Li Fan scanned the storage ring.
Inside, five thousand standard supreme-grade spirit stones were stacked in neat rows, crystalline and breathtaking. Five million contribution points was the largest sum Li Fan had ever seen across his cycles of rebirth.
Under the new method, even a complete waste could defy heaven and rewrite their destiny with such a staggering amount of contribution points, achieving at least the Soul Formation realm.
Yet Li Fan merely gave it a glance, showing not the slightest hint of excitement.
Taking out a spirit stone to toy with in his hand, Li Fan remarked casually, "Fine quality!"
Holding a colossal fortune in his hands, he remained utterly unruffled.
And one could tell he was not pretending—did he truly not care, or was he simply accustomed to such sums?
Just who was this fellow?
The Five Elders Association cultivator standing opposite Li Fan scrutinized him closely. Seeing Li Fan’s demeanor and casual motions, murmurings of doubt arose in his mind. Even so, he decided to test the waters further.
He said coldly, "Kid, still acting so arrogant here? Aren't you afraid we might slaughter you?"
Li Fan put on an indifferent front. "Afraid? Terrified! Who isn't afraid of dying?"
He cast a provocative glance at the man, looking not in the least bit frightened.
"Still, I'm just an errand boy with a worthless life. What good does killing me do?"
"Besides, I know you would never lay a hand on me."
Li Fan stowed the spirit stone away, sat upright, and adopted a serious expression.
"Oh? How so?" the Five Elders Association cultivator asked with keen interest.
"Isn't it obvious? Anyone who can drop five million contribution points just to buy exam questions certainly doesn't lack money."
"There's no need to go back on your word and ruin your reputation over a sum like this."
"If you kill me, sure, you get this examination's questions for free. But what about next time? What about the time after that?"
"Can you guarantee you'll ever find another trading partner as reliable as us?"
Hearing Li Fan's words, the Five Elders Association cultivator gradually wiped the mocking smirk from his face and turned solemn.
"Besides, beyond the induction examination questions, don't you want other, even more confidential things?" Li Fan asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Even more confidential things?!" Upon hearing this, the cultivator was instantly caught between shock and delight.
He pressed eagerly, "Such as?"
Li Fan scoffed, not answering directly, but gave an ambiguous reply: "Plenty of good things! So long as you can pay the price, anything you can imagine—or can't imagine—we can procure for you!"
The words left the other man's heart itching with desire.
Yet Li Fan abruptly cut himself off, shifting the topic instead: "Still, we know full well how dangerous dealing in such things is."
"So it will have to be opened up slowly, depending on how our cooperation unfolds."
"For now, don't think too far ahead. Let's finish this transaction first!"
Li Fan glanced over "Zhou Qing'ang" and the blurred figure of the Five Elders Association cultivator, slipping back into his nonchalant demeanor.
Hearing this, the Five Elders Association cultivator nodded slowly and did not press further.
Sensing the ten jade slips inside the storage ring, he sent a voice transmission to "Zhou Qing'ang": "Watch him here. I will be right back!"
His tone was sharp, clearly displeased with Zhou Qing'ang's intelligence-gathering misstep.
Li Fan's avatar nodded slightly, then glared fiercely at his true body, murder gleaming in his eyes.
Just as the cultivator was about to depart, Li Fan seemed to remember something and added, "There are ten jade slips in that ring, all inscribed with the exam questions."
"Moreover, a covenant has been bound to them. Each slip may be viewed by only one person."
"Furthermore, the contents cannot be divulged. Only after signing the covenant can one read the text within."
"I assume you know how binding a covenant is, so I won't say more."
The Five Elders Association cultivator had already sensed that familiar power within them, and "Zhou Qing'ang" had previously mentioned that the questions would be restricted to ten people.
Thus he was not surprised. Simply tossing out a casual "Understood," he left the secret chamber.
This left Li Fan's true body and his avatar confronting each other.
Though Li Fan detected no monitoring methods in the room, he did not lower his guard, keeping the performance thoroughly convincing.
The avatar playing "Zhou Qing'ang" kept his eyes glued to the true body without straying for a single instant, while the true body would scowl with displeasure from time to time and glare back venomously.
In this manner, time slipped by quietly as Li Fan honed his acting skills.
In the blink of an eye, six days passed.
On the afternoon of the final day of the induction examination, the cultivator from the Five Elders Association finally walked back in.
His appearance was still concealed, but Li Fan could faintly sense the excitement radiating from him.
"Fellow Daoist truly possesses extraordinary means. The seven days of questions were completely accurate down to the last detail."
"Impressive! Truly impressive!" he said with heartfelt admiration.
"When doing business, integrity is everything! Since we set such a high price, we naturally had to deliver!" Li Fan stood up and brushed off his clothes.
"Can I leave now?" Li Fan asked.
"Wait!" the Five Elders Association cultivator hurried to stop him.
"Hm?" Li Fan's expression darkened, and just as he was about to flare up, he heard the man explain.
"Having troubled Fellow Daoist to remain here for so long, please accept this small token as a gesture of our goodwill." Saying this, the cultivator handed over a small bottle.
"This is...?" Taking it, Li Fan swept it with his divine sense and discovered that it was filled to the brim with nineteen Dao Comprehension Pills.
He put on a thoughtful look, glancing once more at "Zhou Qing'ang" and the Five Elders Association cultivator.
Without saying much, he broke into hearty laughter.
"Interesting. It seems we will be seeing a lot more of each other in the future."
"I'll take the gift, then!"
Stowing the Dao Comprehension Pills away, Li Fan strode out of the secret chamber and left Youlan Island.
"Zhou Qing'ang" feigned confusion, asking in bewilderment, "What did he mean by that just now?"
The Five Elders Association cultivator let out a cold snort and turned to glare at Li Fan's avatar. "Your intelligence-gathering work this time was severely flawed!"
"It is very likely that you have been fooled by He Zhenghao all along. That man is nowhere near as simple as he seems on the surface."
Li Fan's expression shifted drastically, looking somewhat baffled. "Why do you say that?"
"We weren't the only ones trying to get the exam questions from the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals for this induction examination."
"Yet as luck would have it, the Alliance maintained exceptionally strict security this time around. Channels that worked in the past all failed; only we succeeded."
"What's more, the accuracy of the questions was terrifyingly high..."
The Five Elders Association cultivator's tone turned solemn.
"Behind He Zhenghao, there is likely far more than just the Heng family of Tianyu."
"Could that really be?" Hearing this, Li Fan was full of shock.
The cultivator glared at him, exasperated at his ineptitude.
"You could tell just from that man's conduct just now—this clearly isn't their first time doing this kind of business."
Chapter 436