My Junior Brother is a Hidden Boss

Chapter 11: A Conscientious Seller

With just a single sentence from Lu Changsheng, Ning Yuxin’s spirit was entirely revitalized.

As the beloved daughter of Cangzhou’s wealthiest patriarch, capital was the absolute last thing she lacked. If she could literally buy her way to higher Sword Dao comprehension, it was undoubtedly the most efficient and painless solution!

“Senior Brother Lu, do you truly possess a method?”

“The logistics are not a problem, but the consultation fee might be a bit steep!” Lu Changsheng replied, putting on a perfectly distressed, difficult expression.

Ning Yuxin asked eagerly, “How much is required?”

“Twenty thousand and three Spirit Stones!”

Lu Changsheng held up two fingers with utmost solemnity.

Drawing upon his previous market research, he boldly quoted an absolutely astronomical premium.

After all, even a Peak Master’s baseline salary was barely over a hundred Spirit Stones a month. This quote was equivalent to over a decade of their total compensation—it was an aggressive profit margin.

He had deliberately padded the quote to leave ample room for aggressive haggling. His baseline acceptable revenue for this transaction was around fourteen or fifteen thousand.

However, he still grossly underestimated the terrifying liquidity of the Ning family.

Ning Yuxin did not hesitate for a single microsecond. She decisively pulled a spatial pouch from her storage ring, filled to the brim with blindingly pure Spirit Stones—a full twenty thousand!

“This…”

Lu Changsheng was stupefied. This client was far too generous; she hadn’t even attempted to negotiate the markup!

‘Just how deep are the Ning family’s coffers? Twenty thousand Spirit Stones, and she didn’t even blink?’

Ning Yuxin replied earnestly, “If mere wealth can elevate my Sword Dao, what does twenty thousand matter?”

Smoothly pocketing the Spirit Stones, Lu Changsheng could only lament his own tragic lack of startup capital. Reincarnation was truly a technical skill—spawning into the right demographic directly dictated the comfort of your entire mortal existence.

Watching him secure the funds, she asked respectfully, “Senior Brother Lu, what is the next step in the process?”

“You can completely disregard those dense theoretical manuals. If you like, keep them as decorative souvenirs. Now, return to your quarters and get a full night’s rest. Report back to me at dawn!”

“Thank you, Senior Brother!”

‘No, I should be thanking you!’

Lu Changsheng took a deep, steadying breath. He truly hadn’t expected liquidating her assets to be this friction-free.

At this rate, as long as he strung her along with incremental upgrades, milking her for eighty to a hundred thousand Spirit Stones would be an absolute breeze.

Still, he maintained his professional facade and reminded her, “Junior Sister Ning, there is a strict non-disclosure agreement you must adhere to.”

“What is it?”

“Under no circumstances can a third party learn of our transaction. Primarily, forced Sword Intent elevation requires the clandestine services of my Master’s reclusive associate, and he despises public exposure. Naturally, you cannot expose my involvement either. If word leaks, Eldest Senior Brother will view you with disdain, and my own peaceful retirement will be compromised.”

“Understood!”

Ning Yuxin nodded with profound solemnity, offering repeated, ironclad assurances before taking her leave.

If she had harbored any lingering skepticism regarding his ‘premium merchandise’ previously, it had been entirely eradicated.

She had undeniably condensed a sliver of Sword Intent, and even the peerless Zhou Qingyu had marveled at its terrifying purity.

Therefore, she was completely willing to place her unwavering faith in Lu Changsheng. Besides, it was only twenty thousand Spirit Stones—even if the investment failed, it was barely a scratch on her balance sheet.

Lu Changsheng nodded in profound satisfaction.

He took his twenty thousand and three Spirit Stones straight down to Cangyun City. He casually strolled into a mundane medicinal herb shop, spent exactly three Spirit Stones on base ingredients, and pocketed the remaining twenty thousand as pure, untaxed profit margin.

Ever since Ning Yuxin had checked into Qingyun Peak, his financial portfolio had absolutely skyrocketed. Clearing a net profit of twenty thousand in a single business day was a feat he couldn’t have managed in several years of normal operations.

Crunching the numbers, he began to seriously consider pitching Ning Yuxin a VIP comprehensive cultivation package.

Four layers of Sword Dao comprehension bundled with nine layers of Essence Condensation—invoicing her a flat hundred thousand wouldn’t be violating any consumer protection laws, right?

After all, in Lu Changsheng’s pragmatic worldview, neither the ninth layer of Essence Condensation nor the fourth layer of the Sword Dao were particularly complex engineering problems. As long as one wasn’t clinically brain-dead and had enough Spirit Stones to burn, brute-forcing the bottleneck was entirely viable.

It was precisely through his meticulous, behind-the-scenes technical support that his Eldest Senior Brother had achieved his current legendary status.

He had already mapped out the entire tech tree; for Zhou Qingyu, cultivating was practically a fully automated process.

The more Lu Changsheng reviewed his business model, the more flawlessly logical it seemed. He was just about to head back and draft the official service contract when several figures abruptly blocked his path.

“Lu Changsheng!”

A chilling voice, dripping with venomous resentment, rang out across the street.

Lu Changsheng paused, his gaze landing on the bruised and battered Shi Feng.

Beside him now stood an arrogant young man in his mid-twenties, flanked by a wizened elderly cultivator.

“Ah, if it isn’t Fellow Daoist Shi! It has been a few days—I trust your convalescence is going smoothly? Why the sour expression?” Lu Changsheng greeted, a perfectly warm, impeccable customer-service smile plastered on his face.

Even though the opposing party was blatantly flexing a Core Formation enforcer, his heart rate didn’t even spike.

After all, this was Cangyun City. They were standing on prime Cangyun Sect real estate. He could practically walk sideways through these streets if he wanted to.

Shi Feng nearly burst a blood vessel. Did this bastard seriously not know why he was resentful?!

The elderly man beside him, however, forced a genial smile and stepped forward. “So this young friend is the Junior Brother of the famed Little Sword Immortal. Truly dignified and refined, a prime exemplar of a supreme Sect!”

“Senior is too generous with his praise!”

Lu Changsheng replied, exuding an aura of calm, humble low-profile elegance.

Shi Feng’s face twisted into an ugly grimace. He felt physically nauseated by this sickeningly hypocritical facade—the kid certainly hadn’t been this polite when he was ordering a mob to curb-stomp him into the pavement!

Now, faced with a Core Formation powerhouse, he was suddenly playing the role of the humble, law-abiding junior.

The young man gave Lu Changsheng a dismissive once-over and let out a cold, condescending scoff.

“Young friend is far too modest,” the elder continued, his smile never wavering.

Lu Changsheng asked politely, “Does Senior have official business within my Cangyun Sect’s borders?”

“The Cangyun Sect borders the deep primordial mountains, and I hear beast tides surge every few decades. We merely happened to be passing through and wished to lend a meager hand to the defense efforts. Naturally, we also took the opportunity to admire the splendor of your esteemed Sect.”

“I see!” Lu Changsheng gave them a deeply skeptical, calculating glance. “Then I shall not delay Senior’s righteous endeavors. I have pending administrative duties to attend to, so I will take my leave!”

As he spoke, his gaze discreetly swept over the trio, mentally cataloging their threat levels.

Yet for some inexplicable reason, beneath that lazy, casual scrutiny, the elderly Core Formation expert felt a chilling sensation—as if he were a condemned prisoner being sized up for execution.

Watching Lu Changsheng’s retreating back, the elder sneered. “Spirit Accumulation third layer. Utterly mediocre talent. The rumors of his uselessness were entirely accurate.”

“Elder, do not be deceived by his harmless act! This bastard is completely devoid of shame. The other day…”

Shi Feng began to aggressively recount the trauma of being pinned down and having his face mercilessly sanded against the cobblestones, his blood pressure violently spiking at the memory.

“Do not forget our true objective here. Do not let your petty, personal grievances jeopardize the grand design!”

“Understood!”

Meanwhile, Lu Changsheng leisurely ascended Qingyun Peak. Recalling the blatantly scripted conversation in the city, he couldn’t help but find it utterly ridiculous.

These thugs had literally just tried to orchestrated a proxy assassination. Did they honestly expect him to buy their ‘righteous volunteers’ PR spin?

‘Who knows what kind of hostile takeover they’re plotting now.’

But he honestly couldn’t care less. The Sect was a massive corporate entity perfectly accustomed to managing beast tide crisis events; they had centuries of standardized operating procedures.

A meager strike team of three undocumented Cultivators wasn’t going to crash the local economy.

The Sect’s upper management wasn’t completely brain-dead—any auditor with half an eye could see through their flimsy cover story. There was zero reason for him to proactively intervene and assume liability.

Besides, why waste energy on geopolitics when he had a massive Spirit Stone contract to fulfill?

He headed straight for the alchemy lab. Taking full advantage of Ye Tianyi’s temporary absence, he immediately began fabricating Ning Yuxin’s premium Pill. After all, he prided himself on exceptional customer service and rapid delivery times.

If his brand reputation took a hit, how could he establish a recurring subscription model with the wealthy heiress?

And if he couldn’t secure that funding, when would he ever hit the Nascent Soul milestone and finally escape the agonizing physical penalties of his own cultivation?

Regardless of the ethical implications, he had to aggressively monetize her until he amassed enough capital for his Nascent Soul breakthrough!

Bright and early the next morning, Lu Changsheng stood punctually at the courtyard entrance, handing a meticulously packaged jade bottle over to Ning Yuxin.

Ning Yuxin accepted it reverently. She could still feel the scorching residual heat of the freshly refined Pill radiating through the jade.

“Thank you for your hard work, Senior Brother!”

“The funds have cleared… we are practically family now. There is no need for such formalities!” Lu Changsheng waved his hand magnanimously. Instead of immediately clocking out, he added, “Junior Sister, the application protocol for this batch is slightly different. For maximum absorption, it must be paired with the environmental pressure of the Sect’s Sword Grotto. Allow me to escort you!”

With that, Lu Changsheng took the lead, acting as a premium VIP concierge.

Ning Yuxin nodded gratefully and followed closely behind him, heading straight into the restricted inner depths of the Sect.

Yet this time, as she stared at Lu Changsheng’s back, she felt an overwhelming certainty that the vicious rumors surrounding him were a complete fabrication.

This profound level of meticulous care, this unwavering sense of responsibility—these were absolutely not the traits of an indolent wastrel.

As for Lu Changsheng, of course he was being meticulous. If the merchandise failed to deliver results and Ning Yuxin filed a customer complaint, how could he successfully upsell her on future upgrades?

After all, in this brutal economy, finding a high-net-worth investor this wonderfully naive and eager to be scammed was a once-in-a-lifetime miracle!

…