ATG : NCF Chapter 11 : Negotiations (Patreon)

The reception area of Frozen Cloud Asgard was elegant.

No decorations or displays of wealth—just smoothly polished ice walls that somehow remained dry to the touch, intricate frost patterns swirling across the ceiling, and simple furniture carved from pale blue crystal. 

The air itself felt purified, carrying a subtle fragrance of winter flowers that bloomed only at high altitudes.

Behind a crescent-shaped desk sat a young girl who appeared no more than fifteen or sixteen years old. 

Like all members of Frozen Cloud Asgard, she wore pristine white robes with pale blue trim, her long hair gathered in a simple style that emphasized her delicate features. 

Her expression carried the same detached serenity as her sect sisters, though she regarded us with slightly more warmth—perhaps curiosity about the rare mortal visitors to their isolated domain.

"Welcome to Frozen Cloud Asgard," she greeted, her voice soft but clear in the silent chamber. "I am Junior Disciple Han Yuxin. How may our sect be of service to you?" 

Though formal, her tone lacked the frosty dismissiveness we'd encountered at the gate, suggesting that those who made it this far at least deserved basic courtesy.

Bai Ning Ning stepped forward and bowed respectfully, maintaining perfect poise despite our arduous journey. "We wish to commission a protection mission."

The girl nodded, reaching for a thin sheet of crystalline material that resembled ice but functioned like paper.

She made a small mark with what appeared to be a stylus of condensed frost. 

The material emitted a faint blue glow where the stylus touched, recording her notations permanently.

"Protection mission," she murmured as she wrote. "What is the nature of the asset requiring protection?"

"A commercial enterprise." Bai Ning Ning replied with deliberate vagueness.

Another mark on the form. "Will this be a short-term or long-term commission?"

She glanced up briefly to explain. "Any mission exceeding three months is classified as long-term and requires different administrative procedures."

"Long-term," Bai Ning Ning stated without hesitation. 

Junior Disciple Han made another notation.

The light from the windows caught the frost patterns in her hair ornament, sending tiny rainbow refractions dancing across her form.

Despite her youth, she conducted herself with the efficiency of someone who had performed this role countless times.

"And will you require a single cultivator or a group for this protection detail?" She asked, continuing through what was clearly a standard intake process.

"A group." Bai Ning Ning's answer remained deliberately short, revealing only what was directly asked.

The young disciple continued writing, her brush strokes elegant and flowing.

"What is the highest cultivation realm you require for your protectors, and how many cultivators in total do you seek?"

Bai Ning Ning straightened slightly, a subtle shift in posture that I recognized as her preparing to deliver a shock.

"We require a total of twelve hundred cultivators." She paused, allowing that number to register before continuing. 

"Twenty at Sky Profound Realm, two hundred eighty at Earth Profound Realm, four hundred at Spirit Profound Realm, and five hundred at True Profound Realm."

The stylus froze mid-stroke.

A drop of frost essence fell from its tip, crystallizing before it reached the desk.

The disciple's serene expression faltered for the first time, her eyes widening almost imperceptibly as she processed what she'd just heard.

For several seconds, she remained completely still, as if we had suddenly spoken in an unintelligible language.

When she finally spoke, her voice had lost its softness, adopting the icy tone more typical of her sect sisters.

"Is this some form of joke?" Her gaze sharpened as she studied Bai Ning Ning's face for any sign of deception or madness.

Even the ambient temperature of the room seemed to drop several degrees.

"Not at all," Bai Ning Ning replied with perfect composure, unbothered by the sudden chill.

"Those are our exact requirements."

The disciple stared at us for several more seconds, clearly reassessing her initial impression.

What she had assumed would be a routine commission from presumptuous mortals had suddenly transformed into something unprecedented in her experience.

"Such a commission," she finally said, her composure mostly recovered, though tension remained in her posture, "would cost two hundred thousand purple profound coins. Monthly."

She emphasized the last word, clearly expecting this astronomical sum to end our presumption.

"That will be acceptable," Bai Ning Ning said without batting an eye. "We would like to pay for the first year in advance."

She withdrew a black profound currency card from her robes.

The card itself was a rare sight even in wealthy merchant circles—issued only to individuals or organizations with balances exceeding thirty million purple profound coins.

Most merchants and even minor noble families would never qualify for such an instrument.

Junior Disciple Han accepted the card with visible surprise, her training in maintaining a detached demeanor temporarily overwhelmed.

She held it gingerly, as if unsure of its authenticity, before passing it over a small formation embedded in her desk.

The formation glowed briefly, verifying the card's legitimacy and presumably its balance.

A moment later, her already pale complexion whitened further, her eyes widening fully this time. The reaction confirmed that the verification had revealed the card's true value—far exceeding even what the color itself suggested.

"Please... wait here for a moment," she said, her careful composure cracking slightly.

Without waiting for a response, she disappeared—not walking away, but employing the same instant movement technique we'd witnessed outside the gates, leaving behind only a faint swirl of frost particles.

Once we were alone, I glanced at Bai Ning Ning with a raised eyebrow.

"Did you really need to shock her quite so thoroughly?"

A satisfied smirk crossed Bai Ning Ning's normally composed features.

"Their coldness was becoming rather annoying."

She adjusted her position slightly, easing muscles tired from our long journey.

"Sometimes a little shock value is necessary to ensure proper attention."

I couldn't help but smile in agreement.

The superiority complex of cultivation sects often extended beyond justified confidence into unnecessary arrogance.

While Frozen Cloud Asgard was more restrained than most, even their junior disciples carried themselves with the ingrained certainty that mortals were fundamentally insignificant.

"It should expedite matters," I acknowledged, watching frost patterns swirl across the ceiling in complex, ever-changing formations that likely served both aesthetic and security purposes.

"Though we'll likely be meeting with someone considerably higher in their hierarchy now."

"That was the intention," Bai Ning Ning confirmed with a slight nod. "Better to negotiate directly with decision-makers than waste time with intermediaries."

I nodded as we waited.

Frozen Cloud Asgard would solve the problem for the Blue Wind Empire, but I still have to think about the other two Empires.

I can't have Frozen Cloud Asgard there, as they are a cultivation sect of the Blue Wind Empire would violate many policies if operated in another Empire.

While our food outlets in the other two Empires were safe for now, that wouldn't be the case for too long.

One can never underestimate the potential of doing immediate damage that cultivators had.

Any force with Emperor-level powerhouses could uproot us overnight from the entire country, as they were the only ones with the numbers to do so.

Well, that won't be happening now.