Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1498 - 1498 0860 Who Goes Who Pays_2

Chapter 1498: Chapter 0860: Who Goes, Who Pays_2 Chapter 1498: Chapter 0860: Who Goes, Who Pays_2 Lu Lai’en quickly gave a meaningful glance to the cultivator at the peak of the Gold Core Realm who was following him and then found a secluded spot to sit down.

No sooner had they sat down, than a presence belonging to a Nascent Soul Master wafted in from outside. “What day is today? So many Masters gathered together and no one informed me; that’s hardly proper isn’t it?”

As the voice spoke, another Nascent Soul Master appeared at the doorway, followed by another cultivator at the peak of the Gold Core Realm, who was also quite young.

That wasn’t the end; shortly afterward, another Nascent Soul Master arrived, also escorting a cultivator at the peak of the Gold Core Realm. Upon entering, he first greeted Zhang Chenghua, Zhu Chaolun, and Lu Songsheng with a bow, then unceremoniously found a place to sit down.

By then, the council hall of Wanjie Commerce was suddenly filled with over a dozen Nascent Soul Masters. The only four people present who were not Nascent Soul Masters were also cultivators at the peak of the Gold Core Realm; a common trait among them was that they were all under thirty years old. The youngest was naturally Qi Tian, followed by Liang Hansen, brought by the last Nascent Soul Master to arrive, Gao Wenlin, who was twenty-five years old; next was Zhang Baolin from the Jufeng Tower, who was just under twenty-eight years old, and the oldest was Han Boxiang, brought by the third Nascent Soul Master, who was closest to thirty, lacking less than a year.

Zhang Chenghua had been exceptionally languid since entering the council hall, but now suddenly his eyes widened, his gaze intense, he said, “It looks like almost everyone is here; I doubt many more will come. Let’s not just sit around anymore and start discussing the main issue.”

Zhu Chaolun and Lu Songsheng exchanged glances; they were disgusted by Zhang Chenghua’s manner of seizing control of the conversation before the host had spoken, but they were helpless to do anything about it. The Ink Flood Dragon Association had always been a top power in Wanjie City, and even now, it was slightly superior to the commercial houses.

Zhang Chenghua couldn’t have cared less about what the people from Wanjie Commerce thought; he continued, “The grand competition is just two months away, and as there is no direct Teleportation Array from here, we must leave at least half a month early. So time is extremely tight for us, we don’t have much time to discuss back and forth, and we must decide today. Let me outline the basic situation. Attending the grand competition requires consideration of various factors, both internal and external. It’s not just about reaching the peak of the Gold Core Realm before turning thirty; who will cover the travel expenses? Once there, the accommodation costs, registration fees, and other expenses will be substantial, and we must consider them. Of course, for us Masters, these costs, even if a bit steep, are manageable. The key issue is that we would go to all this trouble getting there, spend a fortune, participate in the competition, only to potentially be eliminated in the first round, wouldn’t that be a joke? At that moment, it won’t only be your own face that’s lost, but also the face of our entire Wanjie City. Everyone would be discredit along with you. Therefore, before the official competition, the Ink Flood Dragon Association intends to conduct a preliminary screening of the four of you, at least to eliminate half. Of course, this is just an initial goal—if all four of you don’t meet the standards, completely eliminating everyone is also a possibility.”

Apart from the members of the Ink Flood Dragon Association, everyone else looked at each other, none having expected the Association would make such a suggestion.

Lu Songsheng quickly transmitted a message to President Zhu Chaolun, “Sir, now is the best time to win people’s hearts. I don’t quite qualify, so we need your involvement.”

Zhu Chaolun, who had elevated Wanjie Commerce from a second-tier force to a first-tier one and named one of the Twin Heroes alongside the Ink Flood Dragon Association in Wanjie City, naturally had the tactics and vision to match. He chuckled and said, “Vice President Zhang’s concerns are not unfounded. However, in the world nothing is to be feared but fear itself. It’s rare that this year our Wanjie City has produced four young talents, all under thirty reaching the Peak of the Gold Core Realm, whose future achievements are bound to be limitless. If we now set difficult challenges for them, it might constrain their performance, failing to test their true levels. My suggestion is to let the four friends at the Peak of the Gold Core Realm go forward to the grand competition together without elimination in our Wanjie City. If they succeed, that’s best; if not, there will be no regrets. Wanjie Commerce holds no opinion in this matter; if you friends really want us to take a stand, then it’s support, support, support!”

Lu Songsheng continued, “As for the cost concerns Vice President Zhang is worried about, isn’t that simple? Whoever wants to go can pay for themselves. We in Wanjie City will not provide support in this regard, but if the four friends in the Gold Core Realm achieve good results in the grand competition and bring honor to our city, a reimbursement of certain expenses after the competition will not be a problem. As for those who are eliminated early in the competition, the travel expenses must be borne by themselves. My friends, do you think this is fair?”

Zhang Chenghua frowned slightly, as he was quite dissatisfied with these proposals from Wanjie Commerce, yet after a moment’s contemplation, he swallowed his objections. After all, if things proceeded according to Wanjie Commerce’s proposal, his Ink Flood Dragon Association wouldn’t suffer, so why should he stand out and play the villain?

Seeing no one else speaking, Zhang Baolin from Jufeng Tower, who was also at the Peak of the Gold Core Realm, stepped forward and said, “I agree with this proposal. Going to the grand competition, if we can secure good positions, the opportunities gained will undoubtedly belong to us. Therefore, it is only right and proper that we bear the round trip expenses ourselves; there’s nothing to argue about.”

Following closely, Han Boxiang also made a similar statement. As a member of Rain-Breaking Pavilion, a third-tier force in Wanjie City, with Master Liu Guozhi being its only Nascent Soul Master, although Rain-Breaking Pavilion was not very powerful, supporting his travel and other expenses was still no problem. If he could seize the opportunity in the grand competition, it would definitely give back tenfold or a hundredfold to his sect.

Master Liu Guozhi remained silent, tacitly approving his disciple’s stance. It was not that he underestimated his disciple; rather, if Han Boxiang were to compete with people like Qi Tian, he truly wasn’t confident that his disciple could break through. After all, it was a publicly acknowledged fact that Qi Tian possessed combat skills comparable to those of a Nascent Soul Master. His disciple, although excellent, was still a notch below Qi Tian.

In contrast, Gao Wenlin deeply furrowed his brows. His disciple, Liang Hansen, remained silent, not saying a word. The master and disciple duo was a rather unique presence in Wanjie City, with no sect backing them, isolated as two independent cultivators. They did run some businesses in Wanjie City, but the annual profits from these just barely supported their cultivation. It was only because Gao Wenlin had encountered some opportunities during previous travels that Liang Hansen could reach the Peak of the Gold Core Realm at the young age of twenty-five.

Seizing the opportunity, Lu Songsheng from Wanjie Commerce, who had long been coveting the master-disciple duo, transmitted directly to Gao Wenlin, “Brother Gao, if you and your disciple lack the funds for the trip, you can come to Wanjie Commerce for a loan, interest-free for three years. It’s an honor for our Wanjie Commerce to lend even a little support to a distinguished young talent such as your disciple, who will surely shine brightly in the future.”