Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World-Chapter 1268 - 563: Lu Yao’s Current Situation, The Stir Begins (Part 2)

Chapter 1268: Chapter 563: Lu Yao’s Current Situation, The Stir Begins (Part 2)

Han Qi immediately took out the Comprehensive Records and sent a message to the sect.

He hadn’t yet received a reply from the sect when Lady Qian Ji had already come up!

And she wasn’t alone; whether intentionally or not, there was a large group of cultivators following her.

Han Qi’s heart sank, but he forced a smile on his face and went up to greet her.

"What a pleasure to have Immortal Qian Ji visiting our store! Is there anything that catches your eye?"

"I’m not here to shop today, but rather to ask Manager Han for a favor."

Lady Qian Ji was polite, with an embarrassed look on her face.

"A favor?" Han Qi’s smile slightly faded, and confusion crept into his voice. "What could I possibly help you with, Immortal Qian Ji?"

Lady Qian Ji took out the Comprehensive Records from her waist, looking a bit bashful. "No Struggle City has a major expense coming up, and I would like to withdraw the Spirit Stones we have deposited at the Heaven and Earth Bank."

"How much do you want to withdraw?"

"All of it."

"That’s no small sum..." Han Qi felt a chill in his heart. No Struggle City is one of the Heaven and Earth Bank’s largest clients.

Such a request from Lady Qian Ji puts massive pressure on the bank’s Spirit Stone reserves.

More importantly, Lady Qian Ji’s flamboyant entrance, accompanied by such a large group of cultivators, allowed them to overhear the conversation.

Han Qi’s hesitation prompted Lady Qian Ji to show a sly smile as she said, "Why, is there a problem?"

Han Qi steadied himself, glanced at the restless cultivators, and calmed down before saying, "If you withdraw now, Immortal Qian Ji, the interest will be much lower."

The interest at the Heaven and Earth Bank is divided into fixed and savings accounts; savings certainly won’t earn as much, and a sudden withdrawal won’t earn any interest at all.

"I have no choice either," Lady Qian Ji sighed, appearing helpless. "But I urgently need the Spirit Stones, so I must withdraw them. Are you saying the Heaven and Earth Bank doesn’t have the stones?"

Her words made the murmuring among the cultivators behind her grow even louder.

Han Qi responded helplessly, "If you want to withdraw Spirit Stones, of course, we can accommodate, Immortal, but the amount is truly large, and our bank doesn’t have such reserves now; we need to transfer them from elsewhere."

Obviously, these words did little to quell the doubts of the cultivators, who were giving him looks full of suspicion and distrust.

Surprisingly, Lady Qian Ji seemed quite understanding and asked, "How long will it take?"

"At most half a month, and I’ll transfer enough Spirit Stones from the major banks in the Northern Continent," Han Qi quickly calculated and provided a definite answer.

Being the Grand Steward of Nine Mountains Department Store in the Northern Continent, he roughly knew about the Spirit Stone reserves across various regions and felt confident at this moment.

"Then I’ll wait for a month."

Lady Qian Ji nodded with a smile, seemingly trusting the Heaven and Earth Bank, asking no more questions, and slowly swayed as she departed.

Those cultivators watching the excitement exchanged glances as well, each with some inexplicable thoughts, yet they still lingered outside the Nine Mountains Department Store, not leaving.

Han Qi watched their backs, frowning, while a Nine Mountains Disciple beside him muttered, "Lady Qian Ji isn’t being difficult, it seems that No Struggle City truly needs the Spirit Stones."

"No, it’s not that simple." Han Qi picked up the Comprehensive Records again, and upon seeing it, his expression changed drastically. He quickly raised his head and looked again at Lady Qian Ji’s departing form.

It seemed Lady Qian Ji sensed his gaze, and slowly turned back, smiling at Han Qi with a charming expression, carrying a hint of triumph.

"Grand Steward? What happened?"

Seeing his expression, the disciple beside him quickly asked.

"Not just No Struggle City, even Suspended Island and Heavenly Mountain are requesting Spirit Stone withdrawals at the same time." Han Qi’s voice carried a hint of bitterness.

...

"A month from now, the Heaven and Earth Bank will have to close its doors!"

In Guanlan Palace, the Peacock Emperor laughed heartily, extremely pleased, and looked at Lady Qian Ji with admiration. "You’re quite clever."

Lady Qian Ji gave a faint smile and said, "It’s the Emperor’s overwhelming reputation that has moved the Three Immortals to act together."

"It’s a pity we’ve given the Jiushan Sect folks an extra month."

The Peacock Emperor was still dissatisfied.

"The Emperor’s insight is bright; such things cannot be accomplished in one fell swoop," Lady Qian Ji said. "After my calculations, if only we requested the withdrawal, the Heaven and Earth Bank truly would have had enough Spirit Stones."

"That many?"

"Though I said previously that the Heaven and Earth Bank is robbing Peter to pay Paul, in truth, they also have the Nine Mountains Department Store," Lady Qian Ji explained in detail, "Just with the revenue from Nine Mountains Department Store, handling just No Struggle City alone poses no issue for them."

Gu Hong Taoist nodded slowly at these words and explained to the Peacock Emperor, "This is true. Today, Nine Mountains Department Store is the largest shop in the Northern Continent, with branches everywhere. It would not be an exaggeration to say they earn gold by the day."

"So, you plan to collaborate with Suspended Island and Heavenly Mountain to act together?"

"No, I want to unite the entire Northern Continent cultivators. A month’s time is enough for the news to spread. More importantly, the Heaven and Earth Bank won’t be able to produce that many Spirit Stones within a month. By then, it will be the day Heaven and Earth Bank goes under."

The Peacock Emperor pondered for a moment but couldn’t understand why Lady Qian Ji was so confident.

Lady Qian Ji wore a somewhat smug expression, explaining, "The Heaven and Earth Bank’s biggest weakness is only one thing."

"What is it?"

"Nine Mountains Money can be freely exchanged for Spirit Stones!" Lady Qian Ji explained, "While we can exchange spiritual materials for Nine Mountains Money."

"Which means a lot of the savings by cultivators at the Heaven and Earth Bank are originally spiritual materials and not Spirit Stones, meaning there’s not a direct equivalence between the amount of Nine Mountains Money and Spirit Stones, and indeed the gap is quite large."

"When a large number of cultivators want to exchange all their Nine Mountains Money for Spirit Stones, even if those Spirit Stones from the Jiushan Sect haven’t been touched, it’s still impossible to have that many, even with the revenue from Nine Mountains Department Store, there’s still not enough."

"How do you know they don’t have that much?"

Seeing the Peacock Emperor growing more puzzled, Lady Qian Ji summarized simply, "Because the entire Northern Continent, or rather, the entire Xuanwei Realm, doesn’t have that many Spirit Stones!"

"Unless the Jiushan Sect can conjure Spirit Stones out of thin air, otherwise when Northern Continent cultivators come to exchange their Spirit Stones, the Heaven and Earth Bank simply won’t be able to cope."

With Lady Qian Ji’s explanation, the Peacock Emperor understood. He looked at Lady Qian Ji and said to Gu Hong Taoist beside him, "Having such a wise and insightful internal advisor is truly enviable, Gu Hong."

Gu Hong Taoist stroked his beard, smiling, while Lady Qian Ji grew even more smug.

"The Emperor should not think that the Heaven and Earth Bank will have easy times this one month."

"Oh?"

"There are always some cultivators who are well-informed and clever; they won’t wait until a month later to exchange for Spirit Stones... I’m afraid the Heaven and Earth Bank will be frantic."

...

Lady Qian Ji’s judgment was very accurate.

In the early morning of the third day, a long queue wound its way across the streets at the entrance of Nine Mountains Department Store, much more spectacular than usual.

This time, they weren’t here to shop.

"Are you also here to withdraw Spirit Stones?"

"Of course! Otherwise, won’t we have nothing left once No Struggle City takes all the Spirit Stones?"

"I thought so too! I came early to queue, but I don’t even know if I can get back my Spirit Stones."

...

Han Qi stood inside the Nine Mountains Department Store, looking rather calm, while a Nine Mountains Disciple beside him nervously glanced outside, muttering, "The queue is getting longer."

Humans tend to follow the crowd. With such a long queue at the entrance of Nine Mountains Department Store, naturally, some were curious.

Upon asking, discovering that such a long queue was entirely for withdrawing money, even those previously unaware or somewhat trusting of the Jiushan Sect would start wondering and join the queue.

Han Qi took a look at the Comprehensive Records and said to the others, "The same goes for other branches; many are here to withdraw money."

"What do we do?" a Nine Mountains Disciple asked, "Limit the number of people? Or limit their maximum withdrawals?"

Han Qi glanced at the Comprehensive Records in his hand, a smile suddenly played on his lips, and he raised his head abruptly, saying, "You guys work overtime, let them withdraw!"

The Nine Mountains Disciples exchanged glances.

Han Qi had already walked outside, calling out to the cultivators in line, "Everyone rest assured! From today onwards, the Heaven and Earth Bank will remain open 24/7 for a month!"