Cohabitation with Sword Spirit

Chapter 533 - 34: For the Advancement of Immortal Dao Civilization, We Have No Shame

As expected, the mistress of Anping Money Shop, Hu Yu, and Zhao Chenlu are old acquaintances.

To be precise, most of the heads of the money shops in Heaven-Reaching City are old acquaintances of Zhao Chenlu. Back when the Golden Jade City extended its influence to Heaven-Reaching City, these people didn’t become acquainted without a scuffle.

After a fierce struggle, the money shops of Heaven-Reaching City successfully protected the local financial market from falling into the hands of outsiders. However, when asked about the details of the struggle, everyone avoids speaking about it.

As one of the participants in the fierce battle of those days, Hu Yu certainly knows that it was a brutal war that couldn’t even be termed a stalemate. Zhao Chenlu may not have gained a complete victory to directly conquer Heaven-Reaching City, but under the calm surface, those old money shops underwent a dramatic reshuffle.

Anping Money Shop seized that opportunity to establish itself as a leading money shop. Correspondingly, two old money shops fell into decline and became stepping stones for the new generation.

During this process, Hu Yu gained much assistance from Golden Jade City, so seeing Zhao Chenlu again today brings back past memories, making her nervous.

If the past events were to reoccur, the consequences would be unimaginable. Although Heaven-Reaching City now has several more layers of defenses than before, Golden Jade City is also more powerful than it was back then... If an extreme situation occurs, the Sect Leader of Saint Sect might have to step in to resolve it. But over the years, Zhao Chenlu has offended the Sect Leader many times, and the Sect Leader has been particularly indulgent of her, with many rumors suggesting he intends to groom Zhao Chenlu as his successor, so the outcome is truly uncertain.

What to do?

——

On the other side, in the Assembly Hall, Zhao Chenlu looked at the cold-sweating Hu Yu with interest.

"Ten years since we last met, you’ve become quite impressive, little Hu Yu."

As soon as the words fell, Hu Yu thudded to her knees.

"Sister Zhao, I truly didn’t know..."

"No need to be so afraid. I’m not here to eat you up, but to give you money. One million spirit stones, I’ll give them to you right away."

Hu Yu shook her head vigorously: "I dare not, I dare not. How could I dare to take your money."

Zhao Chenlu laughed: "Why do you say that? Are you implying my money comes from an improper source or something?"

"No, no, absolutely not. But considering the weight of Sister Zhao’s kindness back then, how could I dare accept Sister Zhao’s money."

Zhao Chenlu said: "Let’s keep things separate. The kindness shown to you back then was because Anping Money Shop seemed to have investment value. Over these years, I’ve gained enough returns, so we’re not indebted to each other. And now my beloved owes you one million spirit stones, that’s beyond question; one should repay debts, it’s only natural, right?"

"But..." Hu Yu was about to argue more when Zhao Chenlu transmitted her voice over.

"Shut up. My beloved has a stubborn nature; he’s determined that he owes you money, and if I don’t help him pay it back, he won’t be satisfied. Moreover, it’s rare I get the chance to do something for him; it’s a heaven-sent opportunity. Are you trying to make trouble for me?"

Hu Yu could barely believe her ears. The old self-assured and majestic City Lord of Golden Jade, who never let even the Sect Leader of Saint Sect intimidate her, today appeared humble for a man’s sake...

Thinking of this, Hu Yu couldn’t help but glance up at the new academy director behind the meeting table, clenching her teeth inwardly.

Nonsense, with such good looks, who wouldn’t be pleased?! Alas, for my lack of decisiveness and courage, I should have immediately declared the debt forgiven upon meeting, that way Sister Zhao wouldn’t have been drawn into this suddenly!

However, it was too late to regret, so Hu Yu had no choice but to nod and say: "Then let’s proceed according to the terms of the loan agreement for repayment."

Zhao Chenlu said: "Good."

After speaking, she elegantly waved her hand, and in mid-air, a golden crystal condensed into form.

As the crystal finally formed, everyone in the Assembly Hall held their breath.

The treasured gem of heaven and earth, only a few pieces could be extracted from an entire spirit stone vein. The highest and purest quality crystal, revered by many as the Holy Crystal.

The value of the Holy Crystal itself isn’t particularly outstanding; though it contains spiritual power far beyond an ordinary spirit stone, it doesn’t produce a qualitative change. The efficacy of one Holy Crystal can be offset by several hundred ordinary spirit stones. The issue is rarity: throughout history, the number of Holy Crystals excavated from the Xiangzhou Continent has been extremely limited, so the market generally considers one Holy Crystal to be worth at least ten thousand spirit stones.

As Zhao Chenlu waved her hand, the Holy Crystals in mid-air began to fall like raindrops, one after another, causing the Assembly Hall to be filled with dazzling golden light, leaving everyone bedazzled.

Before long, a hundred Holy Crystals piled up like a small mountain. Zhao Chenlu waved again, adding a pile of colorful special Spirit Stones, perfectly rounding off the outstanding balance and making the hundred Holy Crystals even more striking, like stars surrounding the moon.

Everyone in the Assembly Hall was captivated by this mountain of crystals worth millions, staring speechlessly.

The story of City Lord Golden Jade, Zhao Chenlu, they had heard enough over the past twenty years—especially how she often offended the dignity of the Saint Sect’s Sect Leader, causing countless cultivators in the Three Academies to gnash their teeth in hatred. But now, looking at this mountain of Holy Crystals, all the resentment and complaints in their hearts vanished without a trace.

The only sounds in the Assembly Hall were the rising and falling of gulps, and over a dozen ravenous gazes—not directed at the world’s number one beauty, but at the pile of Holy Crystals beside her.

Zhao Chenlu couldn’t help but scoff, secretly marveling at how rare this feeling of not being the focus was. However, she understood the nature of these research cultivators—their absolute avarice.

Few in the world could love money more than research cultivators. Even those money shop owners who treat asset appreciation as life itself aren’t more passionate for money than these research cultivators.

Because research in the Immortal Dao is extremely costly, especially for top organizations like Cyan Lotus Academy, which tackle daunting projects that push forward the entire Xiangzhou Continent’s Immortal Cultivation Civilization, with soaring research costs. Once they go all out, even mountains of gold and silver can’t withstand the expenditure. The previous holders of the Sword Manual, the Sang Sisters, were esteemed presidents of Cyan Lotus Academy, yet until their deaths, they were impoverished, having always invested personal assets into Sword Manual research.

So, there’s no one in Cyan Lotus Academy who doesn’t love money, even more than they love people. The desire for money overwhelms basic human lust.

Hence, the academy has an astonishingly high rate of singleness and the highest proportion of cultivators practicing Child’s Skill on Xiangzhou. Based on these two points, the academy has always only enrolled scholars who were marginalized in their youth, forming an even more twisted academy culture...

Wang Jiu works in such an environment, and Zhao Chenlu was indeed worried that his already scant humanity would become even more lacking. But two days ago, when he decided to assume the role of president, he agreed with the Sect Leader to avoid letting Zhao Chenlu interfere in his duties. Thus, she couldn’t openly move into the academy and live with him, and instead had to subtly inject her influence indirectly.

In simple terms, it was about using financial leverage to control the miscellaneous disciples within the academy, then using them as tools to exert influence on Wang Jiu. Zhao Chenlu initially feared she wouldn’t have the chance to make a move, only to find the opportunity presenting itself proactively so swiftly.

A million Spirit Stones is undoubtedly a huge sum for her as well. She had never deliberately hoarded wealth over the past decades, spending her windfalls like flowing water. She only managed to gather this amount by selling off various assets in the past two days, only to see it exhaust in an instant.

But Zhao Chenlu felt it was worth it. As long as the money was spent on Wang Jiu, it’s worth it, no matter how much. Besides, this unreserved show of wealth made it easier to achieve her aim. Observing the ravenous gazes of the Cyan Lotus Academy elders around her, Zhao Chenlu was certain that a mere curl of her finger could instantly earn her several loyal subjects.

Making others think you’re rich is far more important than actually being rich, and her casual spend of a million Spirit Stones unmistakably carried the aura of the wealthiest in Xiangzhou!

However, just as Zhao Chenlu was ready to further extend her influence, she heard Wang Jiu say.

"You’ve really gone through a lot this time, bankrupting yourself to pay off my debt."

Zhao Chenlu’s expression stiffened slightly, "It’s nothing."

Wang Jiu said, "Is it? But by my calculations, your total assets should just barely be over a million Spirit Stones. After paying the debt, there’s hardly anything left, isn’t it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the Assembly Hall changed. Those ravenous gazes scattered instantly, and everyone gazed at Zhao Chenlu as they would a faded pop idol before losing interest and looking away.

Zhao Chenlu could only smile bitterly in her heart—it was her first time experiencing being treated like a worn shoe... My dear truly deserved once having slain the Great Demon God Emperor with the Celestial Divine Sword, striking fatal blows effortlessly.

But she wasn’t angry, rather she laughed and said, "If the money’s gone, then earn more. Saving money is tough for me, but making money is light work. Do you remember my highest record?"

Wang Jiu’s memory was certainly up to the test. He immediately replied, "Starting from scratch, a single day’s profit of thirty-seven thousand two hundred Spirit Stones, surpassed by Shang Lanfei’s..."

"Alright, no need for the latter part," Zhao Chenlu wisely cut off the topic, successfully reigniting the ravenous gazes in the Assembly Hall.

Wang Jiu continued, "However, making thirty thousand Spirit Stones a day was in the past. Compared to now, your efficiency in making money must have taken a dip, right?"

Zhao Chenlu said, "Even if it’s down to a tenth, that’s still thirty thousand a day. A million Spirit Stones will take about a month."

This statement made the Cyan Lotus Elders’ eyes sparkle even more.

Making thirty-seven thousand Spirit Stones a day sounds utterly fantastical, as if lending at high interest across the whole world. Yet, thirty thousand a day indeed sounds more realistic, and that number alone is dazzling enough. If they could hold onto such a powerful alliance, they’d never again have to worry about budget constraints, freely researching anything they desired and living like Immortals!