"Then you still have to give me someone at the perfection realm of the origin-gathering realm and someone at the perfection realm of origin nurturing. They can't be early-stage cultivators," Tang Wen said, settling for the next best thing.
"You're such a nuisance. Fine, you can have them. But you'll pay their wages yourself." Xifang Kongming waved a hand impatiently.
"How much?" Tang Wen asked.
"Heh, greater strength naturally commands higher pay. To hire an origin nurturing perfection realm martial artist for a year, you'll need at least a thousand high-grade spirit stones.
"Origin gathering costs even more. Nobody will come for less than two thousand.
"Of course, if you choose someone at the early stage of the same realm instead, you can save quite a few spirit stones.
"Of course, you can also hire people from the Jianghu. They'll charge you less.
"But the people trained by my City Lord's Residence aren't comparable to those menial-grade martial artists out in the Jianghu.
"Besides, they already hold positions in the City Lord's Residence. If you really encounter danger, they can conveniently call in troops from the residence to protect you at any time.
"If you hire Jianghu wanderers, they won't have that authority to mobilize troops. Think it over carefully." Xifang Kongming watched Tang Wen like a crafty old fox.
"All right. To stay alive, I have no choice but to accept. Who are they? I want to meet them," Tang Wen said.
"Someone, summon Ding Tong and Yu Mei," Xifang Kongming called outside. "But this discount is between you and me. Not a word of it gets out."
"Don't worry. My lips are iron-sealed," Tang Wen said with a nod.
"Heh, if they aren't, you're a dead man." Xifang Kongming smiled.
"I'm just meat on your chopping board. What