Liu Hui gasped in astonishment, sputtering, "No way? Could it be that this time, Senior is feeling so generous as to only charge me one top-grade Spirit Stone? That would be immensely appreciated! I never expected your esteemed self to show such care for a junior like me!" The expression on Xiaoyaozi's face instantly darkened. He boomed, "I said one hundred thousand top-grade Spirit Stones! Take a moment to consider it—how could something this valuable possibly only cost a single top-grade Spirit Stone?"

Liu Hui immediately adopted the posture of a pauper. "Senior, I barely have any top-grade Spirit Stones left; you've nearly bled me dry! This price is outrageously high. I genuinely cannot produce that many top-grade Spirit Stones!"

Xiaoyaozi chuckled like a sly merchant. "Little friend, you think this price is high? No, it isn't high at all. Consider this: with these materials, your Hongguang Armor can be fully repaired, and its defensive capabilities will be greatly enhanced. Furthermore, your world certainly won't feature any Golden Core realm masters, who are a full tier above the Foundation Establishment stage. Therefore, under the protection of the Hongguang Armor, your very life will be secured. When you calculate it that way, do you still find it expensive? You must have achieved great success in your world, correct? You are certainly surrounded by beautiful women and wield significant authority. Wouldn't it be a tragedy to be assassinated like that?"

Although Liu Hui was quite satisfied internally with securing his life in exchange for one hundred thousand Grade Four Demonic Beast Crystal Cores, he bristled at Xiaoyaozi's depiction of a black-hearted merchant. If he agreed to Xiaoyaozi’s terms, his readers would certainly be displeased, complaining yet again that this mutually beneficial transaction was actually Liu Hui being fleeced by Xiaoyaozi.

Thus, Liu Hui’s eyes darted around, and he declared, "Alas! I must sincerely thank Senior just now for reminding me. It is true that I have achieved great success in my world. I have countless underlings, and while their individual strength may not be much, they can certainly block bullets for me at a critical moment! How could I forget about them? This way," he paused, "if there is any fighting, I won't have to risk my own life! They can handle it. Therefore, my safety is already guaranteed. Why should I bother enhancing the defense of the Hongguang Armor? That would be completely unnecessary!" Xiaoyaozi had been basking in smug satisfaction, fully expecting Liu Hui to yield, but he never anticipated Liu Hui saying something like that. Before Xiaoyaozi could process it, Liu Hui quickly added, "Senior, I believe a gentleman does not covet another’s desires. I no longer need your materials; you should use them on the magical artifacts you prefer. I'm off to eat. Good day!" Seeing Liu Hui about to close the planar trading device after saying this, Xiaoyaozi panicked. He hastily stopped Liu Hui, smiling broadly. "Little friend, my dear little friend! Aren't we discussing business right now? Since it's business, the price is certainly negotiable, wouldn't you agree?" Liu Hui suppressed his inner triumph and replied, "But your price is truly too high; I simply cannot afford it. So, you should keep these materials for yourself!" Xiaoyaozi gritted his teeth and stated, "Little friend, I will take a loss on this deal today—I will only charge you ten thousand top-grade Spirit Stones. How does that sound?" Liu Hui felt a thrill of secret delight but maintained a neutral expression. He replied, "Even so, I still think it’s too expensive; I still can't afford it!" Suddenly, Xiaoyaozi pulled a luminous orb from his embrace. He held the orb before the planar trading device's screen and announced, "Little friend, ten thousand top-grade Spirit Stones for my repair materials, and in addition, I will gift you a rare trinket."

Liu Hui looked at the glowing orb and inquired, "What exactly is this thing?"

Xiaoyaozi proudly declared, "You must know this is a marvelous item! If you hadn't reminded me earlier, I would never have known that humans possess souls, and that after death, souls can reincarnate. After receiving your prompt, I immediately discovered the existence of souls and began researching them. Through this research, I actually managed to increase my cultivation, pushing me from the Nascent Soul Leaving stage to the Spirit Splitting stage."

Liu Hui frowned. "Senior, I already know all that. Please be brief; I really am in a rush to eat!" Xiaoyaozi, who was just about to gloat about his achievements, was momentarily choked off, but he didn't get angry and continued, "As you know, ordinary people in our cultivation world lack Spirit Roots in their bodies, so even if they practice martial arts, they can only reach the peak of the Innate Realm, which is equivalent to the introductory stage of our cultivation world. They are doomed never to reach the Foundation Establishment stage in their entire lives."

Liu Hui slowly became interested and asked, "Senior, what exactly are you implying by all this?"

Xiaoyaozi explained, "A while ago, I encountered such a mortal—a genius among geniuses. In just a few short years, he grasped the true essence of 'Martial Arts' and quickly cultivated from an ordinary person into an unparalleled master of the Innate Realm peak, invincible below Foundation Establishment, achieving what others could not in a lifetime. But even with such astonishing talent, he could not change the fundamental law that without Spirit Roots, one cannot cultivate immortality. When he learned this inescapable truth—that his realm could never advance beyond the Innate Peak—he fell into despair. Later, during a cultivation attempt to forcibly break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, he suffered Qi deviation, severely damaging his heart meridian, leaving him near death."

"," "It was at that moment he met me. Seeing his plight, I prepared to use my methods to save his life. But he insisted that if I couldn't grant him the Spirit Roots necessary for cultivation, it would be better not to save him at all. Otherwise, even living on in this world would bring him immense suffering because his realm could never ascend further. Although I am called an Immortal, I have no means to bestow Spirit Roots upon him. Seeing that his will to die was firm, I asked if he had any last wishes. He said that if possible, he wished to preserve his unique insights into 'Martial Arts' and pass them on to those who possess Spirit Roots and can cultivate. He believed that anyone possessing his unique understanding, coupled with Spirit Roots, could instantly become a powerful cultivator."

"As you know, I have recently been researching human souls and have developed some unique insights. Thus, I told him that if he chose reincarnation, there was a high probability that in his next life, he might possess Spirit Roots and could begin cultivating. He asked me if the memory of his insights into 'Martial Arts' would return in the next life. I told him that in the next life, he would be an entirely new person, retaining no memory of anything that happened in this one."

"Then I told him that if he was willing to renounce reincarnation, I had a way to preserve his understanding of 'Martial Arts' and find a suitable successor for him. After weighing his options, he chose to give up reincarnation. With his complete, unreserved cooperation, I enacted the soul magic I had just learned, extracting all his insights into 'Martial Arts' and preserving them within this luminous orb... and he immediately perished, his soul completely scattered." "You must understand, when people learn of the possibility of reincarnation, almost no one would give up that chance. Yet this man chose complete annihilation of the soul rather than letting his understanding of 'Martial Arts' be lost. Think of the courage required for that! Therefore, this orb you see is very likely the only one of its kind in the entire world. I am giving it to you now to demonstrate my sincerity, wouldn't you agree?"

Liu Hui looked at the orb and asked, "Are all of that man's insights into 'Martial Arts' contained within this orb? Then, how is the knowledge transfer accomplished?"

Xiaoyaozi explained, "When this orb performs knowledge transfer, the recipient must completely open their heart and mind to fully merge with the insights on 'Martial Arts' inside the orb, thereby inheriting everything the original person understood about 'Martial Arts.' During this process, if the recipient hesitates or falters even slightly, refusing to open their mind fully, the transfer will fail. If that happens, not only will the orb be destroyed, but the recipient's soul will also be scattered, resulting in instant death."

Liu Hui was startled. "If what you say is true, then this orb is completely meaningless! Who would inexplicably open their mind to accept knowledge whose content they do not know? If this person used the guise of transferring knowledge to actually attempt seizing the body and rebirth, wouldn't the recipient be incurring a massive loss?"

Xiaoyaozi was taken aback by Liu Hui’s response. Before he could explain, Liu Hui continued, "While this orb has little practical value, it does possess some collection value. However, even combined with your materials, it still isn't worth ten thousand top-grade Spirit Stones!"

Xiaoyaozi forced a smile. "Little friend, if you agree to this current transaction, I will have many more excellent items to trade with you in the future!"

Liu Hui laughed. "The future is too distant; who knows what might happen? However, I might accept your price if you agree to one condition of mine." Xiaoyaozi quickly asked, "Little friend, what is your condition? Please state it!" Liu Hui grinned slyly. "My condition is that I take all your materials and this orb. You must upgrade my Hongguang Armor without installing any hidden traps or backdoors, and you must also include an artifact capable of reading minds."

Xiaoyaozi’s face went pale. "Little friend, you cannot do this! That kind of artifact that reads minds is worth five thousand top-grade Spirit Stones on its own. If you do business with me like this, I will suffer huge losses!" Liu Hui chuckled, "So, are you willing or not?" Xiaoyaozi immediately replied, "I am willing..."

The next day, Liu Hui summoned Yue Wang privately to his office. Although Yue Wang had recently suffered the ruin of his family, he had shed his previous dissipated appearance, which was once overly indulging in lust. He looked energetic, clearly having benefited from the nurturing affection of Pingping.

"Boss, what did you call me for?" Yue Wang now wholeheartedly accepted Liu Hui as his leader, no longer contesting for the top position as he sometimes did before. In his current view, his own ambitions were the least realistic among the ideals they shared as brothers, so accepting the fourth spot was only natural.

Liu Hui smiled and placed a syringe in front of Yue Wang. "Fourth Brother, take a look. This is truly a super-premium item."

"This... this is... Boss, you're not suggesting I take drugs, are you? Narcotics are terrible things. Though I was lustful in the past, I never touched drugs. Besides, you produce abstinence medication yourself; how could you persuade someone to use drugs?" Yue Wang was utterly shocked.

Liu Hui roared in anger, "Who said you should take drugs? This is a truly wonderful thing! One injection, and it will restore Pingping's fertility."

Yue Wang's eyes lit up, and with blinding speed, he snatched the syringe into his hand. He held the medicine close to his eyes, turning it over and over, muttering, "Boss, are you telling the truth? Are you certain you aren't tricking me?"

Liu Hui laughed. "Do I look like someone who jokes about others' suffering? Moreover, don't you think if I can cure terminal illnesses like AIDS and cancer, I can certainly heal a woman who has lost her fertility?" Yue Wang held the syringe against his chest, tears welling in his eyes, and said with great emotion, "Boss, thank you so much... You know, Pingping's greatest regret right now is being unable to bear children. She always wanted to have a child for me. With this now, it's too wonderful... truly wonderful..." Liu Hui was very pleased by the deep affection Yue Wang showed for Pingping, feeling that this prodigal son had truly returned. He said, "Alright, Fourth Brother, take this medicine back immediately and have Pingping inject it. She will regain her fertility. Oh, and if you don't know how to administer the injection, remember to find Mei Peng; have him support you with a nurse specialized in injections."

Yue Wang replied, "Boss, you've helped Pingping and me so much; I don't even know what to say..." Liu Hui smiled. "Fourth Brother, don't say too many thanks. Aren't we good brothers? When we were still in school, you helped several of us poor guys quite a bit."

Yue Wang pondered for a moment but didn't leave. He said, "Boss, I've rested enough during this period; I want to come out and work."

Liu Hui looked surprised. "You actually want to volunteer for work? Am I hearing things?" Yue Wang said seriously, "Boss, you heard correctly. I really do want to get involved. I've been visiting and touring the 'Star City' every day with Pingping recently, and it's made me notice a few problems. So, not only to repay your kindness in looking after us both, but also because of our old friendship, I must come out and help you." Liu Hui chuckled. "There are problems in my 'Star City'? I'm rather curious. Why don't you tell me what these issues are?" Yue Wang said, "Boss, I believe you have significant issues in the management of 'Star City.' Simply put, you are currently managing 'Star City' like the Star Group corporation. However, the unique nature of 'Star City' dictates that it will eventually become a large-scale human settlement with complex social attributes. If you continue managing it like a business, major trouble is inevitable sooner or later."

Liu Hui had already sensed some shortcomings in the governance of Star City and was trying to figure out how to resolve this difficult management challenge. Now, Yue Wang had pointed out the exact problem. He asked curiously, "Fourth Brother, then in your view, how should I manage 'Star City'?"

Yue Wang continued, "Boss, 'Star City' has effectively become an independent region where many people live. While most of these people are Star Group employees, there is also a portion who are their family members and are not affiliated with Star Group. Therefore, using Star Group's regulations to govern them is legally questionable. Moreover, our 'Star City' is slated for significant expansion in the future, and the number of non-Star Group residents will grow substantially. If this trend continues, your future management will become extremely chaotic." Liu Hui had long recognized this issue but wanted to see what constructive solution the usually seemingly shiftless Fourth Brother had. So he said, "Fourth Brother, please continue."

Yue Wang asserted, "I believe we must adjust the existing management system within 'Star City.' We should establish a new management body exclusively responsible for overseeing the operations of 'Star City,' much like the municipal management departments in other countries around the world. They must possess legislative, judicial, and administrative powers to govern all people and groups within 'Star City,' ensuring that individuals and entities operate entirely according to the law. This will allow the current 'Star City' to escape its management chaos and push 'Star City' further in a positive direction." Liu Hui asked, "Are you suggesting we form a new governing body, similar to a city government, dedicated solely to managing all aspects of the city? And that the Star Group can maintain its existing management model, but going forward, both Star Group and all people and groups within 'Star City' must submit to the governance of this new body?" Yue Wang nodded. "Precisely. Because only this way can we safely separate the responsibilities and powers of the administrative departments and enhance their efficiency in governing the city. You only need to look at the large domestic monopolies to understand the disastrous consequences of failing to separate government from enterprise."

Liu Hui pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Fourth Brother, I never asked before, but what major did you study when you were abroad in the States?" Yue Wang replied, "Urban Management."