Yin Lesheng had brought upon himself such a formidable foe — his death was his own fault. Painful as it was, who told him to not open his eyes and look carefully? What was worse, he had dragged the Yellow Springs Sect into losing two Emperor Realm elders and a Vice Sect Master.
This time, the Yellow Springs Sect's losses were truly severe.
Fu Bo had concluded that it was Luan Feng who had killed those people, and he harbored no thoughts of seeking revenge. His attitude had softened considerably. What worried him most now was whether the other side would let the matter rest. If they were unwilling to let big problems become small and small problems disappear, then the Yellow Springs Sect would face yet another catastrophe.
An Emperor Realm powerhouse coming in person was no joke. One wrong move, and the Yellow Springs Sect could very well be struck from the Star Boundary's records entirely.
Yang Kai gave a light snort. "Yin Lesheng provoked me time and again. I, this young master, am naturally magnanimous — I already showed him mercy once in the Shattered Star Sea and let him go. Yet he still harbored delusions of seeking trouble with me, causing me no small amount of distress…"
The guy's already dead — what distress could you possibly have?! The one truly in distress is me, you bastard! Fu Bo seethed inwardly but didn't dare retort.
"As the saying goes, if a child is not taught properly, it is the father's fault. A teacher for a day is a father for life. Though Yin Lesheng is dead, you, as his master, bear no small responsibility. Had you taught him well, he wouldn't have been so stubborn and narrow-minded!"
There it was — the matter had inevitably implicated the Yellow Springs Sect, implicated himself.
Though he had long anticipated this, hearing Yang Kai say those words still filled Fu Bo with deep resentment. He wished he had never taken Yin Lesheng as a disciple. But things had already reached this point — there was no escape even if he wanted one.
"What exactly does the honorable sir wish?" Fu Bo sighed.
Luan Feng stood behind Yang Kai, her phoenix eyes fixed on him with an unblinking stare that made his scalp tingle. He feared that one wrong word would anger her and give her an excuse to act.
Yang Kai snorted. "The mental trauma and physical suffering your disciple inflicted upon me are indelible. Even now, the mere memory of it makes my heart race — I can't sleep, I can't eat. Those memories haunt me like evil spirits, impossible to drive away…"
Fu Bo raised his hand to cut him off and said wearily, "Name your price."
He had figured it out. Yang Kai hadn't come to the Yellow Springs Sect to truly destroy it or do anything to him as Sect Master. He had come to extort.
Though it stung, Fu Bo also felt a measure of relief. If paying some price could make the other party back off, that was acceptable. The problem was — that price was unlikely to be small.
Yang Kai shot him an angry sidelong glance. "Vice Sect Master Fu, you underestimate me far too much. You think this young master can be bought off so easily?"
Fu Bo was taken aback. Had he misread the situation? A wave of panic washed over him. He had no idea anymore what Yang Kai actually wanted from the Yellow Springs Sect.
But then Yang Kai shifted tone, stroking his chin as he said, "However… if Vice Sect Master Fu is truly sincere, this young master might not be unwilling to let things rest."
Fu Bo nearly coughed up a mouthful of old blood from rage. Just moments ago, Yang Kai had spoken with such righteous conviction that Fu Bo thought he was a man of principle. Who could have guessed the fox's tail would reveal itself in the blink of an eye.
When all was said and done, he was here to extort after all…
Fu Bo's expression turned ugly. "May I ask how much… sincerity the honorable sir requires?"
Yang Kai said lightly, "If there are, say, tens of millions to a hundred million source crystals, this young master might just forget about those people from your sect causing me trouble. I'd finally be able to sleep peacefully."
"Tens of millions… a hundred million…" Fu Bo startled, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. "Mid-grade source crystals?"
"Ridiculous!" Yang Kai's expression darkened, and he glared at Fu Bo. "It seems Vice Sect Master Fu's sincerity is not yet enough to extinguish my anger! Madam Feng!"
At his sharp call, Luan Feng immediately stepped forward. "What are Mr. Yang's instructions!"
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" The moment Fu Bo saw Luan Feng step forward, he jumped in fright. He hastily raised his hand to stop her, cold sweat pouring down like a waterfall, his posture shrinking visibly. He asked weakly, "Does the honorable sir perhaps mean… high-grade source crystals?"
Yang Kai sneered repeatedly. "Why does Vice Sect Master Fu bother playing dumb when the answer is obvious?"
Fu Bo swallowed hard, finally understanding the size of Yang Kai's appetite.
Tens of millions to a hundred million high-grade source crystals — the Yellow Springs Sect could technically produce that amount, but doing so would cripple them. Though the Yellow Springs Sect was a top-tier sect in the Eastern Region and controlled numerous source crystal veins with considerable annual output, the sect had a vast number of disciples. With such a large operation, the consumption was equally enormous.
If they truly met Yang Kai's demands, the cultivation resources for all disciples would be drastically reduced for years to come.
Fu Bo was furious beyond measure. His sect's Vice Sect Master, two Grand Elders, and even a Personal Disciple had all been killed — and now the killer had the audacity to show up at his doorstep to extort him, opening with an outrageous demand. Anyone in his position would feel the same bitter indignation. But when your fists were smaller than the other fellow's, there was nothing to be done.
Just as Fu Bo hesitated, a voice suddenly came from outside the hall: "Sect Master, Zhou Yong requests an audience!"
"The Grand Elder!" Fu Bo frowned, uncertain why his Grand Elder had come at this particular moment. He was currently in a deeply humiliating position and naturally didn't want others to witness it. But on second thought, another person might bring additional ideas — with the Grand Elder present, perhaps they could recover some of the losses. After all, the Grand Elder was hardly an outsider.
With that thought, Fu Bo called out, "Enter!"
To the side, Yang Kai glanced at Luan Feng, a smile playing at the corner of his lips.