Chapter 167: The Arrogant Sun Qiang

Thump thump thump thump!

Arriving at the door, Master Yuanyu began to knock. Before long, the door opened, and Sun Qiang waddled out with his belly protruding.

He glanced at the crowd and lifted his eyelids: "Pay three million gold coins and wait at the gate. When the master wants to see you, he'll have you let in."

Master Yuanyu was well-known in the upper circles, and many recognized him, but to a nobody like Sun Qiang, he had no idea who that was.

Besides... who cares who you are?

My master is a master teacher—if you're a dragon, coil up; if you're a tiger, lie down.

"Ahem..." Master Yuanyu choked on his saliva.

Behind him were three master teachers, and a mere steward was this arrogant... wasn't he afraid of being beaten to death?

"I am Yuanyu, here to visit your master..."

Though displeased, he knew this man might be a master teacher's steward. In a contest between master teachers, even if he held some status, he dared not meddle.

"I don't care if you're Yuanyu or Fangyu. Was what I said not clear? Pay three million, wait here, and maybe my master will see you. Otherwise, get lost and stop yapping."

Sun Qiang waved his fat hand impatiently.

If you have no money, why put on airs?

"Do you know who our master is?" a guard finally couldn't stand it and shouted.

"I don't care who your master is! If you want to enter the mansion, you must follow the rules here. Stop wasting words. If you have no money, don't pretend to be a big shot. Can't even come up with three million, and you're putting on airs in front of me, Brother Qiang?"

Sun Qiang looked at them with contempt.

If you're unwilling to spend money, get lost. And 'who is your master'... can he be greater than a master teacher?

"You..."

The guard was so angry he nearly spat blood.

Their master, Teacher Liu, was treated as an honored guest wherever he went, esteemed beyond words, but in this guy's eyes, he was just a poor poser...

You're the poser! Your whole family are posers!

Face red with anger, he was about to reveal their identity and rebuke the man when Teacher Liu reached out to stop him: "We're just passing by and wish to see your master. Please trouble you to announce us..."

Before he finished, Sun Qiang strode over, raised his fat hand, and slapped him on the face: "Old man, are you deaf or brain-dead? Didn't you hear what I said? If you want to visit our master, put three million here. No money, then get lost. That's the rule... Rules are principles that cannot be violated, understand?"

"Ah..."

Seeing his action, Master Yuanyu on the side trembled uncontrollably, nearly fainting.

Slapping Teacher Liu's face...

The guards behind were all frozen, each one going mad.

Damn!

This guy actually slapped Teacher Liu's face? And called him brain-dead... You're not just bold, you're courting death...

Even Teacher Liu himself was stunned.

Clearly, he hadn't expected this fat man to dare do such a thing. His brow twitched.

After all, he was a master teacher, respected by all, someone before whom countless strong men dared not even breathe loudly. But this guy just slapped his face... leaving him neither able to dodge nor not dodge...

He was so frustrated he wanted to vomit blood.

Still, he couldn't get angry. The man clearly didn't know his identity. A dignified master teacher, a guest of honor of the Tianxuan Kingdom, quarreling with a nobody the moment he arrived—if word got out, it would be truly embarrassing.

He sidestepped the second slap aimed at him, suppressed his frustration, and waved his hand back.

"A-Yun!"

"Yes!"

The guard behind came to his senses, took out a jade talisman from his bosom, and handed it over: "This is our master's lesson jade talisman. With this, you can receive one hour of our master's personal instruction, which is worth three million gold coins..."

Master teachers would issue some lesson jade talismans, each bearing their unique mark. Possessing one entitled the holder to free instruction.

For a master teacher, such talismans were a symbol of status and could also be used as currency.

After all, a master teacher's lessons were extremely rare, and many would fight tooth and nail to get one. A one-hour lesson jade talisman would even make a peak Tongxuan realm expert risk his life for it.

Measured in real money, its value far exceeded three million gold coins.

Smack!

Before the jade talisman could even reach Sun Qiang's hand, he tossed it aside like trash and smashed it to pieces: "Are you out of your mind? You think a piece of broken jade is worth three million? Do you take me for a fool? No money, then all of you, get the hell out!"

With that, he shot them a look of utter contempt, turned, and strode toward the mansion, casually reaching to close the door.

The Tianxuan Kingdom had no renowned masters, so naturally there were no so-called course jade talismans. Sun Qiang, seeing they couldn't produce the money and were trying to fob him off with a worthless piece of jade, considered it generous not to have the guards drive them away.

"You..."

Seeing him discard the jade talisman and look at them with such disdain, the guards nearly fainted from rage.

What the hell? Where did they find such a blockhead to be the steward?

"Brother Sun, hold on. Here are three million in gold notes. Please trouble yourself to inform Master Yang..."

Seeing that he was about to shut the door, Master Yuanyu could no longer hold back and stepped forward.

If he let this continue, he feared the three renowned masters behind him would lose their tempers. He was just a lowly physician and didn't want to suffer undeserved calamity just for bringing people here.

"Hmm, that's more like it. You know how to behave!"

Taking the gold notes, Sun Qiang glanced down, nodded with satisfaction, and then remarked, "If you had money, why didn't you bring it out earlier? Why bother with that broken jade? I've seen stingy people, but never this stingy. Don't you know that Brother Qiang is a man of principle? No money, no entry—not even through the door!"

Hearing this, the others' mouths twitched, and even Yuanyu nearly lost his composure.

Brother, do you have any idea what that course jade talisman you just smashed is worth?

Peak Tongxuan realm experts would fight to the death over such an item, shedding blood and risking their lives. And you just tossed it away like a piece of trash...

Are you really a renowned master's steward?

How could you not even recognize this thing?

"Alright, wait here. Our master had to go out on business just now. When he returns, if he's in a good mood, he might see you."

Pocketing the gold notes, the fat man waved his hand.

"Out?" Master Yuanyu's eyebrow twitched.

Damn it, if he was out, why didn't you say so earlier? You only mention it after taking the money, and now we have to wait for him to come back...

If it were just me coming to pay respects, that would be fine—no harm done. But the key is... these three gentlemen behind me—how could they possibly wait here?

"Could you please hurry and inform him? We really have urgent business with your master..."

Suppressing his frustration, Master Yuanyu said.

"What's the hurry?"

Sun Qiang looked at him.

Now that they'd paid up, his attitude had improved considerably—after all, the customer is god.

"Our business is with your master, not with you!" The guard who had produced the jade talisman could no longer contain himself.

"Oh? Too embarrassed to say? Brother Qiang follows the master every day and has learned a thing or two. Some simple problems don't even require the master's intervention—I can handle them..."

Sun Qiang lifted his fat head and gave a cold smile.

Come on, I've received the master's true teachings. I've witnessed all his methods firsthand: first bluff the other party into revealing themselves, then find a way to bamboozle them. With my skills, fooling a few cheapskates like you is more than enough.

"You've learned a thing or two?"

The guard was about to speak, but Master Liu interrupted him, looking puzzled: "Since you can see, then take a look at me. Tell me, what's my problem?"

"You?"

Sun Qiang's bulky frame circled Master Liu once, then stepped back, racking his brain to recall the master's demeanor and style. He tilted his head at forty-five degrees, gazed at him coolly, and with the air of a transcendent sage, said: "You... how's your family?"

"What did you say?"

Master Liu was stunned, nearly fainting.

He asked him to take a look, and the guy started cursing?

Master Yuanyu swayed, so frustrated he nearly slammed his head against the wall.

Damn it... Heaven, I think you'd better just strike me dead with a lightning bolt... I can't take it anymore...

The psychological pressure is too much...

The heart-pounding of these few minutes has been more intense than a lifetime's worth...

Ignoring everyone's fury and shock, Sun Qiang, recalling the master's various acts of showing off, smiled lightly, his face full of confidence: "Oh? Didn't understand? Then let me put it another way: Is your family in good health?"