Chapter Fifty-Eight: Raising Funds

But now, with such a golden opportunity laid before him, if he didn’t seize it tightly, he would truly be failing himself.

Once he took control of Panlong City, within less than two years, with the abundant supply of rare treasures and resources, the Lin family’s strength would surely multiply by dozens of times, if not more.

“Should I sell some of the Body Tempering Fruits and Vitality Fruits?” Lin Fan pondered. Since he eradicated the Zhang family, along with those who had grudges against him in the past, he had been accumulating negative emotion points, and now his total had reached over seven hundred thousand.

After all, destroying the Zhang family involved not only the fifty-odd martial artists, Zhang Wangshan, and Zhang Yi, but also their relatives—preliminary estimates put their numbers at over two hundred. His disposition was such that if someone insulted him, he’d hit them; if someone struck him, he’d break their limbs, and might even sever their heads. Of course, he wasn’t the one who carried out these acts. Though he was ruthless, he wasn’t so heartless as to spare no one, not even children and the elderly.

It was the Mo Li family who did it. Although the old and young posed no threat, a clan war demanded thoroughness—lest future trouble arise, it was best to uproot everything. If Mo Li and Lin Fan had lost this battle, they would have suffered the same fate.

When Lin Fan learned of this, he didn’t intervene. While he wasn’t a cruel villain, neither was he a soft-hearted child; in his previous life, he had fought his way through seas of blood and understood the way of things. Not taking action was, in itself, an act of mercy.

So, though Lin Fan wasn’t the one to do it, the event happened because of him—two hundred fifty-six people’s negative emotion points were naturally counted against him.

Since it was instigated by Lin Fan, albeit not his own hand, even if each person contributed only a thousand negative emotion points, it would add up to fifty thousand. But these people easily exceeded a thousand; the Zhang family’s guards alone gave two to three thousand each.

Zhang Wangshan and Zhang De each contributed ten to twenty thousand, and altogether, it totaled nearly fifty thousand!

Then, adding those Lin Fan had accumulated before, along with the small forces allied with Zhang family or those whose businesses were closely tied, who suffered losses when Zhang was destroyed, he received even more negative emotion points.

Now, Lin Fan’s total negative emotion points amounted to seven hundred thirty-eight thousand six hundred seventeen!

This was the highest he’d ever had.

“No, the Body Tempering Fruit is powerful, but its effects are confined to the tempering phase. For those at the Vitality Stage, ten fruits would only enhance my vitality slightly—equivalent to a hundred strands for others, or one fruit equals ten strands—about as effective as the Purple Gold Ginseng.”

“Purple Gold Ginseng sells for just over a hundred thousand silver. The Body Tempering Fruit has other advantages, but to fetch two hundred thousand silver per fruit would be the limit.”

“Even with my seventy thousand negative emotion points, if I spent them all on Body Tempering Fruits, I could only sell for a hundred million silver—barely a drop in the bucket!”

Lin Fan shook his head, quickly dismissing the idea. Even if he bought only Body Tempering Fruits, the money wouldn’t be nearly enough.

Moreover, suddenly producing so many treasures comparable to Purple Gold Ginseng would arouse suspicion—not just one or two, but over seven hundred fruits.

If exchanged for Purple Gold Ginseng, suddenly offering over seven hundred stalks—even if they were only used at the Vitality Stage—would be enough to make many powerful families reach out.

Lin Fan had no desire to face other clans after just painstakingly eliminating the Zhang family. Frankly, he’d been somewhat lucky; if he hadn’t consumed the Ancient Witch bloodline to strengthen his body, or recruited Zhang Yi, who in turn brought two Pulse Stage warriors from the Zhang clan under his wing, he wouldn’t have succeeded so easily—it would have been a bloody battle.

If he faced other families now, while he was seriously wounded and the Mo family preparing to withdraw, with no interest left, they wouldn’t intervene again, and the Lin family would be hopelessly outmatched and swiftly destroyed.

Even his Vitality Fruits, priced at fifty thousand each, could only buy fourteen with his seventy thousand points. A single fruit could push a Vitality Stage beginner to the peak, or even help them break through to the Pulse Stage, but the true auction price wouldn’t exceed three million each—selling them all would only bring in about forty million silver.

Compared to the Body Tempering Fruits, it was even less worthwhile.

Similarly, he dared not sell them. It would attract even more attention than the Body Tempering Fruits.

For a moment, Lin Fan was at a loss as to how to raise such a huge sum. He pondered deeply, then suddenly his eyes lit up.

“Perhaps the Divine Breaking Crossbow is a good choice!” Lin Fan clapped his hands. The Divine Breaking Crossbow could instantly kill anyone below the Pulse Stage; Pulse Stage warriors were the elite of the entire Qingxue County.

A Divine Breaking Crossbow, placed in any major clan, would be considered a supreme weapon.

Unless facing a true Pulse Stage opponent, the owner of the crossbow would be on par with a Pulse Stage warrior, able to kill anyone below that level.

And how many resources does it take to nurture a Pulse Stage warrior?

Even with resources poured in, could you really produce a Pulse Stage powerhouse?

Even if the Divine Breaking Crossbow wasn’t wielded by him personally, it would come with ten arrows as granted by the system—equivalent to ten strikes by a Pulse Stage beginner, more than enough to intimidate countless petty villains.

Just like before, in the Lin family, even when his grandfather was absent, wielding the Divine Breaking Crossbow allowed him to destroy the other three major families.

The profit was enormous!

If acquired by assassins or adventurers, it would be even more remarkable—a peerless weapon for both assassination and hunting fierce beasts.

Most importantly, he had two Divine Breaking Crossbows. He’d leave one for his family and auction off the other. As long as he handled it well, no one could trace it back to him, unlike the Body Tempering and Vitality Fruits which would draw attention.

However, even with a high price, the Divine Breaking Crossbow would top out at several tens of millions of silver, never exceeding one hundred million.

So how would he gather the rest of the money?

“Forget it. I’ll head to the tavern and listen for news—maybe there’s a way.”

Lost in thought, Lin Fan found himself at the Four Seas Tavern in Panlong City, smiled calmly, and shook his head as he walked inside. This was the first time he’d ever worried about money, and the novelty amused him.

Taking his usual spot by the window on the second floor, Lin Fan, dressed in snowy white robes, settled into his favorite seat.

Since this was Panlong City, the staff at Four Seas Tavern didn’t recognize him, but that didn’t affect their enthusiastic service—especially after Lin Fan tipped them twenty or thirty silver.

Soon, the table was heaped with food and wine.

“In less than two months, the Heavenly Book Academy and the four great sects will begin recruiting. I wonder how many young talents from Qingxue County will be admitted!”

Lin Fan filled his glass and sipped slowly. To be honest, the tavern boasted four famous wines: Green Rain Bamboo Wine, Three Step Stagger, Orchid Brew, and Drunken Breeze.

Green Rain Bamboo Wine, also known as Green Rain Wine, he had tasted in Xiaobei City. He’d had Orchid Brew in Qingxue County’s capital; today he was sampling Drunken Breeze.

Even as he drank, his gaze drifted out the window, yet he didn’t miss the conversations of the patrons nearby.

“What does that have to do with us? Those young talents are strangers to us. If anything concerns us, it’s today’s big event in Panlong City!”

“You mean the Zhang family might have been wiped out?!”

“Hush, keep your voice down—do you want to die?”

The first voices he heard were from the table beside him. Though they lowered their voices, Lin Fan caught every word.

A few men glanced around to ensure no one was paying attention, then leaned in closer.

One whispered, “It’s absolutely true—the Zhang family was destroyed. About two and a half hours ago, the Zhang family suddenly activated their super defensive array, their clan’s protective formation, which only opens in the face of a powerful enemy.”

“But after an hour, the formation was suddenly withdrawn. What does that mean? The result was decided!”

“If the Zhang family had won, they would have loudly announced who the enemy was, how strong, how they were killed, to show their clan’s strength. They’d even hang the enemy’s head as a warning…”

At these words, another chimed in, following the thread: “But the truth is, no one from the Zhang family has appeared. Moreover, when the formation was lifted, a strong scent of blood flooded the air. That means many people died.”

“So the Zhang family…”

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