"Hold on, hold on!" Seeing the three great demon kings pounce toward them, Mi Qi hastily raised his hand and shouted.
"Wait!" Yang Kai also barked out.
The three great demon kings froze in their tracks, but they had already surrounded Li Jiao and Mi Qi completely, their demonic energy enveloping the area and leaving no room for escape.
Cold sweat slid down their cheeks and dripped onto the ground with audible plops.
Yang Kai fixed his gaze on the two of them and spoke: "Sect Master Mi, do you have any last words? This Palace Master is merciful and magnanimous—I'll grant you a few more breaths of life!"
So now he was asking for last words… Mi Qi's face darkened. Suppressing the nervousness in his heart, he said in a panicked voice: "Palace Master Yang, Brother Li and I aren't trying to renege on the debt, nor do we have any intention of breaking the bet. It's true, we don't have that much wager—we truly shouldn't have agreed to such a massive bet with Palace Master Yang. But now that things have reached this point, even if you kill us, you won't gain anything from it!"
"Indeed, indeed! If you kill us, those five billion Source Crystals will be gone for good, and you'll also make mortal enemies of our Lilong Palace and Mitian Sect."
"I wiped out the Wenqing Sect—do you think I'm afraid of your Lilong Palace and Mitian Sect?" Yang Kai sneered with disdain. However, he still stroked his chin, putting on a show of serious contemplation. After a long while, he nodded: "But you're not wrong about that. Keep talking—whether you live or die depends on how well you can persuade me."
Mi Qi breathed an enormous sigh of relief, knowing his life was safe for the moment. But he also understood that if he couldn't convince Yang Kai to let them go, their lives would certainly end here today.
After a moment of deliberation, he organized his words and said: "Although Brother Li and I can't produce that many Source Crystals right now, we can still scrape together a portion."
"How much?" Yang Kai asked in a deep voice.
"F… five hundred million?" Mi Qi asked tentatively.
Li Jiao nodded: "Five hundred million is doable."
"Are you treating me like a beggar?" Yang Kai snorted coldly. "The Source Crystals I found in the Wenqing Sect's treasury alone exceeded five hundred million! If you dare offer five hundred million again, I'll kill you right now. I'd rather forfeit those five billion Source Crystals."
"One billion, one billion!" Mi Qi hastily corrected himself, then added: "We truly can't offer any more than that. Any more, and we really can't produce it."
This was already his Mitian Sect's bottom line. A billion—he would probably need to liquidate some assets just to scrape that together.
"Is Palace Master Li of the same mind?" Yang Kai cast a cold glance at Li Jiao.
Li Jiao said uneasily: "Yes, yes. A billion is the absolute maximum we can gather."
"A billion, then…" Yang Kai paced back and forth, thought for a moment, and nodded: "A billion will do."
Li Jiao and Mi Qi were overjoyed.
Before they could speak, Yang Kai continued: "But that still leaves one and a half billion short. How do you two plan to repay the rest?"
"This…" Li Jiao and Mi Qi were momentarily at a loss for words, unsure how to respond.
Yang Kai said: "This Palace Master happens to have a solution. I don't know if you two would be willing to hear it."
"Please enlighten us, Palace Master Yang!" Li Jiao and Mi Qi looked at Yang Kai together.
"If you don't have enough Source Crystals, make up the difference with treasures. I'm certain your sects' treasuries contain no shortage of rare and precious artifacts. And since my Lingxiao Palace was only recently established, we're in dire need of cultivation resources. I'll value one Emperor-grade artifact at ten million high-grade Source Crystals, so one and a half billion comes to one hundred and fifty artifacts."
"One hundred and fifty Emperor-grade artifacts?!"
"Only ten million high-grade Source Crystals for one Emperor-grade artifact?!"
Mi Qi and Li Jiao both cried out in shock, cursing inwardly. They had known all along that Yang Kai would seize this opportunity to fleece them mercilessly, but they hadn't expected the blade to fall so deep. This was outright robbery!
Since when was an Emperor-grade artifact worth only ten million high-grade Source Crystals? Even the most inferior Emperor-grade artifact couldn't possibly be worth so little. And one hundred and fifty artifacts—the number itself was terrifying. Even if both great sects mobilized their entire forces, they couldn't possibly find that many Emperor-grade artifacts.
"If you don't have Emperor-grade artifacts, Dao Source grade artifacts, Void King grade artifacts—those will do too. Additionally, all manner of spirit flowers, rare herbs, and precious minerals—as long as it's cultivation resources, this Palace Master will gladly accept it all." Yang Kai waved his hand grandly, looking as if he were being perfectly reasonable.
Li Jiao and Mi Qi's faces had turned as dark as the bottom of a wok. If Yang Kai got his way, wouldn't both great sects be completely emptied? What would happen to their disciples' cultivation then? And how could they possibly face the many elders and disciples back at their sects?
"That's impossible, impossible…" Li Jiao was nearly in tears. "Palace Master Yang, please have mercy!"
Mi Qi also said: "Palace Master Yang, you're trying to pull the firewood from under the cauldron—you'll destroy both our sects!"
Yang Kai's expression turned cold: "This Palace Master has already given you a chance, and you refuse to cherish it. Now you dare blame me?"
Mi Qi and Li Jiao were both rendered speechless.
With a sigh, Yang Kai said: "As Brother Ji said earlier, we're all martial artists of the Northern Region. We'll be running into each other constantly in the future—I'd feel rather embarrassed going too far."
You? Embarrassed? Li Jiao and Mi Qi thought with utter contempt.
"How about this—this Palace Master has another proposal. If that doesn't work either, then you two shall remain here today, and your sects can come to ransom you. Once they've gathered enough Source Crystals, I'll let you leave."
"Please speak, Palace Master Yang."
Although they knew Yang Kai's proposal was sure to be something terrible, it was still better than him resorting to force outright. There was no harm in hearing him out.