"Is being vegan a crime?" Yan Xiaolong wanted to cry, but found no tears in his eyes. "What kind of bullshit it that!? Seven hundred-million spirit stones!? If I had that much money, I'll change my surname to Gates! Let me speak to the manager!" 

 

Zhong Yun wiped away the tea from his face. "Young Master, that's already as good as it could get. And there is no manager, unless you plan to speak to the sect leader. The Seal of Divine Blood is from a Void-Tier cultivation art. Those cultivation arts are usually priceless. Only by doing extremely meritorious actions for the sect can you obtain a Void-Tier cultivation art or a Void-Tier dao technique. Even Lord Tie obtained the Immovable King's Scripture by accomplishing heaven-defying results at a great price..."

 

Zhong Yun's voice trailed off, clearly wary of angering Yan Xiaolong. However, the latter did not thought too deeply on the meaning in the former's words. "Seven hundred-million spirit stones... There's no way I can gather that much. Not even grinding my way through Heaven and Earth can I earn that much. I can’t even purchase in-game premium currency... What are the other options to obtain the Seal of Divine Blood?" 

 

"It is possible to obtain it by doing more meritorious service to the sect." 

 

"Like what? How did Uncle get the Immovable King's Scripture?" 

 

"Uh, well, twenty years ago, the sect went to war with the Ancient Ghost Sect for supremacy. It was extremely vicious and many Nascent Soul elders died. Even a little over a dozen Spiritual Lamp grand elders died. Fortunately, we won in the end and the Ancient Ghost Sect was wiped out. During that war, Lord Tie was the number one Chosen and slaughtered many infamous cultivators." 

 

"Oh? So I just have to kill some bad guys?" 

 

"Well yes, but actually no. He did not simply just kill some bad guys, he obliterated them. In fact, Lord Tie's kill count during that war would be somewhere in the thousands. His most famous accomplishment would be during the final battle when he slaughtered over a hundred Nascent Soul elders... while being a Golden Core cultivator." 

 

"..." 

 

"..." 

 

"Are you shitting me right now?" 

 

"Young Master, you told me this story before." 

 

Yan Xiaolong dropped to the ground and screamed in his heart. "Is Uncle a hero summoned from another world!?" 

 

"Lord Tie's accomplishment was so great that he obtained the rights to two Void-Tier cultivation arts. Generally speaking, a person can only obtain a Void-Tier cultivation art by bringing great glory to the sect or being at the peak-stage Nascent Soul." Zhong Yun tried to assured Yan Xiaolong. "Young Master does not need to do that much, but beating a Nascent Soul at the Foundation Establishment level would be enough to equal Lord Tie's accomplishment." 

 

"Beat!? Beat your sister!" 

 

"Young Master, I'm an only-child orphan." 

 

"Seven hundred-million spirit stones..." Yan Xiaolong took out the interspatial rings he took from the servants and placed everything out in the room, forming mounds of precious items. "Take a good look at everything here. How much could I get if I sell everything here?" 

 

"Y-Young Master, where did you get all of this!?" Zhong Yun was absolutely stunned by the numerous items. 

 

"Don't worry about it. Just tell me how much I could get." 

 

"Well..." Zhong Yun did some more calculations. "I say that if you sell them all off, you can get around five hundred-thousand spirit stones." 

 

"That's it?" 

 

"Young Master, that's already a lot of spirit stones. That's more than an elder's annual net income." 

 

"Shit. So I'm poor." Yan Xiaolong bit his lips. Suddenly, something clicked in his head and he looked back at Young Master Shen and his goons. Smiling, he walked over to them. 

 

"Hm?" Zhong Yun looked over and observed Yan Xiaolong. 

 

Pak! Pak! Pak!

 

Yan Xiaolong gave three slaps to Young Master Shen who woke up. He looked around with incredulous eyes. 

 

"What is the meaning of this, Yan Xiaolong!? Release me immediately!" He received another slap to the face. 

 

"Shut up. You're my hostage so I'm the only person that's going to ask the question." Yan Xiaolong rubbed his hands together, warming them up for another attack. "I originally planned to take your stuff, but I'm going to need to take your business as well." 

 

"What!? That's absurd! Do you want to die!?" He received another slap. 

 

"How dare-" Pak!

 

"You are courting dea-" Pak! 

 

"Let me spea-" Pak! 

 

An hour later, Young Master Shen got the message and fell into silence. Without any warning whatsoever, he was slapped on the nose this time. "What was that for!?" 

 

"Your nose looks stupid so I preformed surgery on it." Yan Xiaolong pulled a chair over and sat on it. "Alright, we're going to start the interrogation now. No more horsing around. Tell me more about your trade." 

 

"Trade? As in my loaning business? Hmph! As if I ever reveal my secrets." 

 

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear! Well, you asked for it." Eight tentacles came out of Yan Xiaolong's back and tucked under Young Master Shen's armpits. 

 

"What are you... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" The tentacles wiggled underneath his armpits and tickled him to uproariously laughter. "S-S-Stop! I ca- HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" 

 

"Suffer, mortal." Yan Xiaolong put his chin up and stared down menacingly at Young Master Shen. 

 

Off to the side, Zhong Yun looked at the chaotic scene calmly. "Young Master, you’re suppose to break his bones and threaten to exterminate three generations of his family. That’s proper torture etiquette. How can tickling be used to interrogate someone?" 

 

......

 

After many hours, Young Master Shen willingly kowtowed on the ground. “Young Master Yan, I’m sorry for everything!” 

 

Zhong Yun’s jaw dropped. “It worked!?” 

 

Yan Xiaolong nodded his head. “Well? Tell me more about your business model.” 

 

“Well first, Young Master Yan, we are part of the Son of Heaven Society, a secret organization in the sect. There are many organizations in the sect, secret or open, but we are definitely the most mysterious. As part of the Son of Heaven Society, we have our duty to bring in spirit stones and relay it back to the upper chains of management.” 

 

“Oh? There was something like that, huh? Well, I’m not too surprised.” 

 

“Yes, sir. We can bring in spirit stones in any way we have to, but we definitely have to bring them in. My group specialize in scamming people with fake loans, but there are more business models out there that brings in more profit. Some people set up brothels while others are involved in slave trades. I heard that we have contract killing services as well.” 

 

“You guys do all that and still give yourself a badass name like the ‘Son of Heaven Society?’” 

 

Young Master Shen was embarrassed, but continued to talk. “That’s the name that was given to the society by our leader.” 

 

“Who’s that?” 

 

“His name is ‘Long Aotian,’ sir.” 

 

Both Zhong Yun and Yan Xiaolong spoke at the same time: “Say what!?” 

 

Although they said the exact same thing, they had different ideas in mind. 

 

Zhong Yun: “Long Aotian is the name of a Chosen. In fact, he’s even at the number one spot on the Chosen Ranking Board. His talent is so heaven-defying that some people say he is the second Lord Tie. It’s rumored that he once slayed a famed Nascent Soul rogue cultivator while being at the Golden Core stage with a casual spear strike. He’s so strong that it’s mind-boggling. Moreover, his age is less than thirty! Achieving Golden Core before thirty years old is not unheard of, but achieving Nascent Soul level power at that age is legendary. I heard rumors that he’s related to an Ascendant cultivator, possibly the sect leader. An even scarier rumor is that he's a reincarnated immortal!” 

 

Yan Xiaolong: “Long Aotian is the most domineering name a person could possibly have that’s given to the protagonist or antagonist. Holy crap. Am I not a main character of my own story? Wait, is he the hero or the villain? Then what the hell am I? Or am I... actually a side character!? A disposable, low-tier young master!? Oi, Fortuna, I want to change my script!”