The Modern Martial Immortal

Yaoguang coughed, suddenly feeling out of breath.

10 billion. Cash, not assets. This sum was something that even the Su Family could not produce, nor could the entire Buzhou Group. Yet in the next moment, Zong Yan had opened his mouth and offered 100 billion. Was the currency depreciating that fast?

”Did you just say 10 billion?” Zong Yan asked.

”Yes. What I meant was 10 billion aster,” Yaoguang said, faking absolute certainty.

”No problem.” Zong Yan agreed without hesitation. ”The account ending in 8879, right? I’ll make a call and route the money through a special channel. It will be credited within an hour.”

”Alright!” Yaoguang finalized the matter. ”As for the second phase, when I become a martial paragon—”

”If you can become a martial paragon before turning twenty-five, 100 billion aster!” Zong Yan said, then added, ”I can approve this figure directly. Any higher, and I would need to apply for authorization.”

”What about before twenty?” Yaoguang asked.

”Before twenty?” Zong Yan froze for a moment, then shook his head. ”You are underestimating how difficult it is to become a martial paragon. The God-Fiend Body Refinement is easy to enter but extremely difficult to cultivate in essence, and each step upward becomes harder than the last. Becoming a martial paragon at twenty... Looking across several hundred years of the Central Continent, not a single person has managed to do it.”

”I am only asking for the payout,” Yaoguang replied.

Zong Yan stared at him, seeing how serious he looked, and could not help but fall into deep thought. A martial paragon at twenty?! If Yaoguang really managed to do that...Then reaching the seventh realm of the God-Fiend Body Refinement in the future would not be an extravagant hope.

The seventh realm is the real threshold of the world of high-tier cultivators! Such existences are often equivalent to managers of worlds! Even the Crimson Star Empire will never dare offend someone like that lightly.

Although the Crimson Star Empire has great cultivators who have achieved Foundation Building behind it, those great cultivators also have rivals and enemies of their own. If the Crimson Star Empire dares to make a high-tier cultivator an enemy for no reason, then, putting aside the distant future, the current imperial family of the Crimson Star Empire will likely be finished. The weight of such a figure... With that thought, Zong Yan reached a decision.

Although he believed the possibility was abysmal, he still said solemnly, ”If you truly manage to become a Martial Paragon before turning twenty, I am confident I can persuade the other higher-ups to make you the fourth president of the World-Saving Society. The World-Saving Society will spare no effort—”

”Enough with the empty promises. 300 billion aster. Do we do it or not?” Yaoguang said directly.

300 billion was equivalent to half a year of Dayu’s GDP, or three years of national fiscal revenue; it was even enough to buy several conglomerates at the Buzhou Group’s level outright.

In Yaoguang’s estimation, no matter how many forces stood behind the World-Saving Society, it was ultimately a civilian organization. 300 billion aster was already their limit. No matter how wealthy they were, they could not possibly produce such a massive sum on short notice.

Money that could not be produced quickly had little practical meaning, no matter how large the promised figure. Besides, what difference did it make to him whether he became a martial paragon before twenty-five or before twenty?

Even if he slacked off a bit and trained sporadically, three months would still be more than enough to complete blood renewal and marrow cleansing. As long as the World-Saving Society agreed, he would be gaining an extra 200 billion for free!

With the profits from this transaction, his Martial Dao experience would surge explosively. Reaching the seventh tier would be trivial, and even pushing to the eighth tier would not be out of the question. It was an extremely profitable deal!

Yet when Zong Yan heard Yaoguang’s words, his mind filled with question marks. Do you even hear what you’re saying? 300 billion aster? It’s an enormous sum, but who stands behind the World-Saving Society? Dozens of nations, not to mention the top aristocratic families whose wealth rivals entire countries.

If dozens of nations pooled their resources, each contributing ten or twenty billion, they could easily gather 300 billion. 300 billion to sign a twenty-year-old martial paragon, to win over a future high-tier cultivator at the seventh realm of God-Fiend Body Refinement, and to allow the World-Saving Society and the nations behind it to break free from the oppression of Crimson Star Empire? What is that called? An extremely profitable deal!

With that realization, Zong Yan did not hesitate. He answered decisively, ”If you truly become a martial paragon before turning twenty, 300 billion aster will definitely be transferred into your account within three days!”

”Your word on that?” Yaoguang asked.

”Yes. I, Zong Yan, stand by my word! What I say goes!”

”Words alone are not enough. Put it in writing!”

”Agreed. We will sign a contract immediately. No one is allowed to back out!”

”Hurry up and sign!”

”Alright!”

Both of them suddenly became impatient. Each feared that if they moved too slowly, the other might change their mind. Zong Yan worked quickly and soon relayed the news back to World-Saving Society, which had no objections to this wager-like agreement.

If they could secure a twenty-year-old martial paragon for just 300 billion aster, it would be extremely profitable, no matter how they looked at it.

Before long, the contract template was sent over. After both sides checked it and confirmed there were no issues, Zong Yan called over Zhang Tianji to use the teahouse’s equipment to print it out.

Very soon, the agreement was brought over. Neither of them hesitated, signing their names almost immediately.

Although an agreement like this did not carry as much binding force as one might imagine for either side, once it was signed, everything that followed gained legitimacy. The implicit meaning behind it was not something to be underestimated.

After signing, both put the agreement away at the same time. For a moment, Zong Yan glanced at Yaoguang. Yaoguang, sensing his gaze, looked back at Zong Yan.

They smiled at each other in unspoken agreement. At that moment, there was only one thought in their minds. We made a killing.

***

”Pleasant cooperation,” they both said, shaking each other’s hands.

With the deal concluded and both sides now considered allies, Zong Yan’s attitude became noticeably warmer. ”You’re nineteen this year. You still have six months before you turn twenty. As long as you haven’t turned twenty-one, our agreement remains valid. In other words, you still have nearly a year and a half.”

He had effectively relaxed the standard to the edge of what could be considered a loophole.

”I think you should already start preparing the funds,” Yaoguang said. ”Otherwise, you might not be able to gather that much money all at once when the time comes.”

”Don’t worry about that,” Zong Yan replied. ”Even 100 billion aster would not take World-Saving Society long to assemble.”

Clearly, Zong Yan did not believe Yaoguang could become a martial paragon before turning twenty.

Their true expectation was that he would become a martial paragon before twenty-five, then spend the following six years consolidating that realm, preparing to counter the Crimson Star Empire’s martial paragons when they used the World Martial Assembly as a pretext to monopolize the recommendation slots belonging to the nations of the Central and Eastern Continents.

”Commissioner Zhou mentioned that your physical tempering is already not far from the limits of the human body. Starting preparations to break through to the martial paragon tier now is not too early. Some cultivation resources that were originally meant to be allocated to you gradually can also be approved in advance.”

Zong Yan paused, then continued. ”You’ll need to make a trip to our headquarters in Dayu, located in Xihe City, to register the relevant information. After that, you can choose to cultivate at the headquarters or return to Tiannan to cultivate on your own. However, I still recommend staying at the headquarters. Questions can be answered through video conferences, but no matter how good a video call is, it can’t compare to hands-on guidance.”

He smiled. ”Besides, the headquarters have the best refining materials, and resource requests can be processed immediately.”

”We’ll see when the time comes,” Yaoguang replied. As for personal, hands-on instruction from a martial paragon, it held little appeal for him.

”Then get ready and decide when you’ll head to Xihe.”

”Right now,” Yaoguang replied.

”Good. I’ll arrange the vehicle.” Zong Yan agreed with a smile.

Xihe lay more than eighty kilometers south of the royal capital and functioned as its satellite city. It occupied a strategic location with excellent transportation while also enjoying the luxury and prosperity of its proximity to the capital. It was only a little over six hundred kilometers from Tiannan’s capital.

After making the necessary arrangements, Zong Yan soon led Yaoguang and Zhang Tianji downstairs together. As they left the teahouse, he seemed to recall something and said to Zhang Tianji, ”From now on, transfer from the Field Operations Department to the Security Department. You’ll be responsible for Yaoguang’s safety.”

Zhang Tianji nodded. Judging from Yaoguang’s performance against Commissioner Zhou, his strength might already surpass Zhang Tianji’s. But in life-and-death combat, even overwhelming strength did not guarantee safety. A desperate counterattack could still cause a serious injury.

If any hidden injury affected Yaoguang’s advancement to the martial paragon tier, it would be a serious setback for the World-Saving Society’s plans eleven years later at the Martial World Assembly. Risky, lethal work was something their field personnel could handle.

Soon, a seemingly modified business vehicle pulled up in front of them. They got in and quickly headed out of the city. Along the way, Zong Yan made several phone calls. Yaoguang also sent a message to Lei Yun.

Not long after he sent it, his phone chimed. A text message popped up. ”Your account *8879 received a transfer at 15:11 on June 7, 1018, credited via wire transfer...”

The money had arrived. 100 billion dayu had just been transferred to him.

Earning this sum meant he’d have to help the World-Saving Society oppose the Crimson Star Empire’s martial paragons, bearing the future risk of assassination by the Stellar Sanctum, with enormous personal cost and no small amount of danger...

When the funds were credited, he clearly felt the Merchant branch being wrapped once more in a surge of green nutrients he could almost see.

If he had not deliberately restrained it from absorbing these nutrients, the Merchant branch might have directly caught up to the Martial Dao branch.

However, with greater strength came greater efficiency in making money. That principle was fully validated in his case. Following that logic, he poured all of the nutrients into the Martial Dao branch instead, causing it to bloom and bear fruit at astonishing speed, pushing relentlessly toward the sixth-tier, the Flawless Realm... Or rather, the unified martial paragon tier.

Only when it reached 71% did it finally slow to a halt. Yaoguang quietly absorbed all the information related to the unified martial paragon tier that had been retrieved by the ancient tree’s Myriad-World Information Search Engine.

Much like the information he had received at the fifth tier, this realm focused on forging the Flawless Body. Yet, the key to forging such a body was not an increase in raw strength, but laying a solid foundation for the breakthroughs to come.

According to the preview information obtained at 71% of sixth-tier progress, the seventh tier, which marked entry into the ranks of high-tier cultivators, would usher in the second qualitative transformation for Martial Dao cultivators after the one they got in the fourth tier.

Heavenly being...