Chapter 32: The Highest Monthly Salary in History

"Uh... Qiu Chuji? Then you must be from the Quanzhen Sect. Is your master Wang Chongyang? Are there the Seven True Sons of Quanzhen?" Tang Yi was once again struck by surprise.

"Oh, I didn't expect that even a small sect like our Quanzhen Daoist school is known to you, Daoist Tang. My master is indeed Wang Chongyang. He took in seven disciples, including myself, but we've never been called the Seven True Sons of Quanzhen," Qiu Chuji replied, puzzled.

"Ahem... just happened to hear about it by chance. But let's discuss my matter first," Tang Yi said, embarrassed.

"Very well, Daoist Tang, please speak," Qiu Chuji said, making a gesture of invitation.

"Daoist Qiu, in my opinion, you are a man of broad knowledge. Here is the situation: I've just established the Tang Group, and what I lack most is talent like yours. So, I'd like to invite you to join my Tang Group," Tang Yi extended his invitation to Qiu Chuji.

"Daoist Tang must be joking. Although Quanzhen is a small sect, as Changchunzi, I am a man of loyalty and righteousness. Such a thing as betraying my sect is not something I could ever do. There's no need to discuss this any further," Qiu Chuji said, clearly misunderstanding.

"Daoist Qiu, it seems you’ve misunderstood. I’m inviting you to join the group, not to betray your sect. Besides, at best, my Tang Group is just a large-scale business, not a sect or school, so you needn’t worry. In fact, if you ask around, you’ll find that the members of the Tang Group come from all sorts of sects and schools; it’s not a single, unified sect," Tang Yi patiently explained.

"Oh, I see. However, for a matter like this, I still need to report to my master and obtain his permission," Qiu Chuji said after some thought.

"Of course. In that case, for our convenience in staying in touch, here, please take this—a portable video communicator. My number is already stored in it; you just have to dial to reach me. If you’re unsure how to use it, just press this help button. There’s a tutorial that will guide you step by step," Tang Yi said, taking out a new model communicator, just a bit bigger than a palm, flip-style, and briefly explained its use to Qiu Chuji.

"Oh, so this is the legendary new portable communicator. It’s said to be very expensive... Ah, I forgot, you invented these. Then I shouldn’t feel bad accepting it. But since you’ve given me such a precious gift, I must reciprocate—please, Daoist Tang, you must accept these talismans as a return gift," Qiu Chuji said, taking a pile of talismans from his storage ring and handing them to Tang Yi.

"Ruoxue, you take them—they’ll be more useful for you," Tang Yi said, accepting the talismans without ceremony and handing them to Hua Ruoxue. The moment he received them, he realized that the talismans Qiu Chuji had just presented were truly exquisite. Those displayed on the stall were decent, but still two or three grades lower.

"Daoist Qiu, we’ll take our leave for now. Let’s stay in touch, whether there’s business or not!" Tang Yi said, pulling Hua Ruoxue with him as they made their way through the crowd to continue exploring the fair.

The sun gradually sank westward. With the resounding clang of the great gong atop Azurecloud Peak, the first day of the trade fair came to a close. Hua Shaojie and the others quickly packed up their stalls and returned to the small villa on Bamboo Peak. Along the way, they grumbled incessantly about Tang Yi’s actions. Sun Lang found this odd—after all, Tang Yi was technically their superior, so how could they speak of him this way?

"Brother Lin Jiang, do you often complain about Brother Tang like this? Aren’t you afraid he’ll find out?" Sun Lang asked Lin Jiang.

"Haha... We’re more afraid he won’t find out! You’re new here, so you haven’t spent much time with Brother Tang yet. You’ll understand what kind of person he is after a while," Lin Jiang and the others laughed.

"Oh? Brother Lin Jiang, could you tell me? What kind of person is Brother Tang, really?" Sun Lang asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Alright, I’ll satisfy your curiosity. Sun Lang, you fought in the Ten-Year War. How much do you know about Brother Tang’s deeds on the battlefield?" Lin Jiang replied with a question of his own.

"I only know that after the battles, Brother Tang would heal the wounded and save lives. Anyone who survived was completely restored, and some even advanced further in their spiritual power," Sun Lang answered.

"Everyone knows that. But do you know that during the fights, Brother Tang was napping in the back—so deep asleep he was drooling?" Lin Jiang revealed with a grin.

"What! Really?" Sun Lang was incredulous.

"Very few people know about this. At the time, only Brother Shaojie, the other two, myself, and Chief Steward Dan went looking for Brother Tang. Everyone else was busy gathering spoils or tending their wounds," Lin Jiang explained.

"But why was that?" Sun Lang pressed further.

"Well, you should remember that strange incident during the war, shouldn’t you?" Lin Jiang countered.

"I do remember. I slashed at a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Pegasus System who was surrounded. Just as my sword was about to strike his shoulder, suddenly, like everyone else, I found myself lying on the ground. It was really bizarre... Don’t tell me that was Brother Tang’s doing?" Sun Lang looked at Lin Jiang in disbelief.

"You guessed it. It was Brother Tang’s trick. He let it slip once in conversation—otherwise, we would never have known. Zhang Qiang here can vouch for it," Lin Jiang said with certainty.

"Yes, I, Zhang Qiang, can testify to that. Look at my current cultivation—Spirit Silence Stage. Do you know how long it took me to reach it? Three days. Just three days. I advanced from mid-Foundation Establishment to early Spirit Silence in that time," Zhang Qiang said.

"Impossible! What can you do in three days? A single meditation session would take that long. How could that be?" Sun Lang was stunned.

"Don’t doubt it. The Tang Group is about to open a Speed Cultivation Academy—just wait and see. Ah, here we are. I’m going to rest now; today was exhausting. Oh! Brother Tang, you have to give us a raise! Today wore us out," Lin Jiang said as he entered the villa, only to see Tang Yi and Hua Ruoxue enjoying their tea in the courtyard.

"A raise? Let’s hear your results for today first," Tang Yi said without even looking up, continuing to chat sweetly with Hua Ruoxue.

"Haha, Brother Tang, you’re a genius! That couple-communication machine and couple-number you came up with sold out completely—five hundred pairs, all snatched up! These people have money—a pair costs three hundred high-grade spirit stones, that’s three months’ salary for me! I’m broke, Brother Tang, give us a raise!" Hua Shaojie said excitedly.

"And you have the nerve to ask? Do you realize how much those items I gave you are worth? Not to mention that, where else could you find a job paying you a hundred high-grade spirit stones a month? Go ahead, see if anyone else would pay you that much," Tang Yi shot back.

Sun Lang nodded. In the cultivation world, no one would offer such a high monthly wage. Even an annual salary of a hundred high-grade spirit stones was considered outstanding—let alone twelve times that...