"Impossible!" Yuelong instantly replied.

"Oh well," said Wuzhi. He then got up, stretched out his hand, and said, "I suppose the deal is off then. Please return my research to me."

Yuelong did not expect this and panicked. He also got up. "Wait, Brother Wuzhi. Please wait a moment. Surely we can negotiate this."

"Discuss what? There is nothing to discuss. That is my third condition and I will not change it under any circumstances." Wuzhi remained unyielding and unreasonable. He even gave off the air of a market seller who went, 'Buy it if you want or else leave.'

"Brother Wuzhi," Yuelong gritted his teeth. "Those secrets are not something that I can trade with you. Their value—!"

Wuzhi immediately interrupted him. A cold smile appeared on his face as he evenly replied, "Their value cannot be equated to even half of what I gave you. Xiao Long, are you really dumb or are you pretending to be dumb with me?" Wuzhi pointed at the red packet in Yuelong's hands. "Do you not understand what that is?"

"Every Star has the potential to change the world. That is the reason why they are accorded such importance. That research, which you are holding in your hands, can impact and shape the future. Its value is inestimable."

Taking a deep breath, he continued, "All I'm asking from you in exchange for that are a few schematics, methods of production, etc.… minor things. I'm neither asking of the Mu Household's top-secret research material nor its arms production factories. Heavens, I'm not asking you to steal technology from the Central Commonwealth either!"

"A few small things in exchange to leave an indelible mark in history and to be remembered forever; tell me, am I being unreasonable? Are my conditions not fair?"

Yuelong breathed heavily. When put that way, Wuzhi's demands indeed did not sound too unreasonable. On the contrary, Yuelong felt like he was getting a cheap deal!

'Besides, do I have a choice?' Yuelong bitterly mused. The Path Symposium was merely three months away and he had nothing to show for himself. If he wanted to retain his family's honour in front of the entire world, he had no choice but to take Wuzhi's deal.

After a long period of silence, Yuelong slowly spoke up. "I… agree to these conditions."

Wuzhi smiled. "See? Was that so hard?" He then confidently patted his chest and said, "I can guarantee you that you will not find better quality research anywhere else! This truly is top-of-the-line stuff! Honestly, you are getting a steal!" He sounded like a salesman.

"But I will need time." Yuelong ignored his shameless appeals and said. "I will need time to gather the things that you have asked for."

"Perfect. And I will give you the remaining half of my research when you deliver the goods to me." Wuzhi 'matter-of-factly' added.

"You only gave me half!?" Yuelong shouted, enraged.

"Calm yourself! Please calm yourself, Xiao Long. Anger is not good for your health," advised Wuzhi. He then wore an expression that said 'obviously' and spoke, "Is it not normal to hand over half the payment upfront and the rest once the goods are confirmed?"

Yuelong directed a hateful glare toward Wuzhi.

Seeing that glare, Wuzhi quickly understood and raised his hand. Wearing a solemn expression on his face, he uttered. "With the heavens as my witness, Wuzhi promises to fulfil all my obligations given my requests are met. Additionally, Wuzhi also promises to never reveal his true identity as a 'Star' out of his own volition!"

"Should Wuzhi ever fail to live up to these promises, he shall be struck by heaven's punishment, have his soul annihilated, and be cursed to never reincarnate ever again!!"

Such a poisonous vow! And Wuzhi spoke it with such nonchalant ease that even Yuelong was startled by it.

"Brother Wuzhi, you—!!"

Wuzhi wiped his serious expression and casually said, "Only with such a promise can I show you my sincerity and commitment, Xiao Long."

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Yuelong felt his heart become warm. A promise uttered in Heaven's name was the most iron-clad and serious promise to exist. And once set, not even the likes of the World Sovereigns can break it and evade punishment!

Due to its rather inflexible yet severely binding nature and the horrible extent of its punishment, 'Promise with Heavens as my Witness' was not commonly used. It was also impossible to bind large groups of people and organizations under such an agreement as the promise itself was more individual-oriented. The matter becomes further complicated when currency is involved.

That being said, 'Promise with Heavens as my Witness' was a surefire way to increase the trustworthiness of one's words. Even the words of a known liar or traitor can be trusted to be valid if they speak under this oath.

Wuzhi's act of making this oath removed all doubts and hesitations from Yuelong's heart. He finally felt reassured and had his anxiety settled. Taking a deep breath, he said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," smiled Wuzhi. He also inwardly let out a sigh of relief. With this deal, he had managed to settle two of the biggest problems that were troubling him.

The first issue that was resolved was the matter of the South Aislan Empire's lack of technical advantage over the other factions. The era of hot weaponry had arrived and the Empire was stuck disadvantaged with cold weaponry. Stealing and buying weapons from the other factions will do for now, however, it was neither sustainable nor advisable for the future. For Wuzhi's 'Grand Strategy' to succeed, he had to ensure that the Empire managed to stand by itself.

That said, even if they were to start search and development this very instant, it would take at least a dozen years for them to reach current standards; by then, they would once again be behind the other factions.

Such being the case, there was only one solution; directly poaching the technology from another faction!

The Central Commonwealth was the indisputable leader in this race. Their technology was a step ahead compared to the other factions and organizations. Coming in second in this arms race was the Heavenly Spirit Empire; their expertise, personnel, resources, and talents… all went without saying. Were it not for a few abnormal geniuses popping up within the Central Commonwealth, the Heavenly Spirit Empire would instead be the indisputable Number 1!

The Mu Household came in third, and their position was solely by virtue of them being a World Sovereign-level faction. Their weapons and technology were a step behind the top two but were still miles ahead of the other lesser organizations.

Wuzhi acutely knew that he couldn't get his hands on the technology founded by the Central Commonwealth. He also possessed no channels or connections in the Heavenly Spirit Empire either. That being the case, he could only use his relationship with the Mu Household to poach their technology. But this wasn't an easy matter either.

Wuzhi was the first son of World Sovereign Mu Wudi, however, this truth couldn't be easily revealed; not for now at least. Doing so would not only drag him into the whirlwind politics of the Mu Household, putting him in immense danger, but it would also severely hamper his Grand Strategy.

Therefore, after much consideration, Wuzhi settled on his current plan; using Mu Yuelong. Young Master Yuelong was the eldest son of the Mu Household. His position was high, his authority was vast, and his connections ran deep. For him to accrue these various technologies and related items would be difficult but not impossible.

Now, that only left one question; how to get Yuelong to poach these items for him? Wuzhi quickly arrived at the answer.

The Path Symposium was a grand event that took place every twenty years and was hosted by the Heavenly Spirit Tower, the number one organization in this world. All of the world's scholars and wisemen would gather at this event to showcase their research to the world to receive recognition, acclaim, honour, and wealth! The event was considered of such importance that it was nicknamed the 'Holy Festival for All Cultivators (Seekers of the Way)!'

And amongst such Path Symposiums, the one that was held this year was extra important; because of the Star's existence! A 'Star' was someone who was destined to change the world and shape the future, and everyone wanted to witness just how exactly Mu Yuelong would lead the new era.

And here was the crux of the matter; Yuelong was not the Star. Wuzhi was. Yuelong was a genuine genius with incredible talent. However, he was not a Star.

Wuzhi keenly understood that he could exploit this matter in his favour. Thus his plan took shape; use the research results of his self-made Path to exchange for the weaponry technology of the Mu Household with Yuelong. The latter would simply be unable to deny this offer for Wuzhi's research was the genuine product; he was the Star after all!

The only thing that remained was how much Wuzhi would manage to negotiate in exchange for his offer. Fortunately, Yuelong appeared to be more desperate than his estimations resulting in Wuzhi obtaining a whirlwind fortune! He had received more than he had dared to dream!

Once again, Wuzhi sighed in relief. 'Had my counterpart been the Lady Merchant instead of Yuelong, I would have been lucky to break even with the value of my research. And even that would have been the result of a long, tiring, and drawn-out negotiation filled with innumerable pitfalls and traps.'

Luna Roseland was too similar to Wuzhi after all. She would have done just as he had and would have hidden a huge surprise in her offer.

Wuzhi smiled. Inwardly, he was rolling with laughter. 'Oh Yuelong, you must forgive Elder Brother for being a little mischievous. I just couldn't help myself. Consider this my test for you.'

Nothing was free and everything had a price. Yuelong had yet to realize the poisonous nature of Wuzhi's offer. It was akin to a ticking time bomb that would unexpectedly explode one day.

After all, how could the disciple of the Heaven Scheming Devil be so simple?