Chapter 174: The Ninth Floor

"Earth Nine Tower?" Ji Xiaorui asked in surprise, "What is the Earth Nine Tower?"

"The Earth Nine Tower is an extremely mysterious organization. Their location is in the northern suburbs of Shangjing, a gathering place for those shady underground forces. You can also think of it as an underground black market. What they value most is mutual trust, so without an invitation letter, no matter how much money you have, I'm afraid you won't be able to enter the Earth Nine Tower, let alone participate in the underground auction held there," Liang Qiuyang explained.

"Originally, I knew someone from the Earth Nine Tower and wanted to ask him for an invitation letter, but unfortunately he had already transferred it to someone else in advance for one million, so now I really have no other way," Liang Qiuyang said helplessly.

"One million? Those people are really willing to spend!" Ji Xiaorui smiled bitterly. She never expected that someone would be willing to pay such a huge price for an invitation letter to a small underground auction.

"The Earth Nine Tower is a gathering place for all sorts of shady characters. Not only are there tomb robbers and wanted criminals there, but even assassins from the dark hit list. Everyone goes there with their own purposes," Liang Qiuyang said.

Lin Le pondered thoughtfully, wondering how he could get an invitation letter to the Earth Nine Tower.

Just at that moment, Lin Le's cell phone suddenly rang.

As soon as he saw the phone number, Lin Le suddenly thought of something, and a trace of a smile appeared on his face.

The person calling was none other than Zhang Tianzong, the subordinate of Fourth Master Gu!

"Hello, Brother Zong," Lin Le answered the phone and said.

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare, Mr. Lin can just call me Ah Zong," Zhang Tianzong said, feeling flattered.

The other party was a Transformation Realm Grandmaster, and also someone Fourth Master Gu wanted to befriend. Zhang Tianzong was well aware of his weight, so his tone was naturally extremely polite.

"Mr. Lin, I am already waiting in front of the Ji Mansion. I wonder when it will be convenient for you to come over?" Last night, Lin Le had already made an appointment with Gu Hanliang to have dinner together tonight, and Zhang Tianzong had come to invite Lin Le over in person.

"Oh, sorry to trouble you. We are on our way back now and will be there in about ten minutes. I might have to trouble you to wait a little bit, Ah Zong," Lin Le hurriedly said.

"No problem, Mr. Lin, take your time. I will respectfully wait here."

After hanging up the phone, a slight smile appeared on Lin Le's face.

"Heaven never cuts off all escape routes. It seems our invitation letter might actually work out," Lin Le said with a smile.

"Oh?" Liang Qiuyang couldn't help being stunned, and hurriedly asked, "Mr. Lin, have you found a way?"

"I'm going to see someone later, and I think he should have a way to get an invitation letter."

"Who is it?" Liang Qiuyang asked.

"Gu Hanliang, Fourth Master Gu. Grandmaster Liang should have heard of him, right?" Lin Le replied.

***

"It's actually him?!" Liang Qiuyang was shocked.

Although Liang Qiuyang had some acquaintance with Gu Huaishan, he had never met this Fourth Master Gu. He only knew that he had a huge reputation in Shangjing and was a prominent and formidable figure in the Shangjing underworld.

"If he steps in, getting that invitation letter should not be difficult!" Liang Qiuyang said with relief.

Ten minutes later, when Lin Le and the others returned to the Ji Mansion, they saw a black Audi A8 parked there, and a tall, burly man standing beside it—it was Zhang Tianzong.

"Ah Zong, kept you waiting," Lin Le walked up and said.

"Mr. Lin is too polite. Fourth Master has been waiting respectfully for a long time, please get in the car," Zhang Tianzong respectfully opened the car door for Lin Le.

After bidding farewell to Ji Xiaorui and Liang Qiuyang, Lin Le got into the car.

Half an hour later, the car arrived at its destination.

The place Gu Hanliang chose was called "Imperial Banquet Pavilion." Although it did not have the widespread fame of the Shangjing Hotel, both its decoration and its cuisine were clearly a notch higher than the Shangjing Hotel. It belonged to a rather luxurious category with the nature of a private club, a place that only truly elite upper-class people could patronize.

Originally, this Imperial Banquet Pavilion was only accessible to internal members, but under Zhang Tianzong's lead, the guards all bowed respectfully when they saw Lin Le approaching, not daring to say a single opposing word.

Zhang Tianzong led Lin Le all the way to the best private dining room in the Imperial Banquet Pavilion. Along the way, the entire Imperial Banquet Pavilion was exceptionally quiet, whether because Gu Hanliang had cleared the venue or because it was naturally so.

The private room door was wide open, and in the spacious room, only Gu Hanliang was waiting.

"Mr. Lin," Gu Hanliang stood up and said with a smile.

"Sorry to have kept the Fourth Master waiting for a long time," Lin Le said.

"Mr. Lin is too polite. Alright, Ah Zong, you can go out first."

Zhang Tianzong left, and in the entire private room, only Gu Hanliang and Lin Le were left.

"I've wanted to invite Mr. Lin to dinner for a long time to get acquainted with you properly, and today I finally have the chance," Gu Hanliang said with a smile.

"To be able to make the acquaintance of Fourth Master, I also feel deeply honored," Lin Le was very polite as well.

"Speaking of which, Mr. Lin can also be considered a great benefactor to our Gu family. First you saved our old master's life, then you cleared his meridians and saved his martial arts life, and now you have even helped him break through to the Great Success of Internal Force. I really must thank you on behalf of the old master!" Gu Hanliang had received news of these matters from Haizhou time and time again, and each time his heart was shocked.

After all, every time Lin Le extended a helping hand to his father Gu Huaishan, the results achieved were simply incredible.

Especially the final act of helping Gu Huaishan break through to the Great Success of Internal Force—it not only amazed him, but also filled him with envy. Inviting Lin Le over this time was precisely because of this intention.

***

"Fourth Master is too polite, these were just lifting a finger," Lin Le said politely.

"Lifting a finger?" Lin Le's words shocked Gu Hanliang's heart. "These matters might just be lifting a finger to a heavenly being like Mr. Lin, but for us, they are nothing short of divine skills!"

Gu Hanliang knew that Lin Le was a grandmaster who had already stepped into the Transformation Realm, possessing extraordinary strength. Wishing to befriend him, his tone was extremely courteous.

"Take Mr. Lin helping the old master and Guo Zong break through their martial arts realms, for example. I'm afraid only a true grandmaster like Mr. Lin could accomplish such a feat," Gu Hanliang mentioned it as if casually, but in his heart, he merely wanted to steer the conversation in this direction.

Lin Le remained expressionless, but he understood Gu Hanliang's intentions completely.

Lin Le had heard Gu Ya mention that this Fourth Master Gu was also a martial artist who, in his early years, had carved out his own territory in Shangjing relying entirely on his martial arts cultivation.

A person like him naturally had an extremely persistent pursuit of the martial arts path.

At this moment, Gu Hanliang brought this up seemingly at random, but in his heart, he mostly wanted Lin Le to help him break through his cultivation realm just as he had helped Gu Huaishan and Guo Zong.

However, Fourth Master Gu was after all an overlord of his region, and they had only met once, so words like that were temporarily difficult for him to voice.

Lin Le found it amusing in his heart; he hadn't expected that the dignified Fourth Master Gu, known as a peerless hero of his time, would also have moments when he found it hard to let go of his pride.

So be it; Lin Le happened to have a favor he needed his help with, so he might as well do him a favor now.

Thinking of this, Lin Le simply took the initiative to pick up Gu Hanliang's thread and said, "I heard from Gu Ya that the Fourth Master is also a martial artist, and your cultivation has long reached the Small Success of Internal Force. If the Fourth Master has any place where you need help, just speak up, don't stand on ceremony."

Gu Hanliang was still wondering how to bring it up, but he hadn't expected Lin Le to proactively clear the air at this moment.

"Mr. Lin truly is a straightforward person. It seems I, Gu Hanliang, really haven't misjudged you as a friend," Gu Hanliang said with great delight.

"What Mr. Lin said is right; Gu indeed has a matter he would like to ask Mr. Lin for help with. Actually, given Mr. Lin's intelligence, even if I didn't say it, you should have guessed it, right?" Gu Hanliang said.

"Does the Fourth Master want me to help you enter the Great Success?" Lin Le stated bluntly.

"Precisely! To tell you the truth, ever since my cultivation stepped into the Small Success of Internal Force, I hit a bottleneck. Despite working hard for many years, I still haven't broken through..." Gu Hanliang said with considerable helplessness.