Chapter 220 - Bargaining Chip (1)

Kill the young man standing before them? Neither the Sect Master nor the Grand Elder dared. The old saying went that envoys were not to be harmed even when two armies were at war. It was a matter of martial honor. But for the side with a blade pressed to its throat, it was also a basic survival skill.

The crystalline object in Xu Yuan’s hand came as a pair, and each set was single-use. Crush one, and it would release a unique source qi vibration. So long as the other crystal was within range, it would immediately resonate in response.

It was a simple method of short-to-medium-range communication that had been in use for thousands of years.

The Sect Master recognized it, but his hands did not stop. He continued forcibly sustaining his daughter’s life while staring unblinkingly into Xu Yuan’s eyes.

The deathly silence was finally broken by a sigh. It came from the Grand Elder. He seemed prepared to name a price in exchange for Zhou Xiaohe’s life.

“Young Master, may I ask—”

“There’s nothing to discuss,” Xu Yuan cut him off.

Several breaths passed in silence.

The Grand Elder slowly rose from his meditation cushion and bowed to Xu Yuan. “Young Master, forgive our discourtesy.”

Xu Yuan could not tell whether these two old bastards were putting on a little two-man show or genuinely speaking from the heart. Still, after witnessing this scene, he gave a slight nod, tacitly allowing them to proceed.

Amid the oppressive silence, the Grand Elder turned his aged body around and walked toward the Sect Master one measured step at a time.

The Sect Master knelt on the floor, cradling the dying Zhou Xiaohe in his arms. He raised his eyes.

Then he saw the coldness in the Grand Elder’s gaze.

In that instant, the Sect Master seemed to age many years. Even so, he tightened his hold around Zhou Xiaohe protectively.

“Nie Gongxu, what do you think you’re doing?!”

Zhou Xiaohe had not yet lost consciousness, though she stood at death’s door. Besides terror, there was also a trace of relief in her eyes.

After a brief silence, the Grand Elder spoke with unwavering resolve. “Sect Master, I agree with the decision you proposed earlier.”

The Sect Master visibly froze.

Of course he understood which decision the Grand Elder meant.

Xia Wenlin. Perhaps a thousand years ago, the Sect Master of the Myriad Manifestations Sect had possessed unquestioned authority within the sect. But after a millennium, it would hardly be an exaggeration to describe the sect’s present power structure using the term favored by those blond monkeys from across the sea.

A Council of Elders. The current Sect Master’s authority was only marginally greater than that of an ordinary elder. Any command that harmed the sect’s short-term interests, even if it benefited its long-term foundations, was nearly impossible to carry out.

Centralized power. It was an ideal he had envisioned countless times, yet had never been able to realize.

But with the Grand Elder’s support, everything would become much, much easier.

The Sect Master drew a deep breath. His voice trembled slightly. “What do you mean?”

The Grand Elder glanced at Zhou Xiaohe in his arms, his expression calm. “I know everything concerning Xiaohe. She may be vain and overly concerned with appearances, but she possessed an almost obsessive attachment to Li Zhu. Even after his death, his influence over her may never have faded. Perhaps, for who she has become, what is happening now could be considered a release.”

The Sect Master fell silent.

Xu Yuan sat off to the side, listening as the two men spoke openly instead of using voice transmission. A thoughtful look flickered through his eyes.

Perhaps the Sect Master’s emotions were genuine.

But Xu Yuan did not dare believe it. There was no chance the conversation between these two old foxes was as simple as it appeared on the surface. They were definitely communicating through voice transmission in private. And if they were, he could not hear a word of it.

After a pause, he asked silently, “Old Luo, can you hear their voice transmissions?”

Given the current situation, the two old men from the Myriad Manifestations Sect hardly dared probe Xu Yuan with their soul intent. The Sage's remnant soul therefore spoke without much concern.

“Both of them are Transcendants. How could this old man overhear their voice transmissions when I’m nothing but a disembodied soul now?”

“Don’t you know the Heaven Deriving Art?” Xu Yuan asked.

The Sage's remnant soul rolled his eyes and scoffed. “This old man only managed to secretly learn the Heaven Mantra chapter. If you want to eavesdrop, go find that sweetheart of yours. She learned all four chapters.”

At those words, Tian Yan’s breathtaking face surfaced in Xu Yuan’s mind. He sighed inwardly. “Don’t bring her up. By now, I can barely remember anything at all...”

The Sage's remnant soul chuckled. “Have her teach you the Soul chapter. Then naturally, you’ll remember everything.”

Xu Yuan snorted inwardly. “If we run into her alone again, I might only be imprisoned. But you, an old bastard who stole her sect’s sacred art, will probably have to pay with your life.”

The Sage's remnant soul grinned.

“The Heavenwatch Pavilion has troubles of its own right now. If the world learned that it still existed, it would be the first faction everyone moved to wipe out. Think about it, brat. Who would willingly allow a force capable of predicting the future to loom over their head?

“At least your Chancellor's Manor can still be schemed against. Unless some great calamity is approaching, Heavenwatch Pavilion is practically impossible to outmaneuver. Under those circumstances, how would they have the time to bother with me? Much less imprison the Third Young Master of the Chancellor's Manor.”

Xu Yuan was silent for a moment. “But you still learned one of their secret arts.”

The Sage's remnant soul did not seem concerned in the slightest. “There’s only one way to learn it, through the Heaven Transmission Stele.”

Xu Yuan’s eyes narrowed. “The Heaven Transmission Stele?”

The Sage's remnant soul had no intention of hiding it and explained with a smile.

“The Heaven Deriving Art cannot be cultivated from an ordinary written copy. Otherwise, why would I have only learned the Heaven Mantra chapter? You can think of it as something similar to comprehending the Dao Essence of the Beguiling Divine Sakura. Under normal circumstances, Heavenwatch Pavilion always maintains at least two to four Saints and Saintesses.

“Rumor has it that, beyond the usual four chapters of the Heaven Deriving Art, there is a fifth chapter that only the Pavilion Master may cultivate. If that girl Tian Yan has learned the fifth chapter, perhaps she really could teach you the soul chapter.”

Xu Yuan asked softly, “What is the fifth chapter?”

The Sage's remnant soul scoffed. “This old man hasn’t even figured out all four ordinary chapters of the Heaven Deriving Art. How would I know anything about that mysterious fifth chapter?”

Xu Yuan fell silent briefly and was about to continue questioning him when the two old men across from him appeared to have finally completed their internal exchange of interests.

The Grand Elder slowly turned around. The Sect Master followed suit, releasing the dying Zhou Xiaohe with a dark expression.

At the sight, Xu Yuan felt an inexplicable flicker of mocking amusement. Political creatures were not incapable of ordinary human emotions. They felt joy, anger, sorrow, and desire like everyone else. But whenever those emotions stood between them and something they wanted, or the grand vision they hoped to realize, everything else could be pushed to the back of the line.

Xu Yuan watched as the last trace of life faded from Zhou Xiaohe’s body. His feelings were strangely complicated, but he still gave a quiet laugh. “Have the Sect Master and Grand Elder finished your discussion?”

The Sect Master remained silent, his face grim. The Grand Elder, meanwhile, chuckled amiably. “Young Master, you jest. You heard everything yourself. I was merely offering the Sect Master a few words of advice.”

Xu Yuan neither agreed nor disagreed. “Is that so? Then may we finally move on to the real purpose of today’s meeting?”

The Grand Elder smiled faintly. When he spoke again, his tone carried deliberate emphasis. “Young Master, I have given the matter some thought. Your Chancellor's Manor has put considerable time and effort into this military exercise. A sum of 5 million taels may indeed be somewhat inadequate. We should double it. What do you think?”

Xu Yuan froze inwardly for a moment. He had not expected the Grand Elder of the Myriad Manifestations Sect to remain unwilling to tear off the mask even after matters had reached this point.

He had killed the Sect Master’s daughter right in front of him, and the Sect Master had all but admitted his involvement in the Sageridge’s affair. Yet the Grand Elder’s behavior gave Xu Yuan a flawless demonstration of what it meant to wipe the spit from one’s face and pretend nothing had happened.

It was something Xu Yuan had never experienced before. In the business negotiations of his previous life, even if you were the client, insulting the other party to their face might still end with them rolling up their sleeves and beating the hell out of you.

After a brief silence, Xu Yuan chuckled. He took a sheet of paper from his Sumeru Ring, placed it gently on the tea table, and tapped it with one finger. “Since the Grand Elder has put it that way, here are our terms. Take a look.”

Without a word, the Sect Master picked up the sheet. The instant he read it, his aura became unstable.

And this time, even the Grand Elder’s breathing faltered. A simple figure had been written in neat script.

“90,000,000 taels of silver.”