Chapter 18: Cooperation

Chu Jianqiu followed the steward to a private room on the second floor.

In the private room, besides Yang Zhenhai, there was a stunningly beautiful girl in a green robe and an elderly man in his fifties or sixties.

Chu Jianqiu was taken aback: "Director Yang has guests, so I'll come back another day to discuss things with you." He was about to turn and leave.

"Don't be in a hurry, don't be in a hurry. It just so happens that Miss Xia also wants to meet you," Yang Zhenhai said with a smile as he stood up. "Come, let me introduce you. This is Miss Xia Youhuang, the daughter of President Xia of the Wanwu Trading Company, and this is Elder Zhou Huan, a senior advisor to the Wanwu Trading Company."

Chu Jianqiu was stunned. The daughter of the president of the Wanwu Trading Company, a figure of such importance, how could she come to a remote and small county like Tianshui?

The Wanwu Trading Company was a behemoth within the Daqian Dynasty, even the royal family would be wary of it. President Xia Wanwu of the Wanwu Trading Company was a legendary figure with unfathomable strength.

Xia Youhuang merely nodded slightly at Chu Jianqiu, not showing much enthusiasm.

"Mr. Chu, what brings you to see me?" Yang Zhenhai asked curiously. After their first meeting, this young man had never taken the initiative to see him. He wondered what could have prompted him to seek an audience today.

Chu Jianqiu glanced at Xia Youhuang and the other person.

"Miss Xia is not an outsider, Mr. Chu, feel free to speak!" Yang Zhenhai waved his hand and smiled.

Chu Jianqiu briefly explained his purpose.

"We'll take all your talismans!" Xia Youhuang suddenly said before Yang Zhenhai could respond.

Chu Jianqiu was taken aback and looked at Yang Zhenhai.

Yang Zhenhai laughed heartily: "Since Miss Xia is willing to cooperate with you, I won't compete with you for business!" However, despite his words, he still felt a bit reluctant. He had personally witnessed the brisk business Chu Jianqiu had when selling talismans. If he had cooperated with Chu Jianqiu, it would have brought considerable income to the Spirit Talisman Pavilion.

However, Yang Zhenhai did not want to offend Xia Youhuang over this small matter. Although the Spirit Talisman Pavilion was not affiliated with the Wanwu Trading Company, it was unwise to have a falling out with them within the Daqian Dynasty.

Moreover, letting Xia Youhuang handle this matter would earn him some goodwill.

Xia Youhuang was interested in Chu Jianqiu not because of his current talisman-making skills. Talisman masters who could produce high-quality talisman cores were not rare in the capital of the Daqian Dynasty, though they were not as common as street vendors. Even if Chu Jianqiu's talisman-making skills were excellent, he was still only a first-rank talisman master.

Xia Youhuang saw potential in Chu Jianqiu. To achieve such a level of talisman-making in a small place like Tianshui County, his future potential was limitless.

Seeing Yang Zhenhai's stance, Chu Jianqiu naturally had no objections. It didn't matter who he cooperated with, as long as he could make money.

Xia Youhuang flipped her hand, and a golden card appeared.

When Zhou Huan saw the golden card, his expression changed slightly: "Miss!" This was an extremely prestigious gold-level VIP card of the Wanwu Trading Company. Even some noble children in the capital found it difficult to obtain one. He couldn't believe that Miss Xia would give such a high-level VIP card to this country boy.

Xia Youhuang waved her hand, interrupting Zhou Huan's attempt to stop her, and tossed the golden card to Chu Jianqiu: "This is our VIP card. It has ten thousand first-rank spirit stones preloaded. We will also deposit the money from selling talismans into this card."

Chu Jianqiu had never seen a VIP card from the Wanwu Trading Company and didn't know how valuable this gold-level VIP card was. However, when he heard that it contained ten thousand first-rank spirit stones, he almost drooled.

Damn, ten thousand first-rank spirit stones. He had never seen so much money in his life. No wonder the daughter of the president of the Wanwu Trading Company was so generous.

Chu Jianqiu handed a large bag of Strength-Enhancing Talismans to Xia Youhuang and asked, "Who should I give these completed talismans to in the future?"

"Just give them to Su Yanxiang."

Su Yanxiang was the branch president of the Tianshui County branch of the Wanwu Trading Company.

Chu Jianqiu nodded and left without further delay.

Xia Youhuang took out one of the Strength-Enhancing Talismans from the large bag, examined it for a while, and then smiled slightly, handing it to Yang Zhenhai: "What do you think, Director Yang?"

Yang Zhenhai was taken aback. What did she mean? He took the talisman and examined it, then laughed: "What a sly kid, hiding his true abilities so well."

There were signs of deliberate suppression in the talisman's creation. The person who made the talisman had clearly lowered the quality of the talisman core on purpose. Although Chu Jianqiu's concealment technique was subtle, he had only recently started learning talisman arrays, leaving some traces.

Yang Zhenhai was a master of talisman arts and could detect these traces upon careful observation. However, the fact that Xia Youhuang could also spot these subtle traces showed her deep expertise in talisman arts.

Xia Youhuang glanced at Yang Zhenhai, her eyes filled with a hint of ambiguity.

You old man, you have no right to criticize that kid. Aren't you the same?

Yang Zhenhai was officially a second-rank talisman master in Tianshui County, and the talismans he made could only reach the middle-grade level. However, Xia Youhuang knew that his actual level was far beyond that. A talisman array master whom even his own master valued could not be just a second-rank talisman master.

Her master, Ling Dongsong, was a renowned talisman array master in the Daqian Dynasty, one of the top three in the entire dynasty. Anyone he valued could not be an ordinary person.

A significant part of her visit to Tianshui County was to meet Yang Zhenhai. Now, encountering Chu Jianqiu, a talisman master with immense potential, made her trip to Tianshui County even more worthwhile.

Seeing Xia Youhuang's half-smiling, half-serious expression, Yang Zhenhai couldn't help but inwardly criticize her. Master Ling Dongsong had indeed taught a good disciple, but why did her personality resemble his so much?

Chu Jianqiu used the golden VIP card to buy a large batch of talisman-making materials and Qi-Gathering Pills.

The potency of Qi-Gathering Pills was quite strong compared to ordinary Body Tempering Realm martial artists. Most Body Tempering Realm martial artists' physiques could hardly withstand the violent effects of Qi-Gathering Pills. However, with the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Technique and the awakened Supreme Chaos Bloodline, Chu Jianqiu, at his current seventh-rank Body Tempering Realm, had no need to worry about his physique being unable to handle it.

One Qi-Gathering Pill was about thirty to forty times more potent than a Body Tempering Pill, but its price was nearly fifty times higher. In the past, Chu Jianqiu would have been reluctant to pay the difference, but now, with ten thousand spirit stones, he felt quite wealthy. Moreover, because of the VIP card, the Wanwu Trading Company gave him a 20% discount.

Chu Jianqiu bought two hundred Qi-Gathering Pills in one go.

Two hundred Qi-Gathering Pills would be enough for him to break through to the ninth-rank Body Tempering Realm.