Ransom

"Prince of Southern Suppression, you just heard from Senior Su how much three thousand Flying Dragon Army soldiers and their flying vessel are worth." Zhang Yang got straight to the point. "As for this damned prince, consider him a bonus—an extra gift thrown in for you. So, how much ransom has your Cloud Mountain Empire prepared?"

Prince of Southern Suppression Shen Jun gave a bitter smile. "The Empire spent more than ten years cultivating the Flying Dragon Army, exhausting foundations accumulated over decades. That was precisely why His Majesty valued the Flying Dragon Army so greatly.

"Our Cloud Mountain Empire has come sincerely to ransom back the Flying Dragon Army. But if the ransom truly amounts to several million Spirit Stones, we simply cannot afford it.

"Forgive me if this sounds laughable, but the Spirit Stones produced by the Empire in a year amount to only a few hundred thousand.

"How could we possibly produce several million Spirit Stones under such circumstances?"

Seeing Azure Cloud Sect's attitude toward the Heavenly Profound Sect, he knew Azure Cloud Sect was being extremely forceful.

So from the very beginning, he started playing up his misery.

"Of course, we could forcibly compel the people across the entire nation to mine Spirit Stones. Perhaps in two or three years, we could gather this amount. But if we did that, I fear the Empire would be littered with starving corpses, and of its hundreds of millions of people, perhaps only ten million would survive?"

Upon hearing this, Ling Yunzi could not help sending Zhang Yang a voice transmission. "How about we call it close enough?"

Zhang Yang replied via voice transmission, irritated, "Martial Uncle, are you on their side? Why don't you go sit over there? He's morally kidnapping us—can't you hear it? Forget it. You people are only good at cultivation. In the future, just focus on cultivating and stay out of these matters."

Ling Yunzi glared at Zhang Yang but said nothing.

Zhang Yang shook his head with a sigh. "That really is tragic! Hearing Prince of Southern Suppression put it that way, I can't help feeling compassion. Since that's the case, let's simply forget the ransom!"

Prince of Southern Suppression secretly smiled with satisfaction. Young man, still a young man after all!

With a sorrowful, world-weary expression, he bowed deeply to Zhang Yang. "Thank you, Sect Master Zhang... for your magnanimity. On behalf of the Empire's hundreds of millions of citizens, I thank Sect Master Zhang. After returning, I will properly discipline those brats in the Flying Dragon Army, who actually dared offend Azure Cloud Sect. In particular, I must report this to His Majesty and ensure that the Third Prince is properly disciplined. Such a thing must never happen again."

"As it should be, as it should be!" Zhang Yang replied emotionally.

"Thank you, Sect Master Zhang!" Prince of Southern Suppression thanked him again. "Then may I take them back now?"

"Ah?" Zhang Yang seemed to come back to his senses. "You mean you want to take the Third Prince back? Go right ahead. He can't do any work staying here, and he wastes food. Eating and shitting all day, stinking up the place."

The Third Prince beside them was speechless. He desperately wanted to say, Master, that's enough already!

But he was playing miserable right now, so he could not speak.

Prince of Southern Suppression hurriedly asked, "What about the Flying Dragon Army?"

Zhang Yang said with feeling, "If the Flying Dragon Army remains, the Cloud Mountain Empire will surely continue spending vast resources to train them. What an enormous burden that would be upon the Empire's hundreds of millions of citizens? The Empire's countless people are living in a sea of suffering and fire—how can we let them continue living such lives?

"We of Azure Cloud Sect will shoulder this pain alone.

"Azure Cloud Sect will raise the Flying Dragon Army!

"As it happens, Azure Cloud Sect is short of people right now. All three thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators will join Azure Cloud Sect.

"Rest assured, we will treat them well. We will teach them cultivation techniques and give them pills so they can cultivate properly and mature into talents as soon as possible.

"The Empire will no longer need to endure this suffering in the future."

Prince of Southern Suppression was dumbfounded.

He had come to Azure Cloud Sect because he absolutely had to bring back the Flying Dragon Army. Everything else was nonsense.

His eyes shifted, and he shook his head. "Every Flying Dragon Army soldier is the child of an Empire citizen. Their parents are still waiting for them to return home. Before I left, their parents even came to find me specifically, entrusting me to bring them back no matter what. Some of their parents are already gravely ill and waiting for them to return home to care for them in their final years!

"So no matter how poor the Empire may be, we cannot disappoint those elders. I have a proposal. How about we use some materials to offset the ransom? What does Sect Master Zhang think?"

When he realized he could not morally coerce Zhang Yang, he immediately began discussing the price.

"How many materials?" Zhang Yang asked.

"One hundred and fifty thousand jin of copper ore, three hundred thousand jin of iron ore, thirty thousand jin of gold ore, one hundred thousand jin of silver ore..." He listed some of the materials he had already prepared.

Zhang Yang glanced at Prince of Southern Suppression. "With this little material, I'm afraid those elders will have to be disappointed."

"Add another one million Spirit Stones!" Prince of Southern Suppression raised the price.

Zhang Yang asked in return, "My junior sister is the young lady of the Cloud Soaring Merchant Association. When she joined Azure Cloud Sect and saw that her sect was rather poor, she generously donated one million Spirit Stones. Azure Cloud Sect isn't lacking this little bit of money now. How about the Flying Dragon Army simply joins Azure Cloud Sect? We can afford to raise them."

"Hm?" Prince of Southern Suppression's eyes widened.

No wonder Azure Cloud Sect had not been tempted upon hearing about those materials?

He hurriedly said, "We can double the materials and add another five hundred thousand Spirit Stones. This truly is all we can produce at the moment. There is really nothing else we can do. I ask Sect Master Zhang for mercy and accommodation."

Zhang Yang said blandly, "Prince of Southern Suppression, do you think I don't know the prices of those materials? I made an estimate. The materials combined are worth over one million Spirit Stones. In other words, you still have a shortfall of more than one million Spirit Stones, and you want to take back three thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators? To be honest, Azure Cloud Sect is truly short of people right now. Since you have shown sincerity, I'll be generous as well. Take back two thousand people and leave one thousand for Azure Cloud Sect."

"I want all three thousand Flying Dragon Army soldiers!" Prince of Southern Suppression gritted his teeth. "The thousand-li territory under Azure Province will belong to your Azure Cloud Sect from now on. Azure Province must be worth more than two million Spirit Stones, no?"

This was the greatest concession he could offer.

Zhang Yang froze, then was overjoyed inside.

Azure Province's thousand-li territory was even larger than Azure Cloud Sect's current territory. How many resources would it contain?

Most importantly, it meant people. For Azure Cloud Sect, this was an incredible bargain.

He felt he could agree completely.

Just as he was about to speak, Azure Cloud Master's voice sounded beside Zhang Yang's ear. "Do not take Azure Province! Do not take any land!"

"Master!" Zhang Yang was stunned.

"Listen to me on this matter," Azure Cloud Master insisted.

Zhang Yang had no choice but to shake his head at Prince of Southern Suppression. "Azure Cloud Sect is a sect. We have no intention of establishing a dynasty, so what use is Azure Province to us? Besides, I truly cannot bear to make you cede territory and carve up your lands.

"How about this? You can repay the remaining money within ten years. But since we're giving you this benefit, you must agree to one condition."

"What condition?" Prince of Southern Suppression did not lower his guard.

After crossing swords with Zhang Yang once, he felt that Zhang Yang was not so simple.

Zhang Yang said with a smile, "Azure Cloud Sect plans to establish a merchant association to sell things such as talismans, pills, and magical treasures. Therefore, we hope the Cloud Mountain Empire can support us. These things should be of great benefit to you as well. What do you think? Of course, we will pay taxes according to your rules, but you must give us preferential tax treatment."

In short, open trade!