The Appearance of a Big Shot

The Appearance of a Big Shot

After the two left, Cheng Ran could not help clicking his tongue softly.

"Senior Brother Zhou Xing certainly knows how to win people over, handing out little favors!"

Jiang Ning smiled noncommittally. Zhou Xing was a clever man, and one with plenty of ideas; Jiang Ning had seen that much as well.

But he did not dislike Zhou Xing either.

Who would dislike someone who let him buy wild ginseng for less than the lowest market price, and even gave him three extra roots for free—letting him profit dozens of taels of silver for nothing?

Cheng Ran then opened the invitation in his hand, glanced at it, and passed it to Jiang Ning.

"Take a look, Junior Brother Jiang. Zhou Xing is certainly generous."

Jiang Ning accepted the invitation and opened it, his gaze falling upon its contents.

As his eyes swept over it, he too clicked his tongue inwardly.

The invitation began with Zhou Xing's pleasantries, then stated that he thought highly of Cheng Ran's prospects of entering the Inspection Office and wished to invest in him in exchange for a favor.

Zhou Xing's terms were also recorded within.

One thousand taels of silver, ten boxes of premium skin-tempering ointment, and three wild Earth Ganoderma plants that were a hundred years old.

These investments came with no excessive demands upon Cheng Ran. They sought only a favor—one whose future was full of uncertainty.

Jiang Ning lowered his gaze.

Three days from now, at the fourth quarter of the Dog hour, Fenghua Tower would respectfully await Junior Brother Cheng's presence at the banquet.

"What do you think, Junior Brother Jiang?" Cheng Ran asked.

Jiang Ning said, "Very generous. For nothing more than an uncertain favor and an uncertain future, Senior Brother Zhou is willing to give so much."

Jiang Ning understood perfectly well why Zhou Xing was being so generous.

Personnel of the Inspection Office possessed the privilege of executing first and reporting afterward. Their authority could be called immense.

Cheng Ran had entered the ranks of martial artists at this age. Once he joined the Inspection Office, who could guess how far he would go in ten or twenty years?

If he stepped into the eighth rank of martial arts and rose through the official ranks, then this favor would be worth a thousand pieces of gold—far exceeding this investment of two or three thousand taels of silver.

Cheng Ran said, "It does look generous, and it would help me quite a bit! Though my Cheng Family's fortune is not worth mentioning beside Senior Brother Zhou Xing's, I am not the sort of man whose eyes light up at the sight of money."

"I'm not in a hurry. Aside from Senior Brother Zhou, there should be others in Luoshui County who think highly of me, Cheng Ran!"

As he spoke the last words, confidence appeared on Cheng Ran's face.

Jiang Ning handed Zhou Xing's invitation back to Cheng Ran, then said, "Senior Brother Cheng, what spirit."

Cheng Ran laughed. "You have to compare goods from three different shops. Besides, I now have at least a fifty percent chance of winning that spot from Xiao Peng. Naturally, I have this confidence."

Then he looked at Jiang Ning again, indignation showing on his face. "Speaking of which, Zhou Xing must be blind. Junior Brother Jiang has such high martial talent and is short on resources right now, yet he did not even send you an invitation?"

Jiang Ning said, "Senior Brother Cheng, don't make fun of me! Senior Brother Zhou clearly understands the importance of the Inspection Office."

As he spoke, he pointed toward Zhou Xing in the distance, who was talking with Xiao Peng.

"That's true!" Cheng Ran sighed softly upon hearing this. "It is a pity that Junior Brother Jiang began practicing martial arts a year or so too late. The Inspection Office is fated to pass you by!"

"The Inspection Office—once you enter it, you have Great Xia at your back, an official registry to your name, and the power to execute first and report afterward, to grant life and take it away. And from then on, the path of martial arts is smooth, with no lack of methods or resources for advancing in martial arts."

Jiang Ning nodded slightly in agreement. "Yes!"

He also felt some regret at not receiving Zhou Xing's favor.

What he lacked now was only time and resources.

Zhou Xing's favor and investment could undoubtedly resolve his current shortage of resources.

With the supplies in that invitation, worth several thousand taels of silver, not only could his fist technique advance faster and allow him to grind out more resources each day, but he could also gain more source energy points every day.

The Wood-Chopping Saber Technique had long since reached perfection, and he had already ground out the one thousand experience points required for a single limit break.

The only thing restricting his Wood-Chopping Saber Technique from breaking its limit was his number of source energy points, and the acquisition of source energy points was closely tied to the energy he consumed each day.

For instance, on the day when he had gained the most source energy points, he had obtained 0.6 in a single day because he had eaten thirty percent of a wild ginseng root that day.

For him now, if he had sufficient resources and absorbed precious medicine within reasonable limits, it was possible to gain more than one source energy point per day.

Yet he currently gained only 0.4 source energy points a day. The gap between the two was plain to see.

With enough resources and enough energy intake, the source energy points gained in one day could equal two days' worth.

The martial hall's rear courtyard.

Li Qing brushed past the disciple guarding the martial hall's gate.

Then she came before Wang Jin.

"Greetings, Master!" She respectfully bowed to Wang Jin.

"Greetings, Tower Master Shen!" She also respectfully bowed to Shen Congyun.

At this moment, Li Qing seemed somewhat ill at ease.

From the instant she saw Shen Congyun, her heart had been filled with nervousness.

Naturally, she knew Shen Congyun's identity.

Nearly anyone in all of Luoshui County with even a little standing and a decent background knew something about Shen Congyun.

He was the deputy tower master of Myriad Splendor Tower's Luoshui County branch, and Myriad Splendor Tower was a superpower spread across the nine provinces of Great Xia.

Thus, to all of Luoshui County, Shen Congyun was a true big shot.

Although above Shen Congyun, this deputy tower master, there was a chief tower master, as well as another deputy tower master of equal rank to him—

With Shen Congyun's status, looking across all of Luoshui County, who would not give him some measure of respect?

Li Qing also knew very well that Myriad Splendor Tower occasionally invested in martial geniuses.

For any martial genius to be favored and invested in by a wealthy and powerful force like Myriad Splendor Tower was an opportunity to defy fate and change their life.

Even for her, whose family background was no worse than Zhou Xing's, being favored by Myriad Splendor Tower would let her transform into a dragon. Her future destiny would become completely different.

At that time, her future would no longer be confined to the tiny territory of Luoshui County. She would have the chance to become a dazzling martial prodigy in Guangning Prefecture.

It was precisely because she understood all this that she was so nervous.

She both hoped to be favored by Shen Congyun and knew that she was likely unworthy of his favor.

"Her blood and qi fill her entire body, and her physique has already formed a layer of skin membrane. This little girl is not bad!" Shen Congyun praised as he looked at Li Qing.

Hearing this praise, Li Qing's emotions stirred, and her heart filled with anticipation and nervousness.

"Tower Master Shen has keen eyes indeed. With one glance, you saw through this junior's martial realm."

Shen Congyun smiled faintly at Li Qing.

The moment she saw that smile, Li Qing understood something.

A sudden, wistful sense of loss rose within her.

"Li Qing, they have all arrived, yes?" Wang Jin asked at this moment.

Li Qing abruptly recovered from her disappointment and respectfully replied to Wang Jin, "All the senior and junior brothers have arrived!"

"Good!" Wang Jin nodded slightly.

Then he said to Shen Congyun, "Brother Shen, would you be interested in coming out with me to take a look at my disappointing disciples?"

Shen Congyun could not help smiling. "Brother Wang, are you still hoping to have me appraise them?"

Wang Jin chuckled. "It seems nothing can be hidden from Brother Shen!"

Shen Congyun smiled. "Since Brother Wang has asked, I must give you this courtesy. I have nothing to do anyway, so let us go out and take a look!"

"Brother Shen, please!" Wang Jin raised a hand in invitation.

"Please!"