Li Fan’s expression remained unchanged as he took a slow sip of tea and glanced at Zhou Kebao. “You’re not expecting me to step in and buy back the materials you’ve embezzled, are you? Although I’m relatively well-off, my contributions didn’t just fall from the sky. Besides, these materials are only useful for building the Immortal City and nothing else.”
Zhou Kebao quickly shook his head. “I wouldn’t dare be so ungrateful.”
He cautiously glanced at Li Fan, bowing slightly in a flattering manner, “In fact, I came to you with the intention of resolving things peacefully…”
Suddenly, Li Fan slammed his teacup down on the table with a loud bang, instantly stopping Zhou Kebao in his tracks, his body stiffening.
Li Fan’s expression turned cold, his eyes flashing with killing intent. “Resolve things peacefully? That’s not what you had in mind before.”
“Embezzling so many materials, especially after I pledged a military order. You’re pushing me, Li Fan, to the brink of death.”
Zhou Kebao waved his hands in a panic, trembling as he explained, “That was never our intention! I swear! From start to finish, all we wanted was some financial gain…”
Li Fan remained indifferent, responding calmly, “Things have come this far, and I won’t argue with you any further…”
Upon hearing this, Zhou Kebao’s face lit up with disbelief.
“After all, completing the Immortal City without wasting a single bit of material is proof of my exceptional ability, isn’t it?”
“This accomplishment should be broadcasted far and wide. If every city lord in the world were as efficient as I am, wouldn’t the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance’s conquest of the Five Elders Association be just around the corner?”
“What do you think, Daoist Zhou?” Li Fan boasted without shame.
“Heh, you’re joking, Daoist,” Zhou Kebao replied, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, fully understanding the threat behind Li Fan’s words.
“If you have any demands, just say them. We’ll meet them, but please don’t escalate the situation.”
Zhou Kebao thumped his chest in assurance.
“Don’t focus on what I want; focus on what you have,” Li Fan stepped forward and patted Zhou Kebao’s shoulder.
“Contribution points? Do you think I lack those?”
Li Fan’s face was filled with pride. “My reputation for deduction techniques is known throughout the world. Wealth accumulates upon wealth, and I can easily handle simple matters. Contribution points are nothing but a string of numbers to me.”
Upon hearing this, Zhou Kebao’s body shook slightly.
“Besides, once the Congyun Immortal City is completed, the rewards from above will be significant. At that point, as a major figure, my level of authority will soar.”
“With contribution points and authority, what in this world will be beyond my grasp?”
“And what do you think you can offer me to win me over?”
Li Fan’s eyes gleamed, locking onto Zhou Kebao.
Zhou Kebao felt the pressure of Li Fan’s gaze, realizing that what Li Fan said made complete sense. His mind was a whirl of confusion, and for a moment, he couldn’t come up with a suitable answer.
“Think it over and come back to me. I still have official matters to attend to, so I’ll have to ask you to leave,” Li Fan said coldly, issuing his order to depart.
Zhou Kebao, with a troubled expression, retreated.
Li Fan’s meaning was clear.
He was willing to overlook their meddling, but they needed to offer enough compensation of value.
“The demand for no specific request is the hardest to fulfill,” Zhou Kebao sighed softly.
He glanced back at the room where Li Fan was staying.
In the short time since he had left, seven or eight different cultivators had already come and gone, each with a solemn expression.
“His influence is already solidified. There’s no point in opposing him.”
“If that’s the case, we might as well use this opportunity to turn foes into allies. From what I can tell, he’s not the kind of person who holds grudges as long as he gets what he wants.”
With his mind made up, Zhou Kebao quickly returned to discuss things with his associates.
Five days later, Zhou Kebao appeared before Li Fan again, exuding confidence.
“Daoist, take a look at this.”
He pointed into the air, and a miniature floating city appeared before them.
“What does this mean?” Li Fan looked at it for a moment but couldn’t discern its significance.
Without revealing anything, he asked.
Seeing Li Fan’s reaction, Zhou Kebao grew even more confident, flashing a mysterious smile.
“It’s a cave residence, modeled exactly after the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance’s floating Immortal City—only better.”
“I wonder if this interests you, Daoist?”
Zhou Kebao asked in a low voice.
“Hmm?” Li Fan’s eyes narrowed as he turned his gaze back to the floating model, deep in thought, before inhaling sharply.
“The materials you embezzled… you took more than double what was allocated to me? That’s quite bold, isn’t it?”
Zhou Kebao quickly replied, “Heh, you’ve misunderstood, Daoist.”
“Though we did skim off quite a bit while scheming against you, it still wasn’t nearly enough to build an entire floating city.”
“In truth, the materials we used were left over from various repair and renovation projects in different Immortal Cities across the states.”
“You know, Daoist Li, that when the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance allocates materials for projects, they take all sorts of contingencies into account, so the budgets are usually quite generous. Since we’ve been doing this for so long, we’ve become proficient at minimizing actual losses.”
“Thus, there’s always a surplus of materials, and naturally, we couldn’t return the leftovers, so they ended up in our possession.”
…
Zhou Kebao smiled faintly and stopped speaking, leaving the rest unsaid.
“After so many years, we’ve accumulated these materials. Instead of letting them sit and collect dust in storage, why not put them to use and resolve our misunderstandings with you?”
“Using public resources for private purposes, turning an Immortal City into a cave residence—heh, I can assure you that even in our Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance, this kind of thing is rare.”
Li Fan stared intently at the constantly rotating image of the Immortal City, clearly tempted.
Seeing this, Zhou Kebao redoubled his efforts to promote the idea.
“This Immortal City cave residence will have facilities identical to any regular Immortal City, except it won’t be connected to the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance headquarters.”
“And if you find it too ostentatious, we can install a concealment function. Structures like the administration hall and martial arts arena can be hidden from view and only revealed when needed.”
“We’ll also leave plenty of room for future modifications to the cave residence.”
“If you ever want to reinforce the protective arrays or restrictions, it’ll be no problem at all.”
“Of course, if you’re willing to part with some contribution points, we can handle everything for you.”
“And if you’re generous enough, we could even discuss installing a long-distance teleportation formation or a virtual mustard seed miniature formation.”
“A cave residence that you can carry with you, equipped with teleportation functions, capable of both attack and defense…”
“Are you satisfied, Daoist?”
Zhou Kebao asked, enticing him further.
Li Fan responded with a hearty laugh.