"Kassna?" Nan Feihuang looked at the large map hanging in his room and finally located the small village near the Star Luo Empire's border. "It's in such a remote area... The Min Clan must really be down on their luck."
"Indeed," Xun Yu nodded. "They chose to settle there because of the lower cost of living. Ever since the Four Great Single-Attribute Clans were abandoned by the Clear Sky Clan and later hunted down by the Spirit Hall, they've suffered severe casualties. Since then, they've scattered, barely surviving in different regions."
"However, the other three clans have ways to support themselves. The Strength Clan excels at forging, the Defense Clan at building houses, and the Breaking Clan at refining medicine. Only the Min Clan has no real advantage aside from speed. Although they were once excellent at gathering intelligence, who would trust outsiders with sensitive information unless they were part of their faction? They have no additional sources of income."
"On top of that, Bai He is far too proud to accept any subsidies from the Spirit Hall. If it weren't for the Breaking Clan's continued support, the Min Clan would have collapsed long ago."
Hearing this, Nan Feihuang sighed. "What a tragedy. A clan that could once produce a Spirit Saint—while not exactly bringing them to greatness—should at least have had enough to live comfortably. And now, the Min Clan, despite having a Spirit Douluo, is on the verge of bankruptcy because they offended the Spirit Hall. It's truly sad."
"Still, their misfortune gives us an opportunity. Xun~ Yu, follow me."
Nan Feihuang led Xun Yu to the royal palace's treasure room, and in doing so, he finally discovered a loophole in the curse tied to Xun Yu's name.
He found that the curse only triggered when he called out Xun Yu's full name without a pause. As long as he separated the two characters, the curse didn't activate.
So, by dragging out the first syllable, Nan Feihuang could now properly pronounce Xun Yu's name, even though it was a bit of a cheat. For convenience's sake, he decided to use Xun Yu's courtesy name, Wen Ruo, anyway. Although the Douluo Continent had no tradition of using courtesy names, it was something Nan Feihuang could consider a personal nickname for Xun Yu—similar to how he called Dian Wei "Erlai."
"Master, it's still too early to try and recruit the Min Clan, and you may not even be able to do so," Xun Yu reminded him. Nan Feihuang had recently been sending people to keep tabs on the Four Single-Attribute Clans, leading Xun Yu to believe that he was considering drawing them under his influence.
Although Nan Feihuang had shared a lot of information about the original story with Xun Yu, he hadn't revealed everything.
For example, he hadn't mentioned that his true interest wasn't in recruiting the Min Clan, but in obtaining a treasure Bai He possessed—the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng.
"Wen Ruo, the Min Clan holds something I need right now—a celestial herb called Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng. This herb is a gift from heaven, unmatched in its ability to heal injuries and regulate the body. Even among the celestial herbs in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, few can compare to it. With this herb, I'm confident I can heal my mother's injuries and help her break through to the Titled Douluo rank. Lately, her cough has worsened, and I fear that the blood clots in her body haven't cleared. If we don't treat her soon, not only will it block her breakthrough, but it could also shorten her lifespan," Nan Feihuang said with concern.
Since arriving in this world, the most important person to him had always been his mother, Lan Xue—no one else even came close.
He had to heal Lan Xue's injuries, no matter what.
Xun Yu understood immediately. "So that's it. Your goal isn't to recruit them but to obtain their celestial herb."
"Precisely. The Min Clan is desperately short on funds. With enough money, we could probably buy it from them."
"Exactly, but we have to act quickly. Yang Wudi of the Breaking Clan is close to the Min Clan, and he knows the true value of the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng. If he gets involved, things could get complicated. Fortunately, Bai He has been hiding the herb from him, afraid that Yang Wudi might swindle it away. We need to secure the herb while Yang Wudi is away from the Min Clan, so they'll have no choice but to accept once it's done," Nan Feihuang said with a smile.
As they spoke, the two of them arrived at the Treasure Pavilion.
Since Nan Tianchen had come to power, he'd been striving for frugality. Lan Xue had also raised Nan Feihuang to be mindful of spending, so he didn't have many personal assets.
With no other choice, Nan Feihuang had to rely on self-sufficiency.
The Gulei Kingdom had two treasure halls: the Treasure Pavilion and the Precious Pavilion.
Nan Feihuang had free access to the Treasure Pavilion. He could take anything he liked there, as it was mostly filled with antiques, calligraphy, paintings, and gemstones.
For a soul master, such items were merely ornamental, but they could still fetch a high price if sold to collectors.
However, the Precious Pavilion was different. Only Nan Tianchen and Lan Xue, the King and Queen, could enter it.
That was where the Gulei Kingdom's true treasures were kept, such as spirit bones. Though the Gulei Kingdom didn't have the wealth of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, they weren't completely without spirit bones.
They had at least two or three spirit bones of the ten-thousand-year level and four or five of the thousand-year level.
If Nan Feihuang couldn't obtain better spirit bones on his own in the future, Nan Tianchen would surely provide him with these to absorb.
"Snap!" Nan Feihuang snapped his fingers. "Wen Ruo, start packing!"
"Yes, Master!" Xun Yu called forth his summoned soldiers.
Though Xun Yu was just a child, the soldiers he summoned were full-grown adults. Aside from combat, they were extremely useful for tasks where children couldn't act directly.
Soon, twenty or so Dao soldiers had emptied the entire Treasure Pavilion, storing everything in a spatial soul tool, which they then took to the auction house.
By the time Nan Tianchen found out what had happened, all the treasures had already been exchanged for money.
Nan Feihuang had made a total of eight million gold soul coins.
Nan Tianchen was so furious that he clutched his chest, gasping in disbelief.
"Ungrateful brat!" As an emperor and avid collector, many of the antiques and famous paintings in the Treasure Pavilion were items he had painstakingly gathered over the years.
If that brat liked them, he could have taken one or two to play with. But to take everything? And sell it all?
"Come now, it was just some decorative items," Lan Xue said gently, rubbing her husband's chest to soothe him. "You know Feihuang wouldn't do something like this without a reason. If he suddenly needs that much money, there must be an explanation. Don't be upset."
But seeing Nan Tianchen still fuming, muttering "ungrateful brat" repeatedly, Lan Xue's brow furrowed. "If you keep staying mad at Feihuang, then I won't be happy either... cough, cough..."
Hearing his wife's coughing, Nan Tianchen immediately relented, "Snow, don't get upset. The royal physician said you mustn't get agitated or you'll risk damaging your health. Fine, fine, I won't be mad at Feihuang."
"You're right... they were just some trinkets. I won't hold it against him." To comfort his wife, Nan Tianchen swallowed his bitterness, holding back tears.
Nan Feihuang could actually understand how Nan Tianchen felt. It was like a man who had spent years carefully collecting an entire set of figurines, only to have some mischievous kid come over one day and take everything away because he liked it.
How could anyone swallow such a grievance?
But for the sake of his mother, Nan Feihuang had no choice but to make his father endure it.
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