The geniuses in the side hall were still reeling in confusion.
Nie Li glanced at
Managing a battle maniac like Long Yuyin was really just too easy.
Beyond those two goals, Nie Li had also successfully captured the interest of
"Hold on!" Yan Yang suddenly called out, stopping Nie Li.
Everyone looked at Yan Yang in puzzlement. Nie Li had already put the scroll away — what else did Yan Yang want?
Nie Li turned to Yan Yang and asked, "Senior Brother Yan Yang, is there something else?"
"I'd like to purchase this piece of calligraphy. Would Junior Brother Nie Li be willing to part with it? I'm willing to offer one hundred thousand Spirit Stones!" Yan Yang said. He had originally intended to offer fifty thousand Spirit Stones, but after a moment's thought, he decided fifty thousand simply didn't show enough sincerity, so he raised it to one hundred thousand.
Yan Yang was willing to pay one hundred thousand Spirit Stones for the single character Nie Li had just written?
The room erupted. Every genius in the side hall was stunned!
One hundred thousand Spirit Stones for a single character!
Hearing Yan Yang's offer, Nie Li hesitated. One hundred thousand Spirit Stones was no small temptation — after all, it was just a single character. Selling it wouldn't cost him anything. Should he sell it?
Yan Yang's words stunned
Mingyue Wushuang's clear, luminous eyes settled on Nie Li. Although she couldn't find the door to understanding, she could sense the boundless sword intent contained within the character. Bringing it home would absolutely be worth far more than a hundred thousand Spirit Stones!
Seeing Nie Li's prolonged hesitation, Yan Yang spoke again. "If Junior Brother Nie Li is unwilling to sell, then what if I offer one hundred and fifty thousand Spirit Stones? Even though that price still falls far short of this piece's true value, I still hope Junior Brother Nie Li will part with it!"
It was entirely understandable why Yan Yang was so desperate to obtain this character. Nie Li knew its true value all too well. Yan Yang had just grasped a sliver of its meaning before Nie Li rolled it up. Of course he was anxious!
Hearing Yan Yang's words, Long Tianming raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Since Junior Brother Nie Li doesn't want to sell, Senior Brother Yan Yang shouldn't force the issue!" Long Tianming sensed how desperately Yan Yang wanted it — he coveted this character even more than the painting of Ten Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains.
As long as the character remained unsold, Long Tianming had a thousand ways to get his hands on it. He would not let Yan Yang have it.
Nie Li naturally had no intention of letting Long Tianming get his way either. He quickly waved his hands. "Senior Brothers Long and Yan Yang, you're both too kind. I can write dozens of these a day — it's just a piece of calligraphy, after all. If any of you senior brothers and sisters would like one, I can give each of you a copy!"
Hearing Nie Li's words, both Long Tianming and Yan Yang were momentarily stunned. That was right — Nie Li could write many of these in a single day, since he didn't need to invoke his Dao Intention at all while writing!
Although Long Tianming very much didn't want Yan Yang to obtain this particular piece — he had a faint sense that Yan Yang could glean an extremely profound Dao Intention from it — since Nie Li had said he could produce many, there was no way he could prevent Yan Yang from getting one. Long Tianming felt vexed. Was Nie Li simply oblivious, or was he playing dumb?
Yan Yang gave Nie Li a long, searching look. He understood what Nie Li was getting at. It was true that Nie Li could write many such characters, but that didn't diminish the value of this one.
"No matter how many pieces Junior Brother Nie Li can write in a day, I'm still willing to pay one hundred and fifty thousand Spirit Stones," Yan Yang said calmly. This was his way of doing things — when dealing with a gentleman, one should treat him with sincerity. How could Yan Yang simply accept such a precious piece of Nie Li's calligraphy for nothing?
Seeing Yan Yang's utterly serious expression, Nie Li thought it over. He had originally wanted to build goodwill with Yan Yang, and if this was merely a transaction, it would defeat the purpose. After a moment, he said, "How about this — since Senior Brother Yan Yang is willing to pay so many Spirit Stones, I'll gift him another character!"
Nie Li walked back to the table, unfurled the scroll, and with swift, flowing strokes wrote the character "Martial" in the lower right corner. Then he rolled the scroll back up and handed it to
Qin Yue was flattered and accepted the scroll with both hands, carrying it reverently toward Yan Yang.
She had once been somewhat dismissive of Nie Li, but now she couldn't read him at all. A quiet sense of awe had taken root in her heart, and she regarded Nie Li as an equal to the three great figures — Yan Yang, Long Tianming, and Mingyue Wushuang.