Chapter 1046: Chapter 1046: The Patent Issue

Cultivators at the Dust-free stage are prohibited from casually engaging in combat in the Mortal Realm.

However, breaking a courtyard door is not really a big deal; even a junior martial master could do it.

But upon hearing these words, Elder Hei Luan instantly exploded in anger, leaping into the air and charging towards the small courtyard.

Luo Lieyang, on the other hand, did not follow her out. His complexion changed slightly as he walked out of Tiantong’s main gate and stood at a distance to watch.

The small courtyard of Tiantong is more than a mile away from the small courtyard of the Crimson Pheonix Sect, and is clearly visible from this vantage point.

After rushing over, Elder Hei Luan exuded an imposing aura and sneered, “You Longzi, you’ve got some nerve!”

When You Longzi saw that it was her, he was taken aback for a moment, “It’s you… Hei Luan?”

“I need an explanation,” Elder Hei Luan said with a dark face, “Did my Crimson Pheonix Sect’s gate offend or provoke you?”

You Longzi was indeed a bit flustered upon seeing Elder Hei Luan, but after collecting himself, he relaxed–while he was indeed no match for her, he could still run away if he couldn’t win the fight.

Moreover, this was the Mortal Realm, and for two Dust-free elders to engage in a life-and-death battle here would indeed be startling and inappropriate for the world.

He glanced sideways and noticed that there was another Dust-free elder from Tiantong watching the fight, so he replied with a nonchalant smile, “It’s just a greeting. Doesn’t your Crimson Pheonix Sect also often greet us from the Yinsha Sect in such a manner?”

Elder Hei Luan looked up and down at him and spoke ominously, “So that’s the reason… Fancy yourself advanced in rank, have you? Reaching the fifth layer of the Dust-free stage and you think you’re qualified to run wild on my Crimson Pheonix Sect’s turf?”

Indeed, You Longzi had advanced in rank. The last time he came to Mount Zhige, he was at the fourth layer of the Dust-free stage and was thoroughly suppressed by Bai Luan, who was also at an intermediate level. But now he had reached the fifth layer.

“To run wild is not my intent; this is merely the usual practice between our two sects,” You Longzi laughed carelessly, responding dismissively, “I just wanted to pay a visit to Elder Bai Luan and didn’t expect her to be absent… If I truly wanted to make a move, do you think this small courtyard would remain standing?”

What he said was true. The small courtyard of the Crimson Pheonix Sect was slightly larger than that of the Wuyou Platform, but it only spanned about four or five acres, which was much smaller than the tens of acres of the Tiantong Commercial Alliance’s courtyard.

A small courtyard of such size could be flattened in a mere gesture by a Dust-free elder.

“I have no interest in your nonsense,” Elder Hei Luan said sternly, her expressionless face fixed on him, “Take a palm strike from me; if you do, this matter will be dropped. Otherwise, I don’t mind hunting you to the ends of the earth.”

“Why bother?” You Longzi frowned slightly, not wanting to take her palm strike, “I came looking for Bai Luan. An intermediate-level Dust-free contest, I would not mind, but you, a high-rank Dust-free… what’s your stake in this?”

The Yinsha Sect had a deep understanding of the Crimson Pheonix Sect, and he was quite aware that Elder Hei Luan had no fondness for Bai Luan.

The reason for this… opinions varied; some said it was due to the contrast between black and white, others said it was because Bai Luan rose too rapidly, attaining a position among the Nine Pheonixes while only at the intermediate level of Dust-free, which caused considerable annoyance to Elder Hei Luan, who was her senior.

In a sect with many female disciples, such scheming and rivalry were common. Although female cultivators often became close like sisters, backstabbing ‘friendships’ were just as frequent as in the Earth Realm.

Elder Hei Luan snorted coldly, “Then you will be disappointed; Bai Luan is now at the seventh layer of the Dust-free stage… Do you think others like to show off their little advancements as you do?”

After saying this, she paused for a moment, lifted her hand to signal, and said blatantly, “You definitely can’t dodge my palm strike. Now tell me, shall we settle it here or somewhere else?”

You Longzi hesitated for a moment and then lifted his chin pridefully, replying, “So what if I take your palm strike? Let’s change locations.”

Since he couldn’t dodge it anyway, he wasn’t afraid to take her palm strike. The reputation of the Yinsha Sect was built through battles, not flaunting.

Feng Jun’s body swayed, blocking the path towards Mount Zhige and he spoke loudly, “Both of you, with all due respect, as Mountain Master of Mount Zhige, this is my territory… Dust-free cultivators, please refrain from entering uninvited, and it would be best to fight elsewhere!”

You Longzi looked at him with a half-smile, “Oh, you’ve advanced in rank too? Are you certain you want to stand in our way?”

Feng Jun replied indifferently, “Whether I can stop you is a question of strength; whether I should step in is a question of attitude.”

You Longzi hesitated on his face but eventually shook his head, “Forget it, I have no intention of causing you trouble, we’ll move somewhere else… Remember this, it’s because I’m giving you face.”

If these two were to fight, there would certainly be spectators. Elder Hei Luan disliked being watched, but she couldn’t help it as other than Feng Jun and Elder Xu, there were also two Dust-free elders from the Ning Family present.

Then Feng Jun called out, and Luo Shuchen from Tianxin Platform and Elder Yan from Wuyou Platform also emerged from Mount Zhige.

These are the six transcendent masters who wanted to observe from the sidelines; Hei Luan was domineering, but no fool. Under these circumstances, if she still wished to refuse everyone’s observation, she could only give up her plan to trouble You Longzi.

However, with the situation escalating to such a degree, she no longer harbored much desire to teach the other party a lesson. They found a deserted valley and exchanged a seemingly casual palm strike.

Of course, this casual appearance was just facade; You Longzi took it head-on with all his might, unable to help but flush red in the face.

From that one palm strike, it would take him at least half a year to recover–not to mention the gap in strength; Crimson Phoenix’s cultivation technique was just too much for Yinsha to handle.

But he was still rather formidable, having taken that blow squarely without spitting out a mouthful of blood; in all honesty, it wasn’t a disgrace.

With this, Hei Luan should be satisfied–though the two sects were at odds, what more could be done over a mere gate? They couldn’t very well kill someone; a light punishment was sufficient to conclude the matter.

Luo Lieyang didn’t even come to watch the fight because his notoriety within the Yinsha Sect was not low. He feared being recognized, which would be alarming if they asked why he came to Mount Zhige.

After returning to Tiantong Commerce Alliance, Feng Jun couldn’t help but ask, “What brought You Longzi here? It couldn’t be for the generator, could it?”

That’s when Hei Luan realized there was this causality at play–not that she was unintelligent, but in her rage, she’d neglected to consider it. “Ah, I forgot to ask… that strike earlier was too light, should’ve just killed him on the spot.”

Luo Lieyang helplessly slapped his forehead, thinking, Goodness, can you be a bit more reliable? Leaving everything else aside, even under the guise of a light and breezy demeanor, you did go all out. Do you really think transcendent beings are that easy to kill?

Feng Jun felt even more so that arguing with her was beneath him–who would take a fool seriously?

However, Huang Fu Flawless shook his head and declared decisively, “It’s unlikely about the generator; otherwise, You Longzi wouldn’t have been so easy to talk to. He probably had other matters to discuss with Mountain Master Feng.”

“Then let’s finalize the purchase of the generator technology sooner rather than later,” Hei Luan said, this time not talking about taking it for free–a truly chaotic thinker.

Feng Jun didn’t want to create complications either, hence he expressed gravely, “For this, we need to consult Wang Botai of Wuyou Platform.”

Strictly speaking, Wang Botai had no say in the generator technology; he had begun researching and improving out of interest. Not only was the research sample Feng Jun’s, but most of the principles, details, and improvement directions also originated from Feng Jun.

His intention was to grasp the product fully, so he could set up a small workshop upon his return and make money by selling the product–after seeing profits, he would consider sharing them with Mountain Master Feng.

But Feng Jun felt that Wang Botai had devoted too much energy to this project and had indeed resolved some issues. Therefore, once they decided to sell the technology, the transfer fee should be split equally between them.

Everyone then went to inspect the Spirit Stone Generator at Wuyou Platform. It was… quite rudimentary, on par with the Boiler Camel Motorcycle, and couldn’t even match the sophistication of diesel generators, making it hard to believe it was a creation by Cultivators.

Wang Botai, however, wasn’t bothered; he took pride in his innovations in certain areas, eagerly showing off to Feng Jun. When someone asked about its appearance, he dismissed it with contempt, “That’s trivial, okay? If you really want to see those fancy exteriors… can’t you just get some artisans from the Mortal Realm for that?”

In the meantime, Feng Jun discreetly took Wang Botai aside when unobserved, speaking about the Thunder Clan’s interest in buying the Spirit Stone Generator’s technology and asking what he desired for the price.

Upon hearing this, Wang Botai was utterly baffled, “This is your thing, why ask me?”

Feng Jun thought for a moment and then explained in plain language, “You developed a second iteration based on my product. Your effort is in it, and I can’t exclude you when introducing it elsewhere.”

Wang Botai’s business acumen was a bit lacking, or it could be said that the natives of this world still valued interpersonal relationships. He responded, “Most of what I have was learned from you, and you never asked me for anything.”

Feng Jun felt pleased with his response, “I chose not to charge you for my teachings, but it’s up to you to decide about others benefiting from your labor.”

Wang Botai was still a little uncomfortable with the idea, “Then just give it to them. I plan to make and sell some generators myself.”

“You still don’t understand my point,” Feng Jun shook his head. “Think about it, Elder Yan has also put effort into the generator’s transformation… can you let him help for free?”

Stunned, Wang Botai turned to go and discuss the fee issue with Elder Yan.

But Feng Jun stopped him and further explained: The project is primarily yours, so you decide the profits. Elder Yan has done some auxiliary work, and you can give him a part of it later–that would suffice.

Wang Botai wasn’t slow-witted, he just hadn’t considered it from that angle or felt comfortable bringing it up. Urged by Feng Jun for a while, he tentatively suggested: How about… five hundred Spirit Stones? Is that too much?

“If that’s what you call too much, then the heavens can’t abide,” Feng Jun chuckled. “They may not sell to outsiders, but think about how much convenience you’ve provided them.”

“Do you know? Luo of the Thunder Clan brought twenty thousand Spirit Stones with him.”