"Uncle Ning, this is how I've planned our cooperation."
"I can lower the price of the Godly Zhuge Crossbow to a minimum of 8,000 Gold Soul Coins per crossbow."
"And the Godly Zhuge Crossbow needs specially made bolts to unleash its full power. I can offer them for ten Gold Soul Coins each."
As Li Luo spoke, he held up both hands. He showed eight with one hand and made a hollow fist with the other, indicating ten.
Ning Fengzhi listened without showing any delight. Instead, his brow remained furrowed. Clearly, he thought Li Luo was still asking too much and that the Godly Zhuge Crossbow was still too expensive.
That was a merchant's nature. Even Ning Fengzhi, who presided over the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, was no exception.
Although the price of the Godly Zhuge Crossbow had already been reduced by more than tenfold, he still wasn't satisfied. He wanted to push it down to cost price.
Li Luo naturally saw what Ning Fengzhi was getting at. He didn't continue speaking; instead, he poured himself a drink and leisurely sipped it, patiently waiting for Ning Fengzhi's response.
Ning Fengzhi wanted to bargain further, but couldn't think of any more reasons to offer. Watching Li Luo sit there at ease, he let out a sigh.
"Fine, Xiao Luo. We'll go with that price: eight thousand Gold Soul Coins per Godly Zhuge Crossbow and ten Gold Soul Coins per bolt."
"Give me a hundred Godly Zhuge Crossbows and five thousand bolts to start."
Ning Fengzhi was rolling in wealth. With a wave of his hand, he placed a massive order worth 850,000 Gold Soul Coins.
A mere 850,000 was no burden at all for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Ning Fengzhi planned to equip the sect's direct descendants with the Godly Zhuge Crossbows first. If they proved effective, he would increase the order.
"Xiao Luo, what resources or help do you need? If the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has it and it can help you, just ask."
Ning Fengzhi was also quite conscientious. Since Li Luo had already lowered the price for him, he wouldn't pretend to have forgotten his promise to offer resources or assistance in exchange for a discount.
In business, integrity mattered most.
Once there was trust, the key to maintaining a lasting partnership was "equal exchange"—making both sides feel they'd come out ahead. Only then could a deal last.
"A hundred Godly Zhuge Crossbows aren't a simple undertaking. The Tang Sect will need quite a while to make them. Making the crossbows and their matching bolts will also require a lot of resources, including some rare ores."
"Those aren't easy to gather. So, Uncle Ning, if you want the Godly Zhuge Crossbows as soon as possible, you'll need to help collect the necessary materials."
"Fine, Xiao Luo. Give me a complete list of the materials needed to make the Godly Zhuge Crossbow. I'll have the sect send over anything we have, and I'll send people to gather whatever we don't."
Ning Fengzhi agreed to Li Luo's request without hesitation.
This was nothing to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Besides, Ning Fengzhi wanted to know what materials went into making the Godly Zhuge Crossbow. He still hadn't given up on the idea of copying it.
As he spoke, Ning Fengzhi casually took out a ring-shaped Soul Tool and handed it to Li Luo.
"Xiao Luo, this is our first meeting, and I didn't bring you a proper gift. I noticed you don't seem to have a storage Soul Tool, so let me give you one. It has a space of fifty cubic meters, which will make it convenient for you to carry things around."
Li Luo didn't stand on ceremony. He accepted the ring and slipped it onto his wrist. With a thought, he took a sheet of white paper and a pen from the Soul Tool, then handed them to Tang San.
Tang San took the paper and pen, understanding what Li Luo meant. He quickly wrote down the names of a whole list of precious ores and metals.
They included things like Cold Heart Iron Essence, Cold Heart Iron Mother, Deep Sea Sunken Silver Mother, Black Iron, Black Vein Iron, Plate Crystal, and Hair Crystal.
These were essential materials for forging the Tang Sect's top Hidden Weapons, such as Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus, Pear Blossom Needle in Rainstorm, Peacock Plume, and Dragon Whisker Needle. Tang San wanted to bring these supreme Tang Sect Hidden Weapons back into the world of the Douluo Continent.
The Godly Zhuge Crossbow didn't need these precious materials. It only needed refined ordinary iron.
But since he had a chance to fleece a wealthy patron, Tang San wasn't about to waste it.
When Tang San had finished, Li Luo handed the list to Ning Fengzhi.
Ning Fengzhi took the paper, gave it a quick glance, and put it away.
He recognized the metals Tang San had listed.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had a knack for finding treasures, and Ning Fengzhi had seen plenty of rare and precious materials. Some of the metals on the list were already in the sect's treasury.
However, he'd also guessed that they weren't materials for making the Godly Zhuge Crossbow. If the crossbow really required such precious, rare metals, where had the one Ning Fengzhi had bought come from?
He didn't believe Li Luo and Tang San could get their hands on such rare metals.
Still, Ning Fengzhi didn't call them out. He was curious to see what sort of scheme Li Luo and Tang San were up to.
As for the Tang Sect Li Luo and Tang San had mentioned, Ning Fengzhi had already sent people to investigate it. They had never heard of any such organization on the Douluo Continent.
Today was the first time he'd heard the name.
And there were no protectors accompanying Li Luo and Tang San. Chen Xin had told Ning Fengzhi this after investigating them.
That meant the Godly Zhuge Crossbow was most likely Li Luo or Tang San's creation. Ning Fengzhi thought it was more likely Tang San's.
Li Luo acted more maturely and seemed more like a leader, but whenever the topic turned to Hidden Weapons, Tang San was always the one to explain or list them.
Ning Fengzhi believed that Li Luo and Tang San had no major force backing them, and so he began to consider recruiting them.
Chen Xin had investigated the Soul Power Levels of Li Luo, Tang San, and Xiao Wu. To his surprise, of the three children before him, whose ages were similar to Ning Rongrong's, two were Soul Grandmasters, and the third was on the verge of reaching that level.
Chen Xin had used Soul Power to send Ning Fengzhi a message about the three's levels.
Ning Fengzhi was greatly surprised, and his desire to recruit talented people grew even stronger.
However, Ning Fengzhi didn't immediately ask Li Luo, Tang San, and Xiao Wu to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. They had only met a day ago, and he still didn't know their backgrounds—even if he had discovered that no protectors were watching over them.
Ning Fengzhi remained wary. There was no need to rush; there was plenty of time. They had a business partnership, after all, and he could use the time to observe Li Luo and the others and learn about their backgrounds.
"Xiao Luo, what resources or help do you need?"
Ning Fengzhi asked Li Luo.
Li Luo thought for a moment, unsure how to bring it up. In the end, he spread his hands helplessly and, accepting that he might be misunderstood, stated what he needed.
"Phew!" Li Luo took a deep breath.
"Uncle Ning, I need Whale Rubber. The older, the better. Ideally, Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber!"
As expected, when Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin heard what Li Luo said, they looked at him strangely.