Chapter 1037 - Borrowing Money

Han Wu was savoring the schadenfreude of watching that tycoon get hauled away when a knock came at the door. Opening it, he found Ye Hong standing outside, her cheeks flushed as she fidgeted nervously.

“Ye Hong, come in!” Qin Shuang called out.

Ye Hong slipped inside, closed the door, and stated her purpose. She was there to borrow money.

Han Wu almost burst into laughter. The Forest Clan had two Mesocosm fighters, but they wanted to borrow money from him? He thought he had misheard her.

The Undying Tree’s price had been artificially inflated to 450,000 Microcosms. That was a lot, but it wasn’t beyond what a Mesocosm fighter could afford. At worst, Ye Xiao or Ye Cang could extract some Microcosms from their consciousness.

When Ye Hong saw him smile, she immediately assumed he was mocking her and stood up to leave, her expression hardening. It hadn’t even been her idea to come borrow money. Her family had pushed her into it. Now she was being laughed at.

Han Wu realized his mistake and jumped to his feet. “Please don’t misunderstand. I was smiling because of something unrelated. It had absolutely nothing to do with the Forest Clan’s situation.”

That only made it worse. In Ye Hong’s eyes, the timing was too convenient to be a coincidence. Han Wu was clearly mocking the Forest Clan.

Han Wu turned to Qin Shuang and Jing Jing in desperation. “Help me out here. Explain to her, please!”

Qin Shuang dutifully pulled Ye Hong aside and talked her down. Jing Jing backed her up. Between them, they managed to extract a promise from Ye Hong not to tell her family about this.

Han Wu exhaled with relief. He also silently cursed himself for not controlling his expression and almost bringing misfortune upon himself! Thankfully, Jing Jing and Qin Shuang were with him.

“I understand why you’re here. How much do you need?” Han Wu asked, eager to make amends.

“150,000 Microcosms,” Ye Hong said. Even she seemed to realize how outrageous that number was, and her face turned an even deeper shade of red.

Han Wu shot to his feet. “150,000 Microcosms? What do you take me for, a walking bank?”

“Aren’t you?” Ye Hong asked flatly.

Han Wu’s retort died in his throat. With his assets, he couldn’t exactly deny it. He was, by any measure, seriously wealthy.

“150,000 Microcosms is too much. I can’t afford it,” Han Wu said, playing at being poor.

In truth, he could afford it. He just didn’t trust the Forest Clan enough after only two meetings. Powerful people could also default on debts, but were harder to collect from. ℴ

Unless they gave some guarantee to confirm that they had the means to repay him, he would never lend them the money.

“You’re lying. Grandpa Ye Xiao already told us you’re a Mesocosm fighter. You’re just hiding part of your strength with some kind of concealment technique,” Ye Hong said with a knowing smirk.

Han Wu froze. Being caught playing poor was embarrassing enough to make him want to crawl into a hole. Flaunting his wealth with his initial bid had only led to people seeking him out to borrow money!

Deciding to try a different angle, he snapped back, “As far as I know, Elder Ye Xiao and Elder Ye Cang also have Mesocosm rank strength.”

That silenced Ye Hong. He’d used her own logic against her. How does he know that?

“Our situation is different,” she said, left with no choice but to explain. “The Forest Clan’s power is tied entirely to the trees we bond with. The stronger the tree, the stronger we become. We don’t produce Microcosms inside our consciousness.”

She revealed her power to prove her point. Han Wu saw a towering tree connected to Ye Hong that stretched into the heavens. The tree had consumed the entirety of Ye Hong’s divine realm, transforming the land into soil for its growth. In return, the tree lent her a portion of its strength.

Everything clicked. Ye Hong’s Subcosm power didn’t belong to her. It came from the tree. The same was true for Ye Xiao and Ye Cang. None of them had Microcosms in their consciousness. That was why they needed to borrow money.

Han Wu relented after seeing her earnestness. Opening his consciousness, he pulled together Microcosms from the ones he’d taken from Gu Feng and the Light God King, and scraped together 150,000 of them.

Ye Hong thanked him profusely and scurried back to her VIP box.

This loan didn’t actually bother Han Wu at all. In fact, he was secretly hoping the Forest Clan would “forget” about the 150,000 Microcosms. That would give him a legitimate excuse to go collect on the debt later.

With Han Wu’s 150,000 Microcosms, the Forest Clan passed the Wealth Faction’s asset verification. The Wealth Faction then re-auctioned the Undying Tree. This time, the Forest Clan managed to secure it for 350,000 Microcosms.

The Forest Clan was ecstatic.

This was an Ancient Divine Tree. Most viewed the Undying Tree as a source of an Undying Fruit, but the Forest Clan saw it as a God—both a pillar of faith and a source of power. They would gladly offer their divine realms to help it grow. With the Undying Tree, the Forest Clan gained another foundation to build on.