CHAPTER 55: CHAPTER 49: FRAUDSTER

After Lin Feng left, the atmosphere in the room was somewhat oppressive and stifling.

Once upon a time, they who stood high above would be so ignored by someone.

And ignored by a high school senior!

As division heads of Glory’s Ten Great Clubs, even those far stronger than them, or even a Ninth Grade powerhouse, would maintain basic courtesy in the face of the club’s intimidation and power.

Those teenage talents hoping to enter the club would be even more uneasy and eager to please when facing them.

"Is he bluffing?" Elder Jiang broke the silence after a moment of silence.

Elder Jiang, 91 this year, a Fifth Grade martial artist, refined a Seventh Grade Two-winged Flying Scorpion. Though not very strong, as an old hand, he could sense Lin Feng seemed to be cautiously hiding something.

Some talented youths, even Ye Qiu, when facing his invitation, no matter how calm their expression, no matter how well they hid it, he could sense urgency and excitement through facial expressions or subtle body movements.

But only Lin Feng did not.

Those deep black eyes remained calm from start to finish, seemingly not caring at all.

Does he really not want to join?

Or is he absolutely confident in his talent, waiting for a better offer?

"Very likely!" Zhang Ling agreed.

Lin Feng’s behavior of turning around and leaving naturally made people angry, but it was precisely this extreme arrogance that made her feel a bit puzzled.

Soul cultivation talent cannot be tested by special instruments, after all, spiritual power is intangible, only the individual knows what demon spirit they can refine, so Zhang Ling couldn’t ascertain if Lin Feng was lying.

Moreover, Lin Feng seemed to have no need to lie.

Such a lie wouldn’t stand the test of time, could he really be lying just for an advertisement spot?

Lin Feng is just a student, even if he lives in the Shore District, he shouldn’t have many places to spend money?

Now Lin Feng has a lot of attention, but it’s just a fleeting heat, far from comparable to those Glory Stars. Thus his advertisement slot isn’t worth much, in Zhang Ling’s estimation, maybe just a few million at most.

With Lin Feng’s martial arts talent, once he becomes a martial artist, earning money won’t be a difficult task.

Yet Zhang Ling didn’t speak directly about these doubts.

"This old fox might be saying this on purpose, actually planning to observe in secret." Zhang Ling glanced at Elder Jiang, pondering to herself.

Jiang Jun shared Zhang Ling’s thoughts and felt more urgent about Lin Feng than others.

He planned to privately reach Lin Feng to probe further, if possible, first bind Lin Feng with an A-Class contract to Wind-Grabbing’s chariot.

"Lin Feng..."

Not far from leaving the tea room, some merchants who had been waiting quickly approached to talk with Lin Feng.

But upon learning that Lin Feng did not sign with the three major clubs, their once enthusiastic smiles slightly faded, some even sneered and turned away.

In their view, if the three major clubs chose not to sign, it proved Lin Feng wasn’t worth signing.

Many were waiting, and they left quickly, but one well-dressed middle-aged woman in her forties or fifties did not leave, expressing interest in Lin Feng’s ad slot.

"Lin Feng, our company hopes to acquire your ad slot, how much do you need?" the middle-aged woman asked.

She didn’t say her company name or what product she was endorsing, and Lin Feng didn’t ask. As long as there was money, endorsing anything was fine.

"Eighteen million!"

Hearing Lin Feng’s quote, the middle-aged woman was slightly stunned, then looked at Lin Feng as if he were a fool, before finally smiling and saying, "Eight hundred thousand!"

Lin Feng didn’t even look at her and left directly.

Eighty thousand to buy his ad, how naive.

Know that with the heat on the Martial Artist Forum, at least hundreds of people would know about any ad he endorsed.

In Lin Feng’s expectation, it should be at least eight million.

"Ridiculous!"

The middle-aged woman sneered, not stopping him.

If Lin Feng had been signed by the three major clubs, he would naturally be worth eighteen million, or even more, otherwise, even eighty thousand seemed too much to her.

Although the heat on the Martial Artist Forum is high now, everyone knows this heat is only temporary. After being rejected by the three major clubs, the thread would soon drop off the ranking list, meaning Lin Feng would soon lose value.

She intended to offer eighty thousand just to stir up some sensation while Lin Feng still had some heat before it vanished.

In the martial arts dojo hall, Lin Feng quickly found Gao Hai and Chen Fan. As soon as they met, both looked puzzled, obviously having heard Lin Feng did not sign with the three major clubs.

"Brother Feng, why not?"

Seeing no one around, Gao Hai asked quietly.

To him, with Lin Feng’s excellent martial arts talent and unrivaled combat talent, and ability to refine Earth Chart demon spirits, signing with the three major clubs was a sure thing.

And with an S-Class contract, earning at least hundreds of millions of New Coin a year.

While Lin Feng and Elder Jiang were away, Gao Hai and Yang Fan even planned how to celebrate after Lin Feng’s signing.

"They wanted me to refine a demon spirit before signing, or they wouldn’t give a contract," Lin Feng explained to Gao Hai.

"Then just refine it, won’t it be finished?" Gao Hai asked in confusion.

"Indeed, but the grade of Earth Chart demon spirit they provided was too low."

Unlike Gao Hai’s cautious manner of fearing others might hear, Lin Feng spoke loudly without any concealment.

A low-grade Earth Chart demon spirit?

Why do these words sound so strange?

Initially, there were many people paying attention to Lin Feng. Regarding the rejection by the three major clubs, most people saw it as a sign that Lin Feng was worthless.

If Lin Feng truly had the capability to refine advanced demon spirits, how could the three major clubs possibly pass him up?

Therefore, as soon as Lin Feng spoke, he instantly attracted everyone’s attention.

They only knew that Lin Feng hadn’t signed with the three major clubs, so naturally, they assumed it was because Lin Feng wasn’t favored?

Now, it seems there might be another story?

If according to Lin Feng, it wasn’t the three major clubs rejecting him, but rather Lin Feng rejecting the three major clubs?

"Brother Feng, what demon spirit did they offer?" Yang Fan asked cooperatively.

Lin Feng displayed a bit of disdain: "I have a water attribute physique; Thunder offered the Ice Mandarin Duck ranked 177th on the Earth Chart. The combat power is decent, but its talent ability doesn’t suit me. Ju Xing provided the Cloud-Stepping Beast ranked 196th, but its level is too low."

"Too low-level—seriously? Lin Feng is too arrogant."

"It’s the first time I’ve heard someone say an Earth Chart demon spirit is low-level."

"Does he really think he’s Ye Qiu?"

Just like Elder Jiang and others, the hears were shocked first and then skeptical.

It’s impossible not to doubt, an Earth Chart demon spirit?

During the Awakening Day in Jiang City, among the hundred thousand teenagers refining demon spirits, only Ye Qiu refined an Earth Chart demon spirit.

A genius among ten thousand.

And now Lin Feng doesn’t even fancy the Earth Chart demon spirit, how can everyone believe this?

They looked at Lin Feng with a gaze filled with suspicion and disdain.

"This Lin Feng is probably a fraud, just trying to generate heat to sell advertising spaces."

"If he really had that talent, he could first refine the Cloud-Stepping Beast; after all, it’s almost the college entrance exam, refining an Earth Chart demon beast could add fifty points!"

"What use is martial arts talent without soul cultivation talent, unable to become strong."

"Anyone who uses him as a spokesperson is a fool."

"We should just let him perform by himself!"

Everyone was discussing, and at this moment, their gazes towards Lin Feng were as if looking at a swindler.

"Brother Feng..."

Gao Hai said somewhat anxiously. He couldn’t fathom how Lin Feng, once a peerless genius, had suddenly become a fraud.

Apart from Gao Hai, who completely believed in Lin Feng, even Yang Fan was somewhat skeptical, with thoughts similar to the others.

Giving up the Earth Chart’s Cloud-Stepping Beast?

How unrealistic is that?

"Haha."

Lin Feng laughed indifferently, as if mocking the ignorance of the crowd.

Though he seemed unworried, Lin Feng was inwardly smiling bitterly.

The development of the situation was not as he expected, it had even completely veered off track.

He came to the Thunder Martial Arts Dojo with the aim to make some advertising money, so he needed attention.

Lin Feng deliberately wore a white shirt with eye-catching titles like "High School Student Beats Martial Artist" and "Seeking Ad Space," and the effect was just as he anticipated, quickly drawing some attention.

Later, the post about him on the martial artist forum unexpectedly went viral, even skyrocketing to first place on the daily chart overnight, with talks of ’South Yeqiu North Linfeng,’ which was beyond Lin Feng’s expectations.

In Lin Feng’s initial plan, he intended to sell advertising space for just a few hundred thousand, and he’d be satisfied with a million.

With a million, he could publish tasks at the martial arts dojo, letting some martial artists help him capture Purple-winged Spirit Insects in the Otherworld, then he would announce their special effects on the martial artist forum...

At that time, he’d have the money to buy Pills to refine Nightmare!

This was his original plan.

But Lin Feng didn’t expect the post’s hype to exceed his control.

Thus, he directly changed his strategy, using this hype, he planned to sell ad spaces for over ten million, completing it in one step, saving trouble.

Moreover, he could use this to directly tell everyone about his talent, avoiding suspicions when his speed for refining Nightmare becomes too fast in the future.

Lin Feng knew he would attract some clubs’ attention, but he actually hadn’t planned to join.

Because his soul power was quite limited, even after refining Nightmare, even if he had the capability to refine other demon spirits, the level wouldn’t be very high.

But he couldn’t reject Elder Jiang directly and had to intentionally choose some rare demon spirits to decline.

The plan seemed comprehensive!

The desired outcome was achieved!

But Lin Feng couldn’t have guessed that because he rejected the three major clubs, he’d be doubted by everyone.

Facing everyone’s gaze and skepticism, Lin Feng still maintained his poise, saying: "Ye Qiu had the confidence to decline, why can’t I, Lin Feng!"

This statement evidently placed himself on equal footing with Ye Qiu.

However, the audience didn’t buy it; in their eyes, Lin Feng was just a swaggering fraud.

Ignoring the crowd’s discussions, Lin Feng, taking Gao Hai and the others, prepared to leave the martial arts dojo.

Among the crowd, the restaurant owner Zhou Fu, who had been observing Lin Feng, followed closely.