An excessive demand

"So that was it."

Bu Wuchen nodded in understanding.

Then he strode over to the woman in fitted leather and cupped his fists. "Thank you for lending your fists."

With that, he took three small porcelain bottles containing mortal rank upper grade mystic pills from his sleeve pouch and offered them to her.

He had quietly pocketed these while refining pills in seclusion at the Song Clan Pill Workshop.

Back then, even when Bu Wuchen had brought out only half the mystic pills he had refined, Song Hechuan had been so delighted that he had nearly jumped for joy!

Had he handed over all of them, he would surely have scared the man witless!

Besides, a hundred-percent success rate in refining mortal rank upper grade mystic pills was rather too frightening.

Even Dean Zhou, whose pill-refining techniques had reached the "Mystic Realm," would have found that all but impossible!

Bu Wuchen also worried that displaying too monstrous a talent would invite unnecessary trouble.

Thus, secretly keeping half the mystic pills had been a necessary means of protecting himself...

"Here are a few mortal rank upper grade Healing Pills and Qi Recovery Pills. Please accept them."

Bu Wuchen spoke.

Without this "bodyguard lady" protecting them, A Chun and Wan Xiaoyao would probably have already fallen victim to the Lin Lineage's vicious hands!

Thus, Bu Wuchen's gratitude toward the leather-clad woman was entirely sincere.

At the sight, the four students who had come seeking Bu Wuchen's help immediately lit up with overwhelming envy-

"My goodness, several mortal rank upper grade mystic pills, just like that?!"

"Hiss-Senior Bu really is generous."

All four had witnessed Bu Wuchen's earlier performance in the martial demonstration grounds, so they had no doubts whatsoever about the pills' authenticity.

Compared with those students, the leather-clad woman was much colder.

Without so much as glancing at the mystic pills, she uttered two indifferent words: "No need."

"You're that aloof, lady...?"

Bu Wuchen pursed his lips.

Since she refused his gift of thanks, he naturally had no reason to shamelessly force it on her.

Just then, the only girl among the four students spoke in a sugary voice. "Senior Bu~ We came especially to ask for your help. We really didn't mean any harm at all~"

"We never expected such a formidable big sister to suddenly charge out."

"I-I've been so, so wronged!"

Whether this soft, cute girl was genuinely delicate or merely putting on a coy act was unclear, but by the time she finished speaking, a mist of tears had actually veiled her large eyes.

Then the other three spoke in succession-

"Senior Bu... no, Master Bu, the reward for the mission we just accepted is free."

"But one thing is certain: the mysterious patron who posted it definitely has the means."

"Besides, he's willing to pay half the reward in advance!"

"Really?"

At that, Bu Wuchen genuinely felt tempted.

Seeing his expression, all four had the same thought: Brother Lin truly has fiery eyes and golden pupils. He saw long ago that this Bu fellow was greedy for money.

Then again, it was only because of this fellow's two successive wagered duels that Young Master Lin spotted this weakness!

Secretly delighted, they put on expressions of trembling sincerity and thumped their chests in assurance-

"Of course it's true!"

"The mission is posted right in the academy's Mission Hall. If you don't believe us, Senior, you can go see for yourself."

"Besides, you're now the one and only 'first-class special-talent student' since Blood Dragon City Academy was founded, someone on equal footing with the vice deans!"

"Even if we four junior students from the advanced class had eaten a bear's heart and a leopard's gall, we wouldn't dare deceive you!"

Bu Wuchen gave a noncommittal hum.

Then he got straight to the point. "How about this? Go talk to that patron."

"If he can advance me five high-rank upper-grade mystic crystals with the respective mystic power attributes of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, I'll take this mission!"

"Huh?"

"High-rank upper-grade mystic crystals?"

"And they have to correspond to all five attributes: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth?!"

All four students were startled by Bu Wuchen's demand.

After all, only after a mystic beast died did people have a chance of obtaining the "mystic crystal" that held the essence of its power.

Most of the time, however, when a mystic beast died, the mystic crystal inside it would crumble as well.

And high-rank mystic crystals were essences that only "high-rank mystic beasts" could condense!

Human cultivators' cultivation realms, from lowest to highest, were-

Savage Martial Realm, Qi Observation Realm, Qi Control Realm, Divine Communion Realm...

Similarly, the cultivation levels of mystic beasts also had clearly defined divisions.

From weakest to strongest, they were-

Mystic-awakened wild beast, low-rank mystic beast, mid-rank mystic beast, high-rank mystic beast...

Matching the realms of humans and mystic beasts level by level revealed that-

A "high-rank upper-grade mystic beast" possessed combat strength comparable to the "seventh through ninth levels of the Divine Communion Realm"!

Across all of Blood Dragon City, there might not be a single cultivator capable of killing a high-rank upper-grade mystic beast alone.

Even if a large team of experts went together and painstakingly slew a high-rank upper-grade mystic beast, whether its mystic crystal would remain intact was still an unknown!

Yet now, Bu Wuchen had opened his mouth and demanded five high-rank upper-grade mystic crystals;

And they had to cover the five different attributes of "metal, wood, water, fire, and earth"...

He was simply demanding the impossible!

Their guilty consciences stirred as the four involuntarily thought, This fellow... could he have noticed something?

Is that why he deliberately made such an excessive demand-to make fools of us?

Bu Wuchen waited a while, but they remained dumbstruck;

He waved impatiently. "Well? Can you do it or not?"

"If you don't think you can manage it, lead the way. I'll speak to the person who posted the mission myself."

Then the leather-clad bodyguard lady asked coldly, "Why don't I simply see this favor through and throw these annoying flies out?"

"Ah, no, no, no!"

They hurriedly spoke up. "Although the mission reward you're asking for is very high, Senior Bu, that doesn't necessarily mean there's no room for negotiation."

"Right, right, right. We'll go discuss it with the patron who posted the mission right away."

"As for you going in person... just think: once that patron meets you, how would he still be willing to let small fry like us share in the benefits?"

"We hope you can understand, Senior Bu."

"That's right. Please give us a little time, Senior Bu."

Finding their words reasonable and well-founded, Bu Wuchen suspected nothing.

Thinking he had nothing to lose by trying, he nodded. "All right. Hurry back."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the iceberg-cold bodyguard lady withdrew the ice threads in her hand and let them leave.

Then she lightly tapped the ground with her delicate feet;

With a whoosh, a fragrant breeze drifted past, and her graceful figure vanished without a trace...