Douluo Continent: Starting with the Tiger Emperor Template

As Lu Ren stepped out of the gate of the Ordinary Alliance stronghold, he took a deep breath of the fresh air above ground, and the lingering dampness in his lungs was swept away by the dry autumn wind.

He stretched his neck, his joints making a few soft cracking sounds, and his face returned to its usual nonchalant expression.

Ye Guyi followed behind him, and as she walked out of the hidden door, she subconsciously raised her hand to shield her eyes.

Having been underground for a while, the sunlight seemed particularly dazzling.

She peeked through her fingers at Lu Ren's retreating figure, finally letting out a sigh of relief. She patted her chest, her voice tinged with the relief of surviving a close call.

"I thought you were really going to fight the Ordinary Alliance. I was even prepared to block a few for you just now, but I didn't expect it to end so amicably."

Lu Ren didn't stop walking, his tone calm:

"I never intended to attack the Ordinary Alliance. I was just trying to scare them."

Ye Guyi paused, a hint of nervousness appearing on her pretty face:

"Huh? Was it just to scare you? Is it really that serious? Can't we just sit down and talk things out? You have no idea how tense things have become. When you released that aura just now, I almost thought you were going to blow up the whole room. My heart is still pounding."

Lu Ren stopped and turned around, looking at Ye Guyi's face, which was slightly flushed with excitement.

He looked at it for a few seconds, then suddenly asked a question that left Ye Guyi completely baffled:

Do you know how to write the character for "person"?

Ye Guyi was stunned for a moment, then stomped her foot angrily.

Her blonde hair swayed back and forth over her shoulders with her movements, reflecting dazzling glitter in the sunlight.

"Isn't that obvious? I'm not illiterate, of course I know how to write it!"

Lu Ren ignored her annoyance, raised his hand, and gestured with his index finger in the air:

"If you look closely at the Chinese character for 'person,' you'll see that it's supported by two strokes, a left-falling stroke and a right-falling stroke, so that it can stand upright."

"If you remove it from any direction, the person will fall; it cannot stand up on its own with just one stroke."

He lowered his hand and continued:

"The character '朋' (péng) in 'friend' is composed of two characters, '月' (yuè). The two characters stand side by side, neither dominating the other nor being superior to the other. They are equal and rely on each other; this is what friendship is."

His gaze fell on Ye Guyi's face, and his tone became more serious:

"So what I'm trying to say is that, in essence, human beings are simply interacting with each other based on interests."

"Why should I help you if you don't have what I want?"

"If I have what you want, and you have what I want, then let's work together to achieve our goals."

"This is the underlying logic of interpersonal relationships. I asked Shangguan Weier for you because you are useful to me. Shangguan Weier agreed to give you to me because I can give her the benefits she wants."

"The reason you are willing to follow me is because I can make you stronger and provide you with protection. And when you become stronger, it also benefits me. Everyone in this chain gets what they want, and that is the basis for a cooperative relationship."

"Without this, relying solely on feelings, morality, and personal relationships is called charity, not cooperation."

"Giving alms cannot last long; only cooperation can endure."

He paused, then continued:

"Moreover, a woman like Shangguan Weier, who has climbed her way up from the bottom to her current position, could not possibly make every decision based on emotions."

"From the beginning, she was suspicious of me, which is why she hesitated and beat around the bush with me."

"Until I demonstrated my abilities, confirmed her suspicions, showed her my strength and value, established an equal footing with her, and made her experience firsthand that I could indeed make her pay a heavy price, didn't you see her attitude change immediately?"

"From suspicion to warmth, from estrangement to intimacy, it all happened in the blink of an eye. Did you think she was really smitten with me when she finally sat next to me? She was making investments; she was using her own way to curry favor with me, build a closer relationship, and pave the way for deeper cooperation in the future."

Ye Guyi blinked, thought back blankly for a moment, and realized that it seemed to be true.

Lu Ren withdrew his gaze, his tone becoming more relaxed:

"At this point, I don't need to keep being aggressive. She has already made concessions, and I have also demonstrated my value. Both sides can benefit from this, so my attitude should naturally become more friendly."

"We'll be working together in the future, so there's no need to make things too awkward. That's why we were able to end things amicably."

He raised an eyebrow, a half-smile playing at the corners of his lips:

"Or do you really think I'm a fool? You think I'll just do whatever you say about taking on your Ordinary Alliance?"

Ye Guyi nodded subconsciously, then immediately realized what she meant and shook her head.

Her cheeks flushed even redder, not from anger, but from embarrassment, because Lu Ren had guessed correctly.

At that moment in the private room, she truly believed that Lu Ren was about to make a move.

She had even started mentally calculating how many people in the private room she could stop and how many she couldn't, only to find out that the other party had never intended to fight from the beginning.

"I thought you really wanted to kill someone..." she muttered softly, somewhat embarrassed.

Lu Ren shook his head, the smile on his face fading slightly, his tone returning to its usual calm, almost cold rationality:

"Killing is the worst option. I will not kill anyone from the Ordinary Alliance unless absolutely necessary. Killing Shangguan Wei'er's people is tantamount to making a mortal enemy of the Ordinary Alliance."

"Even if I am strong, there will be endless troubles afterward. Not to mention that I need their assistance. A living and cooperative Ordinary Alliance is much more useful than an Ordinary Alliance that I have wiped out."

He held up one finger, as if to state a very simple truth:

"So my strategy from the beginning was that even if we really had a conflict with the Ordinary Alliance, we would only injure half of them and leave the other half alive."

"Injury without killing is enough to deter them. Let them see my power without creating an irreconcilable feud, so that there is still room for cooperation afterward."

He withdrew his finger and shrugged.

"Of course, the best outcome would be to not even have to fight. As it turns out, Shangguan Weier is even smarter than I thought."

"She made the right choice before I even made a move. There's a reason why your Ordinary Alliance has reached its current position."

Ye Guyi remained silent.

She followed behind Lu Ren with her head down, her long golden hair obscuring half of her face, making it impossible to see her expression.

After walking for a while, she muttered something under her breath, her voice so soft it was as if she were talking to herself:

"...I really don't know what you've been through. You're the same age as me, yet you're so thoughtful."

"You've even figured out Sister Shangguan's thoughts. A Soul Master your age should be at the prime of their life for cultivation. Who would think about anything else besides cultivation?"

Lu Ren pursed his lips, too lazy to explain.

"Lu Ren".

Ji Juechen, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke. His voice was a few decibels lower than usual, as if he was preparing to discuss something important.

"Your second self-created field..." He paused, as if choosing his words carefully, "...I'd like to see it."

The new gesture Lu Ren made when preparing to unleash his domain in the private room is something Ji Juechen still can't get over.

He felt he had no regrets in this life after creating a prototype of the Sword Intent Domain, but Lu Ren actually mastered at least two completely different domains.

The gap was beyond description, but he still wanted to witness it with his own eyes. There was no other way; this was a swordsman's yearning for a higher realm.

Lu Ren's expression turned serious for the first time. He looked at Ji Juechen's eyes, which were burning with fire, and remained silent for several breaths before slowly shaking his head.

"That area... how should I put it, it's a bit special, and it could be very harmful to you. If I don't control it properly, you'll die."

You won't die.

However, he did not want to reveal his secret technique of reversal, which allowed him to unconditionally heal others; the time was not yet ripe.

Ji Juechen remained silent for a few moments, his gaze lingering on Lu Ren's face for a long while, as if trying to confirm something.

Then he slowly nodded.

"All right."

Since Lu Ren said he would die, then he really would die.

Moreover, he believed that if the time was right, Lu Ren would definitely let him see that field.

Until then, all he needed to do was continue sharpening his sword.

"What do you mean by 'creating your own domain'?" Ye Guyi looked back and forth between the two of them, completely bewildered. "What are you talking about? Creating your own domain? Can you even create that?"

"None of your business." Lu Ren glared at her, silencing her curiosity with a single sentence. "Let's go, let's go see the Aodu Chamber of Commerce, I wonder how they're doing now."

Ye Guyi shrank back when he glared at her, but muttered, "I was just curious," while obediently following Lu Ren's steps.