Chapter Eight: Negotiations

Ling Jiang was Ling Yufei’s nephew—more precisely, Ling Yufei had no son, only this one nephew. In Ling Yufei’s generation, Ling Jiang was the sole heir, which was why the precious Flying Ling Sword had been lent to him. It was believed that with Ling Jiang’s late Void stage strength, paired with the Flying Ling Sword, he could easily snatch Ruan Lingyu from the Kuya people. Yet, unexpectedly, not only did he fail to retrieve Ruan Lingyu, Ling Jiang’s physical body was destroyed, and, most fatally, the Flying Ling Sword fell into the hands of these barbarians.

Ling Yufei watched Ling Jiang’s trembling body and pleading eyes. At last, he stiffly sat back in his chair, suppressing his anger and saying, “We can give you a hundred tons of food, and ten tons of ordinary refining materials. But these ten low-grade spiritual artifacts… it seems your appetite is far too large.”

This negotiation was originally to be handled by three elders, but Qin Shuang, out of curiosity, took on the task, and the three elders, wanting to learn more about Qin Shuang, told him their bottom line and decided to play supporting roles.

“Heh, Master Ling, don’t think I don’t know how rare high-grade spiritual artifacts are. If I’m not mistaken, your sect doesn’t have many, does it?” Qin Shuang kept his head down, never glancing at Ling Yufei, gently stroking the Flying Ling Sword, which he regarded as less than garbage.

Qin Shuang had grown up in the Purple Profound Palace, and even a child of ordinary immortals, let alone a seventh-level Immortal Emperor, would have no interest in high-grade spiritual artifacts. But in the Wu Ling Sect, such an item was a treasure of the sect, and the entire sect possessed only two high-grade spiritual artifacts. Across Su Yu Star, high-grade spiritual artifacts were exceedingly rare and valuable.

“Young man…” Ling Yufei squinted at Qin Shuang. “If I’m not mistaken, you must be a cultivator as well.”

Qin Shuang smiled slightly, his bright eyes unchanged. “That’s right, I am indeed a cultivator, although my cultivation is pitifully low.” A seventh-level Immortal Emperor was pitifully low in Mist City.

“Golden Core stage, truly a bit lacking,” Ling Yufei mused. “Our Wu Ling Sect doesn’t have many talents, but among our elders is a Second Tribulation Loose Immortal, who’s recently shown interest in accepting a gifted disciple.” Ling Yufei sized up Qin Shuang, asking deliberately, “I wonder which sect you belong to, who is your master, and whether you’d be willing to apprentice under our elder…”

“Golden Core stage?” Qin Shuang’s smile deepened. “Why would Master Ling fancy me? Your sect has no shortage of Golden Core disciples; my presence or absence makes no difference.”

Suddenly, Qin Shuang’s expression changed, his smile vanished, and his voice turned icy. “Second Tribulation Loose Immortal? Not interested.”

“You…” Ling Yufei stood again, shocked by Qin Shuang’s attitude. A Second Tribulation Loose Immortal taking a disciple—even cultivators at the Void stage fought for such an opportunity, let alone someone at the Golden Core stage. He hadn’t expected to be refused, and so bluntly.

“Elders, is this how you Kuya people treat guests? We came here in good faith to negotiate, and you have some unknown Golden Core brat playing games with us!” Ling Yufei ignored Qin Shuang, angrily addressing the three Kuya elders. All were over a thousand years old, and Ling Yufei had dealt with them before, but he couldn’t fathom why they’d push a Golden Core stage youth to the forefront.

“Golden Core stage!” All three elders frowned. With Ling Yufei’s cultivation, his assessment of Qin Shuang was likely accurate, but how could a Golden Core stage cultivator travel from another planet to this one, approaching unnoticed?

Elder Xiao Qing was about to speak, when Elder Gan Ming interrupted, “We do not know the extent of his cultivation, nor did we know he was a cultivator. But he is a friend of the Kuya people, and for this negotiation, he has full authority!”

“Indeed!” The second and third elders nodded in agreement.

“Very well, very well.” Ling Yufei’s face turned pale with rage, repeating his assent. “A hundred tons of food, ten tons of ordinary refining materials, ten low-grade spiritual artifacts. Fine, deal.” He desperately wanted to kill the Golden Core youth before him, but knew that, though he was a Tribulation stage master, murdering someone in the Kuya tribe was no simple matter. He would have to swallow his anger for now and wait for the right moment—Qin Shuang was already marked for death in Ling Yufei’s mind.

“Excellent, that’s settled.” Qin Shuang stood up with a cheerful smile. “Go prepare the goods. Once they arrive, we’ll trade.”

“No need.” Ling Yufei took off a storage belt, and item after item flew out, quickly forming a small mountain outside the temple.

Qin Shuang scanned the items with his immortal sense, confirming their number, and praised, “Truly worthy of a sect master. You anticipated exactly what we needed.” One hundred tons of food, one ton of refining materials, ten low-grade spiritual artifacts—neither more nor less.

Ling Yufei snorted coldly, put away his storage belt, and glared fiercely at Qin Shuang.

Qin Shuang casually tossed the Flying Ling Sword back. He paid no heed to Ling Yufei’s threats.

Ling Yufei had barely caught the Flying Ling Sword when he heard Qin Shuang’s voice, “The matter of the Flying Ling Sword is settled. Now, let’s discuss the price you’re willing to pay to redeem your Elder Ling Jiang.”

“What?” Ling Yufei was stunned, his rage flaring—he nearly wielded the Flying Ling Sword to strike Qin Shuang. “You… you mean all those items were just to exchange for the Flying Ling Sword?”

Qin Shuang, unfazed by a Tribulation stage cultivator, replied lightly, “Of course. I’ve always heard that talent is the most valuable commodity. I believe Elder Ling Jiang’s price won’t be less than the Flying Ling Sword.”

Ling Yufei forcibly suppressed his urge to pierce Qin Shuang’s core with a sword, gritting his teeth. “Fine, what do you want?”

“Where’s my brother Lei Tian?” Before Qin Shuang could speak, Lei Shan, holding Ling Jiang, asked, tightening his grip on Ling Jiang’s nascent soul.

“Lei Tian?” Ling Yufei sighed. “We intended to capture him, but he managed to escape along the way.”

“Nonsense!” Lei Shan cursed. “My brother could escape? If he did, why hasn’t he returned to the tribe? Don’t tell me he’s lost his way!”

Ling Yufei frowned. “Your brother truly escaped. As the dignified master of Wu Ling Sect, I wouldn’t stoop to lying to a barbarian. Now, what do you want in exchange for releasing my elder?”

“Haha, since you say my brother Lei Tian escaped, fine—your people will be responsible for finding him. After all, you can fly. Once you find him, I’ll release your so-called elder.” Trading Ling Jiang for Lei Tian was the strategy they had agreed upon; Qin Shuang simply watched, not intervening.

“Don’t push us too far.” Ling Yufei stood abruptly. “So if we can’t find your brother, Ling Jiang will remain captive?”

“Of course not,” Qin Shuang interjected. “You have one month. If you find Lei Tian within that time, good. If not, you may as well prepare a memorial tablet for Elder Ling Jiang.”

“You… you go too far…” Ling Yufei was already furious, itching to destroy this rundown temple. But thinking of Ling Jiang and his family’s Second Tribulation Loose Immortal, he calmed himself, nodding fiercely. “Fine, one month. We’ll find him.”

Ling Yufei tossed out an iron token. “Upon the request of Heaven’s Gate, you barbarians are invited to attend the Ruan Lingyu gathering. That Golden Core brat may come too, if he wishes!”

Without waiting for the Kuya people’s reaction, Ling Yufei departed with his entourage, leaving behind his final words. This was, in fact, the first time cultivators had invited the Kuya people.

“Seems like Elder Ling Jiang really holds status in Wu Ling Sect, to drive Ling Yufei to such desperation.” After Ling Yufei left, Lei Shan commented with relish, amazed that his impulsive act had netted such a big fish.

“But Brother Qin, you really know how to bargain. I told you we needed one ton of food and a hundred kilos of refining materials, but you got the sect master to give a hundred times more.” Lei Shan circled Qin Shuang, examining him, unable to see how Qin Shuang possessed such skill.

“You’re few in number, so you ask for less. But it’s always wise to be prepared. These cultivators may be paupers, but they have plenty of mortal goods!”

“Paupers?” Lei Shan looked at Qin Shuang in confusion. Qin Shuang laughed, “Of course—they wouldn’t trade ten low-grade artifacts for a single high-grade one. Isn’t that the mark of a pauper?”

“Senior Qin, you may not realize—Su Yu Star is resource-poor, and every weapon among cultivators is precious. Many cultivators don’t even possess a single low-grade spiritual artifact. Today, you took ten; now ten people will be left weaponless.” Elder Gan Ming sighed. To them, ten low-grade artifacts were merely ten sharp weapons.

Reflecting, Gan Ming continued, “Long ago, we fought a great war with the cultivators. Our tribe then numbered 150,000, but now, only just over 60,000 remain!”

Recalling the past, Elder Gan Ming felt a touch of sorrow, but Qin Shuang’s interest was piqued. “You fought a war with the cultivators? If your numbers dwindled so, why did they spare you?”

“Hmph. We lost more than half, but the cultivators suffered greatly as well. Their numbers were more than three times what they are now. There were seven sects—four of which we Kuya people wiped out entirely.”