"Speaking of which, how is your body so strong?" Hearing Zhou Da, everyone remembered that Zhao Fan had an unnaturally strong body.
"I, -uhh, received an opportunity when adventuring" After Zhao Fan's response, nobody else questioned him. Clearly it wasn't an uncommon thing to find opportunities in the wild. Instead if they began to ask more questions, they would seem impolite as it was a breach of the unwritten rule. While the others continued discussing, Gong Yu's eyes sparkled and he pulled Zhao Fan aside.
"Brother Fan, do you know about the rumors of the Great Fate era?" Gong Yu asked in a hushed tone.
Zhao Fan had never heard of it before, but it sounded like something important. "No, I haven't, what is it?"
"Basically, a lot of inheritances have been showing up lately. It seems that people with extraordinary fate have been stumbling on a lot of them recently."
"What does this have to do with me?" Zhao Fan asked, puzzled.
"Well, you clearly don't have the best background, but managed to find an inheritance. Not only did you survive it, but you managed to profit greatly. Do you understand what I am saying?"
"So you think I am some heavenly genius?" A smile crept on Zhao Fan's face, if he wasn't a lucky person then he did not know who was.
"Maybe, all I know is that in the current era, fate is the most important resource someone can have. My family is rich and holds a certain amount of power in the city, the only thing we lack is fortune." Gong Yu stated straightforwardly.
"Are you inviting me to work for your family? I am just a measly qi gathering disciple with a stroke of fortune which let me have a slightly stronger body than normal" Zhao Fan raised his eyebrows, it didn't make sense for a huge family to invest in him just because he got a bit lucky.
"Hahaha, you value yourself too lowly. You don't understand how valuable fate is, my family is well-off, but it will never be able to compete within a bigger pond. No matter how brightly we shine in Golden Leaf city, it is afterall, just a small city" Gong Yu slung his hand over Zhao Fan's shoulder.
"Let's say you are a heavenly genius. If we sponsor your early growth, our family will definitely soar like a rocket! Even if you aren't someone with heavenly fate, you clearly have a good head on your shoulders which can let your talent shine. No matter what, our family profits in the end, isn't this a great deal?"
Zhao Fan was about to refuse when he heard a voice in his head.
"Don't burn all your bridges, this guy's family is definitely loaded. If we can get an investment from them, our plan will hasten by several degrees''
Zhao Fan did not want to tie himself to anyone and restrict himself but mutually benefiting was an enticing option.
"How am I supposed to convince him?" Zhao Fan didn't really know the specifics of how Hei Long would plan to start a business so he was the worst person to negotiate.
"Leave it to me"
Zhao Fan was a little concerned but in the end gave control to Hei Long. For once, he played the role of a spectator in his own body. Hei Long's soul fused with his body and a smile broke out on his lips.
Gong Yu felt cold and unsettled for some reason, he subconsciously took away his arm from Zhao Fan's shoulder and backed away a little.
"Gong Yu, you said that you think I have a good head on my shoulders, how about another deal?"
"What are you proposing?" He raised an eyebrow. At the same time, his hopes shot up. Clearly Zhao Fan did not reject cooperating.
"I have recently started a small business. If you trust my fortune, why don't you invest in me through my business?"
Gong Yu's smile froze.
"Brother Fan, you know a business is not just about fortune. In our world, even if fortune flashes before someone's eyes, they have to be sufficiently strong to grasp it."
"Brother Yu, who knows what the opportunity I encountered contained?" The glint in Zhao Fan's eyes deepened and became unfathomable. Years of experience along with the law of control allowed him to exert the pressure of a peerless expert. He purposefully enunciated each word, creating a mysterious air which drew Gong Yu into a trance and made him completely lose his confident composure. Zhao Fan continued.
"If you want to invest in something, you have to be decisive. What you said isn't necessarily wrong, one has to be strong to grasp fortune. However if one does not have a pure and decisive heart, fortune will slip through their trembling fingers." Zhao Fan looked directly at Gong Yu's hesitating eyes.
Zhao Fan's gloved hands slowly moved over to Gong Yu's and lifted them up in front of his eyes. Gong Yu's unfocused eyes looked at his hands and saw that they were trembling intensely. The strong grip loosened and his arms fell at his sides. Zhao Fan turned away and slowly walked to join the group.
"Why are you doing this? Can't you just convince him with your plan?" Zhao Fan who was watching the whole ordeal was stunned.
"I could, like you said, just tell Gong Yu about it and make him agree. Instead of doing that, I can test his heart directly. If he has ulterior motives or is indecisive I could just find someone else" Although what Hei Long said made sense, Zhao Fan was still confused. They weren't big shots, they didn't have so many powerful people flocking to them that they could just choose.
While they were talking, Gong Yu's eyes focused and he looked down at his trembling hands. He gritted his teeth and clenched his hands into fists.
"Wait!" Gong Yu turned towards Zhao Fan.
Gong Yu felt his peer transform into a sage surpassing him greatly in years and his impression completely changed. He would no longer doubt the latter, his gut told him that Zhao Fan was someone with an unfathomable future and he chose to believe it.
"Are you ready to make a deal?" Zhao Fan spoke without turning around.
"Brother Fan, sorry I lost composure just now, I definitely want to make a deal."
Zhao Fan turned around and faced him with a serious expression.
"What's your status in the family?"
"My father is one of the strongest in the family. Our Gong family has a lot of Foundation Establishment cultivators and the strongest are all at the Core condensation realm." Zhao Fan didn't know exactly what the power of a Core Condensation cultivator was, but he did know it was the realm after Foundation Establishment. That meant that the Gong family had considerable strength in a city where Core Condensation was the highest realm.
"Alright, after we leave, let's discuss the specifics. It doesn't seem convenient to do so right now" Hearing this, Gong Yu's eyes shifted over to the group and saw that they were waiting for the two.
"Okay brother Fan let's talk about this later"
"Guys, we already spent quite a lot of time hunting. How about we head back and regroup tomorrow?" Liu Zhong suggested, he noticed that Zhao Fan and Gong Yu came to some sort of agreement. His suggestion was the popular opinion as others quickly agreed, they set out in the middle of the day and it was already growing dark, heading back was the smartest option. Not only that, they all wanted to either reflect on the battles or buy new gear.
Jia Shuren walked over to the carcass and expertly split it apart with her daggers, extracting the organs into a bag with unmatched speed. Out of everyone, she, Zhao Fan and Liu Zhong were the ones with real experience.
"It should be roughly 400 spirit stones all together. Since there's 6 of us, one share is roughly worth 66 spirit stones."
Huo Long's brows furrowed. "This is a small amount, we can try hunting a tier 6 beast next time so everyone should prepare and buy equipment. I'll give up my share since I am not in need of money."
"I don't need it either, you guys should use the opportunity" Zhou Da also had a formidable backing.
"Brother Fan and Sister Shuren, you guys should split it. Our gear is already top notch, it would increase our total power by a lot more if you upgraded your gear" Gong Yu and Liu Zhong both agreed.
Zhao Fan and Jia Shuren looked at each other. Jia Shuren's daggers clearly weren't that good and Zhao Fan's gloves were even worse.
"Since everyone has already spoken, I won't be impolite! Zhao Fan, here I'll just pay you your share now and I'll exchange the beast parts for mine" Jia Shuren smiled and took out a small bag, put in some spirit stones and threw it over.
One had to know that spirit stones were fairly small, they were the size of a pearl but hexagonal in shape. It was difficult to count how many there were in a bag unless one was at a high realm so Jia Shuren definitely gave him a little bit more than just 200.
Everyone headed back to the city while chatting. This time, it was Liu Zhong who approached Zhao Fan.
"It seems you have started a business recently?" Liu Zhong's sentence caught Zhao Fan completely off guard.
"What? Man, you seriously know too much about me, could you have taken a fancy to me? Sorry I don't swing that way!" Zhao Fan declared half-jokingly. After all, it was seriously creeping him out that the other party not only came to his house randomly but also knew that he started a business somehow.
"Hey, you are desperate enough to go at it with animal corps– Ahem, so did you start a business or not?" Remembering the scene of Zhao Fan almost losing control and killing him in the cave made him reluctant to continue the joke.
"Yes, I actually am currently looking for some investors." Zhao Fan chose to ignore the earlier comment.
"Brother Fan, are we not friends who have danced on the brink of life and death together? If you need any help, just ask me!"