Just the confirmed amount alone was tens of millions of silver taels. That was in hard cash. Across the entire realm, how many people could instantly produce forty million taels of silver? And even then, others had accumulated it bit by bit over time. Only Li Daoqiang had obtained it in less than a year. In all the world, this was unique. After all, there was no second Li Daoqiang in such a situation. His identity was that of a bandit. Extremely greedy for wealth. Most importantly, it came down to strength. Silently and unnoticed, he had already reached the level of a peerless expert! It was truly baffling. Add in the somewhat coincidental circumstances with the Murong family and the Dali Duan clan, and tens of millions of silver taels fell into Li Daoqiang’s hands. No one, no matter who, would take tens of millions of silver taels lightly. Yet, sitting on tens of millions of silver taels, he had the audacity to claim he was poor. Xuan Cheng and Xuan Du couldn’t help but fall silent. There was also the fact that Li Daoqiang’s attitude showed no concern whatsoever for the Shaolin secret techniques. That, too, seemed somewhat abnormal. After a moment of silence, Xuan Du spoke with a hint of helplessness: "Benefactor Li, this monk is not trying to deceive you in any way. If you are dissatisfied, then please state your thoughts. But there’s no need to mention the demand for one hundred million taels of silver—Shaolin cannot produce that." "When I, the Stronghold Leader, make a deal, it’s always a fixed price—no less, no more. One hundred million taels is the price I set after careful consideration, and neither of us will lose out. So my opening price is one hundred million taels, and my bottom line is still one hundred million taels—it won’t change." Li Daoqiang said firmly. Each word was resolute and unwavering. "In that case, the negotiation is off." Xuan Du’s tone turned slightly heavy as he spoke slowly. "Oh?" Li Daoqiang narrowed his eyes, gazing calmly at the two. "Then what does the master mean?" Xuan Du’s expression remained unchanged, his tone serious: "We can only discuss it slowly another time." Li Daoqiang’s voice grew colder: "Fine, then we’ll discuss it slowly." With that, he turned and left. In the blink of an eye, his figure had vanished. Xuan Cheng couldn’t hold back any longer and snorted coldly, "What a Li Daoqiang! Does he really think Shaolin can’t deal with him?" Xuan Du sighed, shaking his head gently, and said in a low voice, "Unless we can be certain to subdue him in one go, otherwise..." He didn’t finish the sentence, but Xuan Cheng understood. If Li Daoqiang were allowed to escape, the consequences would be unimaginable. Not to mention the potential exposure of Ye Erniang’s matter. Just the fact that he was such a young peerless expert meant they couldn’t easily burn all bridges. "Let’s go, we’re heading back." Xuan Du spoke again. Xuan Cheng nodded, and the two headed toward Shaolin Temple. At Black Dragon Stronghold. Li Daoqiang, having returned, frowned. Xuan Cheng and the other were heading toward Shaolin Temple. Were they really going back? They were definitely eager to complete the deal and take Ye Erniang and her son away—that much was certain. But now they weren’t showing too much urgency. That left only two possibilities. One: they were testing his patience, haggling. Two: they were looking for an opportunity to strike him down in one blow. After pondering for a while, his eyes gradually narrowed, occasionally flashing with a cold glint. After a long moment, a hint of irritation crept in. This money was getting harder and harder to earn! Pushing aside extraneous thoughts, he began to cultivate. His main focus was on the Lingbo Weibu technique; in the short term, it could enhance his strength the most. Every extra day he spent diligently training saved him a significant number of bandit points. The next afternoon, Duan Yanqing returned to Black Dragon Stronghold. He didn’t think much of Ye Erniang’s absence. In the blink of an eye, several days passed. Everything was calm. On the surface, Black Dragon Stronghold remained undisturbed, continuing its rapid development. More and more people came to join. Among them were even Xiantian experts. Only Ding Dian, outwardly unbothered, was inwardly heavy with emotion. He knew the most, so he naturally understood that things were abnormal. Instinctively, he felt something was off. Li Daoqiang seemed to be engaged in something quite significant and dangerous. He wanted to ask but ultimately refrained. Because he knew that if Li Daoqiang wanted to tell him, he would without being asked. If he didn’t want to, asking was useless. And he couldn’t persuade Li Daoqiang either. This was a man who, once he made up his mind, was incredibly steadfast. At his core, he was selfish and self-centered, with a personality that brooked no opposition. No one could influence him. So Ding Dian could only endure. In a hurry, half a month had passed since that night’s negotiation. In the study. Li Daoqiang said indifferently, "Have you found out anything?" Wang Lin, looking fearful, bowed his head and said, "Reporting to the Great Leader, this subordinate is incompetent and couldn’t uncover any movements from Shaolin Temple." Li Daoqiang gave him a faint glance, paused for a moment, then said, "Keep investigating." "Yes." Wang Lin breathed a sigh of relief and immediately responded. "How much silver has been deposited?" Li Daoqiang changed the subject. "Fifteen million taels of silver. It’s expected to be fully deposited in various locations in two days." Wang Lin answered without hesitation. Li Daoqiang waved his hand, dismissing him. Wang Lin left the study, feeling as if he had narrowly escaped disaster. He could sense that something major was happening—the Great Leader’s presence was growing more and more terrifying. Only Li Daoqiang remained in the study. His expression turned somewhat cold. Even at this point, Shaolin Temple could still hold back. He had to prepare for the worst. Depositing some gold and silver in various banks and hiding the rest—this was his most extensive and important preparation. Gold and silver were like the experts under his command. If he spent them himself, it was fine, but if someone else took them, half of the corresponding bandit points would be deducted. The same applied to Black Dragon Stronghold—if it were destroyed, half of the bandit points gained from it would be deducted. If he didn’t have enough bandit points, he would owe them and repay them later. For now, the stronghold and its experts couldn’t be moved; the only thing he could prepare was the silver. In fact, converting silver into portable banknotes and hiding it was something he had been doing for months, just in case. But progress was slow. Half a month ago, there were still over twenty million taels of gold and silver in the stronghold’s treasury. Over the past half month, he had personally hidden a portion of the silver. Another fifteen million taels had been ordered to be deposited in banks across various locations. Now, it was almost complete. This allowed him to breathe a quiet sigh of relief. As long as the loss of gold and silver wasn’t too great, his losses wouldn’t be severe. If Black Dragon Stronghold was destroyed, he could build another; if the experts under him died, he could recruit new ones. The only ones he truly valued were Qi Fang, Ding Dian, and Lü Lin. Everything else was unimportant. With the gold and silver taken care of, a surge of reckless emotion rose within Li Daoqiang. His eyes narrowed, cold light flickering. You want to test my patience? I’ll give you what you want. "Summon Duan Yanqing." Soon, Duan Yanqing arrived. Li Daoqiang tossed him a letter and said with a smile, "Deliver this letter to Xuan Ci." Duan Yanqing’s face stiffened, a bad feeling surging within him. His voice was low: "Just delivering a letter—there’s no need for me to go. Yun Zhonghe has excellent lightness skills; he can go." "Heh heh." Li Daoqiang laughed twice, as if speaking to himself: "Come back within six days." Duan Yanqing was furious, but gritting his teeth, he held back, took the letter, and turned to leave. "Oh, by the way." Suddenly, as if remembering something, Li Daoqiang smiled faintly and said in a light tone, "I want to remind you: a blade that always thinks of turning on its master—if it can’t prove its worth, what use is it to me?" Duan Yanqing paused, his aura turning colder, and quickly departed. Li Daoqiang’s smile faded, his gaze indifferent. A dog that knows how to guard the house and please its master is fine. But if it’s clearly a dog yet wants to act like a fish, doing nothing, it might as well be butchered and eaten. Duan Yanqing had been slacking off at Black Dragon Stronghold for the past half month. Did he really think Li Daoqiang hadn’t noticed? Setting aside this trivial matter, his thoughts shifted back to this deal. Soon, the result would come. If it succeeded, he would rise to another level, and there would be few in the world he needed to fear. If it failed, he would become a fugitive, starting over as a lone bandit, slowly rebuilding from scratch. Taking a light breath, he suppressed his fluctuating emotions. Let this be the one reckless move. This time, he had acted impulsively. From now on, he would never gamble with his life again. He was no longer a man with nothing to lose. Nearly three days later. At Shaolin Temple in the Song Kingdom. Duan Yanqing threw the letter from a distance toward Xuan Ci, then turned and left. No one stopped him. Xuan Ci and several old monks opened the envelope together. "To Abbot Xuan Ci: In ten days, this Stronghold Leader will decide whether to visit the Quanzhen Sect. Everything depends on the Abbot’s decision." Just a few simple lines, yet they made the old monks reading the letter all look grim. "What a Li Daoqiang! He’s forcing us into a corner. He’s truly mad enough." One old monk said gravely. "A peerless expert, so obsessed with wealth that he’s willing to risk his life..." Another old monk sighed softly, his tone complex. "It seems we’ve lost." Yet another old monk closed his eyes. A moment of silence. Everyone tacitly agreed. Li Daoqiang had made his stance clear: ten days was the final deadline. If it didn’t work out, he would expose everything. He had gone mad. But they couldn’t afford to go mad with him. After a long pause, Xuan Ci said calmly, "Fifty million taels of silver, three of the Seventy-Two Ultimate Techniques, and twenty million taels’ worth of assets. Please, Senior Uncle, deliver them." The others were startled, then frowned deeply. "Will he... agree?" One old monk hesitated. "He will, because he’s mad, but he’s not stupid." Xuan Ci said with certainty. After a moment of quiet, they all nodded in agreement. Nearly three days later, Duan Yanqing returned to Black Dragon Stronghold. By then, aside from a few, no one knew that Qi Fang and Ling Shuanghua were no longer at the stronghold. Lü Lin’s family, Di Yun, and many others had gone out on missions. Two nights later. Li Daoqiang, who had been waiting quietly, suddenly brightened. They’re here! A faint smile appeared on his face. After a while, an aura erupted in the Floating Cloud Mountain Range. Li Daoqiang told Ding Dian and Duan Yanqing not to move, then vanished from Black Dragon Stronghold. (Chapter Three, thanks for the support.) ......