Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 339 - 210 Technical Support, The Next Me_2

Chapter 339: Chapter 210 Technical Support, The Next Me_2

Master Pang couldn’t help but reveal a tinge of inferiority on his face.

Lady Xuanhua flew into the courtyard, which was located halfway up the mountain, clearly giving them intentional time to discuss.

...

"Lady Xuanhua..." Master Pang began, "if it’s her, the price has indeed always been this. Furthermore, she’s not easy to hire."

Zheng Fa nodded, looking towards Xiao Yuying who stood aside, knowing that Lady Xuanhua’s willingness to come was likely due to Fairy Xiao’s efforts.

"Fairy Xiao, may I ask what is your relationship with Lady Xuanhua?"

"I’ve obtained treasures or materials from secret realms, and I need someone to handle them..."

Understood.

High emotional intelligence: Friend.

Low emotional intelligence: Accomplice.

One explores for treasures; the other fences them...

"Master Pang, what’s the background of this Lady?" He asked Master Pang again.

"This woman should be a Nascent Soul Artifact Refining Grandmaster, and has been renowned for a thousand years. She does charge a hefty price for spirit stones, but her artifact refining skills are extremely high... I’ve discussed her with the Great Elder of Chongxuan Sect, and even he expressed feelings of inferiority."

Hearing this, Zheng Fa had a good understanding of Lady Xuanhua’s capabilities.

Chongxuan Sect is one of the nine major sects within the Hundred Immortals Alliance, specializing in artifact refining, and the Great Elder of Chongxuan Sect is also a Nascent Soul Artifact Refiner.

For Lady Xuanhua to make such cultivators feel inferior, her skills must indeed be exceptional.

Or to put it another way, she is probably the best artifact refiner they could have hired.

Xiao Yuying spoke up again: "The reason I introduced her is actually because..."

"Yes?"

"This person only recognizes spirit stones."

Zheng Fa was taken aback, only to hear Xiao Yuying explain: "I have been cooperating with her for some years now, and no matter which secret realm I went to, whatever materials and treasures I got, she never asked nor pried, and she never gossiped."

"Although your confidentiality agreement is tight, but..."

Xiao Yuying didn’t finish her sentence.

But Zheng Fa understood her meaning.

The Xuanwei Realm is full of countless powers and myriad secret techniques, no one can be certain that a confidentiality agreement is foolproof.

Having professional ethics adds a bit more security.

"Thank you, Fairy Xiao."

Xiao Yuying probably recommended her because of the special nature of the "Golden Core Project."

Honestly, the foundation of the "Golden Core Project" is still in modern times...

But Xiao Yuying did put in a lot of thought, and Zheng Fa felt quite grateful in his heart.

On the other hand, he was also hesitating: after all, the price was beyond budget.

"Also, once this person has received the spirit stones, she’s very easy to talk to..." Xiao Yuying added, "Almost anything you ask, she will comply."

Zheng Fa was startled, suddenly understanding why Lady Xuanhua was so expensive and yet did so well in business.

Professional skill, professional ethics, service awareness... all these were nearly maxed out.

"Agree to her terms!"

Zheng Fa glanced at the group of artifact refining disciples, and without further consideration, he stated directly.

...

After Zheng Fa agreed to Lady Xuanhua’s terms, indeed, her attitude became quite different.

"Your artifact refining environment just won’t do! It lacks sufficient spiritual energy and the design is not up to standard."

She pointed at the pits and caves, instructing how to make changes.

"The materials are also wrong; some lack spiritual energy, some lack purity, you’ll need to buy more."

"The green phoenix spiritual fire is good, but be careful of the fire control..."

Zheng Fa listened and took notes.

The woman talked at length, then nodded to him: "Replace the materials, gather them, and I can start creating the outer elixir in three days."

Zheng Fa was quite impressed.

The person was pointing out minor issues, but a craft is often refined in the details.

Their failure might have been caused by a few, or even one, small issue.

It could even be said that the gap between a master and a layperson might lie precisely in these details.

He thought about it and suddenly said to Lady Xuanhua: "If the lady has time, could you please give some pointers to the disciples of Jiushan Sect?"

...Lady Xuanhua gave him a glance but remained silent.

It wasn’t a resounding yes, but neither was it a no.

"If the lady could just give a casual piece of advice..."

Lady Xuanhua thought for a moment, and perhaps thinking of the promised spirit stones, she nodded slightly.

...Then she regretted it!

...

Looking outside the small courtyard on the mountainside, about a dozen artifact refining disciples stood in a line at Lady Xuanhua’s doorstep, waiting respectfully for guidance, Master Pang twitched the corner of his mouth, turning back to Zheng Fa:

"Are you sure Lady Xuanhua won’t get angry?"

"...If she gets angry, we’ll deal with it then." Zheng Fa smiled: "I’ve asked Fairy Xiao... this person, as long as the spirit stones are delivered, is always quite patient."

After all, with Xiao Yuying’s temper... cultivators who couldn’t endure wouldn’t be able to cooperate with her.

...Master Pang was speechless.

In his heart, he thought that probably Lady Xuanhua had never encountered a customer like Zheng Fa before... who worked people to the bone.

"Uncle, these disciples are relatively low-level, and the questions they ask don’t involve any profound knowledge... You won’t offend Lady Xuanhua."

Zheng Fa had also inquired about Lady Xuanhua’s character through Xiao Yuying before making this arrangement.

The questions these people had were very basic and could be answered offhand by Lady Xuanhua.

It wouldn’t come off as if Jiushan Sect was coveting her secret techniques.

Moreover, the same old saying:

If she gets angry, then deal with it. If she doesn’t want to, just let these disciples come back.

If you lack the ability yourself, and you’re not thick-skinned, do you still expect others to take the initiative to teach you?

In the Xuanwei Realm, if you want to acquire knowledge, what does face matter?

Master Pang thought about it: "Well, it also shows we have some strength."

Zheng Fa smiled and nodded.

This tactic indeed works when there is relative equality in strength—otherwise, if the other party flips the table, and you can’t handle it, it’s no good.

Seeing him nod, Master Pang couldn’t help but sigh: "I think she won’t accept our orders anymore!"