The sequence is too involutional, luckily I am too.

Chapter 201 Yes, this is extortion! The Merchant's Path

Looking at Chen Qi's slick and shameless appearance, Yin Shuo couldn't help but roll his eyes.

It's a miracle that this guy is still alive.

At this moment, the dust and smoke gradually dissipated, and the ruins of the manor were fully revealed.

The once magnificent manor has long since become pitted and crumbling, reduced to ruins.

Lu Yan, carrying the unconscious Zhou Tianqing with one hand, slowly walked out of the ruins. He had no injuries on his body and his expression remained calm.

"Lu Yan, are you alright?"

Wan Zhuliu immediately landed from the air and rushed forward to check on Lu Yan's condition.

These words, when heard by those around them, made everyone roll their eyes.

Zhou Tianqing was the one who was beaten half to death, yet you asked Lu Yan if he was alright? This is utterly absurd!

"I'm fine."

Lu Yan shook his head slightly, then turned his gaze to Chen Qi, who was huddled not far away, and said, "Help me contact Mu Yun and ask if anyone is free to pick up this 'physically powerful' Old Master Zhou."

"Cough cough! It's alright, it's alright, I can take it back myself!"

Chen Qi quickly coughed twice to cover his embarrassment, then ran up quickly, intending to take Zhou Tianqing from Lu Yan's hands.

But his hand was only halfway out when it was firmly stopped by the feather of light controlled by Lu Yan.

"I think it would be better to have the Five Elders come in person for this kind of thing."

Lu Yan narrowed his eyes, a playful smile playing on his lips. "By the way, bring the gift that Uncle Zhou promised me."

"A gift?"

Chen Qi was taken aback at first, then immediately understood and nodded quickly, "Understood, understood, I'll go right away!"

After saying that, he transformed into a wisp of smoke and sped off towards Muyun Technology without looking back.

"Lu Yan, wouldn't you call this extortion?"

Yin Shuo leaned closer and whispered in Lu Yan's ear.

Zhou Tianqing was clearly an unwelcome guest; there was no way he would offer any greeting gift. This was obviously Lu Yan deliberately making things difficult for Mu Yun.

Lu Yan made no attempt to hide his feelings, nodding with a smile: "That's right, it's extortion."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qi's body swayed violently in mid-air, almost falling from his smoke form.

Your presiding judge is right here, so at least pretend to be one!

Otherwise, where would Judge Wan, who is known for his impartiality, put his face?

To everyone's surprise, Wan Zhuliu ignored Lu Yan's words and, amidst everyone's shocked gazes, vanished from the spot in a flash.

Seeing this, Chen Qi was speechless. Was there no law? Was there no justice?

"Hurry up, Grandpa Zhou's 'powerful physique' probably won't last much longer."

Lu Yan called out in the direction Chen Qi had left, then dragged Zhou Tianqing aside and sat down cross-legged as if no one else was there, and began to cultivate.

The onlookers exchanged bewildered glances, their hearts filled with awe: having just fought a Sequence 4 opponent, he was still able to calm down and cultivate; this kid deserves to be so strong!

Inside the Muyun headquarters, Xiang Ling's face darkened instantly after hearing Chen Qi's report. He asked coldly, "You're saying that Lu Yan defeated Tian Qing single-handedly, and without a scratch?"

"Ugh~"

Chen Qi nodded, vividly imitating Lu Yan's movements as he tossed Zhou Tianqing around, "It's like swinging a rope, slamming him to the ground again and again, it's awful!"

"That's enough!"

Xiang Ling finally couldn't help but interrupt him, her tone filled with suppressed anger.

Chen Qi immediately dropped his playful grin and put on an innocent look: "Lu Yan said that you should go pick him up in person and bring the gift that Old Man Zhou forgot to bring."

"Good, very good!"

Xiang Ling laughed in anger, his eyes icy cold.

"With such a prodigy as him in the courtroom, the future is indeed bright!"

After saying that, Xiang Ling stood up straight, his figure transforming into a ray of golden light, breaking through the glass, and heading straight for the floating island.

Upon seeing this, Lin Mu and the others immediately got up, intending to go together, but Chen Qi stopped them.

"The Five Elders stepped in together to redeem Zhou Tianqing, who had been badly beaten. Do you think this headline is shocking enough?"

Chen Qi put away his carefree smile, stood in front of the three of them, and his tone became more serious.

"Boss Xiang is more impulsive than you think. Just leave this to her to handle."

Lin Mu and the other two looked at each other, unwilling but able to slowly retreat.

"Although I don't know why you acted so impulsively, you really shouldn't have done it."

Chen Qi sighed softly.

"How are you any different from the people in the other branch offices in how you're acting now?"

"It's not that we acted impulsively, it's that we had no choice but to do it."

Lin Mu slowly shook his head, his tone firm, "You saw it that day too. The original path pursued by the Tribunal is in cahoots with the evil gods and cannot bring a future to humanity at all."

"Only by dividing the path to godhood into countless forms can we lead everyone out of the predicament of the Gray Mist and the Evil God!"

Chen Qi remained silent upon hearing this, opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately held back.

Becoming a god?

Who can say for sure whether the birth of the Evil God was due to the primordial path or to the gray fog that permeated the world?

Meanwhile, beside the ruins of Lu Yan's manor.

"Lu Yan, aren't you going to do anything about this old man? He looks like he's about to die."

Yin Shuo cautiously nudged Zhou Tianqing's arm and asked Lu Yan, who was cultivating.

"It's alright, he's physically strong, he won't die."

Lu Yan glanced at Zhou Tianqing, a slight mocking smile playing on his lips.

Zhou Tianqing, who had already woken up but was only pretending to be unconscious, almost fainted from anger upon hearing these words.

As the master of the Mu Yun fusion fire attribute sequence, he specially forged a powerful body capable of containing a massive amount of flames, believing himself to be unmatched among those of the same sequence.

He had heard rumors of Lu Yan killing the Holy Disciple of the Ghost God and slaying the Ghost God, but he had never seen it with his own eyes. In his opinion, it was just a false message deliberately created by the Tribunal to create a leader and appease people.

But now that he has experienced it firsthand, he realizes that those rumors are probably all true!

"How on earth did the Tribunal cultivate such a monster?!"

Zhou Tian was shocked, but suddenly sensed a familiar and powerful aura entering his perception range.

"Boss Xiang is here!"

Zhou Tianqing was overjoyed and immediately tried to get up, but was pressed back down hard by a large hand.

As the blood wedge between Lu Yan's brows lit up, Zhou Tianqing's extraordinary power was instantly sealed, and his body was firmly bound by the boundary lines.

Bound and unable to move, they couldn't even muster a shred of strength.

This scene happened to be witnessed by Xiang Ling, who had just arrived.

Xiang Ling ignored him, a gentle smile on her face, and slowly walked up to Lu Yan.

"Your talent truly exceeds my expectations."

Xiang Ling spoke sincerely, "But the original path has no future. Are you really not going to reconsider joining Mu Yun?"

Lu Yan opened his eyes and gently shook his head: "I will walk my own path, so you don't need to worry about it."

"it is good."

Xiang Ling didn't waste any words and went straight to the point, "Tell me what you want."

"That's all the information on the Merchant's Path. As for the rest, you can figure it out yourself."

"The Merchant's Path?"

Xiang Ling raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, but without the slightest hesitation, he raised his hand, took out an ancient scroll, and tossed it to Lu Yan.

Then, he took out ten heavy metal boxes and placed them in front of Lu Yan one by one, saying in a crisp tone: "Inside are all the information on Merchant Sequence 9, and one hundred vials of Golden Blood."

"If there's anything else you want, just send someone to Muyun to get it."

After saying that, Xiang Ling summoned a golden seal, flicked his finger, and the metal fragments in the ruins instantly condensed, firmly enveloping Zhou Tianqing. Then, he carried him away and disappeared into the sky in an instant.

"It really is a complete set."

Lu Yan stared at the golden seal floating beside Xiang Ling, subconsciously licking his lips, thinking to himself.

"The Five Elders and the Five Elements Seal, if we can gather them all, might allow Bloodblade War Maniac to forge a good item."

"No, that's it?"

Yin Shuo popped out from the side, his face full of disbelief. "What happened to the promised rematch? You beat one of the Five Elders in front of so many people, and Xiang Ling just walked away like that? This isn't scientific or magical!"

"They are very smart."

Qian Xin stepped forward and revealed the secret in one sentence: "If you fight with Young Master Lu and win, it will be bullying the weak and give others a reason to criticize you; if you lose, you will lose face. It is better to honestly pay money to ransom him, which will not only protect Zhou Tianqing, but also give both sides a way out."

"He's already made his move."

Lu Yan suddenly spoke, and with a light stomp of his right foot, the ground beneath his feet instantly cracked, and countless sharp metal spikes burst forth from the cracks.

Everyone was shocked. Xiang Ling had not simply rescued Zhou Tianqing; he had actually launched a sneak attack on Lu Yan. It was just that his method was so subtle that no one noticed.

"Good heavens, this old man is actually so cunning behind the scenes!"

Yin Shuo rubbed his chin, feeling increasingly frightened as he thought about it.

"No, I need to get someone to check my Traveler 3.0 right away. Maybe that old guy has planted a trap inside."

After saying that, he turned around and ran towards the mechanical fortress docking station.

"Wait a minute, take this with you."

Lu Yan raised his hand and tossed a low-level mechanical fire seed obtained from the Ascension to Godhood to Yin Shuo.

"Remember to take pictures of the process; I'll need them."

"Alright!" Yin Shuo, without suspecting anything, caught the fire and put it away, then pulled Ning Ran away quickly.

"Young Master Lu, should I go to Mu Yun and ask for some more resources?" Qian Xin glanced at the ten boxes of Golden Blood on the ground and grinned sheepishly. "This little bit of stuff is hardly worthy of the Five Elders' status."

"No need, just go find Chen Qi later and ask him to ask for it for us."

Lu Yan waved his hand, his gaze sweeping over the chaotic ruins. "Arrange a training room for me first."

"Don't worry, Mr. Lu, I've already made arrangements!"

Qian Xin patted his chest and pointed to the manor opposite Lu Yan, "I've already had someone take over that manor and set it up. Young Master Lu can move in right now."

Lu Yan was taken aback upon hearing this, then silently gave Qian Xin a thumbs up—this efficiency deserves his fortune!

"Thank you for your thoughtfulness."

Lu Yan bowed to Qian Xin in thanks, then flashed into the cultivation building inside the manor and eagerly opened the scroll that recorded the merchant's route.

[New Path Sequence Discovered 9: The Merchant!]