Cooperation

"It's me." Yaoguang nodded slightly. "A Grandmaster?" Beside them, Su Chiming froze. At that moment, he also realized what had happened from their brief contact and shifting postures. They had crossed hands. And the outcome of that exchange... Leng Jun had lost. A peak Martial Master—someone fully qualified to test for the Rank 7 Grandmaster certificate—had lost to Yaoguang the moment their hands met. Given Leng Jun's martial attainment, the only person capable of defeating him in a hand-to-hand clash... "A Grandmaster?!" Su Chiming rose abruptly to his feet. He stared at Yaoguang in disbelief. "Impossible! I have your complete dossier. Although you've been practicing martial arts, it's only been a little over a year... Even if you began training in secret the moment your bones and sinews matured, you're not even nineteen years old... Nineteen... A Grandmaster?!" "The world is vast, and powerful figures emerge in every generation. Tiannan is merely a single province in Dayu, and Dayu is no more than a tiny corner of the Central Continent. Not to mention that above the Central Continent, there are two planetary hegemons, Xuelong and Chixing. Becoming a Grandmaster at nineteen isn't necessarily so unbelievable," Yaoguang said, his calm tone devoid of the slightest arrogance. Su Chiming's gaze whipped toward Leng Jun, filled with shock and silent inquiry. Leng Jun carefully replayed the brief clash in his mind... That power was unquestionably an internal jin generated by vibrating the viscera, penetrating straight into the deepest reaches of the human body. Looking at Yaoguang now... Neither flushed nor short of breath. Nor did he appear to have used any terrible forbidden technique. Leng Jun nodded solemnly. "A Grandmaster!" "A Grandmaster!" Su Chiming murmured the word under his breath. Immediately after, he added, "A Grandmaster of our Su family!" Then, realizing something even greater, he looked at Su Yaoguang with burning intensity. "A Grandmaster at only nineteen!" "It seems my identity has been confirmed." Yaoguang remained completely composed. "Then can we discuss our cooperation?" "Cooperation?" Those words swiftly cooled Su Chiming down from his fervent fantasies of the Su family rising into an aristocratic clan. Cooperation. Su Yaoguang was indeed of Su blood. The family's blood flowed through his veins. Yet his relationship with the Su family... could hardly be described as close. Even Su Chiming, the clan head, was seeing Su Yaoguang in person for the very first time in nineteen years. Before today, the two of them had been complete strangers. Under such circumstances... did Su Yaoguang becoming a Grandmaster truly have much to do with the Su family? For the first time, Su Chiming felt a twinge of resentment toward his useless son. *No matter how idle you are, running around indulging in wine and pleasure, how could you completely neglect your own flesh and blood?!* *If you had visited him every now and then or bought him presents on holidays to nurture a father-son bond, it wouldn't have come to this—Yaoguang returning like he's visiting a stranger's house.* Yet he quickly suppressed the thought. Regardless, Su Yaoguang was a member of the Su family. Blood ties made them natural allies and friends. That was why Yaoguang had chosen to approach the Su family first. Now, all the Su family needed to do was demonstrate sufficient sincerity, win him over, and foster his sense of belonging to the clan... With his astonishing potential of becoming a Grandmaster at nineteen, he had a real chance of reaching Martial Saint in the future! If he truly became a Martial Saint... the Su family would inevitably ascend to an aristocratic clan! "Good, good, good!" At that thought, Su Chiming could not help uttering the word three times in succession. "How do you wish to cooperate?" As soon as he asked, he felt the phrasing was inappropriate and immediately corrected himself: "We are family. Why stand on ceremony? As long as you don't lead the Su family into outright rebellion, the entire family will belong to you in the future anyway. What's the point of talking about cooperation?" Listening from the side, Leng Jun felt no objection whatsoever. A nineteen-year-old Grandmaster. As a martial artist, he understood the immense weight of that status better than anyone. Even if Yaoguang never broke through the Grandmaster bottleneck to enter the inhuman realm, so what? But if he took another step forward on the path of a Grandmaster... he alone would be equivalent to an aristocratic clan. A single individual could outweigh the entire Su family. Under such circumstances, what was wrong with the old patriarch decisively placing all his bets on him? It made absolute sense. "One thing at a time," Yaoguang said. "I am here to discuss cooperation with the Su family as a Grandmaster, not as a family member." "It's all the same, all the same." Su Chiming smiled and walked over to Yaoguang. "Come, come, have a seat. This is your own home—please don't be formal or treat us like outsiders." Yet... Yaoguang did not move. Instead, he looked at Su Chiming calmly. "I haven't set foot in the Su family for over a decade. Clan Head Su, do you know why I came today?" Hearing this, Su Chiming quickly pondered the matter. *The reason? Because he achieved Grandmaster and gained the confidence to stand before us?* *Did he secure the backing of the Zhang family?* *Or did he join some powerful organization?* Countless possibilities flashed through his mind. Yet he dismissed them just as quickly. If Yaoguang had joined a powerful organization or obtained the Zhang family's support, he wouldn't have come to Buzhou Group alone today. If it wasn't an external factor, then it was internal... *Is Su Huaifeng dying?* *Or...* "Su Xiangyang?" Leng Jun suddenly interjected. "Did you come because of Su Xiangyang?" With that prompt, Su Chiming, who had already formed a vague line of thought, caught on immediately. Su Xiangyang. If he remembered correctly, not long ago Su Xiangyang had hired a group of people to assassinate Yaoguang, only for that entire group to vanish without a trace. The outside world assumed the Su family had intervened, but as clan head, Su Chiming knew their disappearance had nothing to do with the family. Connecting that to the Grandmaster strength Yaoguang had just displayed... their fate was painfully obvious. Then the purpose of Yaoguang's visit... "Do you object to the Family Disciplinary Hall's handling of the matter?" Su Chiming asked. "What do you think?" Yaoguang countered. Su Chiming took a deep breath. Thinking of the passive, precarious position Su Xiangyang's reckless actions had brought upon Buzhou Group, combined with the sheer weight of a nineteen-year-old Grandmaster... In mere moments, he made his decision. "I understand," Su Chiming said in a deep voice. "His actions indeed crossed the line. I understand your anger. I leave this matter entirely to you. Whatever the outcome, I will not intervene." Clearly, these words meant that whether Su Xiangyang lived or died rested solely in Yaoguang's hands. "Oh?" Yaoguang was slightly surprised. This Old Patriarch Su possessed remarkable resolve. Cutting ties decisively when the situation demanded it. Yet a moment later, he understood. Without such boldness, decisiveness—and even ruthlessness—the Su family could never have flourished in his hands, growing from a minor clan after the end of the Era of Turmoil into one of the prominent powers in Tiannan Province today. "Though whatever you do to him is what he deserves, still..." Su Chiming chose his words carefully, offering gentle advice: "Regardless, he is your younger brother after all... I only hope that when you make your decision, you weigh it carefully, so you never have cause to regret it in the future." "You worry too much," Yaoguang replied. "I will not lay a hand on him. Those who kill shall themselves be killed; the law will pass judgment on his deeds." *The law?* Su Chiming's expression turned slightly odd. Soon, however, he grasped Yaoguang's meaning... If the Su family chose not to intervene, under the law, Su Xiangyang would face capital punishment anyway. Furthermore, if the Su family willingly cast Su Xiangyang aside to uphold justice over kinship, it would even bolster a positive public image for Buzhou Group. With that, he nodded. "I understand." "Then next, let's discuss the terms of our cooperation," Yaoguang said, pausing briefly before adding, "More precisely, a transaction. A commercial transaction." Although the word 'transaction' left a bitter taste in Su Chiming's mouth, he understood that the relationship between them was too estranged after all. Everything had to be taken one step at a time. Gesturing for Yaoguang to sit, he asked, "How do you wish to cooperate?" "The Su family will invest resources and funds to fully support my breakthrough to Martial Saint. Once I achieve Martial Saint, I will ensure the safety and protection of the Su family," Yaoguang said. "No problem," Su Chiming agreed without hesitation. "Even if you hadn't brought it up, we would do everything in our power to help your martial cultivation advance." Having said that, he looked at Yaoguang. "You don't need to feel pressured, either. As head of the Su family, I offer this support to a clan junior willingly. Even if in the future... I am only speaking of a remote possibility... even if you fail to reach Martial Saint, the Su family will not demand the slightest extra return on its investment." Yaoguang glanced at Su Chiming. Whatever his motives were, hearing those words still brought a measure of satisfaction. "Good," Yaoguang nodded. "Then, without disrupting the operations of the Su family and Buzhou Group, how much initial investment capital can you provide?" "Are you in a rush?" Su Chiming asked. "If it's urgent, I can transfer six hundred million in cash to you immediately! If not, give me three months. In three months, the total value of assets under your name will not be less than five billion!" "Six hundred million won't affect operations?" "A little, but nothing substantial," Su Chiming replied. "Of course, if it's three hundred million, there will be no impact at all." "Then let's start with three hundred million." "Done. Give me an account, and three hundred million will be transferred to you within twenty-four hours," Su Chiming said decisively. Yaoguang nodded. He stood up and extended his hand. "A pleasure doing business."