My Golden Core is a Star, do you call this cultivating?

Chapter 285: 3rd Stage of Qi Refining

The man in the black jacket gazed at the Kunqing Grass on the table, his eyes deep with thought.
Finally, he said, "Could we meet in person?"

A deal worth a billion couldn’t be made without meeting the other party; it wouldn’t sit right with him.
The death of Qi Yuan might be a small matter, but losing a billion would be a painful blow.

"Let's hurry; I'm very busy," Qi Yuan said casually.

Maybe in a while, after his cultivation reached a higher level, a billion wouldn't even interest him anymore.

"How about two days from now, on the Haixingya cruise ship in Tianyue City?" the man in the black jacket suggested tentatively.

In two days, the luxurious cruise ship Haixingya would dock in Tianyue City for three days. During this time, the ship would be resupplied, and a banquet would be held, inviting various social elites to attend.

“Hmm... You cover the cost of the ticket and transportation,” Qi Yuan agreed.

He figured he could just get a free meal while he was at it.

“An invitation will be delivered to you tomorrow, and a driver will pick you up the day after,” the man in the black jacket arranged efficiently.

This was also a way of showing his power.
He was telling Qi Yuan, "I know your information, including your address."

“Alright. Oh, and bring more Kunqing Grass—I need it,” Qi Yuan looked at the man in the black jacket and added, “If you can, collect some other materials for me as well. The cost will be deducted from our transaction.

And, by the way, the transaction amount should be post-tax.”

After giving a list of materials he needed, Qi Yuan ended the video call.

In the border town, the man in the black jacket had a conflicted look on his face.

There was too little useful information obtained from the recent conversation, and the initiative was in the hands of the other party.

As the saying goes, the customer is king.
But he felt that the person named Qi Yuan was the real king.

That easygoing, confident demeanor was not something an ordinary person could possess.

As an arms dealer, the man in the black jacket had many gunmen under his command. He had also killed people and met all kinds of characters, but someone like Qi Yuan was a first for him.

The young man in a short-sleeved shirt looked extremely displeased. "This Qi Yuan is too arrogant, giving no face at all. This is a billion-dollar deal!"

Qi Yuan's attitude had left the young man quite dissatisfied.

"Ah Zhi, remember to prepare the materials Qi Yuan mentioned earlier," the man in the black jacket instructed.

The young man, Ah Zhi, was taken aback. "Boss, do we really have to gather them?"

“Hmm... If we successfully meet, this deal... is likely to go through,” the man in the black jacket knew himself well.

Now that he was tempted, the deal would definitely proceed.

Unless the other party made a huge mistake when they met.

But since Qi Yuan had handled the video call flawlessly, it was unlikely he would make a significant mistake in person either.

“Are we really going to do this?” Ah Zhi swallowed hard.

That’s a billion Qin Yuan coins!
And post-tax.

If he had that much money, he would have quit this job long ago and enjoyed life.

“Yes, we’ll do it,” the man in the black jacket said firmly.

Ah Zhi seemed to understand something. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Should I arrange for some people on the Haixingya to... take care of him?"

“What are you thinking? This is a legitimate business transaction!
In business, you need to maintain credibility!” the man in the black jacket glared at Ah Zhi.

He understood Ah Zhi's implication; it was about double-crossing.

But in a transaction involving a cultivation technique, how could they resort to a double-cross?
If it turned out to be real, it would imply that the other party was indeed cultivating immortality!

...

“Item has been reserved, temporarily declining private messages. Stop tipping; no refunds.”

Qi Yuan thought for a moment and posted a comment on his video, pinning it to the top.

After doing so, he exited the short video app.

"Qi Yuan, this is our Mingwu member group. I’ve sent you an invite; please accept it," the Second Senior Brother messaged, along with a link to join the group.

“Sure, thanks for the trouble, Second Senior Brother.”

Qi Yuan joined the group named "Mingwu Gathering Place."

There were over three hundred members in the group.

Upon joining, Qi Yuan lurked in silence, reading the messages.

“Ugh, secret items are so expensive, I can’t afford them,” a female member named Xiaoyu complained in the group.

“Sister Fish, your husband is about to kick the bucket, and you're worried about some secret items worth tens of thousands?” another member laughed.

“The bulk of the inheritance is going to his sons; I’ll only get some scraps,” Xiaoyu grumbled in her text.

“Not bad, three years for an inheritance worth over a billion. I’m jealous!”

“@Master, can you make the secret items cheaper? They’re too expensive; we can’t afford them!” Xiaoyu said in the group.

A few other members chimed in as well.

“Make them cheaper; we can’t afford them!”
“We’re so broke we can’t even afford underwear!”

Reading the messages in the group, Qi Yuan couldn't help but ask, “What are secret items?”

Qi Yuan always had a good habit of asking when he didn’t understand.

“Brother, are you new? Martial artists need secret items to advance to higher levels.

By the way, don’t confuse secret items with genetic drugs. Secret items are all-natural,” a helpful member explained further.

“At what stage do you need secret items?” Qi Yuan asked again.

“When you’ve trained the ‘Mingwu Resonance Fist’ to the seventh level, you’ll need secret items to make any further progress.

Typically, only veteran members who have been practicing the ‘Mingwu Resonance Fist’ for three to four years start using secret items to enhance their strength,” the helpful elder brother explained.

“Elder Brother, if you’ve been training for so long, you must be very strong, right?” Qi Yuan asked curiously, “Can you catch bullets with your hands?”

“Ahem...” the elder brother was at a loss for words, “Brother, you must be joking...”

“Looks like even veteran members aren't that strong,” Qi Yuan thought.

Of course, he wouldn’t post such thoughts in the group; that would be too low EQ.

He continued to lurk in the group for a while, seeing most of the messages were complaints about the high cost of secret items.

According to the information Qi Yuan gathered from the group, a month’s worth of martial arts training could require secret items worth tens of thousands.

That would be hundreds of thousands per year.

No wonder only rich people practiced martial arts.

How could ordinary people afford to spend hundreds of thousands on martial arts training each year?

“I need to reach the seventh level soon and see what these secret items are.”

Qi Yuan was quite curious.

Currently, he was only at the first level of the “Mingwu Resonance Fist,” still far from the seventh level.

And martial arts, compared to the Dao of Immortality, were quite different.

For example, for the much harder Dao of Immortality, Qi Yuan had already reached the third level of Qi Refining.

If he had enough resources, Qi Yuan could immediately establish his foundation.

But martial arts were different; they required actual practice.

It was genuine practice.

Every time Qi Yuan practiced the “Mingwu Resonance Fist,” he felt a slight improvement.

This improvement wasn’t just in proficiency but also in his martial arts cultivation.

“But ordinary people... might only manage a few rounds a day before they can't continue... but I’m different; I can keep practicing!”

In the living room, Qi Yuan practiced the “Mingwu Resonance Fist” for a while longer.

After practicing, he began cultivating his Dao techniques again.

“I estimate that once I reach the Golden Core stage, I’ll be able to summon the projection of my Star Core here.

Right now, I'm too weak and need to keep a low profile.”

Qi Yuan considered himself to be quite low-key at the moment.

For instance, posting videos to sell cultivation techniques.

There were quite a few comments below... Hmm, if this were in the Canglan Realm, Qi Yuan would have tracked them down through the internet.

But now, as a mere third-level Qi Refining novice,
tracking someone down through the internet?

Too much trouble.

He couldn’t be bothered.

At the very least, he’d wait until after reaching the Golden Core stage to consider purging the bad influences from society, right?
Otherwise, he wouldn't have the confidence to say he didn’t eat beef.

The next night, Qi Yuan returned again after taking a shower.

He lay on the sofa, watching the news on TV.

“Recently, criminals have been moving into the city. Citizens are advised to be vigilant about their personal safety.”

“The Jewel of Qin Yuan, the Sixth Princess of Tian City, celebrated her coming-of-age ceremony today. Congratulations to the princess!”

“Can Xing has become the hottest topic of the year. More and more citizens are eager to immigrate to Can Xing!”

“The Yuelang Cabinet has imposed a ‘rainwater tax,’ prompting protests as citizens gather on the streets.”

The news was reporting on various events happening around the world.

“If I remember correctly, in a few days, the Sixth Princess will be assassinated, and Yuelang will experience a coup,” Qi Yuan mused.

He still had the memories of the next year. While he didn’t know about most things, major events that would make headlines or trending topics, the innate seed knew.

“With all those restarters around, this Sixth Princess probably won’t get assassinated this time.”

Although Qi Yuan had not yet contacted the Gongyi family, with so many restarters, someone must have already reached out to the Seven Martial Stars families.

Preventing the assassination of the Sixth Princess was a big deal; someone was sure to step up.

Just then, Qi Yuan’s phone rang.

He looked at it; it was a call from Wang Xu.

“Qi Yuan, how did the blind date go? Was the person Cui Fan introduced reliable?”

“There was no connection,” Qi Yuan thought about the woman in the tight black outfit who had lent him quite a bit of money.

“No worries, better matches will come along. Do you want to reconsider the job I recommended?”

“No need, thanks, class rep. I’ve got something to do now, and I can make money.”

“Make money?”

“Yes, can’t do a regular job. I need to do business. Let’s meet tomorrow; I don’t have time to chat now.”

Qi Yuan hung up the call.

Kindness can be hard to turn down, and he didn’t want to say more; he still had to cultivate for a while.

On the other end, Wang Xu was a bit stunned.

“Doing business?”

Qi Yuan was doing business?
That was quite a surprise.

After all, wasn’t it known that Qi Yuan had a mental illness?

Could a mentally ill person run a business?
What would he sell?
His body?
But since Qi Yuan had already hung up, he didn’t feel it was appropriate to press further.

“Sigh, Qi Yuan might have a point; working is exhausting. I still have to investigate the sea monsters tomorrow. Damn the Haixingya!”

...

“Please get in, sir.”

Inside the residential area, a brawny man in a suit opened the car door, and Qi Yuan got in, closing his eyes to rest.

This car had been arranged by the man in the black jacket to pick up Qi Yuan.

Although he was in a suit, Qi Yuan could still smell a faint scent of blood.

This man had taken lives before.

Such people might scare ordinary citizens in a civilized city, but to Qi Yuan... well, they were just that.

“Is your boss wealthy?” Qi Yuan asked casually.

The driver hesitated for a moment, then answered in broken Qin Yuan dialect, “Yes.”

“That’s good. Having strong financial resources makes cooperation easier.”

Qi Yuan was reluctant to seek multiple partners.

Finding one reliable partner was enough, especially one who could gather all the materials he needed so he could focus solely on cultivation.

The driver remained silent, saying nothing further.

About two hours later, the car stopped at a port.

“Mr. Qi, please follow me; the boss is waiting for you on the cruise ship.”

Qi Yuan nodded and followed the suited man onto the ship.

The Haixingya cruise ship was one of the medium to large-sized ships on Gongsing, nearly 500 meters long and capable of carrying nearly 10,000 passengers.

The ship was docked at the port, and uniformed guards were stationed at the entrance.

Groups of men and women entered from time to time, smiles on their faces.

Not far away, there were some young people with phones and cameras taking photos.

Some were live-streaming, while others were checking in.

Snippets of their conversations drifted into Qi Yuan’s ears.

“I heard this cruise ship belongs to Prince Tail. I wonder if I’ll have a chance for a romantic encounter with him.”

“Stop dreaming; you’d need money to pay for the ticket. I heard the tickets cost over ten thousand!”

“Sigh, some people didn’t even pay. My friend’s brother managed to get on!”

“Special access?”

“Yes... sigh, too bad I didn’t pass the physical; otherwise, I might have gotten a chance!”

The cruise ship had attracted quite a few dignitaries, which in turn attracted a lot of young men and women.

After all, if they could get into such high society, it could change the trajectory of their lives.

Qi Yuan followed the suited man through the VIP passage, boarding the cruise ship under the envious gazes of the young people.

The cruise ship was huge, filled with many well-dressed individuals. Security guards patrolled frequently, armed with guns.

“The ship’s security is excellent, and ordinary guests are not allowed to bring weapons, so Mr. Qi, you don’t have to worry about your safety,” the suited man emphasized.

“Don’t worry, I’m not concerned.”

Although Qi Yuan was only at the third level of Qi Refining, his third level was different from others.

On this ship, nothing could threaten him.

The suited man remained silent, saying nothing more.

“Where’s your boss? Hurry up, I’m in a rush to get back to martial arts practice.”

Qi Yuan followed the suited man, weaving through the cruise ship for about twenty minutes.

“We’re almost there; just a minute away. The boss is waiting for you in the front hall,” the suited man quickly reassured.

Along the way, he had intentionally taken Qi Yuan on a detour to give the boss more time to observe him.

“Alright,” Qi Yuan nodded, saying nothing further.

Meanwhile, not far from the cruise ship, a young girl in a black dress with a refined hairstyle blinked, seemingly doubting her own eyes.

“What is it, Uqi?”

“Nothing, I thought I saw a high school classmate, but I must have been mistaken.

By the way, that high school classmate of mine, he was actually my junior... really handsome. Back then, several girls in our class used to follow him every day.

If it weren’t for the constant training, I might have wanted to have a romantic relationship with him. What a pity... Now, as a public figure, I have to be cautious even about dating.” Uqi’s cold makeup accentuated her exquisite face, and her black dress perfectly outlined her curves.

“Even though you can’t date openly, you earn a lot of money. Aren’t you still an outstanding alum of your school?

People call you a big star when they see you.”

“Big star, my foot! Just a high-class service worker. Later, I still have to go in and entertain guests...” Uqi rolled her eyes.

Her manager chimed in, “If you don’t want to socialize, I can arrange to cancel it.”

Of course, she was just saying it casually; canceling was out of the question.

“No way, I have to seize this opportunity. Who knows, this might be my big break! I don’t want to be an obscure idol for the rest of my life!” Uqi said, sounding ambitious. She pulled down her dress a little, revealing more of her fair skin.

She had volunteered for this event.

She knew she might have to offer more than just her presence, but she agreed to come anyway.

Such things were common in all kinds of circles, affecting both men and women.

“Let’s hope it’s not some fat old man,” Uqi thought.

Meanwhile, Qi Yuan stepped into a luxurious reception hall on the ship.

The hall was enormous, decorated lavishly with no regard for subtlety.

The man in the black jacket stood up, looking at Qi Yuan with a smile. “Qi Yuan, I am Kuang Huan.”