Martial Arts: I Have a Wilderness World

Chapter 500: Chapter 271: The Item Left for Chen Kaishan

’He knew then that Cheng Zongyang definitely had a secret...’

His mind raced as he looked at the wooden box. He knew that for Cheng Zongyang to do this, he must be confident that he would agree.

After careful consideration, he decided to open it. He was genuinely curious about what Cheng Zongyang had left behind.

Cheng Zongwen said nothing more, leaving the choice entirely to Chen Kaishan, though he was also very curious about what his cousin had left.

When he opened the wooden box, Chen Kaishan saw a letter and a porcelain vial inside.

Chen Kaishan picked up the letter and the vial in surprise.

Cheng Zongwen was also puzzled when he saw them, but then a thought seemed to strike him, and his heart skipped a beat.

’Did my cousin use the Immortal Elixirs we got from that valley?’

They had taken many things from the valley back then, including some legendary Immortal Elixirs, but they had never dared to use them.

Putting together the prior instructions and the contents of the box, his thoughts naturally led him to this conclusion.

"Do you know what this is?"

As Chen Kaishan took out the items, he kept his eyes on Cheng Zongwen, and he didn’t fail to notice the subtle shift in his expression.

Cheng Zongwen shook his head. "I don’t. And I won’t disobey my cousin’s specific instructions."

Chen Kaishan watched Cheng Zongwen for a moment before taking the letter, opening it, and starting to read.

However, the moment he saw the contents, his expression changed dramatically, and he instantly crumpled the paper in his fist!

The letter was brief, but the first nine words shocked him beyond belief—

Break the Innate, enter the Extraordinary, and step onto the Immortal Dao!

His breathing grew ragged as he glared at Cheng Zongwen. "Where in the world did your cousin go?!"

Without a moment’s hesitation, Cheng Zongwen shook his head. "I don’t know. He didn’t tell us."

He had, of course, seen Chen Kaishan’s reaction. Clearly, the contents of the letter were no small matter.

’But whatever it is, I just won’t say anything.’

Chen Kaishan’s expression was a mixture of shock and disbelief. When he thought about Cheng Zongyang’s transformation over the past two years, it seemed... everything suddenly had an explanation!

He sat down, forcing himself to suppress the storm of emotions inside him, and then slowly smoothed out the crumpled letter.

He lowered his head and carefully read the few words that followed.

—

The vial contains a special Elixir. You can take it in two doses. It will help you quickly reach the Fourth Grade with no side effects.

We can discuss the rest when I return.

—

That was all it said, but he read it over and over, scrutinizing every word.

Ultimately, his gaze fell upon the last two words of the first line!

Immortal Dao!

"The Immortal Dao! How is that possible! The Da Yi Commerce Association has searched the entire world without finding a single clue. How could he possibly know!" Chen Kaishan muttered to himself.

But this was the only thing that could explain how Cheng Zongyang had reached such a level of strength in just two short years, and how he had cultivated so many Entry Grade Martial Artists at once!

He was well aware of the hundreds of new Entry Grade Martial Artists in Tiantuan Village. It just hadn’t been his place to ask.

His gaze slowly shifted to the porcelain vial.

He had only reached the Fifth Grade a year ago, but his progress had been extremely slow due to his limited aptitude. If what Cheng Zongyang said was true, then this Elixir would solve his problem.

But that wasn’t his main concern. What truly mattered was the Immortal Dao!

’If this is real, then trading my position for a chance at it is absolutely worth it. But if it’s fake...’

It was obvious the potential reward far outweighed the risk. But if it turned out to be a lie, everything he was about to risk would turn to dust!

The problem was, this contradicted everything he knew about the Immortal Dao!

The Da Yi Commerce Association, the Thirteen Royal Families, and the strongest experts of the Seven Kingdoms had spent hundreds of years scouring the world, yet they had found nothing.

Even the origin of the Demon Beasts that had appeared in the Celestial Break Mountain Range was a complete mystery!

And yet, Cheng Zongyang was now claiming he had found it!

His hand gripped the porcelain vial tightly as his expression gradually calmed.

Cheng Zongwen watched him intently. Though he didn’t know what the letter said, judging from the situation, he felt his earlier suspicion was probably correct.

’Only something of that magnitude could make the Steward lose his composure so completely.’

’But he was fairly certain this was a done deal. Otherwise, the man would have refused outright. Why agonize over it?’

’The more he agonized, the more reluctant he was to let it go, which only highlighted the matter’s importance. The man’s mind was already leaning in their favor; he just couldn’t commit yet.’

With that thought, an idea came to Cheng Zongwen. He carefully took two steps forward and said in a low voice, "Since you’re not interested, Steward, perhaps I should take this back?"

Chen Kaishan stared at Cheng Zongwen for a moment before letting out a dry laugh. "Boy, are you trying to play games with me?"

As he spoke, his tone softened, as if Cheng Zongwen’s words had helped him make up his mind. He continued,

"Alright... I can help you. But if Cheng Zongyang fails to deliver on his promise in the future, don’t blame me for turning on you. You should know, I’m staking everything on this."

Cheng Zongwen’s heart leaped, but he managed an awkward smile and cupped his hands in respect. "Then we are in your debt, Steward."

Chen Kaishan waved his hand. "Go on, what do you need? What do you want me to do?"

Cheng Zongwen began, "Our requests are few. We need two Fourth Grade Martial Artists to temporarily join the Cheng Family for three months, and to temporarily change their names..."

Cheng Zongwen laid out his entire plan, holding nothing back.

It was crucial to explain everything clearly at a time like this so that Chen Kaishan would know what to do. It would also allow him to determine if their methods were feasible and suggest any necessary changes.

After listening to Cheng Zongwen’s proposal, Chen Kaishan fell into thought. A moment later, he suddenly stared at Cheng Zongwen. "Whose idea was this?"

Cheng Zongwen’s brow twitched, thinking there was a flaw in the plan. He quickly asked, "It was my idea. Is something wrong with it? Please, Steward, point it out."

Looking at Cheng Zongwen, a hint of approval appeared in Chen Kaishan’s eyes.

’They’re really cut from the same cloth, a family of promising talents,’ Chen Kaishan thought, then said with a smile,

"Although the method has some flaws, it’s generally workable. And that Liu Qingfeng isn’t really a core member of the Liu Family. Four or five years ago, he was just someone with the same surname who joined them and married one of their daughters."

Hearing this, Cheng Zongwen’s eyes lit up. He knew Chen Kaishan wasn’t lying and realized this information must have come from the Da Yi Commerce Association’s intelligence network.

But then he heard Chen Kaishan continue, "This Liu Qingfeng is only about forty years old, yet he’s already reached a Fourth Grade Cultivation. Among the Royal Families, he’d be considered a genius."

Cheng Zongwen was surprised. "Nearly forty? But he looks so young."

Chen Kaishan chuckled. "Some people are just born with a baby face, while others look old from a young age. What’s so strange about it?"

After speaking, he looked at Cheng Zongwen and said evenly, "I understand what you’re getting at. I’ll arrange for the men, but I won’t be calling them in from headquarters. Some matters will have to wait until your cousin returns. The men should arrive within half a month."

Hearing this, a delighted Cheng Zongwen cupped his hands in a salute. "Then we are in your debt, Steward."

Although he had many more questions about Liu Qingfeng, since Chen Kaishan had said he would discuss it with his cousin, Zongwen knew not to press the issue.

After leaving, Cheng Zongwen returned to the Cheng Mansion.

Around midnight, Zhou Zhendong returned. He breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that Chen Kaishan would help them and that Liu Qingfeng had also originally been an outsider who married into the family.

This meant they could follow the same playbook.

Who could say they were outside help? They were simply elders from the Cheng Family’s main branch, who had rushed over from within Da Liang. This would neither break their agreement nor violate the Li Family’s registration rules.

As long as they denied it to the death, what could anyone do about it?

The next day, Zhou Zhendong and Cheng Zongwen went to the Celestial Break Gang and informed Li Xuejin and Li Lu of the situation.

When Li Xuejin learned that Chen Kaishan had agreed to help, he smiled. "In that case, this won’t be a problem."

’People are driven by self-interest,’ he thought. ’As long as the benefits are great enough, nothing else matters.’

The fact that Chen Kaishan would risk his position to help the Cheng Family made him extremely curious about what Cheng Zongyang had left for the Steward.

But that was something he would likely only find out after Cheng Zongyang returned.

Next, Li Xuejin would continue to assign new tasks to ensure no other trouble erupted over the next two months.

The most urgent of these tasks was to contact Cheng Zongyang as quickly as possible, by any means necessary!

After returning, Zhou Zhendong took the Elf Bird from its cage.

’This time, no matter what, I have to try sending a message.’

He quickly wrote a note, placed it inside the small bamboo tube on the Elf Bird’s ankle, and fed the bird two small Red Blood Pills.

Watching the Elf Bird fly eastward, he found that his heart was no longer so tense.