Impressive

What did he see?

Outside the room, the Five Great Hall Masters of Pill Cauldron Pavilion stood at the entrance.

Their gazes were fixed on him.

What was going on?

These were the Five Great Hall Masters of Pill Cauldron Pavilion!

Looking at the entire Dan City, no, even the entire Eastern Region, they were among the most powerful individuals.

Now, these five great figures had all come to his door.

Had he committed some offense?

Zhou Shen felt a little flustered.

He thought back to whether he had done anything wrong recently.

But no matter how he thought about it, he had only given a gift during the assessment, and recently, he had been exchanging glances with Yang Tiancheng, a Pill Cauldron Pavilion Elder.

The former's punishment notice had already been issued, and the latter wouldn't warrant alarming the Five Great Hall Masters, would he?

While thinking this, Zhou Shen tremblingly spoke, "May I ask why you have come?"

"I... I shouldn't have committed any offense, right?"

The five naturally saw his nervousness.

They sighed, thinking that a small fry was just a small fry, lacking perception; did they look like they were looking for trouble?

Of course, though they thought this, one of the Hall Masters immediately spoke, "Little brother, don't be nervous."

"We are here with no ill intentions; on the contrary, we are here to offer you an enormous benefit and fortune."

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhou Shen was instantly dumbfounded.

The Five Great Hall Masters had collectively come to offer him fortune? How did that sound so unreasonable!

Seeing this, the others said no more.

Jun Xiaoyao directly handed over a Storage Pouch filled with one hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

"Little brother, the previous cheating incident during the assessment was clearly a case of our Pill Cauldron Pavilion internal staff making a mountain out of a molehill."

"You merely gave a gift, yet they directly stripped you of your assessment qualification."

"This is a small compensation from our Pill Cauldron Pavilion to you; we hope you will accept it."

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhou Shen instantly became excited.

He took the Storage Pouch, opened it, and glanced inside, instantly freezing in place.

Spirit Stones!

Gleaming white Spirit Stones!

They were piled up like a small mountain, impossible to count.

This instantly left him stunned.

He was enveloped by an overwhelming joy.

"This, how many Spirit Stones is this!"

Forgive him for being bad at math; he really couldn't count how many Spirit Stones there were at that moment.

At this moment, Jun Xiaoyao chuckled and patted his shoulder, saying, "Not much, just one hundred thousand Medium Grade Spirit Stones, that's all."

"Boom..."

As soon as these words were spoken, an boundless storm surged within Zhou Shen's heart.

"Oh, my goodness!"

"One hundred thousand... Medium Grade Spirit Stones... and 'that's all'."

Previously, Yang Tiancheng had given him ten thousand, and he had counted them repeatedly for several days.

Now, the other party had directly given him one hundred thousand; how long would that take to count?

He felt as if his entire being was not well.

A kind of happy trouble lingered in his heart.

Of course, he loved this kind of trouble too much.

If possible, he wished to be surrounded by this trouble every day.

Zhou Shen took a deep breath.

He suppressed his inner excitement.

His hands clutched the Storage Pouch tightly.

"Is this, truly for me?"

Jun Xiaoyao chuckled, "Of course!"

"However, we need you, little brother, to help us with one thing!"

Zhou Shen immediately patted his chest, indicating.

"Don't say one thing, even ten or a hundred things are no problem."

"Even if you want to be my father, I will persuade my deceased parents to agree."

These words instantly made the five's Faces darken.

If they had a son like Zhou Shen, the first thing they would probably do is beat this unfilial son to death, wouldn't they?

Anyone with a bit of backbone would never casually acknowledge a father, would they?

Of course, Zhou Shen's shameless, spineless character was precisely what they liked most.

This meant that as long as the benefits were in place, such a person could do anything.

Thinking of this, their gazes towards Zhou Shen became much more amiable.

Ye Qingshan pondered for a moment and then said, "Actually, it's not a big deal."

"You know Zhong Qing, who was stripped of his exam qualification with you earlier, right?"

"More than just knowing him, we're old friends, incredibly close."

"We drink and eat meat together every day."

Upon hearing this, the five immediately became excited.

They inwardly sighed that they had come to the right place.

They had finally found the right person.

Ye Qingshan suppressed his excitement and said, "Here's the situation: we've come here several times, not just to offer you some compensation, but also to ask for your help."

"Can you provide us with real-time information about Zhong Qing and persuade him to join our Pill Cauldron Pavilion?"

"If you can accomplish this, one hundred thousand Spirit Stones are just an appetizer; I can promise you the position of a Guest Elder."

"This Guest Elder can be considered a truly powerful figure in our Pill Cauldron Pavilion, enjoying the treatment of a Third Grade Alchemist."

"How about it? Would you consider it?"

As his words fell, he looked directly at Zhou Shen.

In his opinion, this treatment was by no means low.

Even some unyielding individuals would be moved by it, let alone a small fry like Zhou Shen, who had no integrity or bottom line.

However, the smiling Zhou Shen of the previous moment instantly turned serious.

He immediately handed the Storage Pouch back to Jun Xiaoyao.

"I'm sorry, I cannot fulfill your condition!"

This stance completely bewildered the five.

"Why is that?"

"Are you not tempted by one hundred thousand Spirit Stones? Do you think the position of Guest Elder is too low? If you're not satisfied, you can propose something else."

One of the Hall Masters asked.

Zhou Shen shook his head.

"This is not a matter of Spirit Stones, nor is it a matter of benefits or treatment."

"Indeed, if I agree to your terms, I will gain unimaginable wealth, an unattainable status, and an opportunity to soar to great heights."

"Indeed, I, Zhou, am despicable and shameless, with no integrity or bottom line."

"But I do have one bottom line."

"That is, in my life, I never betray my brothers."

"Brother Zhong is willing to disregard status and consider me a friend; how can I betray him for wealth and glory?"

"You coming to me now, you must have known that he has already made the decision to refuse you."

"Since he has made his decision, how can I influence it, and what right do I have to influence it?"

"So, if you have anything, please go talk to him!"

"I need to sleep, so I won't entertain you further."

After speaking, he directly retreated into his room, closed the door, leaving the five bewildered in the wind.

The five were stunned.

They looked at each other in dismay.

Clearly, they had never expected that a small fry like Zhou Shen, facing such a huge temptation, would actually refuse them.

Although rejected, they actually thought more highly of Zhou Shen.

They also finally understood why such a small fry could be so close to Zhong Qing.

Though angry, they wouldn't do anything to Zhou Shen; they could only return and see if there were other solutions.

And Zhou Shen, after returning to his room, directly hid under his covers, trembling.

He had felt good refusing them just now.

But to so blatantly disrespect such important figures.

Would they not burst in and slap him to death?

He waited nervously for half a quarter of an hour, seeing no one enter.

He bravely opened the door a crack, wanting to see what was happening.

However, there was no one outside the door anymore.

Clearly, the Five Great Hall Masters had already left.

This made him let out a long sigh of relief.

But when he returned and saw the pile of Spirit Stones lying on his bed, he instantly felt unwell again.

His heart was bleeding from the pain.

Those were one hundred thousand Spirit Stones!

That was the treatment of a Third Grade Alchemist, or even higher.

He had rejected it with just one sentence.

He had never thought that his single sentence could be so valuable.

Of course, while his heart ached, if given the choice again, he would still do the same.

No other reason than this: without Zhong Qing, who would know such a small fry like him?

One can do anything in this life, but one cannot do anything that goes against one's conscience.

...