Chapter 28: Sword Cultivators Deserve Respect

Qin Guan quickly made his way to the sitting room, where he found Nan Rou chatting and laughing with Jiang Lianyue. He hurried forward with a smile. "Miss Jiang, sorry to keep you waiting."

"You've got some nerve — you're the one who asked for help, and you make the other person come to your door and wait for you!" Jiang Lianyue's expression soured the moment she saw him.

Nan Rou also shot Qin Guan a resentful glance. He had been so consumed by his cultivation these past few days that he hadn't even come back to the room to sleep.

"Ha ha!" Qin Guan grinned sheepishly.

"Just tell me — what do you need?" Jiang Lianyue looked at him.

"I've heard that Tianbao Pavilion's Formation Masters are top-notch. A while back, I accidentally collapsed the cultivation chamber, and I was wondering if Tianbao Pavilion could help the Nan Family build a new one."

He had recently heard from Nan Rou that the family's disciples had no cultivation chamber and were forced to cultivate in their rooms, drastically reducing their efficiency — something that had been weighing on Nan Yunqi's mind.

"You're something else!" Upon hearing that Qin Guan had collapsed the cultivation chamber, Jiang Lianyue couldn't help but give him a thumbs-up.

"The chamber had been neglected for years and was already falling apart," Qin Guan said with an embarrassed laugh, then added, "How much would it cost to build a new one?"

"That depends on the quality you want. A basic one runs a few tens of millions of gold coins, while a top-tier one can go into the hundreds of millions with no upper limit," Jiang Lianyue said with a smile.

"That expensive!" Qin Guan was stunned. He hadn't realized what a disaster he'd caused — no wonder Nan Yunqi had wanted to fight him to the death back then.

"What did you expect? A good cultivation chamber can double a cultivator's efficiency. That's crucial for a family's growth and power. Just hiring a skilled Formation Master alone is no small expense."

At that, Jiang Lianyue turned to Nan Rou with a smile. "Of course, out of respect for Sister Rou'er, I can waive the Formation Master's fee — which would normally run tens of millions — but you'll still need to cover the materials yourselves."

Qin Guan glanced at Nan Rou in puzzlement. When had this girl become Jiang Lianyue's older sister?

Seeming to read his thoughts, Nan Rou smiled. "Husband, Little Sister Yue'er and I hit it off right away. We just swore sisterhood a moment ago."

Sworn sisters — and what a little sister-in-law to have. A proper wealthy lady, no less.

"Well, that's wonderful!" Qin Guan smiled, then turned to a nearby maidservant. "Go fetch the head of the family quickly."

Even with the Formation Master's fee waived, the materials would certainly not be cheap, and Qin Guan didn't have a single gold coin on him.

Upon learning that Jiang Lianyue had arrived, Nan Yunqi hurried over.

"Miss Jiang, please forgive this old man for not coming out to welcome you sooner!"

"Uncle Nan, you're too polite," Jiang Lianyue said with a smile.

At that moment, Qin Guan turned to Nan Yunqi. "Father-in-law, how much money does the Nan Family have on hand right now?"

Nan Yunqi thought for a moment. "A little over two million."

"That little." Qin Guan's mouth twitched. The Nan Family really was just an empty shell!

Noticing Qin Guan's odd expression, Nan Yunqi frowned. "Do you need money?"

"No, I was originally thinking of asking Miss Jiang to help build a cultivation chamber, but I didn't expect the family to only have two million." Qin Guan waved his hand.

Hearing this, Nan Yunqi let out a sigh. "The Grand Elder and Second Elder ran off with many of the family's assets and businesses. On top of that, many of the Nan Family's remaining shops are operating at a loss."

"They ran off with them — why haven't you gotten them back?" Qin Guan frowned.

"The Nan Family is short-handed right now, and Spirit Sword Academy might come looking for revenge. I don't dare let the disciples go out freely," Nan Yunqi said helplessly.

Qin Guan fell silent after hearing this. A moment later, he suddenly called out toward the door: "Old Mo!"

The words had barely left his mouth when a broad-shouldered, middle-aged man appeared at the entrance to the sitting room as if from nowhere.

At the sight of the man, Nan Yunqi was startled. Who was this person? Where had he come from?

Jiang Lianyue also furrowed her brow slightly. This man's aura was deep and restrained, carrying a natural authority without any outward display — an invisible pressure that bore down on those around him.

"What are your orders, Young Master?" The middle-aged man stepped before Qin Guan and bowed respectfully.

"This afternoon, take two men and accompany my father-in-law to the Xiao Family. Recover all the assets that were taken by those two traitorous Elders of the Nan Family." Qin Guan said.

With the Xiao Family Patriarch Xiao Yun dead and Xiao Yeshan crippled by his own hand, they posed no threat whatsoever.

"Understood!" Old Mo nodded and withdrew.

Qin Guan looked at Nan Yunqi. "Father-in-law, show no mercy to traitors. Reclaim what belongs to the Nan Family in Luyun City — take back what should be taken, fight for what should be fought for. As for Spirit Sword Academy, don't worry about them."

Nan Yunqi nodded eagerly. It seemed Qin Guan had already found capable help — the man called Old Mo clearly had strength no less than his own.

Nan Yunqi thought for a moment, then turned to Jiang Lianyue. "Miss Jiang, I have some spiritual materials on hand. Would you be able to help me sell them through Tianbao Pavilion at a good price?"

"What kind of treasures does Uncle Nan have?" Jiang Lianyue asked with a smile.

Nan Yunqi produced a Storage Ring and handed it to Jiang Lianyue.

Jiang Lianyue opened the Storage Ring, and when she saw the pile of precious spiritual herbs and materials inside, her beautiful eyes immediately lit up. "Uncle Nan, you've struck it rich!"

Nan Yunqi rubbed his hands together with a grin. "It was all Qin Guan who brought these back. How much do you think they're worth?"

"Three stalks of Spiritual Bloom Immortal Grass — market price is over five million per stalk. Then there's the Century Blood Ginseng, Ganoderma mushroom, and Spirit-Gathering Herb — those together are worth over ten million. Uncle Nan, selling all of this for thirty million gold coins would be no problem."

Hearing thirty million, Nan Yunqi was overcome with excitement. At the height of the Nan Family's prosperity, the most they had ever had in their accounts was five or six million. Thirty million gold coins — they had never been this wealthy before.

"Father-in-law, why not just give all these materials to Miss Jiang and have her build the cultivation chamber for the Nan Family in exchange?" Qin Guan suddenly said with a grin.

Jiang Lianyue shot Qin Guan a sideways glance. "You really know how to drive a bargain!"

Qin Guan laughed. "Of course, we can't let Miss Jiang take a loss either. If it's not enough, we'll put the rest on account and pay you back later."

At that, Jiang Lianyue turned a calculating gaze toward Qin Guan — or more precisely, toward the sword on his back. "How about you give me that sword instead, and I'll have them build something for the Nan Family worth sixty million gold coins?"

Upon hearing Jiang Lianyue's words, Nan Yunqi's pupils contracted sharply. Only now did he notice that Qin Guan was actually carrying a soul-grade sword on his back.

Heavens — a soul-grade artifact was a priceless treasure. The Nan Family didn't even own a single spirit-grade artifact, yet Qin Guan, a Martial Artist, had somehow gotten his hands on a soul-grade sword and was carrying it on his back.

"Miss Jiang," Qin Guan's mouth twitched, "please respect Sword Cultivators."

Jiang Lianyue's beautiful eyes flashed with a hint of surprise. "You've succeeded?"

"Just getting started," Qin Guan said with a nod and a smile.

Beside them, Nan Yunqi and Nan Rou furrowed their brows. What were these two talking about?

Jiang Lianyue gave a slight nod and said nothing more. It seemed Qin Guan had found a way to cultivate the Sword Dao.

At that moment, Nan Yunqi suddenly said, "Qin Guan, that soul-grade sword of yours, why not—"

"Father-in-law, please respect Sword Cultivators!"

Nan Yunqi's face darkened. A Martial Artist carries a soul-grade sword and suddenly calls himself a Sword Cultivator…

"Son-in-law, there's an old beggar at the gate who says he wants to see you!" Just then, a servant rushed in to report.

"A beggar?" Qin Guan frowned slightly.

"He says he's come to apologize to you and insists on seeing you," the servant said.

"Bring him in," Qin Guan said.

"Yes!"

Shortly after, the servant led the old beggar into the sitting room.

The old beggar's hair was disheveled, his clothes tattered and filthy. His left sleeve hung empty, and it was stained with conspicuous patches of dried blood.

Everyone present looked on with curiosity.

Then the old beggar suddenly raised his head and looked at Qin Guan. "Young Hero Qin, this old man was unable to bring Jiang Long and Ah Liang to you, and has come specifically to offer his apologies!"

Chen Guanxiang!

At the old beggar's words, everyone finally recognized him — was this not Chen Guanxiang, the Elder of Yunlan Sect? How had he ended up in such a wretched and miserable state?

Qin Guan was also taken aback. "Elder Chen, your arm—"

At that, the depths of Chen Guanxiang's eyes seemed to ignite with two rising flames. His voice trembled as he gritted his teeth. "It was cut off by that old bastard Zheng Wanshou!"

Everyone was shocked once again!

"Zheng Wanshou?" Qin Guan frowned.

Seeing Qin Guan's puzzled look, Jiang Lianyue explained, "Zheng Wanshou is the Sect Master of Yunlan Sect."