“It’s all my fault. That day I did not clarify that all of An Dong’s properties had already been placed under your name. This includes the West Wind Ore Mine, Underground Arena, ten stores, and two hundred mobile vendor’s booths. There are also three thousand earthen cottages and five thousand slaves… a lot of slaves have already fled, and some of them had switched their allegiance to another master. However, I estimate that those who remained because they had nowhere to go is at least three thousand. Furthermore, Mr. Chen said that An Dong still had a huge domain and a lot of assets in the Qi Lan continent waiting for you to take over. However, Mr. Chen had not yet returned after he left. And the records are still in Mr. Yan Zheng’s hands. Ah, Mr. Yan Zheng is the new butler that Mr. Chen hired for you.” Jia De talked non stop and Yue Yang listened for a long time, only to discover that he had won a terrible mess.
“Are you trying to say that An Dong left this terrible mess and not a single gold can be earned right?” Yue Yang asked.
“It really isn’t like that. An Dong was a scoundrel that was extremely extravagant. The mansion’s decoration and treasures alone amount to at least two million gold. If you must know, the carpet itself is made from velvet. Cough, we still have money, but the Lord Demon Eye came yesterday and grabbed a huge portion of it. He said that it was payment for Nightmare’s and Tiger Nian’s death. I felt that this was a bit wrong, that loss should not be placed on Mr. Titan’s body because you are Mr. An Dong’s greatest creditor. However, Lord Demon Eye is one of Thunder Fortress’ three great leaders and his position is only second to King Chong Ni. Furthermore, Mr. Titan, you were not here, so I had no methods of stopping him.” Jia De’s face was filled with fear. He was afraid that once Yue Yang became angry he would behead him on the spot.
“How much did he take away?” Yue Yang asked.
“Three million or maybe four million. An Dong’s concubines, the two succubuses, knew where An Dong had kept his valuables. Before Mr. Yan Zheng had arrived, Lord Demon Eye had already taken a huge amount from the treasury.” Jia De saw that Yue Yang was still good and did not become hopping mad. He further supplemented: “Perhaps he also took away a few valuable pearls and magic crystals.”
“Then how much is left right now?” Yue Yang presumed that he did not immediately become a pauper.
“One million six hundred eighty thousand nine hundred fifty one gold.” Jia De sincerely hoped that the future owner would not be angry after hearing this sum. After all, the remaining money was not even half of the total. Furthermore, the ore mine was currently facing an armed rebellion.
“What about the new butler, Mr. Yan Zheng?” After Yue Yang heard it, his heart calmed down. Luckily, this terrible mess still left him with a lot of money.
“He… when he was negotiating with the armed rebels, he had been detained.” Jia De wiped the perspiration on his forehead.
“If Mr. Titan doesn’t mind, there is no harm in transferring the Underground Arena to me and let me help you pass through this crisis. If you must know, we, the Hundred War Guild, had always been interested in the Underground Arena. Of course, if you agree to sell us the ore mine, then it would be better.” A merchant, with a face full of arrogance, walked inside with big steps. His face carried self-confidence and arrogantly looked at Yue Yang, as if he was a noble looking down on an upstart country boy.
He had already ignored the bowing Jia De.
Yue Yang did not recognize this arrogant guy and was extremely disgusted with his high and mighty attitude.
While wearing his Gemini Mask, Yue Yang’s emotions could not be seen. He wanted to see who dared to visit and negotiate a price with him. Could the ore mine’s armed rebellion have any connection with this guy?
“You are?” Yue Yang indifferently swept the arrogant guy a glance. His strength was not high, a Level 6 [Elder], but he had two bodyguards that were Level 7 [Overlord].
“I am Fu Luo from the Hundred War Guild. I am in charge of the Guild’s Thunder Fortress branch, a Rank 8 Gold Star Merchant.” This guy arrogantly casted Jia De a glance. He implied that Yue Yang should not treat him on the same level as Jia De.
“You want the Underground Arena? How much is the quoted price?” Yue Yang wrinkled his brows. No one could see through his expression as he wore the Gemini Mask.
“One million five hundred thousand gold.” Fu Luo gave an extremely low price.
“No, this price only fits beggars.” Jia De was afraid that Yue Yang would suffer losses and hurriedly interrupted: “Mr. Titan, please forgive me for being honest and direct. You absolutely cannot agree to this price. Stupid An Dong had purchased this from others at four million gold, after repairs and remodeling, and purchasing gladiators and monsters, the Arena’s price would at least be five million gold. One million five hundred thousand gold is an insult to you!”
“Be careful of your words you toad! Let me tell you, you best shut up or else I will toss you out. How could you, an unprofitable Rank 3 Merchant along with that unprofitable Toad Guild behind you dare to clamor with our top 10 ranked guild? Annoying toad, do you understand the thing called rules? Do you understand the thing called a Ranker’s fury? You are starting a fight, humiliating and challenging our guild’s dignity! With just a wave of a hand, we could annihilate you and your guild. Let me warn you, move to one side because this is simply no place for you to speak!” Fu Luo thought that Jia De was a merchant who came to compete in bidding and apparently did not know that he was Yue Yang’s spokesperson. With an arrogant language he rained curses on Jia De. Even in front of the client, Yue Yang, he still dared to be this unrestrained. It seemed like he was normally an arrogant and wild person.
“…” Jia De was so shocked that he did not dare say another word as he shrunk back to a corner.
He stealthily raised his eyes and looked at Yue Yang, as if he was hoping that Yue Yang would stick out for him and speak a few words of fairness for him, or clarify once that he was his subordinate.
With only his small power, without a rankers backing, contending with the Hundred Wars Guild was equivalent to trying to do the impossible. He would only be courting death.
Jia De was someone Yue Yang had uses for.
Although Yue Yang was never an official, he had already seen a lot of political stories. He understood of a few underhanded trickeries that were used.
Yue Yang intentionally let Jia De cool down.
He did not quickly speak and first let the other party, Fu Luo, misunderstand. He let Fu Luo’s overweening attitude rise a bit more.
Seeing Yue Yang did not support him, Jia De immediately became sad. He clearly understood that the Hundred War Guild and An Dong were different. They were one Tong Tian Tower’s top ten merchant guilds, with just one percent of their strength, they could overwhelm the whole of Golden Toad Guild. Titan can belittle An Dong, but he absolutely cannot ignore the Hundred War Guild’s representative… Of course, in his heart, Jia De still wished for Yue Yang to say one sentence, just one sentence.
He had already intended to rely on Yue Yang and waited for a chance to show his loyalty.
He hoped that it was now, but unfortunately Yue Yang did not say anything.
When Fu Luo saw that Yue Yang did not speak, he even thought that Yue Yang had become intimidated by his Hundred War Guild’s fame. His attitude became even more arrogant and wild.
He intentionally used a lecturing attitude and said: “Young Ranker, I have heard before that you are strong. However, could you even compare to the master of our Hundred War Guild? He has attained the level of Innate Rank 8, Lord Shen Pan. He, the Black Prince, and Lord Shun Tian are best friends and even allied together. I believe you are familiar with these three Ranker’s names. Without any disrespect, they are existences even more famous than the Leader of the Thunder Fortress, King Chong Ni.”
“Becoming enemies with our Hundred War Guild has no benefits. If you were to cooperate with us and do business, then it will end with mutual benefits. The price of one million five hundred gold for the Underground Arena is not unreasonable. The three strongest gladiators had already been killed by you, a majority of the gladiators had also ran away while you were gone, someone even stole a part of the strong monsters. The most important thing is after this matter, Chong Ni had commanded that in the future, betters cannot put up collaterals as bets, in order to avoid a similar disaster happening again… These losses have directly affected the selling price.” Fu Luo talked non-stop, lecturing Yue Yang, the rookie, in the business world.
“Finally, other than us, the Hundred War Guild, there will be no second person who would purchase the Underground Arena. I think I don’t have to clarify too much, Mr. Titan should also be able to understand my meaning… Seeing Mr. Titan’s strength and urgent need for money, we had intentionally provided a high price for negotiation. Mr. Titan, we quoted the price of one million five hundred thousand gold. It is absolutely the highest price in the entire Thunder Fortress and it is the only price. Other than us, no one else would quote a second price!”
What Fu Luo was trying to say was that they want this Underground Arena no matter what.
If Yue Yang did not want to sell it to them, then he would definitely be unable to sell it to others. Furthermore, no one would dare bid against them.
If what he said at the start was a lecture, then what he said in the end was undoubtedly a threat!
He saw that Yue Yang did not let out a sound and thought that he was afraid of the Hundred War Guild. So, he added seriousness in his tone and warn this youngster to be a bit tactful!
“…” Yue Yang simply wanted to laugh. He originally thought of using him to restrain Jia De, who would have thought that this idiot truly cooperated with him.
Shen Pan, he had heard of this Innate Ranker.
He was someone who believed he was righteous.
He was originally named “Shen Ji”, afterwards he leveled up into Innate Rank and changed his name into “Shen Pan”.
(Shiro: Shen Ji means audit while Shen Pan means judgement, if it makes any sense)
Shen Pan was indeed a Level 8 Innate. However, his Innate Rank 8 is an overstatement. Whether it was in ranking or in strength, Chong Ni, who was also a Level 8 Innate, was higher by a huge length. In the Tong Tian Tower Sixth Floor’s Ranking Board, this Shen Pan is considered as the weakest Level 8 Innate amongst others.
This was like the game Heroes of Might and Magic 3’s ghost dragon. It was a rank 7 organism but, it was incomparable to the Hairy Legged Uncle, the Black Dragon or even Titan.
(Shiro: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroes_of_Might_and_Magic_III I swear, the author’s references are ancient. Can’t find any english records of the monster names, so we just translate as it is)
The Hundred War Guild that Shen Pan had established was indeed one of the top ten merchant guilds.
However at the same time it was the weakest among the top ten.
Of course, compared to fake Innates, Shen Pan’s strong existence was still something that others could not look up at. Even in the eyes of the fake Innates, he was still a strong Level 8 Innate.
What made Yue Yang frown was the other name.
Black Prince.
Yue Yang now understood that the black shadow who had attacked him with Shun Tian on that day was not the Thousand Goblins Sect Leader but rather the Black Prince.
The Black Prince was a mysterious Innate Ranker. He possessed a powerful strength, yet nobody knows his origins… Because those who know him are all dead; they were all exterminated by this guy. The Black Prince is one of the top ten homicidal maniac in the Bloody Villains List. His rank and strength were far above Chong Ni. He was on the same level as Shun Tian and the Thousand Goblin Sect Leader.
This guy was the just newly added candidate to Yue Yang’s kill list.
When he visited Fourth Mother, Tian Luo’s Emperor, Hua Xu Ri, had hired someone to deliver a letter to Yue Yang. In the letter, Yue Yang had gained a secret report about the Black Prince.
How did Hua Xu Ri gain information about the Black Prince, could it be given by the Night Empress?
Yue Yang placed those things aside for now.
However, regarding the Black Prince’s secret attack that day that almost killed him and Phoenix Fairy Beauty, Yue Yang would absolutely take revenge.
“If Mr. Titan has made a decision, then sign on this transfer contract!” Fu Luo’s tone sounded as if he was giving to charity. If he had not heard about Titan killing the strong Nightmare and Tiger Nian under the audience’s watch before he came here, he would have lowered the price to 550,000 gold. Fu Luo looked at this young human who wore a Gold-ranked Mask on his face and laughed coldly in his heart. So what if he is strong? Could he surpass their master, Shen Pan? This brat was thinking of becoming famous in the Sixth Floor of Tong Tian Tower, but he is still too young! He should learn about the ways of this world first, but meanwhile, Fu Luo would receive this boy’s tuition fees first!
“Slap!”
Yue Yang raised his hand and heavily slapped Fu Luo.
The slap smashed his teeth to pieces, causing him to spurt out blood violently.
The two Level 7 [Overlord] hurriedly came to protect him. Yue Yang stretched out his hands, one for each person, and lifted the two like chicks. He lifted them up high and smashed them hard on the ground. Two heads boomed and smashed on the Velvet Carpet and the Obsidian Floor. Just like watermelons, they were smashed into pieces.
“You dare hit me?” Fu Luo still did not dare believe this was real. He was Shen Pan’s spokesperson yet this brat dared hit him?
“Hitting you is a must, not hitting you would be a grievance!” Yue Yang slapped Fu Luo a few more times. He then beat him onto the floor and used his foot to pound him a few times. When Fu Luo struggled to escape, Yue Yang had warned him: “I declare that Fu Luo, the manager of the Thunder Fortress branch of the Hundred War Guild had insulted Innate Ranker Titan’s honor. He must receive the most severe punishment in order to eliminate this Ranker’s Fury. If you dare run away, then I will retaliate against the Hundred War Guild by a hundred times. At the same time, I will order your arrest at the Warrior Guild!”
“What?” Fu Luo was shocked. He did not understand why the opposite party was so furious. If he did not want to sell the Arena, then forget about it, did he have to use this method?
“…” Jia De emotionally trembled.
He knows that Mr. Titan is not a charitable person, and more so not someone easily bullied.
Let alone Fu Luo, he even dared to get rid of the Innate Rankers, Nightmare and Tiger Nian, publicly. He ignored that doing this would smear the Demon Eye’s face and even directly made An Dong a poor wretch in an instant.
He was capable of conveniently bringing out Martial Spirit Pills, capable of making Mr. Chen treat him favorably, capable of making the Leader of the Thunder Fortress, Chong Ni, secretly praise him, so how could he fear Fu Luo? Shen Pan was very strong. however , would he risk offending Mr. Titan just because of a subordinate who was only the manager of the Thunder Fortress branch? Can’t say for sure, but the power supporting Mr.Titan’s behind the scenes might even be stronger than Shen Pan’s!
Thinking about this, Jia De’s eyes immediately lit up.
He clenched both his fists. If there was any hesitation in his heart before, then there is none now. He already firmly decided to follow Mr. Titan.
As the saying goes ‘Under a big tree the shade is plentiful’. Mr. Titan, who did not care even if it was Shen Pan, was absolutely the master that he wants to serve in this lifetime.
He absolutely did not make a mistake!
“Jia De!” Yue Yang called out.
“Yes!” When Jia De heard this, he only felt his blood rush emotionally that his throat became slightly hoarse.
“Hoist this idiot up and beat him. If he dares to resist, then cut off his limbs and feed them to the dogs!” Yue Yang big hands slapped Jia De’s shoulders and spoke with extreme seriousness: “Acting as my friend and my specially chosen business partner, you have an incomparably honorable status. Listen, whoever smears your face, then it means that they are smearing mine… Remember this point, Jia De, you are already my friend! If others dare to curse you, you must give him a slap on their face. If he dares to punch you, then you can cut off his limbs! I, Titan, does not have a coward for a friend. I only have noble and dignified warriors as friends! Straighten yourself and bring out your grandeur, punish this idiot without mercy!”
“Yes!” Jia De was extremely moved. He felt the blood rush almost burst out of his veins. He used his life’s loudest voice and shouted.
Yue Yang’s face pretended to be serious, but in his heart, he was secretly happy. Although he does not have the talent as a conman, his conning skill was still more than enough to trick a merchant to do odd jobs for him with a little use of stratagem.
Next, he must handle the matter of the ore mine.
Those slaves at the ore mine had not rebelled last time but caused trouble right after he left. Could it be that there was someone secretly causing problems in secret?