Heavenly Ranking

Chapter 240 Doubt

Zhu Long intently flipped through the documents that Guo Jia had compiled.

Guo Jia not only uncovered recent intelligence about the Death Rift Valley and the ruins of Yindu, but also information about Lion Mountain.

It's not surprising that hunters appear in the Misty Lands.

But each time, before the fog even appears, the hunters have already arrived in that area, or they have already scouted it out beforehand...

That's not right.

How many foggy days have there been this year? How many coincidences like his have occurred?

Zhu Long inquired.

"The increased fog this year stems from the trials of the Heavenly Ranking. Some hunters have encountered the fog while recuperating, but these hunters have only encountered it two or three times at most, and the patterns in where they appear can be identified beforehand. But Ji Fuyou..."

Guo Jia paused for a moment: "He went to these areas without any basis and would stay there for several days for no apparent reason, as if he was preparing to wait for something."

"so……"

Zhu Long's mind grew increasingly serious: "He can predict the location of the fog in advance!?"

This ability...

At first glance, it doesn't seem to have much effect.

However, while fog brings danger, it often brings opportunities as well.

If they can seize these opportunities, they will be able to get ahead of others.

"This possibility cannot be ruled out."

Guo Jia said, "We may need to investigate further to find out the specifics, but the probability is very high."

"Further investigation..."

Zhu Long considered his own situation.

If Ji Fuyou truly possesses an opportunity, further investigation could allow him to advance even further, potentially making him the Federation's number one Martial Saint.

Even if we gain nothing...

Having already offended several Martial Saints in the Federation, adding another Spiritual Master wouldn't make the situation any worse.

The potential gains outweigh the risks.

"Then investigate."

Zhu Long said, "However, he is ultimately a master of spirit. The methods of such a person are hard to guard against, especially Ji Fuyou, who wields the Wuji Sword. If he suddenly launches a sneak attack, I may not be able to block it without the protection of my life force field and true qi. Therefore, I want you to find out the truth."

"What the president means is..."

“Observe his next move. If he lingers for an extended period in a place he shouldn't be, and that place is shrouded in mist again, it will undoubtedly prove that he truly has the ability to predict mist. At that time…”

A cold glint flashed in Zhu Long's eyes.

"Don't worry, President. I will mobilize more resources to keep an eye on Ji Fuyou and I will definitely find out the real secret about him."

Guo Jia solemnly assured him.

"The probability of it happening five times is already quite high. It's just that his status as a master of spirituality forces us to act cautiously. Therefore, you also need to prepare corresponding countermeasures. Once Ji Fuyou truly masters the means of predicting the fog, we will definitely take action against him."

"A plan to take action against them..."

Guo Jia smiled slightly: "We have made some progress."

"Oh?"

"When I was investigating Ji Fuyou, I also discovered that his team had arranged for someone to purchase a kind of lucky oil in our Dragon Head Town. This kind of oil can only be produced by the mutated giant pythons in our Ten Thousand Snake Valley. It is very effective and can reduce the burden on mental energy users and martial artists when using some divine weapons."

Guo Jia said with a smile.

"Reduce the burden on spiritual beings and martial artists when using divine weapons!?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Long quickly understood the purpose of the treasure.

As time went by, all sorts of materials containing mystical properties came into the public eye.

Without exception, the divine weapons forged from these materials are extremely powerful.

However, this also places a very heavy burden on itself.

The weapon he wielded, called the Ink Dragon Blade, had a lethality of 26 points, far surpassing weapons forged from Cold Moon Mystic Crystal. Moreover, unlike the Judgment Divine Iron, it did not have an astonishing weight and would not affect the user's agility. In terms of attributes alone, it was even superior to weapons forged from Judgment Divine Iron.

but……

This Ink Dragon Blade is crafted from the bones of a sub-dragon species—the Ink Dragon. The wielder must constantly contend with the Ink Dragon's will, which causes the speed of the strike to always be slightly slower.

In simpler terms, it means reduced attack speed.

This significant drawback naturally makes the power of the Ink Dragon Blade inferior to that of weapons forged from Judgment Divine Iron.

If Lucky Oil really does have this effect...

"Our Dragon Head Town actually has such a wonderful thing!?"

Zhu Long's eyes lit up immediately.

"This kind of thing has extremely low production and is very inconspicuous. In addition, we haven't been operating in Dragon Head Town for very long, so..."

As Guo Jia spoke, he admitted his mistake: "This is our dereliction of duty."

"It's none of your business."

Zhu Long, however, seemed quite open-minded, waving his hand dismissively: "Anything can happen in the fog, from unexpected surprises to delightful surprises."

After saying that, he immediately added, "This precious resource must be in our hands. With this resource, our Longshou Town will definitely gain greater influence."

"The chairman is right. I have already had people secretly find out the specific output of this material and collect it in secret."

Guo Jia continued, "The reason I mentioned this item is because Ji Fuyou's demand for this kind of material led to..." "Trading for Lucky Oil with him? No! Once Ji Fuyou finds out that we have information about this item, he won't think we will still honestly continue to trade with him."

Zhu Long pondered for a moment and said, "Theoretically speaking, the correct thing to do is to extort money from them by using their alleged smuggling of our precious resources in Longshou Town as a pretext."

“The chairman is right. If we simply lure him into the game using a method that is in line with our identity, such as ‘extortion,’ he won’t suspect much. He will most likely come directly to our Dragon Head Town and pay the ransom.”

As Guo Jia spoke, she added with a smile, "They might even be thinking of taking advantage of the situation to establish a cooperative relationship with us and buy more Lucky Oil from us at market prices."

"What he doesn't know is that all of our purpose in doing this is to lure him here... Once we get to Dragon Head Town, even if he is a spiritual master, he will have to obediently follow our orders."

Zhu Long chuckled and continued, "If he's willing to honestly tell me how he predicted the appearance of the fog, I might be able to establish a cooperative relationship with him. But if he refuses to speak..."

“We already have him in our hands. Anyone with a brain would understand that we have plenty of ways to make him talk.”

Guo Jia nodded as well.

After they finished speaking, they both laughed.

At this moment, even if the opponent is a mysterious and unpredictable spiritual master, it seems that dealing with him would not require much effort and would not involve much risk.

"Actually, if we weren't worried about arousing Ji Fuyou's suspicion, and if we didn't have too little Lucky Oil, we could have his people 'acquire' a large amount of Lucky Oil right now. Once we had enough leverage to entice Ji Fuyou to participate, we could then take action..."

Guo Jia said with some regret: "After all, this spiritual master offended the chairman not long ago. If we take him down in such a short time, it will surely raise your prestige to a new peak, which will be a great deterrent to both the Great Shang and the underground world of the Eastern Divine Continent."

"Better safe than sorry. Although the spiritual master's deterrent power is only aimed at those so-called high-ranking officials, he is not some nobody."

Zhu Long, on the other hand, appeared quite calm.

With their unpredictable and mysterious methods, the Spiritual Masters wield greater power of intimidation over many superiors and high-ranking officials than the Martial Saints.

This is why spiritual masters often hold a status comparable to martial saints.

But the Martial Saint...

Ultimately, he is a level above spiritual masters.

The spiritual masters pose a far less threat to them than they deter those in positions of power.

Zhu Long's ability to remain calm and seek stability under these circumstances demonstrates his wisdom and rationality.

"We need to confirm whether he really has the ability to predict the appearance of the fog. In the meantime, we should have his people acquire more Lucky Oil in a reasonable way. When these people have enough Lucky Oil and we take them over, even if Ji Fuyou is wary, he will still rush to Dragon Head Town to avoid losses."

Zhu Long said, "What we're doing is exploiting the information gap, making Ji Fuyou think that we just want to extort a lot of money from him with this batch of Lucky Oil, rather than targeting him personally."

Use one purpose to cover up another, larger purpose.

This is true infallibility.

"Go ahead, without alerting this spiritual master, mobilize your manpower to monitor his every move as closely as possible."

Zhu Long waved his hand and gave the order.

"Yes."

Guo Jia bowed and withdrew.

……

South of the city commercial district.

Ji Fuyou, Ji Qingqing, Yu Xiaoyu, and Jiang Xingyu, who accompanied them, walked on the busiest street in the south of the city.

"This is the fourth martial arts school we've seen, right? There are so many martial arts schools now, it's like there are cram schools. Any decent storefront is taken up by a martial arts school."

Ji Qingqing's gaze fell on a martial arts school that was clearly newly opened.

At this moment, in front of the martial arts school, twenty people were practicing their boxing techniques in four teams of five, displaying great power and skill.

These people were mostly young men and women, wearing uniforms, and their boxing looked quite graceful.

In front of the martial arts school, a banner was displayed in the most conspicuous position.

"Welcome Senior Martial Artist Zhou He to our Wuji Martial Arts Academy Xinghui Road Branch for martial arts instruction."

At the entrance, many parents were asking questions and seeking information about the key points for enrolling in martial arts classes.

"The owner of this Wuji Martial Arts School is a senior-level martial artist. Their school has been expanding rapidly recently, and this should be their tenth branch."

Jiang Xingyu paid close attention to these news reports: "It is said that their leader formally became a disciple of a senior martial artist three months ago. Everyone else in the martial arts world of Xingguang City has to give him face. In addition, he is not weak among the junior martial artists, so he occupies a considerable share."

"Senior Level".

Upon hearing these words, Ji Qingqing's lips curved slightly.

Ji Fuyou didn't say anything. Even though everyone has now entered the realm of extraordinary beings, a high-level martial artist is still a figure of considerable importance in Starlight City.

Moreover, he only went out with them this time because he felt it had been too long since he had gone out with Ji Qingqing and Yu Xiaoyu, so he came out as if to complete a mission.

He was ready to go, but his thoughts were still on the unexpected discovery he had made in the Death Rift Valley in his dream the previous night.

He was clearly in the Death Rift Valley, and as he walked deeper into the cave, it seemed he had stumbled upon a certain place...

A cave landscape similar to Huanglong Cave.

"The Death Rift Valley, could it be connected to the Yellow Dragon Cave? But the two are more than a few hundred kilometers apart, it can't be..."

Ji Fuyou pondered in his heart.

But at that moment, the phone suddenly rang.

He glanced at the number displayed on it...

Luo Suyu?
Although he didn't understand why this spiritual being, with whom he had only a casual relationship, wanted to contact him, he still answered the phone.

As soon as the call connected, Luo Suyu's solemn voice came through: "Captain Ji, someone on the Heavenly Ranking... has run into trouble."

(End of this chapter)