Chapter 3634 — Even Miserable Senior Brother Is Quite "Wealthy"

"Just you wait! Your turn to cry will come!" Meng Jueming shot Wei Zhao a venomous glare, then turned and led Meng Zhou and the others away in sullen defeat.

Watching this, Miserable Senior Brother could not help but warn with some concern, "Junior Brother Lin, you had better be doubly careful from now on. Senior Brother Meng has never been one to swallow a loss, especially not with a newcomer like you. He will certainly think up every possible way to get his revenge. Knowing his ways in the past, I would say he stops at nothing at all!"

"Rest easy, Senior Brother Ku, I know what I'm doing," Wei Zhao said with an unconcerned smile.

A soldier comes, a general meets him; water rises, earth dams it. Before true power, every scheme and trick is a joke. If Wei Zhao's current early Foundation Establishment strength was still somewhat lacking, then once he refined the Heavenly Dao Golden Core and advanced to the peak of early Foundation Establishment, someone like Meng Jueming could be wiped out with a single move, so there was naturally nothing to fear.

At this point, Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai conferred briefly off to the side, then handed over the pouch containing the fifteen spirit jades. "Brother Lin, these spirit jades are all yours, earned by your own hand. The two of us feel we cannot take them. You should keep them."

"Fifteen whole spirit jades, and neither of you wants them?" Wei Zhao looked at the two of them in surprise. True, the bet had been won because of him, and Miserable Senior Brother had played a part as well, but after all the two of them had accepted the wager at enormous risk. By every measure of feeling and reason, these fifteen spirit jades were what the two of them deserved, of that there was no question at all.

Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai exchanged a glance and swallowed unconsciously.

Fifteen spirit jades, a sum large enough to make even a person like Meng Jueming ache in the flesh. To say the two of them did not covet it in the least would be utter nonsense.

In truth, because they had thrown in their lot with Wei Zhao, apart from Xiao Che's Cave Dwelling No. 1 at the foot of the mountain, which was passable enough, their other cultivation resources had been ground down to utter poverty by Meng Jueming's deliberate targeting. These fifteen spirit jades were to the two of them nothing short of charcoal in the snow. If all went smoothly, with these spirit jades, succeeding at Foundation Establishment was a very real possibility.

But although the fifteen spirit jades had been won by the two of them, the premise was that Miserable Senior Brother had furnished the stake, and Miserable Senior Brother had only stepped forward for Wei Zhao's sake. In the end, had it not been for Wei Zhao's displays that bordered on the miraculous, they could never have won at all.

Given the character of Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai, however much the fifteen spirit jades stirred their hearts, to simply pocket them with a clear conscience was something they could not bring themselves to do.

"Ha ha... the two of you needn't stand on ceremony with Senior Brother Ku and me. You need these spirit jades. If you can successfully establish your foundations in days to come, only then will they be put to their proper use, no? As for me, you needn't worry at all. Just trust that I won't let you down, and that will be enough," Wei Zhao said, smiling in reassurance.

Miserable Senior Brother had originally meant to suggest that the three of them split the spirit jades between them, but seeing Wei Zhao so firm and confident, he simply followed along. "Yes, the two of you keep them yourselves. Just don't let Junior Brother Lin's good intentions go to waste in the future."

"This..." Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai exchanged a glance. Seeing that Wei Zhao truly did not want the spirit jades, they could only nod. "Very well then. We'll say no more polite words. If anything comes up in the future, Brother Lin need only give us the word."

As they spoke, Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai had already fully placed themselves on the level of Wei Zhao's juniors. Given the character of the two of them, however much the fifteen spirit jades tempted them, it was not necessarily enough to make them bow their heads. But Wei Zhao's conduct from the very first day he arrived, every display of it, had won them over completely, and they were willing to stand beneath him.

"Well said." Wei Zhao smiled faintly. Though he had made enemies on every side since coming to the North Island of Cloud Terrace Island, imperceptibly he had also gathered a force of his own: Miserable Senior Brother, Xiao Che, Qiao Hongcai, all of them could be counted among his people. Their overall strength might not look like much, but there was plenty of time ahead.

With Wei Zhao's help, their growth in days to come into capable hands who could each hold their own would be as natural as water finding its channel.

Wei Zhao paused, then suddenly thought of something. "Oh, right. When you cultivate with these spirit jades, remember not to use up all the spiritual energy. Leave the very last trace of it for me. I'll take it and use it to pull the wool over someone's eyes."

"Mm, all right." Xiao Che and the other man were slightly taken aback, but they did not ask further and simply agreed.

Miserable Senior Brother, however, was rather puzzled by this. Use it down to the last trace of spiritual energy and the jade became nothing but thoroughly spent stone. Who did Wei Zhao mean to fool with spent jade? Did he intend to swindle Meng Jueming and his lot right back?

In truth, the matter of Wei Zhao having been cheated by Meng Jueming with spent jade for good jade, though it had not yet spread fully, had leaked out in a hint or two from Meng Zhou's mouth. Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai, who shut themselves in their cave dwellings all day diligently cultivating, did not know of it, but Miserable Senior Brother had heard it from others.

He had wanted to seek confirmation from Wei Zhao, but feared wounding Wei Zhao's pride and could not bring himself to ask. That was why he had come specially to look in on Wei Zhao today, never imagining he would run into that betting scene.

"Junior Brother Lin, as it happens, I have some spent jades over there with only the last trace of spiritual energy left. If you need them, I'll bring them over to you in a few days," Miserable Senior Brother said from the side.

Though it was common knowledge that spent jade with thin spiritual energy was worthless, useless either for cultivation or trade, a careful man like Miserable Senior Brother would still leave the last trace of spiritual energy in them rather than let the spirit jade shatter outright.

This was not out of any ulterior motive on his part, but because the Spirit Jade Hall had a regulation for recycling spent jade: once one had accumulated a thousand pieces of spent jade that had not shattered, they could be exchanged at the Spirit Jade Hall for one good jade brimming with spiritual energy.

The trouble was, doing so was exceedingly tedious, and the return was very low, so most people scorned the practice. After all, for the vast majority, they might not see a thousand spirit jades in their entire lives, let alone spent jades already used for cultivation.

Thus few people ever gave this spent-jade recycling regulation a thought. Only a meticulous, calculating man like Miserable Senior Brother paid it any heed. After all, saving up spent jade to trade for good jade was surely more worthwhile than draining the last trace of spiritual energy and letting the spirit jade shatter. Of course, for Miserable Senior Brother, accumulating spent jade to trade for good jade was a task requiring perseverance, one that would take at least ten years or more before it was even possible. RP