The Li family.
As a Divine Ability Clan that had stood tall in Qingyuan Ward for many years, their foundation was incredibly profound. Their estate consisted of sprawling clusters of gardens, with no shortage of large lakes and mountains within its bounds—far beyond what any Divine Ability Hall in the ward could compare to.
When Lu Ming and the others arrived at the Li family estate, they were quickly welcomed into the guest hall by the family's disciples.
By this time, the hall was already bustling with activity. Clearly, the managers of various medicine shops and medicinal gardens in Qingyuan Ward had all come to the Li family today, hoping the family would purchase their Moon Spirit Grass.
As soon as Lu Ming entered the guest hall, his eyes fell upon the figure seated in the primary position on the left. Clad in white, the man possessed a powerful aura, radiating a domineering pressure with every word and movement.
It was none other than Lin Changkong.
Standing behind him was Xu Xiong, the Grand Divine Ability Practitioner from the Golden Gang Sword Hall.
They also noticed the arrival of the Thunderfire Hall group at that moment, and their eyes instantly turned playful and mocking.
“Hall Master Lu.”
Li Yan, who carried a dignified and gentle air, stood up from the main seat with a smile and personally stepped forward to welcome them. Behind her, Lu Ming also spotted a familiar figure. It was the Li family girl who had previously appeared alongside Zhou Fuling at the Qingchuan Chamber of Commerce—her name seemed to be Li Shuang.
“Matriarch Li,” Lu Jin greeted, cupping his fists.
“Aunt Li,” Lu Ming also greeted politely.
Li Yan nodded with a smile, sizing up Lu Ming. Soon, a look of surprise washed over her face. “It’s been a while since I last saw you. You’ve grown much sturdier... Wait, have you advanced to a Grand Divine Ability Practitioner?”
For Li Yan to be the matriarch of the Li family, she naturally possessed impressive strength of her own. Though she usually kept a low profile and rarely clashed with others using primordial energy, she was a genuine Divine Ability Master.
Hearing Li Yan’s words, Li Shuang, who stood behind her, could not help but freeze. Her beautiful eyes filled with astonishment. It had only been a little over a month since the Hall Meet. Had Lu Ming actually broken through his Divine Ability Barrier and successfully become a Grand Divine Ability Practitioner?
In the guest hall, Lin Changkong had also noticed this. The hand holding his teacup paused slightly, and the cold light flickering in the depths of his eyes grew even sharper.
This little scourge was growing incredibly fast.
“It’s all thanks to the Barrier-Breaking Pill rewarded by the Ward Master. That’s how I was able to break through so quickly,” Lu Ming replied with a nod and a smile.
“That is still highly impressive,” Li Yan praised with a smile. Then, she lowered her voice and added, “When we collect the goods later, you don’t need to open your chests. I will have someone handle it.”
Clearly, she assumed that Lu Ming and his family had done as she suggested and brought some unripe Moon Spirit Grass to make up the numbers.
Just as Lu Ming was about to explain, Li Yan had already turned back to her seat. Thus, he could only follow Lu Jin and find a place to sit in the guest hall.
“Honored guests, since everyone has arrived, let us begin this year’s purchase of Moon Spirit Grass,” Li Yan spoke first as she saw that most people had gathered. “This time, our Li family will acquire a total of three hundred stalks of Moon Spirit Grass. In addition, there will be a quota of four hundred stalks to be purchased in the second half of the year.”
Hearing this, Lu Ming secretly gasped. A total purchase of seven hundred stalks of Moon Spirit Grass a year amounted to seventy thousand heavenly gold sand. The Li family truly lived up to its reputation as one of the two prominent Divine Ability Clans in Qingyuan Ward; their wealth was immense.
This point alone highlighted the massive gap between a Grade 3 Divine Ability Hall and a Divine Ability Clan. Perhaps only those Grade 4 Divine Ability Halls could match the Li family in terms of foundation and wealth.
As soon as Li Yan finished speaking, Lin Changkong was the first to stand up. He smiled faintly and said, “Matriarch Li, one of the medicinal gardens under our Golden Gang Sword Hall will specialize in cultivating Moon Spirit Grass from now on. This time, we have brought seventy stalks. If you find the quality satisfactory, I believe our Golden Gang Sword Hall has the capacity to fully take on the entire quota of four hundred stalks for the second half of the year.”
He wanted to monopolize the entire four-hundred-stalk quota for the second half of the year all by himself. His manner was rather overbearing, but none of the medicinal garden managers present dared to voice any objection. After all, everyone knew by now that Lin Changkong was a True Primordial Energy Master. Given his status, even the Li family had to treat him with a degree of courtesy.
His personal attendance today to discuss cooperation was already showing them plenty of respect.
After Lin Changkong finished speaking, he waved his hand, and disciples from the Golden Gang Sword Hall carried medicinal chests into the guest hall. As the chests were opened, the white jade-like Moon Spirit Grass was revealed, all possessing four leaves and flowing with moonlight.
However, as Lu Jin, Lu Ming, and the others looked at these stalks of Moon Spirit Grass, their gazes turned freezing cold. Some of the herbs inside might very well have been plundered from their Thunderfire Hall's medicinal garden.
The hot-tempered Lu Jinglei's eyes practically spewed fire. Had it not been for the inappropriate setting, he likely would have been unable to suppress his raging fury and charged forward.
Li Yan’s expression remained unchanged. She indeed did not wish to offend Lin Changkong, so she waved her hand. Li Shuang, who was standing behind her, stepped forward to personally inspect the herbs. After a moment, she reported in a crisp voice, “They are all mature.”
Li Yan nodded and smiled. “Since they are up to standard, and out of respect for Hall Master Lin, our Li family will naturally accept this batch of goods.”
However, as for the four-hundred-stalk quota for the second half of the year, she did not agree to it for the time being.
Lin Changkong did not press her either. He merely nodded slightly and sat back down, calmly sipping his tea. He did not care in the slightest about the icy glares directed at him from the Thunderfire Hall's side.
The barking of defeated dogs was not worth worrying about.
Behind him, the man named Xu Xiong flashed an unbridled, provocative grin at Lu Ming and the others.
Lu Jin waved his hand expressionlessly, suppressing Lu Jinglei’s anger.
After accepting the Golden Gang Sword Hall's goods, Li Yan had Li Shuang continue inspecting the rest. During this process, some medicinal gardens passed, while others fell slightly short and were rejected. Finally, Li Shuang arrived at the Thunderfire Hall's side. She glanced at the medicinal chests but did not open them, merely asking how many stalks of Moon Spirit Grass they had.
“One hundred stalks,” Lu Ming said.
Li Shuang froze slightly. Wasn't it fifty stalks? In the past, the yield of the Thunderfire Hall's medicinal garden was only that much. Besides... even if others did not know what was going on inside these medicinal chests, how could she not know?
As Li Yan’s close niece, Li Yan had obviously told her everything.
This included the fact that they would purchase the Thunderfire Hall's Moon Spirit Grass at double the price this year.
Li Shuang’s delicate brow furrowed, and she let out a soft, cold snort. She clearly felt that this Thunderfire Hall was taking things too far. Her aunt had already been nice enough to them, going out of her way to remind them that if they could not gather mature Moon Spirit Grass, they could make do with unripe ones. Her aunt had even specially sent her out for the inspection stage just to let the Thunderfire Hall pass.
Yet, they had actually doubled the usual fifty stalks of Moon Spirit Grass.
Did they truly take the Li family for a bunch of easy marks?
Displeasure flickered in Li Shuang's beautiful eyes, but with so many people around, she did not say much. However, the high opinion she had formed of Lu Ming due to his stunning performance at the Hall Meet inevitably sank once more.
She walked back and reported to Li Yan, “Thunderfire Hall, one hundred stalks of mature Moon Spirit Grass. Passed.”
Li Yan’s expression did not ripple much; she merely nodded slightly.
“Everyone, the purchase of three hundred stalks of Moon Spirit Grass for the first half of the year is temporarily complete. We will see about the rest in the second half of the year,” Li Yan said to the crowd with a warm smile.
The many medicinal garden managers could only respond with reluctance.
“Wait.”
But right at that moment, a calm voice rang out. It was Lin Changkong.
Li Yan frowned slightly. “Is there something else, Hall Master Lin?”
Lin Changkong stood up, his calm voice echoing through the guest hall.
“I heard that the Thunderfire Hall's medicinal garden was raided by bandits, and many of their mature Moon Spirit Grass stalks were destroyed. How is it that they can still produce one hundred mature stalks now?”
“Furthermore, that young lady earlier did not open the chests to inspect the goods in public. Skipping this step is rather unfair to the other medicinal gardens present, isn't it?”
Rate on N.U.
