“Master, this really is quite a lot.”
Although he bore a grudge against Li Wanlong, when Wu Di heard that his uncle was prepared to offer him so many resources just to smooth this situation over, Wu Di’s heart raced despite himself.
A full million spirit coins!
It would take him thousands of years to save up that much!
“Is that so? Fine, then. Since my disciple is satisfied with those treasures, we"ll leave it at that. I must say, though, as an uncle, you"re awfully stingy. It’s lucky my apprentice is so understanding….”
Ye Zichen glanced at him, seemingly unwillingly. When Li Wanlong saw this, hee gnashed his teeth in fury.
Stingy?
If not for the fact that he was in charge of distribution of family resources within Black Ox Town, nevermind one year, it would be a struggle to save up that much even in ten years. I’m Some ordinary earth immortals only had a net worth of around a few million spirit coins.
A million spirit coins! That was considered stingy?!
Who did he think he was?
A sky immortal? An immortal king?
If he were really that sort of lofty existence, what was he doing in a mere mortal district?
Li Wanlong forcefully repressed the fury burning in his heart. “Since both you and my dear nephew are satisfied, how about we put this in the past?”
Ye Zichen nodded, but shortly after, he raised his hand and said, “wait a moment….”
“Is there anything else you need, Your Highness?”
“My apprentice already has an earth-grade precious artifact weapon. Could you swap the one you promised him for armor or an auxiliary spirit treasure?”
“Do you really think armor and weapons are comparable in value?”
Li Wanlong really wanted to scream. Within the same grade, battle armor was far more valuable than weapons. In his heart he was swearing already, but even so, he nodded with that same amiable smile.
“No problem.”
With that, he took Li Kai’s hand and started to leave. It was then, however….
“Wait a moment…..”
Li Wanlong, facing away from Ye Zichen, viciously gnashed his teeth. When he turned around, however, a warm and friendly smile was still plastered onto his face.
“Is there anything else you need, Your Highness?”
“Since you’re doing this out of concern for your nephew, you’ve got to foot the bill yourself. You absolutely mustn"t use the family’s resources. Otherwise, others might gossip.”
If Ye Zichen hadn’t said that, he really would have used the family’s resources to compensate Wu Di. Then, even if the family investigated it, he could say that Wu Di had abused his powerful backing and coerced him into giving up their resources.
But now Ye Zichen had brought it up, and moreover, their top visiting expert’s granddaughter was standing right there. It would no longer be possible to use the family’s resources for this.
When he realized he’d have to foot the bill himself, Li Wanlong’s face grew ashen and pale. He seemed almost about to burst.
“No problem. I love my nephew, how could I possibly use the family’s resources to care for him? As a deacon sent here by the family, I absolutely can’t defy the rules.”
“That’s for the best.”
Ye Zichen finally seemed satisfied now. Seeing this, Li Wanlong cupped his hands respectfully and turned to leave…...
“Wait a moment…..”
To tell the truth, when he heard Ye Zichen call out, Li Wanlong felt as if he were on the verge of collapse. Whenever Ye Zichen said those words, there was inevitably nothing good waiting for him. However, he had no clear sense of Ye Zichen’s strength, so he had no choice but to endure and turn back around.
“Is there anything else you need, Your Highness?”
By now, Li Wanlong’s amiable smile had completely vanished. His heart burned with nigh-impossible-to-suppress fury.
Even so, Ye Zichen ignored him completely. Instead, he turned to Wu Di and said, “Apprentice, as your teacher, I’d like to take this opportunity to teach you something. In some situations, forbearance isn’t actually the best way to handle things. Sometimes, it’s actually better to take action. For instance, just now, when they were bullying you, you should have….”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several blurs shot past them. Not even Li Wanlong could tell just what Ye Zichen had done. However, when he turned to look, he saw that all of Li Kai’s guards and cronies, including Li Kai himself, were lying on the ground drenched in blood.
“Hit them back.” Ye Zichen gently patted Wu Di’s head, an utterly indifferent look on his face.
He could overlook the others, but then he saw that even his son had been seriously injured. Worse, from the look of his wounds, there was no way he’d be able to recover within a month. That meant he couldn’t partic.i.p.ate in the clan’s grand compet.i.tion,
“What do you mean by this, Your Highness?”
With a bang, Li Wanlong’s spiritual power exploded outward. His aura, grand and vast, overflowed until even the onlookers felt a sense of endless pressure bearing down on them.
“What are you trying to do?”
Facing this sort of spiritual pressure, there wasn’t even the slightest ripple in Ye Zichen’s spiritual energy. He simply glanced at Li Wanlong indifferently.
Instantly, Li Wanlong felt as if he’d been plunged into an endless, icy abyss. He felt a chill run up his body. Ye Zichen’s icy glare instantly brought him to his senses. He hurriedly withdrew his vast and imposing aura.
“Please forgive me, senior. I, Wanlong, didn’t mean to offend you.”
Li Wanlong was talking like a Junior. Zheng Yunan, who was watching from the sidelines, couldn’t help but arch her brows in surprise. You were only supposed to refer to yourself as a junior when the other party was at least a full stage higher than you. Li Wanlong was already a human immortal. Could Wu Di’s teacher really be an earth immortal expert?
As she considered this, Zheng Yunan’s eyes glittered with delight. She was happy for Wu Du from the bottom of her heart.
“Is my, Ye Zichen’s apprentice, someone you can bully?” Ye ZIchen asked coldly, then put his hand on Wu Di’s shoulder. “Wu Di, in the future, stand up straight and live courageously. Don’t be afraid. You’ve got your teacher standing behind you!”
Wu Di felt a sudden ache in his chest. Since his mother pa.s.sed away, no one had ever treated him so kindly. He forcefully repressed a surge of grief, then straightened his back and nodded. Both Ye Zichen’s name and the words he’d just spoken on his behalf were now forever carved into his heart. He’d remember this for the rest of his life.
“As for you……”
His faze landed on Li Wanlong. By now, Li Wanlong was already certain: this expert was at least an earth immortal, or possibly even a sky immortal.
There was no way he’d dare look directly into Ye Zichen’s eyes. He could only lower his head and say, “please speak, senior.”
“I’ll give you three days to deliver everything you promised my apprentice to his residence. If even a single spirit stone is missing, this isn’t over. Understood?”
“I understand, I understand. There’s no need to give me three days. I’ll have everything delivered to my dear nephew’s residence tomorrow morning.”
What “begrudging the expense?” What “unwilling to part with his resources?”
Currently, for Li Wanlong, survival came first. If this sort of expert wanted to crush him to death, he could do so with a snap of his fingers. Even if Ye Zichen really killed him, there was no way the Wu Family would offend this sort of expert on his behalf, not even considering his elder sister’s status.
Money was just an object. So long as he was alive and still had his position in Black Ox Town, he’d be able to earn it back.
“I said three days, so bring it in three days. You want to bring it tomorrow? What, are trying to curse me with bad luck?” Ye Zichen’s sharp brows furrowed.”
Li Wanlong wanted to cry. He nodded repeatedly. “Three days. Senior said three days, so it’ll be exactly three days!”
“That’s more like it.” Ye Zichen snorted coldly. Li Wanlong was so startled, his heart stopped momentarily.
He snorted coldly at Li Wanlong, who was startled so badly, his heart practically stopped with fear.
“Then can this junior be on his way?”
“Wait a moment…..”
At that moment, Ye Zichen called him out once more. Zheng Yunan covered her mouth; despite herself, she was smiling.
Li Wanlong looked utterly aggrieved, but when he looked at Ye Zichen, there was a smile plastered onto his face. “Senior, do you have any other requests?”
“I actually feel quite bad for bleeding you dry like this!”
“Not at all! As his uncle, giving him these cultivation resources is only to be expected.”
“Are you sure that’s how you really feel?”
Li Wanlong nodded forcefully. “I say it with the utmost sincerity!”
Ye Zichen pursed his lips and shook his head. “I truly can’t bear to bleed you dry like this.”
“It’s nothing. This is my duty as his uncle.” Li Wanlong smiled obsequiously. All he wanted now as to leave this malevolent star behind as fast as possible. If he stayed, he was afraid his little heart really would stop from sheer terror.
“The more you say that, the more embarra.s.sed I feel,” said Ye Zichen, his gaze conflicted. “That million spirit coins is a hefty sum for anybody, but it’s an uncle’s regard for his nephew after all. If I don’t accept it, you’ll obviously lose face. How about this……? Wu Di, come here.”
He smiled warmly, then stretched out his hand and called Wu Di over.
“Go on,” he said, “thank your uncle!”