The mastermind behind the scenes starting with the calamity of all races

Despite his doubts, Yuan Shuo didn't ask any further questions. He wasn't the main character at today's meeting; he was at most a "special guest."

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The meeting began soon after.

The group got straight to the point, directly pointing out that Ying Hongyue and her group had come with a menacing attitude.

As they were talking, Yuan Shuo suddenly asked, "What is Ying Hongyue's strength now?"

For Yuan Shuo, Ying Hongyue was his old rival. If he had to choose an opponent next, he would choose Ying Hongyue.

However, he wasn't stubborn. At the very least, he wanted to figure out Ying Hongyue's strength before making a choice.

Yuan Shuo's interruption quieted everyone down. They exchanged glances, and then Huang Yu said, "She's definitely not worse than us, and might even be a bit stronger. You should know Ying Hongyue's level better than anyone else."

When Huang Yu said "we," he was referring to himself, Hou Xiaochen, and Zhao Shuguang, which Yuan Shuo could also understand.

Yuan Shuo raised an eyebrow and grinned, saying, "Then I can't beat him."

"Are you scared?" Hou Xiaochen asked.

Yuan Shuo glanced at him and said proudly, "Afraid? The person who can make me afraid hasn't been born yet."

For some reason, when Yuan Shuo said those words, the image of that white figure involuntarily appeared in his mind.

"You said you weren't afraid, but you yourself admitted you can't beat Ying Hongyue." Kong Jie finally seized the opportunity to retort to Yuan Shuo.

Yuan Shuo ignored his defeated opponent. He looked at Zhao Shuguang and the others, then pointed at Kong Jie and said, "Give me the resources for this bald guy. I'll deal with Ying Hongyue. I'll beat him so badly his own mother wouldn't recognize him."

"Anyway, Ying Hongyue isn't here," Yuan Shuo said shamelessly.

"Without even thinking about it!" Kong Jie couldn't sit still any longer and stood up abruptly.

Yuan Shuo glanced at him calmly and smiled, "It's fine if you don't want to give it to me, then you deal with Ying Hongyue."

"However, I reckon you're no match for me. You can't even beat me. Do you think you're a match for Ying Hongyue?"

Well, although Yuan Shuo's words were somewhat hurtful, it has to be admitted that he was telling the truth.

Even if Yuan Shuo himself was at the same level as Ying Hongyue, he wouldn't dare say that he could definitely defeat Ying Hongyue. At most, the odds would be 60/40, with Yuan Shuo at 60 and Ying Hongyue at 40.

In fact, if Ying Hongyue hadn't deliberately held back, he and Yuan Shuo could have been evenly matched, but for the sake of his ambition, he was willing to suffer a loss.

That's why Ying Hongyue is considered a ruthless and ambitious man; it's just a pity he was born in the wrong era.

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Upon hearing Yuan Shuo's words, Kong Jie flew into a rage. Although he knew that what Yuan Shuo said was true, he still couldn't stand it!

"Yuan Shuo, you old scoundrel, don't go too far! From the moment you walked in until now, you've mocked me time and time again. Do you really think this director has no temper?"

"Today I will fight you to the death!!"

After saying that, he firmly grabbed Kong Jie's hand.

Kong Jie didn't even turn her head, and roared, "Huang Yu, let me go! I'm going to kill him today! That old scoundrel Yuan Shuo has gone too far!"

"Let you go? You said it yourself!"

Huang Yu said something, and then he really let go.

So suddenly, Kong Jie stumbled and nearly fell on Yuan Shuo due to inertia.

Sitting on the chair, Yuan Shuo smiled at Kong Jie, raised his right hand, bent his four fingers, and beckoned his index finger to Kong Jie, as if to say, "Come here."

Across from her, Kong Jie's face turned pale and then flushed. Should she go over or not?

If I go there, I'll most likely get beaten up; if I don't go, I'll lose face. After all, I've already said those tough words, and words spoken are like water spilled. If I don't take any action, I'll be dead on the spot.

At this moment, Kong Jie began to regret letting Huang Yu let go. Now he was truly in a bind; originally, Huang Yu had given him a way out...

Everyone looked at Kong Jie and found it somewhat amusing.

Why did you have to argue with Yuan Shuo? He's a tough nut to crack, but you insisted on getting close to him. Now look what happened, you're stuck in an awkward position.

Perhaps seeing that the matter was settled, Zhao Shuguang stepped in to smooth things over.

"Alright, you've made enough of a scene, Director Kong, please sit down."

Seeing that Yuan Shuo was about to speak, Zhao Shuguang quickly said, "Yuan Shuo, you should say less. Why bother?"

"cut."

Yuan Shuo pursed his lips and said nothing more.

Zhao Shuguang shook his head helplessly and said, "We will provide you with some extra resources. As for Kong Jie's share, let him keep it."

Although Kong Jie is weaker, she still holds the title of one of the Four Guardians of the Silver Moon. Zhao Shuguang would never agree to Yuan Shuo's suggestion to give Kong Jie's resources to him.

Not only did he disagree, but the others also disagreed. So, Kong Jie was a little anxious just now, but he was also provoked by Yuan Shuo, which is understandable.

Upon hearing that he would receive resources, Yuan Shuo grinned. Whether it was Kong Jie's share or not, he didn't care; as long as he received them, that was enough.

He really didn't have the confidence to deal with Ying Hongyue until he broke through to the Mountain and Sea realm.

The other person was no worse than him to begin with, and with the difference in their cultivation level, what could he possibly use to fight? Unless he could fuse the five elements, but that was still a long way off, so he could only hope to improve his cultivation level.

"Then hurry up. Give me 100,000 to 200,000 Divine Energy Stones, and as for the Fountain of Life, not too much, just a hundred drops will do."

Yuan Shuo didn't hold back and immediately made an outrageous demand.

There's a saying that goes something like this: "Ask the sky, then bargain on the spot."

It's okay if Zhao Shuguang and the others don't agree to the price; we can negotiate. We'll eventually reach an agreement.

As soon as Yuan Shuo finished speaking, the people present almost lost their composure. Kong Jie wanted to drink some tea to calm down, but he didn't expect Yuan Shuo to do this, so he sprayed a mouthful of tea directly onto Yuan Shuo.

"You son of a bitch!"

"Bald guy, what do you want?!"

Yuan Shuo jumped up instantly, staring fiercely at Kong Jie. A tiger seemed to emerge behind him, ready to attack at the slightest provocation.

"Cough cough cough..."

Kong Jie choked on his tea and coughed several times. After finally recovering, he said loudly, "What do I want to do? I should be asking you that. Who do you think you are, spouting off 100,000 divine energy stones and 100 drops of the Fountain of Life? Do you think these things fall from the sky and come free?"

Kong Jie, the dignified director of the Inspection Department, how much resource did he receive in a month? Yuan Shuo, on the other hand, gave him dozens of times more. How could he accept that?

Yuan Shuo stared at him, gritting his teeth, and said, "If you think it's not appropriate and you can't give that much, you can talk to me. What's with spraying me all over? Do you want to spar with me? I don't care, you have to compensate me at least one hundred divine energy stones for that just now, or this isn't over!"

Yuan Shuo wouldn't mind being sprayed with tea, provided he paid for it!

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Chapter 644 Bargaining

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"What?! One hundred divine energy stones?!"

Kong Jie, who was still in a daze, raised her voice several octaves after hearing Yuan Shuo's blackmailing words, and her voice could be faintly heard outside the conference room.

The guards outside exchanged glances, then wondered whether they should push the door open and go in to check if anything had happened...

Well, if something really happens, it's not their problem to deal with, so let's just pretend we didn't hear anything.

So they held their spears, stared ahead, and remained unmoved, as if nothing had happened—no, they were simply doing their duty.

Inside the meeting room.

Yuan Shuo picked at his ear, glared at Kong Jie with displeasure, and said unkindly, "Why are you shouting so loudly? Do you want to show off your loud voice?"

"What? You, the mighty Five Animal King, sprayed me with tea and I'm not even worth a hundred divine energy stones? Let me tell you, if it were anyone else today, they would be beheaded by now, instead of haggling with me like you!"

"One hundred divine energy stones, not a single one less!" Yuan Shuo held up one finger and said firmly.

"You..." Kong Jie seemed to have something to say.

Yuan Shuo: "Let me tell you, don't force me to take action, or it won't be something that can be solved with a hundred divine energy stones."

A threat, a blatant threat!

The veins on Kong Jie's forehead bulged, her gums clenched, and her eyes widened. This bastard actually dared to threaten her in front of so many people! It was outrageous!

"Alright, a hundred yuan is fine. Just give it to him, it's no big deal."

A hand pressed firmly on Kong Jie's shoulder, like a mountain pressing down, forcing him back into his seat.

“Deputy Director Zhou…” Kong Jie turned to look at the person holding her down and called out.

Deputy Director Zhou smiled, shook his head, and said, "Alright, Director Kong, just say less. It's just a hundred divine energy stones, nothing serious."

"If you think about it this way, in this world, besides you, who else can criticize Elder Yuan... Yuan Shuo?"

Noticing Yuan Shuo's unfriendly gaze, Deputy Director Zhou quickly swallowed the word "demon" that was on the tip of his tongue. Yuan Shuo was very sensitive about being called "Old Demon Yuan" in front of him.

Deputy Director Zhou continued, "Anyone else would have died under Yuan Shuo's fists long ago, but you only paid a hundred divine energy stones as a price. Looking at it this way, you actually made a profit."

Kong Jie's eyes flickered a few times. After thinking about it carefully, her expression relaxed. What she said seemed to make some sense.

Deputy Director Zhou smiled, then removed his hand from Kong Jie's shoulder and returned to his seat with an air of nonchalance, remaining silent as if he were invisible.

But his actions just now made Yuan Shuo take a second look at him, his eyes filled with a hint of curiosity.

Immediately afterwards, Yuan Shuo circulated his internal energy, and after circulating it around his body, the moisture instantly dissipated, and his clothes became dry again.

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"Alright, let's get down to business."

Zhao Shuguang spoke first, turning to Yuan Shuo and smiling, "Yuan Shuo, we can't possibly agree to your terms. They're too much. All of us here have acquired more resources than you've offered so far."

Zhao Shuguang truly lives up to his nickname "Haha Monster," he's always laughing, a smile is always on his face. Those who don't know him think he's kind and approachable, but those who do know him know he's actually a smiling tiger.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shuo nonchalantly replied, "Ha, I'm asking for the moon now, and it's your turn to haggle. If you think it's too much, let's talk it over slowly. I, Yuan Shuo, am not an unreasonable person."

As soon as she finished speaking, Kong Jie immediately scoffed, as if she had heard a joke.

Yuan Shuo glanced at him, said nothing, but simply made another note in his notebook.

"No rush, no rush. Let him keep courting death first, and I'll settle the score with him later," Yuan Shuo muttered to himself.