No strange things are allowed to evolve!

"...?"

"Dad!" Xue Wang exclaimed embarrassedly, "What are you saying?"

Jiang Shu pretended not to hear anything.

Neither refuse nor explain, and at the same time, neither express an opinion.

This is his instinct.

Of course, I'm also afraid of saying too much and making mistakes.

It would be fine if he said something wrong and angered the Snow King's father, but if the Snow King turned evil and the bunker grew legs and ran away, the situation could be very bad.

At this moment, Snow King's father changed the subject: "However, although you are a responsible and dependable person, and can be considered trustworthy, this only makes me think a little more highly of you."

If you want to gain my favor and for me to not object to you being friends with my daughter, or even go further, you're still a long way off.

"Oh dear, Dad, you're going to talk nonsense!" Xue Wang was both ashamed and angry, not expecting her father to say such a thing. She got up and ran to the bathroom: "I'm not listening to your rubbish!"

There was a crack left in the bathroom.

It might be due to different family upbringing; in any case, Jiang Shu has always had to close the door when using the toilet since she was a child.

Unless you're trying to eavesdrop, you're playing hard to get.

Although she found it quite cute, Jiang Shu felt more helpless in this situation.

I thought to myself, this father and daughter are really under immense pressure.

Especially Xue Wang's father, whose reputation had finally improved, has now suddenly fallen seriously ill because of his strong fatherly influence.

Regardless of whether anything further is even possible, even if I really have that intention, can you stop me?

I'll throw the ultrasound report in your face as a New Year's gift during the holiday, and see if you can still pretend with me then.

However, he couldn't very well refuse the other party's request.

What do you mean by that?

"It means exactly what it says."

Snow King's father raised his eyebrows and replied:

“You’re still far from it. It’s fine if my daughter just makes friends, but if she’s going to develop anything, she can’t be worse than her father, can she?”

Jiang Shu was taken aback, then said with regret, "So the president of the Holy Temple is actually considered to have rather poor conditions?"

Snow King's father paused for a moment, then asked, "Can you understand human speech?"

"So you were just trying to show off?" Jiang Shu suddenly realized.

"..."

Jiang Shu successfully turned the tables on the point of being speechless.

"I'm too lazy to waste my breath on you." Snow King's father didn't hold it against him: "Comparing me to you is a bit unfair, so let's compare you to someone around you."

"Examples around me?" Jiang Shu was genuinely confused now.

Under the same conditions, who around me could I possibly have a chance with?

"Hasn't your Bureau of Different Principles recently produced a remarkable figure?"

Snow King's father picked up his teacup and said casually:

"Although it's still a long way from my reach, being able to use catastrophe-level items to construct an ascension ritual is not bad. The future looks promising."

Well, information about this kind of person should be considered top secret even within your organization. It's normal that someone of your rank wouldn't know. Even I only heard about it by chance when I was having tea with your director.

Unfortunately, there is a key item he needs that your Bureau of Different Lineages does not have. Although my Holy Temple happens to have one, I have other uses for it and cannot lend it out. Therefore, it will be difficult for him to ascend in the short term.

My advice is, if you're really driven, then first take that person as your goal, find a way to surpass them, and then try to surpass me. That way, maybe I'll acknowledge your abilities.

"Uh..." Jiang Shu suddenly found it a little funny.

I thought they were going to give some kind of example.

So it turns out I was the stand-in?

However, upon further thought, Jiang Shu wondered, since the other party's chairman was sitting right in front of him, was there any way to get the other party to give him the item?

If you were to reveal this directly, wouldn't it be like slapping the other person in the face?

So you can't give it to yourself?

hiss...

This is a bit tricky.

Thinking this through, Jiang Shu decided to play it safe for now and gave a nonchalant reply:

"Really? I've never heard of that before. Do you think I have a chance?"

Chapter 196 So, what is the price?

"Your words..."

Snow King's father sized up Jiang Shu:

"There's a slight chance."

His tone was forced, as if he was saying it because he was too embarrassed to admit it.

"So it's still far from perfect?" Jiang Shu said regretfully.

"It's alright, don't be too discouraged." Snow King's father didn't explain, seemingly acknowledging this statement, and comforted him, "You may not have met your bureau chief and don't know what kind of person he is. Since that person can be appreciated by your bureau chief, it's not shameful that you are far inferior to him."

"I see." Jiang Shu nodded slowly.

It now seems certain that the bureau chief didn't tell him who was the one who needed to use a catastrophe-level item for ascension.

However, it was strange that the bureau chief brought this up with him.

If it's to help him get a Catalyst of Natural Disaster Level, wouldn't it be easier to succeed if the director did it in his own name?

Although Jiang Shu didn't know the actual relationship between the director and Xue Wang's father, he felt that the connections between different forces were all similar. Even if the Bureau of Different Principles and the Holy Temple had a good relationship on the surface, neither of them really wanted to see the other suppress them.

It's like the Bureau of Unification and the Uncontested Old Man.

The disciples of the Old Man of No Contention are still working in the Bureau of Foreign Affairs, eating government food. Doesn't the bureau chief also not want the Old Man of No Contention to have too comfortable a life?

Personal relationships aren't actually that important when it comes to organizational interests, are they?

Therefore, if Jiang Shu were to decide whether to ask the Holy Temple to use its treasures to help the people of the Bureau of Different Lineages to ascend, he certainly wouldn't be willing.

The director couldn't possibly be unaware of these things, which is why Jiang Shu found it somewhat puzzling.

He felt that either the director's personal relationship with Xue Wang's father was better and closer than he had imagined, so there was no need to worry that Xue Wang's father would be jealous of the Bureau of Different Principles doing well, or... the director might not have brought it up on his own initiative, and the reason why Xue Wang's father knew about it might not be as warm and simple as he said, like just sitting together and having tea.

In short, even though the Snow King's father has the Spirit Root of Courage, we cannot let our guard down.

After all, it's not surprising that a few well-educated and sensible people who have made contributions to humanity can emerge from among Black people, so it's not surprising that a few cunning and shrewd people can emerge from among those with courage and spiritual roots.

At that moment, Snow King also came out of the toilet.

She seemed to be trying to calm herself down by washing her face; water droplets still clung to her chin and the ends of her hair.

Clearly, she had overheard their conversation.

As soon as she sat down, she comforted Jiang Shu: "Don't listen to my dad. There's no need to compare yourself to others. Just being yourself is good enough. Besides, I don't think that using good materials to create something extraordinary is necessarily that great."

Think about it, even my dad didn't know there was such a person in your Bureau of Different Principles before this, which means he probably didn't have any outstanding achievements.

If you were to switch places with him and put him in the [Creative Workshop] or [Desert Solitude], he might not be as good as you.

Jiang Shu shrugged: "What do you mean 'not as good as me'... Does that mean I'm already considered inherently inferior when compared to others?"

"Hey, that's not what I meant..." Snow King quickly waved his hand.

"Okay, I understand what you mean." Jiang Shu nodded. "Thank you."

Snow King was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Yes!"

"What are you thanking me for? You're not allowed to thank me!" Snow King's father slammed down his teacup and glared at Snow King, "And you're not allowed to say 'hmm' either!"

Snow King realized that he seemed to have been too obvious and immediately looked embarrassed.

Jiang Shu then spread his hands like a bear: "In the end, it still comes down to you, Uncle, that you think I'm too weak, right?"

"It's not just my opinion, it's the truth."

Snow King's father paused:

"My daughter just said something wrong. You can't judge a person's ability just by whether they are famous. Sometimes being too famous is not a good thing. Throughout history, there are countless examples of prodigies who failed to live up to their potential. Your director must have considered this point."

He's not one to just talk the talk, and naturally, he wouldn't tolerate anyone who only talks the talk. That person must have some merit to gain your bureau chief's favor. So, his lack of fame is most likely a form of protection. Your bureau chief will probably only bring him to the forefront after he's successfully risen through the ranks.

After saying that, he observed Jiang Shu's reaction, but found that Jiang Shu remained calm, while Xue Wang showed dissatisfaction on his face.

Then he changed the subject and said, "However, there are many examples of prodigies who failed to live up to their potential, and there are also many examples of late bloomers. No one knows how high they can achieve in their life until they finally settle down smoothly."

So you don't need to be too anxious. At least I've seen the two incubators that you and my daughter have experienced as teammates, and they've been quite remarkable.

It's just that my standards are high, so merely being better than my peers isn't enough for me; my goals are too low.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shu chuckled and said, "That's why you're the president. Your words of comfort are much more reasonable and convincing."

"Do you think this is comforting?" Snow King's father shook his head: "I never comfort others. I'm stubborn. If it works, it works; if it doesn't, it doesn't. I have no interest in saying anything insincere."

"Oh?" Jiang Shu asked with interest, "This is a bit confusing to me. You say I can't do it one minute, and then you say I can do it the next. So, am I capable or not?"

Upon hearing this, Snow King's father leaned back against the sofa, his chin slightly tilted upwards: "I'm not a god, so of course I can't tell whether you're capable or not until the very end. However, I'm willing to give it a try and invest."

Jiang Shu wasn't annoyed to see him showing off in his own home. Instead, she leaned forward and bent slightly, saying, "I'd like to hear the details."

"I prefer things to be practical, which is why I said before that I'm thanking you on behalf of my daughter. I certainly won't just brush you off with a few empty words."

However, this is the first time I've met you today. I've only heard about you from others and don't know anything about you or what you need.

So I won't presume to give you what I think is good. After all, spiritual practice is a personal matter, and what suits you best is the best. If you can't use what I've carefully prepared, then there's no point.

Snow King's father waved his hand:

"Okay, just tell me what you want, whether it's something or something I can do for you, as long as it's within my ability, I'll try my best to fulfill your request."

"Anything is fine?" Jiang Shu asked.

“Of course,” Snow King’s father retorted, “Do you really think I would lie to you?”

However, before Jiang Shu could speak, he added, "Oh, but not if it's my daughter."

"Dad!" Xue Wang shouted anxiously, trying to stop her father.

Her address changed from a reduplicated word to a single character, which showed that she was very embarrassed and awkward.

Jiang Shu observed silently, knowing who held the highest position here, so he immediately adopted a regretful expression: "Ah, so this won't work..."

So, the Snow King became happy again.

"Alright, go ahead and say it."

Snow King's father looked down on him with disdain:

What do you want?

The gift from Snow King's father was exactly what Jiang Shu wanted; he really wanted a Catalyst-level catalyst.

However, he didn't say that, because it would be too obvious.

Putting aside why he wanted this thing, when Snow King's father was showing off, he didn't even mention what he hadn't given to the Bureau of Different Principles.

If at first he was only considering whether exposing it would embarrass the other party, now he also has to consider the director's intentions. Since the director didn't tell the other party about his affairs, if he spoke first, it might cause some consequences.

So I need to talk to the bureau chief first.

So Jiang Shu decided to hold back for now: "I can't think of anything right now, why don't you wait for me to think about it?"

I thought Snow King's father would let it go, write a check, and fill it out later.

But to my surprise, Snow King's father shook his head: "No, right now. I don't like to drag things out. My memory isn't very good. If you don't tell me now, I might not remember later."

"This..." Jiang Shu was in a bit of a dilemma.

How about I go to my bedroom now and call the director?

It doesn’t seem to work either.

Although Xue Wang's father puts on a good show, he is actually guarding against me like a thief. If I make a phone call at this critical moment, he might eavesdrop, and the key is that I have no way to retaliate.