Xue Ye: Mine, It's All Mine!

In the backyard, Xue Ye had not left after lunch. He had originally planned to have a heart-to-heart talk with Su Xian.

Pfft!!

"What?! You need ten million gold coins?!"

However, upon hearing Su Xian's plans for the Entertainment City, his expression changed drastically. He sprayed out a mouthful of tea, his face full of painful reluctance.

That was ten million gold coins!!

The Empire might seem filthy rich, with substantial tax revenue, but the National Treasury's total reserves currently amounted to only Three Hundred Million Gold Coins. That also had to cover routine military expenditures, Soul Master stipends, and so on...

It would be fine if no natural disasters or calamities occurred, but if anything unexpected suddenly happened, the Empire's finances would immediately become strained.

Three hundred million was a balanced figure. Increasing it would be difficult, and even keeping it from decreasing would be difficult.

It could be said that these Three Hundred Million Gold Coins were the Empire's long-standing National Treasury reserves.

Taking out ten million at once might seem like only one-thirtieth of the total, but it was still an enormous fortune!

And it was all just to build a tall building. The more he thought about it, the more absurdly wasteful it seemed!

He had assumed that Su Xian would need, at most, a few hundred thousand gold coins to build the Entertainment City. But now...

Fuck!

I just bought fifty million gold coins' worth of Soul Tools from you, and now you suddenly want to take ten million back?!

No!

Absolutely not!

I never agreed to any conditions!

It had only been a verbal promise anyway. As long as he refused to admit it to the death, he could save ten million gold coins. Why wouldn't he?!

"Imperial Father, are you planning to go back on your word?"

Noticing the change in Xue Ye's expression, Su Xian was not angry at all. What Emperor was not shameless? It was simply that no one dared say it aloud.

"Ahem... You know the National Treasury is not exactly abundant. Ten million is truly too much." Xue Ye awkwardly rubbed his nose.

The situation on the continent was far from optimistic, especially with the threat of Spirit Hall. A war would break out sooner or later, and this money was meant more for military stockpiles.

"Then how much do you think you can provide?" Su Xian narrowed his eyes and asked coldly.

"Five hundred thousand. What do you think?" After pondering for a moment, Xue Ye spoke with some embarrassment.

Su Xian: ...

Doesn't your heart hurt, old man?!

Haggling... You could fucking haggle like this?! Straight down to one-twentieth!!

Stingy!

Too fucking stingy!

"Imperial Father, if you don't have the money, I'll go speak with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. They should be very eager to buy Soul Tools."

Su Xian looked at Xue Ye with cold disdain as he leisurely reminded him.

"No!"

Upon hearing this, Xue Ye slammed the table and shot to his feet. His expression was filled with agitation, and his eyes even turned slightly bloodshot.

He had already thoroughly understood the power of Soul Tools. They were absolutely devastating weapons!

An ordinary Soul King wielding a Level 5 Soul Guidance Cannon could already threaten a Soul Emperor. This was absolutely a strategic weapon.

He absolutely would not...

"Wait!"

As if realizing something, Xue Ye turned to Su Xian and asked with an unreadable look in his eyes, "Imperial Son, do you still have Soul Guidance Cannons?"

"Maybe a dozen or so left." Su Xian replied carelessly.

Upon hearing this, Xue Ye could no longer sit still. He stared at Su Xian with blazing enthusiasm and chuckled, his expression looking somewhat lecherous.

He was here. He was here. He had come again with Soul Tools!

In the blink of an eye, the Empire would gain another dozen or so Soul Emperor-level experts. Wahahaha!!

He declared: all the Soul Guidance Cannons were his. No one was allowed to fight him for them!

"Ahem..."

Just as Xue Ye was preparing to swallow his pride and ask Su Xian to hand over the Soul Guidance Cannons, Su Xian had already started gesturing with his fingers while muttering to himself in a thoroughly reasonable tone.

"A Level 5 Soul Guidance Cannon should sell for at least two or three million gold coins, or it would be a bit of a loss."

"As for a Level 6 Soul Guidance Cannon, five million gold coins should not be a problem."

"Mm~ Then I should sell them two Level 6 Soul Guidance Cannons. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect lacks self-defense capabilities the most, so there's no way they won't buy them."

"Ah~ Even doing a little business requires such careful calculation. Life is so hard for me."

"..."

Xue Ye: ...

I have something fucking obscene to say, but I don't know whether I should say it!

This is supposed to be a small business?! Did you learn your arithmetic from an art teacher?

As a Prince, you would rather sell things to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect than give them to me?!

What an unfilial son! What an unfilial son!

Xue Ye was furious inside. At that moment, he truly wanted to split Su Xian open with one slash and see whether his heart was even red.

He was simply heartless, cold-blooded, and unreasonable!

Although the Heaven Dou Empire and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect were partners, and even had family ties when all was said and done, public affairs were public affairs and private affairs were private affairs. How could they possibly be mixed together like this?!

"Imperial Son, did you just mention Level 6 Soul Guidance Cannons? Do you still have Level 6 Soul Guidance Cannons?!"

Suddenly, Xue Ye seemed to realize something. He immediately rushed over, his eyes red and his excitement boundless.

Level 6 Soul Guidance Cannons—one shot, one little Soul Emperor... Ahem, ahem!

Wuwuwu~ The Level 5 Soul Tools in his hands instantly no longer seemed appealing!

"What Level 6 Soul Guidance Cannons? When did I ever mention Level 6 Soul Guidance Cannons? Imperial Father, you're overthinking it." Su Xian immediately shook his head, his eyes brimming with sincerity.

Why ask for a bicycle? Why ask for Level 6 Soul Guidance Cannons? He had no idea what those things were!

Looking at Su Xian's terrible acting, Xue Ye clenched his fists hard and felt his chest grow stiflingly tight.

"As long as you bring out five Level 6 Soul Guidance Cannons, I'll give you ten million gold coins. What do you say?!" Xue Ye gritted his teeth.

Five?

You must be dreaming!

So you want me to give you those Level 5 Soul Guidance Cannons for free?!

"If I went to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, two Lev... Level 5 Soul Guidance Cannons should be enough for ten million gold coins, right?"

As though Xue Ye did not exist, Su Xian stroked his chin and muttered as he calculated.

Xue Ye: !!!

Wahhh!!

Where's my forty-meter blade?! I want to hack this brat to death right now!

"Give them to me, and I'll give you ten million gold coins!"

Xue Ye spoke one word at a time, practically squeezing the sentence through his teeth. The veins on his forehead throbbed wildly.

"Ah~ You still haven't paid for the Level 5 Soul Guidance Cannons from before. What's wrong with people these days? Can't there be a little more trust between people?!" Su Xian could not help shaking his head, feeling deeply hurt inside.

Xue Ye: !!!

Taking a mile after being given an inch, huh? Where's my blade?!

"Don't push your luck! I'm your Imperial Father!" Xue Ye roared.

"Imperial Father, I'll go make a big deal with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect later. When I return, I'll give you... two million!!"

Su Xian blinked his large eyes and heavily emphasized the last three words. As he spoke, he prepared to leave, making Xue Ye want to kill someone.

"Twelve million. Deal!" Xue Ye took a deep breath, his gaze cold enough to kill.

He was Xue Ye, the Emperor! If anyone else had dared threaten him like this, they would have died eight hundred times over.

"Hahaha... I knew Imperial Father had always valued honesty. Come, let's sign, leave our handprints, and stamp it first!" Su Xian took out a piece of silk cloth, laughing as he raised his brows at Xue Ye.

Xue Ye: ...

Damn it! Do you distrust me that much?!

An explanation of the Heaven Dou Empire's finances:

One gold coin was roughly equivalent to a family's living expenses for a year.

If compared to ancient China, it was basically about the same as one tael of silver during the Song Dynasty.

The Song Dynasty's annual National Treasury income was roughly four to five million taels, and that was merely revenue.

As for how expensive ten million gold coins really was, consider that Tang San and the others only received tens of thousands of gold coins for winning the championship... This was not meant to argue, merely to explain.

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