Naming Technique of the Night

Chapter 461: 312, It’s Too Late (Request for Monthly Votes)

“I’m really curious, what exactly happened between you two?” Qing Chen felt a bit puzzled. “Logically speaking, as disciples of the same master, shouldn’t you be more united?”

“United with him?” Li Dongze scoffed. “I’ve known him for over ten years now, and in these years, he has stood me up 51 times. How can I be united with him?”

Qing Chen thought to himself that it was indeed a historical issue.

“Jiang Xiaotang was also adopted by master, right? It seems Su Xingzhi was another orphan adopted by master. Then why doesn’t Jiang Xiaotang recognize Su Xingzhi?” Qing Chen wondered.

“Su Xingzhi wasn’t a child adopted by our boss,” Li Dongze glanced at Qing Chen. “His identity is a bit more special. As a child, our boss had him fostered with other families, other than us few who were the earliest orphans adopted by the boss, no one else knew of his existence.”

Qing Chen grew curious, wondering if Su Xingzhi had a unique background.

...

Li Dongze, curious, said, “Young boss, shouldn’t you be at Ban Shan Manor? How did you end up here? Can you now come and go freely from the Li Family Manor?”

“Hmm,” Qing Chen didn’t answer that question and instead asked, “How are Hu Xiaoniu and Zhang Tianzhen performing?”

“I’ve given them both some of the debt collection work,” Li Dongze said, “to see their capabilities. So far, so good. Zhang Tianzhen, this kid has a thick face and a black heart, suitable for our line of work. However, Hu Xiaoniu is upright and fair, just in distributing profits among his subordinates, which earns him more followers. Young boss, you have a good eye for selecting these two as partners for Heng Society.”

“Why give them this task?” Qing Chen asked, puzzled.

“Because this task is actually the hardest,” Li Dongze explained, “If it were just between groups fighting and killing, you’d only need courage. But debt collection is different; the people you’re collecting from aren’t necessarily bad. Some are good people just forced into taking high-interest loans.”

When Li Dongze explained this, Qing Chen understood where the difficulty in this task lied.

It’s easy to counter evil with evil, but to use evil against good is a test of one’s nature and methods.

Li Dongze said, “Young boss, stop worrying about them. If they can’t get through this, they’re not fit for this job. Put your conscience aside for now, and first understand how helpless this world is.”

“How did you handle this kind of task when you first faced it?” Qing Chen was curious about what kind of person Li Dongze really was.

After thinking for a moment, Li Dongze said, “The hardest debt I ever collected was from an old man who borrowed money to save his dying wife. Although he managed to gather enough money for medical expenses, his wife didn’t survive.”

“Did you get the money back?” Qing Chen asked, curious.

“I did,” Li Dongze said. “I sold their son to Qing’s Family as a servant, who paid the money. Young boss, you might expect me to talk about a very clever method that gets the money back without hurting them, but there’s no perfect solution to such situations. The interest rates at Heng Society are already the lowest among the Federation havens, only slightly higher than the five major banks. I can’t turn the society into a philanthropy. I’m not making excuses. Life is just like this. If you think this is wrong, then work with the boss to fundamentally change the world. Until that day comes, I don’t intend to be a good person.”

Qing Chen was reflective.

He resumed his disguise as ‘Zard’ and left the club without closing the curtains.

Li Dongze watched the young man’s retreating figure, his thoughts unknown.

He glanced at his phone and then sent out a voice message. “Did you see the photo I sent? You weren’t in the picture, right?”

…

…

Countdown 162:00:00.

At 6 a.m., Li Ke was already running with the students behind him, along with those from the Li Family elite who had just returned to Ban Shan Manor.

There were eight students, twelve from Li Clan Army elites, plus Li Yinuo and Nan Gengchen, totaling twenty-two people.

They were all informed by the Secretariat about what was about to happen, although they didn’t know exactly when it would happen.

In Ban Shan Manor, as they passed a certain courtyard on their run, their footsteps startled the people inside, causing quite a few onlookers.

Li Su and others were different from Li Ke; they weren’t the sheltered flowers still in school, but real talents of the clan who had weathered storms outside.

Thus, when people in the crowd saw these individuals, they couldn’t help but murmur to themselves.

Nowadays, it was said that people like Li Su left the army to attend to a funeral at Ban Shan Manor.

Many people in the Li Family knew the old man was indeed deteriorating, but Li Su and the others didn’t look like they were there for a funeral; clearly, they had returned for that teacher!

This led people to deeply ponder what exactly that teacher could teach?

It wasn’t hard to guess — a teacher from Martial Arts School, backed by the Secretariat, could only be teaching orthodox cultivation methods apart from anything else. Besides, no warrior could cause such a significant mobilization within a powerful corporation.

Indeed, cultivation strength was secondary for many corporation members. The additional lifespan brought about by orthodox cultivation methods was what many truly coveted — a lifespan increase without side effects!

In fact, the booklet recording the Zhu Ti method also mentioned: Zhu Ti method, being a superior secret method across five divisions, anyone who receives the Empowerment of Zhu Ti method will guarantee an increase of twenty-one years in their lifespan, the specifics of which they shall know themselves.

This meant, from the moment individuals like Hu Xiaoniu, Zhang Tianzhen, and Li Tongyun completed their first minor celestial cycle and received Empowerment, their lifespan would immediately extend by 21 years. The specific extension, 21 years being the baseline, would depend on personal aptitude and cultivation strength.