Swallowing the Stars: The Wind Sword Master.

Chapter 36 Bride Price of 100 Billion

Shu Heng's attitude was terrible.

Ning Ze was not surprised, because Shu Yi did not allow him to explain his talent and potential.

This father-in-law seemed to have wanted to marry his girlfriend off to someone else before. If it weren't for the fact that he was Shuyi's father, he would have nailed him to the wall with a sword without saying a word!

"I've come to propose marriage to you and discuss our wedding arrangements."

Originally, it was supposed to be Li Wan and Ning Hua who came, but Old Master Shu Hongjing told him to come by himself, which is fine, there aren't so many rules now.

"A marriage proposal? A wedding?"

Shu Heng's eyes widened in disbelief as he roared, "I disagree!"

If this guy hadn't seduced his daughter, his obedient daughter wouldn't even be dating. Why would Qihang Group need to resort to such tactics to force marriage? He wouldn't have gotten that beating from Shu Hongjing.

Last time he was too preoccupied with company matters to deal with this kid, but now he dares to come knocking on my door to propose marriage?

The people at Qihang Group may not be good people, but in his heart, Ning Ze isn't much better!

At the very least, he felt he had a grudge against this kid!

"Dad! Why are you behaving this way?"

Seeing Shu Heng's attitude, Shu Yi immediately became anxious. If possible, she would of course want her parents' blessing, but her father did not agree to their marriage.

"What kind of attitude am I? What's so great about this kid? Why am I being forced to marry off my daughter without any explanation?"

As Shu Heng spoke, he glanced at the items in Ning Ze's hand. "Nourishing liquid, Changbai ginseng, Maotai liquor, Qiluo turmeric, Hangzhou Longjing tea. The products are quite good, but I don't know what kind of person he is. That still needs to be investigated."

Shu Yi was speechless for a moment. Shu Heng's words were correct. He was indeed not familiar with Ning Ze, only knowing that he had some talent and was now a martial artist. He also knew that Ning Hua was a martial artist and taught at the Extreme Martial Arts Academy.

However, their family wasn't bad off, at least Shu Heng felt they weren't bad either. The two families were well-matched, and it wouldn't be accurate to say that Shu Heng was marrying above his station.

Shu Heng had been severely beaten before, and he couldn't stand Ning Ze no matter how he looked at him, so his attitude was very tough.

Ning Ze asked sincerely, "Then what would it take for Uncle to agree to let Xiao Guai marry me?"

Shu Heng leaned lazily against the sofa, raised his eyelids, and casually said, "Since Xiao Guai is getting married, she has to prove that she can live a good life in the future. This requires a certain family background. How about this, the bride price is one hundred million."

"One hundred million?" Ning Ze smiled politely and said confidently, "Sure."

There's a trick to giving gifts. Among the gifts he brought, the two sets of tonics for students were the most expensive, costing 20 million Chinese yuan each. But because he was a two-star citizen, he got a 20% discount and only spent 16 million Chinese yuan.

This is the future of two families, so buying them nice things is definitely the right thing to do.

There's also the Changbai ginseng and Maotai I bought for Shu Hongjing. This is a long-term consumable item; one jar contains three jin (1.5 kg) and is worth 5 million Chinese yuan, costing 4 million Chinese yuan in total. The rest were cheaper; even the Qiluo Yujin (绮罗郁金) used by women is just something ordinary people would use.

The total comes to 20 million, so what's another 100 million in betrothal gifts? It's nothing at all.

Seeing Ning Ze agree, Shu Heng's eyelids drooped again, and he lazily said, "The price has gone up now, one billion Chinese yuan!"

Shu Yi looked annoyed and was about to speak when Ning Ze stopped her with a hand.

"One billion?" Ning Ze frowned, then said seriously, "That's acceptable!"

After buying a battle sword, he still had 7.1 million Chinese yuan left, and he could afford to pay 10 billion.

He originally wanted to ask his family for more money to buy combat uniforms.

Buying the 8th series combat suit at half price would cost 7.5 million, but it doesn't matter if he doesn't change it. If he really sets a date for the wedding, he probably won't have time to go to the wilderness area for more than a month.

One more day his movement technique will break through to the perfect level. Over time, his combat power will continue to increase, and he won't need the combat suit unless he hunts lord-level monsters.

Besides, he felt that his father-in-law was probably testing his sincerity, a kind of test, and might not really want him. Even if he did want him, it wouldn't matter; the bride price was considerable, but acceptable. He was willing to spend any amount of money for his woman, because feelings couldn't be measured by money.

"A billion is possible?" Shu Heng scoffed, asking, "Do you even have that much money? You're too green to fool me!"

"Fine, it doesn't matter if you don't have it or not. The price has changed again, it's 10 billion! If you agree this time and transfer 10 billion to me, I'll agree to your marriage. I won't go back on my word!"

Shu Yi stood silently behind Ning Ze, her eyes seemingly burning with anger. This was too much; it was clearly deliberate harassment. However, she managed to hold back, thinking that it might be a test from her father.

Upon hearing this, Ning Ze's pupils constricted sharply, and he slowly closed his eyes. He wasn't sure if the other party truly wanted it or was testing him. But even if they truly wanted it, he would give it to them.

He opened his eyes again and said calmly, "Ten billion is fine, but I need some time."

"Hahaha!"

Shu Heng burst into laughter, laughing so hard he almost fell over.

Ning Ze simply watched calmly.

Shu Heng thought he was just putting on airs.

Now, in his mind, Ning Ze is even less reliable than Zhai Yanke. He's a complete fraudster who dared to make such a boast about 100 billion.

He didn't believe his father would agree to their marriage, given his character, and thus felt relieved.

After laughing for a while, Shu Heng asked with interest, "Ten billion is fine, but how long do you think it will take? It can't be 100 years, can it?" His words were full of teasing. This was his best attitude since entering the room, yet it was also full of amusement.

Ning Ze said calmly, "It won't take that long. At most a year, at least six months. A year at the latest, what do you think?"

"A year? Six months?"

Shu Heng burst into laughter, so happy he couldn't stop laughing, tears streaming down his face. He said, laughing uncontrollably, "Okay, it's settled then! I'll give you six months, a year is fine too! Go and earn 100 billion Chinese yuan, and then I'll agree to your marriage."

"Alright, kid, you can go now. Come back in six months, or a year."

After saying that, Shu Heng raised his arm and waved his hand outside, meaning to hurry up and leave.

He kept shaking his head with a smile, then suddenly burst into laughter. After trying to calm himself down, he couldn't help but laugh again, wave after wave, unable to stop.

Ning Ze narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint in them. "You really want it?"

Knowing full well that he doesn't have that much money right now, she's still making things difficult for them; she doesn't want them to get married!

He was about to speak.

Shu Yi could no longer bear it and shouted angrily at Shu Heng in front of her, "Dad, I really misjudged you! I'm going to find Grandpa!" She turned around and said coquettishly, "Ning Ze, let's go find Grandpa. He didn't keep his word! I thought he was testing you for my sake, but I didn't expect him to be deliberately making things difficult for me."

Ning Ze raised an eyebrow slightly; he knew, of course, that his father-in-law's words carried no weight.

They knew this was a deliberate attempt to make things difficult for him.

But he is Shuyi's father after all. No matter what the relationship between father and daughter is like, who wouldn't want to get married with the blessings of their family?

100 billion Chinese yuan is not too difficult for him. Killing four or five lord-level monsters a year later will not be too difficult.

He has the ability to handle this matter, so there's no need to worry about whether he can complete it or not. What he wants is to finish the wedding peacefully and successfully right now.

He married Shuyi, not his father-in-law, so there's no need to argue with him.

However, he will definitely remember this incident. Give him an impossible task to make things difficult for him. After he pays the money, the relationship will be distant in the future.

But now, Ning Ze realizes that it doesn't need to go through all that trouble.

Shu Yi was already angry and didn't want to pay any attention to Shu Heng.

Since he doesn't care about his own woman, he certainly won't care either. He can completely skip the 100 billion yuan and just ignore this person.

Otherwise, even if I really gave this person 100 billion in the future, even if it wasn't much for him a year later, I would still feel quite uncomfortable.

"Come on~" Shu Yi tugged at Ning Zedi's arm, still acting coquettishly, "I'll have Grandpa deal with him." Her two big eyes looked pitiful, and worry was written all over her face.

Ning Ze was secretly pleased to see her adorable appearance. He had never taken Shu Heng to heart, so of course he wouldn't be angry with Shu Yi.

Besides, he was very interested in this suggestion. He had seen the injury on Shu Heng's face last time, and he knew that Old Master Shu was a man who would take action.

"Okay. Stop pulling me, I'll go with you."

Shu Yi happily pulled Ning Ze upstairs, then turned back and glared fiercely at Shu Heng. Little did she know how worried she was. She was finally going to marry Ning Ze, but this damned father almost ruined it!

"You dare glare at me? This kid's bragging about making 100 billion a year! Only a fool like you would believe him!"

Shu Heng, neck stiff and eyes wide, shouted towards the stairs, showing no fear whatsoever. When the old man asked, he simply said it was a test. Anyone who wasn't out of their mind knew it was impossible to earn 100 billion in a year!

Upon reaching a room on the second floor, Shu Yi pushed open the door and pulled Ning Ze inside.

"Grandpa, Ning Ze is here."

"Grandpa Shu."

Shu Hongjing greeted them cheerfully, "Come, sit here. When did you arrive?"

"I just got here," Ning Ze replied with a smile.

After pulling Ning Ze down to sit, Shu Yi began to complain, "Grandpa, my dad just asked Ning Ze for a dowry of 10 billion yuan downstairs!"

"100 billion? Nonsense!" Shu Hongjing's pupils contracted, his eyes turning dangerous. "Didn't I tell you to come directly to me and ignore your father?"

Shu Yi pouted; she still wanted to try. But what she got almost made her furious.

Shu Hongjing turned his head and his face became kind and gentle as he said, "Xiao Ze, you're really laughing at me. His father is just an ordinary person with no talent and little insight. Over the years, he's been running a business, so it's no wonder he's obsessed with money."

Ning Ze smiled calmly and said, "I understand, money is still quite important."

He's very poor right now; he can't afford the secret manuals or the equipment. He only has a small sum of 7 million.

Even excluding the shortage of combat uniforms, there is still a shortage of 20 billion!

They were also troubled by money.

"Um."

"Xiao Guai told me about you two before. I knew you were a good kid from the first time I saw you, and I feel at ease with you by my side."

Shu Hongjing said with a bright smile, "I agree to your marriage!"

"Thank you, Grandpa!" Shuyi said excitedly.

"Thank you, Grandpa!" Ning Ze was also overjoyed. Being able to successfully marry the girl he liked was the perfect ending.

……

Half a month passed in a flash.

A few days ago, on September 9th, Ning Ze and Shu Yi successfully held their wedding.

There were quite a few guests invited, including older comrades-in-arms and neighbors, some familiar friends of the young couple, and some classmates from high school and university.

At the wedding banquet, Ning Ze saw Shu Heng's bruised and swollen face again. It was clear that Grandpa Shu had hit him again, and this time he was mostly hitting his face. Throughout the wedding, Shu Heng tried to minimize his presence and had no desire to socialize. He couldn't even chat with the martial artists.

The wedding is over.

The newlyweds, having tasted the sweetness of love, were inseparable. In the past few days, Ning Ze's cultivation time had been squeezed by a third, leaving him with only thirteen hours of cultivation per day.

Inside the meditation room.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The sonic boom raged and echoed throughout the room, the sound lingering for a long time.

The decorative bottle on the table had fallen to the ground and shattered at some point, and two white floor towels seemed to be magically flying carpets, constantly spinning around Ning Ze.

Ning Ze stepped forward half a meter with his left foot, adopting a lunge stance. This position made his lower body extremely stable and suitable for generating power from his upper body.

The posture didn't look like that of someone using a sword, but rather like someone using a knife to chop.

At this moment, he slashed wildly, tirelessly, as if he would never stop.

His arms moved so fast they were just afterimages, and his front was completely covered by silver-white sword light, with countless sword lights forming an arc-shaped white shield with sword spikes.

Ning Ze seemed to have fallen into a frenzied attack, filled with an overwhelming desire to strike. He completely abandoned the finesse of swordsmanship, instead engaging in a tenacious and relentless battle with his enemy.

Domineering, fierce, continuous, and full of extreme danger, as if it would crush everything to pieces!

This sword technique is completely different from "Swift Wind Slash" and "Wind Slash". Even though "Wind Slash" is more fierce, it is still considered exquisite. It relies on skills and strategies to create the momentum of killing the enemy with one sword!

Now, his swordsmanship seems to have returned to the time before swords and sabers were separated, raging with boundless power, fighting to the death, using every possible danger, just to defeat the enemy.

This is a sword technique manual that Ning Ze recently purchased. It is slightly lower in level than the top-tier manuals, but it is still a rare and excellent sword technique. This manual has a total of 5 levels, and the power exertion can reach 4.2, which he can perfectly master.

And the price isn't too expensive, it's even slightly cheaper than "Wind Slash". The full price of the manual is 6 million, but half price only requires 3 million Chinese Yuan.

More importantly, this manual also contains the character "wind".

Its name is "Shadowless Gale," and its core is the word "wild." It only has a few slashing sword moves and no fixed routine. It is practiced entirely by feeling. When the sword technique is in harmony with nature, it will naturally have immense and infinite power.

Ning Ze felt that the more similar manuals would be easier to cultivate, and since he also had some understanding of 'wind', he could get started faster and make up for his own shortcomings.

Of course, the main reason for practicing this manual is that the Wind Slash technique requires too much proficiency to advance to the next level!

Even at the highest level of proficiency, there are already 10! Further improvement is just too difficult, too difficult, too difficult.

Compared to the specialized manuals that can be mastered in just two months, it takes ten months to reach the limit of the perfect realm, and even more, eight years to reach the realm of intent!

He had entered the wilderness area three times before, and the last two times he fought countless battles. It was under such pressure that he was able to improve so quickly.

If one were to cultivate normally, it would take sixteen or even twenty years to reach the limit of the Intent Realm.

Humans still live in the base city. It is quite obvious that there are many ordinary people among the humans, while most of the monsters have reached the warrior level.

If it weren't for humanity's relentless efforts, the inheritance of "technology" from the previous era, and the preservation of ancient martial arts culture from the era before that, these traditions might have been eliminated long ago.

Now they can only retreat to the base city, and the situation is extremely critical.

Ningze cannot afford to wait twenty years.

He had to find a way to solve this problem himself, and relearning a secret manual was the solution he wanted to find.

A skill manual has hit a bottleneck, making further improvement difficult.

it is good!

Then start practicing a new secret manual.

Even if the system data doesn't improve, his realm will still increase if he starts from scratch and learns a new sword technique!

(End of this chapter)