A Step Back for Temporary Patience

Zhang Liwei's face turned a bit pale. He turned to look at Nangong Xue and found she was also looking at him, his heart filling with bitterness. He turned back to Chen Mo and said with intense hatred, "Hmph!"

But he couldn't say anything. His own pride wouldn't allow it. Was he really going to kneel and kowtow to Chen Mo? What about a martial artist's dignity? That's right, Zhang Liwei was from an aristocratic family. Not only was he skilled in stone gambling, but his cultivation was also good. Although he couldn't compare to martial arts prodigies, he had already reached Houtian Layer Four by his early twenties.

Now, due to industrialization, Embracing Dan had become a legend, and Xiantian was rare. Most martial artists hovered in the Houtian realm. Houtian Layer Four was already considered a very high level of cultivation; some aristocratic family disciples never surpassed Houtian Layer Three in their entire lives.

It's important to know that after passing the apprentice stage and entering the Houtian realm, not only did all aspects of the body improve significantly, but lifespan also increased considerably. Although there was no fixed number, it was at least twenty years. This is also why many martial artists who reached Houtian lived past a hundred years old. Xiantian was even more formidable; once one entered Xiantian, their lifespan could definitely exceed 200 years.

This is also why, despite the prevalence of thermal weapons, the martial arts world still exists. Cultivating to Houtian couldn't resist the damage from thermal weapons; it could at most reduce the damage. Xiantian was more powerful, and ordinary thermal weapons were no longer a threat, but there were still weapons with great Weili, which could take down even Xiantian cultivators. Yet, people still cultivated. Why? It was precisely because of lifespan. Everyone liked the improvement of life's quality.

Zhang Liwei, having cultivated to Houtian Layer Four, was definitely the most outstanding among the younger generation of his family. Therefore, even though he was born to a concubine, his elders showed him considerable care, which also shaped his personality.

Chen Mo's Spiritual Sense also detected a surge of energy within Zhang Liwei's body. This energy was significantly more powerful than his own True Essence, so he judged that this fellow was a martial artist, and at least at Layer Three or above.

This conclusion was drawn by comparing the energy within Yuan Ruoshan's body with that of Zhang Liwei. However, Chen Mo wouldn't back down. Even if he were attacked, he would avoid it. Although the energy within Zhang Liwei was stronger than his own, his True Essence level was much higher than Zhang Liwei's internal energy level. He was still relatively weak now and might not be able to defeat Zhang Liwei, but escaping was not a problem. As the saying goes, "As long as the green hills remain, there will be wood to burn!"

"Since I won, these cut Jade stones are mine. You have no objections, right?" Chen Mo wasn't a good-tempered person, or he wouldn't have resigned and slapped the manager. Since he had been provoked, the other party had to pay a price.

"Consider them yours!" Zhang Liwei said through gritted teeth. He hadn't been so humiliated in years. He kept thinking that after today, he would definitely let this guy know what death was.

Chen Mo didn't immediately collect the Jade stones. With everyone watching, they were temporarily safe. No one could snatch them away in broad daylight.

"Are there any other conditions? Do you think you should fulfill them?" Chen Mo said teasingly.

"Don't push your luck, you little brat! Be careful not to speak ill of others!" Zhang Liwei said fiercely. Did he expect him to kneel and kowtow? Was that even possible?

"Are you planning to renege on the deal?" Chen Mo asked.

"So what if I am?" Zhang Liwei said. He had reached the point of no return, and he didn't care anymore! In any case, he would never kneel and kowtow. Otherwise, it wouldn't just be his face that would be lost, but the face of the Zhang aristocratic family as well.

Zhang Liwei made up his mind not to kneel and kowtow. The bodyguards behind him also surrounded him, waiting for his signal to deal with Chen Mo.

Nangong Xue watched all this happen but showed no intention of speaking. An old man behind her quietly asked, "Chairwoman, should we leave first?"

Nangong Xue shook her head, rejecting the suggestion to leave. She watched the events unfold in the arena, and no one knew what she was thinking.

Chen Mo felt a bit helpless. This fellow definitely didn't want to fulfill his promise. But what could he do? Aristocratic family disciples weren't easy to offend. Moreover, he had to consider his family. So, he decided to take a step back and let things be.

"If you don't want to kowtow, that's fine too. There's a stone in the front courtyard with a price tag of 5.5 million. You can pay me to buy it. Also, after this, we go our separate ways, and neither of us will bother the other." Chen Mo said.

"Heh! What if I still refuse?" Zhang Liwei didn't place much importance on 5.5 million; it was a small amount of money. But he didn't want Chen Mo to have an easy time. If it weren't for the crowd and Nangong Xue's presence, he would have already stepped forward and crushed Chen Mo. The dignity of a Houtian martial artist was not something an Ordinary Person could offend.

"Then I'll shout this matter out loud, and we'll see if you care about it." Chen Mo didn't care about Zhang Liwei's gritted teeth. He had already compromised, and if the other party still wanted to be unreasonable, there was no point.

Zhang Liwei opened his mouth. Although he wanted Chen Mo to shout it out, he couldn't be threatened like this. However, in many situations, things couldn't be handled this way. People still cared about their reputation; otherwise, there wouldn't be the concept of "face." An aristocratic family was an aristocratic family; he might not care about his reputation, but the Zhang family did. Moreover, Nangong Xue and others were present, which made him glare at Chen Mo helplessly.

After a long while, Zhang Liwei said to one of the bodyguards behind him, "Go buy that 5.5 million stone from the front courtyard and give it to him."

He turned to Chen Mo and said, "Kid, I hope you never appear before me again, or I will definitely not let you off." After saying this, he turned and left.

Chen Mo's eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't say anything further. If he had said something to Zhang Liwei's retreating back, it would have seemed childish. It was better not to speak. His current strength was still too weak to withstand major storms. The dignity of a strong person was determined by their own strength. He was still a weakling now, so he could only note Zhang Liwei's threat for the time being.

"Boss, boss!" Chen Mo called out to the shop owner.

"What is it, young man?" Chen Mo and Zhang Liwei's conversation had been relatively quiet. Apart from those nearby, no one else had heard anything. The shop owner was also guarding the cut Jade, so he hadn't heard Chen Mo and Zhang Liwei's exchange.

"Zhang Liwei just bought the stone from the front yard for 5.5 million yuan and gave it to me, so I'm telling you!" No matter what, Chen Mo had to confirm this matter. Good Jade wasn't easy to come by.

"Oh? Is there such a thing? Allow me to confirm first." The boss directly made a phone call. The cut Jade was still on the Stone Cutting machine, so it was inconvenient for him to go to the front yard.

After waiting for a while, he seemed to have understood some things. He hung up the phone and said to Chen Mo, "That's right, the transaction for the front yard was received for 5.5 million yuan, and the information stated it was bought for you. Additionally, these cut Jade are also yours."

Although the boss knew Chen Mo had won the Stone Gambling, he couldn't privately decide to give the Jade to Chen Mo. Zhang Liwei's word was still needed. Zhang Liwei often came for Stone Gambling, so the boss was quite familiar with him.

"That's good!" Chen Mo finally felt relieved. He didn't know how Zhang Liwei had told the staff to confirm it for him, but as long as it was bought for him, that was enough. He didn't need to worry about anything else.

"Then, young man, are you planning...?" the boss asked.

"Wait a moment, let's sell these cut Jade first!" Chen Mo said. Money in the pocket was his own. This was called "money secured is peace of mind"!