64: Chapter 65 The Price of Radiant Gold

The faint, old golden pattern on the Burst Rat's abdominal sac glowed for only two breaths before being pressed back by a tap from Grey Pupil's ritual staff—fine fire like needles pierced deep into the sac skin, sealing that eerie golden light tightly, not letting even a sliver of residual radiance leak out.

The excitement on Wu Fu's face had not yet faded, but her eyes suddenly darkened, her tone hiding an imperceptible gravity: "This thing must absolutely not be spread outside; if it gets out, it will be a disaster."

Lu Jin did not reply, his fingertips gently stroking the Burst Rat—a new soldier whose abdominal sac was not yet full—his eyes clear. He knew better than anyone that the real trouble was never whether this old seal would grow back, but that from the moment he turned the second page of the Sealing Scroll, swapped for the Fire Brick Wing Bones, and tonight, successfully bred this Burst Soldier Line, the hungry wolves watching the board outside should have already smelled the scent and pounced.

Sure enough, as soon as the thought crossed his mind, a very light sound of footsteps came from outside the Brood Nursery Court—not the pitter-patter of a Work Rat, nor the dragging gait of the courtyard servants, but heavy, steady, and orderly, carrying an oppressive air that warned strangers to keep their distance.

The person stood outside the fire circle, not daring to step a foot over the line. Separated by the Grey Steps, their voice was lowered to a whisper, yet every word was clear: "Lu Jin, someone is waiting for you at the War Affairs Outer Pavilion."

"Who?" Lu Jin's voice held no ripples, his fingertips still pressing against the Burst Rat's abdominal sac.

"Someone from the Sun Gold side." The person swallowed a mouthful of saliva before daring to finish the sentence: "It's a branch member of the Pei family, here on behalf of the External Affairs Chamber to negotiate the primary front-line price."

The Brood Nursery Court fell into instant silence. Even the crackling of the main fire pillar became exceptionally clear, making the tension in the air feel as if it were about to explode.

Grey Pupil's grey eyes narrowed slightly. He tapped his ritual staff lightly on the ground and said in a deep voice: "I will guard this place; you go."

Wu Fu pulled at the corners of her mouth, her smile laced with coldness: "They came fast. They just caught the scent of fire, and now they're here with a price tag. The Pei family certainly doesn't drag their feet." She wrapped the nest silk around her wrist, her tone suddenly serious: "If he's just here to buy the route, you can brush him off. But if he dares to ask about the Burst Soldier Line or the Sealing Scroll remnants, remember, that's not price negotiation; that's probing for your bottom line, trying to lock in your foundation!"

Lu Jin gave a faint "Mn," took one last look at the sealed old golden pattern, and turned to walk out, his pace steady and without the slightest hesitation.

The War Affairs Outer Pavilion leaned against the academy's stone wall. Usually, it was filled with people recording merit, exchanging materials, and delivering urgent orders, making it very noisy. But tonight, it was abnormally quiet—not because there was no one there, but because no one dared to approach the stone pavilion by even a step.

Many figures stood under the corridor, peeking out, but they tacitly left the central area empty, their gazes fixed on the person inside the stone pavilion, not even daring to breathe loudly.

Only one person sat upright in the stone pavilion. He wasn't very old and wore simple robes, but in the narrow seams of his cuffs, collar, and bracers, a circle of extremely fine dark Sun Gold patterns was pressed—low-key, yet carrying an inherent pressure. There were no weapons on the table, only a Sun Gold tablet as thin as a cicada's wing, with a half-inch fine fire burning beside it. Although the fire was small, it was steady and didn't flicker at all.

He was no ordinary errand-running servant. Lu Jin saw through the man's background at a glance: his aura was pressed perfectly flat, the hallmark of someone who had surpassed Apprentice Perfection and could control their energy with ease. Looking at his upright posture, the precise placement of the tablet, and the attendant with the register who stood half a step behind him, it was clear he was a branch member of the Pei family's Sun Gold line, a primary negotiator who could truly make decisions for the External Affairs Chamber—a solid, front-line executive.

Seeing Lu Jin approach, the man slowly stood up, his manners courteous but not servile: "Student Lu, I am Pei Yan of the Pei family's branch, here on behalf of the External Affairs Chamber to negotiate the primary front-line price. I apologize for the intrusion tonight; I will only take half a stick of incense of your time."

Lu Jin did not enter the stone pavilion, standing only at the grey line outside. Looking down at him, his tone was cold: "Whose price are you quoting?"

Pei Yan raised his eyes, his gaze colliding with Lu Jin's. His voice was not loud, but every word struck the vital point: "No. 7 Rift Zone. Grey Stele Post, Outer Fire Well, Rift Gate Fire Bridge, and that old route you pieced together from the second page of the Sealing Scroll—as well as those things behind the Main Stele that haven't been recorded by others yet."

As the words fell, the breathing of those eavesdropping under the corridor outside the pavilion instantly became as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

This was no price negotiation; this was clearly ripping open half of all the trump cards Lu Jin had been holding onto all this time! If it were anyone else, they would have already panicked, but Lu Jin's face remained expressionless, and he only said indifferently: "You know quite a lot."

"What should be known will be known sooner or later." Pei Yan raised his hand and gently pushed a thin register on the table forward by half an inch. His tone seemed gentle, but it carried an undeniable assertiveness: "The Pei family isn't here to snatch the small advantage you hold; we are here to offer you a clear path so you don't have to bear the entire line by yourself."

Lu Jin lowered his eyes to scan the register, his pupils slightly tightening.

Although the register was thin, the price offered was shockingly heavy: a front-station quota, two access permissions for old, adjustable records from the External Affairs Chamber, a sum of grey materials and Fire Bricks enough to support an entire round of front-line soldier lines, plus a named recommendation before a Sun Gold department instructor.

This was not an insult, nor was it charity; it was a genuine "elevation"—beautiful enough to make any academy newcomer with no family background, no connections, and no long-term backing hand over their route on the spot, willingly attaching themselves to the Pei family.

Pei Yan looked at him and continued to persuade: "You don't need to enter the Pei family, nor do you need to register under a branch name. You only need to register the route, fire points of the No. 7 Rift Zone, and the stele record remnants in your hand into the Pei family's front account first. In the future, when you enter the front station, you will still have a name, a quota, and a route to take, so you won't have to fight alone."

He paused, his tone deepening, carrying a hint of guidance: "Lu Jin, this isn't about recruiting you; it's about elevating you to the table—the table behind the No. 7 Rift Zone. You should understand that things like the Grey Stele Post and Outer Fire Well are no longer a game that can be contained by a military training exercise or a battle report. It is a skill to find the route first, but if you really want to swallow it in one gulp, it's not about having great ability, but about having no one to back you up."

At this point, Pei Yan deliberately emphasized his tone: "Young Master Pei Tiange has already remembered your name; this is already a tremendous honor for you."

Pei Tiange!

Once this name was spoken, the breathing under the corridor outside the pavilion instantly became chaotic again—in the academy, the three characters "Pei Tiange" had never been about "price negotiation," only about "control." Being remembered by him was an honor, but it also meant that Lu Jin had already been targeted by the Pei family, with no escape.

But Lu Jin suddenly laughed, his smile tinged with mockery: "So, you came here this time because you want to register this line into the Pei family's account for him first?"

Pei Yan's expression did not change, and he frankly admitted: "You can understand it that way. But I will emphasize once more: this is not to force you out, but to keep you from dying before you can even properly sit at the table."

Lu Jin finally averted his gaze, no longer looking at the register. His tone was calm but carried an indisputable firmness: "The price you offer is not low, but what you want has never been just a page of a route, a stele, or a few coordinates."

He raised his eyes, his gaze as sharp as a knife, piercing straight at Pei Yan: "What you want is the right of attribution. If I really record the No. 7 Rift Zone into the Pei family's account, then every step I take in the future—whether it's something I fought for myself or something I lit up for you—will no longer be up to me to say. I would become your chess piece, stepping on mines for you, paving the way for you, and in the end, I wouldn't even get a sip of soup, right?"

Pei Yan finally looked at Lu Jin directly, his eyes devoid of any contempt—he was no longer looking at a lucky freshman, but at a peer who could directly lift the fig leaf off the table.

"It seems you understand the jargon." Pei Yan spoke indifferently, "Since you understand, you should know that those who know the times are wise; those who understand usually shouldn't be the ones bearing the burden alone."

"I also understood another thing." Lu Jin interrupted him, his tone carrying a hint of certainty: "You came this time not because I am worth this price, but because the board behind the No. 7 Rift Zone is much larger than the things you are handing out. You are not giving a high price; you are buying me out in advance, buying out the advantage in my hands, and buying out all the future returns."

The stone pavilion instantly fell into dead silence. Even the attendant with the register behind Pei Yan subconsciously raised their eyes, their expression somewhat flustered—Lu Jin's words were equivalent to puncturing the Pei family's schemes to their face, leaving no room for politeness.

Pei Yan was silent for two breaths, then suddenly laughed, his smile tinged with a bit of appreciation and also a bit of warning: "No wonder the previous rounds of battle reports raised you up as the academy's dark horse. But no matter how fast the dark horse runs, it must recognize who paved the racetrack."

Lu Jin looked at him, speaking word by word, his tone absolute and leaving no room for negotiation: "Then please go back and tell the person who paved the track—I am not selling the No. 7 Rift Zone route; I am not selling the stele record remnants either. Whoever really wants to walk it later, let them come down and fight for it themselves, and let's see who can hold onto this board!"

Under the corridor outside the pavilion, those peeking gazes instantly froze, and they didn't even dare to breathe.

No one expected Lu Jin to refuse so decisively—it wasn't the bravado of youth; it was that he clearly saw the weight of the price and the foundation of the Pei family, yet still chose to go head-to-head, leaving not even a sliver of room for compromise.

Pei Yan wasn't angry either, his face remaining expressionless, but he slowly took back the thin register, his movements much slower than before, every action exuding pressure: "Fine, this price offer, let's consider it not made tonight."

He stood up, collected the Sun Gold tablet from the table, and walked to the entrance of the stone pavilion. Only then did he turn back to look at Lu Jin, his tone calm but carrying a bone-chilling warning: "But Lu Jin, since the Pei family has already come to ask for this price, we will no longer treat it as a normal student line in the future. The next time we come, we might not be talking about whether to buy it or not, but whether you can still stand on that road yourself."

After speaking, he turned and left with the attendant, without uttering harsh words or releasing pressure, but the confidence behind that composure made people's hearts sink more than any harsh words could—the Pei family's patience had never been in abundance.

The figures peeking from outside the pavilion hesitated for a moment before dispersing, no one daring to linger, leaving behind a corridor filled with gravity.

Lu Jin remained standing in place, his gaze fixed on the direction Pei Yan had left, his expression unchanged, but his mind had already calculated the follow-up.

Until the sound of footsteps circling out from the side corridor behind the stone pavilion broke the silence.

The person who arrived wore a grey short robe, the cuffs pulled tight, deliberately restraining their aura as if afraid of catching someone's edge. The usual faint smile still hung on the corners of their mouth, but the scheming in that smile was several times heavier tonight than usual—it was Young Master Su Jiuheng.

He walked to Lu Jin's side, and his first sentence went straight to the point: "You refused fast enough, and at a high enough cost—refusing the Pei family is equivalent to placing yourself on the crest of the storm."

Lu Jin turned his head to look at him, his tone indifferent: "How long have you been listening?"

"From the moment he said 'elevating you to the table'." Young Master Su Jiuheng was very frank, without any concealment, "If I didn't listen to the beginning, I wouldn't be able to provide you with the real price for these last few sentences."

As he spoke, he pulled a neatly folded grey paper from his sleeve and handed it directly to Lu Jin: "This is not the pretty price tag that the Pei family offers, which looks good but is useless; this is more real—it is the true valuation of the No. 7 Rift Zone board."

Lu Jin took the grey paper, unfolded it, and looked; his pupils instantly darkened.

On the grey paper, there were no resources, no instructor positions, only three extremely short lines of text, yet every word was worth a thousand gold:

[Grey Stele Post: Outer fire-stationing accounting point.]

[Outer Fire Well: Long-line fire supply port.]

[Rift Gate Fire Bridge: Main Stele front gate authority.]

At the very bottom, there was a shorter annotation, hitting the nail on the head: [If the three points are connected into a line, it is not student battle merit; it is the skeleton of the front station.]

Lu Jin raised his eyes to look at Young Master Su Jiuheng, waiting for him to continue.

Young Master Su Jiuheng glanced in the direction Pei Yan had left, his voice lowered to a whisper: "Do you understand now? The Pei family didn't come to buy the route just now; they came to lock in the attribution rights for what comes after. If you had really signed, then no matter who guards the Post Station, who maintains the Fire Well, or who opens the fire gate, it would all be counted in the account of the Pei family's External Affairs Chamber in the end. You aren't a collaborator; you are just a chess piece used to step firmly on the most difficult grey paths for them. In the end, the credit is theirs, and the risk is yours."

Lu Jin looked at the grey paper again, his fingertips stroking the handwriting, and suddenly asked: "You handed this to me; what are you after?"

Young Master Su Jiuheng's smile faded slightly, and his tone became frank: "I'm after you not selling yourself too cheaply, and I'm also after not picking the wrong side myself."

He paused and decided to speak plainly: "This isn't doing you a favor; it's placing a bet. As long as this No. 7 Rift Zone board can really take off, everyone will have to pick a side later. If I don't lean even half a step towards you today, by the time you have all established yourselves, someone like me who buys a ticket late won't even be able to get a mouthful of dust. Helping you is also helping myself."

Lu Jin did not expose the calculated nature of his words, nor did he offer hypocritical pleasantries—he knew that Young Master Su Jiuheng's move was indeed not done for free, but he had truly leaned half an inch towards his side, and this favor had to be remembered.

"I'll remember this." Lu Jin said indifferently.

Young Master Su Jiuheng breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately frowned, his tone becoming increasingly grave: "Don't be happy too soon; the trouble is still ahead. Pei Yan is not some small character testing the waters; he is an executive who can make decisions for the External Affairs Chamber. Since he dared to sit in the War Affairs Outer Pavilion tonight, when they put pressure on the No. 7 Rift Zone later, it won't just be about price—they will send people, they will send sealing strips, they will send the Military Court to investigate, and they will cut off your retreat."

He glanced towards the distant War Affairs Hall again, his voice lowered even further: "And I heard that the Military Court is already collecting the peripheral accounts for the No. 7 Rift Zone in advance. If you really want to enter the front station later, you can't just throw something together temporarily like in military training; you must form a formal front-line squad and follow the rules."

As soon as his voice fell, a deep, air-piercing fire sound suddenly came from the direction of the War Affairs Hall—it was not the daily notification sound in the courtyard, nor was it a signal for the instructors to gather; it was the Red Fire Rift Cry unique to the Military Court's urgent orders, sharp, urgent, and carrying an irresistible majesty.

Young Master Su Jiuheng and Lu Jin looked up almost simultaneously, their gazes cast towards the night sky.

The next instant, a black nail wrapped in red fire lacquer slammed diagonally down from the night sky, hitting the stone wall of the War Affairs Hall with a "thud." The stone wall trembled, the red fire lacquer exploded instantly, and several lines of hard characters bearing the old seal of the Military Court flipped out directly from the stone surface, clearly visible:

No. 7 Rift Zone periphery, front station team-up qualification opened. Before noon, each academy must report formal front-line squads.

The air instantly solidified.

The Pei family's warning was still in his ears, and the Military Court's urgent order had already arrived—Lu Jin knew that the game of the No. 7 Rift Zone was only truly beginning from this moment. And the price for his refusal of the Pei family would soon arrive.