Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time-Chapter 769: Becoming An Asset

"I believe he will do so the moment it becomes convenient," Han Yu replied. "Or the moment I become inconvenient."

Silence followed.

This was one of the perfect excuses Han Yu had come up with.

Then the Peak Head asked, almost casually, "If your goal is protection… why not ask to become my direct disciple?"

The question was sharp, probing.

Han Yu did not look surprised. He had expected it.

"This disciple knows his limits," Han Yu said immediately. "And he knows the price of that request."

The Peak Head's eyes flickered with interest.

"To be a direct disciple of the Kidney Peak," Han Yu continued, "one must cultivate the Eternal Frost Tomb Art. That art does not accept mediocrity, nor does it tolerate forced compatibility."

He shook his head slightly.

"My natural affinities do not align with ice. Even joining the Kidney Peak as an ordinary disciple requires an Ice Elemental affinity, which I lack. To ask for discipleship would not be ambition... it would be arrogance."

The old man studied him closely.

"And arrogance," Han Yu added, "is the fastest way to die in this sect."

For the first time since the conversation began, the Peak Head smiled openly.

It was not warm, but it was genuine.

"You understand yourself well," he said. "That alone puts you above many who have begged at my door."

He turned away, pacing slowly across the frost-covered floor.

"What you want," the Peak Head said, "is not power, but time."

Han Yu inclined his head. "Yes."

"A fence," the old man continued. "Something to keep the wolves at bay while you grow your own claws."

Han Yu did not deny it. "I would not insult the Peak Head by pretending otherwise."

The Peak Head stopped and looked back at him.

"I can provide that," he said. "But my current position makes it… complicated."

Han Yu listened carefully.

"If I openly declare my protection over you," the Peak Head continued, "things will appear calm at first. Zhao Liumen will retreat. Others will hesitate."

He snorted softly.

"But hesitation does not mean surrender. The First Kidney Peak's Head will not remain idle. Nor will others who fear my advancement once I step into the Dao Treading Realm."

Han Yu's heart sank slightly, but he did not interrupt.

"They will not strike me directly," the Peak Head said. "They will strike you."

The words fell like ice.

"They can send you on another long-term mission," the old man continued. "One far outside the sect. One where accidents are common and witnesses are rare. They can forge evidence, fabricate reports, and seal the matter before I can intervene."

His gaze hardened.

"I cannot guard you personally, not outside the sect. And if they move correctly, even I would have no justification to act."

Han Yu absorbed this silently.

"That is why," the Peak Head said, "my protection cannot be overt."

He turned fully toward Han Yu now.

"If you want my backing," the old man said, "it will come with conditions. Measures that allow me to protect you without revealing my hand. Measures that ensure you are useful enough that removing you would cost more than tolerating you."

Han Yu's mind raced, but his expression remained composed.

"I am listening," he said.

The Peak Head's eyes gleamed faintly with calculation.

"From this moment on," he said slowly, "you will not be merely an outer disciple pursuing stability."

He paused.

"You will become an asset."

The frost around them crept slightly higher along the walls.

"And assets," the Peak Head finished, "are not discarded lightly."

Han Yu bowed deeply.

"This disciple accepts," he said.

Han Yu did not hesitate for long.

"But if this disciple is to become an asset," he said calmly, "then I must understand how I am expected to function as one."

The Second Kidney Peak Head turned slightly, the frost beneath his feet shifting soundlessly as if the ground itself deferred to him.

"There are several ways," the old man replied. "Most of them, you will not like."

Han Yu neither flinched nor objected. In the Slaughtered Moon Divine Blood Sect, comfort was never part of the bargain.

"To protect you without drawing unnecessary attention," the Peak Head continued, "I must place you somewhere that makes your survival… reasonable. Or your death inconvenient."

He raised a finger.

"The first path," he said, "is for you to join the Frost Sentinel Guards."

Han Yu frowned slightly.

The name meant nothing to him.

Seeing this, the Peak Head gave a short, dry chuckle. "That is expected. If you had heard of them, you would not be standing here as an outer disciple."

He began to pace slowly, each step leaving faint frost patterns that lingered for a breath before fading.

"Every major peak in this sect maintains a force that does not exist on paper," the Peak Head said. "They do not take missions from the Mission Hall. They are not bound by ordinary disciple hierarchies. Only Core Disciples and above are generally aware of them."

Han Yu's eyes narrowed slightly as the implication settled.

"A private army," he said quietly.

"Precisely," the Peak Head replied without hesitation. "The Kidney Peaks maintain the Frost Sentinel Guards. In truth, both the First and Second Kidney Peaks share them."

Han Yu absorbed this in silence.

"If you join them," the old man continued, "you will be considered under the protection of both peaks. That alone would make Zhao Liumen think twice before moving openly against you."

"But," the Peak Head said, his tone sharpening, "do not mistake that for safety."

Han Yu inclined his head, signaling he understood.

"You would work in the shadows," the old man said. "You would take on missions that never reach the public lists. Assassinations. Retrievals. Suppression of incidents the sect does not want acknowledged. The danger you face would be far greater than anything you have experienced so far."

He stopped pacing and looked directly at Han Yu.

"And when you die," the Peak Head added flatly, "your death will not be recorded."