Heavenly Harem: Raising My Disciple With Infinite Dual Cultivation

Chapter 145: CH. 145 | Zhu Wei Dilemma

Hearing that Lin Tian belonged to Sect Lingxian left plenty of people stunned, especially the clan elders.

They’d already heard about Lin Tian’s brutal reputation. His strength was terrifying, having single handedly wiped out Sect Haotian, Shuzhou, and Fenhai.

And everyone knew those three sects were no small fry either. They’d all been mid tier sects within the Qin Sect Alliance.

The elders reacted instantly. They moved to shield Zhu Wei, weapons and magic runes flaring to life, bracing to strike Lin Tian down.

Lin Tian went on the offensive. His eyes narrowed, and he slammed the Zhu Clan elders with a crushing wave of cultivation pressure.

Only Zhu Wei stood mostly unaffected.

Zhu Wei raised his hand and swept it to the side, dissolving Lin Tian’s pressure and freeing his elders from its grip.

"Impressive," Zhu Wei said admiringly. "A sect we all assumed had crumbled decades ago now has a leader this talented, this capable."

"Not bad at all," the man added.

Lin Tian let the pressure fade and looked straight ahead, his eyes briefly locking with Zhu Wei’s.

"So, what about our deal?" Lin Tian asked.

Zhu Wei went quiet for a moment, unsure how to respond to this new arrangement Lin Tian had proposed.

He glanced at his elders’ reactions, most of them shaking their heads, clearly reluctant to take on the task.

"I wasn’t aware of that. The Zhu Clan isn’t actually part of the Qin Sect Alliance. But we do maintain good relations with them," Zhu Wei answered.

"The Qin Sect Alliance has declared Sect Lingxian a heretical and dangerous sect. Every member of the alliance has decided to treat your sect as an enemy," the old man explained.

"It wouldn’t be wise for me and my clan elders to offer protection to Sect Lingxian. We don’t want to invite that kind of hostility onto ourselves."

Lin Tian had already suspected Zhu Wei would never agree to that part of the deal.

As the leader of a major clan, his caution made sense, calculated and measured. He was putting the Zhu Clan’s interests above the lives of his own two children.

Lin Tian could see the dilemma written across Zhu Wei’s face. On one hand, the man had built the Zhu Clan into the ruling power of the city.

On the other, he clearly didn’t want his children hurt, let alone dead.

"Do you have any other terms, Master Lin Tian?"

I’m not going forward with his plan unless there’s something worth the trade. Just this scroll? I could probably find another way around it.

Lin Tian let out a short breath. He raised his hand to chest height again, white qi light flaring above his palm.

His robe shifted back instantly into his black camouflage disguise. Not only that, he handed the Clone Soul Manifestation Technique scroll right back to Zhu Wei.

"My apologies, Clan Leader Zhu Wei. I’m not interested in helping you after all," Lin Tian said.

His sudden change caught Zhu Wei and the other elders completely off guard. They’d been on the verge of striking a deal with Lin Tian to save Zhu Zirong and Zhu Xian.

But something about it clearly didn’t sit right with him, and Lin Tian backed out of helping the Zhu Clan altogether.

The Clone Soul Manifestation Technique scroll floated back into Zhu Wei’s hands, his face now showing clear anxiety and panic. He looked forward again.

"Wait, Master Lin Tian."

"We can still talk about—"

Lin Tian pressed his palms together, head bowed in a respectful farewell. "I’ll take my leave now, Clan Leader Zhu Wei."

In a flash of white light, Lin Tian’s figure vanished, leaving the Zhu Clan behind. Zhu Wei shot to his feet on reflex, trying to track Lin Tian’s location through his qi sensing ability.

But he couldn’t find him anywhere. Beyond just changing his appearance, the technique Lin Tian used apparently masked a person’s qi aura as well.

That left Zhu Wei unable to locate him, even after searching the entire city.

Zhu Wei opened his eyes and slammed his fist down on the armrest of his throne. The clan elders returned to their places, looking at Zhu Wei with bowed heads.

"We nearly had someone capable of helping our clan save Zhu Zirong and Zhu Xian. But everything fell apart because of Lin Tian’s decision," Zhu Wei said.

One of the sect elders turned, pressing his palms together and bowing his head. "Your decision was the right one, Clan Leader Zhu."

"We’d already heard about Lin Tian’s brutality. That man isn’t fit to carry out this mission," the elder said.

"But he’s powerful. Honestly, I doubt any of us could beat him easily," Zhu Wei countered.

"Not one of you could beat him at all," Zhu Wei added.

Zhu Nan stepped forward, standing before Zhu Wei with his head bowed. "I’ll try reaching out to the Qin Sect Alliance for help. Maybe they can assist us instead."

Zhu Wei turned and cleared his throat. Still, for the time being, he kept Lin Tian in mind as an option, at least until a more suitable candidate came along for the journey to the Saintess Spring Valley.

Elsewhere, Lin Tian had arrived a good distance from the Zhu Clan residence.

He’d successfully altered his appearance and masked his qi aura completely. So Zhu Wei would have no way of knowing he was still somewhere in Zhu City.

Such a shame... but I’m not willing to risk leaving the sect unprotected.

Better to find a similar technique on my own than tie myself down to a deal with someone else.

He spent his time visiting one supply shop after another across Zhu City, asking each one about the clone technique. But almost every answer came back the same.

"We’ve never heard of a technique like that."

"We don’t have it."

"Are you sure something like that even exists?"

Day faded into night, and a full moon hung in the sky, glowing bright and white.

Lin Tian sat atop the tallest pagoda in the city, his gaze drifting down over the glittering lights of the city below.

"No trace of that technique anywhere except at the Zhu Clan."

"Maybe... I should head to another major city. Perhaps I’ll find something there instead."

Lin Tian let out a slow breath, then rose to his feet atop the pagoda roof. In one swift motion, he shot off into the sky, leaving Zhu City behind, heading east.

There were plenty of cities scattered across the Qin Kingdom. Lin Tian had time on his side to track down that technique, since he needed it badly.

If two months passed without any luck, he’d head back to the sect and work out another plan instead.

"Next stop... Xu City."