94: Chapter 94 The Transaction: Purchase of Dragon-Shaped Grass

Shanhe Martial Arts Hall.

Manager Zhao and Secretary Jin had been waiting downstairs early on.

“Fang Zhuo, how about we go to Jinhe Grand Restaurant first and set up a table to welcome you back?”

Manager Zhao looked at the travel-worn Fang Zhuo and asked very solemnly.

As someone from the Shanhe Group, even though he was just a branch manager of one of their martial arts halls, he had already received the news.

Fang Zhuo had obtained the phoenix essence blood reward from his customized contract with the Starry Sky Group, breaking through to become a Transcendent Martial Artist in one fell swoop.

And... he was suspected of killing Ding Nan in the Wilderness Area!

Even though several hours had passed since he received the news, he still could not calm his mind at this moment.

A Transcendent Martial Artist!

How long had it been? He had actually achieved it!

“No need, let's finish the transaction first. I'll treat you to dinner another day, Manager Zhao.” Fang Zhuo waved his hand; it wasn't just polite talk.

After returning to Blue Star this time and restoring his father Fang Wu's vitality, he was in no hurry to leave.

He would stay for a few more days, spend time with his family, and engage in some necessary social interactions.

As the manager of the Shanhe Martial Arts Hall, Manager Zhao was himself a Level 39 Advanced Martial Artist. Both his strength and status were quite good in Jinhe City.

Further improving their relationship would allow him to look after Fang Zhuo's family when necessary.

Fang Zhuo was strong now, but he would definitely be stationed on the Origin Star in the future, at the Starry Sky Group's headquarters. After all, they had many rare cultivation facilities and resources there, such as the High-Civilization Gravity Chamber.

As the saying goes, distant water cannot quench a nearby thirst. Having someone like Manager Zhao to help out in Jinhe City would save him a lot of worry.

“Haha, then it's a deal! I'm definitely holding you to that dinner!”

Manager Zhao said with a laugh.

He didn't ask about Fang Zhuo's current strength either, but quickly got straight to the point: “You mentioned you wanted to sell tens of billions worth of resources. I've already contacted a merchant.”

“He's someone I know from the Shanhe Group headquarters. You can rest assured regarding his credibility.”

“This way, please, Mr. Fang.”

Secretary Jin stepped forward and led the way respectfully.

Manager Zhao and Fang Zhuo chatted and laughed as the three of them went up to the VIP conference hall on the top floor of the Shanhe Martial Arts Hall.

Inside the room, a man wearing a combat suit seemed to have been waiting for a long time.

The man had short hair, an aquiline nose, and a prominent scar on his thin face. He had a fierce temperament and looked less like a merchant and more like a martial artist who had roamed the Wilderness Area for many years.

“Mr. Fang, a pleasure to meet you!”

“Hello, Mr. Lu.”

Fang Zhuo reached out his hand and lightly shook hands with him.

On the way up, Manager Zhao had already introduced him. This merchant's surname was Lu, a local of Jinhe City.

He was once a Level 42 Transcendent Martial Artist who had ventured on the Origin Star for over a decade, accumulating a net worth of over ten billion. He had wanted to continue pursuing the martial path,

but an accident damaged his foundation. Let alone cultivating further, even exerting full force in a fight became difficult. Forced to retire back to Blue Star, he relied on the connections he had built in his youth to become quite a well-known merchant.

“I heard it's a deal worth tens of billions this time?” When Mr. Lu smiled, his aquiline nose twitched, giving off a rather cunning vibe.

Fearing that Fang Zhuo might worry, Manager Zhao quickly whispered a reassurance from the side: “Mr. Lu does business honestly with everyone, and his reputation is excellent.”

“I have a few combat suits here. Mr. Lu, why don't you see what price you can offer?”

Fang Zhuo first took out seven brand-new ss-grade combat suits from his tactical backpack. These were all system rebates, and he was only selling seven because he wanted to keep one for his own use.

After all... he couldn't keep using Bai Shiwei's combat suit forever.

“Combat suits?”

Hearing this, Mr. Lu's interest waned. He assumed they were S-grade, which would only be worth a few hundred million for a few suits—hardly a major deal.

“SS-grade!” He took them and ran his hands over them, saying, “And they're brand new from the factory... absolutely zero wear and tear.”

“I can offer you 980 million per suit.”

“Deal.”

Fang Zhuo was quite satisfied with this price. Although the combat suits were brand new, they weren't 'straight from the manufacturer' after all. Even if he sold them directly to individual martial artists, it would be around this price.

It was impossible to sell them at the original price of 1 billion.

“What about this one?”

Fang Zhuo pulled out another battle-scarred ss-grade combat suit.

“The wear and tear is quite high. The waist and abdomen areas are severely damaged, so they can no longer provide protection. All in all, the most I can offer is the cost price of 20 million.”

Mr. Lu lifted the combat suit, his eyes scanning it like a ruler.

“Alright, then how about you appraise these remaining two items together, Boss Lu?”

Fang Zhuo took out the butchered and packaged Horned Lion exotic beast, along with a pitch-black herb.

Mr. Lu's nose twitched, and a look of surprise and doubt appeared on his face. Once he saw the two items clearly, he couldn't help but exclaim in shock:

“A Level 45 Horned Lion!”

“And a millennium dark cloud vine...!”

He had left the Origin Star and stayed away from the Wilderness Area for several years, but his cultivation realm and eye for detail were still there.

Fang Zhuo didn't quite feel like a Level 40 Transcendent Martial Artist to him, but shouldn't he still be quite a ways off from being able to kill a Level 45 Transcendent Exotic Beast?

However, Mr. Lu was a businessman now, so he didn't pry. Instead, he quickly said, “The materials of this Level 45 Horned Lion are very complete, and the flesh is preserved very freshly. The market price is around 120 million.”

“But it's rare for Transcendent Martial Artists to take a flying vessel to bring it back to Blue Star for sale. I can offer you 130 million!”

Mr. Lu smiled. This saved a lot of costs compared to sourcing goods on the Origin Star, such as interplanetary 'tariffs', transportation fees, and so on.

Moreover, it was fresh. There were plenty of wealthy people on Blue Star, especially in the Xia Kingdom, who really knew how to enjoy various exotic beast meats. There would be no shortage of buyers for this Transcendent Exotic Beast meat.

“And what about this... millennium dark cloud vine?”

Fang Zhuo was very satisfied with the price. Manager Zhao hadn't lied to him; this Boss Lu was indeed a merchant with an excellent reputation.

“Heh, this is of no low value. I didn't expect that you, as someone from the Starry Sky Martial Artist Group, would be able to get your hands on this precious medicine!”

Mr. Lu gave Fang Zhuo a meaningful look and took the initiative to explain, “This millennium dark cloud vine comes from the Tengfei Group's Black Water Field. In the entire Federation, only the Tengfei Group can produce it, with an annual yield of only eight to ten stalks.”

“The Tengfei Group's Black Water Field?”

Fang Zhuo was puzzled.

“You didn't know? It's similar to your Starry Sky Group's famous Phoenix Meat Field, though its grade is just a tiny bit lower.”

Mr. Lu said, “They are both black technologies of high civilizations.”

“Similar fields are held by each of the Three Great Warrior Groups and the Eight First-Class Martial Artist Groups. The resources they yield can be considered strategic-grade resources, usually reserved only for nurturing their own genius martial artists.”

“I see...”

Fang Zhuo understood. He couldn't help but sigh, realizing he still knew too little about the Federation's major martial artist groups.

However, after this, his cultivation wouldn't need to be so tightly wound. He could free up more time to learn about the Federation, and even the universe!

“The millennium dark cloud vines produced by the Tengfei Group rarely leak out. They've appeared on the black market a few times, with the highest auction price reaching 10 billion and the lowest at 6 billion.”

Boss Lu smiled and said, “I can meet you in the middle and acquire it for 8 billion.”

“Deal.”

This price was very fair. Fang Zhuo pushed all the items toward Mr. Lu.

Mr. Lu also took out a silver-white jade box. After opening it, a stalk of dragon-shaped grass was revealed. “As a major customer, I can give you a price of 1.98 billion.”

“Alright.”

Fang Zhuo took a deep breath and didn't bargain. Firstly, this was already 20 million cheaper than the official price, and secondly, he just wanted to complete the transaction as quickly as possible at this moment.

“Mr. Fang is indeed a straightforward person. I haven't done such a satisfying deal in a long time, haha!”

Mr. Lu handed the box containing the dragon-shaped grass to Fang Zhuo and said heartily, “Then it's a deal! Adding it all up, the total value of the items you sold is 15.15 billion, the dragon-shaped grass is 1.98 billion, so in the end, I'll pay you 13.17 billion.”

“No problem.”

Fang Zhuo looked at the dragon-shaped grass, feeling somewhat excited. Could such a tiny, wondrous herb really restore vitality to decaying cells?