In a grand hall of the City Lord’s manor, two males sat in a chair, facing each other. On one side sat a handsome young man in light blue robes while a middle-aged man occupied the seat opposite him.

The silence in the hall was deafening.

Ikasa observed the City Lord Zhen. He saw a strong man with a well-maintained body for his age. The streaks of white in his dense black beard betrayed his age.

“Tea?”

A servant arrived and broke the tense silence. The City Lord motioned him to fill their cups and leave the room.

“Xue Mi says you can help me secure victory in the Tribute Tournament.”

Zhen Wu asserted while stroking his chin-length beard. The statement was filled with doubt and mockery.

Ikasa calmly took a sip of tea and answered with a simple “Yes”.

By not deigning to explain, he had chosen not to acknowledge the insult.

He was here to secure cooperation on his own terms. It would not happen by bowing down to this Politician’s whims.

Another moment passed in silence. City Lord Zhen Wu realized by now that he was the one at a disadvantage here. He let go of his pride and tried to break the ice.

“How do you plan to do so?”

“It depends on the nature of this year’s tournament. How will the victor be determined?”

Ikasa replied with nonchalance, as if he was talking about the menu for lunch and not a high-stakes tournament.

The older man looked at him with a narrowed gaze. With suspicion in his eyes, he leaned forward to put pressure on Ikasa.

“If you do not know the format of the tournament, why are you confident of winning it?”

Ikasa put down the cup he was holding and met the doubtful gaze with his confident one. Leaning forward, he emphasized every word he spoke.

“Because I am Confident in My abilities and My resources.”

He let the words sink in. He had foiled the City Lord’s attempt to intimidate him with his power and prestige. Instead, he had stunned the bearded man with his shocking declaration.

When the Noble Lord didn’t say anything for a few breaths, Ikasa took the chance to strengthen his position.

“City Lord, I know where your confidence comes from. After Commander Lu, Vice-Commander Zhou is also on the verge of a breakthrough. But what are his chances of advancing before the tournament?”

Zhen Wu whipped his head to look at Ikasa with shock. This was his closely guarded secret.

“Did Xue Mi tell you? Or did my wife go behind my back again?”

‘What has your wife got to do with me?’

Ikasa was puzzled by the second question. But he pushed on to build his momentum.

“Hahaha! You think too much, Lord Zhen. Can they also tell me that the Master of Hu Clan advanced recently? I think he should be in the intermediate phase of the Sense Realm, same as you?”

City Lord snorted at the blatant provocation.

“He has just entered the fourth stage, while I am ready to break into the seventh stage.”

He tried to downplay the threat posed by the Hu Clan and thus, reduce Ikasa’s value.

“Maybe he is not a match for you. But are you confident enough to face the Sect Leader of the Monstrous Flame Sect?”

“Why would I not dare?”

City Lord asked, flaring up at the question. Ikasa smiled like a cat that ate the canary.

“He might be in the advanced phase of the Sense Realm when you see him. Are you still assured of winning against him?”

The teasing tone sent Zhen Wu over the edge. His beard quivered with rage and his eyes reddened. Slamming a fist on the armrest, he yelled with frustration.

“Damn it! How did that old fossil improve so fast?”

Ikasa watched with amusement as the dignified City Lord threw a tantrum like a spoiled child. But he didn’t get to enjoy it for long.

The Lord quickly gathered his wits and schooled his features.

“But so what? He will not enter the tournament himself.”

He retorted, without paying any heed to the broken splinters of his armrest.

“Lord Zhen, if the Sect Leader has advanced, so have the Elders under him. Two of them are in the intermediate stage while the third Elder is initiating the training of senses.”

Zhen Wu’s expression turned stony as he heard Ikasa speak.

The more he listened, the more shock he received. None of his informants had caught wind of these events happening in the Monstrous Flame Sect!

If these pieces of information were true, he needed support, badly.

The City Lord knew this was his defeat. His intelligence gathering had fallen behind, causing him to lose this war of information.

The news regarding the Sect might need verification, but he knew the First Seat of Hu Clan had advanced. And this was a secret known to few within the Hu Clan.

Just the ability to get this piece of news made him believe in Ikasa.

‘If this man could outmatch my information network within three days of his arrival, maybe he has the capabilities to back his claims.’

The Lord of the City admitted to himself.

Seeing the City Lord quietly mull over the new information, Ikasa knew this battle had ended with his victory.

‘Now, it is time for the Peace Talks.’

He thought, hiding his grin behind the cup.

The City Lord picked up his cup and downed it in one gulp. He met the eyes of the opponent who had stumped him today.

“I admit you have a better information network than me. But it raises a question. Why would you not look into the information regarding this year’s tournament yourself?”

Ikasa cursed the older man in his head.

‘Do you think my men are omniscient? Yin Ying, Feng Yan, and their men focused on gathering information about the leaders. Hence, I got the report today. That, too, is unverified. How do you expect me to know about the tournament as well?’

On the surface, he serenely sipped his tea and took his time to answer the question.

“Frankly speaking, why would I bother?”

He replied to his query with a question of his own. His intent was to throw City Lord Zhen off.

Zhen Wu looked like he had not heard what Ikasa said correctly. As a Sense Realm expert, it was impossible to mishear, but the statement was too drastic for him to believe.

“Pardon?”

He asked to explain, keeping his ears trained on Ikasa.

Ikasa gently smiled at him and unraveled his reasoning.

“If we cooperate, you will provide me with reliable information. Then why should I waste my manpower to find out the information I would receive from you anyway? And if we don’t, this tournament is none of my business.”

The City Lord did not expect to hear such carefree and still true words from his mouth.

The contents of the tournament itself were irrelevant to the general populace, who were busy trying to feed their families.

Only the outcome mattered. It decided which power was more powerful and how much they would be oppressed.

“Hahaha!”

Zhen Wu broke out into laughter. Now, it was Ikasa’s turn to be confused.

“Mr. Ikasa, you are a businessman through and through. You are calculating the profits and losses in terms of your men’s time too.”

He said while refilling his cup of tea. Raising his cup, he cheerfully complimented, “I admire you.”

And he once again gulped the entire contents in one go.

Wiping the drops trickling into his beard, he stared deeply into the young man’s eyes.

“Now, shall we discuss the terms of our cooperation?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep