Chapter 3230 — The Pinnacle of the Late Heaven Tier, Great Perfection

And that was precisely where the worth of this assignment lay.

"How about it? I've laid out all the stakes plainly enough. If you agree, then move quickly. If not, pretend I never spoke," Feng Tianhu said.

"Let me discuss it with the other two chairmen, and then I'll call you back!" said Brother Dian after a moment's hesitation.

"Good, I'll wait for your word," Feng Tianhu said at once. Either way, there was hope in this yet!

The Black Horse Society, after all, was made up of men who lived with death at their elbow. The assignment carried risk, but the reward was plain for all to see—quite apart from the hefty commission, Feng Tianhu's promise once he became patriarch mattered a great deal indeed!

So, after weighing how hard the assignment would be, Brother Dian called Feng Tianhu back.

"Brother Dian!" Feng Tianhu picked up, asking respectfully, "Well? Any word?"

"Mr. Feng Tianhu, our First Chairman has agreed to take the assignment. However, as for the commission, I need to have a word with you about that," said Brother Dian.

"By all means, go ahead!" Hearing that the Black Horse Society had agreed, Feng Tianhu was both startled and overjoyed.

"Because that is Wei Zhao's territory, we must guarantee our people's safety. The man we send is a top-tier expert of the late Heaven Tier, Great Perfection—one of the Grand Elders of the Black Horse Society. So the price must be somewhat higher," said Brother Dian.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Feng Tianhu had been afraid that if the Black Horse Society sent a few small fry who ran into Wei Zhao, they would be no match for him. Now this was settled—a top-tier expert of the late Heaven Tier, Great Perfection, would take the field! That was a walking atomic bomb, no less! And if it cost a little more, it was worth it! He hastened to say, "What price? Tell me!"

"Ten billion! And a promise!" said Brother Dian.

"Pff—cough, cough, cough—" Feng Tianhu was startled out of his wits. "Brother Dian, you're not joking, are you? Do I look like a man with ten billion? I have some savings, but all told it comes to no more than about two billion..."

Among the ancient sects, the Feng family did not count as wealthy. Even with the side ventures Feng Tianhu had worked up outside, all these years had netted him only around two billion! To speak of ten billion—was that not a joke?

"You don't have it, but the Feng family does!" Brother Dian said mildly.

"The Feng family... but I don't have the final say there... and besides, our Feng family doesn't have that kind of money! Much of what I have is my own extra income! I've backed several spokesmen on the outside—some in business, some in show business, some in security—to rake in the gold for me, and only then did I scrape together two billion!" Feng Tianhu smiled wryly as he explained.

"Then how much money does your Feng family have?" Brother Dian frowned. He had not expected the Feng family to be so poor! Still, ten billion had been an opening demand in any case, waiting to be bargained down.

"By my reckoning, in cash, only about three billion or so," Feng Tianhu said, not daring to hide anything—after all, whatever he could find out, others could dig up too.

"Two billion plus three billion makes five billion in all... Fine, then. You can give us the two billion first, and the three billion once you've become patriarch—no problem, I take it?" asked Brother Dian. Five billion was a rather brutal cut, but Brother Dian reckoned it still worth their while. Sending out a Grand Elder to kill three people was a trifle; the only danger lay in setting foot in Wei Zhao's territory, and with a little care there would be no trouble at all.

"Done!" Feng Tianhu gritted his teeth and agreed. After all, once he was patriarch he would change the Feng family's present strategy and send more people out to rake in the gold—and the shortfall would be made up then.

"Good. Send me that old director's files. Our Grand Elder sets out today and strikes tomorrow!" said Brother Dian.

Feng Tianhu had not expected such efficiency; he was somewhat taken aback, though nothing could have suited him better. He hurriedly sent the old director's files to the email address Brother Dian specified, and then sat back to await good news.

Wei Zhao and Yu Xiaoke wandered the night-market street a while, then went back. Wei Zhao noticed that Yu Xiaoke seemed listless today, heavy with something on her mind, and his own heart grew heavy too—he had brought it on himself, after all. But how was he to tell her? If he said that Wei Zhao was Male Thief, would she be able to bear it?

He escorted Yu Xiaoke back to the orphanage in the guise of Male Thief, then changed back into his own identity and returned to the orphanage. Xu Shilan and the old director had finished their catching up; at that moment she was rehearsing in the gymnasium with Cheng Yiyi. Wei Zhao went to have a look, but there was nothing he could help with, and Yu Xiaoke plainly did not much want to talk to him either, so Wei Zhao simply found a room and cultivated.

He had been stuck at the early Heaven Tier for some time now, with still no sign of breaking through, which drew a sigh from Wei Zhao. Above the Heaven Tier, every step forward was indeed harder than the last—and especially with Wang Xinyan no longer there to lend him a hand, his cultivation speed had sunk to a low ebb.

That night, Wei Zhao and the others stayed at the orphanage. The charity performance and the donation drive were tomorrow, and there was no point in Wei Zhao hauling Xu Shilan and Cheng Yiyi back and forth between two cities—there would not be time for it anyway.

The night passed without a word. At ten the next morning, the donation gala formally began. Although the last fundraiser had been held by the school and not long ago, that one had been in Donghai City, while this one was local to Songshan City, so quite a few wealthy magnates and celebrities had still come to show their support.

On the surface, this was the drawing power of the stars—but in truth, it was Gu Pengzhan's doing! Gu Pengzhan was chairman of the provincial chamber of commerce and a man backed by the Han family, with unmatched influence across the province. Who in the province, doing business there, would dare slight the Han family?

So the entrepreneurs who came this time came mostly for Gu Pengzhan's sake—which was in fact for Han Xiaohu's sake! Of course, at their level, none of them knew that Wei Zhao was the true boss behind it all.

Han Xiaohu was merely Wei Zhao's underling, while Wei Zhao was a figure whose stamp of the foot made the whole ancient order tremble.

The donation gala was a great success, and after it came the charity performance by Xu Shilan and Cheng Yiyi. All proceeds from the concert would go entirely to the construction of the orphanage, and fans could also donate of their own accord to the designated account by online transfer.

Wei Zhao sat alone in the audience, quietly watching Xu Shilan onstage, and fell slightly into a reverie... RS