"Don't bother talking tough. You can't threaten me!"
Ning Chuan patted Zhang Wensi on the shoulder, applied a little force, and pushed him back to the ground. He sneered, "Forget the Hundred Beasts Nutrient Solution ever happened."
"Do that, and I won't go around sending this video to people.
"Otherwise, we'll all blow up together!"
After a pause, Ning Chuan added, "And don't think about hiring someone to steal my phone. I've already uploaded the video to cloud storage and scheduled it to be sent. Only I can cancel it."
"You're ruthless!"
Zhang Wensi gritted his teeth but didn't refuse, effectively agreeing to Ning Chuan's terms.
With that, the conversation ended.
The two fell silent.
For a moment, Ning Chuan didn't know how to start another conversation. After some thought, he raised his hand, clenched it into a fist, and brought it down.
Bang!
He punched Zhang Wensi again.
"What did I ever do to you?!"
Zhang Wensi glared at Ning Chuan.
Expressionless, Ning Chuan said, "That's a lesson for having Ma Hai beat me up."
Zhang Wensi froze. "How did you know I was the one behind it?"
He had hardly shown any hostility toward Ning Chuan in class.
"Oh, Ma Hai told me himself."
Ning Chuan sold Ma Hai out without hesitation.
He hadn't promised him anything about that.
"That bastard! I'll teach him a harsh lesson!"
Zhang Wensi ground his teeth in fury.
He couldn't accomplish a thing, but he was more than capable of ruining everything!
"No rush. You'll have plenty of time later!" Ning Chuan waved a hand. "So you don't want me coaching Lu Mengyue, right?"
"So what if I don't?!"
Zhang Wensi snorted coldly.
"Don't be so hostile."
Ning Chuan smiled. "I know rich second-generation kids like you have a mental obsession with cleanliness. You don't want other guys getting close to the girl you admire. We can discuss this..."
Zhang Wensi cut him off, irritated. "Admire Lu Mengyue?
"Did a donkey kick you in the head?
"Lu Mengyue is my older cousin!"
Ning Chuan froze for a moment, then asked in confusion, "If you're cousins, why are you stopping me from coaching Lu Mengyue?"
Realizing he'd let something slip, Zhang Wensi shut his mouth and didn't answer.
"So that's how it is!"
Ning Chuan's eyes flashed, and he fell into thought.
Lu Mengyue was more than just the daughter of the Extreme Path Martial Arts Hall's master.
She came from a powerful family.
The Lu Family was a wealthy and influential clan in Qingshan City.
One could even call it a thousand-year-old family!
Zhang Wensi's mother was probably a member of the Lu Family too.
"The scheming among scions of great families really does stop at nothing!" Ning Chuan remarked.
At that, Zhang Wensi's gaze turned sinister. "If you dare talk about this, you're dead!
"The Federation is a society governed by law, that's true!
"But some powers are born above the law!"
"I don't know or care about the Lu Family or its affairs."
Ning Chuan shrugged and said indifferently, "I'll say it again. If you don't want me coaching Lu Mengyue, we can discuss it.
"As long as you're willing to pay enough.
"I'm an orphan who's had enough of a hard life. I care about profit, not people!"
With that, Ning Chuan stood, ready to pressure Zhang Wensi. "If you're not interested, I'll be going."
"Go on."
Zhang Wensi was tempted and hurriedly called Ning Chuan back.
"Let's work out the numbers first."
A bright smile appeared on Ning Chuan's face as he sat back down. "You know what I charge for coaching Lu Mengyue: three thousand yuan an hour.
"I coach her for two hours a day.
"That's six thousand yuan, sometimes more.
"With a little over two months until the college entrance exam, I could earn at least five hundred thousand from Lu Mengyue!"
After naming the amount, Ning Chuan stole a glance at Zhang Wensi.
His expression didn't change.
"Of course, five hundred thousand wouldn't be enough!"
Ning Chuan changed tack. "That's money I could have earned anyway.
"If I quit coaching her in Flash Thunder Slash, I'll offend Lu Mengyue.
"You'll have to give me another five hundred thousand to compensate me.
"One million in total!"
Zhang Wensi scoffed. "Are you crazy for money?!"
Ning Chuan's expression didn't change. He smiled and said, "For another five hundred thousand, Lu Mengyue's Flash Thunder Slash will stop progressing. You stand to gain ten times that, even a hundred times!"
Zhang Wensi pondered for a while, then said, "Five hundred thousand total. Take it or leave it!"
Ning Chuan's heart raced, and he wanted to agree at once.
After all, he was getting something for nothing.
A transaction with no capital and boundless profit!
Still, Ning Chuan frowned and feigned displeasure. "I'm risking Lu Mengyue's anger here!"
"Your compensation is included in the five hundred thousand. I know Lu Mengyue better than you do. You'll only be coaching her for another month at most!" Zhang Wensi sneered. "She needs to set aside enough time to advance to an Official Martial Artist. Otherwise, she has no hope of getting into Galaxy University!"
"All right, then."
Ning Chuan sighed as though he'd suffered a great loss. "Five hundred thousand it is, but you have to transfer it right now!"
Zhang Wensi took out his phone and opened his online banking app. After a moment's thought, he said viciously, "Your strength really is comparable to Awakening Stage Seven, but if you try to play both sides, I'll make you regret ever being born!"
"Don't worry, I'm not that kind of person!"
Righteous and resolute, Ning Chuan raised his right arm and swore, "Starting today, I won't coach Lu Mengyue in Flash Thunder Slash again. If I do, may five bolts of heavenly lightning strike me down!"
Even if he wanted to coach her, he couldn't.
The job was already over.
Buzz!
His phone vibrated slightly.
A text from the bank showed that five hundred thousand had arrived in his account.
Add to that the three vials of Hundred Beasts Nutrient Solution.
His net worth now exceeded a million!
Ning Chuan felt as though he were in a dream.
Joy bubbled up from his heart like a spring.
Only yesterday, he'd been agonizing over whether to sell or take a single vial of Hundred Beasts Nutrient Solution.
"Phew!"
Ning Chuan took a deep breath, forcibly calming himself.
It wasn't time to celebrate yet.
When it came to money, he wouldn't mind having a little more.
Ning Chuan showed off the spy device in his hand and smiled. "This thing has a chance of becoming a ticket to the Mountain and Sea Genius Training Camp.
"I'm not asking for much, just the same price as Wei Bohu: three vials of Hundred Beasts Nutrient Solution."
"Of course, an online transfer is fine too. I don't mind."
Zhang Wensi's face turned green.
Ning Chuan had robbed him of his spy device, and now he wanted to sell it back to him?!
Was there any law left?
Did he have no moral bottom line?!
"You don't know a thing, yet you dare talk nonsense about the Mountain and Sea Genius Training Camp!"
Gathering his thoughts, Zhang Wensi sneered and spoke with irritated contempt.
Ning Chuan didn't mind at all.
He'd just squeezed over a million out of the guy, so he ought to be a little magnanimous.
"What, does the place not live up to its name?"
"No, the Mountain and Sea Genius Training Camp is extremely powerful. Plenty of Official Martial Artists flock to it!" Zhang Wensi's eyes were mocking. "So without the strength of Peak Awakening Stage Nine, going in is just courting death. The geniuses gathered there will eat you without leaving even the crumbs!"
Ning Chuan asked casually, "Then why did you buy a spy device from Wei Bohu?"
Zhang Wensi snorted, sounding almost proud. "I advanced to the selection round just to make Teacher Su happy. What would you know?!"
Ning Chuan fell silent.
He'd never expected that to be Zhang Wensi's reason.
"You just want to make Teacher Su happy? Shameless! You actually want to defy your master and betray the sect!"
Ning Chuan pointed at Zhang Wensi and left in a huff.
Just to make Su Yun like him a little more, he'd spent three vials of Hundred Beasts Nutrient Solution without hesitation.
How rich did he have to be?!
More than half the joy of being worth a million faded away.
The more Ning Chuan thought about it, the angrier he got. When he reached the classroom door, he turned back.
"I don't need you to help me up. We're not that close!"
Seeing Ning Chuan return, Zhang Wensi thought he meant to help him and still gave him no pleasant look.
He was bracing himself against the stool Ning Chuan had been sitting on, trying to get up, but his body was trembling, and he looked thoroughly bedraggled.
"I'm not here to help you up."
With that simple, direct reply, Ning Chuan raised his hand, clenched his fist, and swung in one swift motion!
Bang! Bang!
Two muffled thuds sounded in quick succession.
Ning Chuan gave Zhang Wensi two black eyes.
That was what he got for flaunting his wealth.
"Why did you hit me this time?!"
Lying on the floor, Zhang Wensi roared in fury.
"Don't blame me. To tell the truth, I'm just the knife. Ma Hai paid me to give you panda eyes!"
"I'm going to cripple that brat!"
"Good luck with that."
Ning Chuan left in high spirits.