged off the next moment.
With nothing else to do, Yuan also decided to log off.
While he waited for Bai Lianhua to scout the Qin Family's business, Yuan went to visit the Chu Family.
"I've decided to mess with the Qin Family's business within Cultivation Online."
"Mess with…? If you don't mind me asking… how do you plan on doing that?" Chu Shijian asked.
"It depends on the kind of operation they have, but I'll most likely end up destroying all of their business." Yuan casually shrugged.
"Is that so…"
"By the way, any news from the Qin Family?" Yuan then asked.
"Well, they've figured out that we know about Chu Wuyang being their spy when they haven't been able to contact him since we locked him up. Just yesterday, they threatened to completely destroy our business within Cultivation Online in a few days if we don't obey them."
"A few days, huh? Not before I destroy them in a few hours." Yuan smiled.
"To do so much for us… I really don't know how to thank you…" Chu Shijian sighed.
"You don't need to thank me because I am not doing this for you. I am doing this for Lulu." Yuan calmly corrected him.
"We still end up receiving your help, so you have my gratitude."
Three hours after they logged off, Bai Lianhua contacted Yuan.
"The Qin Family has three major businesses in the Third Heaven. The first and most profitable business is their monster hunting business. They have about 50 different teams that specialize in monster hunting throughout Third Heaven, and you can identify them through the purple badge by their waist. Their strongest and highest-grossing team is in Night Wing City, most of them being Spirit Lords. While they don't have a store, they typically meet up at the Purple Lizard Pavilion before going on their hunt." After giving Yuan their location, Bai Lianhua proceeded to give him some of their names and their physical descriptions.
She continued, "Their second business, the dungeon hunting team, is currently staying at the Eight Point Hotel in Yun Yun City."
"Their third business is a medicine store called Perfect Qin Medicine, which is also located within Night Wing City."
"You've gathered so much information so quickly. I was told it wasn't easy learning about another's business without having insiders." Yuan smiled.
Bai Lianhua chuckled, "Who in the Ten Great Families doesn't have a spy or two? With how quickly the Qin Family has been growing, I'm sure there are many keeping eyes on them."
"Makes sense. Then I'll see you later."
"Yes, see you later."
After returning to Cultivation Online, Yuan made his way to Night Wing City while Bai Lianhua sorted out all of the treasures Yuan gave her.
Sometime later, Yuan arrived at the Purple Lizard Pavilion and, using his divine sense, looked at every single individual inside the pavilion.
"It must be them."
Yuan quickly found the players who matched the description Bai Lianhua gave him.
He didn't approach them and simply watched them from afar.
There were eleven players in their group, all of whom were between the sixth and ninth levels of Spirit Lord.
Although Yuan wanted to kill them immediately, he decided to mess with them a bit first.
Half an hour later, once they were prepared, the group of players left the city and entered the nearby wilderness, where magical beasts between the third and sixth levels of Spirit Lord roamed.
They quickly encountered their first magical beast. It was at the fifth level of Spirit Lord.
Yuan didn't interfere and watched them hunt the magical beast together. Their movements and great teamwork indicated that they'd been working together for a long time.
It took them almost ten whole minutes to defeat the magical beast, but only five out of eleven had fought.
After defeating the magical beast, they stripped any valuable materials from the corpse before resuming their hunt.
For their next encounter, the other six that didn't participate in the first encounter fought.
They rotated between two groups to save energy, as they planned on hunting until night.
However, during their third encounter, right as the group was able to defeat the seventh-level Spirit Lord magical beast, Yuan appeared out of thin air to steal their kill.
"What the—?!"
"Fuck! Who the hell are you?!"
Yuan was wearing a mask, so none of them could identify him. Moreover, Yuan had killed the magical beast so badly that even its materials could not be salvaged.
"Identify yourself!" The group demanded.
However, Yuan didn't say anything and merely escaped from the scene, vanishing like a ghost.
"What the fuck was that about…?"
"I have no idea…"
"He was probably just some weirdo passing by. Let's forget about him and continue our hunt."
The group didn't bother chasing after Yuan and resumed their hunt.
However, their fourth and fifth encounters had all been sabotaged by Yuan, who refused to explain anything and vanished as soon as he was done.
"God damn it! What the fuck is going on?!"
"Does that person have a grudge against us or something? He's not even letting us collect the materials… I have never seen or heard of anything like this before…"
"That's it! If he dares to show up again, we're all going to attack him without warning! Keep your eyes out!" The leader of their group declared.
They encountered their sixth magical beast soon.
Once again, Yuan showed up at the end to claim the kill for himself.
The group of hunters was prepared this time and attacked him the moment he showed himself.
However, none of them had expected Yuan to block all of their attacks with ease, and before they could attack again, Yuan vanished into thin air.
"God fucking damn it! What the hell is that bastard's problem?!?!"
"We've been out here for four hours and only managed to secure one kill!"
"He's probably hiding his face because he's afraid we might recognize him."
"Let's see how long he can keep this farce up! He must've used a considerable amount of spiritual energy to defeat the last few magical beasts. I doubt he'll be able to continue this for long! He will eventually slip up, and that's when we'll get that bastard!"
"Yeah!"
The group continued their hunt, fueled by anger and the desire to catch Yuan.