Those who used to complain the most were now the most resolute.
Old Lin’s emotions also influenced the others, and they couldn’t help but speak up, “We’ve been like this for several hundred years anyway. Staying a bit longer or a bit less makes no difference.”
“Right, at worst, we’ll just go back to how we were before!”
“I believe in Little Li too. With his luck, he’ll surely find a way.”
Everyone understood that what Li Chonglou had asked Elder An to convey, while seemingly considerate of them, was essentially a choice of allegiance.
Those who believed would stay. This way, if Li Chonglou ever made a comeback, they would soar with him.
Even if they had to endure those years that felt like an eternity again, what was that compared to betting on the right side?
Elder An chuckled, “Alright then, I’ll go tell him.”
Li Chonglou hadn’t expected such trust from everyone, especially at a time like this. A warmth inevitably rose in his heart.
“Also, help me convey this: if that day ever comes, I will definitely find a way to help them all be reborn!”
However, for safety’s sake, Li Chonglou still had everyone return to their soul bottles within their bodies. He wasn't sure if this item might give the higher-ups an excuse to take it away.
But the soul bottle was a treasure already integrated into their bodies. Even if he became useless, that fact wouldn’t change.
In truth, if he were to speak of hope, Li Chonglou wasn’t entirely without it.
Besides being soul bodies, there were two other points that could be crucial for a future turnaround.
One was the Mai Qian cultivation technique.
This technique inherently required breaking before rebuilding. People like Chen Pao and the others hadn’t even truly begun to grasp it. Even Chen Peiying was the same.
What Li Chonglou taught them were modified versions. Although they could still manifest the characteristics of Mai Qian, to advance further, they would have to break and rebuild first!
What did it mean to break and rebuild?
To cripple one’s own cultivation and start anew!
This was something only Yue Hai didn’t have to experience again because he had obtained a fragmented version of Mai Qian when he was young. For others to make any progress in Mai Qian, they had to go through this process!
Precisely because of this characteristic, Li Chonglou speculated that even if he crippled his own cultivation again, it wouldn’t be impossible to cultivate anew in the future.
However, he also understood that it would likely not happen in the short term. The higher-ups would definitely send people to monitor him.
Besides this, he also had another source of confidence: Xiao Zi, who had already merged with his sea of consciousness.
That was the spirit of heavenly lightning. Since ancient times, there had been the concept of physical cultivation, and lightning was the divinely chosen skill for it.
Perhaps in the future, he might even switch careers and become a physical cultivator.
Of course, neither choice was achievable in the short term. Given Elder Tie’s status, being able to guarantee his survival was likely the extent of his ability. If he caused more trouble, then truly no one could protect him.
Thinking of this, Li Chonglou’s gaze gradually deepened.
Just because of one sentence, all his efforts over the past few months, even the past twenty-odd years, would be in vain! No matter who this happened to, they wouldn’t have any strong feelings!
If that day truly came, he would repay the humiliation he suffered today a hundredfold!
Li Chonglou remained silent on the way back to the General Bureau. Elder Tie understood his mood and did not speak.
Upon returning to the General Bureau headquarters, the white-haired man was already waiting.
“Kid, have you really thought it through? I also think staying in the underground world is your best choice.”
Li Chonglou said softly, “Thank you, but everyone has their own aspirations. Some things are even more important than my life, and I must accomplish them.”
The white-haired man sighed and patted his shoulder.
“If you need anything in the future, you can call me directly. Although they won’t let you continue cultivating, you should still have some ordinary person’s troubles that I can help with.”
“Then, Boss, can you lend me a few hundred million for self-defense?”
The white-haired man almost spat out his water, his eyes widening.
“A few hundred million! What are you joking about? My monthly salary is only a little over a thousand yuan!”
The white-haired man wasn’t lying, but the meaning was different.
For someone in his position, money was long gone. The things they needed usually couldn’t be bought with money.
Li Chonglou smiled, “I was just kidding. Returning to being an ordinary person isn’t so bad. At least I won’t have to worry about someone coming looking for me any day. Besides, having Lin Qianqian is enough. I’ll find her if anything happens.”
Elder Tie suddenly spoke, “Kid, are you really not going to consider Qianqian?”
“Uh, she and I have a purely platonic friendship, okay?”
“Scumbag.”
Li Chonglou was speechless.
However, this matter had been brought up before, and Elder Tie knew Li Chonglou’s stance, so he didn’t say much more, just told him to wait there while he went to find the elders.
After Elder Tie left, the white-haired man beckoned Li Chonglou back to his office.
He even personally poured Li Chonglou a cup of hot tea.
Li Chonglou was curious about his attitude and couldn’t help but ask, “Boss, I’m practically useless now, you don’t have to be so polite, do you?”
The white-haired man’s expression turned serious. “What kind of talk is that? Although you haven’t been in Shangjing for long, many things happened and were resolved thanks to you. If you really count, you are also one of our great contributors.”
What he had asked was just a casual question, but the white-haired man’s words made Li Chonglou instantly realize something was amiss.
At this point, why would he still mention being a contributor?
Only a child would believe such a statement!
Li Chonglou rolled his eyes slightly and directly asked, “Boss, if you have something to say, just say it. There’s no need to beat around the bush.”
The white-haired man grinned, “Little Li is indeed a smart person. Then I’ll be direct. your master is Senior Mo, right? Can you hand over the cultivation technique you learned to our General Bureau?”
Li Chonglou smiled, “No.”
The white-haired man’s face stiffened.
“Why?”
“Can your General Bureau not listen to Peak Power?”
“That’s not possible. Although our superiors are the Elder Council, above the Elder Council is Peak Power. You’re saying we can’t listen to him?”
Li Chonglou smiled, “Then that’s that. I don’t need to elaborate on how I ended up like this, do I? Do you think I would hand over my master’s life’s work to my enemy?”
The white-haired man shook his head, “Kid, that’s not how you should put it. To put it bluntly, Peak Power probably wouldn’t care for Mo Lao’s cultivation technique. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have ignored it back then.”
“Furthermore, if you hand over the technique to me, I will use it to cultivate more geniuses. This isn’t working for anyone but for our entire China!”
Seeing that the white-haired man was trying to elevate the topic, Li Chonglou immediately interrupted, “No, Boss, you don’t need to flatter me. The Mai Qian cultivation technique won’t have much effect in a short period. And you don’t lack this one technique.”