The Almighty Ring

To be honest, Jiang Fei felt stressed whenever Han Tianyu was with him. He was just too smart, or rather, he had too much experience compared to Jiang Fei. He knew when to shut up and when to talk. The kind of intelligence that was hard to cultivate.

Moreover, his objective was clear and straightforward. He had a good relationship with Jiang Fei for so long yet, why didn’t the elders in the alliance make use of that to influence Jiang Fei’s decision?

The hidden truth was that Han Tianyu had his own agenda. Even though he was part of the Northern Faction as well as amongst the masters, Han Tianyu considered himself to be self-centered. Not being selfish but having his needs met before others.

The Han family was a powerful force to reckon with in the “normal” society. Even so, the martial artists would need a lot of resources. Hence, Han Tianyu was elected amongst the masters. If the Old Hai and the other two elders were the managers of the Northern Faction, Han Tianyu would be the logistics manager. His main purpose was to bridge the world and the Martial Artist Alliance.

Even though Han’s family was really strong, they were only considered as second rated in the martial artistst’ perspective; he was not deserving attention.

When the masters were not giving him attention yet Han Tianyu had a Level 4 brother and a Level 5 god-like existent behind him, as a businessman, Han Tianyu should be in a complicated situation. If Jiang Fei and Han Tianyu had swapped positions, he felt that he would literally be torn into two. On one hand, he had his brother, a good friend. On the other hand, he had his master to please. Once both sides had a conflict of interest, something would go wrong.

Ask Han Tianyu and he would tell you differently. Although it was not made clear, Han Tianyu had always thought of himself before others. Once he was in a predicament, he would only stand on the podium of his own and judge which side would have the largest benefits. With that problem-solving method, many problems would be solved easily. The masters behind Han Tianyu might not be weak but they would never compare to a Level 5 master. As a matter of fact, Han Tianyu was much closer to Jiang Fei than he was with his masters.

Hence, if Jiang Fei were to have a conflict with the masters, even if the entire Northern Faction was on the opposing side, Han Tianyu would always stand by Jiang Fei. One of the reasons was that Jiang Fei had his Level 5 master to back him up. In fact, Jiang Fei himself was strong enough that he would not lose in a fair fight. Hence, Han Tianyu would never lose anything if he stood by Jiang Fei.

To be fair, Han Tianyu was neither a good man nor an evil person. He was just a businessman. When the chips were down, he would conduct his manner professionally with no emotions involved. If there was a side that offered good enough benefits, the rational side of him would readily give up anything emotional and choose the side with benefits.

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Han Tianyu’s acts and thoughts were purposely exposed to let Jiang Fei know. Naturally, Jiang Fei learned to pick up those signs. This big brother of his might not be truly genuine. However, no matter what happened, Han Tianyu would never bring harm to him nor his family. That was one fact that Jiang Fei knew. He also knew that Han Tianyu stood by him because of the sheer benefits he could provide. If not now, it would be in the future.

Hence, from the perspective of a brother, Jiang Fei felt a little hurt. However, he would still place his trust and life in the hands of Han Tianyu. This sort of relationship was what Han Tianyu desired.

The two talked for a good one hour as the helicopter zoomed past the city and into the mountains. The Hidden Dragon Village was too far for Jiang Fei arrived in the village before he felt tired.

Once Jiang Fei got out of the helicopter, he was greeted by a large party.

It was inevitable. Jiang Fei’s identity and position were known to the entire alliance. In the beginning, everyone had doubted he was the disciple of a Level 5 master. Now that that had been made that clear, everyone’s respect toward him had turned genuine. That and the fact that he had the life-saving miracle pills in his hands.

There were at least more than thirty people present at the welcoming party. Jiang Fei had only needed a moment to glance through everyone to know that it was a party of brawns and brains. Unlike the elders and young disciples, the welcoming party consisted mostly of Level 3 fighters like Luo Zhan and Yang Feng. Naturally, Han Tianyu was the weakest of them all.

“Haha, this must be Brother Jiang Fei!” said one of the men who was at the front most line.

Old Hai and other elders stood behind two other men. The one who had approached Jiang Fei was a middle-aged man in his thirties. He had a large face, wide mouth and nose, and an appearance that was very spirited.

“0541, what is this man’s power level?” asked Jiang Fei in his mind.

“Scanning… Answer: This man strength is considered to be the middle tier of a Level 4 Metahuman,” 0541 replied.

‘Hmph. Must be stronger than Old Hai,’ thought Jiang Fei. He ought to be careful. Even though he was shocked, he maintained a straight face on the outside.

Since the person had greeted him, it was polite to answer.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Jiang Fei. May I know who am I talking to?” asked Jiang Fei politely since he knew that the man was a middle tier Level 4 fighter.

“Hoho! I am Zhao. Zhao Ganming. One of the elder managers of the Songshan Faction,” said the middle-aged man with a bright smile.

“Hmm…” Jiang Fei was thrown off. This was where Jiang Fei’s knowledge of the world lacked.

Someone like Jiang Fei, who had mingled in the society of both the Metahumans and the Martial Artists, should have known about the existence of others. Even if he did not, he should have said something vague like, “It is an honor to finally meet you,” or even “It is my greatest pleasure to be able to meet such a person like yourself,” as a courtesy. Not “HMMMM”.

Now, back to the cruel reality, Jiang Fei was a kid who never learned manners. He was the kind of kid who grew up playing games and being an outstanding anti-social boy. How would someone like him know about manners? If he had panicked and kept quiet, things would have turned out just fine. However, Zhao Ganming stood there awkwardly since he did not know how to respond to “hmm”.

“Master Zhao is a reputable elder in the alliance. He is a powerful fighters as well as a saint with the sword! The Songshan Sect is a famous school of martial arts!” said Han Tianyu quickly to save Jiang Fei from embarrassment. Even if it meant explaining who Zhao Ganming was, it was better to make him appear stronger than he was.

“Oh! Oh!… This small one is honored to meet Master Zhao,” said Jiang Fei awkwardly. He did not know how to address the man and since his position was not known. Luckily Han Tianyu had addressed him as Master Zhao, hence, saving him from being embarrassed.

“Ah. Please don’t. Brother Jiang Fei, we are but level 4 fighters. Let us call each other brothers,” said Zhao Ganming. When Jiang Fei went silent, Zhao Ganming grew annoyed. He thought that Jiang Fei was being obnoxious and was looking down on him.

However, when he saw just how awkward Jiang Fei was at responding to him, Zhao Ganming could see that the boy was still very young and had yet to learn about many things. Hence, the negativity in him dispersed immediately. On the other hand, when Jiang Fei addressed him as Master Zhao, he felt immediately scared. How could someone like him be addressed as master? That would mean that he was standing at the same level of Jiang Fei’s Level 5 master! If he had taken the salutation, he would be having challengers coming to his doorstep!

“Tee hee hee…”

At that moment, there was a laugh that sounded like mini bells.

Jiang Fei turned around. It was a pair of young twin girls laughing.

Those two were no younger than fifteen years of age. In fact, Jiang Fei could tell that their age was the same as his. With a quick scan, 0541 informed that the girls were actually high tier Level 3 fighters.