Cooperation Reached, Another Martial Art Skill Acquired!

Inside the private room.

Facing the two questions posed by Fang Hong, the three exchanged glances, then Zhou Chengyuan pondered for a moment before replying:

"As for the Great Python's exact strength, we're not entirely clear either."

"But based on the casualties it caused when we last entered, it should be around early Bone Refinement or Bone Refinement Minor Success."

"It definitely hasn't reached Bone Refinement Great Accomplishment yet."

"Otherwise, we wouldn't have escaped last time."

"As for your second point," Zhou Chengyuan paused here.

"That depends on what you want, Mr. Fang."

Hearing this, Fang Hong gave a faint smile.

"What do I want?"

"Heavenly treasures, divine weapons, cultivation manuals, rare medicines, even gold and jewels—I want it all. What can you give me?"

At these words, the three furrowed their brows slightly. After exchanging glances several times, Zhou Chengyuan's expression hardened. "For this haul from the Water Origin Cave, we can give you, Mr. Fang, a twenty percent share."

"Additionally, as for the cultivation manuals and rare medicines you mentioned, we can provide some of those too."

"As for mundane things like gold and jewels, we won't disappoint you."

"What do you think, Mr. Fang?"

While waiting for Fang Hong that afternoon, the three had already discussed it.

They had decided to form an alliance, to jointly resist interference from other forces.

They had also pre-negotiated what demands Fang Hong might make.

Now, Fang Hong raised an eyebrow and said calmly, "Not enough."

The three immediately tensed up.

Watching their nervous expressions, Fang Hong's lips curled slightly.

"Without me, you can't deal with that Great Python at all."

"And from what you've said, there are other forces eyeing the Water Origin Cave too."

"Without me, you'll likely end up with nothing."

"So," Fang Hong met their gazes and uttered a single sentence.

"For this haul from the Water Origin Cave, I want fifty percent!"

That light sentence struck the three's ears like a heavy hammer.

They all felt a pang of discomfort.

Fang Hong demanding a fifty percent share was undoubtedly taking a huge bite out of their original haul.

But he wasn't being utterly unreasonable, greedy to the point of being unacceptable.

And what he said made perfect sense.

Without his lead, they couldn't even get past the Great Python.

Add in interference from other forces, and they might indeed end up with nothing.

So after another round of eye contact, Zhou Chengyuan said in a deep voice, "Forty percent."

"We can only give you forty percent of this haul at most, but we'll increase the portion of cultivation manuals and rare medicines."

"Would that satisfy you, Mr. Fang?"

Hearing this, seeing the pained looks on their faces, Fang Hong knew this was likely their maximum concession.

After a moment's thought, he finally nodded lightly.

"Then let's wish for a smooth cooperation!"

"But the cultivation manuals and rare medicines must be given to me before we set out."

Hearing Fang Hong agree, the three were overjoyed.

"Good, good, good. The manuals and medicines will be sent to you right away."

"How about we set out tonight?"

"We're not trying to make things hard for you, sir, but time is tight. We need to reach the Water Origin Cave before the others."

Zhou Chengyuan said excitedly.

"Fine." Fang Hong nodded.

When they set out made no difference to him.

However, the old man's promise to deliver the secret manuals and precious medicines soon did spark some anticipation in Fang Hong.

He wondered just how many cultivation techniques he would obtain this time, and what tier they would reach.

But anything they were willing to give away probably wasn't too precious.

Still, it didn't matter—as long as they were techniques, they could shore up some of his weaknesses.

Even if some were impossible to cultivate, they could broaden his horizons and deepen his understanding.

Laying the groundwork for him to create his own techniques in the future.

"Then we'll take our leave now. We still need to hurry back and organize our people."

"Mr. Fang, see you tonight."

"See you tonight!"

With that, the three took their leave and departed the Xuan Yue Inn.

Once outside the inn, they exchanged glances and all broke into faint smiles.

During their discussion that afternoon, they had already considered the possibility of Fang Hong making exorbitant demands.

The outcome now, though somewhat painful, was still within expectations.

"Even though we had to give a bit more than we'd agreed on, it's still within what we anticipated. At least we've secured Mr. Fang's agreement."

Zhou Chengyuan stroked his long beard and said with a chuckle.

Wu Pengjing nodded. "Mm. And Mr. Fang doesn't seem like the type to burn bridges."

"We can rest a lot easier about this operation."

Zhang Wenbin also smiled in agreement. "Right. As long as the harvest meets our minimum expectations, we won't have lost out."

"Alright, gentlemen, let's hurry and organize our people."

"And have the secret manuals and precious medicines promised to Mr. Fang delivered promptly."

"He's still waiting."

At this point, Zhou Chengyuan suddenly looked at the other two and spoke gravely:

"Let me add one more reminder. Based on my many years of reading people..."

"Mr. Fang may not be the type to burn bridges, but he's also clearly someone who distinguishes between kindness and grievance."

"So neither of you should try any clever tricks."

"I'm not asking you to offer your most precious techniques, but at least don't pick out ones that can't even see the light of day."

"If we end up displeasing Mr. Fang and he just goes through the motions, we'll have truly lost the watermelon for a sesame seed."

Hearing this, the other two nodded in unison. "Rest assured, we're not that shortsighted."

Then the three parted ways.

Back at the inn, Fang Hong was eagerly awaiting the arrival of those techniques.

With the techniques they sent, he should be able to patch up some of his shortcomings.

Though Fang Hong's current strength was considerable, he was not without weaknesses.

Light-body arts for long-distance travel, footwork for short-range dodging and maneuvering, weapon techniques, long-range attack methods, body-tempering arts to enhance physical strength and defense, soul-killing arts, and techniques to defend against soul-level attacks—

he had none of them!

The more Fang Hong thought about it, the more he realized just how many gaps he had.

And since he had already transmigrated, with a Golden Finger that was absurdly effective, who wouldn't want to become a well-rounded fighter?

Fang Hong certainly wouldn't allow himself to have any weaknesses.

He would, step by step, fill in every gap!

Because a weakness meant a flaw, and a flaw meant danger.