Chapter 171: Chapter 168: Showdown! I’ll Share This Divine Skill Jade Scroll With My Brothers

"Buried."

Han Feng’s voice was calm, as if he were talking about some trivial matter.

He pointed to his own backpack.

"There was a natural sinkhole there. I threw the bodies in, filled it with dirt, and then piled large rocks on top."

"Unless someone deliberately goes digging with a shovel, no one will ever find it."

Zhang Hao stared at him for several seconds.

The cold glint in his eyes finally, slowly, receded.

He nodded.

"Well done."

Zhang Hao turned and gestured with his chin at the backpacks on the ground, the ones bearing the Flame Badge.

"Fan Jian."

"Take all these backpacks outside and find a secluded place to burn them."

"Remember to scatter the ashes. Don’t leave a single trace."

His voice was as cold as iron.

"We can’t keep these things."

"The Blazing Fire Corps sent a lot of people in this time."

"If any other Mercenaries see them, it’ll be a world of trouble."

"Understood."

Without another word, Fan Jian gathered the empty packs and headed out of the cave.

Once that potential threat was dealt with, Zhang Hao’s gaze swept over everyone in the cave.

His voice grew deep and chillingly cold.

"As for what happened today, everyone keeps their mouths shut tight."

"I don’t want to hear a single whisper of this getting out."

"If anyone can’t control their tongue, don’t blame me, Zhang Hao, for turning on you and kicking you out of the society!"

"Understood!"

A shiver went through the group, and they answered in unison.

Only then did Zhang Hao nod in satisfaction.

But he knew that a secret couldn’t be kept for long with threats alone.

To make these proud prodigies truly keep quiet, he needed a stronger chain.

Profit.

He turned to Han Feng, his tense expression softening into one of appreciation.

"Han Feng, it’s a waste for you to use that Perception Ability alone."

Zhang Hao walked up to Han Feng, his posture relaxed, as if he were negotiating.

"I have a proposal."

"From now on, we won’t split up."

"You’ll be the ’eyes,’ responsible for finding paths and giving warnings."

"The rest of us will be the ’hands,’ responsible for digging things up, carrying them, and... clearing all obstacles."

He glanced around, then changed his tone and dropped a bombshell.

"Of all the final profits, you alone will take fifty percent."

"The remaining fifty percent will be split among the eight of us."

"How about it?"

The moment he spoke, the cave fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.

The breathing of several team members grew heavy.

Fifty percent!

This wasn’t preferential treatment. This was making Han Feng the engine of the entire operation!

But no one objected. No one even felt it was unfair.

They stared intently at the small mountain of loot on the ground. Everyone could do the math.

Following Han Feng for the scraps was far more profitable than struggling on their own for the bones!

Han Feng looked up, meeting Zhang Hao’s frank yet assessing gaze.

He understood immediately.

’Burning the backpacks was a show of authority, a matter of discipline.’

’The fifty-percent split is about binding us together, about winning hearts and minds.’

’This captain is a master of open-and-aboveboard schemes.’

A solid community bound by mutual interest was forming.

And he was its core.

"Alright, I’ll follow the captain’s lead."

Han Feng smiled and nodded, agreeing without a moment’s hesitation.

For him, there were only pros and no cons to this arrangement.

"Good!"

Zhang Hao breathed a sigh of relief and turned to formally announce the decision to the others.

The atmosphere in the cave instantly exploded.

Everyone was ecstatic, rubbing their hands together as if they could see countless Spirit Coins beckoning to them.

Su Yue adjusted her glasses, her eyes fixed on Han Feng with the fiery intensity of someone observing a rare research specimen.

Liu Cheng even puffed out his chest and promised to use his family’s connections to help Han Feng find the best Spiritual Secret Technique as soon as they got back.

Watching his high-spirited teammates, Han Feng felt exceptionally calm inside.

He felt the warm, smooth Jade Scroll in his pocket.

A thought was becoming clearer and clearer in his mind.

’A team bound only by profit isn’t enough.’

’To go further, you need something else.’

’Obligation.’

’A favor so immense that they will all be indebted to me, a debt they can never fully repay.’

Pale blue text quietly materialized on his retina.

[Host has assessed the situation and seen through the hearts of men. Your disposition has advanced.]

[Reward Triggered: Heart Clarity and Nature Seeing (Skill Proficiency) +10]

A cool sensation flowed through his mind, and the last trace of hesitation in Han Feng’s eyes vanished.

He suddenly stood up.

The once-lively cave fell silent again because of his movement.

All eyes were fixed on him.

Han Feng’s smile faded, replaced by an unprecedentedly serious expression.

He gave a slight bow to everyone present.

"My apologies, everyone."

"Just now... I lied."

As soon as the words left his mouth, a dead silence fell over the cave.

Wang Meng, who was gnawing on a piece of jerky, nearly choked to death when he heard this.

His eyes went wide as he desperately tried to signal Han Feng.

’Brother, are you crazy?’

’Are you trying to self-destruct?!’

Zhang Hao’s brow instantly furrowed into a knot.

He didn’t speak, but an oppressive pressure began to emanate from him.

"The truth is, those five Mercenaries didn’t die on the rocky slope."

Han Feng’s voice wasn’t loud, but it reached every person’s ears clearly.

He slowly took the cyan Jade Scroll out of his pocket.

In the flickering firelight, a watery brilliance flowed across the Jade Scroll’s surface, as if it held an ancient secret.

"Brother Meng and I discovered a buried underground ruin."

"Those five men followed us inside, intending to kill us and take our loot. But I used the ruin’s traps to leave them there permanently."

He calmly placed the Jade Scroll on the stone table in front of him.

"This Jade Scroll is the only thing I found in the ruin."

Han Feng’s gaze swept over everyone present, his voice calm and firm.

"It should contain some kind of ancient inheritance."

"But my current Spiritual Power isn’t strong enough to break the seal on it."

"I feel that since we are brothers and teammates, I shouldn’t keep something that could change our destinies to myself."

"I’m bringing it out now, first, to apologize for concealing this from you."

"And second, I want to offer it as a true welcoming gift."

"If it contains a Cultivation Technique or a Secret Technique, then everyone here will get a share."

"Even if we trade it for resources, everyone will get their cut!"

BOOM!

If the pile of Spiritual Materials had only made them envious...

...then the appearance of this inheritance Jade Scroll was like a bombshell that detonated in everyone’s mind!

An ancient ruin?

An inheritance Jade Scroll?

This was the kind of thing that only appeared in legends and top-tier auctions. Its value couldn’t be measured in money!

It was an opportunity for an expert to rise!

It was the foundation for a clan’s prosperity!

Anyone else who obtained such a treasure would have kept it a secret to their grave.

But Han Feng...

He had just taken it out so casually?

And he wanted to share it with everyone?!

Even Zhang Hao, usually as steady as a mountain, gripped his blade hilt so tightly that his knuckles turned white from the sheer intensity of his emotions.

He stared at Han Feng, his eyes filled with an unprecedented mix of emotion and shock.