3 10,000 Gold

Chu Tianhe's words sent Old Jiang into a gloomy and uncertain silence.

The other disciples of Falling Cloud Abbey – Shen Linlin, Shen Huafei, Shen De, Shen Zhi, and even the youngest Shen Tongtong – all had angry and helpless expressions on their faces as well as looks of great sadness.

Their Falling Cloud Abbey had once been the first great sect of the Great Wind Commandery.

At that time, they'd had hundreds of core disciples, thousands of inner disciples, and tens of thousands of outer disciples. A 'hundred cauldron' powerhouse had overseen the sect, and their leader had been a 'thousand cauldron' powerhouse, a being with the strength to split mountains. Their fame and magnificence had known no bounds.

But fortune was as unpredictable as the weather.

One night, the Falling Cloud Abbey was attacked by a mysterious man. Along with Patriarch Shen Tianlong, thousands of disciples were slaughtered, and all of their cultivation methods and resources were plundered. Only one or two major and minor things were left behind.

After the disaster, the Falling Cloud Abbey began to be regarded as a place of taboo. Only Old Jiang and Shen Shu, the son of the former patriarch, Shen Tianlong, had stayed behind while the rest of the remaining disciples fled!

"Hahaha!"

Facing their silence, Chu Tianhe looked back to the disciples of the Pure Wind Abbey and erupted into wild laughter.

In the present Falling Cloud Abbey, Old Jiang was the only person he had to be worried about!

"Old Jiang, please hand over the 'sect command'. Your Falling Cloud Abbey has held on to the position of first of the ten sects long enough. As the saying goes, the river reverses its flow after thirty years. It's time for you to relinquish your position and let my Pure Wind Abbey sit at the top."

Chu Tianhe's face flushed red as he observed the ruined Falling Cloud Abbey with greedy eyes. He and the abbey lords that had come before him had coveted the position of king for a long time.

Any of the several hundred, large and small sects of Great Wind Commandery could be conferred a rank and title by the imperial court. However, only ten could be given the honor in each county city. Once ranked first among ten, his Pure Wind Abbey would be greatly honored by heaven. The city lord would offer his vigorous support by giving them countless resources. An innumerable number of children would join, and his Pure Wind Abbey would inevitably rise to overlook the entire world.

Silence.

As the silence continued, Chu Tianhe became even more excited. He naturally understood that it would take more than a day's effort to get the Falling Cloud Abbey to hand over the 'sect command'. But at the moment, their silence seemed like a kind of compromise to him. Perhaps, it wouldn't be long before the 'sect command' fell into his hands.

With this thought in mind, he hurried to restrain his arrogance. "Old Jiang, you also know that the 'sect command' is a certificate symbolizing your abbey's position as king. But as you are now, you won't be able to hold on to it."

Old Jiang still didn't respond.

Feeling rebuffed, Chu Tianhe swore to himself.

Quickly, his eyes focused on Shen Shu. He frowned with disdain at the sight of the youth. Not only was Shen Shu's aptitude bad, he was a good-for-nothing when it came to martial arts. Moreover, he liked women so much he would often spend entire nights in brothels instead of returning home when he was done with his business. There wasn't a trace of the ambition, arrogance, or courage he had seen in the youth's father.

It could be said that, to a large extent, Shen Shu was the reason the Falling Cloud Abbey had declined so fast.

However…

Chu Tianhe's mouth curved into a smile. Fortunately, Shen Shu wasn't a talent. Because as long as the youth was a waste, his Pure Wind Abbey's chances of success would remain high.

"Brother Shen," Chu Tianhe began in a misleading voice, "our two abbeys have been close friends for generations. Give us the 'sect command' and we'll repay you all with three third-class cultivation methods? This can't be considered a bad deal, right?"

"But if that's not enough for you, I'll add 10,000 gold. I know that Brother Shen likes to visit brothels. But that kind of place is expensive," Chu Tianhe said in a considerate manner before removing a shining gold banknote from his pocket. The smile on his face widened as he proceeded to hand it to Shen Shu.

"You!"

Old Jiang glared at Chu Tianhe. But he looked more helpless than angry. The Falling Cloud Abbey had adopted him when he was very young. He had grown up here; his loyalty was unquestionable.

To Old Jiang, even though Shen Shu was a waste, he was still the abbey lord. It was his duty as an elder to respect his authority. This was also the reason why he'd grieved when he'd learned that Shen Shu had an addiction to sex and brothels. He had tried to persuade the young abbey lord to change his ways on more than one occasion. But he had never gone so far as to truly punish him.

If Shen Shu insisted on exchanging the 'sect command' for the shining gold banknote, there was nothing he could do!

Chu Tianhe's joy seemed to ascend to the heavens when he saw Old Jiang's vision.

In his opinion, Shen Shu would offer him the 'sect command' with both hands just to get a hold of the shining gold banknote.

Shen Tianlong had been a lord with great talent and bold vision. He wondered how such a great person had sired such an idiot of a son.

With a look of contempt, Chu Tianhe secretly chuckled. Then he grew excited as he began to imagine the scene of Shen Shu handing him the 'sect command'.

"Lord!"

"Senior brother!"

All the senior brothers and junior sisters of the Falling Cloud Abbey turned their eyes to Shen Shu. Tongtong clung tightly to one of his sleeves. His big eyes had reddened with grief as if he had somehow been wronged.

Although Tongtong was too young and pure to understand what the 'sect command' meant to Falling Cloud Abbey, he thought giving it away had to be a bad thing if Grandpa Jiang and all of his senior brothers and sisters were trying to stop it!

Under their gazes, Shen Shu sat on his chair and slightly frowned.

"It seems the former master of my body has done a lot of bad deeds," Shen Shu murmured.

But the predecessor was the predecessor and he was he. He might've had the body of the other person, but he hadn't inherited his cowardice or any of his other faults.

Everyone looked at Shen Shu and waited in agonizing silence.

Chu Tianhe smiled coldly. This waste wasn't as stupid as he looked. He understood the truth that the buyer had to make the down-to-earth offer.

"Brother Shen, are you unhappy with the amount I offered? If that's the case, here's another 10,000 gold," he said with a gentle smile as he removed another shining gold banknote from his pocket.

"Altogether, these two banknotes are worth 20,000 gold. So how about it?"

Although Chu Tianhe was admittedly feeling a little anxious, he hid it behind an indifferent façade. At the same time, he swore to himself that once the Falling Cloud Abbey lost its position and was no longer protected by the imperial court, he would take back everything he had lost today.

Shen Shu narrowed his eyes and smiled softly without ever saying a single word.

Chu Tianhe read the Shen Shu's gesture as him asking for more. As he silently cursed the youth for being too greedy, he swept his gaze over the people in the yard. His attention stayed on Shen Linlin for moment.

"This woman looks good," he thought to himself. "When I extinguish this Falling Cloud Abbey, I will be sure to take her with me."