Chapter 1638: Chapter 1940: Heavenly Dragon Sect
Watching Zhu Qing leave, Ling Chen slowly sat back down in his seat. Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion had suffered consecutive blows; it was uncertain if they could recover. In the midst of his thoughts, a disciple from the Dragon Tiger Hall rushed in from outside.
"Vice Hall Master, someone is looking for you outside."
"Who?"
"I don’t recognize them; they claim to be from the Heavenly Dragon Sect."
"Heavenly Dragon Sect?" Upon hearing this unfamiliar name, Ling Chen recalled having heard it before; it seemed like he had seen the sect’s name in a report a few days ago. The Heavenly Dragon Sect was an emerging force in the Martial Arts community, only established less than a month ago, composed of various martial arts individuals. Currently, the Martial Arts world is in a state where heroes are competing for dominance; individual strength alone is insufficient to secure a position, forcing people to either depend on an existing power or establish a new one to contend with the powerful.
Despite being newly formed, the Heavenly Dragon Sect was made up of seasoned folks in the Martial Arts community and was quite strong and united. In less than half a month, the Heavenly Dragon Sect had already defeated two forces, gained fame quickly, and enhanced its strength further.
The Heavenly Dragon Sect coming to find him at such a time was doubtful. Ling Chen considered this and said, "Please bring them to the guest room; I will be there shortly."
After tidying himself up, Ling Chen headed straight to the guest room. Upon entering, he saw two people sitting in the spacious room, a man and a woman, both in their forties. The man had an ordinary appearance with a horse-like face and sallow complexion, giving an unhealthy impression. The woman looked attractive, but age left traces on her face, necessitating heavy makeup, making her appear striking.
Seeing Ling Chen come in, the two immediately rose from their seats, cupped their fists, and said, "Mr. Ling, sorry to bother you."
Ling Chen smiled gently and responded, "Not at all; it’s a joy to have guests from far away. Please sit!"
After everyone sat down, Ling Chen glanced at the two and asked, "The Heavenly Dragon Sect certainly has a lot to handle recently. What brings you both to me?"
The middle-aged man smiled and replied, "We came specifically to visit Mr. Ling. Mr. Ling, let me introduce myself; I am Tan Gang, the Vice Sect Leader of the Heavenly Dragon Sect, and this is the Hall Master, Mo Shuiyan. Mr. Ling, let’s speak frankly; we mainly came here to seek cooperation."
"Cooperation?"
"Yes," Mo Shuiyan nodded and said, "Mr. Ling, you understand the current situation best. The Martial Arts community is not only crowded with forces but they are mixed; various types of people are trying to seize opportunities. Although the Heavenly Dragon Sect can’t compare to a major force like Dragon Tiger Hall, it has gained some reputation and secured a position in the Martial Arts community. However, to truly remain undefeated, our power alone is far from sufficient. Only through sincere cooperation can both parties achieve a win-win situation."
Ling Chen smiled and said, "I understand your intentions, but Dragon Tiger Hall has no interest in joining this conflict. Moreover, anyone reasonable wouldn’t deliberately seek trouble with us unless they have a death wish. Since Dragon Tiger Hall can peacefully weather this storm, why start trouble proactively? Doesn’t it just cause unnecessary problems? Am I right?"
Upon hearing this, Tan Gang and Mo Shuiyan exchanged a glance, then said, "Mr. Ling, indeed, no one dares to provoke Dragon Tiger Hall. But don’t you want Dragon Tiger Hall to rise further and become the true overlord of the Martial Arts community? Mr. Ling, if you are willing, assign us enough personnel, and we’ll handle the dirty work of expanding territories. Later, all profits will be split seventy-thirty. You need to do nothing to gain maximum benefits and bring Dragon Tiger Hall to the pinnacle. Mr. Ling, any smart person wouldn’t turn down such an opportunity."
"I won’t deny, your proposal is quite tempting, but unfortunately, I’m not ambitious, so I’m not interested. You might as well try appealing to others; perhaps someone will be swayed by your proposal."
Upon seeing Ling Chen rise to leave, Tan Gang quickly said, "Mr. Ling, are you truly going to give up such a good opportunity?"
"I’m very sorry, I’m not interested, and I don’t want to repeat myself a third time. If you don’t have anything else, I’ll go about my business." Finishing his speech, Ling Chen said no more and directly left the guest room.
Watching Ling Chen’s departing figure, Tan Gang turned to Mo Shuiyan next to him and said, "Looks like Qi Yong was right; Ling Chen is hard to persuade."
"What shall we do now, should we continue to contact him?"
Tan Gang shook his head, saying, "No need, he clearly rejected us earlier; staying longer only wastes time and creates a bad impression. Rather be straightforward and leave some good impression."
Mo Shuiyan frowned and said, "This means the plan we set with Qi Yong can’t be achieved."
"No rush, let’s think of other ways; we’ll eventually get a piece of Dragon Tiger Hall."
Upon leaving the guest room, Ling Chen didn’t return directly to the office but wandered leisurely around the Longhu Martial Arts Hall’s training ground. Although conflict ravages the Martial Arts world, daily life at the Dragon Tiger Hall continues unaffected. At this moment, nearly a hundred disciples were training in the large training ground, with more than ten instructors carefully guiding and explaining.
These disciples are the future elites of Dragon Tiger Hall, to train them, the hall indeed invested a lot of energy and resources.
"Sir Chen." At this moment, Ling Chen noticed Chen Junfeng standing on one side of the training ground, attentively watching the disciples train, so he went to greet him.
"I heard that the people from Heavenly Dragon Sect just came looking?"
Ling Chen smiled and nodded, saying, "Sir Chen, your information is quite updated."
"What did they want from you?"
"They talked about cooperation."
Chen Junfeng said calmly, "Looks like they left disappointed."
"Indeed, Sir Chen knows me well. I don’t know much about the Heavenly Dragon Sect, but I’ve seen reports of their interactions with other forces. Their methods are neither honorable nor concerned about any means to achieve their goals. Based on this point alone, the Heavenly Dragon Sect doesn’t appear trustworthy for cooperation; who knows when they might betray us. Moreover, their proposal seems tempting but is essentially exploiting our power to gain benefits for themselves. Although we’d gain benefits too, I feel things aren’t that simple."
"Being cautious at times like this doesn’t hurt." Pausing, Chen Junfeng asked, "When will Elder Tong return? He’s still the Martial Arts Hall Master of Dragon Tiger Hall. In Beijing for so long, is he not prepared to handle affairs?"
