53: hope

"What! There's still hope?"

Lin Yi's body trembled as he heard those words. The bloodshot look in his eyes slowly faded, and reason quickly returned to his mind. Then, with great excitement, he asked Zhao Haihong:

"Dean, how can they be saved?"

"Lin Yi, don't be in such a hurry! Before I tell you the method, you should first read this letter sent by Lu Chong. We'll talk after you finish reading it."

As he spoke, Zhao Haihong handed a letter to Lin Yi.

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, although Lin Yi was incredibly anxious, he still followed the Dean's instructions and took the letter. He calmed his mind and read it quickly.

Soon, after a dozen breaths or so, Lin Yi suddenly spoke:

"Dean, I've finished reading it. Most of the content in this letter consists of threats and intimidation, and every line is written to be extremely terrifying."

"However, I suspect Lu Chong also wants to use these means to break down my psychological defenses. His ultimate goal is the final point."

"And that is—to have me scrape together one million taels of silver within seven days and deliver it to Qingfeng Stockade!"

"He said that if I can do this, although my parents must still die, he can show some extra-legal mercy and give them a quick death."

"Otherwise, he will subject my parents to a thousand cuts and execute them by lingchi."

"Dean, the method you mentioned to save my parents—could it be hidden within these seven days?"

"Exactly!"

Zhao Haihong nodded slightly and said solemnly:

"Lin Yi, although Six-Armed Nezha Lu Chong is formidable—even being considered a top-tier expert among the many Third Rank Peak Martial Artists in Dongshan Prefecture—when combined with his lieutenants, subordinates, and the stockade's traps, it's estimated that even most Second Rank experts wouldn't be able to do anything to him."

"However, looking at our entire Dongshan Prefecture, there are still some people who can deal with Lu Chong."

"For instance, several First-Rank Masters, or a few Second Rank experts, could actually deal with him and make him obediently return your parents."

"Oh, several First-Rank Masters? A few Second Rank experts?"

"Dean, I wonder who those First-Rank Masters are? And who are those few Second Rank experts?"

As soon as Zhao Haihong finished speaking, Lin Yi's eyes lit up instantly, and he hurriedly asked Zhao Haihong with anticipation.

Seeing this, Zhao Haihong didn't keep him in suspense and answered directly:

"Within my Dongshan Prefecture, there are a total of three masters whose Martial Dao cultivation has reached the First Rank level."

"The first is the Prefecture Lord of Dongshan Prefecture. His name is Chi Longyue, a powerhouse from the Chi Family, a major Family within our Heavenly Mountain Sect."

"Twelve years ago, at the age of fifty-five, he broke through to the First Rank. Subsequently, he was ordered by the Sect to oversee Dongshan and take control of the prefecture."

"Now that twelve years have passed, his strength is likely even more unfathomable and peerlessly formidable."

"If he takes action, then that insignificant Lu Chong certainly wouldn't dare to utter a single word of protest and would obediently return your parents."

"Oh, Chi Longyue, a powerhouse who broke through to the First Rank twelve years ago—he is indeed impressive!"

Lin Yi's eyes shone as he nodded repeatedly:

"What about the second one?"

"The second is the Myriad Phenomena Tower Master."

Zhao Haihong spoke:

"Wanxiang Tower is one of the most Peak and top-tier forces in the entire Nine Provinces Continent. Their business spans across the Nine Provinces. In terms of strength, they are fully capable of rivaling the Holy Lands of the Daoist and Buddhist Sects, and are far more powerful than my Heavenly Mountain Sect."

"Therefore, while top-tier provincial forces like the Zijing Merchant Guild or the Wanlong Chamber of Commerce can only arrange for one Second Rank expert to oversee a Prefecture City, Wanxiang Tower can arrange for a First-Rank Master to serve as the Tower Master. One can only imagine the sheer power of such a person!"

"And this Myriad Phenomena Tower Master also came to Dongshan Prefecture twelve years ago. He was already a First-Rank Master at that time, so his strength might even be greater than Chi Longyue's. If he takes action, saving your parents will certainly be no problem."

"The Myriad Phenomena Tower Master!"

Hearing this name, the light of hope in Lin Yi's eyes grew even brighter.

Two First-Rank Masters—one a Heavenly Mountain Sect powerhouse and the other the Myriad Phenomena Tower Master—both had some connection to him.

In this way, as long as one of these two agreed, he would be able to save his parents easily.

Lin Yi was ecstatic in his heart, but to increase the probability, he continued to ask Zhao Haihong:

"Dean, then, what about the third one?"

"The third is the Old Ancestor of the Lin Family where Lin Tianqing is from—Lin Zhentian!"

Zhao Haihong spoke unhurriedly:

"Lin Zhentian is the only local powerhouse among the three current First-Rank Masters in Dongshan Prefecture."

"He was born in the year 6276 of the martial god calendar and is now nearly a hundred years old. Consequently, his blood and Qi have somewhat declined, and he no longer possesses the bravery of his youth. His strength is likely the relatively weakest among the three First-Rank Masters."

"However, First Rank is still First Rank! No matter how weak his strength may be, it is not something a Second Rank expert can compare to. Even a top-tier Second Rank would likely be unable to withstand more than a few moves from him."

"So, if he is willing to take action, saving your parents will naturally be no problem."

"Yes, Senior Lin Zhentian is naturally impressive to have achieved the First Rank."

Lin Yi nodded in agreement:

"However, he has no relationship with me. I suspect the hope of persuading him to help me isn't great, so please, Dean, tell me about the other two Second Rank experts!"

"Mm!"

Zhao Haihong nodded and then said:

"Those two actually have some connection to you as well. One is the Head Dean of our Dongshan Martial Academy, Jiang Hai. He is a scion of the Jiang Family, another major Family in our Heavenly Mountain Sect that is not at all inferior to the Chi Family."

"His talent has been extraordinary since childhood. Eight years ago, just after turning forty, he broke through to the Martial Dao Second Rank. Now, he is already one of the very top powerhouses among Second Ranks. Even if he encountered an ordinary First Rank, he could hold his own for a bit. If he takes action, Lu Chong naturally wouldn't dare to be insolent."

"However, he is currently away traveling and is not at the martial academy. Even I and the other Vice Dean cannot find him; we can only wait for him to return on his own. So, we can't count on him for the time being."

"As for the other one, his name is Chen Jiangping, and he is one of the two Vice Tower Masters of the Dongshan Prefecture Wanxiang Tower."

Speaking of this name, Zhao Haihong couldn't help but frown slightly, clearly disliking him very much.

Afterward, seeing Lin Yi's expectant gaze, he shook his head slightly and continued the introduction:

"This person has an eccentric personality. It's said that he was originally a scion of a Fourth-Rank Family named the Chen Family in Nanxuan Prefecture, Chu Province. He was an illegitimate son born after the then-head of the Chen Family had a one-night stand with a maid while drunk. Because of this, his status in the Chen Family was low since childhood, and he suffered all kinds of bullying."

"Later, when he reached the age to practice martial arts, Chen Jiangping's martial talent appeared mediocre, so he faced even more bullying and discrimination."

"It wasn't until he turned twenty that the originally unremarkable Chen Jiangping suddenly experienced an Enlightenment. With almost no resources and even insufficient daily cultivation time, he actually cultivated from an ordinary Ninth-Rank Martial Artist to the Martial Dao Fourth-Rank Realm in just three short years, shocking the entire Chen Family."

"Subsequently, facing the Chen Family's attempts to recruit and flatter him, Chen Jiangping not only refused to accept but also personally killed his father, the Family head. Afterward, he wiped out the entire Chen Family, which led to him being wanted by one of the overlords of Chu Province, the Northern Cloud Sect, and he fled to Qing Province."

"Then, in order to survive, Chen Jiangping voluntarily sold himself to Wanxiang Tower. Step by step, over eleven years, he cultivated from the Martial Dao Fourth Rank to his current Martial Dao Second Rank Peak Realm. In terms of strength, he is likely on par with our Dongshan Martial Academy's Dean Jiang."

"If he is willing to take action, your parents should also be saved."

"But having said that, the possibility of him being willing to help is extremely, extremely low."

"After all, due to his childhood experiences, his personality has long since become twisted. Not only is he eccentric and violent, but he is also extremely hostile toward geniuses, because the people who once led the bullying against him were the geniuses of the Chen Family."

"So once he encounters a Genius, even if it's a Genius of Wanxiang Tower, he doesn't show them any kindness at all."

"And this point has actually been manifested in your case, Lin Yi."

"Oh, me?"

Lin Yi was slightly stunned. He didn't remember having any dealings with this Chen Jiangping!

In fact, today was the first time he had even heard the name. What grievance could he have with him?

"Lin Yi, don't disbelieve it."

Seeing Lin Yi's puzzled expression, Zhao Haihong frowned and said:

"You still remember the last Martial Academy Competition, right?"

"I remember. What about it, Dean?"

Lin Yi replied.

"You performed very well in the last Martial Academy Competition and easily defeated Lin Tianqing."

Zhao Haihong said:

"Based on the strength you displayed at that time, according to the terms of Wanxiang Tower's Genius contract training, you could have been promoted to an Earth-Grade Genius of Wanxiang Tower and received quite a few resources..."

"But it was precisely because you encountered this Chen Jiangping that he suppressed your promotion contract, saying that your performance was actually insufficient and that you needed to be observed a bit more."

"And since his talent is extraordinary and he has a high probability of breaking through to the First Rank in the future, even the Wanxiang Tower Master is unwilling to offend him easily. Therefore, your contract promotion could only be temporarily suppressed."

"What! So that's how it is!"

Hearing this, Lin Yi was furious in his heart.

A Wanxiang Tower Earth-Grade Contract was no small amount of resources. The base silver alone was four times that of a Black-Grade Contract.

If he could obtain it, it would be almost enough to gather the silver for his next Talent Evolution.

But because of this Chen Jiangping, his resources had actually been directly intercepted.

"Forget it! Now is not the time to think about this."

Lin Yi shook his head vigorously and spoke quickly to Zhao Haihong:

"I'll deal with Chen Jiangping and Wanxiang Tower's matters later. The most important thing for me now is to save my parents."

"Since this Chen Jiangping hates me so much, he likely won't help me. I simply won't go to him for help."

"As for the other First Rank powerhouses, please, Dean, help me pass on a message. It would be best if I could meet with those First Rank powerhouses."

"Mm, don't worry! I'll help you right away."

Zhao Haihong nodded heavily and then immediately began drafting letters to help Lin Yi contact the various powerhouses.