Chapter 520: Launching Retaliation (Third Update, Requesting Everything)

The next morning, Number One Courtyard welcomed a familiar face.

"Instructor He Yan, please!"

Li Zhangsheng and Ning Bizhen invited Instructor He Yan inside.

Ning Bizhen appeared somewhat shy, having to face her good friend He Yan in the role of a hostess.

Li Zhangsheng had long since used Breath Concealment, keeping his Mental Power fluctuations controlled at the Fourth Rank level; even if Instructor He Yan were to become Li Haoqiong's wife in the future, he would still conceal his breath just the same.

Aside from Ning Bizhen, Li Zhangsheng prepared to keep it hidden from everyone, at least for a period of time.

Li Zhangsheng prepared to keep a low profile during this time; unless it was an urgent matter, he would absolutely not leave Number One Courtyard.

Unlike their last meeting, Instructor He Yan's belly was slightly rounded at this moment, clearly indicating she was pregnant.

Ning Bizhen, standing to the side, asked first: "Sister, are you expecting?"

Instructor He Yan touched her slightly rounded belly, a smile full of happiness hanging on her face, and then asked in return: "Mm, it's been about four months, how about you?"

"I..." Ning Bizhen felt as if struck by a Thunder Strike, her face turning bright red in a flash, and she hurriedly lowered her head in shyness, saying in a mosquito-like voice that was barely audible: "I don't have one yet! By the way, is there something you needed, Sister, coming here this time?"

Ning Bizhen shot a glare at Li Zhangsheng and hurriedly changed the subject.

"Coming here this time, it's mainly to deliver invitations. Since you are here, it saves me an extra trip!"

While speaking, Instructor He Yan handed two gold-stamped invitations to the two of them.

Li Zhangsheng looked at the contents of the invitation and only then discovered it was a wedding invitation; his second uncle, Li Haoqiong, was preparing to marry He Yan next month.

Judging by the time, there was still about a month left.

Li Zhangsheng and Ning Bizhen exchanged a secret look, and finally, Li Zhangsheng spoke up: "Bizhen and I will return home two days early."

Upon hearing the word "return home," Ning Bizhen looked as if she had eaten honey, her face beaming with smiles, which made He Yan shake her head inwardly.

According to He Yan's understanding of her friend, even if Ning Bizhen were sold by Li Zhangsheng, she would probably still help him count the money.

"Then it's settled. I still have to deliver invitations to the Principal and the others!"

He Yan did not stay here long, and accompanied by Li Zhangsheng and the other, she left Number One Courtyard.

She had many invitations to deliver this time; because of her connection to Li Haoqiong, the first stop was Li Zhangsheng's place, and there were still the higher-ups and colleagues at Yuanling Academy, as well as her relatives, friends, and even students to follow.

Regardless of whether they would show up to support the event, she would deliver the invitations first regardless.

"Principal Xu is likely going to feel heartbroken again."

After He Yan left, Li Zhangsheng could not help but tease Xu Wenhua; since Instructor He Yan was marrying into the Li Clan, it was very likely she would no longer serve as an instructor at Yuanling Academy.

In the entire Yuanling Academy, there were fewer than twenty Fifth-rank Instructors in total, and among them, the number of female Fifth-rank Instructors was not even enough to fill one hand; it would be strange if Xu Wenhua, as the Principal, did not feel heartbroken.

However, there was no helping it; as the saying goes, "marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog." Now that the Yuan Province Li Clan was in the midst of rapid expansion, having one more Fifth Rank expert to hold down the fort meant having that much more confidence.

Ning Bizhen rolled her eyes in a charming way and said softly: "You probably forgot that I am also a principal; I feel heartbroken too."

Li Zhangsheng slapped his forehead; look at that memory, he always subconsciously forgot Ning Bizhen's status.

"Alright, respected Vice Principal Ning, but we have an even more headache-inducing matter: what kind of gift should we give?"

Li Zhangsheng shifted the topic at the right moment; if his parents were still alive, giving gifts for his second uncle Li Haoqiong's wedding would be something left to his parents.

Even though his parents were both deceased, he could actually be thick-skinned and not give a gift.

But what gave him a headache was not whether to give a gift or not, but that he had too many resources and did not know which one to choose.

Generally speaking, the value of the gift is determined by the degree of closeness between relatives.

If it were an ordinary relative, Li Zhangsheng could pick anything, but this was his second uncle Li Haoqiong's wedding; how could he be so casual?

Before Li Zhangsheng became a Monster Tamer, his second uncle Li Haoqiong had often helped and taken care of him. Now that he had made a great name for himself and was managing a large-scale auction house, how could the gift not be grand?

"Don't ask me, I have a headache too!"

Ning Bizhen shook her head like a rattle-drum; He Yan was her good sister and Li Haoqiong was Li Zhangsheng's second uncle, so she also did not know what gift to give.

"Then we'll just pick a few things that are useful to them when the time comes."

"Then let's do that!"

"Bizhen, I plan to leave for a few days. If you have time, remember to cover for me."

Ning Bizhen asked curiously: "Where are you going?"

Li Zhangsheng did not hide the killing intent in his heart at all and feigned calmness as he said: "I am going to kill someone. Don't worry, there isn't much danger!"

Ning Bizhen was startled and could not help but blurt out: "You aren't planning to go and kill Liu Xuguang or Dou Yuanbin, are you?"

To be treated so solemnly by Li Zhangsheng, it certainly could not be an ordinary enemy, and the only people who had offended Li Zhangsheng recently were the Langya Liu Clan and the Third Prince Dou Yuanbin.

"How could I be so unwise? My target is one of Dou Yuanbin's dogs."

As the saying goes, revenge should not wait overnight, but Li Zhangsheng was very clear-headed; don't look at how he had just advanced to the Fifth Rank, he could at most defeat an ordinary Sixth-Rank Expert and could not possibly beat a Pseudo-King.

However, not being able to beat Dou Yuanbin did not mean he could not dismantle his forces; at the very least, he would collect some interest first.

Isn't Dou Yuanbin trying to fight for the throne? Then he would cut off his wings and smear his reputation; let's see how he would fight for it then.

Ning Bizhen was not stupid; she tilted her head and asked: "The Huizhou Xiao Clan?"

"Mm, my target is the Xiao Clan leader, Xiao Mu. As long as the Xiao Clan's only Sixth-Rank Expert falls, the Xiao Clan will retreat from a Famous Clan to County Gentry, their influence will drop significantly, and at the same time, other families will surely covet the Xiao Clan's interests. As long as the Xiao Clan falls into conflict, it is equivalent to cutting off one of Dou Yuanbin's arms. Besides, I also want to test my current strength."

Li Zhangsheng did not deny it; Dou Yuanbin had two major sources of support: one was his mother, the Empress, and the other was his maternal clan, the Xiao Clan.

He dared not move against the former, and it was very difficult to find an opportunity, while the latter was relatively much simpler.

Ning Bizhen felt a chill in her heart and said with full concern: "Xiao Mu is a Sixth-Rank Expert after all; it is inevitable that there will be some danger. Why don't you take Xiaoyu with you?"

Among Ning Bizhen's three Demon Beast-level Demon Pets, the petite Frost Jade Rabbit was the easiest to carry.

"Alright!"

To avoid making Ning Bizhen worry, Li Zhangsheng agreed.

Moreover, he was facing a Sixth-Rank Expert after all; who knew if he had any trump cards? If things went poorly, there was a possibility of being countered, as Li Zhangsheng's strength was not necessarily much higher than Xiao Mu's.

Additionally, if Xiao Mu were determined to escape, Li Zhangsheng did not have much confidence in stopping him.

After making the decision, Li Zhangsheng did not leave Yuanling Academy immediately and began to make preparations.

When classes were in session at Yuanling Academy, Li Zhangsheng used the Hundred-Change Thousand-Illusion Mask to change his appearance, while simultaneously suppressing his own aura to the Second Rank level, and under the cover of Ning Bizhen, he left Yuanling Academy without anyone noticing.

Even Xu Wenhua did not know that Li Zhangsheng had left Yuanling Academy, let alone anyone else.

After walking out of the Academy District, Li Zhangsheng arrived at an uninhabited area, gave his Monster Pet Bag a flick, and summoned the Light Blessing bird.

Li Zhangsheng's official Demon Pets were too eye-catching; even among his Temporary Spirit Pets, the juvenile Red Dragon and the Venom Wyvern possessed strong appeal, and only the Light Blessing bird barely met the requirement of keeping a low profile.

Huizhou and Yuan Province border each other, and Qiu City, the provincial capital, is only a few hundred miles away from the Pengcheng Academy District; at the speed of the Light Blessing bird, it would take about three hours to arrive.

There were no twists and turns along the way, and the Xiao Clan Manor began to come into view.

Li Zhangsheng had once snuck into the Xiao Clan Manor and stolen the most precious treasure in the Treasure Pavilion, but at that time, his understanding of the Xiao Clan was very one-sided, knowing only that it was a Famous Clan with a shallow foundation.

During this month of closed-door cultivation, Li Zhangsheng had secretly gathered some information about the Xiao Clan, especially information regarding the Xiao Clan Leader, Xiao Mu, as well as some of the Xiao Clan's important industries.

Naturally, Li Zhangsheng was not stupid enough to force his way into the Xiao Clan Manor; his plan was to lure the snake out of its hole and draw Xiao Mu out.

Among the Xiao Clan's many industries, Li Zhangsheng finally locked onto a medium-sized Soul Crystal Mine located in the suburbs.

For one, it was sparsely populated, with only a few miners living there; for another, the medium-sized Soul Crystal Mine was also one of the Xiao Clan's most important industries.

Given the importance of this Soul Crystal Mine to the Xiao Clan, as long as he handled it well, luring out Xiao Mu would be a simple matter.

Not long after, Li Zhangsheng looked down at a place called Qingfeng Xiagu; this place was a full hundred miles away from the Xiao Clan Manor and was also where the medium-sized Soul Crystal Mine was located.

After all, as one of the Xiao Clan's most important industries, it naturally had high-level Xiao Clan members stationed there, and the person in charge here was a Fourth Rank Xiao Clan Elder.

The Xiao Clan had a shallow foundation, with only one Sixth Rank and two Fifth Rank members, and among them, Xiao Chi had been killed by Li Zhangsheng, which also left the Xiao Clan's top-tier strength stretched thin.

From the intelligence Li Zhangsheng had gathered, Xiao Mu was holding down the Xiao Clan Manor, and one Fifth Rank member was responsible for the industries in Qiu City, which resulted in the person in charge of the medium-sized Soul Crystal Mine being only a Fourth Rank Clan Elder.

Besides the one Fourth Rank Clan Elder, there were nearly ten Xiao Clan disciples; most of them were only at the First or Second Rank level, mainly assisting in managing the development affairs of the medium-sized Soul Crystal Mine.

The enemy was in the light, and he was in the dark; furthermore, with Li Zhangsheng's strength, dealing with them was completely effortless.

Li Zhangsheng immediately took action, and in the process, he deliberately let one survivor escape back to the Xiao Clan to report the news.

As for the others, they were all killed by Li Zhangsheng.

Li Zhangsheng was the only one who did not attack the miners, letting them flee in a panic.

It took more than ten minutes for Li Zhangsheng to finish cleaning up the battlefield.

During this period, Li Zhangsheng also gained an extra warehouse of raw Soul Crystal ore, which he naturally accepted with a smile.

In the time that followed, Li Zhangsheng pretended to be cleaning up the battlefield, quietly waiting for the big fish to arrive.

In order to avoid scaring off Xiao Mu, Li Zhangsheng stuffed the Cold Jade Rabbit into a backpack made of Breath Concealment materials.

I am very sorry, dear readers, because I was accidentally hit by an upside-down rocket, I will be lying in bed to recover for a day, and I will make up for the update the day after tomorrow!

Yoshihiro Togashi: Due to holding a mahjong tournament, update suspended...

(End of this chapter)