Ma Liang, the Unshakable Tough Nut

Outside the gate, countless musicians and actors formed a long queue.

When Chu Xinghe learned that this was a group that had paid for their performance in advance, he was moved to tears.

Lu Chengqing is indeed a lucky general. He's worried that I, Senior Brother Xinghe, might suffer a huge loss. He's afraid that things might change if I wait too long. His approach of paying upfront is very clear!

Compared to Chu Xinghe's excitement, the First Elder's brows furrowed into a deep frown.

Although Xinghe had just mentioned paying in advance, the Grand Elder was against it.

What do you mean, pay first?

The performance hasn't even started yet; how can they perform with peace of mind if they've already been paid?

What if something goes wrong?

Besides, hasn't the rule always been that musicians receive their pay after the performance?

My Vast Heaven Sect is a large and powerful family; how could we possibly lack their money?

Although the family was large and powerful, the elder's heart still clenched at the thought of the musicians' expenses...

Because the total cost is really too high.

But this is Millennial Grand Sacrifice, so it's okay if it's a bit pricey.

But isn't paying upfront a bit too outrageous?

Why didn't Lu Chengqing report such a large sum of money to the sect? Didn't he, as the Grand Elder, need to know about it?

Could it have been arranged by Xinghe?

The Grand Elder didn't believe Lu Chengqing had the guts, so after much thought, he concluded that Xinghe had arranged it. Since it was Xinghe's doing, then so be it...

Accompanied by Xinghe, they arrived at the room where the labor fees were paid. From afar, the Grand Elder could see the mountain of spirit stones piled up inside the room.

Seeing these spirit stones, the Grand Elder's heart still clenched...

Although my Vast Heaven Sect is very wealthy now, the more I think about giving so much money, the more upset I feel.

Just as the Grand Elder was feeling slightly unwell, several Vast Heaven Sect disciples, under Lu Chengqing's instructions, carried countless spirit stones out of the room, then put them into their Qiankun Rings and began sending them out.

The Grand Elder was somewhat bewildered by this scene...

Isn't today the day to pay performance fees?

Shouldn't they be transporting things from the treasury here? Why are they transporting them out?

What's going on?

But just as the Grand Elder was completely bewildered, something even more bewildering happened.

The Grand Elder saw a musician approach Lu Chengqing with a fawning expression. Lu Chengqing then used a calculator to calculate the musician's performance fee. The musician then directly pulled out double the calculated fee from his storage ring and handed it to... Lu Chengqing?

What the hell is this?!

But before the Grand Elder could recover from his bewilderment, something even more bewildering happened.

Lu Chengqing slammed his hand on the table, indicating that he had given too much!

The other party's fawning face immediately changed, and then he pointed at Lu Chengqing and said, "President Lu, even if you are the president, you can't talk nonsense. What I gave you is perfectly reasonable!"

The other party then completely ignored the number calculated by Lu Chengqing, dropped off the double amount, turned around and left, as if afraid that if they were a step too slow, Lu Chengqing would catch them and return the spirit stones.

The Grand Elder was completely dumbfounded... What the hell is this? I've lived this long, why can't I understand a thing of the sort?

But what happened next was even more incomprehensible: everyone who reached the venue successfully paid their performance fee.

But why the hell are these musicians paying Lu Chengqing for the performance?

Who's performing for whom?

Chu Xinghe was even more bewildered than the Grand Elder... All Chu Xinghe could say was, "Yeah, who's putting on this show for whom?"

Wasn't today supposed to be the day to pay the musicians' performance fees?

What's the meaning of this musician giving his performance fee to Lu Chengqing without a second thought?

Are you sure this isn't a bomb or spirit stones? You're giving away money to our Vast Heaven Sect for a performance? Are you crazy?

How exactly did Lu Chengqing convince them?

You made them perform and then asked them to pay you—what exactly did you, Lu Chengqing, do?

The Grand Elder was an impatient man, so he rushed in immediately.

Upon the sudden arrival of the Grand Elder, Lu Chengqing, along with countless other disciples of the Vast Heaven Sect, bowed in respect.

When the musicians heard that the newcomer was the Grand Elder of the Vast Heaven Sect, they were all greatly shocked.

When they saw that the person standing next to the Grand Elder was none other than the legendary young number one talent, Chu Xinghe, countless young and beautiful musicians and actors were so excited they almost wet themselves.

Flirting glances flew wildly at Chu Xinghe, and in just a few seconds, her mind had already conjured up hundreds of versions of the story of the youngest man falling in love with her...

But Chu Xinghe was completely stunned at the moment, so he had no time to look at their flirtatious glances.

Chu Xinghe just wanted to know, what the hell happened...?

Lu Chengqing seemed to sense the elder's doubts. He first invited the elder into the inner room, and then personally explained why such a strange scene had occurred.

"Elder... this Non-Self doing, Lu Chengqing. I was merely a gofer. The entire plan was devised by Senior Brother Xinghe..."

Lu Chengqing then recounted how Senior Brother Xinghe devised the plan and how he gave these musicians and actors opportunities. As for the performance fees, it was the same; Senior Brother Xinghe gave them such an opportunity, and they were all willing to contribute their performance fees as a reward to the Vast Heaven Sect.

The Grand Elder was stunned for a full five minutes after hearing this.

The Grand Elder's mind was completely blank.

No wonder Xinghe was so excited when he mentioned giving money... It turns out this "giving money" wasn't our Vast Heaven Sect giving money to them, it was them giving us money...

Xinghe... how is your brain structured?

How did you come up with this idea?

We invited them to perform for us for free, and in the end, we even made them pay us back?

They should thank us for this!

The Grand Elder was at a loss for words to express his feelings; all he knew at that moment was that he had wronged Xinghe.

When Xinghe first mentioned wanting to build something this big, the Grand Elder's first thought was, "How much will this cost?"

But now I know that Xinghe never intended to spend any money; in fact, he made a killing...

With this money, plus the proceeds from the previous sell-outs by various merchant guilds, not only will the losses on the Haotian Mirror be recovered, but our Vast Heaven Sect will also make a profit?

Xinghe is known for his unconventional and imaginative ways of doing things, but even the Grand Elder never dreamed that Xinghe could be this unconventional.

With the Vast Heaven Sect's Vast Heaven Sect of its Millennial Grand Sacrifice, everyone is calculating whether such extravagant spending is simply wasteful.

Chu Xinghe has made you a lot of money, but can he afford to squander it like this?

But right now, the Grand Elder just wants to tell them, what do you know?!

Xinghe is a spendthrift?

Our Xinghe can't stand seeing the sect suffer even the slightest loss... You only see Xinghe's losses, do you know how much Xinghe has earned for our Vast Heaven Sect?

Chu Xinghe earned an unknown amount, but he felt he was about to lose control of Thunder Shadow...

What the hell is this? I invited musicians and actors to perform, and I'm supposed to pay them... Lu Chengqing, how did you come to this conclusion?

Not only do you not charge me, but you also expect me to pay you? That's robbery, you know that?

No, that's not right... Robbery has costs and risks. Who the hell ever sees someone willingly hand over their money to their doorstep?

What's wrong with your brain, Lu Chengqing?

Of course, Lu Chengqing dared not take credit, and even made a self-deprecating joke... saying that he almost misunderstood Senior Brother Xinghe's meaning at first, but fortunately there was Senior Brother Ma Liang. He consulted Senior Brother Ma Liang, and it was Senior Brother Ma Liang who enlightened him in time, which made him understand the profound meaning in Senior Brother Xinghe's words.

Upon hearing that it was Ma Liang who made the move... Chu Xinghe remained calm...

Ma Liang, can't you think like a normal person?

This isn't even considered taking a risky approach; you've practically stabbed the sword in my face, you know that?

The outside world calls you Ma Liang Ghost Emperor of Fengdu, but I think you're more like the King of Backstabbing!

I, Chu Xinghe, just wanted to use the Millennial Grand Sacrifice to make the sect spend some money. What did I do to deserve this?

No... We must inform Ouyang Ling and have the Ma Lineage's ancestral graves dug up...

But after thinking about it... it seems useless... Ma Liang had long since severed ties with the Ma Lineage. A few days ago, when he heard that the Ma Lineage had sent a letter, Ma Liang burned it all in one go and instructed the disciple who delivered the letter that anyone who dared to accept a letter from the Ma Lineage again would have their legs broken!

If Ouyang Ling were to dig up the Ma Lineage graves, wouldn't Ma Liang be thanking his Junior Sister Ouyang for her righteousness on the spot?

So now Ma Liang is just a piece of meat, right? Nothing works against him anymore?

When a person is utterly shameless, they become invincible Ma Liang was already invincible...

Chu Xinghe n't know how he got out of the room. All he knew was that the Grand Elder's face, which had been furrowed in pain, had now turned into a chrysanthemum-like expression again.

Listen to what Lu Chengqing is saying—is that even human language?

What does it mean that those musicians have to pay double the amount at the slightest disagreement?

Have you no shame? Do you think it's easy for those musicians to earn a living? How can you extort them like this?

But look at those musicians, they threatened to die right there in the Vast Heaven Sect if they didn't pay double the Vast Heaven Sect. Have you no shame?

And then there's the Grand Elder... you're still encouraging Lu Chengqing?

Since they're being sincere, Chengqing, shouldn't you refuse them?

Lu Chengqing, with such widespread unspoken rules, are you planning to become the number one person in the entertainment industry to engage in such practices?

But now, no matter how angry Chu Xinghe is, it's useless. It's purely a case of one person willing to hit and the other willing to be hit. What can you do about it?

Soon, the news spread throughout the land that the Vast Heaven Sect had invited tens of thousands of musicians and actors, and that these musicians and actors not only performed for free, but also brought their own performance fees to pay to the Vast Heaven Sect.

Everyone who received the news was stunned.

How the hell did you do that? Has your Vast Heaven Sect become this outrageous?

How did you manage to convince people to come to your door and deliver money to you?

Do you even have a shred of reason?

We usually pay musicians, and the more famous they are, the higher the fee. Your Vast Heaven Sect also pays more for famous musicians? How the hell do you manage that?

Some people suspect that they might have been misled or threatened.

That's why you would do something so outrageous?

Why don't you ask other musicians?

But you wouldn't believe it until you asked... and then something even more outrageous happened...