Decoration

"A genius from the royal capital? Very strong?"

Li Pin asked.

"This Jiang Zhenhai is known as the Dragon Fist. Anyone who can carve out a name for himself is practically the strongest among his peers at that stage. It is said that Jiang Zhenhai can even trade blows with Gang Jin experts."

Fang Lingjue sounded somewhat helpless. "I was originally full of confidence about securing a ranking in the Jiangzhou Tournament this time, but then this happened. Although Lihuo Sect only ranks among Jiangzhou's top three in scale, that is because they shifted their focus toward the royal capital. If they had spent these past years deeply cultivating Jiangzhou itself, whether Baihe Martial Arts School would still be Jiangzhou's number one martial arts force would be anyone's guess."

As he spoke, he shook his head. "Forget it. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"My purpose in practicing martial arts was never to win glory, nor was it to always settle victory and defeat with others. As long as I can have a battle, see my own shortcomings in combat, and make up for those shortcomings to improve, I'll be fully satisfied. In that case, wouldn't it be more interesting for the Jiangzhou Tournament to gather so many powerful experts?"

Li Pin said with a smile.

"Is that so?"

Fang Lingjue gave Li Pin a somewhat surprised look.

He had thought Li Pin was the kind of person who was proud and unwilling to admit defeat.

After all, he was unwilling even to take a master.

"Of course."

Li Pin nodded solemnly. "As long as a battle lets me feel myself improving, I will rejoice from the bottom of my heart and eagerly await the arrival of that moment."

Fang Lingjue's gaze lingered on Li Pin for quite a while.

At that moment, Zhao Mu seemed to spot them in the restaurant where they were eating and strode over in great strides. "Mr. Li, Mr. Fang."

Behind him were two younger assistants.

After the manager came forward, he enthusiastically bowed. "Mr. Li, thank you for trusting us with your mansion. Dianxing Home Decoration will certainly spare no effort to give you a satisfactory new home."

Li Pin drew his thoughts back from Lihuo Sect and nodded.

"Dianxing Home Decoration has developed extremely rapidly in Jiangzhou City over the years. Its solid quality and excellent service have earned it widespread praise from customers, and its strength is beyond question. Through sheer outstanding performance, it secured investment from and was acquired by Starlight Group, becoming a subsidiary of Starlight Group. Surely I need not say more about Starlight Group's eye for business?"

Fang Lingjue said with a smile.

"Starlight Group?"

Li Pin's heart stirred.

He remembered Li Yunyan mentioning that his brother-in-law—the refined-looking man he had only seen once in his memories—worked at Starlight Group.

"Starlight Group is very large?"

"It is not merely large. It is legendary."

Fang Lingjue said, "Although Starlight Group has been established for less than twenty years, it rose from nothing to a scale worth several billion. It is Jiangzhou City's model of starting from scratch, and Chairman Qin, the man at its helm, is the idol of many people in Jiangzhou's business world."

As he spoke, he added, "Let's go inside and talk."

Li Pin nodded.

After the group took their seats, Fang Lingjue handed the menu to Li Pin.

Li Pin handed it back to Fang Lingjue.

Fang Lingjue had heard of this restaurant but was not very familiar with it, so he passed the menu to Zhao Mu.

Zhao Mu hurriedly and attentively asked Li Pin about his tastes and preferences.

Once they had finished ordering, the assistants he had brought replaced the tea leaves with tea they had brought themselves and brewed flower tea beside them.

Zhao Mu wore a broad smile. "Mr. Li, for you to acquire Jiangshan Yipin shows that your means are extraordinary. Naturally, your standards for renovation quality must also be extremely high..."

"You should know that I practice martial arts, so there is only one criterion I value most."

Li Pin raised a finger. "Durability! It must be sturdy and durable!"

"Understood, we understand. Our team has helped several Embrace Dan martial artists renovate their residences, and we have also reinforced the training room of a Gang Jin grandmaster with a Senior Title. We will certainly follow his standards..."

"Gang Jin is a little too low."

Considering that he would probably live in Jiangzhou for some time, Li Pin said, "Use the standards of a Gang Jin expert for the training area."

A moment later, he thought of something. "Use the standards of a Martial Saint."

At those words, Fang Lingjue's gaze immediately fell on him.

A Martial Saint!?

A Martial Saint who cultivated the spirit!?

Not only him—Zhao Mu's expression also froze slightly.

A Martial Saint who cultivated the spirit!

The training area was to be built to the standards of a Martial Saint who cultivated the spirit!?

Could it be...

But he quickly recovered.

Many people liked to use only the best things.

Were there not wealthy heirs who had only just begun practicing martial arts yet directly installed training rooms built to Martial Saint standards?

Only...

"We have researched Martial Saint training room renovations more than once and have mastered the relevant techniques. However, to withstand an eruption of Martial Saint force, the floor must be laid with Cloud Steel Stone. If factors such as airtightness, soundproofing, and heat insulation are considered, the walls must also use..."

Zhao Mu listed a whole pile of materials before finally saying, "By then, the estimated cost for renovating a one-hundred-square-meter training room alone may reach five million."

"Mm."

Li Pin answered.

He accepted the quote.

"You..."

Fang Lingjue looked at Li Pin and opened his mouth, wanting to offer a word of advice.

But immediately afterward, he fell silent again.

The standards of the training room were one matter; whether Li Pin could use them in the future was another.

Besides...

Renovation was a major undertaking. Though five million for a training room was expensive, it was not truly that much.

"Then we'll proceed according to these standards?"

As Zhao Mu spoke, his voice trembled slightly.

Renovation costs were not like the increasingly outrageous housing prices deliberately driven up by the government.

Labor costs in Jiangzhou City were high, but when the average income was under two thousand, finishing the renovation of a Jiangshan Yipin villa would cost roughly three to four hundred thousand.

Of course, those pursuing a high-quality lifestyle might spend six hundred thousand, eight hundred thousand, or even over a million on a single renovation.

When Zhao Mu had first come, he had thought a one-million contract would be enough to keep him fed for a year.

Now, however...

Six million!

To them, it was simply an astronomical figure!

Even in Jiangzhou City, where housing prices were expensive enough to soar into the heavens, it was enough to buy two homes.

After all, for many salaried workers, with Jiangzhou City's average housing price of thirty thousand per square meter, they would have to work for a hundred years without eating or drinking to afford a single home.

For a moment, Zhao Mu's face flushed red, and he nearly wanted to dig out his heart and lungs to guarantee his credibility. "Please rest assured, Mr. Li. We will certainly produce the best plan and devote twelve parts effort to completing the renovation of your mansion. We will absolutely not disappoint you."

"Much appreciated."

Li Pin said.

After that, Zhao Mu treated Li Pin with the greatest enthusiasm.

He bustled about, pouring tea and serving water.

After the meal, he even wanted to invite him to attend an event.

But Li Pin declined on the grounds that he had matters to attend to.

After Zhao Mu left brimming with motivation, Fang Lingjue gave him a somewhat strange look. "You threw six million into renovations... If today's manager had not been Zhao Mu, but some delicate and ravishing young woman, you could have spent a wonderful night already."

"???"

Li Pin looked at Fang Lingjue. "You think wasting precious time on this kind of meaningless release of desire is wonderful?"

Fang Lingjue stared at Li Pin, seemingly trying to tell whether he meant those words sincerely or not.

But thinking of his determination to renovate the training room...

Li Pin...

Could he be serious?

Did he truly think he could become a Martial Saint in the future!?