Upon hearing Lin Mu's suggestion, Dai Mubai immediately looked at Oscar and the other two.
Oscar, needless to say, while not as destitute as Ma Hongjun, wasn't much better off. A thousand gold soul coins was an astronomical sum for him, let alone ten thousand.
Zhu Zhuqing's situation was similar to his own; she probably didn't have much money either. That left only Ning Rongrong.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School was the richest sect in the world, bar none. If anyone could produce ten thousand gold soul coins, it could only be Ning Rongrong.
Seeing Dai Mubai's gaze, Ning Rongrong decisively refused, "Don't even think about it. I wouldn't lend you any."
Seeing Ning Rongrong's ruthlessness, Dai Mubai's face turned ashen, and he said, word by word, "Ning Rongrong, I'm your classmate."
"Classmate? Why didn't you say that when you tried to attack me?"
Facing Dai Mubai's angry glare, Ning Rongrong still showed no mercy.
Seeing the two arguing, Lin Mu wasn't interested, and his gaze inadvertently fell on Zhu Zhuqing, who was a little further away.
Her delicate face was unusually aloof, and the tight leather jacket accentuated her stunning curves, especially her almost overflowing breasts, which were simply unbelievable.
"She seems to be under twelve years old, right?"
Lin Mu was shocked. If she were a few years older, it would be unimaginable.
Noticing the senior's gaze, Zhu Zhuqing subconsciously straightened her back slightly and met his gaze.
Their eyes met.
Seeing those incredibly deep eyes, her heart skipped a beat, and an indescribable feeling welled up, causing a faint blush to uncontrollably rise on her cold, pretty face.
This fleeting interaction was witnessed by Dai Mubai, whose heart tightened instantly.
Could it be that this senior is interested in Zhu Zhuqing? It's not impossible. After all, this senior looks extremely young, at most twenty-four or twenty-five years old. Even if he likes Zhu Zhuqing's type, it wouldn't be strange.
Thinking of this, Dai Mubai felt a surge of anger rush to his head, jealousy and humiliation gnawing at his heart like venomous snakes.
He clenched his fists tightly, his nails almost digging into his flesh, but he didn't dare utter a single question. He could only suppress this anger and resentment deep inside, his face so dark it could drip water.
If he could produce ten thousand gold soul coins, he would have left this hellish place right now.
"Senior, as you can see, she's unwilling to lend money, not because I don't want to compensate you."
As Dai Mubai said this, he intentionally or unintentionally attributed part of the reason to Ning Rongrong, seemingly wanting Lin Mu to cause trouble for Ning Rongrong.
If Lin Mu were to make a move against Ning Rongrong, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School would certainly not let him off the hook.
How could this little scheme fool Lin Mu? Even Ning Rongrong saw through it. She quickly walked over, a confident and sweet smile on her face, and said,
"Senior, I'm willing to give you ten thousand gold soul coins, but not to help him compensate; it's a personal gift to you."
Hearing this, Lin Mu couldn't help but look at Ning Rongrong with new respect. Although she had some personality issues, as the heir of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, her abilities were not weak.
"Give it away? There's no such thing as a free lunch."
Lin Mu refused without even thinking. Ten thousand gold soul coins was a lot, but he didn't want to owe anyone a favor.
After being rejected to her face, Ning Rongrong's smile instantly froze. She hadn't expected the other party to refuse so decisively, without even considering it.
Could it be that this senior wasn't greedy?Originally, she was thinking that if this senior accepted the ten thousand gold soul coins, she could take the opportunity to recruit him into the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
However, the idea was beautiful, but reality was harsh.
After refusing Ning Rongrong's gift, Lin Mu grabbed Dai Mubai by the neck and forcibly lifted him up.
"Cough cough. Senior, spare my life!"
Dai Mubai hadn't expected this senior to be so capricious, resorting to violence at the slightest provocation.
Now, with his life in the other's hands, he had no room for any more tricks. Just as Dai Mubai was about to suffocate, Lin Mu slammed him to the ground with a thud. The intense pain and suffocation nearly made him faint.
"Take out all the gold soul coins you have,"
Lin Mu said, his eyes devoid of any pity, brooking no argument.
Hearing this, Dai Mubai endured the pain and took out all the gold soul coins from his storage soul tool, about a thousand gold soul coins.
There was also a black card, though he didn't know how much was in it.
This wasn't the end of it. Lin Mu kicked Ma Hongjun, who was pretending to be dead, again. "If you keep pretending to be dead, I don't mind sending you down there."
Ma Hongjun was so frightened that his entire body trembled. Ignoring the pain, he sprang up from the ground.
Then, he took out all his savings, less than a hundred gold soul coins. He was practically penniless; no wonder he could only afford the lowest-class brothels.
Seeing that Ma Hongjun had only produced so little, Dai Mubai was furious.
What a rip-off!
"That'll be three thousand gold soul coins for you. I'll come back to you for the remaining seven thousand later."
"Senior, I have four thousand on my black card..."
Dai Mubai was about to say he had more, but seeing the other's cold gaze, he swallowed his words.
Oh well, better safe than sorry.
He could just hide in the future; he didn't believe this person could find them.
Just then, Zhao Wuji finally climbed out of the pit. As a Soul Saint, his recovery ability was certainly not weak.
Despite his serious injuries, Zhao Wuji staggered into the inn.
Oscar quickly helped him up, then made two super-recovery sausages and fed them to Zhao Wuji.
With these two super-recovery sausages, Zhao Wuji barely regained some of his strength.
"Your Excellency, this is all my savings, as compensation for your disciple."
Zhao Wuji took out a black card and handed it to Lin Mu.
Having roamed the world of Soul Masters for decades, he'd seen it all, but this young powerhouse before him completely shattered his understanding.
So young, yet possessing strength comparable to a Title Douluo, this was beyond the realm of mere "genius."
Such a powerful being was someone they couldn't afford to provoke; they had to appease his anger, or the consequences would be dire.
"This time, let's call it even."
Lin Mu took the black card from Zhao Wuji, glanced at him, and said calmly, "Remember to be careful in the future. Don't think you can act recklessly just because you're a Soul Saint."
With that, Lin Mu turned and left, taking the nearly recovered Tang San and Xiao Wu to the second floor.
Watching their departing figures, Zhu Zhuqing stood quietly, her cold eyes filled with turbulent thoughts, lost in thought.