Kill himself?

"That's really something, so domineering."

Su Bai's face remained expressionless, but inwardly he was filled with a cold smile.

Upon meeting, they immediately offered to raise prices on his behalf, and then tried to restrict his private power to take on apprentices and teach skills, as if this Alchemy Street was their private garden, where they set all the rules.

Do you really think this newcomer is made of clay?

He shrugged. "Alchemist, our new Number Nine Pill Shop, will maintain the price of fifty Spirit Stone per bottle of Golden Marrow Pill for at least a year. This is a promise I, Lu, have made to our customers who trust our shop."

"Although I am of humble status, I still understand the meaning of integrity. How can I arbitrarily raise the price to sixty Spirit Stone based on your own words? After all, you, Alchemist, Non-Self Number Nine Pill Shop."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the five people opposite him, each with a different expression, before continuing, "As for recruiting Pill-Refining Apprentice... that is my personal matter. When to recruit, who to recruit, and what skills to teach are all decisions I make myself."

"As long as one does not violate the laws of the Heavenly Star Alliance or the rules of the Alchemy Street, it is no one else's place to interfere or make irresponsible Three Laws."

Su Bai leaned forward slightly, his eyes clear as he looked at Wei Chun: "Master Wei Chun, is that right? If today's banquet is only to end here, then I, Lu, feel that I have made my point clear enough."

"If there's nothing else, Pill Furnace in my shop that needs looking after, so I won't keep you company any longer." With that, he made a move to get up.

This decisive and almost merciless rejection clearly took Wei Chun by surprise.

He originally thought that even if Su Bai wasn't afraid, he would at least feign compliance and try to bargain, but he never expected the other party to be so tough and directly overturn the table.

For a moment, he was speechless.

However, the other three Alchemist beside him, besides Tao Kan, seemed to be angered by Su Bai's rudeness and spoke up one after another:

"How dare you, Lu Jiu, speak to Alchemist like that!"

"Alchemist is a highly respected and virtuous person who is thinking of you; don't be ungrateful!"

"How dare a mere newcomer overstep his bounds here!"

Upon hearing this, Su Bai relaxed, leaned back in his chair, and even spread his hands again with a hint of mockery. "Go ahead and be presumptuous. We Overseas Rogue Cultivator are used to wandering, and that's just our wild nature; we can't stand too much restraint. Please excuse our presumption."

His words, ostensibly self-deprecating, actually subtly deflected the accusations of rigid rules leveled against him, implying that they were the ones who banded together to exclude outsiders and attempted to use their seniority to intimidate others.

The feigned kindness on Wei Chun's face finally crumbled completely, and his eyes turned sinister.

He stared at Su Bai, his voice turning cold. "Overseas Rogue Cultivator... Heh, Lu Jiu, it seems you're still too young and don't understand how deep the waters run in this Alchemy Street."

He leaned forward slightly, and a subtle Spiritual Pressure from a Peak Foundation Establishment cultivator spread out intentionally or unintentionally. Although he dared not actually make a move inside the Star Tower, this pressure was enough to make ordinary Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivator feel uncomfortable.

"Did you know that every year on Alchemy Street, one or two Alchemist suddenly disappear? Their shops change hands, and they vanish without a trace. Where do you think they went?"

The threat in his words was blatant and undisguised.

Su Bai frowned slightly; the pressure from the other party's Spiritual Pressure was almost negligible to him.

However, the dormant [Sword Phantasm] within his body seemed to sense the subtle fluctuations in its Master's emotions and a trace of cold killing intent, and spontaneously trembled slightly, emitting a faint sound that only Su Bai himself could perceive.

He had to divert a sliver of his mind to quietly circulate his Spiritual Power, completely suppressing the strange movements of the Sword Phantasm and his own hidden Sword Cultivator aura deep within, maintaining the ordinary appearance of a rogue cultivator of Thunder Method from overseas.

Revealing one's identity Sword Cultivator and one's connection to the Azure Fish Hall at this moment would be a very unwise move.

Faced with Wei Chun's threat, Su Bai not only did not back down, but instead curled his lips into a cold smile, meeting his gaze and saying, "Could it be... that you were thrown into the open sea to feed the fish? Coincidentally, in our outer sea, quite a few rogue cultivators disappear without a trace every year, ultimately becoming Blood Food sea Demon Beast."

He used their own methods against them, his tone calm, yet all the more chilling.

"Clap, clap, clap." Wei Chun smiled instead of getting angry, even raising his hand to clap three times lightly, though the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Good, good indeed, a Overseas Rogue Cultivator, you do have some courage."

"I don't know whether to praise your extraordinary courage or lament your naivety and ignorance, like a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger?"

He lowered his hand, his fingertips lightly tapping the table, and said in an almost lecturing tone, "Do you know why, in this Heavenly Star City, on this Alchemy Street, so few people are willing to easily offend Alchemist like us with some reputation?"

Before Su Bai could answer, he answered his own question, "It's not because we are particularly skilled in Magic Duel. It's because..." He

Pointing to the seemingly ordinary Storage Bag at his waist, he said, "Our Storage Bag are full of Spirit Stone!"

Wei Chun lowered his voice, but it sounded even more oppressive, "You're new here and don't understand the ways of the world. If an Alchemist wants to kill someone, why bother getting his hands dirty? He just needs to open his Storage Bag, scatter enough Spirit Stone, and naturally, plenty of shady but highly skilled Assassin will flock to him like Shark smelling blood."

He seemed to be carefully assessing Su Bai, his gaze sweeping over him. "Let me calculate... You, Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator, a rogue cultivator from the outer sea with no background or connections, you've only been in the Alchemy Street for a little over a month by chance, so you probably don't have any strong connections..."

"Someone like you would probably only need twenty or thirty thousand Spirit Stone to hire Assassin from the [Azure Fish Hall] to take your life."

When Wei Chun mentioned the words "Azure Fish Hall," he deliberately emphasized them, observing Su Bai's reaction. Seeing that the other party seemed to pause for a moment, he became even more certain and continued mockingly, "One failure? No problem, just spend more Spirit Stone. Throw in hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stone, issue missions one after another, and Azure Fish Hall Assassin will come one after another. Tell me, how many Foundation Establishment Cultivator can escape their attacks?"

"Last time, that direct descendant of the Shangguan Family Heavenly Star Alliance named Shangguan Kang had a much stronger background than you, a lone wolf. Yet, he was cleanly and efficiently killed by Assassin from the Azure Fish Hall near his own Market, wasn't he?"

"Heh, you're just a nobody cultivator from some remote overseas region. You probably haven't even heard of the [Azure Fish Hall] before, have you?"

He leaned back slightly, a smug look of complete control on his face. "If you want to get things done by the Azure Fish Hall, you need some reliable connections. They only take 'safe' business, and coincidentally, I happen to have just one such connection."

This is a blatant threat.

After Wei Chun finished speaking, he waited patiently, expecting Su Bai to show fear or feign composure while his eyes darted around nervously.

He felt he had completely intimidated this arrogant brat.

But what he saw was Su Bai's initial moment of surprise, followed by a rapid return to calm, and even a somewhat... strange look in his eyes?

His expression suggested he had heard something so absurd and ridiculous that he had to struggle to control it.

At this moment, Su Bai's mind was in turmoil, a jumble of thoughts:

Are you looking for [Azure Fish Hall] to assassinate me?

Wei Chun is probably going to make me laugh to death...

If the task is actually posted out, and it "just happens" to fall into the hands of someone from the Azure Fish Hall... what would that mean? Would I be taking on a task that would kill me?

Hmm... if the bounty is really high enough, and the reward is tempting enough... perhaps we should consider... completing this mission?

Anyway, it doesn't matter that Lu Jiu's identity has been exposed. Changing his identity, changing his appearance, and opening another Pill Shop doesn't seem like a bad idea.

You can also earn a free Assassin Fee and potentially even higher mission rewards...

However, the most pressing issue is that Wei Chun has already made his point to this extent, which is tantamount to announcing to his face that he wants to hire someone to kill. This so-called negotiation has completely broken down, and there is no room for maneuver.

Su Bai slowly stood up from his chair. This time, he didn't hide the mocking smile on his lips, "What a coincidence, Alchemist. I've been wandering overseas for many years and have managed to save up some money. As for connections with [Azure Fish Hall]..."

He paused deliberately, his gaze sweeping over the slightly surprised and doubtful faces of Wei Chun and the others. "How can you be so certain that I, Lu, definitely didn't have it?"

He took half a step forward. Although he did not release Spiritual Pressure, the coldness in his calm eyes made the people opposite him Consciousness tense up.

"If you, Alchemist, feel you have too many Spirit Stone to spend, feel free to hire your Assassin."

"Although I am not talented, I am willing to risk my life. You hire someone to kill me, I will hire someone to kill you. Alchemist against Alchemist, Spirit Stone against Spirit Stone, let's see whose Spirit Stone burn out first, and see whose life is... tougher?"

After saying that, Su Bai didn't look at them again, turned around, pushed open the door of the Private Box, and his figure disappeared swiftly into the shadows of the corridor outside.

The room was left with a Alchemist faces were grim, filled with shock and anger.

"You bastard! Lu Jiu! How dare you threaten us?! You just wait! Let's see who disappears from this Alchemy Street first!"

Tao Jian suddenly stood up and roared at the empty doorway. His voice echoed in the Private Box, sounding somewhat exasperated.

Su Bai, who had already reached the top of the stairs, paused slightly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes like an ice blade.

This child is extremely noisy, foul-mouthed, and malicious; what good is it to keep him around?

Fine, if we're going to establish our authority and make them truly face reality, someone has to pay the price.

This 'chicken' that jumps the most and barks the loudest will start with you.

Su Bai's killing intent was already set in mind.

He originally only wanted to focus on alchemy and make steady progress, but things didn't go as planned.

To truly establish a foothold in the Alchemy Street, it seems that excellent Pill and business acumen alone are not enough.

We must demonstrate methods that inspire fear, whether it be overt strength or covert fangs.

This is a warning to others, a direct and bloody way of declaring that the Master of Number Nine Pill Shop is not someone to be trifled with.

Only in this way will these long-established local bullies accept the existence of Number Nine Pill Shop with equanimity.

He strode down from the Star Tower, disappearing into the deepening night and the still bustling crowd outside.

Instead of returning directly to Alchemy Street, Su Bai took a circuitous route, deliberately choosing dimly lit alleys with few pedestrians.

Finally, he stopped at the end of a dead-end alley filled with clutter, and quietly scanned his surroundings with his Spiritual Sense to make sure no one was paying attention.

"You might just be talking big, used to bullying others because of your power..."

Su Bai muttered to himself, his voice barely audible in the quiet alley, "Unfortunately, I'm not one of them."

He raised his hand, a dark light flashed, and the cold, eerie Azure Fish Mask appeared in his hand.

Without the slightest hesitation, he put the mask on his face.

In an instant, Black Substance, like a living thing, spread from the edge of the mask, quickly covering his entire body and transforming into a dull, formless, close-fitting black robe that seemed to absorb all light.

The moon-white robe and the gentle aura of Alchemist completely concealed all of Lu Jiu's external characteristics.

A cold, deathly aura, carrying a faint scent of blood and the chill of the Deep Sea, permeated the air, yet it was perfectly contained within a foot of the black robe, not leaking out in the slightest.

All emotion vanished from Su Bai, leaving only absolute calm.

After a brief silence following Su Bai's departure, the Private Box at Star Tower was once again filled with noise and angry shouts.

"Outrageous! Arrogant! Utterly arrogant!"

"Alchemist, look at this! These foreign barbarians are completely ignorant of civilization!"

"We must teach him a lesson! Otherwise, how will we save face? How will we maintain our standing on Alchemy Street in the future?"

Several people surrounded Wei Chun, their emotions running high.

Wei Chun sat in his seat with a gloomy expression, his fingertips Consciousness tapping the table, making a dull "tap-tap" sound.

After a long while, he raised his hand to stop the crowd's commotion.

The Private Box fell silent, and everyone looked at him.

Wei Chun took a deep breath, a fierce glint in his eyes. "This boy... is stubborn and ruthless; he is unlikely to be a good person to deal with."

"If he dares to defy us like this today, he'll be even more brazen tomorrow. If left unchecked, he'll become a major threat in time."

He paused, lowering his voice even further to make sure no one was overheard, "He mentioned the Azure Fish Hall... Whether he's genuinely powerful and bluffing, or just ignorant and reckless, we can't wait any longer."

He glanced at the four people present and said slowly, "To avoid any unforeseen complications and to completely resolve this problem, let's do as I said before and call someone."

"I have reliable connections to the Middleman at the Azure Fish Hall, ensuring the mission can be issued without tracing it back to us, however..."

He then changed the subject. "According to the rules of the Azure Fish Hall, introductions require a substantial 'guide fee,' which must be paid in full upfront to demonstrate sincerity and financial strength. Subsequent mission rewards are calculated separately. This guide fee is 50,000 Spirit Stone, with Assassin Fee to be calculated separately."