Great Villain: Starting by Humiliating the Son of the Heavenly Fate - Chapter 474

Chapter 474: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Offer

Lu Yi’s disguised voice slipped into Zhang Chuan’s ear, playful and teasing. “Haha, no need to be so tense.”

“I’ve got something to discuss with you—something that concerns the Zhang Clan’s very survival. Interested?”

He paused before adding casually, “If not, I’ll just head over to the Qiu Clan instead.”

Zhang Chuan’s face sank. His first suspicion was that the Yang Clan had sent someone to test him.

He flared his divine sense, spreading it across the city. Before long, it locked onto Lu Yi, standing a short distance from the mansion, looking like nothing more than an ordinary passerby.

Normally, with the Zhang Clan’s prestige, no one in Roaring River Martial City would dare linger so close to their mansion.

That was why Lu Yi’s presence immediately drew Zhang Chuan’s eye.

“Who I am doesn’t matter,” Lu Yi’s words echoed in his ear.

“What matters is this—I need spirit jades, and I happen to have something your Zhang Clan desperately needs.”

His voice carried a quiet certainty. “A cultivation method strong enough to crush the Yang Clan and let you take control of the city.”

“Heh, ridiculous!” Zhang Chuan snapped. “A cultivation method strong enough to put my Zhang Clan above the Yangs? That’s not something you trade for a pile of spirit jades. Even rare treasures wouldn’t be enough.”

His eyes narrowed, killing intent pouring out to smother Lu Yi. “Spouting nonsense like this—you deserve death!”

But Lu Yi stood there unfazed, not the least bit shaken. That only confirmed for Zhang Chuan that this was indeed the man speaking to him.

“Lord Zhang,” Lu Yi said evenly, “it’s because I urgently need spirit jades that I’m willing to sell this cultivation method.”

“If I were with the Yang Clan, would I really be probing you in such a stupid way? This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for your clan. Whether you take it or not… that’s up to you.”

Zhang Chuan froze for a moment. As much as he hated to admit it, the man’s words weren’t without reason.

“In that case,” he said bluntly, narrowing his eyes, “show me this cultivation method you’re talking about.”

Lu Yi chuckled. “Now who’s lacking sincerity? What, you’d rather I hand this chance over to the Qiu Clan?”

“At least let me see if it’s worth anything!” A strange light flickered in Zhang Chuan’s eyes.

The Yang Clan had been grinding the Zhang Clan down for years. If it kept up, they’d slip into mediocrity—or worse, be wiped out entirely.

If he didn’t fight back now, there might never be another chance.

So he decided to take the risk.

“Fine. I’ll show you a few excerpts so you can see for yourself.” Lu Yi gave a small nod, then sent several passages of the cultivation method into Zhang Chuan’s mind with his divine sense.

Amazing… this really is from a high-level cultivation method! Zhang Chuan’s heart skipped.

It looks like it’s meant for Nirvana Peering realm cultivators, but the strength behind it is closer to Nirvana Cleansing level! If I can master it to perfection, the Yang Clan will be crushed beneath me!

Excitement surged through him, his fingers trembling ever so slightly.

Down below, Zhang Sha noticed his grandfather’s strange expression and misunderstood. Thinking the old man was furious at him, he panicked.

“Grandfather, I know I was wrong! Please don’t be angry!” he stammered, shaking in fear.

Zhang Chuan steadied himself, then swept his gaze over the hall. With a firm wave of his hand he ordered, “Everyone out—except Zhang Sha.”

The clan members exchanged quick glances before retreating in silence.

Zhang Sha, however, nearly collapsed. Convinced he was about to be punished, he fell to his knees, trembling. “Grandfather, please! Don’t punish me. I’ll focus on cultivation from now on—I won’t waste time on pleasures again!”

“Enough.” Zhang Chuan’s stern rebuke cut him off, but then his expression softened. “Sha’er, you’re one of the brightest juniors of the Zhang Clan. One day, you’ll be our pillar—perhaps even our strongest expert.”

He paused, his voice calmer now. “There’s an important matter today, and I’ll allow you to witness it.”

“Stand up. We have a guest.”

“Ah?” Zhang Sha blinked in surprise, then scrambled to his feet, relief flooding his face. “Yes, Grandfather! Thank you for sparing me.”

Zhang Sha sat off to the side, secretly delighted. He’d made a mistake, yet his grandfather had only scolded him lightly. Anyone else would’ve been punished harshly.

Zhang Chuan gave him a quick glance, then sent a divine sense message to Lu Yi. “Please, honored guest, come inside so we can talk.”

“No.” Lu Yi smiled faintly. “Your clan’s guards wouldn’t let me through. They even tried to chase me off.”

“What?” Zhang Chuan’s face darkened. “Chasing you away? Ridiculous.” He instantly grasped what had happened. “I’ll see that it’s corrected. Please, come in.”

He wasted no time sending orders to his clan members to welcome Lu Yi properly.

High above, Jiang Chen lay on the eaves, watching it all play out with cool detachment.

Lu Yi stepped out from the corner and headed straight for the Zhang Mansion.

The two guards, still seething, didn’t bother with words this time. They rushed at him, ready to teach the nobody a lesson.

But before they could land a blow, a sharp command rang out. “Stop! Don’t be rude to our honored guest!”

Several senior Zhang Clan cultivators swept out of the mansion, cutting the guards off.

“Honored guest?!” The two guards froze in disbelief. A heartbeat later, they were slammed to the ground, writhing in pain.

Lu Yi strolled past, glanced down at them, and let out a cold laugh. “Didn’t I warn you? You’d regret it.”

At last, the two guards understood what they’d done. Their earlier arrogance vanished, replaced by terror as they dropped to their knees.

“Honored sir, please spare us!”

“We were blind and offended you. Give us another chance!”

“We know we were wrong—please forgive us!”

They begged frantically, voices shaking, full of regret for their earlier behavior.

Lu Yi gave a cold snort. “If you had even a bit of wealth on you, I’d have killed you already. Consider yourselves lucky.”

With that, he turned and walked straight toward the Zhang Mansion’s gates.

The two guards, spared from death, fell to the ground in tears, kowtowing again and again.

“Thank you, sir!”

“Thank you for sparing us!”

“We’ll never dare to look down on anyone again!”

Their desperate cries faded behind him as Lu Yi, escorted by several Zhang Clan cultivators, stepped through the gates and was led straight to Zhang Chuan’s study.

Inside, both Zhang Chuan and Zhang Sha stared intently at him.

Lu Yi walked in calmly, his face unreadable.

“Please, sit.” Zhang Chuan drew a steady breath and managed a faint smile.

Lu Yi sat down and went straight to the point. “I want one million lower-grade spirit jades.”

Zhang Chuan knew he was bluffing. Rather than getting angry, he decided to play along. “Impossible. A clan like mine couldn’t bring out a million even if we emptied the coffers. Two hundred thousand—I can agree to that.”

Lu Yi shook his head. “Two hundred thousand won’t do either.”

The two went back and forth, bargaining hard. In the end, they settled on three hundred thousand lower-grade spirit jades.

Zhang Chuan turned to his grandson. “Sha’er, go to the treasury and bring the spirit jades.”

“Yes!” Zhang Sha answered quickly and hurried out. But a faint flicker crossed his eyes—he was clearly plotting something.