A Perfect Finish

Being "Yan Jinghong's disciple" is certainly intimidating, but clinging to someone's coattails is not Si Ming's style. Most martial artists with ambition are unwilling to be someone else's vassal, and right now there is an opportunity to "become famous overnight."

One person taking down an entire school, and a top international institution like Sun Wu University at that. Once word gets out, it's enough to elevate Si Ming's reputation to a level far beyond that of an ordinary Spirit Transformation.

In a sense, this Remote Heaven Society alone. After all, the public's understanding of the Remote Heaven Society is still very vague. They only know that it is a mysterious organization composed of countless villains, aiming to destroy the Eternal Barrier. However, ordinary people do not know how strong the members of this organization are. On the other hand, the strength of Sun Wu University has been deeply imprinted in people's minds after hundreds of years of historical accumulation.

Giving up the war was impossible, but Si Ming didn't want to offend anyone too badly, so he needed a skilled negotiator, and Yu Shuying was clearly the best candidate.

Shortly after Fu Feng left, there was another knock on the door. When Si Ming opened it, he saw Xin Jia looking troubled and a middle-aged man.

Xin Jia said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I refused when they asked me for help before, but my uncle has taken good care of me since I was little, so I couldn't refuse..."

Si Ming smiled and said, "I understand, please come in."

The other party's response was as expected. Yu Shuying Si Ming had already mentioned that the school needed Si Ming's help, so they would definitely need to find an intermediary that he couldn't refuse to help plead on their behalf. The three contacts who had connections with Si Ming were Huang Tu, Cheng Xin, and Xin Jia.

Given Huang Tu's status, the school couldn't force him to help even if he didn't want to; Cheng Xin, a journalist with no integrity, was hard to trust, and might use the recording as leverage; Xin Jia's uncle was the dean of the department and knew many leaders, making him the best candidate.

"Si Ming, I'm Xin Jia's uncle. Thank you for taking care of her during this time."

"You're mistaken. It's she who took care of me; she's helped me a lot during this time."

"Haha, it's her who dragged you down. Although this child is smart, she was too well protected in the past and doesn't understand the dark side of society. She was used as a pawn. To be honest, I personally hope you can successfully defend your title, because only if you succeed will Xin Jia's situation improve and she be freed from the shadow of being a pawn. Once you fail, her future will be ruined."

Xin Jia's uncle was clearly a sensible man. He spoke with great composure and possessed a personal charm that made him easy to like. However, such a person was undoubtedly the most difficult to deal with as a negotiating partner, much more so than someone with a gloomy personality who was obviously cunning. In particular, he was not good at dealing with Si Ming's personality, which was resistant to both soft approaches and hard ones. Fortunately, he had found a helper in advance.

"Uncle Xin, since you're being so frank, I'll get straight to the point and skip the formalities," Si Ming said, pointing to Yu Shuying in the room. "If you want to persuade me to stop tomorrow's arena battle, then talk to her. If she agrees, I agree. I'm not good at negotiating, so I need to play to my strengths and avoid my weaknesses. Tonight, I don't want to be distracted by other things so as not to affect tomorrow's preparations."

What is your relationship with her?

Xin Jia's uncle asked in confusion. In fact, he had read the relevant information about Si Ming before he came. The section on interpersonal relationships had already clearly introduced Yu Shuying, but at this moment he still had to pretend not to know.

Si Ming originally wanted to say "senior brother and sister," since Yan Jinghong and Wu Xiu were fellow practitioners of the Heaven's Will Palace, but Yu Shuying spoke first, saying, "We signed our names together on the marriage compatibility form."

The Marriage Compatibility Act of Su State was modeled after that of Nation of Valor, so Xin Jia's uncle was naturally very familiar with it. He couldn't help but show a surprised expression. "I didn't expect that the two of you would not only be business partners, but also life companions. I was being presumptuous."

He genuinely didn't know this; Nation of Valor's intelligence system wasn't that powerful.

Yu Shuying glanced at Xin Jia and noticed that she first showed a hint of disappointment, but quickly regained her composure. In her heart, she couldn't help but curse: You little bitch, there are already enough passengers on this bus. You should go somewhere cool and stay somewhere else.

She smiled and said, "We will not stop the arena battles tomorrow. If you want to discuss this matter, you can go back now to avoid wasting time."

Xin Jia's uncle quickly said, "Don't rush to make a decision. We've come with sincerity. Before you see us off, why not learn about the conditions we're offering? It won't waste much of your time."

Yu Shuying shook her head and said, "It's no use. I can roughly guess the conditions you can offer. We don't lack money, we don't lack Cultivation Method, and we don't lack treasures. What we want, you can't provide."

What do you want?

"Huyan Lie's hands."

Chapter 648 A Perfect Ending

"You should know this is impossible," Xin Jia's uncle glanced in Si Ming's direction. "At least, it can't be done through negotiation."

Yu Shuying smiled and said, "I just wanted to use this sentence to make our position clear: we don't need any compensation, we just want to see Huyan Lie, the Huyan Lie behind it all, pay the price."

"This is difficult. Whether in Su State or Nation of Valor, those at the Spirit Transformation have special privileges. Even though the school is furious about Huyan Lie's reckless behavior, there's nothing they can do to punish him... We can offer double the compensation. You should take a look at the conditions we're providing first. If there's anything you're not satisfied with, please let us know as soon as possible."

Xin Jia's uncle handed her a list, but Yu Shuying didn't even look at it and simply placed it face down on the table.

"If I were in charge, I probably would have compromised, but unfortunately, my partner is an impulsive fool. He doesn't care about any material conditions; he only wants justice to prevail and for the mastermind behind everything to pay the price. I've tried to persuade him many times, but it's no use. This guy is just like a donkey."

"After all, he's Master Yan's disciple. It's understandable that he has such thoughts, given his teachings and example, but..."

"Therefore, we will not give up tomorrow's arena battle. It is a choice we have no other option but to make," Yu Shuying interrupted. "Imagine if we forfeit tomorrow, your school can preserve its reputation with minimal loss. Afterwards Huyan Lie only needs to offer a perfunctory apology and some compensation to let the matter drop. On the contrary, if we insist on the arena battle, your school will suffer irreparable reputational damage. Afterwards, whenever this matter is mentioned, people will resent Huyan Lie, and no matter what compensation he makes, it will be useless. This also means that Huyan Lie's connections at your school will suffer serious damage."

Xin Jia's uncle frowned and said, "Doing this will indeed damage Huyan Lie's connections, but you will also incur the school's hostility. Isn't this a case of hurting the enemy a thousand while harming yourself eight hundred? Why do you choose a mutually beneficial approach instead of a mutually destructive one?"

"It's certainly not a wise choice to harm others without benefiting oneself; let's just consider it youthful rebellion."

It's not quite right to describe it as harming others without benefiting oneself. While Si Ming suffers hostility, he also gains worldwide fame. Moreover, he is not Nation of Valor, so he can leave after six months without fear of being constantly watched by Sun Wu University. This move is clearly more beneficial than harmful. On the other hand, Huyan Lie is Nation of Valor and has nowhere to escape, making it a complete disadvantage.

"If I relay these words to the school leaders and let them know that your purpose is to harm Huyan Lie, aren't you afraid they will do the opposite?"

Yu Shuying smiled and said, "If your school's management style is one-man rule, then the person in charge can indeed suppress this matter with a single order. Unfortunately, as far as I know, that's not the case. Humans are never absolutely rational beings. Even if they know that doing so will please their enemies, they will still do it to vent their emotions. Besides, Huyan Lie is indeed the instigator. When a group of people make decisions, their intelligence is often determined by the person with the lowest IQ."

Xin Jia's uncle was speechless. He knew things would definitely turn out the way the other party expected. It had nothing to do with intelligence, but rather that not everyone in the school's upper echelons liked Huyan Lie. There were quite a few people who disliked him. Back then, Huyan Lie Yanlie had established his own faction in Russia, trying to turn the Ten Thousand Ren Society into his private power, which offended many people. These people wouldn't miss the opportunity to kick him when he was down.

If he had succeeded, that would have been fine; others might have had to fawn over him, and even those with grudges would have to put on a smiling face to greet him. But he failed, returned home in a sorry state, and all the resources he had wasted were wasted. If it weren't for the fact that he was a Spirit Transformation, and people didn't dare to push him too far, the debt collectors would probably have thrown paint on his front door.

Now that this incident has occurred again, even Huyan Lie's friends will hesitate on this matter. Rather than being dragged into it, severing ties might be a better choice. Cutting losses is also a smart tactic.

"Isn't there any other possibility?" Xin Jia's uncle turned his gaze to Si Ming.

"I'm sorry, but a thousand pieces of gold can't buy what you truly desire. As a martial artist, what I seek is a clear and open mind. If I'm constantly feeling stifled and submissive, what's the point of learning martial arts?" These were Si Ming's true feelings, so he spoke with exceptional frankness and without the slightest hint of guilt.

He turned to Xin Jia and said, "I'm sorry, you were the one who pleaded for me, but I couldn't give you face."

Xin Jia quickly waved her hand and said, "It's alright. I only came because I couldn't refuse a favor. I won't feel guilty since you're insisting on your opinion."

Girls are outgoing.

"Uncle!"

"Alright, alright, just pretend I didn't say anything. Judging from your looks, it's pointless for me to try to persuade you any further. Let's call it a day."

Xin Jia's uncle shook his head, got up and went to the door, then suddenly turned around and said, "Actually, I also quite dislike Huyan Lie. I hope you can stick to it to the end."

Xin Jia followed her away, saying goodbye before leaving.