Chapter 3607: Remembering Your Kindness

If Lu Yin really had been passing by because of something related to Qian, then it was just Yi Shang’s terrible luck. He did not even know Qian, and he had simply assumed that Lu Yin would never return to the place where Qian had once hidden. Unexpectedly, Yi Shang had been found.

Lu Yin stared at Yi Shang with a hint of a smile on his face. "What’s on your mind, President Yi Shang? If you don’t want to answer, don’t worry about it."

Yi Shang gave a bitter smile. "Since Seraph Lu has already seen me, I might as well tell the truth.

"I came here for a bet."

Lu Yin arched a brow. That was quite the excuse. It was enough to intrigue even him. "A bet?"

Yi Shang grew serious as he explained, "Seraph Lu and Emperor Wu will soon fight each other at the source of the Fu River. This duel has drawn the entire Spirit Nidus’s attention, and so my Chamber of Commerce has been acting as a bookmaker for people, hoping to reap some profits. I ask for your understanding, Seraph Lu."

Lu Yin’s interest was roused even further. "Go on."

Yi Shang explained, "For there to be bets, there must be odds. I didn’t just come here randomly. I’ve been analyzing the traces from your previous battles in order to prepare the odds for the upcoming fight. We are preparing several different betting pools based on various odds.

"For example, when the battle starts, what will Seraph Lu’s first move be? Will it be a consciousness attack, physical strength, or a battle technique? What about Emperor Wu’s first move?"

Lu Yin chuckled. This old fox was certainly a businessman at heart. He had turned a duel into a bookmaker’s dream in no time at all.

"Of course, my Chamber of Commerce will inform you of everything in advance, Seraph Lu. If you object, we will drop the idea entirely."

"I don’t mind. Not even a little."

"You are truly magnanimous, Seraph Lu."

"While I don’t mind, since I’m the one you’re using for these bets, shouldn’t I get a share of the profits?"

Yi Shang laughed. "Of course! Ten percent of the profits from the betting will go to you, Seraph Lu."

While it was only ten percent, considering that much of the entire Spirit Nidus would be placing wagers, the amount was staggering.

Bookies had always enjoyed thriving business. The Chamber of Commerce had determined odds and acted as a bookmaker countless times in the past, but they had never shared any of the profits with the combatants. This was a first.

Lu Yin asked, "What about Emperor Wu?"

Yi Shang replied, "The same: ten percent."

Lu Yin shook his head and raised three fingers. "This much."

Yi Shang was stunned. "Thirty percent?"

"Clever."

Yi Shang wanted to refuse out of reflex. Giving away thirty percent of the profits? How were they even supposed to run the betting pool? Only then did Yi Shang remember that he had just spouted a made-up excuse for his presence. No efforts had been made to set up odds for the upcoming fight.

The Chamber of Commerce had certainly served as a bookmaker many times in the past, but never for anything involving the Seven Seraphs. The Chamber of Commerce tried to avoid creating any sort of enmity, and no one would dare make light of a battle between two Seraphs. Yi Shang had simply voiced the first excuse that had come to mind.

While thirty percent of the profits was a lot, he could always set up a fake bookmaker later on to cover himself. What was most important was avoiding Seraph Lu’s attention.

Feigning reluctance, Yi Shang gritted his teeth. "Fine, since Seraph Lu is the one asking, then even if my Chamber of Commerce makes nothing at all, we will agree."

Lu Yin smiled. "I won’t let you work for nothing. After all, you’ll still get forty percent."

Yi Shang grew confused. "Forty percent? Wouldn’t we get sixty?"

"Oh, right, you can give me Emperor Wu’s portion as well. He won’t say no," Lu Yin stated casually.

Yi Shang stared blankly at Lu Yin. "Give Emperor Wu’s portion... to you? Even if you take his share, you’d still only get forty percent."

Lu Yin chuckled. "Since my portion is already thirty percent, if you only give Emperor Wu ten percent, won't you be afraid that he’ll tear your Chamber of Commerce apart?

"As for whether or not he’s willing to give his portion to me, you don’t need to worry about that. I’ll make sure he agrees."

Seeing Lu Yin’s smile, Yi Shang briefly forgot to respond. He had simply come up with an excuse, but even if that was the case, Lu Yin was being completely outrageous. The Chamber of Commerce was expected to do all of the work and take all of the risk, and yet, ultimately, sixty percent of the profits would go to Lu Yin. Was this a joke? If word of this leaked, how would the Chamber of Commerce stay in business?

Yi Shang’s pride could never accept such terrible terms, and yet he had no way to refuse. For a time, he was truly speechless.

Lu Yin grinned happily. "The Chamber of Commerce really knows how to run a business! You came up with such a profitable idea so quickly! Oh, by the way, if you need me to cooperate with anything, just let me know. When it comes to spirit seeds, I welcome all of them."

Yi Shang was speechless. He did not dare to speak his mind.

I want you to lose!

"Just curious, but if this works well, how many spirit seeds can I expect to get?" Lu Yin asked excitedly.

Yi Shang replied bitterly, "At a rough estimate, a few tens of trillions might be made."

"Hahahaha! Not bad! Not bad at all." Lu Yin reached out and patted Yi Shang’s shoulder, looking absolutely delighted.

Yi Shang suddenly stepped back because his conscient that looked like a giant beast suddenly moved up and got between him and Lu Yin while staring at the Seraph and letting out a deep growl.

Lu Yin’s expression fell, his hand still in mid-air. He glared at Yi Shang. "President Yi Shang, what is the meaning of this?"

Yi Shang glared at the giant beast and in a low voice, scolded it, "How dare you! Seraph Lu is not no one you should be threatening! Get back!"

The giant beast released another deep growl as it slowly stepped to the side.

Yi Shang gave Lu Yin an apologetic smile. "I’m truly sorry. This accursed creature becomes wild and ferocious at times, and it has even dared to threaten me. I stepped back just now out of reflex, to avoid being bitten."

Lu Yin's attention turned to the giant beast as he spoke, "Oh really? Can conscients be ferocious? I heard that the creatures feel neither sorrow nor joy."

Yi Shang solemnly replied, "Seraph Lu, you are apparently unaware that, once a conscient chooses a fixed form, their demeanors will change with time."

"If that's the case, should I help you put this guy down?" Lu Yin asked. He spoke in a low voice while leaking bloodlust that sent chills down the spines of both Yi Shang and the giant beast.

The giant beast retreated, overcome by fear. It did not dare to provoke this human. It had moved to protect Yi Shang earlier as a result of years of training. It would have never made such a move by choice. To do so would be asking to die.

The conscient felt unspeakable danger from this human. This person felt even more dangerous than Yi Shang or the Thirteen Luminaries.

This human is extraordinarily powerful!

Yi Shang sighed. "Thank you for your kindness, Seraph Lu, but I’ve grown quite attached to this beast after spending so much time with it. Please, just allow me to give it a good scolding."

Lu Yin grunted as his eyes moved back to Yi Shang. "In that case, I won’t meddle any further. However, if it dares to bare its fangs at me again, I'll slaughter it there and then."

The giant beast ducked its head and did not dare to lift it back up.

Yi Shang quickly replied, “Rest assured, Seraph Lu, it will never dare to do such a thing again.”

Lu Yin’s smile returned, and he said, “Determining the odds and overseeing the bets for this fight is a big business for your Chamber of Commerce.”

“Of course. You don’t need to worry, Seraph Lu. We will do our best to handle this matter properly.” Yi Shang just wanted to leave as soon as possible.

Lu Yin was satisfied with Yi Shang’s response, but he was still a bit worried about something. “This will be a huge endeavor. What if something goes wrong?”

“There won’t be any accidents, but if anything happens, my Chamber of Commerce will take responsibility,” Yi Shang reassured Lu Yin, despite the fact that his heart was bleeding. As a Seraph, he had not cared about monetary profits, but being forced to relinquish such a massive percentage of the profits and then being forced to offer such a disadvantageous promise was still unbearable for Yi Shang.

Even if something went wrong, what would it have to do with this Seraph Lu? He had not invested anything at all, doing absolutely nothing, and yet he would still receive sixty percent of the profits, and he had even demanded a guarantee. The whole thing was completely outrageous.

However, there was no other way. Yi Shang had to comply with Lu Yin’s demands.

Lu Yin still looked a bit concerned. “President, please don’t think that I’m nagging, but this is a venture involving sums so vast that not even the High Seraph himself might have seen so many spirit seeds in his lifetime. I have to be careful.

“How about this: we’ll swear an oath.”

Yi Shang’s face twitched. “Swear an oath?”

Lu Yin somberly raised his hand and reached out. “Let’s shake hands and swear that there will be no accidents.”

Yi Shang’s expression changed as he stared at Lu Yin, wondering what the real meaning behind this might be. Did Lu Yin really care about the spirit seeds, or was he trying to capture Yi Shang in the process?

If someone else was in front of Yi Shang, he would not hesitate to turn and run. That was because no one at his level of power still cared about money.

Seraph Lu was an exception to that rule. He had repeatedly forcefully collected resources, solely to obtain spirit seeds. Yi Shang was well aware of Lu Yin’s intentions: his goal was to gather enough spirit seeds to limit the number of cultivators in the Spirit Nidus’s future. Because of that, Yi Shang could not be certain of Lu Yin’s intentions at this moment.

If Lu Yin genuinely cared about spirit seeds, then all he wanted was for Yi Shang to swear an oath. Even if Yi Shang was forced to pay out a sum of spirit seeds, it would not really matter, as it would put the entire issue to rest. However, if Yi Shang was wrong and the handshake was just an opportunity to capture Yi Shang, then everything would be over.

Unfortunately, if Yi Shang refused to agree to the handshake, Lu Yin would not drop the matter. If his mood changed enough, he might even attack outright.

Yi Shang’s face twitched. At the moment, his greatest concern was that, if Lu Yin did want to capture him, why had he not made an attempt yet? He should be confident in defeating Yi Shang.

Could he know about

that

thing?

In front of the man, Lu Yin kept his hand out as he stared at Yi Shang. “What’s the matter, President Yi Shang? Are you unwilling?”

Lu Yin’s real goal was indeed to capture Yi Shang. The spirit seeds were important, but they were not enough to prevent Lu Yin from capturing the former Seraph. After all, if the betting odds were really announced, the Chamber of Commerce was still capable of acting as a bookmaker even without Yi Shang overseeing things.

He needed to capture Yi Shang because of his connection to the third key.

Lu Yin was confident that he could defeat Yi Shang quite easily, but he was not confident that he could capture the man.

That was because Yi Shang possessed a mirebound artifact.

When the forces of the Daquan Domain had been defeated at the Spirit Nidus’s boundary, only two people had managed to escape. One had been Cai Sandao, who had fled very early on and moved exceedingly quickly. The other had been Yi Shang, who had escaped entirely thanks to his mirebound artifact.

The Origin Progenitor had personally intervened, and yet he had failed to prevent Yi Shang from escaping. All that the Origin Progenitor had managed to keep was the Impression Realm sequence base.

According to the Origin Progenitor, he had not even been able to see Yi Shang as he escaped.

Lu Yin had never forgotten about that incident: Yi Shang was able to escape from even the Origin Progenitor, which meant that he could also escape from Lu Yin. The only way to capture the man was to get close before he could react.

Lu Yin had used a friendly laugh as a pretext to pat Yi Shang on the shoulder with the intention of grabbing the man, but Yi Shang had evaded it.

At that point, Lu Yin had no other choice but to force Yi Shang and see if the man would dare to allow Lu Yin to move any closer.

The two locked eyes.

Yi Shang stared intently at Lu Yin, trying to see through him, but it was impossible.

The longer the two maintained eye contact, the greater the pressure Yi Shang felt. He did not even notice that beads of sweat had started to drip from his forehead.

“President Yi Shang, why the hesitation? Could it be that everything you just said was only to trick me?” Lu Yin pressed.

Yi Shang’s voice came out hoarse and dropped lower as he spoke. “Seraph Lu, you and I are both working together with the Gate of Laws and the Wisdom Domain. I won’t try to deceive you: a mere tens of trillions of spirit seeds won’t possibly be enough to prevent the betting from taking place, and my Daquan Domain’s Chamber of Commerce can easily afford the costs. I ask that you trust me.”

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed, and he said, “I believe you, but I don’t trust the Wisdom Domain or the Gate of Laws.”

Yi Shang grew puzzled. “Why not?”

“That bastard, Old Yu, has repeatedly schemed against me, and the Gate of Laws has repeatedly refused my visits. Neither of them have any sincerity,” Lu Yin stated plainly.

Yi Shang replied, “Their affairs have nothing to do with me. My Chamber of Commerce absolutely will not betray your trust, Seraph Lu.”

Lu Yin shook his head. “For someone from the Tianyuan Megaverse like me, establishing myself here in your Spirit Nidus and slowly trying to secure a few resources has been as difficult as ascending into the heavens. I have finally found an opportunity, and I won’t abandon it. I need to be certain that there won’t be any mistakes.

“Let me be clear: I intend to gather so many spirit seeds that your Spirit Nidus will eventually have fewer cultivators. The more spirit seeds that I can gather, the better. After I fight Emperor Wu, I will go to the Ascendant Hall and rip that tree out by its roots. If you help me collect spirit seeds, I will remember your efforts.”