"Do you think threatening someone with something like this is how a gentleman should act?" Gong Qinyin asked resentfully.
"Heh, that's not a threat. It is merely an expression of my love to you." Wen Jinnuo smiled and said confidently, "In any case, your Gong Clan is intending to form a connection with our Wen Clan through marriage, right?"
"If that is the cost, I would rather give up on that thing. I will never compromise," Gong Qinyin spat before standing up to leave.
"Leave and your name will be erased from the Cloud Margin Pavilion's list. Do you want to give it a try?" Wen Jinnuo sneered.
"You are pushing it too far!" Gong Qinyin said furiously.
"Just be my woman already, Qinyin. Do you think that I'm actually not worthy of you? I am stronger than you, and my clan is stronger than yours. Become my woman, and we shall work together to become a powerful pair that everyone will be envious of. Won't that be a beautiful future?" Wen Jinnuo said longingly.
Gong Qinyin's expression kept shifting until she eventually said, "You are worthy of me, but I am not worthy of you."
She then left without saying anything else.
Wen Jinnuo blocked her path and said with a low voice, "Are you giving up on the millennium earthcore fire? That is not a flame you can easily find. Without it, I'm afraid the old man of your clan will depart the mortal world very soon."
Millennium earthcore fire! Although Wen Jinnuo was speaking in a low voice that was hardly audible to anyone else, Xiang Shaoyun was able to hear everything clearly with his gift of instincts.
A unique flame was exactly what he was looking for at the moment. He needed it to refine the Overlord Skyslaying Saber and smelt the heavenly eye stone to extract the heavenly eye liquid from within. When he heard about the millennium earthcore fire, he couldn't keep calm anymore.
The millennium earthcore fire was a unique flame that would only form after 1,000 years of existence. From the amount of time it required to form, one could imagine how powerful the flame was.
It was at this moment that Wen Hong arrived with some other people for Xiang Shaoyun. He came in a group of three, and even the Wen Clan leader was part of the group. When Wen Jinnuo, who was speaking with Gong Qinyin, saw them, he quickly stood up in excitement and greeted them deferentially. "Greetings, father and the two elders."
"What are you doing here instead of cultivating in the pavilion?" questioned the clan leader unhappily.
"Father, I've just returned from a training trip and met Qinyin by coincidence. We are having a meal here," said Wen Jinnuo.
The clan leader glanced at Gong Qinyin. The latter quickly stepped forward and saluted him, "Gong Qinyin of Gong Clan pays the Wen Clan leader her respects."
"Haha, so it is a niece from the Gong Clan? It has been quite a while since I last saw you. Look at you all grown up and beautiful now. You have grown very well!" said the clan leader with a smile. He paused for a bit and continued, "Alright, continue. We have business to attend."
"Clan leader, there he is," said Wen Hong as he pointed at Xiang Shaoyun.
The Wen Clan group then walked toward Xiang Shaoyun's table. Wen Jinnuo and Gong Qinyin were naturally not qualified to go with them. When they looked over, they were astonished to find that the clan leader actually had business with the people who were previously seated near them.
"Mister, this is our clan leader. He will be personally handling the negotiation. May we move to a private room now?" Wen Hong said in a friendly manner.
Both Xiang Shaoyun and Mo Mo stood up and greeted the Wen Clan people. Xiang Shaoyun was able to sense that the clan leader was a King Realm cultivator, one that was likely to be far stronger than a regular King Realm cultivator.
"Let's book a private room in this restaurant to continue the talk," said the clan leader. When he saw that Xiang Shaoyun and Mo Mo were both only Transformation Realm cultivators, he started to think less of them.
"There is no need for that. Just offer a price. If it is a price we find agreeable, we can stay in touch and complete the transaction," said Xiang Shaoyun in a straightforward manner. He had no interest in wasting too much time on this. In any case, he could see from the clan leader's eyes that he was looking down on them.
"This—" Wen Hong wanted to say something, but the clan leader interrupted him, "That is fine. If you really have some top-quality goldsteel stones with you, we are willing to pay 500 low-grade spirit crystals for each catty of top-quality goldsteel stone. We will buy everything you have."
Xiang Shaoyun's face fell. He said, "Looks like the clan leader is not sincere in wanting to buy the stone after all. Fine, I won't be selling it then."
Top-quality goldsteel stone was a true emperor-grade material. On the market, each catty would be worth at least 1,000 spirit crystals. But this person was only offering half the market price. Where was his sincerity?
Xiang Shaoyun was no idiot. He knew better than anyone else here the real value of the top-quality goldsteel stone. Since this person was looking down on him that much, there was no point for him to be courteous. Wen Hong had not expected his clan leader to offer such a low price either. It was not what the clan leader had promised when they were on their way here.
"Haha, you should be honored that this clan leader is even bothering to talk to you. The price I offer is a good price. If you refuse, well, you would need to be on the lookout for yourself after this," said the clan leader with a sneer. He then added, "Crime rate in Cloud Margin City has been increasing as of late. A missing person every now and then is a common occurrence."
After saying that, he directly turned and left, placing Wen Hong in an awkward position. After a slight hesitation, he left as well.
Wen Jinnuo and Gong Qinyin remained, with Wen Jinnuo looking at Xiang Shaoyun with a toying expression. He said, "I don't know who you are, but I advise you to do as told. Otherwise, you won't be able to leave Cloud Margin City alive."
"Haha, if I had known that the Wen Clan is such a clan, I wouldn't have bothered wasting my breath talking with you people," Xiang Shaoyun sneered as well. He then spoke to Gong Qinyin, "Miss, it is better to keep your distance from a person who looks decent but is in fact immoral like this. Otherwise, you will have your life ruined by him."
Wen Jinnuo pointed at Xiang Shaoyun and furiously berated, "Are you courting death?"
If they weren't currently in the restaurant, he would have attacked directly. This fellow dared to sow dissent right in front of his face?
"Hah, try touching me if you have the guts," Xiang Shaoyun provoked.
"Big words. If you have the guts, don't leave the restaurant. Or else, you won't live to see the sun tomorrow," declared Wen Jinnuo. He then pulled Gong Qinyin and left, but Gong Qinyin broke off from his hold and said, "Don't touch me!"
"You will pay for this, whore!" Wen Jinnuo scolded. He then shot Xiang Shaoyun a final glare before leaving.
"Young master, what should we do? The Wen Clan is a local tyrant," asked Mo Mo anxiously.
"Don't worry. Everything will be fine," replied Xiang Shaoyun in an uncaring manner.
"If you don't mind, I will be able to help you leave the city," offered Gong Qinyin kindly.
Just for the words Xiang Shaoyun had said earlier, she felt responsible to help the two before her. For some reason, she kept feeling that the man before her was familiar, but she couldn't recall where she had seen him before.