Chapter 597: Lin Yuan’s Thousand-Layer Scheme Lin Yuan hung up the call. He had blurted out his intention to recruit Duan He because he wanted to use a kind of psychological tactic—a thousand-layer scheme. He wanted to allow Duan He to have time to prepare and evaluate the circumstances. If Duan He did not have any inclination to join Sky City, Lin Yuan would not be able to recruit him no matter what he offered. However, if Duan He wanted to join Sky City, Lin Yuan would be able to build up his stakes layer by layer, which would exert pressure until it reached the amount that would convince Duan He to join Sky City. This was the essence of the thousand-layer scheme. Lin Yuan straightened his posture before logging onto Star Web and entering the Purchase With No Loss store to wait for Duan He. Lin Yuan frowned as he waited for Duan He. He was deep in thought about what kind of stakes he should exhibit in order to be able to recruit Duan He. Shortly after Lin Yuan sat down, Duan He’s figure appeared in the doorway. When Lin Yuan saw Duan He, his lips curled into a smile. Duan He’s arrival signaled that Lin Yuan’s thousand-layer scheme had already partially succeeded. Duan He had come despite knowing Lin Yuan’s motive, indicating that he was interested. Even if Duan He was opposed to the idea, it was not a strong opposition. There was room for negotiation. Duan He noticed that Lin Yuan looked the same as he was on the deserted island outside Indigo Azure City. He was still wearing the strange mask with the majestic sky city engraving. Only Lin Yuan and Duan He were present in the store. Duan He walked up to Lin Yuan and said, “Sir, my nephew Recluse Study was just spouting nonsense. I didn’t know that the brat had eavesdropped on the adults’ conversation.” Lin Yuan shook his head and said generously, “I don’t mind such things. No one would believe him anywhere. Here you go. These are the ten wind-type heavenly-maiden-grade elemental pearls with 98% purity. The price we agreed on was two source-type items for one elemental pearl.” Duan He felt a sting from Lin Yuan’s words, but his limbs were numb. He hurriedly took out the 20 source-type items to trade with Lin Yuan. Duan He had just retrieved three of the 20 source-type items from the Class 3 water world dimensional rift. No matter how reluctant Duan He was, he had to admit that Lin Yuan was offering a much lower price than other pinnacle Class 4 Creation Masters. At the very least, he did not need to waste the immense amount of effort he would need to search for the extremely rare spiritual ingredients that the pinnacle Class 4 Creation Masters wanted. Lin Yuan did not immediately receive the 20 source-type items that Duan He offered. “Senior Duan He, if you’re willing to join Sky City, you don’t have to offer anything in return for these 10 heavenly-maiden-grade elemental pearls,” said Lin Yuan earnestly. When Duan He had first heard Lin Yuan’s offer, he instinctively rejected it. But afterward, he felt a slight ripple against his decision. Duan He knew that Lin Yuan was the Moon Empress’ disciple. He would undoubtedly gain closer access to the Moon Empress by joining Lin Yuan’s faction. However, there were not only benefits to joining a faction but also a larger load of responsibilities to bear. He would also gain many comrades whose lives would be codependent on his. The feeling Duan He hated the most was seeing his comrades die in front of him. This was the reason that Duan He had left the Spirit Guards after that one mission and decided to become a free spirit qi professional. Thus, Duan He had decided that a deal was a deal. Lin Yuan noticed that Duan He had not retracted his hand, meaning that his first layer of offering had not been accepted. Hence, Lin Yuan threw out his second layer of offering. “If you’re willing to join Sky City, Sky City will provide you with a compatible and valuable Bronze fey each time you comprehend a Willpower Rune.” 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮 Duan He shook his head again. He had comprehended a Willpower Rune, but he only needed a bit of time and effort to find a valuable Bronze fey on his own. As an emperor-class expert, the challenge was not finding compatible Bronze feys but how to nurture the Bronze feys to Myth Breed. Duan He only needed to request a Class 4 Creation Master to privately create a compatible Bronze fey. After being rejected again, Lin Yuan waved his hand and summoned the Bronze/Legend Golden Curtain Peonies. The moment that the brilliant Golden Curtain Peonies appeared, Duan He’s gaze changed. Duan He had assumed that the Bronze feys Lin Yuan mentioned would be Bronze/Epic at most. He did not expect Lin Yuan to possess a Bronze/Legend. Duan He could find suitable Bronze/Epic feys, but there was no way he would be able to obtain Bronze/Legend feys on his own. Even when nurtured by a Class 4 Creation Master, there was only a small chance of a Bronze/Legend fey being produced. It could be said that only Class 5 Creation Masters could nurture Bronze/Legend feys. Duan He asked himself, The three great Class 5 Creation Masters are the Moon Empress, Bamboo Monarch, and Chef Supreme. I don’t have the right to approach any of them, much less ask them to help me create a fey that’s compatible with my Willpower Rune. Duan He gulped as he considered the practical benefits of Lin Yuan’s offer. Duan He no longer had any reason to reject him. Lin Yuan observed Duan He’s demeanor and knew that he had hooked Duan He with his second layer of offering. He now needed to seal the deal so that Duan He would immediately agree to join Sky City. It was normal for a faction to give up an enormous amount of resources when they were trying to recruit an expert. Even the unbelievably wealthy rising factions needed to pad the pockets of king-class experts when trying to recruit them. That was the only way to convince the king-class experts to willingly join them. Lin Yuan was now trying to recruit an emperor-class expert, so he was ready to shower Duan He with resources. If Duan He was willing to join his faction, Duan He would also become stronger through Lin Yuan’s resources. It was a win-win situation. Lin Yuan pondered for a moment before throwing out the third layer of offering without another word to Duan He.