The Last Trade

When the Silver Moon Marquis gave an order, not to mention Lu Qingshan—even Jimmy dared not defy it in the slightest. The Secret Realm, of course, he had to enter. But he could not let himself look too eager. "Lord Jimmy, if I go to the Qianwu Secret Realm, what about the Dojo's students? The Secret Realm Qualification Battle is coming up soon, and I was planning to give them some extra lessons." "The Silver Moon Marquis's business comes first." Jimmy's face was grave. "As for the students, you can find time to give them a few lessons in the Virtual Universe, but it must not interfere with the important matters on the Marquis's end." "Very well. I'll send an email and let the students know." Lu Qingshan sighed softly. Seeing this, Jimmy could not help adding, "Mentor Lu, being singled out by the Silver Moon Marquis is a heaven-sent blessing—you mustn't carry any resentment. True, you're only being seconded into the Qianwu Secret Realm, but your treatment will not suffer in the slightest. You'll rank on the same level as a Special-Class Instructor of the Qianwu Secret Realm—that is the treatment of an elite World Master expert... Your base pay will rise a hundredfold from what you have now, never mind the other benefits..." "Rest assured, Lord Jimmy. I will carry out my work properly!" "Mm. Her Highness has not yet returned to the Qianwu Secret Realm. Once she arrives, I'll contact you. From now on, if you have any questions, you may come straight to me!" "Many thanks, Lord Jimmy!" Lu Qingshan bowed, then took his leave of Jimmy. Afterward he sent a mass message to all his students and gave them one last Public Lecture. When the lecture ended, Lu Qingshan told them that he would be going to the Qianwu Secret Realm for some time, and that afterward he might no longer be their teacher. Hearing the news, many of the students were downcast. After years together, they held Lu Qingshan in deep respect as a responsible mentor, and now that he was leaving so suddenly, they felt an unexpected hollowness in their hearts. The most dispirited of all was Hailei. Only recently had he won Teacher Lu's favor, been appointed his assistant, and gained a whole host of benefits. Now Teacher Lu was bound for the Qianwu Secret Realm—which meant his work as assistant was about to end. "Don't be sad, Hailei..." Adams patted his shoulder. Seeing his brother's low spirits, he comforted him: "The teacher is being promoted. We ought to be happy for him, shouldn't we?" "Mm, yes, we should be happy..." Hailei tucked away his disappointment. After Lu Qingshan left, he entered the Virtual Universe and sent a short message of farewell blessings to Lu Qingshan's mailbox. Before long, an email arrived. Hailei opened it, and his eyes lit up at once. Inside was the optimal advancement plan for cultivating his Lightning Domain, complete with a video demonstration... "This..." Hailei drew a deep breath, trembling all over with excitement. With this priceless material, his future cultivation would never stray down the wrong path again, and he might well soon rise to the sixth layer of the domain or beyond—the very key to entering the Qianwu Secret Realm. "So the mentor had kept me in his heart all along..." Overwhelmed, Hailei closed the email, then bowed low and kowtowed in the direction of Lu Qingshan's Manor. ... Having taught his last class to the students of Qianwu Dojo Headquarters, Lu Qingshan threw himself into the Killing Field, spending more than a month fully adapting to his strength. He was now a genuine Domain Master Ninth Stage expert, and in actual strength far surpassed others of the same level. "Once I enter the Qianwu Secret Realm, getting out again will probably take many years of waiting..." Lu Qingshan pondered his future. Right now, the Cosmic Currency he carried amounted to a pitiful few hundred billion—little more than a drop in the bucket for someone in his position. One trip to the Qianwu Secret Realm would last at least several decades. If he did not get hold of some money soon, never mind resources for his own cultivation, he might not even manage the annual gifts for his two disciples except by scraping by with low-grade items. How was he to get the money? Analysis of Heavenly Thunder was incomplete, and the cultivation art the System had returned was no ordinary thing—producing it rashly could invite unforeseeable consequences. Unless it came to the last resort, he absolutely could not put it up for sale. That left only the Luoke God Water... That carried no small risk of its own, but it was a better fit than the Secret Method. "Nesethes, contact the Universe Star River Bank. I'm one of their two-star users—can I sell them some treasures?" "Master, the Two Great Universe Banks do run buyback services, but the minimum requirement is three-star user status, and you don't qualify yet... However, the local banks in each intermediate universe country set their standards somewhat lower!" "The Two Great Banks sit so high above it all that they truly look down on small business. Below three-star, you're simply a customer of no value in their eyes." Lu Qingshan shook his head. It wasn't surprising. The Two Great Banks were safe and dependable. If they set no thresholds, even a hundredfold increase in staff might not suffice—if most people took their trades to the banks, the universe's whole commercial system could well suffer a massive blow. After all, the banks' core business was still deposits, investments, and credit... Trading and buyback were mere sidelines. They set thresholds even for opening an account, so it was hardly strange that the threshold for buyback was higher still. "In any case, I'll be away in the Qianwu Secret Realm for at least several decades, and until I have Undying strength I won't be leaving Qianwu City anyway. If taking a little risk is the price, then let it be!" Having made up his mind, Lu Qingshan found Ruyan, the Treasure Pavilion's manager in Qianwu City, in the Virtual Universe. "Congratulations on your rise in strength, my lord." Seeing Lu Qingshan again, Ruyan's face was full of smiles as she raised her hand in congratulation... Lu Qingshan had bought ten Blood Dragon Fruits from them; nearly a year had passed now, and his strength had naturally climbed. "I've called you here because I have another deal." Lu Qingshan came straight to the point. "Is there anything Ruyan can do to serve you, my lord?" Ruyan's smile bloomed like a flower. Two deals had already won her a handsome commission; by now, even if Lu Qingshan made some out-of-line request, she would not have refused. Deals worth several Hunyuan units—for a mere Cosmic Level expert like her, even a sliver of commission was worth several times her entire fortune. "Luoke God Water, two thousand cubic meters. I need the money as quickly as possible!" Lu Qingshan laid out the deal plainly. "What! Luoke God Water!" Ruyan's smile vanished and her expression turned grave. "My lord, Luoke God Water is exceedingly precious. For two thousand cubic meters, our Treasure Pavilion's buyback price is 17 Hunyuan units. But the sum involved in this deal is too large—Ruyan must first seek approval from her superiors..." "If you have an answer within one day, I'll sell to you... Otherwise, I'll sell to someone else!" Every extra place he dealt with meant extra risk. Since some of his hand had already been shown to the Treasure Pavilion, he might as well let them see a little more. He could only hope the Treasure Pavilion had some credibility and would not overstep. Otherwise, once his countless years of lying low in Qianwu City came to an end, he would certainly repay them with a vengeance! Lu Qingshan urgently needed this money. He also needed a three-star Universe Star River Bank account. As a three-star user, he would be able to attend the Qianwu Auction, and in the days to come he could complete his transactions directly through the Universe Star River Bank... That would spare him unpredictable risks. Take this occasion: trading Luoke God Water rashly was bound to carry risk, but if he sold to the Universe Star River Bank, there would be no problem at all even if he sold off the entire remaining 9,900 cubic meters of Luoke God Water. A few thousand or tens of thousands of Hunyuan units was, to the Universe Star River Bank, merely a small-to-mid-level transaction, nothing they would pay any mind... Moreover, under the bank's strict rules and regulations, a trader's identity was kept strictly confidential. Of course, everything had its limits. If he produced some heavy treasure out of thin air... without strength to match it, the consequences would be just as impossible to gauge. Bank rules and regulations are, in the end, carried out by people... and people are greedy... So-called trustworthiness and loyalty simply mean the price of betrayal is too low. Lu Qingshan thought once more of that Pan Xi. A World Master Third Stage and the hidden head of a faction, Pan Xi was surely a three-star user or better. Yet even he dared not trade away his Luoke God Water for other resources. Otherwise, with wealth rivaling the entire fortune of an Undying King poured in, he could easily break through to World Master Ninth Stage...