71: Recruitment of the Yanyang Empire

The arrival of Lu Fengming and the other person immediately drew the attention of the guards in front of the City Lord's Mansion, causing their gazes to involuntarily fall upon Lu Fengming and the others.

“Greetings, Linshan City Lord.”

Several guards immediately focused their attention on Oriental Qingmu, respectfully cupping their hands in salute.

Seeing their actions, Oriental Qingmu merely nodded slightly, offering no further response.

“Little Friend Lu, let us go inside to speak.”

As he spoke, Oriental Qingmu extended his hand, making a gesture of invitation, and smiled warmly at Lu Fengming.

Seeing this, Lu Fengming nodded indifferently, then followed Oriental Qingmu into the City Lord's Mansion.

After entering the mansion, the two walked along until they finally arrived in the main hall.

Oriental Qingmu immediately had someone prepare tea and personally brewed it for Lu Fengming.

Seeing Oriental Qingmu, the Linshan City Lord, make such a gesture, the many servants of the City Lord's Mansion were all dumbfounded and completely stunned.

One must know that their Linshan City Lord was usually a high and mighty, extremely dignified presence; they had never seen him so kind and approachable, even personally serving tea to a guest.

Even those guests with considerable backgrounds did not warrant such treatment from the Linshan City Lord.

Who exactly was this person?

Could it be a young master from some top-tier force, here for experience, which is why he received such a warm welcome from the Linshan City Lord?

This thought couldn't help but arise in the minds of the many servants in the City Lord's Mansion.

That their Linshan City Lord would personally brew tea for him also proved that this young master was definitely no ordinary person; he must have an extremely profound background.

Before long, Oriental Qingmu personally brewed the tea and presented it to Lu Fengming, saying with a cheerful smile, “Little Friend Lu, this spiritual tea, which I have treasured for a hundred years, is exceedingly rare.

I wonder if Little Friend Lu will enjoy its taste; please try it.”

With that, Oriental Qingmu pushed the teacup towards Lu Fengming.

From beginning to end, his face showed extreme closeness, as if he and Lu Fengming were family.

There was no hint of an elder's demeanor from Oriental Qingmu.

Looking at the teacup before him, Lu Fengming smiled calmly and reached out to take it.

“Thank you.”

Lu Fengming responded with a cheerful smile.

After taking the teacup, he didn't hesitate, merely taking a small sip.

“Hmm?”

After tasting it, Lu Fengming couldn't help but furrow his brow, a strange expression appearing on his face.

“This tea seems gentle, yet it appears to contain many mysterious and profound powers.”

Lu Fengming could keenly sense an extremely strange power contained within the tea.

This power carried a hint of dominance, yet it wasn't truly dominant; instead, within the dominance was a touch of gentleness, and within the gentleness, a hidden hint of dominance, layered and constantly intertwining.

Such power would not cause Lu Fengming any harm whatsoever.

On the contrary, Lu Fengming could perceive that this power could be gradually absorbed by him, thereby transforming into his own strength.

If he were to consume such tea for a long time, it would undoubtedly be of great help to his cultivation.

Clearly, just as Oriental Qingmu said, such tea must be an extremely precious existence.

Even a figure of the Linshan City Lord's caliber, like Oriental Qingmu, would not drink it daily.

“Linshan City Lord, I am a straightforward person, so let's get straight to the point.

I wonder what your true intention is in inviting me here.”

Lu Fengming was too lazy to beat around the bush with Oriental Qingmu and instead directly asked.

Upon hearing Lu Fengming's words, a faint smile still lingered on Oriental Qingmu's face.

“I never expected Little Friend Lu to be such a forthright person.

Since Little Friend Lu is so direct, I will not continue to beat around the bush with you here.”

“May I ask, Little Friend Lu, if you are interested in joining my Yan Yang Empire?”

Upon hearing Oriental Qingmu's words, Lu Fengming's brows instinctively furrowed, but he didn't show much change in expression, though a hint of doubt flickered in his eyes.

“Join the Yan Yang Empire? May I ask, Linshan City Lord, what exactly do you mean by that?”

Lu Fengming frowned, looking at Oriental Qingmu, and asked with some surprise.

“Hahaha…”

Hearing this, Oriental Qingmu couldn't help but burst into laughter, explaining to Lu Fengming.

“Little Friend Lu, to be honest, I have long heard about your identity.

You are currently being pursued by the two super forces, the Tianyu Empire and the Qingtian Sword Sect, and I have some understanding of your predicament.”

“As long as you are willing to join my Yan Yang Empire, I can tell you without hesitation that no one will dare to trouble you.

Not only that, my Yan Yang Empire is also willing to resolve the troubles with the Tianyu Empire and the Qingtian Sword Sect for you.”

Seemingly having some understanding of Lu Fengming's character, Oriental Qingmu directly stated his purpose, unceremoniously trying to recruit Lu Fengming.

Hearing Oriental Qingmu's words, Lu Fengming's brows raised once more.

He didn't say much, simply watched Oriental Qingmu quietly, allowing him to continue his performance.

“Little Friend Lu, at such a young age, you possess such terrifying strength.

You must be an exceptionally talented prodigy.”

“As long as you are willing to join my Yan Yang Empire, my Yan Yang Empire will undoubtedly treat you with the utmost respect, mobilizing all resources and sparing no effort to cultivate you.”

“I believe it won't be long before Little Friend Lu becomes the most top-tier existence in my Yan Yang Empire, becoming the pride of my Yan Yang Empire.”

Oriental Qingmu continued to persuade him, his tone carrying a hint of temptation.

“Can I understand this as, Linshan City Lord, you intend to win me, Lu Fengming, over?”

Lu Fengming quietly looked at Oriental Qingmu, asking in a flat tone.

“Little Friend Xiao is not only exceptionally talented but also incredibly intelligent.

That’s right, I want to win Little Friend Xiao over to serve my Yan Yang Empire, and I also hope Little Friend Xiao will join my Yan Yang Empire, so that we can become both good friends and colleagues.”

Oriental Qingmu also seemed very forthright, stating his purpose without reservation.

These words finally brought a slight change to Lu Fengming's expression.

He hadn't expected that while he was direct, Oriental Qingmu was even more direct than him.

He didn't show the slightest politeness, instead being straightforward and openly stating his purpose without any concealment.

“What if I refuse?”

After taking a deep breath, Lu Fengming asked tentatively.

Although Lu Fengming was currently being pursued by the two super forces, the Tianyu Empire and the Qingtian Sword Sect, with his current strength, he was completely unable to cope with the power of these two forces.

However, Lu Fengming was not overly worried about this.

Don't forget, he possessed the Side Effect Transfer System, his greatest trump card, making it an easy task to deal with these pursuits.

Therefore, there was no need to rush anything.

As for joining the Yan Yang Empire, it would indeed bring Lu Fengming many benefits and resolve many troubles.

However, Lu Fengming was not the type of person who liked to be controlled or manipulated.

Being his own boss was already enough.

Now, to go and work for someone else, to have another boss, naturally, Lu Fengming felt a slight sense of resistance.

“What if you refuse?”

Upon hearing this, Oriental Qingmu smiled calmly and shook his head.

“Little Friend Lu, your strength is indeed formidable, and your talent is that of a prodigy.

Even I have to admit that throughout the entire Southern Border, those whose talent can rival yours are extremely few.”

“However, your identity and background are what they are.

The world is not just about fighting and killing, but about human relationships.

If you don't have a very strong backer, how far can you go on your own?

Ultimately, you won't be able to grow up safely.”

“Rather than constantly exploring and wasting time on your own, it would be better to join a powerful force.

It can both protect you and provide you with sufficient cultivation resources.”