The two people from the Blood God Temple naturally had no idea what Xu Shengchuan was thinking. The woman carefully looked over the information, then said slowly, "Boss Xu, I imagine you're familiar with the rules of our Blood God Temple.✊💚 ඏ☆"
"We'll verify the information on the target and assess the situation accordingly. However, if the other party really is a cultivator, the price for this job will be at least fifty million!"
"If their cultivation is high and the job proves harder than expected, even fifty million might not be enough. I hope you're prepared for that, Boss Xu."
At that, Xu Shengchuan replied without the slightest hesitation, "Five hundred million! If you can kill him, I'll give you five hundred million outright!"
Xu Shengchuan knew that Ning Wangshu could seriously injure Lin Anguo with a spell cast from a distance. If he waited for the Blood God Temple to learn the full extent of Ning Wangshu's strength, they would likely ask for at least as much.
And he was so consumed by the need to avenge his son that he no longer cared how much it cost.
As a billionaire, he couldn't easily come up with five hundred million in liquid assets all at once, but he could free up the money with a little time.
So Xu Shengchuan offered a price the Blood God Temple couldn't refuse!
Sure enough, the woman's eyes lit up as soon as she heard his offer.
She exchanged a glance with the man beside her, then covered her mouth and laughed. "Boss Xu certainly has deep pockets!"
"A five-hundred-million job is a rare, lucrative contract for our Blood God Temple! I also believe that someone of your means can manage to come up with the money."
Xu Shengchuan looked at her. "So, will you take the job?"
"Of course! As long as the price is right, there's no job our Blood God Temple won't take!" the woman replied without a moment's hesitation.
Just as she'd said, a five-hundred-million contract was a rare opportunity for the Blood God Temple.
Besides, she firmly believed that the Blood God Temple could kill anyone, if it chose to. That was the absolute confidence born from never having failed a job since its founding!
The Blood God Temple had killed cultivators before. In fact, quite a few cultivators had died at their hands.
What's more, she'd already read Ning Wangshu's information. Regardless of how much of it was accurate, she believed the basic facts—for example, that Ning Wangshu was a high school senior who'd just finished his College Entrance Examination.
That was easy enough to verify.
The file also included a photograph of Ning Wangshu. He looked no more than twenty or so.
Judging by his age alone, the woman didn't think Ning Wangshu could be all that powerful, even if he was a cultivator.
So to her, Xu Shengchuan offering the astronomical sum of five hundred million was practically free money!
How could she possibly turn it down?
"Good! I like your decisiveness. Then it's settled. Once you kill the target, I'll transfer the five hundred million straight to the account you specify!"
Xu Shengchuan spoke through clenched teeth, his face twisted with hatred.
"Agreed!"
The woman nodded with a smile.
A short while later, the two left the Xu Family.
Watching them disappear into the distance, Xu Shengchuan's face twisted into a cruel smile. "I'd like to see whether you're really as capable as you think, and whether you can withstand the Blood God Temple's assassination. Hmph!"
That evening.
Ning Ruoxuan had just returned from evening study.
"Here, Ruoxuan. I made this Storage Ring especially for you. The True Qi inside you is still too weak to open it for now."
"But once you've had some time to cultivate and reach the third level of the Qi Refining Stage, you'll be able to use it."
"I also carved an attack formation into the ring. You only need to channel your True Qi into it to activate the formation and release a blast of Sword Qi at your target."
"The Sword Qi is powerful enough to kill anyone below the Golden Core Stage."
"Your True Qi is still too weak, though, so I carved a Spirit Gathering Formation into the ring as well. It can gather Spiritual Qi on its own to recharge. Your True Qi will only serve as the trigger for the formation."
"But the Spiritual Qi on Earth is too thin, so the Spirit Gathering Formation in the ring will need about ten days to recharge fully. In other words, if you activate the attack formation, you'll have to wait ten days before you can use it again."
As he spoke, Ning Wangshu handed his sister a Storage Ring.
He continued, "With this Storage Ring and the Jade Talisman I gave you earlier, you have something to attack with and something to defend yourself with. That makes me feel a lot better."
Ning Ruoxuan looked at the Storage Ring in his hand, delighted. "Thank you, brother!"
Ning Wangshu had told her about the wonders of Storage Rings before. She'd been eager to have one herself, so she could store all sorts of things inside it.
It would be so convenient!
"What are you thanking me for? I'm your brother..."
Ning Wangshu smiled.
"Hehe!"
Ning Ruoxuan gave him a playful grin.
Then she said, "Brother, I'm going to take a shower. Once I'm done, I'll start cultivating right away!"
"Okay, go ahead!"
Ning Wangshu replied with a smile.
Since he'd just finished the College Entrance Examination, Ning Wangshu didn't have much to do.
He'd considered selling a piece of Spirit Jade yesterday to buy back the family's old home, but there was no need to rush into it today or tomorrow.
So today, he'd made a point of staying in the rented apartment to craft the Storage Ring for his sister.
As for selling the Spirit Jade to raise money for the house... he planned to look around tomorrow and ask someone what it was worth.
The following morning.
After his sister left for school, Ning Wangshu went out as well.
After wandering around for a while, he walked into a jade shop...
"Hello. What can I help you with?"
A saleswoman immediately came over and asked warmly.
Ning Wangshu glanced at the jade ornaments displayed in the cabinets and smiled. "Do you buy jade stones here?"
"You want to sell a jade stone?"
The saleswoman was surprised.
"Yes. I have a very high-quality jade stone I'd like to sell. Do you buy them?" Ning Wangshu asked.
The saleswoman hesitated. "Well... I'll have to ask my manager."
"Okay, sorry for the trouble."
Ning Wangshu replied politely.
Before long, a middle-aged man came over. He looked at Ning Wangshu and smiled. "Young Brother, are you the one who wants to sell a jade stone? Could I take a look at it first?"
"Sure."
Ning Wangshu nodded, then took out the Spirit Jade and handed it to him.
He'd only brought a piece of Spirit Jade about three fingers wide and two fingers thick. After all, this stuff should be extremely rare on Earth—there might not even be any here at all.
Selling it as ordinary jade would be a terrible waste.
Ning Wangshu only wanted enough money to buy back the family's old home, with a little left over. There was no need to bring out a larger piece of Spirit Jade and waste it.
The man's eyes lit up when he saw the Spirit Jade in Ning Wangshu's hand.
But he hid his reaction well, quickly putting on a nonchalant expression. He took the jade, examined it closely, then shone a flashlight through it.
Only after a moment did he look up and smile at Ning Wangshu. "Young Brother, how should I put this? The quality of this jade is just so-so, and it's a bit small."
"How about ten thousand? I'll give you ten thousand for it. This piece could only make a plaque and two or three little trinkets, after all..."
"Ten thousand?"
Ning Wangshu laughed in disbelief when he heard the man's offer.
He thinks I'm an idiot he can swindle!
Ning Wangshu didn't say a word. He snatched the Spirit Jade back and turned to leave.
The man was startled. Ning Wangshu had moved so quickly that he hadn't even reacted before the Spirit Jade was out of his hand.
Seeing Ning Wangshu leave without a word, he hurriedly called after him. "Hey, wait..."
"Young Brother, if you're not happy with the price, we can talk it over!"
Unfortunately, Ning Wangshu only glanced back at him and said coolly, "I don't see what there is to discuss. You know perfectly well how good this jade is and what it's worth."
"But you offered me ten thousand. Heh, you take me for a fool..."
With that, Ning Wangshu left without looking back. No matter how the man called after him, he didn't pay him any attention.
Seeing Ning Wangshu really leave, the man was rather annoyed.
He'd seen that Ning Wangshu was young and assumed he didn't know the business, so he'd thrown out a lowball offer to fool him. He hadn't expected it to backfire: the kid hadn't even bothered to say another word before walking out...