Extra's Strategy: Cultivate Protagonists, Become Invincible
Chapter 76: Legal Mumbo Jumbo

Chapter 76: Legal Mumbo Jumbo

"That’s a cool mask you’ve got there, fellow miniature cultivator. Is it up for sale?"

"...No." The deep voice behind the mask sounded unprepared for such a friendly opening exchange.

"Tsk~ Then can you tell me if you saw a guy coming into this stadium about half an hour ago? He was wearing a red bandana on his head and a piece of black cloth was masking his face."

The eyes behind the mask looked Han Xuhan up and down for a few seconds before replying in a rumbling tone,

"Was he your friend?"

With a cold chill crawling across his spine, Han Xuhan suddenly recalled that being known as the protagonist’s friend in a xianxia world was... not very advantageous, especially not in any competition for ancient legacies.

He had no idea what Mu Ran had done after entering this place. It was better to take no risks. Carefully, he answered in a measured tone.

"We are acquaintances who decided to venture in here together. We got separated in the fog. He owes me some spirit stones and a precious treasure. I need that treasure at least, so that I can progress in this place a little faster than everyone else."

"I see. Your friend raised quite a fuss after entering this place. He left just a few minutes ago, much faster than anyone managed to on this platform. Quite the performance, I’d say."

The cyan-robed man answered his question this time. Han Xuhan felt relieved upon realizing that his carefully crafted lie had ended up fitting the circumstances so well.

This was the experience of consuming thousands of generic cultivation novels! Finally, it was coming to some real use!

"Left? How did he do that?" He asked immediately.

This time the guy in the cyan robe didn’t answer. After staring silently at Han Xuhan for nearly ten seconds, he searched inside an inner pocket of his robe and pulled out a paper and a quill.

"What is this, fellow cultivator with a cool mask that I’d like to buy?"

"...It’s a formal agreement. Read the terms and conditions and sign it if you want to. If you’re illiterate, find somebody to read it to you."

Han Xuhan was confused.

What was wrong with this guy now?

He just wanted to know the answer to his question. How did it turn into signing a deal?

Han Xuhan wrapped up a handkerchief around his fingers before carefully grabbing the paper and the quill being offered to him. After all, it was common sense to not touch anything offered by a stranger!

Then he read the contents of the document loudly to show that he wasn’t illiterate.

"The following contract shall bind the one(s) who sign it according to the rules written on this document. Any type of rule-breaking will result in immediate punishment and said punishment, in the severest cases of violation, may cause the death of the offender."

Underneath the paragraph were multiple blank slots to put their names in. Beneath the blank slots were a few rules written using the standard contract template that could be found in courtrooms.

Han Xuhan suddenly remembered all of his worst experiences in dealing with the legal professionals on Earth. Caution rising, he scrutinized each and every sentence written on the page and tried to find a loophole.

According to the contract, if he signed the paper, he would be agreeing to reveal any information he knew regarding the secrets of this hidden world fragment. In return, he’d receive any information he wanted from the other guy, provided that he knew the information beforehand, or acquired it later.

This contract paper, as it turned out, was the outcome of a rather interesting Mystic Art!

It was capable of binding the parties to the terms of the contract, and judging whether both parties could offer equivalent information or not automatically so that they could both benefit from the agreement and not scam each other.

In the case of this contract in particular, lying during the exchange of information would immediately result in severe punishments, such as being struck by heavenly thunder, odd accidents that cannot be countered, a streak of misfortune that can snowball into disastrous events, qi deviation during breakthrough, and many more.

Seeing the other guy enter a few more rules underneath the prepared set, thus customizing the contract for their current needs, Han Xuhan was amazed.

What a cool cultivation technique! It was much better than anything he had been given access to in the Crimson Snow Sect.

Han Xuhan read the entire document full of legal mumbo jumbo three times. Then he considered whether he should really put his actual name in there while signing.

If this guy was some sort of demonic voodoo artist, such an action would not be wise...

The man in cyan robes seemed to have understood his dilemma. He cleared his throat and impatiently said, "You don’t need to sign with your real name. Anything written by your hand will do."

That was actually worse, considering how pervasive the reach of this technique was if it could lock onto Han Xuhan just by the touch of his hand.

For a while, he silently considered the deal. He had never heard of such a strange Mystic Art during his stay in the sect. But he understood the basics.

There was one thing, however, that still struck him as odd.

"Fellow cultivator with a fishy Mystic Art, why do you think I can provide you with any sort of information regarding the secrets behind this world fragment? I entered just now from outside, as you’ve noticed."

"Stop addressing me with those strange titles," the cyan-robed man said in irritation.

"Well, what do I address you as, then? It’s not like you’ve given me a name to lead with," Han Xuhan said, happy to have finally struck a nerve.

But the cyan-robed man didn’t answer that.

"Your companion broke all the previous records in this stage while trying to leave this place. As his friend and partner, you should be able to display a similar performance too.

"It’s fine even if you do not know the information that I require for now. If you ever catch up with him, I can use what you would owe me to compel you to interrogate him on how he did it."

"The contract is binding me, not him. Why would he tell me what you want to know?"

"Unless he wants to see you get cornered and punished by this contract, he is going to speak for sure," the guy replied.

Han Xuhan nodded honestly. This was fine with him. He didn’t need to worry about breaking his part of the deal.

Taking the quill from the cyan-robed man’s hand, Han Xuhan signed on top of one of the blank slots.

"Your contract sounds very fair, fellow cultivator who can’t even come up with a fake name.

"I’m also an honest man who loves such deals of equivalent exchange of information. So I’ll definitely not play any tricks on you, as long as you don’t get up to any funny business."

The cyan-robed man nodded at Han Xuhan’s sincere praise and took the signed paper. Examining it for a second, he signed his own name on it and put the document back inside his robe.

"I hope for a satisfying conclusion to our deal, Brother... Shen Kai."

"Me too, fellow cultivator Qian Yun."