Chapter 2437: Qin Feng

The young man, however, suddenly looked thoughtful. "That's right, that old fellow should be very interested!" As if amused by a sudden thought, he quickly took out his communication talisman and sent a message.

For ordinary cultivators, messages could only be transmitted within the same realm, and only over a limited distance.

But for a powerful individual of the young man's status, if he wished, even from within the Hehe Realm, he could instantly transmit a message to a Dao Convergence City located in an unknown part of the Inner Realm!

Within the star-fragment space, Lu Ye collected his spoils of war before leisurely departing.

Reappearing before the vortex in the secret chamber, he immediately saw Gong Mao, whose eyes were shining. "Congratulations, Brother Lu, on your victorious return. You've done well."

Compared to before, Gong Mao's enthusiasm now was undoubtedly much more sincere. Although Lu Ye had previously shown great confidence in this battle, Gong Mao had not interacted with him much, so he was naturally anxious before the battle's outcome was known. Now that Lu Ye had returned alive, as the manager in charge of this matter, Gong Mao would also receive considerable benefits.

Lu Ye, looking disheveled, nodded reservedly. "When can I get my earnings?"

He was unsure exactly how much the battle arena had profited from this fight, but since he was entitled to ten percent, it was bound to be a considerable sum.

In fact, ever since entering the Inner Realm, Lu Ye had been concerned about how he would improve his cultivation realm in the future.

It wasn't impossible to rely solely on diligent cultivation. Currently, Yuanxi City was ranked Earth-tier, and he could accumulate nearly four hundred Dao power in a day of diligent cultivation. As long as he could endure the solitude and be patient, he would eventually accumulate enough to advance.

But that would take too long, and compared to when he advanced with the help of Bianlan, it was completely inefficient.

The battle arena undoubtedly showed him a clear path. That was why he had told Gong Mao earlier that this battle was just the beginning, and if this cooperation went smoothly, he had further plans to work with the battle arena.

He intended to gain enough Dao power at the battle arena to advance to the Dao Convergence realm.

Now that the great battle was over, he naturally wanted to inquire about his earnings.

Gong Mao was very polite, even though his cultivation was much higher than Lu Ye's. "I was just about to discuss this with you, Brother. I'm not responsible for the earnings, so you'll need to speak with that person in person."

Lu Ye nodded. "No problem."

Gong Mao led Lu Ye in a certain direction, turned a few corners, and then stopped before a dazzling golden door.

He raised a hand and gently knocked.

After a brief wait, the door opened automatically.

Gong Mao walked in with his head bowed low, and Lu Ye followed.

Stepping inside, Lu Ye looked around. The room was not large, and unlike the luxurious door outside, its interior decoration was extremely minimalist, containing only a table and a chair.

On the table stood a small pink octopus, its black, bean-like eyes staring at Lu Ye with an expression full of curiosity.

A young man sat on the chair. He had an extraordinary and heroic appearance, but he looked completely dissolute, half-reclining with his hands crossed over his abdomen and his legs propped up on the table.

Gong Mao led Lu Ye in, bowed slightly, and then retreated to the side.

Lu Ye blinked, immediately understanding.

This person before him... had an extraordinary identity.

Earlier, Gong Mao had only said that someone else would discuss the earnings with him, but judging by Gong Mao's attitude towards this young man, it was clear that the young man's status was significantly higher than Gong Mao's.

Gong Mao was already a manager and a Dao Convergence cultivator. For the young man's status to be much higher than his was quite intriguing.

Their eyes met, and Lu Ye, unsure how to address the other, simply remained silent.

The young man, however, curled his lips into a meaningful smile. "Lu Ye of the Human Race, at the sixth stage of Dao Integration, yet able to cross three minor levels and defeat a stronger opponent, killing a ninth-stage cultivator. Truly remarkable. I watched the battle just now; it was spectacular and very rare."

"You flatter me," Lu Ye said calmly. "How should I address you?"

"Qin Feng!" The young man grinned, slowly straightening his posture. "This battle arena is mine!"

A hint of astonishment flickered in the depths of Lu Ye's dark eyes.

He had guessed that Qin Feng held a high position in the battle arena, but he had never expected that the person before him was actually the battle arena's master.

"My apologies for the impoliteness. Greetings, Arena Master Qin." Lu Ye quickly saluted.

Qin Feng smiled and waved his hand. "No matter. I called you here for nothing else but to settle an account with you."

As he spoke, a jade slip suddenly appeared in Qin Feng's hand. "All the detailed records of the earnings from the previous battle are in here. Would you like to take a look?"

Lu Ye shook his head. "Arena Master Qin, just tell me how much I'll receive. There's no need to look at this."

It wasn't that he was pretending to be generous, nor that he truly trusted the battle arena. It was simply that when a weaker party interacted with a stronger one, they were often at the mercy of circumstances. He had no way of knowing whether the details in the jade slip had been hidden or altered, so looking at it or not made no difference.

"Alright, then I'll tell you the result. The earnings you can get from this battle are this amount!" Qin Feng stated a number.

Lu Ye raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised and impressed.

He knew the earnings wouldn't be small, but he hadn't expected them to be so substantial. If this were the case, then advancing to the seventh stage of Dao Integration in a short time would definitely not be a problem.

"Of course, that's only theoretical." Qin Feng suddenly showed a meaningful smile.

"What do you mean by that, Arena Master Qin?" Lu Ye frowned.

Qin Feng said unhurriedly, "Because the battle arena also provided you with great assistance in this fight, and there are some loose ends to deal with afterwards, the battle arena needs to deduct a portion of the earnings."

Lu Ye's face was expressionless. "How much will be deducted?"

Qin Feng leaned back into the chair, maintaining his dissolute posture, and smiled meaningfully. "Half?"

Lu Ye remained silent.

From their brief interaction, he had already sensed Qin Feng's unpleasant nature.

If Qin Feng had simply offered him half the earnings from the start, he wouldn't have felt anything amiss. But for Qin Feng to inform him of the full earnings and then deduct half, it felt to Lu Ye as if someone had carved off several pounds of his own flesh.

This was undoubtedly Qin Feng's intention, and the reaction he wished to provoke.

"Fine!" Lu Ye didn't want to waste words with him. In fact, he had no intention of dealing with this battle arena again in the future; their so-called integrity was nothing but a joke.

Ultimately, his power was inferior, and on someone else's territory, any resistance would be futile.

Now it was Qin Feng's turn to be slightly surprised. He hadn't expected Lu Ye's reaction to be so calm.

"Aren't you going to ask why?" Qin Feng looked at him.

"I don't want to know." Lu Ye shook his head. What kind of nonsensical reasons could they offer? If the battle arena wanted to find excuses, they could easily come up with dozens.

Qin Feng smiled. "Although you don't want to know, I still must explain. The battle arena operates on principles of integrity. Since we're deducting half your earnings, we naturally need to tell you why, and also make you understand that these losses are worthwhile!"

This was akin to putting up a facade of virtue after committing a vice, and Lu Ye felt a surge of impatience.

Qin Feng ignored him and continued, "As I just said, the battle arena provided you with great assistance, so the deducted earnings can be considered your thank-you gift."

Lu Ye couldn't help but ask, "I'd like to know what kind of assistance is worth so much."

Qin Feng grinned. "Regarding your Dao soldier... oh, no, regarding that Soldier Clan item on you, do you think it's worth it?"

Lu Ye had originally just kept his eyes lowered, but at that instant, he suddenly looked up, his gaze like lightning.

Qin Feng, however, watched him with an indifferent smile. "Don't look at me like that. While Soldier Clan items are rare, it doesn't mean no one has ever seen them."

He suddenly rose to his feet, walked step by step towards Lu Ye with his hands clasped behind his back, and extended a hand.

Lu Ye had no time to react when he heard the clang of a blade; the Immovable Mountain Saber was already unsheathed and in Qin Feng's hand.

"Oh? It has already begun to advance." Qin Feng showed an expression that confirmed his expectations.

Lu Ye tilted his head, watching him, his Dao power just beginning to surge. Qin Feng then casually reinserted the Immovable Mountain Saber into its sheath, turned, and walked away, looking calm and unconcerned, as if nothing had happened.

"Before the battle began, the battle arena concealed the information that Que Yue possessed an artifact. That's why no major stir was caused after the battle ended. If people knew you had the ability and means to shatter artifacts, what do you think would happen?" From behind the table, Qin Feng smiled as he looked at Lu Ye.

Lu Ye didn't know what would happen, but one thing was certain: he would draw the attention of many powerful individuals. Those individuals would stop at nothing to probe for his information and intelligence, seeking to uncover the secret of his ability to shatter artifacts.

While he had already drawn the attention of some powerful individuals, that was merely admiration for his strength, which was completely different from the intense interest in someone who could shatter artifacts.

Hiding the information about Que Yue's artifact wasn't Lu Ye's initiative. Before the battle began, Gong Mao had mentioned it to him, and he had no objections.

However, the motivation for this concealment was clearly for the battle arena to better manage the fight.

No one had expected that Lu Ye would actually shatter the Heaven-Measuring Ruler.

Lu Ye himself hadn't anticipated this outcome either. For him and Liao, this battle was an attempt at Dao soldier advancement; how the process would go, whether it would be smooth, or what the result would be, no one knew.

However, looking at the current situation, the battle arena had indeed inadvertently achieved a beneficial outcome, as hiding the information about Que Yue's artifact saved Lu Ye a great deal of trouble and unwanted attention.

From this perspective alone, Lu Ye truly should be grateful to the battle arena, and deducting half of his earnings was not entirely unacceptable.

"As I just mentioned, the battle arena helped you, and you need to be grateful. Furthermore, there are some loose ends that need to be dealt with."

Lu Ye asked, "What loose ends?"

Qin Feng said carelessly, "Of course, it's about dealing with potential repercussions! Although not many people know about Que Yue possessing an artifact, there are still a few. These are elite talents cultivated by the battle arena with immense effort and resources. The death of any one of them is a huge loss for the battle arena, and only you can compensate for this loss!"

Gong Mao, who had been quietly standing beside them with his head bowed, suddenly felt intensely hot. Sweat poured down his face, but he dared not wipe it, feeling utterly miserable.