776: Chapter 762: Juvenile Form 776: Chapter 762: Juvenile Form Lu Ping’an was not an ordinary Rule-Master; at least, ordinary Rule-Masters were not .
“Rule-Masters, they’re not …”
Among the handful of old stagers who knew the true strength of Rule-Masters, seeing such a Lu Ping’an filled them with bafflement and doubt.
Although Rule-Masters were scarce and powerful, there were still a few of them among the large population of each city.
After all, there were always some people who were not so normal, and they could forcibly break through even the most difficult thresholds.
Ordinary Rule-Masters were actually divided into two main types.
Most so-called Rule-Masters were actually high-level professionals who had “part-time” jobs, basically Rule-level or higher bosses who took up this profession.
They often already had four or five complete Decrees.
By supplementing their adjacent paths, although the consumption was usually calculated in years or even decades, under normal circumstances, the difficulty was not outrageous… However, as a price, the Advancement level was average as well.
In battles of their level, the utility of low-level Decrees was minimal, and the overly diverse power system made it unsuitable for climbing higher.
It was not very practical both in the long and short term.
Mostly, they served to make up for shortcomings… These high-level part-time Rule-Masters were mostly here for “intelligence”, requiring other professional systems and an advantage in battles against those high-ranked professionals.
Therefore, although they could bring out the abilities of other professions, they were usually conventional products and often remained at this level for a lifetime.
For them, having one of the thirteen Decrees was better simple and conventional, instead of Lu Ping’an deliberately choosing “potential self-created paths” to challenge himself.
“…Lu Ping’an, you shouldn’t be a part-timer from a lower level.
You are obviously not yet a fourth-tier…”
Lu Ping’an shrugged his shoulders, admitting this could not be hidden.
“Soon, I might break through before I return, provided my Rule-Master induction goes smoothly.”
“…So you are an ordinary Scholar Rule-Master, but this…
seems too young, and generally, they also don’t have the ability to mimic other professions.”
The things Lu Ping’an demonstrated now were clearly too incredible.
Those extremely rare, normal breakthrough Scholar prodigies (usually with Scholar Talent Abilities) were limited by age and strength, and their expertise was strictly at the “knowledge comprehension” level.
While they were able to speak eloquently and even point out the shortcomings of other Decrees, they were unable to “imitate” them.
Apparently, this was beyond the realm of simple hard work; this was…
“His Talent Abilities are somewhat outrageous…”
Yes, some old hands had noticed that all the anomalies stemmed from that “investment”.
It seemed that the feedback Lu Ping’an had received was even more terrifying than expected.
In fact, Lu Ping’an had indeed taken such a path, forging the third path of Rule-Master Advancement, or what should be called the “Sophist Advancement Technique”, which leverages Abnormal Ability to seize and replicate the life, battle experience, and insights of opponents, thereby achieving a low-end and lower-level reproduction of their abilities.
Somehow, Lu Ping’an’s Advancement was actually similar to that of the Sophists.
“Haha, don’t look at me like that, it’s indeed caused by my abilities, but currently, they’re quite ordinary, not as good as real Decrees, and basically have no practical value in battle…”
This was still true, but if it were combined with the Decree that Lu Ping’an was perfecting, it would be nonsense.
However, for the “big shots” present, the most direct finding was that not only would Lu Ping’an soon become a complete Rule-Master, but he was also likely not an ordinary one.
“He’s only seventeen years old, right?”
After the initial shock and disbelief, soon enough, most people looked at him with much more enthusiasm.
Professional’s time was limited, and considering Lu Ping’an’s age, no one thought he would be stuck at the fourth-tier…
“…Rule-level, it should be just a matter of time.
If he maintains this outrageous progress, he may break through before the age of forty.”
Earlier, there were people who claimed that Lu Ping’an was a “Rule-level seed”, which ordinary professionals took seriously, but the bosses didn’t…
They knew how difficult it was for a Curse to progress to Decree level and even more so to Rule level.
Many people even took the wrong path from the beginning and could not advance further no matter how hard they tried.
Those who advanced quickly in the early stage often got stuck more severely later on.
Lu Ping’an’s displayed “Talent” and “tolerance” for other paths…
“It’s not reliable to say that a Cursed-level (Black Iron Brass) will eventually reach Rule-level, but it’s true that a genius Decree-level, especially those under twenty years old…
he has a real chance to break through the Rule-level!”
At this point, Lu Ping’an also smiled.
One of his goals was vaguely reached.
This time when he goes back, he is bound to stand out…even if he doesn’t want to, he will be pushed out.
Naturally, whether it’s the official side or the individual, Lu Ping’an will bear several times the pressure, as well as various open or hidden threats and inducements.
“Since it can’t be hidden, there’s no need to hide.”
Lu Ping’an himself was quite open-minded about it; since it couldn’t be concealed, it was better not to hide it, and to plan the next development path based on the exposure.
“…this ‘self-introduction’ should be enough.”
The “potential” and “personal decision” shown by Lu Ping’an earlier were important and remarkable, but for professionals, hard strength is the Main Road.
A Rule-level big shot’s words outweigh years of planning and development.
What Lu Ping’an needs is to establish his “Rule Seed” identity, which will clear many obstacles and troubles for his life and development after his return….if you don’t have enough chips, don’t try to buy me off.
The bosses and lone strong men in this conference room were no ordinary people.
Most of them were powerful figures in the Four City who leaned towards the official side.
Behind each of them was a team, a power, and even the lone strongmen had their own connections.
This time, with the backbone and civilian core sent by the Four City, an “alliance” that should not have existed in theory was created.
Normally, when the leaders and teams came to this world, they would just mind their own business, and there was no need or possibility to band together for warmth.
Now they were gathered together by chance, and whatever you did was equal to magnifying the “intelligence” countless times.
Perhaps a stupid joke would spread throughout the Four City in a few months, and an excellent potential newcomer might be pursued and recruited by the Four City and even the entire Changping State.
In order to counter the pressure of the future, Lu Ping’an needs more “allies” and “investors”….he has actually started doing it already, but just needs a little shock to make the other party raise the stakes.
“There’s no reason to refuse for those who have tried the courtyard.”
No matter whether Lu Ping’an wants it or not, the “Trading Land” will probably become a semi-public secret (limited to high-end environments).
Therefore, he will naturally try to “recruit” those high-end professionals.
Behind every one of them is a group of people, and often a big shot in the environment.
As expected, when Lu Ping’an returns, these big shots will come to the Ancient city specially to borrow the courtyard environment for transactions, Cultivation, exchanges, and so on.
This is within Lu Ping’an’s plan, and those “powerhouses” will naturally be friendly to him because of their shared interests.
These are “connections,” and if you don’t have enough strength and confidence, you’ll end up as a guilty party carrying a precious stone.
Not only personal strength is needed in this aspect, but Lu Ping’an also needs to show potential to gain more official support…he even suspects that once he returns, his “top-secret” files will mostly be unsealed, and he must have enough “chips” not to be directly traded away by some higher-level beings.
A future Rule-level, a locally cultivated talent inclined towards the official, and maybe even able to go one step further above the Rule-level…Lu Ping’an thinks that these chips are probably too heavy to be taken out for exchange, or the other side will not offer a higher price.
At this time, showing the courtyard is also about building good relations with the big shots of all parties.
Hinting at his strength and potential can also help avoid some unnecessary conflicts.
Good intentions are commendable, but malice cannot be ignored either.
Instead of waiting for problems to arise, it is better to minimize the possibility of problems and conflicts…
As Lu Ping’an thinks and does.
When the meeting was over, as he had expected, he received many big shot’s friendly “invitation cards,” “Name Cards,” and “private contact methods,” and he knew he had succeeded.
You need a second batch of investment…”
But the side effect was a bit subtle.
Lu Ping’an thought the exposure of the “copy” ability would make more Decree-level professionals hesitate to accept investment, but the big shots who had been invested and copied before came back to him again.
“We need more information.
We’re willing to pay points…”
The reality that Lu Ping’an is about to become a Lawyer did not make them worry about intelligence leaks; on the contrary, it made them even more certain that Lu Ping’an could help them.
In fact, this was also Lu Ping’an’s assumption.
For these experienced old stagers who have been famous for a long time, information leaks have been going on for more than one day, but if someone truly guides them to advance further, any price is worth it, especially just a bit of their own information.
Gradually, within this camp, some top big shots from the Four City naturally formed a “communication channel,” and a vague “power alliance” was gradually taking shape.
At the core of it, naturally, were Lu Ping’an, his Rebirth Commerce, and the Trading Courtyard.