“Thank you for this great meal, Brother Ikasa! I really enjoyed the bone broth Soup.”

He Ling praised, wiping his mouth daintily. He still looked at the bowl of soup with longing even though his stomach was full.

Ikasa laughed and brought Bu Fan forth.

“Hahaha! I am glad you liked it Brother He! Chef Bu is the one who prepared it.”

He Ling looked at the tall and thin handsome man with appreciation.

“To be honest, your dish would not be out of place even on the menu of Seven Wonders Restaurant of Oak City, the capital of our deciduous county.”

The scholarly fourth elder admiringly declared.

“I am overwhelmed by your praise, Senior. I am just an inexperienced cook. Where can I compare to the Seven Wonders Restaurant? It is the place I look up to. If I get a chance to dine there, I am sure my skills will improve by leaps and bounds.”

Bu Fan humbly said, accepting the praise. His words triggered the scholarly man. Turning to Ikasa, He Ling urged him.

“Brother Ikasa, you should try the menu of the most famous restaurant in Deciduous County. Also, bring him along; If he makes such great dishes with little experience, I am eager to see what he cooks up after tasting the menu there.”

Ikasa looked at Bu Fan with a speculative gaze. He did not know what Bu Fan’s ambitions were, and neither did he care. But now the Chef had helped him save face before an important guest.

If he could, Ikasa would definitely fulfill any request of Bu Fan as long as it is within his means.

“If you are recommending it, I definitely will taste the menu of Seven Wonders Restaurant with Chef Bu someday.”

Ecstatic by Ikasa’s promise, Bu Fan bowed gratefully and left with the leftover pot of soup.

With their stomachs full, the scholarly man felt well rested and rejuvenated. Ikasa led him to the Hall of Elders, which he was currently using as the Conference Room.

In the glow of the afternoon sun, Ikasa and He Ling began to discuss the main purpose of their meeting, the Manuals.

Ikasa handed the list he had prepared beforehand to He Ling.

“There are a total of 26 Low-Grade and 18 Mid-Grade Battle Techniques. I also sell 2 types of Mid-Grade Cultivation manuals and a High-Grade Cultivation Manual.”

The booklet showed the diagrams of energy paths and energy utilization methods of each technique with short descriptions. He Ling carefully studied them.

He realized they were indeed far, far superior to what He Family sold. When Ikasa claimed that he would take over the County’s market, with or without the He Family, he was absolutely not boasting!

As an experienced negotiator who regularly dealt with Merchants, He Ling had obviously looked into Ikasa’s background. His meteoric rise was suspicious but not entirely unjustified.

He had wrapped the Xue Family around his fingers. The City Lord of Birch City was indebted to him. Even the Ice queen of the Zhen Family favored his potential.

‘Would such a man put all his cards on the table?’

He Ling thought, looking critically at the list. There may be 34 Battle techniques and 3 Cultivation Manuals, but they were all available to the public.

He did not find the movement technique Feng Yan performed when encircling him. If he had noticed one such technique was missing, just how many more techniques was Ikasa hiding?

The Scholarly man put the impressive list down and stared at Ikasa.

“These are all your publicly sold manuals, Brother Ikasa. Should you not bring out something exclusive, that only we, the He’s, can sell, to show your sincerity?”

He Ling asked, folding arms before his chest and staring intently at Ikasa.

“Brother He Ling, you are too greedy. Do you think I am hiding manuals from you? Do you think I have a magical device that spits out new techniques every day?”

Ikasa jokingly asked, trying to lighten the mood. Except, He Ling did not play along. His answer caused Ikasa’s heart to leap into his throat.

“Yes.”

Just the notion of a magical device that might spit out new techniques every day was beyond the cognition of this world’s natives. So when He Ling answered ‘yes’, the smile on Ikasa’s face froze.

Suddenly, the temperature in the room dropped by a few degrees as the two men coldly stared at each other.

‘Does he know about the printer? How can he know about the Printer?’

Ikasa was panicking in his heart. But none of it showed on his face. With a straight face, he met He Ling’s eyes and uttered a single word.

“Pardon?”

Unaware of Ikasa’s thoughts, He Ling leaned forward in his chair. He had a smile that said, ‘I caught you’. Unknowingly, a sweat drop rolled down Ikasa’s forehead. But Ikasa maintained his poker face, without bothering to wipe the sweat.

As if eager to hear He Ling’s conjecture, Ikasa also leaned forward.

“Brother Ikasa, you can hide from others but you cannot deceive my eyes.”

Ikasa’s shoulders tensed under his loose robes. A shiver ran down his spine. He controlled his involuntary impulses and maintained a calm facade before He Ling.

However, the next sentence from He Ling relieved his stress.

“The movement technique that Sense Trainer Feng used outside is missing from this list.”

He Ling smirked, seeing Ikasa lean back in his chair. He took it to be a sign of defeat when in fact Ikasa was just trying to hide his drenched back.

Ikasa awkwardly laughed, acting as if he was caught.

“Brother He is very perceptive. Fine. You have caught me. There are a few techniques that I have reserved for the Zhen Family and Gold Heart Business Group’s use. They cannot be sold in the market.”

Ikasa explained, keeping his discomfort at bay. Seeing the frown of displeasure on He Ling’s face, Ikasa offered him a concession.

“Isn’t it enough to take your pick from the 34 manuals I have presented? I can make it so that only the He Family can sell the manuals you point out.”

He Ling eagerly pounced at this opportunity, as if he was waiting for exactly these words.

“All your Cultivation Manuals, Mid-Grade and High-Grade, will be sold exclusively through us. I would also like to pick two of the best-selling Mid-Grade battle techniques and a Low-grade manual.”

He Ling aggressively pitched to obtain the most benefits. But Ikasa could not allow that.

Ikasa was negotiating to spread his reach to the rest of the Deciduous County. On the contrary, He Ling was trying to bring Birch City’s and Sal City’s cultivation markets back under the He Family.

If Ikasa agreed to his demand, he would have to pay the He Family to sell his own Cultivation manuals in these two cities!

“One Cultivation manual, one Battle Technique. That is my limit.”

Ikasa firmly countered, putting his foot down.

“Fine. [Dumb Belle’s Guide to Strength], and your [Peek-a-Boo defense.]”

He Ling decisively chose. The former was a High-Grade Cultivation Manual that had gained popularity over all of Sal City. Its fame had slowly spread to other nearby cities as well.

Still, Ikasa was planning to treat it as a premium product. Hence, he did not mind the He Family staking a claim on the Manual.

He Ling’s choice of Peek-a-Boo defense hurt his business the most. Even after six months, it was the sole defensive technique in his repertoire. It was also the highest grossing technique.

So, Ikasa was reluctant to give the He Family exclusivity over it. Nonetheless, he tried to create a loophole.

“You can have them. In the future, these two techniques will be sold exclusively by the He Family and the Ikasa’s Manuals in Birch City.”

He Ling narrowed his eyes. He saw what Ikasa did there. But he chose to let it slide. The Birch City was now Gold Heart Business Group’s home base. If He Ling tried to take over Birch City as well, it would not be good for their cooperation.

“Okay. I’ll prepare the contract.”

He Ling took out a yellow parchment from his spatial bracelet. He quickly began to fill in the terms like a seasoned hand.

Curiously the quill moved by itself as He Ling concentrated. There was no inkstone or inkpot in sight and yet words appeared on the contract.

Ikasa was fascinated by this site. When He Ling had filled in his terms, he satisfied Ikasa’s curiosity.

“This is my Soul Quill. I made it using a feather from Bai Mei and linked it to my spirit. Not everyone can have this.”

He Ling then pushed forward the contract to Ikasa.

“Check it and sign it.”

Ikasa glanced through the Contract. It was as they discussed. He then added two of his own conditions.

“Prices to the last customer should be uniform. They should not exceed 30 Gold per use.”

“Previous manual should be used up before placing an order. Under no circumstances, can a hundred-use manual be sold to the end customer without Ikasa’s permission.”

He Ling’s eyebrows furrowed upon seeing the two conditions Ikasa added. They would get in the way when selling to Nobles and Aristocrats.

Before he could protest, Ikasa firmly asserted his stance.

“My manuals are meant to be used by the people. They are not meant to rot away in some shop’s storage or a Noble’s treasury.”

Ikasa’s adamance shone through his wording. He Ling still protested as the wealthy had always been their chief customers.

“We will be alienating the most paying customers! How are we supposed to do business then?”

Slamming his palm on the table, He Ling expressed his anger at Ikasa’s terms.

“If those rich people are going to treat the consumables as heirlooms, I can provide you single-use versions of my manuals to satisfy their vanity. They can be exclusive techniques not available to the general populace.”

He Ling calmed down at Ikasa’s solution. It was indeed a viable option that would satisfy both sides. With a win-win solution at hand, they came to a consensus.

Ikasa then proceeded to read through the rest of the contract. In the end, he looked at the penalty for breaking the contract. His eyes widened at the number.

“100 Three Star Spirit Coins?! That is 3 hundred thousand gold coins!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep