"You wretched son! Enough of your nonsense! Apologize to this young man at once!"
Cao Jingwen glared at Cao ng, furious at his incompetence, and barked sternly.
Just a mont ago, when he had looked at Cao Jingbin, Cao Jingbin had given him a slight shake of his head.
The two had grown up together, so Cao Jingwen naturally understood his younger brother's aning: he was telling him not to fight Chu Qingyun.
Having been slapped and then scolded, Cao ng, though still confused about the situation, lowered his head and obediently apologized to Chu Qingyun.
He was feeling utterly miserable.
Back in Fla City, he had been viciously ridiculed and mocked by the others in line because of Chu Qingyun.
Outside the city, on the edge of the Mist Forest, his two subordinates had been killed by Chu Qingyun, who then forced him to write an IOU for five thousand Top-Grade Primordial Stones.
'No matter how you looked at it, I'm the one who suffered a huge loss,' he thought. 'But now, I still have to lower my head and apologize. This is the absolute height of frustration.'
After Cao ng apologized, Cao Jingwen put on a placating smile and said, "Whatever happened, it was my son's fault. He has now apologized. Young man, perhaps you can let these people go? When we return to Fla City, I will definitely host a banquet for my son to formally apologize. What do you think?"
Before Chu Qingyun could speak, Cao ng blurted out, "Father, we can't just let it go like this! What about the Demon Core? That was a Tier Three Demon Core!"
Cao Jingwen's face twitched with rage. 'I wish I could just slap this idiot to death.'
'So many of our family mbers, including his own brother, are in their hands. We'll be lucky to get everyone back in one piece, and he's still talking about so Demon Core?'
"Shut up, you idiot! Say one more word and I'll tear your mouth apart!"
Seeing that his father was truly furious, Cao ng cowered and stepped to the side, not daring to even breathe too loudly.
"Patriarch Cao, you can take your ti disciplining your son at ho. But for now, shouldn't we discuss the matter of their ransom?"
Chu Qingyun said coolly, glancing at Cao ng.
'Ransom?'
Cao Jingwen frowned, unsure of what Chu Qingyun was planning.
"Previously, when I captured your son, Cao ng, he ransod himself for five thousand Top-Grade Primordial Stones. Now there are so many people here. Patriarch Cao, how much are you prepared to offer?" Chu Qingyun explained with a smile.
Hearing this, the mbers of the Cao Family finally understood why Chu Qingyun had only injured them instead of taking their lives.
'So that's it,' they thought. 'He's treating us like hostages to be exchanged for money.'
"How much do you want?"
Cao Jingwen's expression darkened.
He had a bad feeling about this. The Cao Family was about to suffer a massive loss. 'This Chu Qingyun has gone to great lengths to capture so many people; he's definitely going to make an outrageous demand.'
"Heh heh, it's simple. Your son is just a first-level Martial Artist, and no one here is weaker than him. So, how about we use his price as the standard?" Chu Qingyun said with a sly grin.
"Impossible!"
Cao Jingwen couldn't help but cry out in shock.
Cao ng had paid five thousand Top-Grade Primordial Stones to ransom himself. There were over twenty, almost thirty people here. If each person cost five thousand Top-Grade Primordial Stones, the total would be one hundred and fifty thousand Top-Grade Primordial Stones.
To put that in perspective, Chu Qingyun had only obtained about one hundred and twenty thousand Top-Grade Primordial Stones from the Martial King's Tomb.
One hundred and fifty thousand Top-Grade Primordial Stones was equivalent to fifteen million Upper-Grade Primordial Stones. Even if they sold off the entire Cao Family, it wouldn't be worth that much.
Chu Qingyun shook his head gently. "Tsk tsk, a man's own son truly is his dearest. Since Patriarch Cao is unwilling to pay, what use is there in keeping this bunch of useless trash? Now, who should I start killing first..."
Hearing this, the faces of the n squatting on the ground with their hands on their heads changed drastically. One by one, they looked at Cao Jingwen with desperate, pleading eyes, begging their Patriarch to save them.
As for Cao Jingwen, his expression was grim as he cursed Chu Qingyun's shalessness in his heart.
'With a single sentence, the kid has backed into a corner.'
The Martial Artists here represented nearly all of the Cao Family's elite forces.
Although they all served the Cao Family, more than half of them did not share the Cao surna; they were Martial Artists the family had recruited.
If Cao Jingwen refused to save them, or even if he failed to save just one, there would be only one outco: the Martial Artists with other surnas, and even those nad Cao, would grow estranged from the family.
The slightest misstep could risk the Cao Family falling apart entirely.
No matter what, Cao Jingwen no longer had a choice. He had to save every single Martial Artist here, without leaving anyone behind.
"One hundred and fifty thousand Top-Grade Primordial Stones is too outrageous. You couldn't get that much even if you sold , Cao Jingwen. If you're serious about making a deal, then na a reasonable price."
Cao Jingwen said, his face grim.
"Outrageous? Patriarch Cao, take a look at this one. Is he worth five thousand Top-Grade Primordial Stones?" Chu Qingyun said, hauling Cao Jingbin to his feet.
At that mont, Cao Jingbin was so furious his face turned ashen. 'My lungs are about to explode,' he thought.
'I am the distinguished Second Master of the Cao Family, a reputable figure in Fla City. And now, I'm being held by so brat and haggled over like produce at a market. This is a complete and utter humiliation!'
"This one... is worth it!"
Cao Jingwen said resignedly. Cao Jingbin was the Cao Family's second-strongest expert and his own biological brother. He couldn't possibly say he wasn't worth five thousand.
Otherwise, wouldn't that imply that in his heart, Cao Jingbin's status was lower than Cao ng's?
If that happened, he would lose the loyalty of all his people.
"I think he's worth eight thousand. What do you think, Patriarch Cao?"
"Fine! Your call. Eight thousand it is!"
With one deal settled, Chu Qingyun casually tossed Cao Jingbin aside. Then, he dragged out three Fifth-level Martial Artists. "Patriarch Cao, are these three worth five thousand?"
These Fifth-level Martial Artists were the three strongest mbers of the Cao Family, aside from the brothers Cao Jingwen and Cao Jingbin.
To maintain morale and prevent a rift from forming between the three Fifth-level Martial Artists and the family, Cao Jingwen gritted his teeth and nodded. "They are!"
'My heart is bleeding,' he thought. 'That was just four people, and the total is already twenty-three thousand Top-Grade Primordial Stones! The entire Cao Family couldn't earn that much even after several years of hard work!'
However, when they got to the fourth-level Martial Artists, Cao Jingwen began to argue his case and haggle with Chu Qingyun.
'Fourth-level Martial Artists aren't considered particularly powerful experts. Although haggling will certainly hurt their feelings, I can't just let Chu Qingyun keep making outrageous demands, even if it ans bruising so egos.'
After a round of intense negotiations, they agreed on a price of sixty-two thousand Top-Grade Primordial Stones to ransom all the captured Martial Artists, including Cao Jingbin.
Cao Jingwen tore off a piece of his clothing, bit his finger to draw blood, and wrote out an IOU for sixty-two thousand Top-Grade Primordial Stones. He pressed his Hand Seal onto it and tossed it to Chu Qingyun.
"The IOU is written. You can release them now, can't you?"
Right now, Cao Jingwen's heart was practically gushing blood. 'Over sixty thousand Top-Grade Primordial Stones... For the Cao Family, this isn't just a massive loss; it's like being skinned alive and having our tendons ripped out.'
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