In a lavish palace hall.
Shi Yu sat down on a rug made from purple cloud lynx fur and said in surprise, “I didn’t think you would come to find me given your personality. so I’m a little flattered."
“I don’t see you feeling flattered.”
Sitting opposite, Lin Xun studied Shi Yu. It’s only been two years since we last saw each other, but he’s already at the Heaven Dipper Stage and his aura is much calmer and more restrained.
As he had suspected, his friends’ cultivations were also rapidly improving just like his.
Lin Xun still remembered that Shi Yu had formed a first-grade aeth power reservoir, Tidal Galaxy, when he broke through in the Dipper Transformation Lake.
At that moment, thousands of silver waves emerged in the sky and surged turbulently. It was a spectacular and magnificent scene.
It was understandable that Shi Yu could advance to the Heaven Dipper Stage within two years.
Two beautiful women with skin brighter than snow knelt on the ground beside the table. One was serving tea with her slender and fair hands, and the other was preparing fruits and snacks with a bright smile.
The tea was top-grade tea from the imperial palace: Flowing Light Dancing Gold.Light blue leaves were being brewed in bubbling spring water. The tea leaves flowed like light and danced around in the water like gold flakes. It wasn’t only pleasing to the eye, but it also produced a refreshing and fragrant aroma. It was mellow and not too strong.
The cup of tea alone was very precious and couldn’t be bought with money!
It was made from top-grade tea leaves used by the imperial family and couldn’t be bought on the market.
The plate of fruit and snacks consisted of falling star fruit harvested from the bitterly cold north and blazing spirit peach picked from the bottom of a volcano. There were all sorts of delicacies, all of which Lin Xun had never seen or heard of.
It was obvious that Shi Yu, the third son of Stone Cauldron Alms Fortune God, lived a luxurious cultivation life. Ordinary wealthy descendants wouldn’t be able to afford the tea and snacks he enjoyed.
Of course, he also brought them out to serve Lin Xun. He wouldn’t have done so if it was someone else.
“Since I left Blood Kill Camp, I’ve been thinking about how much stronger you and that fool Ning Meng would become when we meet again.” Shi Yu took a sip of tea and breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m much more relieved now. At least you’re still the same as you were in Blood Kill Camp—one level below me in terms of cultivation. As for that fool Ning Meng, he can never catch up to me.”
Lin Xun said with a smile, “It doesn’t matter how high your cultivation is. More importantly, do you think you can win in a battle?”
Shi Yu laughed. “To tell you the truth, I’ve been honing my combat arts for the past two years. If you think you can use your combat power to suppress me as you did in Blood Kill Camp, then you are underestimating me.”
Lin Xun frowned. “Oh, do you want to try?”
Shi Yu exclaimed, “Now?”
Lin Xun replied, “Yes.”
Shi Yu stared straight at Lin Xun for a good while and then shook his head. “No, we can’t fight the moment we meet again. I’m not a fool like Ning Meng. Come, let’s have some tea first. Let’s not spoil the mood.”
Lin Xun couldn’t help smiling. This is Shi Yu. He is intelligent and sharp and is very low profile when it comes to his strength.
His fighting style is the same. He won’t attack recklessly but once he does it would be a fatal blow.
“Tell me, why do you have my brother’s personal token?” Shi Yu was very curious.
Lin Xun explained how he met Shi Xuan.
Understanding dawned on Shi Yu’s face, but then, a strange light flashed through his eyes. “Although I don’t like my Eldest Brother, I have to admit that he’s always right about people.”
Lin Xun smiled. “Your eldest brother is indeed an amazing person.”
Shi Yu waved his hand. “Let’s not talk about him. Since we have finally met up again, we should drink to our heart’s content. Qingxue and Lianyue, prepare some dishes and remember to bring my treasured Dragon Blood Brew!
“Yes.”
The two beautiful girls smiled and hurried off
Lin Xun shook his head, saying, “I came for a reason. I don’t think we can drink today.”
Shi Yu said in puzzlement, “It’s urgent?”
Lin Xun nodded.
“Then, let’s deal with it first.” Shi Yu came to a decision immediately.
He understood Lin Xun very well and knew that he would never refuse his invitation under normal circumstances. He had to have encountered some difficulty to refuse.
”I want to sell a batch of supplies to you.”
Lin Xun bluntly stated his purpose, “This batch of supplies is somewhat special. It’s a batch of spoils I gathered. If I sell it to other people, I’m worried they wouldn’t dare to accept it. I also don’t want to take advantage of other people.”
Shi Yu’s interest seemed to be piqued. “What kind of supplies are they? What’s the quantity?”
Lin Xun glanced around, got up, took out the Xumi Ring, and gently flicked his sleeve.
Following a rumble, all sorts of aeth tools, equipment, and crossbows appeared in a mountain-like pile. The quantity was huge and took up almost half of the palace hall.
The items emitted a divine light, making the pile look like a real treasure mountain.
Shi Yu inhaled sharply, quickly got up, and stepped forward to take a closer look. He exclaimed, “Lin Xun, did you rob an army?”
Lin Xun replied casually, “Something like that.”
The two thousand odd elite cultivators sent by the Chi Family were indeed no different from an army of cultivators.
He had seized the items from those cultivators. There were thousands of aeth tools, armor, equipment, and around seven hundred crossbows.
They were all in perfect condition. Lin Xun had thrown away the damaged ones or had used them in battles.
Shi Yu suddenly discovered that the batch of spoils was fishy. He narrowed his eyes and whispered, “The Chi Family?”
Lin Xun nodded.
Shi Yu glanced at Lin Xun strangely. “You are so daring. You even robbed the Chi Family!“
He was utterly shocked. The spoils were all high-quality goods and were marked with the unique symbol of the Chi Family, so they couldn’t be bought on the market.
Based on Lin Xun’s huge batch of loot, it was easy to imagine how many cultivators of the Chi Family he had killed!
“What? Can you accept it or not?”
Shi Yu said discontentedly, “Ridiculous! There is no supply in this world that Stone Cauldron Alms can’t take. But do you think this loot is more important than your life?”
He assumed a serious expression and looked Lin Xun directly in the eye. “Are you sure you know that you have become enemies with the Chi Family because of this?”
Of course, Shi Yu had misunderstood.
Lin Xun thought for a while and briefly recounted what happened after he left Haze City. He even revealed his background and his current situation and didn’t hide anything from Shi Yu.
Shi Yu fell silent, his expression changing between surprise, indignation, confusion and full of an unidentifiable emotion.
It was understandable. Lin Xun had revealed something so shocking that he needed some time to completely digest it.
Shi Yu only recovered from the shock after a good while. His first sentence once he recovered was, “F*ck it. I knew you were not an ordinary person!”
Lin Xun said helplessly, “Would you believe it if I told you I would rather be an ordinary person?”
Shi Yu patted Lin Xun on the shoulder. “I never thought your life would be worse than mine. No wonder I got along so well with you in Blood Kill Camp.”
Lin Xun snapped, “Your life is bad? Stop joking around. I’m going to leave if you talk nonsense again.”
Shi Yu hurriedly explained, “I just wanted to ease your mind. I’m worried that you’re under too much pressure.”
He thought for a moment and then said, “Wait a moment. I’ll find some old guys to help you estimate the value of this batch of spoils.”
He hurried off.
Before long, he returned with several old men who were all dressed differently.
“These are the great treasure appraisers of Stone Cauldron Alms. I believe they can give you a satisfactory payment,” Shi Yu introduced them to Lin Xun with a smile.
An old man in a gray robe ran his eyes across the heap of supplies and said in a dissatisfied tone, “Third Young Master, I can determine the value of those supplies from just one glance. You didn’t just invite us all here to appraise those things right?”
Evidently, in his eyes, although the quantity of those supplies was astonishing, they weren’t top treasures and not worth that much attention.
Shi Yu was taken aback at first and then he said with a smile, “Elder Qiu, please calm down first. I was just too worried about my friend’s matter so please bear with any mistakes I made.”
It was obvious that those old men enjoyed very high statuses within Stone Cauldron Alms and even Shi Yu had to treat them respectfully.
A chubby and short old man remarked, “Oh, he’s a friend of Third Young Master? Then this time, do we also have to offer a friend price too?”
Shi Yu frowned slightly.
However, the gray-robed man called Elder Qiu waved his hand and said, “Fine, since he’s a friend of Third Young Master, we should help.”
The chubby and short old man immediately responded, “According to my calculation, the market price for these treasures is 74,200 gold coins and that’s already very generous.”
Another old man added, “But these treasures are from the Chi Family so they are no different from stolen goods. They will be very difficult to sell and will require special treatment. Based on that, we can at most offer 60,000 gold coins.”
Another old man added, “Since it’s from a friend of Third Young Master, even if our Stone Cauldron Alms don’t profit from it, we can only give an offer of 64,000 gold coins.”
All the old men turned to look at Shi Yu.
They were waiting for Shi Yu’s final decision.
Shi Yu’s face was overcast because the old men’s business-like attitudes irritated him.
However, that was the rule of Stone Cauldron Alms. Not even the son of Fortune God Shi could ignore the rules.
Lin Xun hasn't had a chance to speak. He had been watching from the side and he could tell that the treasure appraisers respected Shi Yu but they weren’t deferent towards him.
Respect and deference seemed similar but were actually two completely different attitudes!
In the end, Shi Yu sighed, “It’s decided.“
“Hold on!” Lin Xun suddenly spoke out.
Instantly, the treasure appraisers all scrunched their brows and looked displeased. We have already offered a very good price! Is that kid still not satisfied?