Return of the Celestial King

Qin Tuo returned the courtesy, nodding as he said,

"Valley Master, you flatter me."

Sun Liyi shook his head and said with a smile,

"Not at all, not at all, Brother Qin. There are very few young men as formidable as you these days!"

After praising Qin Tuo a few more times, Sun Liyi got straight to the point.

"Qin Tuo, I invited you here today because I'd like to propose a partnership."

Qin Tuo asked casually,

"Oh, a partnership? Valley Master, tell me what you have in mind."

Qin Tuo couldn't quite grasp Sun Liyi's true intentions, so he remained inwardly cautious.

Sun Liyi said with a smile,

"Qin Tuo, I hope you'll join our Medicine King Valley. If you do, no one in all of Great Xia will dare to cross you. How about it?"

The offer sounded tempting, but Qin Tuo wasn't one to be easily fooled.

He chuckled lightly, then lifted his cup and took a sip of tea.

"You must be joking, Valley Master. Medicine King Valley is confined to Celestial South Province, so where does this boastful tone come from?"

From Qin Tuo's perspective, Medicine King Valley's influence, at best, covered the whole of Celestial South Province. It would be impressive if it even extended to a small region outside the province. There was no way it could possess such immense deterrent power throughout all of Great Xia.

Hearing this, however, Sun Liyi simply smiled without saying a word, adopting an enigmatic expression.

Qin Tuo wasn't in a rush. 'Let's see what this old fox has planned.'

Sun Liyi lifted his teacup, took a sip, and said with a smile,

"Qin Tuo, you don't have to believe me, that's fine. But if you have any conditions, feel free to state them now!"

He appeared very generous, as if he could satisfy all of Qin Tuo's demands.

But Qin Tuo cut right to the chase.

"I can see you're not the one calling the shots. Why don't you let the person who is come out?"

As he finished speaking, Qin Tuo's cold gaze fixed on the spot behind the room's folding screen.

Sun Liyi froze, stunned. He never expected Qin Tuo to have sensed someone there!

Just as he predicted, a young master as gentle and refined as jade emerged from behind the screen. It was Zhu Zifeng.

Zhu Zifeng smiled faintly and said,

"I am Zhu Zifeng. You have sharp eyes indeed, my friend."

He was perfectly composed, his bearing extraordinary, showing not the slightest hint of embarrassment.

In truth, Qin Tuo had sensed a person behind the screen the moment he entered the room. Furthermore, their aura was at least at the level of a Grandmaster.

Qin Tuo knew perfectly well that anyone qualified to stand behind that screen had to be someone of extraordinary status.

And indeed, upon seeing Zhu Zifeng emerge, Sun Liyi immediately went over to greet him respectfully.

"Second Young Master!"

Zhu Zifeng's eyes, however, never left Qin Tuo. He proceeded to introduce himself.

"Brother Qin, I am from the Zhu Family of the Capital City."

As he said this, he stared intently into Qin Tuo's eyes, waiting for a reaction.

After all, the name "Zhu Family of the Capital City" alone was enough to intimidate countless people.

Zhu Zifeng was supremely confident, eager to see a look of utter shock on Qin Tuo's face.

However, Qin Tuo didn't react in the slightest, as if he'd never even heard of this supposed "Zhu Family."

A flicker of disappointment instantly crossed Zhu Zifeng's face.

Qin Tuo said nonchalantly,

"I have no interest in where you come from. I came to Medicine King Valley, but I have no intention of joining."

Still maintaining a faint smile, Zhu Zifeng asked,

"Oh? In that case, Brother Qin, what are your intentions?"

Qin Tuo stated unequivocally,

"I came to Medicine King Valley only because I'm interested in the medicinal herbs here. I just want to conduct a transaction."

Zhu Zifeng grew even more disappointed. He could see that in everything Qin Tuo said, there was no deference to his identity; he merely wanted to do business with Medicine King Valley.

He thought for a moment, then said earnestly,

"Qin Tuo, you must understand the principle that it's cool and shady under a large tree."

Qin Tuo feigned confusion and said,

"Young Master Zhu, what do you mean by that?"

Zhu Zifeng said with an arrogant look,

"Qin Tuo, I know you recently ran afoul of the Blood Moon Pavilion and the Capital City's Chief Instructor, Liao Feihu. If you had the protection of our Zhu Family, they wouldn't dare trouble you again."

He spoke with overbearing arrogance, his words filled with immense confidence.

Beside him, Medicine King Valley Master Sun Liyi and the others all wore confident smiles as they watched Qin Tuo, waiting for him to make the "correct" choice.

However, Qin Tuo slowly shook his head and responded,

"These are my own affairs, and I will handle them myself. If they dare to come for revenge, I'll dare to kill them. I don't need anyone meddling in my business."

Qin Tuo had spoken these words quite calmly, but to Zhu Zifeng, they sounded arrogant to the extreme.

Ever since childhood, everyone around Zhu Zifeng had been utterly subservient. No one had ever dared to defy him.

Yet today, Qin Tuo had defied him time and time again, which greatly displeased Zhu Zifeng.

"Qin Tuo, a man shouldn't be too arrogant. It's easy to take a hard fall that way."

Anyone could detect the hint of anger in Zhu Zifeng's tone.

But Qin Tuo appeared completely unfazed. He set down his teacup and said,

"Since we can't reach an agreement, I'll take my leave."

Seeing Qin Tuo about to leave, all of them frowned slightly.

Realizing they couldn't recruit Qin Tuo, Sun Liyi decided to settle for the next best thing.

"How about this, Qin Tuo? Since you're unwilling to join our Medicine King Valley, let's put that aside for now. Shall we discuss another matter?"

Qin Tuo turned back slowly and said with a hint of impatience,

"If there's something else, say it. Don't waste my time."

Seeing Qin Tuo's attitude, Zhu Zifeng's brow furrowed deeply once more. A ripple disturbed the calm of his mind.

As a scion of a great family, he had been taught to cultivate his temperament from a young age, yet in Qin Tuo's presence, Zhu Zifeng found it impossible to remain composed.

Sun Liyi said earnestly,

"It's like this, Qin Tuo. I would like to purchase the formula for the Small Rejuvenation Pill that you possess, for a hefty price. What do you say?"

Sun Liyi had already had the Valley's Alchemy masters study the pill. They had unanimously agreed that they must obtain the formula for the Small Rejuvenation Pill.

This formula might even help Medicine King Valley elevate the Alchemy techniques they had honed for generations, allowing them to make a massive breakthrough!

This was, in fact, one of the main reasons Sun Liyi had specifically invited Qin Tuo here.

However, Qin Tuo just sneered and said,

"Even if I gave you the formula for the Small Rejuvenation Pill, your Medicine King Valley lacks the ability to actually concoct it."

As soon as he said this, both Sun Liyi and the nearby Zhu Zifeng couldn't help but burst out laughing.

The way they looked at Qin Tuo was now tinged with ridicule.

Sun Liyi looked as though he'd heard the funniest joke in the world and said sarcastically,

"Qin Tuo, you certainly have some skill, but what a shame your ego is so massive. I'm afraid you have no idea what our Medicine King Valley is truly capable of, do you?"