Chapter 97: Not A Hundred Thousand Taels But A Hundred Thousand Spirit Stones

　　In Qingyun Dao Sect.

　　Since Ye Ping and Su Changyu went down the mountain, Daoist Tai Hua had been thinking about the construction of the Qingyun Dao Sect.

　　As for whether Ye Ping and Su Changyu would clinch a good place in the rankings in the Qungzhou Sword Dao Meet, Daoist Tai Hua did not care too much.

　　He didn’t have great expectations and would be very contented if Ye Ping could enter the top 100.

　　Besides, it wasn’t too convenient for the information of the meet to be spread around. The Qingzhou Sword Dao Meet was only important and popular in Qingzhou, and it was considered insignificant in the Jin Nation. Hence, he would usually only find out the details after the competition ended.

　　Hence, instead of going around to find out some information, he thought that it would be better to just wait in the sect for Ye Ping and Su Changyu to return.

　　Today.

　　As usual, Daoist Tai Hua was refining his Qi at the entrance of the sect.

　　As a cultivator, one should know how to nourish their body. The spiritual energy in the morning was the densest and the purest.

　　Most importantly, refining Qi in the morning would save one the need for breakfast while strengthening the body. How could Daoist Tai Hua ignore such a good thing?

　　However, just when he was preparing for his daily Qi Refinement practice, a familiar figure suddenly appeared before him.

　　It was Shi Liangjin.

　　Daoist Tai Hua was immediately a little shocked.

　　He didn’t expect Shi Liangjin to come to the Qingyun Dao Sect.

　　That was strange.

　　‘What is he here at the Qingyun Dao Sect for?’

　　‘Does he want to return the goods and get a refund?’

　　‘Or does he want to borrow money from me?’

　　Daoist Tai Hua frowned, feeling as if he had seen a huge enemy.

　　However, before Daoist Tai Hua could think further, Shi Liangjin broke his silence and spoke.

　　“Senior Tai Hua, Senior Tai Hua, good news, good news.”

　　When Shi Liangjin saw Daoist Tai Hua, his chubby face was full of agitation and excitement.

　　‘Good news?’

　　‘What good news?’

　　Daoist Tai Hua found those words somewhat familiar, and the other party’s tone seemed to be similar when he first bought the Immortal Cultivation Fund.

　　Soon, Shi Liangjin walked towards Daoist Tai Hua. He was too exhausted to say anything and was taking deep breaths with his hands on his thighs.

　　On the other hand, Daoist Tai Hua glanced at him.

　　“First things first, I’m not going to loan any funds.”

　　Daoist Tai Hua was very direct with his words.

　　On the other hand, Shi Liangjin waved his hands and took a deep breath.

　　“No, no. Senior Tai Hua, don’t you know? Your disciple is in the top eight places of the Qingzhou Sword Dao Meet.”

　　Shi Liangjin said excitedly.

　　“What?”

　　‘Top eight of the Sword Dao Meet?’

　　Daoist Tai Hua was a little shocked.

　　He really didn’t expect that Ye Ping could enter the round for the top eight. ‘He is bringing glory to the sect.’

　　‘We’re surely going to become a third-rank sect now!’

　　‘This is stable.’

　　“I did not expect that my disciple would be able to enter the top eight. Not bad, not bad, it seems that our meticulous guidance and teachings these days have been effective.”

　　Daoist Tai Hua said, praising himself and Ye Ping after calming down.

　　However, Shi Liangjin continued.

　　“Ye Ping is not the only one. Your eldest disciple has also entered the top eight. Your sect has produced two elites.”

　　Shi Liangjin hurriedly reminded him.

　　“Huh? Su Changyu? That good-for… Ahem, my eldest disciple has gotten into the top eight too?”

　　Daoist Tai Hua was dumbfounded.

　　He thought that it would be reasonable for Ye Ping to be in the top eight, but he was surprised that Su Changyu had made it too. After all, he knew how strong and competent Ye Ping was.

　　However, the problem was that Su Changyu was in the top eight.

　　‘Are there back doors to the Qingzhou Sword Dao Meet?’

　　‘Or are there only eight contestants for the Qingzhou Sword Dao Meet this time?’

　　‘This is absurd.’

　　He knew Su Changyu’s abilities better than anyone else. ‘If he can enter the top eight with those abilities, I can too.’

　　“Yes, now both your disciples are extremely popular, and they’re known as the double elites of Qingzhou.”

　　Shi Liangjin said excitedly.

　　After receiving a definite answer, Daoist Tai Hua immediately fell silent.

　　After a while, he felt regretful.

　　If he had known earlier that Su Changyu could enter the top eight, he would have joined the competition too. Each disciple in the top eight would be receiving a thousand inferior-grade Spirit Stones, a robe meant for the top ten, and a flying sword, all of which were extremely valuable.

　　‘I’ve incurred such a huge loss.’

　　Daoist Tai Hua felt as if his heart was cut by a knife. He had thought a lot about it, but he did not expect Su Changyu to enter the top eight.

　　However, at this moment, Shi Liangjin continued to speak.

　　“Immortal Tai Hua, I have a lucrative business deal, would you be interested?”

　　Shi Liangjin voiced his purpose of visit.

　　‘Lucrative deal?’

　　Daoist Tai Hua was immediately enticed by that. Money was his favorite thing in this world, and he was naturally interested in a lucrative business deal that would allow him to strike a fortune.

　　“Tell me more about it.”

　　Daoist Tai Hua said curiously.

　　“Immortal Tai Hua, now there are several trade unions in Jin Nation who have joined forces to open bets as bankers for the Qingzhou Sword Dao Meet.”

　　“Both of your two disciples are on the list, how about we cooperate? You send a letter by pigeon to your eldest disciple and tell him to deliberately lose to your youngest disciple. Why don’t we take this opportunity to make a fortune?”

　　Shi Liangjin finally revealed the purpose of his visit.

　　He was at the Qingyun Dao Sect for that matter.

　　Su Changyu and Ye Ping were now extremely famous, but unfortunately, no one knew Qingyun Dao Sect. However, Shi Liangjin did.

　　Having been a businessman for so many years, Shi Liangjin understood the most important part about business.

　　It was information.

　　If one knew information that others didn’t, they would be able to earn money that others could not.

　　He knew that Ye Ping and Su Changyu were the disciples of Daoist Tai Hua, so he thought that it would be possible for them to cooperate.

　　Once Daoist Tai Hua heard that, his expression changed and he looked at Shi Liangjin with his eyes full of contempt.

　　“How can sword cultivators do such an unscrupulous thing?”

　　“You’re looking down on the Qingyun Dao Sect.”

　　“The Qingyun Dao Sect may be a low-ranking sect, but we still have a bottom line. How could you propose such an unscrupulous thing? Are you insulting me and the Qingyun Dao Sect?”

　　Daoist Tai Hua reprimanded righteously and sternly.

　　The latter couldn’t help but be stunned. He looked at Daoist Tai Hua with an astonished gaze.

　　‘That’s not right. I can tell right away that Daoist Tai Hua is a money-grubber like me, why did he suddenly become so righteous?’

　　‘Did I make a mistake?’

　　Just before Shi Liangjin came back to his senses, Daoist Tai Hua couldn’t help but speak up again.

　　“My disciples have been training hard in swordsmanship, all for the sake of making a name for themselves in Qingzhou. Yet, you want them to give it up for the sake of a few hundred or a few thousand taels of silver. You’re pretty amusing.”

　　“What kind of person do you take me for? A profit-minded person? A man who is greedy for money and lust? Someone, please send him away!”

　　The more Daoist Tai Hua spoke, the more agitated he became. He wasn’t pretending.

　　Now that they had entered the top eight, they might get lucky and enter the top four. If they were really lucky, one of them might take the first place in Qingzhou.

　　If one of them could clinch first place, a few hundred or a few thousand taels of silver would be peanuts.

　　In the past, there had also been bets for the previous Qingzhou Sword Dao Meets, but betters would at most win a few hundred or a few thousand taels of silver. There were rarely returns of tens of thousands of taels of silver.

　　That was also the reason why Daoist Tai Hua rejected Shi Liangjin right away.

　　After being reprimanded by Daoist Tai Hua, Shi Liangjin’s face was flushed.

　　In fact, it was quite a bad idea, but most importantly, he felt that Daoist Tai Hua was a mercenary person who was profit-minded.

　　However, he didn’t expect Daoist Tai Hua to be so righteous, so he was wrong.

　　Thinking of this, Shi Liangjin could not help but smile.

　　“Immortal Tai Hua, I’ve misunderstood. I was just too impulsive, and after seeing the large trade unions cooperating to start the bets, I thought that it’d be possible to earn more than a hundred thousand Spirit Stones, or even a hundred thousand taels of silver.”

　　“I was muddled up because I was caught up thinking about the profits. Immortal Tai Hua, please don’t get angry.”

　　Shi Liangjin apologized.

　　He didn’t mean it either, but he was mainly preoccupied with thinking about the profits that made him make such an irrational decision.

　　“So what if I can earn a hundred thousand taels of silver or even millions?”

　　Daoist Tai Hua said, still as righteous as before.

　　A hundred thousand taels of silver was really insignificant compared to the Qingzhou Sword Dao Meet.

　　“Yes, yes, you’re right, Immortal Tai Hua. It’s not taels of silver but Spirit Stones.”

　　Shi Liangjin smiled awkwardly.

　　At the next moment, Daoist Tai Hua was stunned.

　　He then looked at Shi Liangjin in shock.

　　“More than a hundred thousand Spirit Stones?”

　　‘Are you lying to me?’

　　“Is it that lucrative?”

　　Daoist Tai Hua was stunned.

　　Shi Liangjin was shocked too.

　　However, he soon understood.

　　He didn’t get the wrong idea about Daoist Tai Hua.