The People's God: Sacrificing Trillions to Ascend
Chapter 877 - The Art of Managing People
Han Feng waved for his servants to remove Iron Head’s body. That fight had given him a clear understanding of Han Wu’s strength.
Han Wu would be hard-pressed to find a match at the Third-rate level. Only a Second-rate fighter could contend with him. Moreover, Han Feng wasn’t even sure if that was Han Wu’s full power. There was always the possibility of hidden techniques.
The thought alone excited Han Feng. If he could bring Han Wu under his banner, controlling all of Maple City would be within reach. The only problem was that Han Wu’s group didn’t seem interested in staying.
After a moment’s thought, Han Feng asked, “May I ask what business brings you four here? Perhaps I can be of help.”
Han Wu perked up at that. The four of them were clueless in the Martial Arts Civilization, with no connections or influence. Even if they reached Jiang City, they had no leads on finding the people who kidnapped Qin Shuang’s family.
Han Feng, on the other hand, was at least powerful enough in Maple City to go toe-to-toe with the city lord. His resources were far beyond anything Han Wu’s group had.
“Do you know Jiang City?” Han Wu asked.
Han Feng nodded. “I have several business interests in Jiang City, though not as many as here in Maple City.”
Seeing an opportunity, Han Wu bluffed, “We’re headed to Jiang City. My... wife’s family was kidnapped by criminals, and we need to find them.”
Qin Shuang felt shy when Han Wu called her his wife, but kept her composure.
“I see,” Han Feng said, a trace of delight in his voice.
Learning what Han Wu needed was the most important part. As long as he could fulfill that, he could win Han Wu over slowly and make him loyal. This was Han Feng’s philosophy of managing people.
“Maple City and Jiang City are quite far apart. It’s at least half a month by horseback. I have several merchant ships departing for Jiang City in five days. Following the lake downstream, the trip only takes five days. You’re welcome to stay and take the boat when it’s ready,” Han Feng proposed.
The group was delighted. A fifteen-day journey cut down to ten, with five of those being rest days.
Han Wu understood the principle of repaying a debt and seriously considered whether to help Han Feng during those five days. Taking the ride wouldn’t feel right otherwise.
Han Feng arranged rooms for them that night. The next morning, he came by to check on them, cleverly inquiring about their special abilities and preferred weapons. That afternoon, he returned with several training manuals, each selected to complement their special abilities and fighting styles. The effort was obvious, and Han Wu took note of it all.
After instructing the others to take the manuals suited to them and begin training, he claimed two manuals for himself.
The first was Mountain Splitter, an axe technique manual. The second was an internal cultivation method called the Dark Moon Sutra. This technique absorbed moonlight to increase one’s internal energy, and paired reasonably well with Shadow Xun.
Han Wu tossed both manuals to Xun, demanding results within three days. Xun desperately wanted to curse at him, but didn’t dare to.
After all, Xun had witnessed Han Wu slaughter countless enemies from inside the Demon King Transformation. His fear of Han Wu was etched into his very being. Even with Han Wu’s weakened strength in the Martial Arts Civilization, Xun still couldn’t fathom rebelling. The consequences were simply more than he could bear.
Left with no other choice, Xun could only resign himself to the hard work of training techniques and cultivating internal energy around the clock inside Han Wu’s shadow.
While Xun was lamenting this, Han Wu pulled out the two manuals previously looted from the shop and examined them closely.
One was the Willow Spear Technique, characterized by fast, precise, and ruthless thrusts. When mastered fully, it could reach the power of a Second-rate fighter. The other was an internal method called the Tyrant Spear Formula, which generated a special energy that greatly enhanced spear techniques and their lethality.
After a moment of thought, Han Wu threw these at Xun as well, telling him to study hard and not disappoint.
Such misfortune. That was Xun’s only thought.
Two days passed in a flash. Han Wu ate, slept, and occasionally worked through techniques with Xun, using his experience to deepen Xun’s understanding.
Qin Shuang, He Xu, and Jia Gui—lacking Han Wu’s advantage of having a self-studying, self-training special ability—had to do everything themselves, so their progress was slower.
The morning of the next day, Han Wu woke up and was about to go eat when the old butler rushed in. “Master Han Wu, this is bad! Someone tipped off the city lord’s office. They’ve sent men to search the estate. The four of you need to hide!”
Han Wu was briefly caught off guard. He’d almost forgotten that they were still on the city lord’s wanted list. Their priority was catching Han Feng’s ship to Jiang City. They couldn’t risk being delayed.
After mulling it over, Han Wu had an idea. The city lord had issued the bounty. Han Wu couldn’t remove the bounty, but he could try getting rid of the person who had issued it. The bounty would likely become irrelevant once the city lord was dead.
He grabbed the butler before the old man could leave and asked for the location of the city lord’s estate. The old man gave him directions, but urged him to stay hidden. Despite nodding obediently, Han Wu’s mind was already thinking about yanking the problem out at its roots.
After gathering Qin Shuang, Jia Gui, and He Xu, he explained the situation and his plan.
“You want to assassinate the city lord? I heard he’s a Second-rate fighter with an incredibly powerful palm technique. Don’t do anything rash!” Jia Gui objected immediately.
Han Wu was the least of Jia Gui’s concerns. His biggest worry was being dragged down by association. This life of training techniques, sipping wine, and having beautiful attendants at his beck and call was much better than what he had back in the Divine Civilization. It was so pleasant that he had even considered never leaving Han Feng’s estate.
Unfortunately, Han Wu needed Jia Gui. More precisely, he needed Jia Gui’s speed. Jia Gui was not only the fastest of them but had also trained a speed-boosting footwork technique and an internal technique that lightened his body. This made him the perfect mount for Han Wu.