Offering the Method

"Old Master Yun Ji mentioned to me that if the Ning Family could present... a thousand different commoner sword techniques that the Yun Family does not already possess."

Ning Shaojie paused, his tone laced with disbelief.

"They would be willing to share the formula for the Qi Nourishing Pill with our Ning Family, and they promised not to compete with us in the Qi Nourishing Pill market."

"A thousand different commoner sword techniques?"

Ning Yongrui's eyes narrowed.

"The formula?"

"No, we can't accept it."

Ning Yongrui blurted out almost instinctively, his voice tinged with wariness.

"We'll give them the sword techniques, as many as they want, to satisfy the Yun Family's requirements as much as possible."

"But this formula, our Ning Family cannot touch it."

He knew very well that the Qi Nourishing Pill was a hot potato right now. The Yun Family's willingness to share likely had ulterior motives.

Competing with the Yun Family for profit was no different than seeking a tiger for its skin.

Ning Yongrui paced a few steps in his study, his brow furrowed.

The candlelight flickered, casting his shadow long and short.

After a moment, he abruptly stopped, a look of determination flashing in his eyes.

"No."

He changed his tune, his voice much steadier than before.

"We'll take the formula."

Ning Shaojie looked at his father in astonishment.

"Let's see what the actual profit margin of the Qi Nourishing Pill is."

Ning Yongrui's gaze was profound, as if he had already foreseen various future possibilities.

"Our Ning Family will only take a thirty percent profit."

"The remaining seventy percent will all go to the Yun Family!"

In Ning Yongrui's study, the faint morning light could not dispel the solemnity on his brow.

The Yun Family would no longer concern themselves with matters concerning Wanfang Lake.

This relinquishment of control was not a release for Ning Yongrui, but rather like an invisible noose, constantly hanging over the Ning Family's heads.

He now nominally controlled Wanfang Lake.

This had been his goal for decades of diligent effort.

In reality, he was treading on thin ice, each step potentially leading him into an abyss of eternal damnation.

Was the Yun Family's almost indifferent attitude towards the Three Treasures of Wanfang Lake a sign of true transcendence due to their superior status?

Or was it merely a trap they had set, waiting for him to make a mistake?

He dared not gamble.

Any slight chance occurrence could bring about the Ning Family's utter destruction.

The Yun Family was already the uncrowned king of Wanfang Lake, even though they had never declared their sovereignty.

The teacup in Ning Yongrui's hand had long since gone cold.

His lifelong schemes for Wanfang Lake were fragile and couldn't withstand a single blow in the face of the Yun Family's absolute power.

The Three Treasures of Wanfang Lake, the Eye of the Spirit Spring, the Moonlight Stone Mine, and the Greenwood Spirit Forest.

These rare resources, which had once caused countless cultivators and families to engage in fierce competition, now appeared to him as hot potatoes.

He would take over.

But not for the Ning Family to dominate alone.

The order of Wanfang Lake must be reshaped.

All resources would be collected and centrally allocated.

Each family's share would be strictly divided according to their strength and their understanding of the Yun Family's subtle intentions.

Only in this way could his "sensibleness" as Ning Yongrui be demonstrated.

The Yun Family had no intention of establishing a presence in Donghu City.

They seemed content to remain in their secluded corner, Evergreen Valley.

After a brutal battle, the Mo Family had completely withdrawn from the stage of Wanfang Lake, leaving it deserted.

Donghu City, once the center of the storm, had now become the most suitable place for the disposal of Wanfang Lake's Three Treasures.

A nominally neutral territory.

A center of power that he, Ning Yongrui, would nominally manage, yet would be constantly dependent on the Yun Family.

Ning Yongrui had managed Wanfang Lake for over ten years.

Now, the greatest profits from this land were to be handed over to the Yun Family.

He felt no reluctance whatsoever.

Or rather, he dared not.

With the Ning Family's share from the Three Treasures reduced, they naturally had to compensate elsewhere.

His gaze fell upon the struggling Lu Family.

The Lu Family was like fish on a chopping block, ripe for the slaughter.

This wasn't because he was cruel.

It was simply a necessary sacrifice under the new order of Wanfang Lake.

The day the profits were redivided, the atmosphere in the Donghu City council hall was oppressive.

The representatives of the remaining small families in Wanfang Lake wore expressions of reverence and unease.

Not a single person from the Yun Family was present.

Their absence carried more weight than any words.

Ning Yongrui sat in the main seat and calmly announced the new allocations for various resources.

No one raised any objections.

The profit-sharing plan clearly leaned in a certain direction, one that everyone knew but no one dared to mention.

The meeting ended, and Ning Yongrui did not linger.

He had more important matters to attend to.

Ning Yongrui brought Ning Shaojie to the Yun Family.

Ning Shaojie was unusually quiet today, holding a white jade treasure box emitting wisps of cold air. His steps were heavier than usual.

Inside the box were three Dragon Whisker Golden Tail Spirit Fish.

One of them had whiskers nearly five inches long, while its body was only an inch in length. It was entirely golden and shone brilliantly.

Such quality, requiring at least fifty years of cultivation, was a rarity in Wanfang Lake, seen perhaps once in a decade.

Dragon Whisker Golden Tail Spirit Fish matured in ten years. After that, their bodies would gradually shrink with age, while their whiskers would grow longer each year.

The older the fish, the purer the spiritual energy it contained, and the greater its efficacy.

Ning Shaojie's fingertips could clearly feel the icy touch transmitted through the cold jade box, yet it did nothing to calm the turmoil within him.

He saw Yun Long again.

The Yun Family patriarch, impossibly young, was still dressed in a simple green robe, his expression serene, his eyes as deep as an ancient well.

Yet Ning Shaojie felt that each time he faced Yun Long, the invisible pressure emanating from him grew stronger.

It was as if he wasn't looking at a person, but gazing up at an unfathomably deep mountain.

When he recalled Yun Long descending like a god that night and sweeping through the Lu Family's cultivators, his heart clenched uncontrollably.

His father said the Yun Family was an opportunity the Ning Family had to seize.

He understood.

It was just that this opportunity was too great, and far too dangerous.

Since Ning Yongrui had come in person, Yun Long naturally had to show some respect.

The Yun Family was small, and the Ning Family had indeed provided considerable assistance recently.

Just the mundane sword techniques required by Yun Hu, without the Ning Family's full support, it would have been nearly impossible for the Yun Family to gather over six hundred types in such a short period.

Fortunately, they were only mundane sword techniques.

If they were Daoist techniques for swordplay at the Qi Refining Stage or higher, let alone six hundred types, even the entire Sanshui County's strength might not be able to gather six types.

A servant from the Yun Family stepped forward and respectfully took the cold jade treasure box from Ning Shaojie.

Yun Long's gaze never lingered on the treasure box.

He understood; this was likely the Dragon Whisker Golden Tail Spirit Fish.

The news of his wife's pregnancy was no longer a secret in Wanfang Lake.

He looked at Ning Yongrui and said calmly:

"I didn't expect Commander Ning to grace us with his presence today."

"I happened to have something I needed to discuss and was planning to visit the Ning residence myself later to seek your assistance."

Ning Yongrui's eyes flickered slightly upon hearing this, but his steady smile remained.

"If Patriarch Yun has something to say, please do."

Yun Long nodded slightly and got straight to the point.

"After I broke through to Qi Refining, I've been organizing my cultivation gains."

"Recently, my father successfully broke through, which has also validated some of my ideas."

"I hope Commander Ning can introduce me, to help me present this cultivation technique to the Great Xia Dynasty."

"With this, I hope to secure some benefits for the entire Yun Family."

The smile on Ning Yongrui's face froze instantly.

The hand holding the teacup trembled almost imperceptibly, and a few drops of tea almost spilled.

His heart felt like it had been struck by a heavy hammer, shaking violently.

So, the Yun Family had already planned this path!

This martial arts grandmaster, who achieved immortality through martial arts, possessed foresight and courage far beyond his imagination.

He had previously reported Yun Long's status as a martial arts grandmaster in secret, but the imperial court had been slow to respond.

Now, Yun Long was proactively offering a cultivation technique.

If this matter were to succeed, and Yun Long, this genius, caught the eye of the imperial court's influential figures, the Yun Family would gain the protection of the Great Xia Dynasty, and their rise would be unstoppable.

The speed of their ascent would likely be several times faster than he had anticipated.