Jiang Yue and Han Jingjing, who were lying low in Five Elements Academy territory, had uncovered the latest intelligence while preparations for recruitment were underway elsewhere.
Jade Cauldron Grand Scholar of Titan Academy had actually come to Five Elements Academy in person to demand the shipment. Moreover, Titan Academy's desire for this batch of raw stones—and its urgency in obtaining them—far exceeded anyone's imagination.
No one knew who had spread the rumor, but apparently Jade Cauldron Grand Scholar had paid out of his own pocket a second time before Five Elements Academy agreed to ship the goods, and then only after agreeing to rush the delivery.
According to this version, Titan Academy's earlier delegation had already reached an agreement with Five Elements Academy. They had even paid the money.
But Five Elements Academy claimed it had never received the payment, while Titan Academy insisted it had paid.
With no proof either way, Jade Cauldron Grand Scholar had swallowed the loss and paid out of his own pocket to resolve the dispute and keep the transaction going.
Jiang Yue and the others figured that Five Elements Academy couldn't possibly be the one spreading these rumors. Jade Cauldron Grand Scholar must have been so frustrated that he had let the story out himself.
The others didn't know the truth, but Jiang Yue and his companions did.
He and Han Jingjing had killed those Titan Academy representatives. One of them had indeed been carrying a huge sum for the transaction—more than a million gold coins, just as rumored—inside a storage bracelet.
It was just that the money was now in their hands.
In other words, Titan Academy had indeed lost the money, but Five Elements Academy had never received it. Yet judging by the current situation, Jade Cauldron Grand Scholar, representing Titan Academy,