A Huge Fortune (Seeking Follow-ups, Monthly Tickets, Recommendation Tickets)

"How much should we put up?"

The first outer sect disciple to complain asked, clearly unwilling.

"This matter concerns all of us! There are seven of us disciples in the Elegant Fragrance Garden; if we each put up ten spirit stones, that makes seventy!"

Yue Zhouwang gritted his teeth and stated the figure.

"Hiss..."

The others were shocked; this was equivalent to an entire month's income for them.

"Don't be stingy! If the Law Enforcement Hall's arbitration results come out, we might face heavy penalties, or even lose our current positions! If we get assigned to a dangerous post, heh..."

As Yue Zhouwang spoke, he let out a cold laugh and stopped mid-sentence.

"Fine! That's the only way."

The outer sect disciples present opened their Storage Bags one by one, though they were clearly reluctant, and began to pull out spirit stones.

As for the two who were not present, Yue Zhouwang simply covered their shares for them.

A quarter of an hour later, the dishes from the kitchen were served on the table.

Yue Zhouwang and his group returned to the private room once more.

After three rounds of drinks and the meal was well underway, Yue Zhouwang looked at Ma Xingyuan and smiled, "Junior Brother Ma, why don't you go outside and fetch a pot of tea?"

Ma Xingyuan was startled, realizing they had things they wanted to say to Li Yunjing that they didn't want him to hear.

He was not someone who lacked tact, so he immediately stood up, nodded, and turned to leave.

"Sit down!"

Li Yunjing's voice, however, made him stop in his tracks.

Li Yunjing looked at Yue Zhouwang and the others, saying, "Ma Xingyuan is a brother I met in the sect; whatever you have to say, there is no need to hide it from him."

"Master Li is a stand-up guy!"

Hearing Li Yunjing's words, Ma Xingyuan felt a warmth in his heart and sat right back down.

The others could only offer awkward smiles.

"Heh! This is just a small token of our appreciation; please, Young Master Li, have some tea."

Yue Zhouwang had no choice but to take a Storage Bag from his sleeve and slide it toward Li Yunjing.

"Hmm..."

With a soft hum, Li Yunjing waited a long while before picking up the Storage Bag. He opened the mouth, swept his divine sense inside, and checked the count: seventy low-grade spirit stones!

Yue Zhouwang, Wang Yun, and the others stared unblinkingly at Li Yunjing, trying to read something from his expression.

"Pfft..."

Li Yunjing let out a soft laugh, then tossed the Storage Bag back onto the table.

"Huh?"

Yue Zhouwang and his group were stunned, their faces darkening immediately. Was he still not satisfied?

You are currently just a servant disciple! This amount, combined with your contribution points, is enough to cover a whole year of your earnings!

The outer sect disciples were deeply dissatisfied with Li Yunjing's behavior.

However, wary of Li Yunjing's status, they dared to be angry but dared not speak.

"Fu Chao is my friend!"

"We are equals. You want me to lower my head and beg for his help over such a trivial matter?"

"All for a mere seventy low-grade spirit stones?"

Li Yunjing looked down at the group, his voice cold.

Facing this group of outer sect disciples who were at a higher cultivation realm than him, Li Yunjing had no intention of indulging their rotten attitudes!

This scolding caused the atmosphere at the table to change abruptly.

The group of outer sect disciples remained silent, their faces showing expressions of embarrassment.

The room fell quiet for a long time before Li Yunjing finally spoke: "Two thousand spirit stones! That is my bottom line! If you agree, pay up; if you don't, then consider this conversation as having never happened!"

"Hiss..."

Yue Zhouwang, Wang Yun, and the others all gasped.

This Young Master Li was truly ruthless!

Two thousand spirit stones—that was nearly three hundred each!

If they didn't count their illicit income, that was three years' worth of their official stipends.

Of course, the Divine Firmament Dao Sect did not issue everything in spirit stones; there were also contribution points.

The quantity of contribution points was greater than the quantity of spirit stones.

The spirit stones distributed were essentially enough to satisfy the normal cultivation consumption of cultivators at this level.

They were not intended to be used as currency.

This was because within the Divine Firmament Dao Sect, contribution points were everything; anything could be exchanged or traded using them.

If one were to trade outside the sect, contribution points could be exchanged for spirit stones, ensuring that sect cultivators would not be hindered when conducting business abroad.

Sect cultivators were also willing to use contribution points because, within the sect, they could purchase anything common in the cultivation world at significantly discounted prices, offering excellent value for money.

Inside the sect, there were even people who would aggressively acquire contribution points to purchase supplies from sect shops, which they would then wholesale in the cultivation world to earn a profit from the price difference.

Therefore, although Yue Zhouwang, Wang Yun, and the others looked pitiful, they were actually just hiding their true wealth!

These old fellows had stayed in the Elegant Fragrance Garden for many years and had long since lined their pockets.

They were simply low-profile and had never revealed it.

Just think, the number of people eating at the Elegant Fragrance Garden reached tens of thousands every day.

If they embezzled just one bowl of spirit rice per person, that amounted to tens of thousands of bowls of spirit rice daily.

Based on this alone, those tens of thousands of bowls of spirit rice, if taken to the cultivation world and wholesaled, would amount to a massive sum of spirit stones!

Of course, the room for manipulation in the Elegant Fragrance Garden was far more than just this meager spirit rice.

The reason they were so afraid of the people from the Law Enforcement Hall was precisely because of their embezzlement.

If it were merely fighting or brawling, it wouldn't be a major issue.

It wouldn't be enough to hurt their foundations.

But once the people from the Law Enforcement Hall got involved and started digging deeper, they would certainly uncover these shady dealings, and at that point, they would be completely finished!

One of the reasons they dared not seek help from their superiors was the fear that their superiors would discover just how much wealth they had embezzled!

When that time came, the Deacon in charge would definitely deal with them!

The wealth they had accumulated over the years would likely be impossible to keep!

Therefore, Yue Zhouwang, Wang Yun, and the others thought of Li Yunjing and sought this young master's help.

They saw that Li Yunjing was young and had a low cultivation base, so they estimated he lacked experience.

By saying a few nice words, arranging a banquet, and offering some spirit stones, they figured the matter would be settled.

However, the current situation clearly showed that they had miscalculated.

A young master from a great cultivation family was certainly no fool!

This young master was not so easy to dismiss!

He demanded 2,000 spirit stones right off the bat!

The few of them looked at each other, and Yue Zhouwang, feeling helpless, could only say, "Young Master Li, we don't have many spirit stones on us; it's not enough. How about we transfer 2,000 contribution points to you instead?"

Even so, they were at a disadvantage and needed his help, so they had to bite the bullet and agree to this harsh condition.

"Hmm! That is acceptable!"

Li Yunjing's expression remained indifferent. He nodded slightly and tossed his identity token onto the table with a clatter.

Ma Xingyuan, standing to the side, gaped, looking utterly stunned.

Demanding two thousand spirit stones as if it were nothing—did they have to play for such high stakes?

He had been drifting through the cultivation world for seven or eight years, and he currently had less than 100 spirit stones to his name!

Truly, comparing people only leads to frustration!