Jiang Xingye's private lounge.
Jiang Xingye sat in front of the computer screen, his cloudy eyes fixed on the scarlet webpage.
It displayed a large number of recruitment and mercenary information. The lowest cultivation level was a third-rank异士 (yi shi), with a price of one million.
On this webpage, one 异士's information was pinned to the top. They had no name, no origin, not even a photo.
There was only one line of text:
"Eighth-rank 异士, 500 billion USD per engagement."
An eighth-rank 异士 was capable of cleaving mountains and rivers, moving mountains and filling seas, and could annihilate a nation single-handedly!
A seventh-rank 异士 was a national treasure, possessing the courage to hold off ten thousand.
A well-utilized seventh-rank 异士 could possess deterrence comparable to nuclear weapons!
Currently, in China, there had been no eighth-rank 异士 making public appearances for a century. The ninth-rank Red Dust Immortal was a legend of several centuries past!
Yet, on the website of this Red Dust Pavilion, there was an eighth-rank 异士 with a clearly marked price...
Five hundred billion USD was a colossal sum for the entire nation of China. Looking at the entire world, perhaps not even the wealthiest on the surface could produce such an amount of money!
However, if a certain giant family were to produce this immense wealth and hire this eighth-rank 异士, the destructive power generated would be unimaginable.
Nuclear weapons could be intercepted, but an eighth-rank 异士, a mobile nuclear weapon, was something no country in the world could withstand an attack from.
Although the Red Dust Pavilion listed an eighth-rank 异士, since its establishment, no one had ever hired that mysterious eighth-rank 异士. There had only been a few transactions in history for hiring seventh-rank 异士s for tens of billions of USD.
Some even rumored on the Red Dust Pavilion forum that the Pavilion Master of the Red Dust Pavilion was the eighth-rank 异士 listed.
Jiang Xingye's arms trembled incessantly, his forehead covered in sweat, as he browsed the seventh-rank 异士 interface.
Unlike the sole eighth-rank 异士, the Red Dust Pavilion had many seventh-rank 异士s available for hire, with most even having detailed personal information. However, the starting price for hiring each seventh-rank 异士 was ten billion USD. Jiang Xingye, selling his entire Jiang family, would barely be enough to hire a seventh-rank 异士 once.
But Jiang Xingye had no choice but to hire...
Mo Jie, a sixth-rank 异士, had been forced to self-destruct by the intruder. This indicated that the intruder's strength was above Mo Jie's, possibly even a legendary seventh-rank master!
Even if the great serpent outside were awakened, it might not be able to hold Ye Ling for long.
The only way to save his life now was to select the closest seventh-rank 异士 from the Red Dust Pavilion and have the powerful individual come to kill Ye Ling!
"Damn it! Damn it! Why are they all so far away?"
Jiang Xingye no longer cared about the price, frantically searching for a seventh-rank 异士 who could arrive within ten minutes...
Unfortunately, Jiang Xingye had flipped through more than half of the list on the webpage. Those seventh-rank 异士s were either cultivating in deep mountains and forests or carrying out missions in some small country. He couldn't find anyone suitable.
"Wait, this one!"
Just as Jiang Xingye was about to finish flipping through the list of seventh-rank 异士s, he suddenly spotted a seventh-rank 异士 located right in Jiang City!
"Green Leaf Sword Venerate Ye Qingyan, seventh-rank Sword Immortal... currently in Qingye Town... Hiring price 12 billion USD. It's her!"
Jiang Xingye felt that this name was somewhat familiar, but the situation was urgent, so he didn't think much of it and placed the order directly!
"Esteemed client, we are now confirming your order."
At this moment, a pleasant female voice came from the computer, confirming with Jiang Xingye: "Client Jiang Xingye, you have placed an order to hire Green Leaf Sword Venerate Ye Qingyan. Are you sure?"
"Yes! Hurry! Have her come over immediately!"
Jiang Xingye clicked the confirmation button without hesitation, glancing at the tightly shut door, his entire body drenched in sweat.
"Order confirmed. Verifying assets now, please wait." Da Feng Novel Network.
"Jiang Xingye, legal representative of Jiang Group, owner of a castle and enterprises... Total value 13 billion USD. Sufficient payment capacity. Do you confirm the order?"
"Confirm! Confirm! Have her come as fast as possible!" Jiang Xingye's eyes reddened, and he roared hoarsely.
To save his life, he had handed over all of the Jiang family's assets.
"Okay, order transaction information has been sent. Ye Qingyan has confirmed and will arrive at the scene shortly. We wish you a peaceful life."
As the pleasant female voice finished speaking, the computer screen in front of Jiang Xingye turned off, and the USB drive instantly self-destructed.
After completing this transaction, Jiang Xingye's assets had significantly shrunk, and the Jiang family no longer had the qualification to enter the Red Dust Pavilion.
The USB drive that granted access to the Red Dust Pavilion would naturally not be left behind.
Looking at the closed screen, Jiang Xingye collapsed onto his chair, feeling utterly empty.
To hire someone, he had sold out the foundational business accumulated by his ancestors. Although he still had one billion USD left, his Jiang family... had completely fallen out of the ranks of the elite.
Creak—
At this moment, the lounge door was pushed open. Jiang Xingye jolted up from his seat, looking at Ye Ling standing at the doorway in terror.
"You, you..."
Jiang Xingye's muscles tensed. He didn't even dare to breathe deeply, fearing that Ye Ling would take his head before Ye Qingyan arrived.
Ye Ling's gaze slightly narrowed upon seeing the burnt USB drive on the computer host. He then looked at Jiang Xingye and said, "Mr. Jiang, can we talk properly?"
"What do you want to talk about?"
Jiang Xingye stared intently at Ye Ling and said in a deep voice, "Wen Chun, Wu Hong, Tian Hao, and Xiao Yue, you killed them all, didn't you? You even took my father Jiang Xu's soul!"
"The Jiang family was wiped out, every last member. What is there to talk about?"
Ye Ling chuckled, "It seems Mr. Jiang is quite well-informed. You even know about Jiang Shanyue, who only died last night."
"It really was you!"
Seeing Ye Ling openly admit it, Jiang Xingye's eyes widened. He glared fiercely at Ye Ling, gritting his teeth, "I will make you die!!!"
Before, Jiang Xingye had only suspected that Ye Ling was responsible, as the deaths of Jiang Wen Chun and the others had not been clearly investigated, nor had the killer been found.
Now that Ye Ling had openly admitted it, it almost made Jiang Xingye spit out a mouthful of old blood!
He was already old, nearing his twilight years, and should have been enjoying his retirement. Now that his descendants had been slaughtered, how could he be content?
"Make me die? On what grounds?"
Ye Ling looked at Jiang Xingye and smiled lightly, not immediately inquiring about the Red Dust Pavilion.
The destruction of the Ye family was orchestrated by the Jiang family.
And the head of the Jiang family was this Jiang Xingye.
Now that his enemy was before him, and his life was in his hands, how could Ye Ling easily end Jiang Xingye's life?
"On what grounds?"
Jiang Xingye's body trembled. He shakily rose from his chair, staring coldly at Ye Ling, and said sternly, "On the grounds that I spent 12 billion USD to buy your life!!!"
Boom!
A sword light descended from the sky, slicing the room in half as if it were cutting tofu!
The pressure of a seventh-rank 异士 reverberated through the room. A white jade longsword fell, embedding itself in front of Ye Ling.
"This venerable one is the Green Leaf Sword Venerate Ye Qingyan. I request your guidance, sir."
A light and ethereal female voice sounded in Ye Ling's ear, causing his eyes to change slightly.
Ye Ling looked up and saw a woman with her hair tied up, wearing a white shirt and blue jeans, descending from the cracked ceiling, blocking in front of Jiang Xingye.
Ye Qingyan made a beckoning gesture with one hand, and the white jade longsword in front of Ye Ling slightly trembled and flew into her hand.
The precious sword sang, and sword energy crisscrossed the air, turning all the objects in the room into fragments!
Ye Ling stared blankly at Ye Qingyan. He opened his mouth, stunned for a long time before coming to his senses, and said, "Aunt?"
He never would have imagined...
That this Green Leaf Sword Venerate Ye Qingyan was precisely his aunt, Lin Yu's mother...
Ye Qin!