Chapter 342: Negotiations

"Holy Master, are we to cooperate with Lin Bai?" the Holy Son suddenly asked.

"Lin Bai is insatiably greedy; cooperating with him is no different from asking a tiger for its hide," the Holy Master said. "Either Lin Bai ascends, or he dies under the lightning tribulation. If your divine abilities can manage these Heavenly Descended and suppress Lin Sibai, it is best that these matters remain under our control."

"The Holy Master is right. We have offended Lin Bai too deeply; if we turn back to seek his help, who knows how he might deal with us? Let us not end up losing the bait without catching the chicken," Qu Chaoan of the Blood Sect glanced at the Holy Son and said. "I would rather there be a group of Heavenly Descended in this world than to be on good terms with Lin Bai."

Lin Bai lured the Shengji Sect into his lightning tribulation, and the Blood Sect had all its low-level cultivators wiped out by Lin Bai; it can be said that the Demonic Five Sects and Lin Bai are now at irreconcilable odds. Even if Lin Bai were to take the initiative to show goodwill, they would have to wonder if there was a conspiracy involved, let alone actively seeking Lin Bai's help!

"Correct, the Righteous Seven Sects have had several of their sects seized by Lin Sibai and his people, so they likely do not wish to join forces with Lin Bai either," Ye Luo said. "We could, however, join forces with the Righteous Seven Sects to resist Lin Sibai and the Heavenly Descended together. Moreover, the Heavenly Descended are not of one mind; don't the Heavenly Descended who let Daxuan Zhenren return want to cooperate with us? We might be able to use this opportunity to incite them into infighting."

"The world where the Heavenly Descended come from has no Spirit Qi. You are all clear on the situation after Soul Possession; do you still wish to perform Soul Possession?" the Demonic Master looked at several of the heaven-gifted geniuses and asked.

The heaven-gifted geniuses looked at each other, all seeing the hesitation in each other's eyes.

A moment later.

The Demonic Son said: "Let us find a few more cultivators with powerful Spirit Souls to attempt Soul Possession. If we cannot freely borrow their bodies to enter our world, Soul Possession is meaningless; instead, we will lose our freedom and be used by the Heavenly Descended."

"Wanhun Valley still has a batch of heavenly treasures for Spirit Refining. We can select a group of cultivators, first strengthen their Spirit Souls, and then have them find some weak Heavenly Descended to attempt Soul Possession," Lu Wei of Wanhun Valley said. "Future struggles with the Heavenly Descended may turn into a battle of Spirit Soul possession. We have not practiced the Law of Cultivation; going to the world of the Heavenly Descended and finding the Game Company to destroy their world at the root is our only way out."

The Holy Master looked around at everyone: "Lin Bai's Fazhe Zhidao has long been made public; we can order our disciples to concurrently study the Fazhe Zhidao..."

"Master, five hundred thousand Heavenly Descended have descended upon this world." Watching Lin Bai, who was lying in Xu Longyun's arms, squinting his eyes and stuffing Concentration Fruit into his mouth, 【Happy Without Reservation】 said cautiously.

Knowing from the forums that this was not a game but a real world, the players of the Shengji Sect who had been taken as disciples by Lin Bai suddenly felt differently about him.

Before, they were just scraping by under the financial groups; now, they were Lin Bai's disciples, and in the future, they could run rampant in this world under Lin Bai's name.

Ten financial groups combined were not equal to one Lin Bai.

"Mm." Lin Bai hummed lazily, continuing to stuff Spirit Fruit into his mouth, occasionally sharing a few with the disciples beside him.

Having found a bug in the Tribulation Transcendence, more than ten days had passed, and not a single bolt of lightning had fallen.

Aside from feeling a bit of pain, Lin Bai had been very leisurely these days, clearly aware of everything happening in the outside world, including learning that the Righteous Seven Sects and Demonic Five Sects had sent people to perform Soul Possession on players.

He then began to consciously strengthen his disciples' Spirit Souls.

Who knew when he might need them to perform Soul Possession into the Real World to help him!

The spells of the indigenous cultivators could not be used in that world.

But the new system reward from Haoweirenshi System System is endowment; when the time comes, he can endow his disciples with the Fazhe Zhidao, and they would be great helpers when they perform Soul Possession over there. Currently, the disciples' Loyalty is one hundred percent, and their hearts are completely usable.

"People from the Righteous Seven Sects and Demonic Five Sects have performed Soul Possession on Heavenly Descended and entered our world. The higher-ups of our world want to initiate cooperation with you, Master," 【Happy Without Reservation】 continued.

The people from the financial groups guessed that Lin Bai had a connection with his two split spirits, but since Lin Bai did not mention it, they would not either. Now that they had come to find Lin Bai to talk about this, it was to show an attitude.

Anyone with eyes could see that Lin Bai would be the one in charge of this world in the future.

Without Lin Bai, the players had the advantage when facing the natives of this world, but with Lin Bai added to the native world, their advantage vanished completely.

In order to obtain greater benefits, the Real World currently did not want to start a war—at least not while they could not find a way to deal with Lin Bai.

What made them especially panicked was that Lin Bai's Fazhe Zhidao seemed to be usable across worlds; if the Game Company did not intervene, Lin Bai alone could stir up a disaster in the Real World.

Once upon a time.

Only the people of the Righteous Seven Sects and Demonic Five Sects hoped that Lin Bai would not survive the lightning tribulation, and there were also some players who hoped Lin Bai would maintain his deterrent power;

Now, the situation was even more serious; no one hoped that Lin Bai would walk out of the lightning tribulation alive.

However, looking at the way the lightning tribulation was slashed apart by Lin Bai's blade, it was highly probable that it could not do anything to Lin Bai...

"Cooperate with me? Can't you see I'm undergoing Tribulation Transcendence! Tell them to go talk to Lin Sibai," Lin Bai didn't even lift his eyelids. "I don't even know if I can get out, what's the point of talking to me?"

He knew that negotiation was necessary, but he could not be the one to lead the negotiations. Lin Bai was a man of principle, and naturally, he could not lose his impartiality in matters like negotiations.

If there were any unsuitable terms in the conditions negotiated by Lin Sibai, Lin Bai could completely and openly refuse to acknowledge them.

Once it was a condition he had agreed to himself, going back on his word would damage his reputation.

At the same time.

【Black Sheep】 also sought out Lin Sibai, saying humbly: "Alliance Leader, the people above in our world want to meet with you to discuss the matter of our two worlds cooperating together."

"Very well." This time, Lin Sibai agreed to the invitation very readily. "I have also long wanted to talk to the people in charge of you."

Swapped bodies with Zheng Tong.

Under the guidance of President Jin, Lin Bai met a middle-aged man with a spirited appearance. Although the middle-aged man was wearing casual clothes, his posture was upright, and one could tell at a glance that he was from a military background.

"Alliance Leader Lin, I am Cheng Xunyun, the director of the Tiandang Country's External Special Affairs Office, fully responsible for all matters concerning the 'Xianxia World' game. I am very glad you could agree to this meeting. Please, sit." The middle-aged man stood up, greeted Lin Bai politely, and led him to sit on the sofa.

Service staff served tea to Lin Bai and then stood to the side. Several cameramen were in the corners of the room, recording the entire process of this meeting from all angles.

"Hello, Director Cheng." Lin Bai nodded at Cheng Xunyun and sat down on the sofa with ease.

"Alliance Leader Lin, I wonder what your opinion is of the Game Company?" Cheng Xunyun smiled slightly and went straight to the point.

"If I must give an evaluation, I should say they are a bunch of lunatics who view the people of the world as playthings!" Lin Bai thought for a moment and said.

"Indeed, a bunch of lunatics who play with the world in the palm of their hands," Cheng Xunyun sighed. "Alliance Leader Lin, we have communicated with Zheng Tong and President Jin and know that your ultimate goal is the Game Company. I wonder if there is anything we can do to help you?

You also know that the appearance of the Game Company has also had a very bad impact on our world. People do not think about production, only wanting to enter the other world to adventure and obtain happiness from the game. To be honest with Alliance Leader Lin, since the game began, the entire world's economy has been in a state of decline. To this day, less than a million people in Tiandang Country have entered the game.

It is hard to imagine what this world would look like if more people enter the game in the future. By then, the disaster will not only descend upon your world, but it will also descend upon our world; no one will be able to stay out of it. Therefore, we are all victims, and the Game Company is our common enemy."

Empathy?

He is quite the negotiation expert!

Lin Bai remained calm: "I wonder how Director Cheng intends to deal with the Game Company?"

Cheng Xunyun was stunned for a moment, then said with a look of shame: "Alliance Leader Lin, our level of technology is insufficient. For so long, we haven't even known where the Game Company is, and even using the strength of the entire nation, we cannot even crack their Game Capsule. We don't even dare to stop the public from entering the game for fear of angering the Game Company and bringing disaster to the world. To be honest, we have no way to deal with them, and we are truly ashamed. It wasn't until you, Alliance Leader Lin, performed Soul Possession and entered our world that we saw a glimmer of hope."

"So you are also counting on me to be the Jiusheng?" Lin Bai laughed.

"Please, Alliance Leader Lin, grant us this." Cheng Xunyun was forced to smile, his posture very low. "In this matter, we really have no other way. The Justice Sect behind you exists above the universe, and only then are you qualified to confront the Game Company head-on. You keep saying we are a catastrophe, but we have never been enemies; the source of the disaster is the Game Company..."

Justice Sect?

Lin Bai subconsciously thought of the system's manufacturer and shook his head: "Director, but I don't see your announcements as such. It seems your intention is to forcefully invade our world and plunder our resources for your own use!"

Cheng Xunyun smiled bitterly: "It is a last resort. Just like what you have always done, Alliance Leader Lin—only by making yourself strong can you gain the right to speak. We also want to use the resources of both worlds to allow our civilization to grow rapidly, so that we have the qualifications to preserve ourselves in the confrontation with the Game Company. If we do nothing, wouldn't that be even less helpful to you, Alliance Leader Lin?"

"Alliance Leader Lin, on our planet, the infighting and friction between various factions are quite severe, and every country has different ideas. We cannot control the thoughts of other countries, but we also do not wish to allow other countries to grow strong and turn to oppress us. This is our selfishness, and I ask for the Alliance Leader's understanding."

"However, we will similarly bring our world's technology over to help your world, enabling both sides to grow together. Moreover, we have informed the public in our announcements that it is a real world over there; surely the public will exercise some restraint..."

What a damn master negotiator!

The way he said that was airtight.

Lin Bai sighed once more and said, "Natural selection, survival of the fittest; only with competition can there be progress. You don't need to over-restrict them. The Cultivators of the indigenous world are too set in their ways; if we don't beat them until it hurts, they won't understand us."

Cheng Xunyun asked happily, "Alliance Leader Lin, does this mean you agree to cooperate with us?"

Lin Bai looked at Cheng Xunyun and said, "First let the players help me integrate the Cultivation World over there, then we can discuss other things. To resist foreign aggression, one must first settle internal matters; the Cultivation World can only have one voice, mine."

"Naturally, that is no problem." Cheng Xunyun hurriedly stated his position, "This is what we ought to do."

"You have also investigated the matter of Lin Wubai clearly, haven't you?" Lin Bai asked with a smile.

Cheng Xunyun laughed, "Without Alliance Leader Lin's permission, we naturally would not dare to disturb Ms. Cai."

"You may disturb her," Lin Bai said. "From now on, let her work with you. Regarding the research on those who have undergone Soul Possession and your policies toward Shenmo Dalu, you can all communicate with her. I suggest you can build her into a celebrity figure, letting the public know of her existence. We practice the Faith path; the more people who worship us, the stronger our power becomes, and the more confident we will be when confronting the Game Company in the future."

The smile on Cheng Xunyun's face gradually disappeared. He looked at Lin Bai, paused for a moment, and smiled bitterly: "Alliance Leader Lin, regarding the research on those who have undergone Soul Possession, we can communicate with Mr. Wubai and report all progress. But to publicize her information and build her into a celebrity figure—I worry it will cause social unrest. You also know how big your own reputation is in the game; once Mr. Wubai's itinerary is made public, we fear we will not be able to control the situation. We must consider the overall situation, and I hope Mr. Lin can be understanding of us..."

Letting five hundred thousand people enter the game world is called peaceful exchange, but when I take a little benefit, you have to consider the overall situation?

Lin Bai chuckled, picked up his teacup, and took a light sip: "Director Cheng, I am being understanding of you right here! I have eight thousand fans in the game world, and you cannot shut down the game forums. If Lin Wubai calls on her fans to flood the forums with a few posts, she will become a celebrity on her own. Leaving the publicity to you is giving you the chance to control the situation!"

【Resentment from Cheng Xunyun; +1 +1 +1 +1...】

Sweat poured down Cheng Xunyun's face. He feigned composure and picked up his teacup to take a sip, but he put it back down just as it reached his lips; his state of mind was in chaos.

He knew that Lin Bai was all-powerful in the game and possessed peerless eloquence; he had assumed that upon arriving in an unfamiliar world, he would be a bit more restrained.

During the negotiation just now, he had also consistently believed he was leading the rhythm, but he hadn't expected Lin Bai to snatch the initiative back with a single remark.

At this very moment.

Cheng Xunyun could actually empathize with the feelings of the sects of the Seven Righteous Sects and the Demonic Five Sects; facing such an unscrupulous guy who was also impossible to control, one truly wanted to kill him at every moment!

"Director Cheng wouldn't be unwilling, would he?" Lin Bai frowned.

"No, no, it's just that the matter is of great importance. I cannot make the decision and need to request instructions from above. I hope the Alliance Leader can give us a few days to consider." Cheng Xunyun was cursing internally, yet he had to keep up a smiling face.

"Director Cheng, you also know that I have always been generous to my partners." Lin Bai smiled and extended his palm; in his palm were a dozen Spirit Fruit. He placed the Spirit Fruit on the table between the two of them and said softly, "For example, just now, I could have clearly used the Truth Spell on Director Cheng, but I held back and didn't use it. I have already greatly demonstrated my sincerity."

【Resentment from Cheng Xunyun; +1 +1 +1...】

Cheng Xunyun laughed dryly: "Alliance Leader Lin is joking. I have indeed come with sincerity, and what I have said is true in every word; there is not a single lie."

Lin Bai looked at him and chuckled: "I naturally believe the Director. I heard you say that you are at odds with other countries; in fact, Lin Wubai representing your official side can likewise help you deter foreign countries. It is all benefit and no harm..."

(End of this chapter)