All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes
Chapter 368 - 18 The VIP’s Gloves (1/3)

Chapter 368: Chapter 18 The VIP’s Gloves (1/3)

"Wait a moment,"

An Jing replied with a robust voice that resonated through the wind and snow, causing the collectors from the Linlang Commerce Chamber outside to pause. They could tell that An Jing was a martial artist, so the originally arrogant tone of their voices softened somewhat.

However, they were still brazen, loudly saying, "Then hurry up, don’t dawdle!"

With that, the voices at the door grew distant as they apparently skipped over An Jing’s home for now, moving on to the next few houses to collect money.

"What do you plan to do?" Bai Qinghan asked, and An Jing, who had just found his mother and was in quite a good mood, said tolerantly, "They’re just uncouth bumpkins with no home training. I won’t stoop to their level. Let’s first ask my mother about the specifics of her situation."

After speaking, the two of them got up and went outside.

"Mother, what’s going on?"

Shen Mubai had also stepped outside, looking impatiently in the direction of the door. An Jing leaned over and asked, "Has it always been like this in the city?"

"It’s always been like this."

Having had no one to confide in, Shen Mubai was feeling pent up. Now that she had someone to talk to, she began to complain directly, "It wasn’t so arrogant when I first came into the city. But after the Beast Tide sealed the city, these collectors from the Linlang Commerce Chamber began going door to door demanding money."

As she complained, Shen Mubai outlined the situation within the city.

At the northern part of Linjiang City lies Broken Blade Mountain Range, with its rich and dense spiritual energy, containing many spiritual medicines and spirit ores, ranking among the top treasure houses in the spiritual lands of the Northern Border.

However, many Great Demon Spirits roamed within Broken Blade Mountain. The Six-Tusked White Boar that An Jing saw earlier was one of those, and the most powerful Demon Spirit was comparable to a True Person of the Divine Repository, a Demon King Realm creature, named the Four-Winged Moon Snake, proclaiming itself "Shuo Yueying," the master of the Primordial Spirit Cave.

They had a contract with Da Chen, that the demon beasts of Broken Blade Mountain were not to harm people, but herb pickers and hunters were also not to venture into the deep regions of the mountain where the Demon Spirits governed themselves. If they entered, they were responsible for their own life and death.

Even though the spiritual objects from the outer fringes of the mountain range were already enough to make people very wealthy, supporting the cities of Linjiang, Yujiang, and Yinbi around Broken Blade Mountain, human greed knows no bounds. Naturally, there were those who harbored thoughts of luck and wanted to venture deeper into the mountains to find more valuable treasures.

"Our An Family also had a small team in Broken Blade Mountain initially, but we just hovered around the periphery, mainly collecting information about the spiritual objects around the area to get familiar with the locals,"

Shen Mubai was not just a housewife concerned with domestic affairs; she practiced martial arts and was also involved in commerce.

In the years when An Qianshan went missing due to the Hanhai calamity, she managed the An Family’s business and was very knowledgeable about its affairs, "Although it’s said that once you venture deep into the mountain, your life and death is up to you, if people enter the mountain in groups, even the Great Demon King has to be wary of the power of Da Chen and wouldn’t dare to swallow them whole. Usually, they are just chased away."

"But before the eviction, these daring individuals would gather a lot, and leveraging their earnings, they quickly established a fairly reliable force, calling themselves the ’Wei Mountain Alliance.’"

"If that was the case, it could be considered that they gambled with their lives to achieve this. But after growing in strength, they actually began to monopolize many of Broken Blade Mountain’s resource zones, preventing scattered exploratory endeavors and audaciously acting as if they were the masters of Broken Blade Mountain."

"Oh..."

Hearing up to this point, An Jing looked thoughtfully outside the door, somewhat understanding why his mother was using these explanations as a prelude, "This ’Wei Mountain Alliance’... they’re backed by the Linlang Commerce Chamber, aren’t they?"

"Correct," Shen Mubai said with a look of disdain, shaking her head, "Monopolies are always the most detestable, and the Linlang Commerce Chamber is the worst of them all. If you don’t join their Wei Mountain Alliance, they suppress you from all sides. Over the years, they have driven away several mid-sized commerce chambers, seeking to monopolize all the resources of Broken Blade Mountain."

"With the arrival of the Frost Calamity, these people have become even more arrogant. Even the teams leading the Beast Tide are under their control, taking for themselves every medicine manor and village built on the Earth Pulse Nodes."

"The Beast Tide is a nuisance to us, but for them, it’s a great opportunity because all the Demon Spirits in Broken Blade Mountain have moved away—though the Demon Spirits took away all they could, what’s left is even more."

"As long as Linlang Commerce Chamber can take hold of Linjiang City, all the natural treasures that have accumulated over tens of thousands of years in the depths of Broken Blade Mountain will belong to them!"

Shen Mubai’s tone was more envious than it was angry—who wouldn’t be?

Just by seizing this opportunity, Linlang Commerce Chamber could transform from an ordinary major commerce chamber to a powerful force with substantial influence. If they could occupy the treasure house of Broken Blade Mountain for a prolonged period, it would be enough for a local power to turn into a regional dragon!

"So that’s how it is!" Realizing this, An Jing suddenly understood why Linlang Commerce Chamber was trying to drive away the residents of the surrounding towns and hold onto the place... It was not just because of those industries, but also because of the Earth Pulse Node!

Indeed, the city is built on a main vein, but the branch nodes are also the core of major towns. If Linlang Commerce Chamber occupied all the Earth Pulse Nodes, then after the Divine Soldiers moved away, they could take Da Chen’s place in controlling the Earth Vein and enforcing the law!

By then, they would be the local emperors, possessing both the power of the Earth Vein and the wealth of Broken Blade Mountain. Even if the Divine Soldiers of Broken Blade Mountain returned later, as long as they could defend Linjiang City from the Northern Barbarians’ onslaught during this period, they would receive substantial compensation, as this would be considered defending the country and the land.

No one would pass up such an opportunity to soar through the dragon gate!

"But..."

Still, An Jing was somewhat perplexed: "Why are they so desperate for money? Aren’t the spiritual objects of Broken Blade Mountain enough for them to earn from?"

"Ha, my boy, you’ve been too focused on practicing martial arts and don’t understand merchants," Shen Mubai revealed a smile and looked towards the city center with a hint of mockery, "Don’t be fooled by the full coffers of the Linlang Commerce Chamber... they are just a front."

"I didn’t understand either at first, but when the Divine Soldiers left the city, I realized it must have been decided by Shenjing in advance."

"Linlang Commerce Chamber has backers, and a big shot from Shenjing predicted the current situation years ago. Therefore, they arranged everything around Broken Blade Mountain beforehand and informed Linlang Commerce Chamber to come here and take over the land."

"Now that they’ve taken over, how much of Linlang Commerce Chamber’s earnings from Broken Blade Mountain do you think they have to tribute?"

"Well..." An Jing was somewhat uncertain, "Half?"

"Seventy percent!"

Shen Mubai snorted coldly, "Even more wouldn’t be surprising; ninety percent is quite possible!"

"Linlang Commerce Chamber does the dirty and tiring work, bears the infamy, but a large majority of the net profit must be tributed. Only the leftovers are their reward."

"The few big bosses at the top will surely get their full share of the broth, but the little guys down below won’t even get a taste of the soup. They’re working themselves to the bone for Frost Calamity for the sake of padding their own wallets—of course, they’re desperate for money."

Shen Mubai spoke methodically, as if he had seen it all with his own eyes. An Jing pondered for a moment, feeling something familiar and with a strange expression on his face, he said, "That being said, our family in Gufeng County..."

"It’s because someone above was supporting us that we could prosper," sighed Shen Mubai. "Did you think you could go into business without someone’s backing? You must have the courage of a bear and a leopard. But it’s all over now. The patron we found back then, the City Magistrate of Green Jade Pass, has most likely been slaughtered by the Northern Barbarians and is now fertilizing the northern soil."

"Now, these small-time folks under Linlang Commerce Chamber will certainly be looking for ways to amass wealth, like charging for water, firewood, and food."

"I brought a lot of dried food with me, so I have enough to eat. As a Martial Artist, I also don’t need much firewood. But it’s useless; a few days ago when I said I didn’t need what they were selling, they forced it on me anyway. I had no choice but to spend money to ward off the disaster."