Chapter 1460: Chapter 1431: How About Me?

Looking at the group of guys in front of him, Li Chen was a bit speechless.

To be honest, although he had encountered robberies before, it wasn’t too often, especially back when he was in the Lower Realm. He would occasionally do it once or twice.

Of course, that was only in the early days of the creation of the Palace of the Nether King when funds were rather scarce, but later on, he no longer engaged in such activities.

However, upon arriving in the Heavenly Realm, Li Chen discovered that although the people here were ridiculously strong, the civilization seemed to progress a bit slowly…

Such a group of guys, to be honest, Li Chen didn’t think he couldn’t handle them. However, dealing with such a group, even for him, would require quite the effort.

He might even end up with some serious injuries.

Although Li Chen believed that now at the Envy Heaven Realm, he wouldn’t be afraid of anyone, but the opponents had numbers on their side.

Even a flurry of random punches can kill a master!

If it wasn’t absolutely necessary, Li Chen didn’t want to easily get into a conflict.

And that leader at the Late Stage of the Envy Heaven Realm, seeing Li Chen remain silent for so long, couldn’t help but get a bit annoyed: “What, are you planning to resist?”

“I’ll give you two choices: First, hand over your valuables and your Flying Spirit Artifact, and then quickly get lost. Second, we’ll take them ourselves, but if we have to do it, I can’t guarantee your safety.” With that, the Late Stage Envy Heaven Realm leader made a professional menacing expression.

“Isn’t there a third option?” Li Chen’s sudden question stunned the entire group.

Generally speaking, when they were robbing, the martial artists they cornered were either panicked or had a sullen face, none of them would calmly ask questions like this.

Seeing the leader about to speak, Li Chen quickly waved his hand: “Just curious, how much do you usually manage to plunder in such robberies, enough to support your cultivation?”

The leader clearly didn’t want to answer Li Chen’s question and seemed ready to make a move. However, at this moment, someone at the Mid-Heaven Realm Late Stage murmured softly: “Not really enough.”

“Not enough, huh!” That’s exactly the effect Li Chen wanted. Clearly, this Mid-Heaven Realm person voiced the thoughts of the others. Li Chen’s spirit lifted, and he quickly said: “How many people do you have in Heisha Ridge altogether?”

The Late Stage Envy Heaven Realm leader was puzzled, but in his eyes, Li Chen, at most Mid-Stage Envy Heaven Realm, wasn’t going anywhere. He replied with a cold face: “Over a hundred people.”

“Over a hundred people, that’s quite a lot.” Li Chen mumbled to himself, continuing to ask: “And the others, do they split into groups like you and go out robbing?”

Upon hearing Li Chen’s question, the Late Stage Envy Heaven Realm leader grew a bit impatient: “Kid, what exactly are you asking this for?”

“Don’t rush!” Li Chen said again: “Anyway, I’m just at the Mid-Stage Envy Heaven Realm, right? Are you guys afraid I’ll escape? Even as robbers, you have to maintain a level of professionalism, you know? Without even this bit of professionalism, you’re much worse compared to the robbers I’ve seen!” Li Chen said with a disdainful expression.

The leader was invigorated, taking note of Li Chen’s disdainful look. They’ve been around for over a hundred years at Heisha Ridge, and yet this Mid-Stage Envy Heaven Realm kid dared to belittle them?

“Who says we don’t have any? Fine, we’ll let you keep talking!” An irritable man next to the leader couldn’t hold back and shouted.

The leader found it odd, but said nothing, feeling assured by Li Chen’s Mid-Stage Envy Heaven Realm cultivation, sure he couldn’t escape.

“You have over a hundred people in total, do they all go around intercepting passing martial artists like this?” Li Chen asked again.

“Of course not!” The leader snorted coldly: “We at Heisha Ridge aren’t some ordinary force. Even if only half of us have combat power, we can still protect our families!”

Li Chen rolled his eyes internally, previously being deceived by the leader’s boastful words, thinking they were some powerful force. Turns out they’re just a small gang.

“Over fifty people, tsk tsk.” Li Chen shook his head, making the entire group itch with anger.

“Friends of Heisha Ridge, don’t blame me, I’m not looking down on you, but the way you intercept like this is incredibly inefficient.” Li Chen clicked his tongue and said.

“Inefficient?” The leader was a native Heavenly Realm person and didn’t really understand this professional term, but being the leader, he was sensitive to such words and immediately pondered over the key point.

“First of all, you guys have so many people intercepting one Mid-Stage Envy Heaven Realm like me. My strength might not be as great as most of you. How much good stuff could I possibly have on me? Even if you take my ring and I, a Loose Cultivator, with just a few little pieces, how much can you get by sharing, right?”

Hearing Li Chen’s words, the group showed a contemplative look. Even the leader had to admit Li Chen made sense.

“Secondly!” Li Chen coughed, continuing: “With you all crouched in one place, only moving within a limited range, even if martial artists pass by, you can only intercept them by chance. If someone with a high-grade Flying Spirit Artifact passes by, you might not even be able to catch up, which would mean wasted effort, wouldn’t it?”

The group of bandits sighed, and the leader remained speechless.

“And lastly, though your strength is not bad, you’re not the strongest out there.” Li Chen shook his head: “If a stronger one were to appear, you might not gain any benefits, and instead suffer great losses.”

Hearing Li Chen’s words, the group fell silent.

Indeed, in the past, Heisha Ridge had over two hundred people, but over the years, they had dwindled down to just over a hundred, and among them, quite a few had little combat abilities.

“Therefore, it’s not that I’m scaremongering, but if Heisha Ridge continues down this path, without change, extinction is not far off!” Li Chen said loudly, his words like a wake-up call, making all the bandits shudder.

At this point, even the leader couldn’t hold back, cautiously asking: “So, how should we change?”

Hearing the leader’s question, the corners of Li Chen’s mouth twitched, almost bursting into laughter, but he suppressed it.

After a couple of coughs, Li Chen put on a serious face: “First off, Heisha Ridge can no longer work behind closed doors. You need to recruit fresh blood!”

“You mean… recruit people?” the leader hesitated to ask.

Heisha Ridge indeed wasn’t what it used to be, and among the martial artists, not many were willing to become bandits. Recruiting now would be rather difficult for them.

“Exactly!” Li Chen expressed earnestly, as if discussing something extremely serious.

But his next words made the leader’s expression turn peculiar.

“How about me?”