Ninth In the World

“Yes, I am Ceng Beizi. I could get you a ticket to the Fairy Planet treasure auction if you were willing to teach me your saber moves personally,” Ceng Beizi said in a steady voice.

“I have a question for you before we agree on such a transaction. Would you be willing to answer it?” A sense of curiosity had filled Di Jiu’s heart ever since he had seen Ceng Beizi.

Ceng Beizi, who was not bothered by his curiosity, replied, “You may ask me any question you wish. I will definitely answer it, as long as I am able to.”

“Okay,” Di Jiu said. “About a month ago, an extremely powerful white-haired man called Luo visited the Swallow Capital University’s Institute of Martial Arts. I heard that he attained his immortal heritage from the Fairy Planet. He is able to form a fireball on his palm. I believe you must have heard about this. Am I right? Senior Luo came here in search of a disciple. Why did he choose the other lady over you?”

A sense of sadness and despondency flooded Ceng Beizi’s eyes. Di Jiu had mastered the second stage of Qi Refinement, so he was able to detect the disappointment in her eyes easily.

After a brief moment, she replied, “Senior Luo came here especially for me, but I was not up to his standards.”

Di Jiu could feel distinctly the fluctuations in Ceng Beizi’s emotions. She was still immensely disappointed that she had not been chosen by the white-haired man.

“His loss. You have so much more potential than Lui. She has a bad attitude. You are prettier and more capable than her… More likeable, too.” Di Jiu had been displeased to find out that Ceng Beizi had lost this opportunity to Lui Wan.

He was already starting to make comparisons between the two of them in his head, even though they had never transacted.

The look of disappointment on Ceng Beizi’s face vanished. She looked coldly at Di Jiu before she said, “I do not like to gossip, nor do I tolerate people who speak ill of others behind their backs. The act of gossiping itself is a character flaw.”

Di Jiu laughed as he said nonchalantly, “You will soon find out that I have nothing to boast about in terms of my character. Therefore, you should not hold me against your character standards. If you are unhappy, you could always choose not to do business with me.”

Di Jiu knew that Lui Wan was not someone with good intentions. If it had not been for the arrival of the white-haired man, he might have already fallen into her trap. He naturally had nothing nice to say about someone who had been after his life, be it in their presence or absence. He would definitely say these things to her face though, as soon as his abilities improved.

In Di Jiu’s opinion, he had not maligned Lui Wan. The lady, who had clearly followed Trustworthy’s orders, had been out to capture him. However, when she had heard that the white-haired man wanted to make her his disciple, she had immediately disregarded Trustworthy’s instructions, which showed that Di Jiu was right about the quality of her character. He could not have cared less about his own principles. Given his reputation in Pearl City, he had no character standards to speak of.

“I heard that Lui Wan is your girlfriend. She has just left for a little more than a month, yet you are already talking behind her back. To be honest, if it were not for this potential transaction, I would have already left,” Ceng Beizi said coldly.

Di Jiu laughed before he said, “She cheated on me multiple times. Plus, I have already broken up with her. Her decisions are no longer my business. If I’d kept dating her, I would have just kept getting cheated on.”

“I agree that this lady is not a good person. You have made the right decision in leaving her,” Qi Xiang replied immediately.

The truth was that Qi Xiang had never seen Lui Wan before. However, her main motive had been to capture Di Jiu, so that made her their common enemy. There was no principle to uphold against an enemy. Plus, neither of them was a man of strong principles. Qi Xiang often spoke ill of others behind their backs.

Ceng Beizi’s face turned pale. She had always been very moral, so she disliked speaking ill of others behind their backs. She would have chosen to leave, had it not been for her desire to learn Di Jiu’s saber moves.

“Let’s not talk about irrelevant things. Have you considered my proposal?” Ceng Beizi took the initiative to change the topic.

“I thought that you were leaving. I did not expect you to stay. You are quite thick-skinned, so you have the qualities necessary to do business with me.” Di Jiu patted the chair beside him, inviting Ceng Beizi to sit down before they continued their conversation.

Ceng Beizi did not move. She just kept her eyes on Di Jiu, waiting for his answer.

“There is a total of four Di Clan saber moves. I will teach you the first saber move in exchange for an auction ticket and the second saber move in exchange for 100 million alliance dollars. If you have any extra money to spare, then we could talk about the third saber move,” Di Jiu said, listing the conditions that he had prepared for the Ji Family.

Under normal circumstances, these kind of auctions used the alliance dollar. The alliance dollar was a currency invented by an alliance of nations around the world after the discovery of the Fairy Planet. One alliance dollar was equal in value to two yuan.

“I do not have so much money.” A sense of helplessness rose in Ceng Beizi’s heart. 100 million alliance dollars was not an amount that she could casually take out, no matter how wealthy her family was. Di Jiu had not been lying when he said that she would discover more about his character quickly.

“If you cannot afford it, then you can just use the auction ticket in exchange for the first saber move.” Di Jiu would not show any sympathy to Ceng Beizi. The Di Clan’s Seven Sabers was a secret passed down the Di Clan after all. If his father, Di Shan, had still been alive and had known that Di Jiu was about to teach the Di Clan’s Seven Sabers to an outsider, he would have lost his mind.

Ever since he had witnessed the dao cultivation technique and read about the Martial King’s mystic arts, the Di Clan’s Seven Sabers had lost its importance to Di Jiu. Plus, according to his ancestor, Di Yue, the Di Clan’s Seven Sabers had not originated from the Di Family.

“Alright, you can share the first saber move with me. I will give you the ticket as soon as I master the move.” Ceng Beizi was straightforward about her proposal. She did not want to bargain with Di Jiu.

“Let’s go!” Di Jiu grabbed the steel saber next to him and stood up.

He did not want to waste any time. If it had not been for Qi Xiang’s visit, he would have already been on his way to the Wang Chuan Mountain Range.

…

Di Jiu performed the Di Clan’s first saber move twice on the martial arts field solemnly. After each time, he gave a detailed explanation of the moves.

Ceng Beizi undeniably had a strong ability to comprehend what she was taught. After watching Di Jiu perform the move twice, she was already able to try it herself. She also kept asking intelligent questions. Ceng Beizi was clearly stronger than Qi Xiang.

Di Jiu did not hide anything from her. He imparted the first saber move to her and repeatedly reminded her about the breathing qi cultivation technique that complemented the move.

If this technique was combined with some medicinal herbs, Di Jiu was certain that Ceng Beizi would only need a week to master the first saber move. Such talent was indeed rare. Di Jiu could not understand why the white-haired man had deemed Ceng Beizi less talented than Lui Wan.

“Thank you.” After a few hours, Ceng Beizi gripped her saber and balled her hand into a fist to express her gratitude. Meanwhile, she took out the auction ticket and handed it to Di Jiu.

She could tell that Di Jiu had dedicated himself to imparting the Di Clan’s first saber move to her without reservations.

Di Jiu was glad to finally hold the ticket in his hand after such a long time. Now, he only had to get some money.

“This does not seem right… Why is there no address on the ticket?” Di Jiu only realized that there was something wrong with the ticket when he held it in his hand. Although the ticket included the words ‘Fairy Planet Treasure Auction’ and the time of the event, there was no address printed on it.

“All the tickets to the Fairy Planet Auction are like that. I will know the venue of the event when the time comes…” Ceng Beizi said calmly.

“Will you take me there?” Di Jiu asked immediately. He had a bad feeling about this whole thing.

“If you show me the second saber move…” Ceng Beizi answered.

It was just as he had expected. Di Jiu kept his auction ticket and told Ceng Beizi, “You have thicker skin than I imagined. You are a lot like me. Deal! When the time comes, I will meet you at my place at the Institute of Martial Arts. If you take me to the auction, I will show you the second saber move.”

Di Jiu had underestimated her. She had easily bought two saber moves with one auction ticket.

“It’s a deal,” Ceng Beizi said, blushing slightly. She was aware that she had played unfairly. She had no grounds to defend herself when Di Jiu said that the two of them were very similar in terms of character, so she left as soon as she agreed to the deal. She had no intention of befriending Di Jiu after all.