On the bustling streets.

Jiang Chen wove through the crowd, appearing to walk at an ordinary pace, but a closer look would reveal a startling fact.

Not a single strand of hair was disturbed on the people he brushed past!

Jiang Chen was moving at a considerable speed. Even a True Martial Realm Powerhouse, at such a velocity, would inevitably cause fluctuations in the surrounding air. While it wouldn’t send people flying, it would at least cause their robes and hair to flutter slightly.

Yet Jiang Chen could keep the airflow fluctuations around his body under perfect control.

"Young lad, your mastery of the Wind Sword Intent is growing more and more profound," the Black Emperor said lazily from his perch on Jiang Chen’s back. "It won’t be long before you break through to Tier Two of Sword Intent."

Jiang Chen replied coolly, "If I couldn’t even manage this level of control, wouldn’t I be a disappointment to the Celestial Demon Emperor Venerable?"

"Heh, I didn’t want to burst your bubble, but since you brought it up, I might as well mention it... It’s far too early for a mere First-Grade Middle Level Divine Thought Master to be talking about being worthy of the Venerable Emperor’s legacy!" the Black Emperor said teasingly, a smug smile on his face.

Jiang Chen shot him a look. "One day, I’ll make you eat your words."

"I’ll be waiting!"

The Black Emperor grinned, then asked, "Weren’t we going to the Alchemist Guild to buy a Medicine Cauldron? Where are we headed now?"

"To the City Lord’s Mansion," Jiang Chen said, his eyes gleaming. "Yulan Shouqing and his people are handling the Qinghuo Gang’s affairs. It should be about time for me to go collect my share!"

’That’s the fortune the Qinghuo Gang spent decades accumulating!’

’It’s an absolute fortune!’

The Black Emperor rolled his eyes. "You’re obsessed with money..."

Jiang Chen shrugged but said nothing.

Before long...

They arrived at the City Lord’s Mansion.

After they stated their purpose, the guards learned Jiang Chen’s identity and became exceedingly respectful. "The Mansion Master instructed us that if Young Master Jiang arrived, you could go directly to him! This way, Young Master Jiang..."

"Much obliged."

Jiang Chen tossed each of the two guards a hundred pieces of silver and strode into the magnificent City Lord’s Mansion.

He made his way through the mansion and arrived outside the main hall.

A guard said respectfully, "The Mansion Master and General Wang are inside. Please wait a moment, Young Master Jiang, while I announce you."

Just as the guard was about to enter the hall to announce him, Jiang Chen stopped him with a hushing gesture. "Hold on," he whispered.

"Huh?"

The guard froze, confused. Before he could ask, a haughty voice drifted from the main hall. "Master of Yulan Mansion, General Wang... the protective inscription on the Qinghuo Gang’s Treasure Vault was forged by a First-grade Advanced Refiner. Without the correct method to disable it, you will never get to the treasures inside. You had best reconsider my conditions!"

Inside the main hall...

Yulan Shouqing and Wang Yizhou were in the company of an old man with white hair and a beard, dressed in a green robe.

On the chest of his green robe was a hammer embroidered in gold thread, upon which rested a silver hexagram.

This was the insignia of the Artifact Refiner Guild!

It meant this old man was a distinguished Artifact Refiner—and a First-Grade Middle Level Refiner at that!

In a place like Yulan Mansion, a First-Grade Middle Level Refiner was already an exceedingly rare sight.

Even men of Yulan Shouqing’s and Wang Yizhou’s stature dared not to lightly offend such a person.

Yulan Shouqing spoke with a helpless expression, "Master Kumu, we are well aware of how formidable the inscription on the Qinghuo Gang’s Treasure Vault is. That is why we asked for your assistance. However, your conditions..."

Wang Yizhou was hot-tempered. Suppressing his rage, he said in a low voice, "Master Kumu, we paid a heavy price to annihilate the Qinghuo Gang. Yet for merely cracking a protective inscription, you demand seventy percent of the treasure within? We cannot accept such terms! If it comes to it, the Mansion Master and I will just join forces and break the inscription ourselves!"

"Cannot accept?"

Master Kumu lifted his teacup and took a delicate sip, looking utterly composed and fearless. "That protective inscription," he said, "is integrated with a self-destruct mechanism. From my observations, this mechanism is fused with the entire Treasure Vault. If anyone dares to force it open from the outside, the self-destruct sequence will activate before you even get through the door. You won’t get so much as a speck of dust."

"What? A self-destruct mechanism? I never thought Zhao Qinghuo would be so cautious..."

’If that’s true, then is there really no other way than to beg this old bastard to disable the inscription for us?’

Wang Yizhou and Yulan Shouqing exchanged a look, their expressions grim.

「Ever since returning to Yulan Mansion.」

They had begun managing the aftermath, seizing all of the Qinghuo Gang’s assets. They even discovered a Treasure Vault at the gang’s headquarters!

However, the entrance to the Treasure Vault was sealed with a protective inscription they couldn’t open, forcing them to invite Master Kumu, the esteemed vice president of the Artifact Refiner Guild, to assist.

They had thought it would be a simple matter to open the Treasure Vault!

But after Master Kumu examined the inscription, he extorted them on the spot, demanding seventy percent of the vault’s contents as payment before he would agree to disable it.

This put Yulan Shouqing and Wang Yizhou in an incredibly awkward position.

Glancing at Master Kumu, who sat with one leg crossed over the other and a smug look on his face, Wang Yizhou gritted his teeth in frustration. He sent a mental message: "Mansion Master, we absolutely cannot agree to this!"

"If we don’t agree, how else can we open the Treasure Vault?" Yulan Shouqing transmitted back with a bitter smile.

Wang Yizhou replied, "Sigh... It’s just a shame that Master Yee Luo of the Artifact Refiner Guild is in seclusion, with no telling when he’ll emerge. Otherwise, why would we need to beg this son of a bitch?"

’Forget it,’ Yulan Shouqing thought with a bitter smile. ’I’ll try to negotiate again. Ten percent at most! If that doesn’t work, we’ll just have to invite an expert from one of the neighboring prefectures!’

"Well? Have you two made up your minds?" Master Kumu said coolly, a smug, cold sneer on his wrinkled face. "Either you agree to my terms, or you can find someone more capable!"

He and Yee Luo were the only two First-Grade Middle Level Refiners in Yulan Mansion.

And now, Yee Luo was in seclusion.

Seeing how desperate Yulan Shouqing and Wang Yizhou were to open the Treasure Vault, he dared to demand such an outrageous price.

"Master Kumu..." Yulan Shouqing took a deep breath and said gravely, "The compensation you’ve proposed is far too high. How about this: I can authorize giving you ten percent of the treasure in the vault as payment. You should know, ten percent of the Qinghuo Gang’s Treasure Vault is worth hundreds of millions. That’s several times more than the reward we originally promised you. How does that sound?"

Wang Yizhou added, "Master Kumu, you should quit while you’re ahead."

"Hmph! Are you two threatening me?"

Master Kumu’s expression darkened. He rose to his feet, his face filled with anger. "Ten percent?" he said coldly. "Are you shooing away a beggar? This is an insult to me! Fine. Since you two clearly look down on Kumu, you can find someone else to handle this matter! Oh, and by the way, I happen to have some influence in the Artifact Refining circles here and in the neighboring prefectures. I’m sure those old friends of mine will do me a favor and refuse to help anyone who has insulted me. I suggest you two think carefully about your next move."

"What?"

"H-how could he?"

The color drained from Wang Yizhou’s and Yulan Shouqing’s faces.

They had just been considering finding an Artifact Refiner from another city, but now Master Kumu was threatening to use his standing in the Artifact Refining World to cut off that very option.

It was tantamount to pulling the rug out from under them.

Seeing the color change in their faces, Master Kumu inwardly sneered in triumph, but his expression was one of false magnanimity. He sighed. "Ah, very well, very well. I suppose I’m just too soft-hearted. For the sake of our past relationship, I’ll take one more step back. Once the Treasure Vault is open, I will take a mere sixty percent. This is my absolute final offer. If you agree, I will proceed to the vault at once and disable the inscription. If not, I will leave without another word. I have been more than reasonable. The choice is yours."

"This..."

Wang Yizhou and Yulan Shouqing looked at each other, utterly dismayed.

Sixty percent!

They could see that Master Kumu had them cornered. This was his final concession.

If they didn’t agree now, they would be breaking their promise to Jiang Chen.

At this thought, the two shared a bitter smile and prepared to give in.

However...

Just as they were about to speak, a cold sneer echoed from outside the door, causing the triumphant expression on Master Kumu’s face to instantly turn black.

"’Master’? What a joke. All I see is a bandit taking advantage of a crisis! Master of Yulan Mansion, General Wang, if I were you, I’d have had this quack beaten with clubs and thrown out by now..."