Chapter 230: It's Good To Be Prudent (1)
15th of September.
On the way back to the Mental Tempering Garden.
Liu Hong flickered into existence beside Zheng Yunhui.
Zheng Yunhui wasn't surprised to see Liu Hong. He nonchalantly said, "Teacher, you're finally here. I was starting to think that you were too shy to meet me."
"Yunhui..." Before Liu Hong could finish speaking, Zheng Yunhui sneered and said, "Stop acting friendly. I'm merely being polite when I address you as a teacher. I didn't look for you after you lost my Skybreak Technique. Do you really think I'm a fool because of that? I actually suspect that you had deliberately lost it."
Zheng Yunhui snorted unhappily. But immediately after, he seemed to have recalled something and smiled.
That expression of his was basically saying, "Good thing you lost my stuff or I wouldn't stumble upon something this good."
Liu Hong knew what Zheng Yunhui was thinking about. He did not mind Zheng Yunhui's words and smiled, "Yunhui, it wasn't my intention to lose the Skybreak Technique. Because of that, my business in the black market is basically dead..."
"Don't even dream of putting the blame on me."
This excuse was clearly not working on Zheng Yunhui, who was acting like an arrogant young master. Relying on his taller height, he looked down on Liu Hong and said, "I know what you're thinking. I don't have a power base in the cultural research academy so you're naturally not afraid of me. Because of that, you did not hesitate when setting me up. After all, there is no way for me to retaliate."
"Yunhui, you have truly misunderstood me." Liu Hong sighed, "Do you think that I really need to make use of you like this? Your Zheng Family is still a family with a peak Mountainsea expert in it. Can a Skysoar like me challenge your family?"
Liu Hong hesitated for a bit before shaking his head, "Sigh. There is no need to keep talking about this. Fine, believe what you want to believe. I had deliberately lost your Skybreak Technique."
"Hmm?" Zheng Yunhui raised his brow, "Were those fellows the true culprit?"
He was unsure. But Liu Hong was right. Would someone like Liu Hong dare to challenge the Zheng Family? In that case, was he ordered to do so instead?
Liu Hong smiled, "It's all in the past. Let's not talk about it anymore. Don't worry. I'll give you an explanation you can accept one day. For now, I just want to ask you about what you told Liu He. What is that about?"
"Was I not clear enough?" Zheng Yunhui smiled, "I have a set of data. You will definitely be interested in it. I'm selling it to you for 50,000 merit points. Of course, you might not be able to afford it. Therefore..."
Liu Hong laughed, "Yunhui, if you want to get another Mountainsea willpower text of the Skybreak Technique, I can try to look for one. As for the data, keep it for yourself."
Liu Hong was an expert at feigning retreat to advance. He was acting like he was completely uninterested.
Zheng Yunhui frowned, “I'm not joking around. I'm being serious."
"Yes, yes. Of course." Liu Hong nodded, "But since I can't afford it, forget it. I'm here today to ask if you want to buy another Mountainsea willpower text. This time, I promise that you don't need to pay a deposit. You can pay on delivery instead. I'm doing this to cover your previous loss..."
"I'm not buying." Zheng Yunhui replied impatiently. He solemnly said, "I'm really being serious. Liu Hong...fine. Forget it. If you're not buying, so be it. I'll think of something else."
He turned around and started walking away. Liu Hong's face twitched.
Dang! This kid was quite confident in his data. He had no doubt that he could find a different buyer. Then again, that was understandable. If this kid really announced what he had to sell, he might really be able to find a new buyer.
"Wait..." Liu Hong said, "You're asking for 50,000 merit points and are so confident I would be interested. Kid, you have been feuding with Su Yu lately. Don't tell me that the two of you have come to a private agreement?"
The moment he said those words, Zheng Yunhui trembled. He wasn't entirely pretending. He was trembling in excitement as he had basically confirmed that Liu Hong had indeed eavesdropped on their conversation.
Damn it! This Liu Hong guy was indeed a scumbag!
Prior to this, he had not suspected anything at all. He wouldn't have thought of anything if Su Yu hadn't mentioned that Liu Hong had deliberately lost his willpower text. Su Yu had said that as long as they talk nearby the classroom, Liu Hong would find out about it.
And sure enough, Su Yu was proven right! This Liu Hong was clearly aware of their so-called private agreement. Otherwise, he wouldn't have bitten the bait so easily.
In truth, Zheng Yunhui had also offered to sell a set of data in the black market, but nobody took him seriously. Most people were entirely dismissive of him. Liu Hong was the only one who was so eager to deal with him.
And Liu Hong was even bringing Su Yu up! Zheng Yunhui cursed inwardly. This was truly a shameless bastard. And he had indeed deliberately lost the willpower text. Just wait, Liu Hong!
Zheng Yunhui did not let his thoughts show. He turned around to look at Liu Hong and gloomily said, "Teacher Liu, I don't understand what you're talking about. I'm offering to sell you something and you refused to buy. How does this relate to Su Yu?"
Liu Hong calmly said, "You're certain I would be interested. You even quoted such a high price. Logically speaking, you definitely have something I want. That something is definitely very valuable. But your Zheng Family doesn't have something like that."
Zheng Yunhui had an unsightly expression. What was the meaning of that? Was he looking down on the Zheng Family?
"You have been involved with Su Yu the most recently. As for Su Yu, what a coincidence. He has something I'm very interested in."
Liu Hong started acting like a genius strategist and smiled, "Perhaps...it's something from the Wentan Research Center?"
Once again, Zheng Yunhui trembled. With an ugly expression, he said, "Your imagination is too wild, Teacher Liu."
"Oh? Tell me, then. What are you trying to sell?"
"I'm not selling anymore."
When Zheng Yunhui tried to walk away, Liu Hong smiled and said, "But who else can you sell to if not me? Who would dare to buy it? Are you thinking about my Senior Brother Zhou? Or Elder Zheng? Be careful lest they seize your stuff in the name of the academy."
Zheng Yunhui sneered, "Seizing my stuff? Sure. If they do that, they can wait for an eighth-stage Mountainsea expert to visit them. Are you trying to scare me with this thing? Sure. If you guys really don't care about it, feel free to seize it from me."
He was absolutely not buying Liu Hong's words. The single character faction would definitely not seize the data. And they most certainly wouldn't do so in the name of the academy.
Not to mention Hong Tan, even Wan Tiansheng would not allow something like that to happen. Of course, things would be different if the academy could come into possession of the data. In any case, nobody would allow the single character faction would not be allowed to monopolize the data.
But if they weren't acting in their official capacity as the elders of the academy, they wouldn't dare to privately take the data from Zheng Yunhui. After all, Zheng Yunhui was not a nobody. He did not need to be afraid even if a Mountainsea ended up involved. He would not hesitate to further escalate the matter.
Zheng Yunhui looked at Liu Hong and said with disdain, "Don't bother trying to scare me. I'm not afraid. I'll be frank. Even if I look for somebody else, I will still be able to sell it. If you dare to expose me...hehe. Your own single character faction would probably be very eager to teach you a lesson."
Zheng Yunhui was completely fearless. He continued, "I'll be completely honest. I need merit points while you guys need what I have. This is a form of cooperation. Would it benefit you to mess with me until none of us can get anything?"
Liu Hong laughed, "Yunhui, you are truly an odd one. You're different from everyone in the Zheng Family. I had thought that those from the Zheng Family could only talk with their fist."
Zheng Yunhui was furious, "Are you provoking the Zheng Family?"
"Of course not." Liu Hong smiled, "To fight, strength is required. Only those without strength would need to put more effort doing things differently. I am praising you guys."
He then changed the topic, "Is this really related to Su Yu? Is that kid really so gutsy?"
Zheng Yunhui stopped trying to hide it. He sneered and said, "That kid thinks he can defeat me just because he's hiding some of his strength. I am confident he won't be able to refuse my offer. The multiple character faction is too poor. If he let go of this chance, he might not be able to get another chance to earn this much."
Liu Hong smiled, "In that case, you must have offered something really valuable to tempt him. I have one more question. Their research center is involved in a lot of subjects. What does the data you're selling concern? And how are you sure you won't be given fake data?"
"Blood essence abilities." Zheng Yunhui smiled, "I asked around about it. This has been a major research of their faction for a few decades. Of course, I'm only getting a part of the data. But 50,000 merit points is definitely a cheap price. The single character faction is still one of the factions of the academy. It's fine for me to sell to you guys. I'm also afraid that I would be in trouble if I sell to outsiders."
Zheng Yunhui's tone turned smug as he said, "I'm not stupid. If I end up selling to the wrong people, such as the Myriad Race Cult, I will be fucked. At that time, I will probably be right beside Su Yu as his life falls apart. Therefore, your faction is the most suitable buyer. You guys have been going at each other for so many years. Both of you are the factions of the academy. Even if they found out about it, they won't be able to do anything to you guys."
"You're smart."
Liu Hong praised. This kid from the Zheng Family was definitely not stupid. He was right. The single character faction was a very safe choice. After all, this was one of the core factions of the academy.
If the kid had leaked the data outside the academy instead, the Myriad Race Cult might be able to get their hands on it. And if that happened, not even Principal Zheng would be able to protect Zheng Yunhui. They had to ensure that the Myriad Race Cult would not get the data.
"And how are you going to ensure that you're not getting fake data?"
Zheng Yunhui smiled, "You don't have to worry about that. I have my ways. Su Yu said that the result will be out soon. He can even produce a Skysoar blood essence according to the steps in the data in front of me. Of course, that's not a perfected method yet. Even so, I only need to consume a drop of the blood essence to know if the data is genuine or not."
Liu Hong couldn't help but ask, "Are they really capable of producing Skysoar Realm blood essence abilities already?"
"We'll know after trying." Zheng Yunhui indifferently said, "But even if it doesn't work, they definitely have a way to produce Infinite Strength blood essence abilities. I don't really have that high of an expectation when it comes to Skysoar blood essence abilities. But even the Infinite Strength blood essence is good enough of a harvest. Su Yu has used it before so that definitely works. This formula alone is worth a lot of money. Hehehe, 50,000 merit points is definitely a cheap price, right?"
Jia Mingzhen and the other elders believed that the formula for Infinite Strength blood essence abilities wasn’t that valuable. But there was no denying that this formula would still be a precious treasure for countless Great Strength cultivators.
How many Great Strength cultivators were there in the Human Realm? Probably billions. If even a tenth of them purchased a drop of blood essence for only one merit point, that would still be a business worth hundreds of millions of merit points.
Of course, real business could not be calculated so simplistically. But there was no denying that even the ability to produce Infinite Strength blood essence abilities would bring one countless benefit. Thus, the formula and associated data could very well be sold for hundreds of thousands of merit points.
Liu Hong nodded. He took a deep breath. The kid was right. Sure, Infinite Strength blood essence abilities wouldn't be helpful to him, but that was not the case for other people. Even if Su Yu could only take out the data for Infinite Strength blood essence abilities, it would still be extremely valuable.