Sovereign of the Three Realms

Luo Tianshu felt the carpet pulled out from beneath his feet and that he was free falling down an endless abyss. How could this be? For the past half year, the young lord’s promised Pinecrane Pill had been at the foremost of his mind. Fifty kilograms of True Heavensfall Iron was good for one Pinecrane Pill — well, they had two hundred kilograms worth! That represented four Pinecrane Pills!

Luo Tianshu felt his blood froth whenever he thought about this. When he took the news back to his sectmaster, Wei Lang had been so surprised that he hardly knew how to react. Once he finally got over his agitation, he decided to pay a personal visit with the material.

But the sad pity was that this round trip ended up costing them half a year. They were a step too slow, young lord Zhen no longer needed it. Both Nirana Sect representatives looked downcast, finding it difficult to hide the disappointment in their eyes.

“Young lord Zhen, my specimen is really quite different. Please take a look at it, no matter what. Perhaps you might find it extraordinary?” Wei Lang decided to take the initiative and hauled out a hunk of iron, about the size of a watermelon, from his storage ring.

It really was an impressive piece of True Heavensfall Iron. Jiang Chen maintained a bland smile on his face and flicked a look at the hunk that Wei Lang was offering. His eyes almost popped out of his head when he did so.

It was indeed what he was looking for, but the size and purity of the specimen completely exceeded his expectations!

Thankfully he had a good grip on his emotions. Although he was shocked beyond belief, he still maintained a completely indifferent demeanor. He hefted the chunk of iron for a bit. What a good site, this is really a good item! This True Heavensfall Iron is exceedingly high quality. This luster, this purity… two hundred kilograms of this is worth five hundred of typical quality!

Jiang Chen fell in love with the iron as soon as he looked at it. In actuality, he hadn’t gotten his hands on any iron. It was all a negotiating tactic. The Nirvana Sect had come knocking on his door, proving that they dearly wished to conclude the transaction. Since he knew of their ardent desire, he was in much less of a hurry.

He had a feeling that this chunk of iron would still end up in his hands, and that he wouldn’t need to pay such a high price to obtain it.

He admired it for a moment and then smiled, putting it down. “It’s a fine item alright. I would’ve bought it without hesitation during the Dragon and Tiger Meet. But money is spent when there’s a need. Now that I already have it, my need for it has greatly decreased and so has the price I’m willing to pay for it. Gentlemen, perhaps you can consider selling it to someone else who needs it?” Jiang Chen smiled faintly and flicked a glance at Wei Lang.

The sectmaster was incredibly depressed. He exchanged a regretful look with Luo Tianshu.

“Young lord Zhen, how much do you think this True Heavensfall Iron is worth?” To be honest, the Nirvana Sect might have this chunk of metal, but they hadn’t known what it was before and what it could be used for.

They only had a vague guess that it was material for refining weapons, and high level material at that. It was probably sky rank, but they had no idea what it’s true value was. If it hadn’t been for Jiang Chen mentioning it during the Dragon and Tiger Meet, they never would’ve thought that their sect would have something so valuable.

If the transaction concluded at the rate that the young lord had promised before, four Pinecrane Pills were a sky high price! One pill had gone for 1.61 billion saint spirit stones during the auction, so four would be almost 7 billion stones!

The Nirvana Sect was a second rank sect, so their wealth would certainly amount to that much, but they still couldn’t easily take out so much money at one time. That was the same for most second rank sects as well. Only a first rank sect or a paramount faction like the Veluriyam Capital would be able to afford this level of spending!

Jiang Chen almost burst out laughing when he heard such a clueless question. This sect head is so naively cute. The silly question almost imparted a sense of guilt to Jiang Chen, as if he would be bullying a fool if he kept the price too low.

“Young lord Zhen…” Wei Lang sighed softly. “Just like you say, money is spent when there’s a need. This is priceless to someone who needs it, but a rock to someone who doesn’t know it. I wouldn’t want to trouble two people for the same matter. Since we’ve come, we’d like to trade this item to you. I feel that it will show its truest value in your hands and turn the ordinary into the ethereal. Please give a price if you will. I won’t turn it down no matter what it is.”

Jiang Chen hadn’t expected Wei Lang to be so straightforward. He’d thought the sectmaster was a bit of a fool, but that didn’t seem to be the case after all. The sectmaster may not be the smartest, but he was advancing through retreating and kicking the difficult question to Jiang Chen.

Wei Lang had a general understanding of Jiang Chen’s personality thanks to Luo Tianshu. He knew that the young lord wasn’t a blackhearted person. This was why he’d had the inclination to have the young lord set the price instead.

“That’s right, young lord Zhen. My sectmaster greatly admires you after hearing of your exploits. Our relationship will still stand even if the transaction doesn’t go through. My sectmaster really does hold you in high regard and would like to strike up a friendship with you. But perhaps our sect isn’t at a high enough level…”

Jiang Chen waved a hand. “Gentlemen, I don’t consider status and backgrounds when making friends. I care only for sincerity and mutuality.”

Wei Lang hastened to agree. “Right, right. The young lord is generous and not overly caught up in the details. One can tell that the young lord has vast ambitions after observing your treatment of wandering cultivators. You’re not one to get overly caught up in unnecessary and overelaborate formalities.”

Jiang Chen smiled. “Sectmaster Wei, though you compliment me and this True Heavensfall Item is indeed wonderful, I can’t give you the original price.”

Four Pinecrane Pills? Jiang Chen naturally didn’t want to pay that. He was short on the pills and even though he had a few left, he still owed a few pills to the wandering great emperors. Without the Goldencrown Cloudcrane, he had no way of refining more. He was coasting off of the original cauldron of nine he’d refined.

Wei Lang offered a cupped fist salute. “Young lord Zhen, I’m not the type to hem and haw and be unable to make up my mind. I’d like to be friends! So please name your price.”

Jiang Chen didn’t hold back any longer, seeing how resolute the sectmaster was. “Since this is the case, I’ll make an offer. I know Sectmaster Wei must have had a Pinecrane Pill in mind during this long trip.”

The sectmaster blushed but still nodded.

“Then let’s do it this way. I’ll trade your True Heavensfall Iron in return for a Pinecrane Pill and two Emperor Ascension Pills. What say you?”

“Emperor Ascension Pills? What are those?” Wei Lang drew a blank. He was born of Swordfield Mid Region after all, not a core Upper Eight Region. He did indeed lack a bit of knowledge.

“The Emperor Ascension Pill will unequivocally grant you one higher level in the emperor realm. How do you think its value compares to the Pinecrane Pill?”

“Ah?!” Both Wei Lang and Luo Tianshu couldn’t sit still. They jumped up as if there were pins on their chairs.

“Young lord Zhen, you mean a guaranteed level in the emperor realm? Does such a pill exist in the world?” Wei Lang was a notable person in his region, being at seventh level emperor realm. He might not command in the wind and rains in his region, but no one dared defy him apart from some secluded old monsters.

And now, a great figure in the Swordfield Mid Region was jumping up and down like a three year old.

Luo Tianshu was also trembling all over. Their voices thundered and set off explosions in his mind, filling his thoughts with daydreams.

“Well, gentlemen? Do we have a deal?” Jiang Chen smiled.

Wei Lang and Luo Tianshu looked at each other and chorused without another moment of thought. “Yes, absolutely! Young lord Zhen, are you joking with us?”

“I never joke about business.”

The two were delighted, and Wei Lang pushed the hunk of metal over. “Young lord Zhen, this is yours from now on.”

Jiang Chen smiled. “Please wait a moment.”

He went inside to make some preparations and came back out with two pill bottles. “Gentlemen, this is one Pinecrane Pill and two Emperor Ascension Pills. You may check the goods first.”

During this half year of seclusion, he’d had the time to refine some pills as well as achieve cultivation breakthrough. He hadn’t had time to refine Emperor Supremacy Pills, but had time to produce two cauldronfuls of the somewhat easier Emperor Ascension Pills. He had twenty some Eight Treasure Cordyceps after all, there was no fear of failure.

The two cauldronfuls had given him quite a haul at thirty pills, which allowed him to easily offer some to others. The Emperor Supremacy Pill was higher level and he had two of the Heavencloud Ganoderma. He wasn’t in a rush to try anything before he was ready.

Wei Lang and Luo Tianshu were beside themselves. The hands clutching the pill bottles shook slightly. They were different from the Upper Eight Region heavyweights. Although they’d seen some fine items in this life, they’d never seen anything at the peak. And now, they were holding some of the best pills in the world that even Pillfire City couldn’t refine! How could they not be excited?!

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Grandfather of wuxia, Jin Yong, passes away at 94 years old Close

A titan, forefather, and legend of the wuxia scene passed away today. Jin Yong, author of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, The Deer and the Cauldron, Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, to name just a few, has gone off in search of new adventures in the jianghu.

He’s one of the most popular wuxia authors out there, with 15 works written between 1955 and 1972 that’ve sold over 100 million copies worldwide. Considering that his books were written half a century ago, it’s stunning to think that they’re still spawning adaptations,...

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