Chapter 59: Practitioner Association

After sending his aunt away, Li Yi looked at his dilapidated home. With no other choice, he found a few wooden planks to repair the door first, planning to find a new place to move out of here once he had time in a few days.

However, while he was repairing the door, investigator Wang Wang Jian called.

"Hello, Li Yi, where are you right now? I'm finished on my end; I need to take you back to the Investigation Bureau," Wang Wang Jian's voice came through the phone.

"I just got home," Li Yi said.

"Alright, I'll be there in about twenty minutes. Wait for me at the entrance of the residential complex. That's all, I'm hanging up." Wang Wang Jian was still very busy; he hung up the phone immediately after speaking.

Li Yi put down his phone and continued to repair the door.

After fixing the door, he readjusted the positions of the cameras in the house. Once he was sure there were no issues, he took a shower, put on the garment made from the python skin, drank some nutrient solution, and then headed out to the entrance of the complex to wait for Wang Wang Jian's arrival.

"Join the Investigation Bureau as a field combatant first, then find a new place to move. This place is no longer fit for living, and Aunt was right—if I stay here, I'll have to worry about being targeted by someone in the future. Moving to a new place will be safer." Looking at the strangers freely entering and exiting the complex entrance, Li Yi felt an urgent desire to move.

Just as he was waiting.

On the street not far away, three people kept glancing in his direction. They seemed to have recognized Li Yi, and after a brief agreement, they walked straight toward him.

Li Yi noticed this as well. He frowned and watched the three people approaching from afar with slight vigilance.

Practitioners?

And they were strangers; he had never met them before.

"They came specifically for me," Li Yi thought, his heart tightening.

"You're Li Yi, the one who took out eight practitioners here a few days ago? Don't be nervous. My name is Zhao Zhao Jingqiao, and these two are my friends. His name is Cai Cai Jianming, and his name is Qian Kai. We are all members of the Practitioner Association," a man in his early thirties spoke up suddenly.

Practitioner Association?

Li Yi seemed to have heard of it online before. Every city had such a Practitioner Association—an organization guided by the authorities and formed by the public.

"I am Li Yi. What do you want with me?" Li Yi asked, his vigilance undiminished.

Zhao Zhao Jingqiao said earnestly, "Are you interested in joining the Practitioner Association? I can help recommend you."

"Not interested for now," Li Yi said quite politely. "If there's nothing else, could the three of you please not disturb me? I have things to attend to later."

"Li Yi, let's be direct. We've been staking out your house for several days. We only have one purpose for finding you: we want to purchase that martial art technique of yours. Name your price." The practitioner named Qian Kai on the side grew impatient. He lit a cigarette and said very directly.

"Buy my martial art technique?" Li Yi's expression shifted, and his demeanor became vigilant.

He hadn't expected Wang Wang Jian's words to come true so quickly—someone was coveting his technique.

"That's right. We want to buy your technique. Name your price. If the price is right, we can trade right now," Zhao Zhao Jingqiao stopped beating around the bush.

Li Yi was no longer the naive youth he once was. Having learned the value of his technique from Lin Yue, he naturally wouldn't sell it for just any price.

"I'm not short on money for the time being, and I have no intention of selling the technique. Please leave," he refused.

Zhao Zhao Jingqiao wasn't annoyed; he just smiled and said, "Li Yi, you've already learned the technique. Why not teach one more person and earn a sum of money? Besides, your cultivation has just begun; there are plenty of places where you'll need money. Leaving a gold mine unused is a waste. How about this: I offer one hundred million to acquire your technique."

As he spoke, he held up a finger, looking very wealthy.

Hearing such an offer, Li Yi looked at him as if he were a fool: "Not interested."

If he were to sell the technique, he would find Sister Lin to act as an intermediary; that would be more secure than peddling it on the street like this.

"Think it's too little? Then I'll add twenty million—one hundred and twenty million? You should be satisfied with this price, right?" Zhao Zhao Jingqiao gritted his teeth, appearing as if he were bleeding money.

"I said I'm not selling. If you really want to buy it, go find Yang Yi Long; he knows this technique too," Li Yi said, feeling a bit impatient.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhao Jingqiao suddenly laughed: "I've heard that Yang Yi Long didn't spend a single cent to learn your technique; you taught it to him for free."

Li Yi's expression shifted slightly: "You have quite a lot of gossip. But what does that have to do with you?"

"Nothing, just wanted to remind you: you didn't dare offend Yang Yi Long and taught him the technique for free, so do you think you can afford to offend us?" Zhao Zhao Jingqiao's smile faded. He stared at him and said, "Final offer: one hundred and fifty million. If you agree, I'll transfer the money to you right now. Everyone will be happy."

"And if I don't agree?" Li Yi asked.

"Your strength is quite good. You were able to take down eight Spirit Medium Realm practitioners alone, and even Ning Wu was no match for you," Zhao Zhao Jingqiao said. "But Ning Wu had only just broken through; her five senses hadn't yet condensed into spiritual perception. You only won by a narrow margin because of your technique. If three practitioners who have fully mastered spiritual perception join forces, do you think you'd be a match for us?"

"Also, you should know that even if you are a practitioner who has opened your spiritual medium, you will still die if you are hit in a vital spot by a bullet."

Afterward, he cast a glance to the side.

The practitioner nearby named Cai Cai Jianming calmly pulled a cold handgun from his waist.

A practitioner using a gun?

This was very reasonable and also very logical.

After all, one wouldn't be considered a practitioner if they didn't use a gun when they had one.

Li Yi now regretted handing over that sniper rifle; otherwise, he would have wanted to set it up right now and point it at these people's faces.

"So, you want to be like that Yang Yang Yi Long, putting pressure on me to make me compromise and forcing me to hand over my martial arts techniques?" He ignored Cai Cai Jianming and stared at the practitioner named Zhao Zhao Jingqiao as he spoke.

"That's not the intention; I'd much rather purchase your martial arts techniques," Zhao Zhao Jingqiao said with a smile.

That's not the intention?

His skin was quite thick; it was already obvious, yet he refused to admit it.

Li Yi thought to himself, but his expression remained calm, though his gaze revealed a hint of coldness: "You aren't qualified to threaten me. Just at the Spirit Perception Realm? I can unlock Spirit Perception after cultivating for a while, but by then, how much confidence do you think you'll have in dealing with me? Acting so arrogant now, aren't you afraid I'll settle scores with you later?"

"If you really unlocked Spirit Perception, the three of us together might not be your match. But you must understand, there is a long road to travel from Spirit Medium to Spirit Perception. Even with resources, it takes five or six years; even for someone with high cultivation values, it takes at least two or three. All sorts of accidents can happen during this period; no one can guarantee they will be safe and smooth in the future." Zhao Zhao Jingqiao's smile faded slightly, and his whole body exuded a dangerous aura.

They had come here prepared to offend Li Yi to the point of no return.

"Since it's come to this, there's no need to keep talking."

Li Yi twisted his neck and stretched his body: "If you want to make a move, go ahead. My injuries are mostly healed; at worst, I'll just go back to the hospital."

After speaking, he gestured with his eyes and clenched his fists.

"So arrogant while only at the Spirit Medium Realm?" Cai Cai Jianming said with a cold face, preparing to draw his gun.

However, Zhao Zhao Jingqiao stopped him immediately, saying: "Li Yi, don't worry, we won't make a move on you now. But you must be clear about one thing: we aren't the only group who wants your martial arts techniques. You'll encounter others who have designs on you later. Even if we stop today, others might not. I advise you to sell the techniques early; once more people know them, no one will bother you anymore, and you can take the opportunity to make a large sum of money."

"When you've thought it through, come find me at the Practitioners' Association. Remember, my name is Zhao Zhao Jingqiao."

He did not make a move in public because he sensed that a troublesome person had already arrived, so he signaled to Cai Cai Jianming and Qian Kai.

The two men's eyes flickered, and they immediately looked at a car parked on the opposite side of the road.

That was an Investigation Bureau car, and sitting inside was the investigator Wang Wang Jian, while in the backseat, a dangerous sniper rifle was already set up.

It seemed that if a move were made here, they would open fire immediately.

"Bad luck, why did they come?" Cai Cai Jianming cursed.

"Let's go." Zhao Zhao Jingqiao smiled, then waved goodbye to Li Yi.

Li Yi watched them swagger away and couldn't help but frown deeply.

As they left, Wang Wang Jian walked over from the car and said: "Li Yi, you have to understand, they didn't make a move, and we investigators don't have the authority to do anything to them. Besides, the world has changed; a large portion of practitioners are hard to control. If they really kill someone, they can just run to the abandoned zone, and it's very difficult to deal with."

"I know. To forge iron, one must be strong oneself. Only by becoming strong can I avoid trouble," Li Yi said. "I'm already used to it; after all, this world has always been this way, it hasn't changed much."

"Haha, don't be so sentimental while you're still young. Get in the car. As I said before, once you become an external combatant for the Investigation Bureau, you can avoid a lot of trouble." Wang Wang Jian laughed, put his arm around Li Yi, and pushed him into the car.

Soon, the car started.

The group left quickly.

However, Zhao Zhao Jingqiao and his companions, who had just left, stopped in their tracks when they saw this scene.

"This is a bit troublesome; that Li Yi seems to be joining the Investigation Bureau."

Cai Cai Jianming's expression turned solemn: "If this kid really makes it, and spends his days watching us with the status of an investigator, we'll be in big trouble then."

"I calculated everything but didn't account for this step." Qian Kai's gaze also turned gloomy: "You have to know that the people in the Investigation Bureau have sniper rifles—the Superhuman M200. Even Yang Yang Yi Long would be finished if hit by that."

"We've already offended him, so it's useless to talk about this now. We must continue to pressure Li Yi. Once we get the martial arts techniques, we'll leave Tianchang City. We can go to Tianhai City to open a company, sell the techniques to make money, and after making enough, move to another city... There are plenty of methods; why insist on staying in Tianchang City waiting for someone to retaliate?" Zhao Zhao Jingqiao's gaze flickered, and he immediately turned around to walk back.

"Where are we going?"

"To Li Yi's home to see his parents," Zhao Zhao Jingqiao said casually.

"You want to make a move on his parents? That's not according to the rules. We have families too, and that Li Yi can find out where we live," Cai Cai Jianming said.

Zhao Zhao Jingqiao smiled: "Buy some fruit and pay a visit, that's all. Li Yi will understand our good intentions."