Dual Cultivation God Returns Chapter 1033: Artform

Dawn was approaching based on the time that had elapsed. After their late-night talk about intuition, the pair kept chatting from time to time, their spirits lifting noticeably. However, no words passed between them in the previous hour, as Qian Lei chose to grant his grandfather space for reflection.

The chamber hung in absolute silence, free of any noise at all.

Then suddenly...

Qian Ying burst into a sudden excited laugh, "Heh! You know what? To hell with it! Let’s roll the dice! Suddenly, I am feeling lucky!"

"Oh no! Not that, don’t say that. Dad told me you often told him the story of buying your arena, and apparently this was the phrase you said back then as well"

"You scallywag! I told you that it was a passion project! And what’s wrong with my arena?"

"Where was your famed intuition when you made that decision?"

"You little rascal, I give you a..."

A loud click echoed as the door's lock released, and the door flew open. Wu Long stepped in, appearing refreshed and clad in fresh attire, indicating he had truly returned to his residence for the night rather than lurking in some dim plotting chamber.

A small white fox perched clearly on his shoulder this time, prompting Qian Lei to shout, "I told you there was a fox! There it is!"

"Pipe down!", Zhao Xieren shot him a look that screamed ’what are you, a madman?’, his voice laced more with worry for the youth than outright scolding, leaving both grandfather and grandson wide-eyed in surprise.

"So, have you decided?", Wu Long inquired.

"Yes, I’ll do it"

"You’re sure? I told you, there won’t be a way back", Wu Long spoke with genuine earnestness.

"Yes, I also wanted to thank you for giving us this chance, and for sparing our lives, sincerely"

"Fufufu~, as expected... I told you, Old Man, not to question Wu Long’s judgement with your worries~", Fen Baihu addressed Zhao Xieren.

"Yes, I was the foolish one, Lady Fen Baihu", he bowed his head while inwardly howling, ’When did you tell me that?! I don’t remember any such thing happening!’

"You made a good choice, friend! Truly a wise choice!", Kwon Qianhong, positioned at Wu Long’s other side, declared with a broad smile, flashing a thumbs up.

His overnight shift in demeanor toward them made the grandfather and grandson trade puzzled glances.

"Heh, then we won’t be needing that", Wu Long lifted his hand, intricate patterns materializing above his fingertips. With a slight gesture, the shackles binding the elder’s arms and legs snapped open with a clang, the glowing runes on the metal orbs clamping his fingers faded, and the orbs dropped to the ground.

Even knowing it was coming, Zhao Xieren couldn’t stop himself from tensing.

Qian Ying’s face flashed with shock, swiftly morphing into a bitter smile, "It is a cruel final test... ehm... Valley Master"

"The name’s Wu Long. And I had to see what you’ll do", Wu Long laughed lightly, "Besides, you passed, didn’t you?"

"I thank you for not putting my foolish grandchild through the same test"

"He wouldn’t pass it", Wu Long affirmed with a nod, "But not because of malice or bad intentions. He simply lacks experience. You’ll have to guide him well, now that your secret was revealed to him"

"Hmph, as if Grandpa is so wise... he didn’t even believe me about the fox", Qian Lei pouted, turning his head aside with a grumbled mutter that drew a wry smile from his grandfather.

"Should I call you...", Qian Ying glanced between Zhao Xieren and Kwon Qianhong.

"Whichever suits you", Wu Long gave a wry grin as Kwon Qianhong vigorously pointed at himself from behind, scheming to sway Qian Ying toward the "Boss" side over "Valley Master".

"Ehm, so... what will my first assignment be?", the elder seemed drawn to the more composed Zhao Xieren’s formal title but opted to delay choosing until he grasped the group’s dynamics better, "After all, I still need to work off the debt of our transgression"

"Silverleaf Trade Hall", Wu Long stated plainly.

"T–their Auction...", Qian Ying abruptly grasped why Wu Long required a thief to begin with—or rather, it confirmed his suspicions. After all, he was aware they served as the primary competitor to the Soaring Feather Trading Company on this continent.

Wu Long gave a nod. "That announcement was made to irritate and harass us, since we had the audacity to defy their dominance across the continent. So far, they haven't managed much success in shifting focus from our auction. However, that's partly intentional right now. They aim for us to let our defenses down and grow complacent, assuming all is proceeding smoothly. Yet, they're scheming to unveil a primary treasure plus a roster of supporting ones that will overshadow ours completely. They'll time it days, or perhaps just hours, prior to both auctions kicking off. The cities aren't too far apart, allowing the crowd plenty of time to forsake our event for theirs, catching us utterly off guard."

"Y-You want their main treasure?"

"No, I want every single one."

"A-All of th-...?!?!", the elder's eyes bulged wide as he momentarily lost his breath.

"Exactly, and the moment must be exact too. I intend to let them sample the surprise they cooked up for us—in short, we strike hours ahead of their planned reveal, leaving them unable to ready anything for their auction, no matter if they skip rallying extra attendees", Wu Long affirmed with a nod.

"Y-You might not realize, but Theft Dao isn't straightforward...", Qian Ying nervously licked his lips while rushing to add, "I'm not refusing or anything. I want to do it... I really do... I've already committed to your proposal. No turning back! B-But pulling off a theft isn't merely slip in, snatch, and slip out—it's true artistry! Demands tons of labor, effort, strategy, commitment, and extensive advance setup!"

Not pausing for rebuttal, he pressed on with his explanation, anxious his words might seem like reluctance, "Beyond skills, gear must be tailored just right... even rushing it on a deadline... still takes time, and plenty of it. Bigger and trickier the heist, longer the prep needed for flawless execution. I never scoped a job this close to base, so no groundwork on Silverleaf Trade Hall's defenses... Barely had time to infiltrate here, and see how that turned out... Auction's only a week off, and you noted it has to hit even sooner... Way too tight a window...! B-Bu-but I-I'm not backing down! I'll handle it! Absolutely, and give it my all! I-I just worry you might not get the outcome you..."

Wu Long's raised hand to interject only spurred him to babble faster and more desperately, ignoring the gesture entirely.

His torrent of words finally slowed only as Wu Long produced a jade slip and activated a technique to project its data, eyes growing huge while luminous Spiritual Qi lines materialized before him.

Displayed were intricate building layouts, thorough breakdowns of guard formations and arrays, patrol paths marked with exact timings, trap spots with full details on triggers and activation sequences, staff movements beyond guards, safe and vault models including internals and safeguards.

Target items' exact spots came with priority rankings, notes on weights, sizes, and brief specs, all organized impeccably.

Most astounding to a master thief like him were pro-level details: charts of natural Spiritual Qi and wind currents across the site by time of day, complete with strength ratings and odds, Qi properties and makeup then, weather forecasts impacting both, advanced Feng Shui computations from deep insights, plus subsurface Qi flows with matching info.

Qian Lei's gaze locked onto this info goldmine too, "Damn! That's insane!"

Qian Ying, lost in awe, barely registered him, instead fixing a stunned look on Wu Long amid the shimmering diagrams and lines, who grinned, "I handled reconnaissance personally for much of it, with my team filling in the gaps. Won't do it for you next time, but for this rush job, you get some assistance."

Wu Long next retrieved a Spatial Ring and tossed it over to Qian Ying, "I've also readied a complete set of talismans, including spare ones for every type to handle emergencies, array disruption needles, a full small illusion array set with array disk and anchor points, Spiritual Treasures for decoding and picking vault locks—feel free to stick with your own if you prefer, Spiritual Stones infused with Qi that replicates the frequency and aura of those granted vault access, and, to top it off, some handy alchemy pills"

Qian Ying swallowed hard, his eyes widening as he gazed up at Wu Long.

"So, you think you can pull this off?" Wu Long smiled.

"Leave it to me", confidence shone in Qian Ying’s eyes.