The Highest Level Negotiation Skill

"Take her as a disciple?"

Long Yuan nodded and looked at Gu Yuena. "What do you think?"

Gu Yuena hadn't even processed why the other party was so straightforward about taking a disciple. Was there some detail she had missed?

However, after a moment of thought, she replied, "Since the Heavenly Phoenix crown wishes it, I am naturally willing. But... I will listen to you."

As she spoke, Gu Yuena gripped Long Yuan's hand a little tighter.

Fine then...

Leng Yaozhu sighed. She was now certain that these two were likely involved in something, and it was definitely not a proper sibling relationship.

After all, even siblings should show some restraint in front of others, but these two were practically broadcasting their affection.

Still, Leng Yaozhu said, "Since that is the case, then..."

"Wait!" Long Yuan interrupted her and asked, "While I don't oppose the crown taking a disciple, you must tell me what Na'er stands to gain from being your student."

"What she stands to gain? As a Limit Douluo, surely..." Leng Yaozhu started to answer instinctively, but she froze halfway through her sentence.

That was true. How could a hidden family like this—especially one that clearly possessed a monster like Long Yuan—lack powerful experts? If it came to cultivation guidance or increasing strength, how could she, an outsider, compare to the experts within his own family?

The other party surely knew this, yet he had asked her intentionally. In that case, what Long Yuan wanted was certainly not that.

After realizing this, Leng Yaozhu didn't rush to answer but instead gave Lu Fengnian a meaningful look.

Lu Fengnian understood; the following conversation was no longer something he should hear.

Honestly, the fact that Leng Yaozhu had been at a disadvantage in her exchange with Long Yuan wasn't something he should have known either, but who told him to be too terrified to move at the time?

"Um, I just remembered I promised Ke Ning I'd take her out to eat. Look at my age, I haven't spent time with my daughter in so long. So, I won't disturb you any further. I'll be going now." After finding a clumsy excuse, Lu Fengnian scurried away.

With the irrelevant person gone, Leng Yaozhu fell into deep thought.

Long Yuan didn't mind; he rubbed Gu Yuena's hand and waited expressionlessly.

Gu Yuena felt her palm being tickled, but she felt a sense of security mixed with a hint of shyness.

She endured the ticklish sensation, lowered her head, and remained silent, though her cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red.

About a minute later, Leng Yaozhu sorted out her thoughts.

Resources!

Long Yuan was specifically discussing this with her because he wanted to trade resources.

Taking Gu Yuena as a disciple and forming a connection was Long Yuan's price.

And what he wanted in exchange was what she, or rather the Spirit Pagoda, could provide—including cultivation resources, connections, and more.

In Leng Yaozhu's view, the thing a hidden family lacked most was connections.

Now that this family had sent out two geniuses like Long Yuan and Gu Yuena, it was clearly with the intention of having them win over a major power.

Throughout history, the emergence of a hidden power often shifted the landscape of the continent, as they never lacked powerful experts.

After all, Long Yuan was so monstrous that she absolutely did not believe his family lacked a Limit Douluo; there might even be more than one quasi-god among them.

Of course, Long Yuan certainly didn't know that Leng Yaozhu had imagined all of this.

He had just asked casually; after all, he had no hidden family behind him, nor did he have any resources to trade.

Feeling that she had grasped the cause and effect, Leng Yaozhu said, "Given your sister's talent, in time, she will certainly become a Spirit Envoy, and even the position of Vice Tower Master is highly likely."

This was the condition she offered: no matter what, she could secure a position as a Spirit Envoy for Gu Yuena.

It is worth noting that in non-emergency situations, the Spirit Pagoda Tower Master cannot act unilaterally. All decisions of the Spirit Pagoda are determined by an organization called the Spirit Pagoda Council.

The Council consists of forty-three members: one Tower Master, two Vice Tower Masters, four Spirit Envoys, and thirty-six Elders.

The Council follows the principle of majority rule, with a total of fifty-one votes.

Among these fifty-one votes, each Vice Tower Master and Spirit Envoy holds two votes, second only to the Tower Master's three, which is quite significant.

The Spirit Pagoda is filled with factions, and generally, it is considered good for a single family to hold two seats.

As of now, even the Qiangu family, the number one family in the Spirit Pagoda, only held three seats: Qiangu Dongfeng as Tower Master, along with Qiangu Dieting and Qiangu Qingfeng.

(Qiangu Zhangting has not yet become a Spirit Envoy; and in the original work, both Qiangu Dieting and Qiangu Dieting appeared, I have chosen the latter here; I suspect the author was just making things up when writing this part.)

Hearing the guarantee from across the table, Long Yuan nodded and said, "Since that is the case, let Na'er become your disciple, crown. However, Na'er is still attending East Sea Academy, so let's make the apprenticeship official at a later time."

Leng Yaozhu stood up and walked over to Gu Yuena. "A later time? That is fine. If you have any questions regarding your cultivation, you can come find me. This is my Soul Guidance Communication number."

As she spoke, she took out a business card and handed it to Gu Yuena. "I have matters to attend to, so I will take my leave. As for that group of Evil Soul Masters, if you have any leads, you can let me know."

"I won't see you out." Long Yuan watched Leng Yaozhu leave before turning to Gu Yuena. "What do you think of Leng Yaozhu?"

Gu Yuena blinked. "I don't dislike her. Becoming her disciple is fine."

"Hmm... that's normal. After all, in a way, you two are the same kind of person."

"The same kind of person?" Gu Yuena tilted her head adorably, looking quite confused.

Yes, both were love-struck fools; weren't they the same kind? But Long Yuan didn't say it out loud in the end.

On the other side, Leng Yaozhu boarded her own mecha. Beyond being a Limit Douluo, she was also a Black-grade mecha pilot.

"Heavenly Phoenix, have you received any messages?"

Leng Yaozhu's mecha was also named Heavenly Phoenix, and the entity she had just called out to was the mecha's integrated auxiliary system.

High-level mechas like this all possessed their own auxiliary systems. These were existences similar to artificial intelligence, capable of assisting the pilot with intricate maneuvers and handling daily tasks.

"Master, just a moment ago, a message arrived from Tiandou City. Master Zhen Hua has accepted your family's invitation."

"Very good. Once the matters in East Sea City are concluded, we shall head to Tiandou City," Leng Yaozhu said with excitement.

Ever since she became a Limit Douluo, she had begun leveraging her family's influence to request that the Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua forge a Four-Word Battle Armor for her, and now, it had finally been accomplished.

A Four-Word Battle Armor Master—only by becoming one could one truly claim to be an existence standing at the pinnacle of the continent.