Chapter 361: A War Without Smoke

Rumor had it that the deceased Monarch was one of the youngest among the Beast Lord's twenty Monarchs, and that his father was still alive.

Given his age and exhausted potential, his father was a figure of the previous generation who had lost all hope of reaching the Summit, yet he was still a genuine powerhouse approaching the Seventh Rank.

Furious over his son dying inexplicably in a foreign land, the father had mobilized his connections and called upon the young Monarch currently on the television screen.

Ranked second among the younger generation, he had defeated a Fifth Tier Monarch while only at the Fourth Tier. He had even fought one against three, securing victory against three Fifth Tiers.

These were the glorious battle records of this young Monarch.

Everyone originally expected this young Monarch to win the match with ease and deliver a resounding slap in the face to Yueyin.

To their surprise, Yueyin's Fourth Tier—the number one Seed of the Third Ring Domain and the number four figure of Zhoulin—displayed equally breathtaking strength.

The two had clashed twice without a clear victor.

Due to unresolved historical grievances, the Beast Lord's side refused to end the exchange.

Thus, a third match was set.

"Xiao Yanzi, who do you think will win?"

Shen Youran peeled an apple as she watched the two sides prepare on the television.

"It depends on their condition. Judging by their first two clashes, the gap between them isn't big." Yan Jing took the apple Shen Youran handed him and naturally passed her the freshly brewed glass of milk resting nearby.

Both were dressed in pajamas, completely abandoning their image as they lounged haphazardly across the sofa.

Soon, the match began. Both competitors erupted with even greater strength than before.

Purple, purple-black, black, black (Limits: purple, purple-black, black, black-orange, orange, red, silver-red).

Both sides possessed a Ritual quality of three limits and one perfect ratio. In an instant, blinding light flooded the television screen.

"I've learned a lot from their exchange,"

Yan Jing said suddenly, watching the two figures on the television.

"Learned what?"

Shen Youran asked curiously.

"Like this."

Yan Jing opened his hand. A pitch-black thorn forest manifested from his palm almost instantly, filling the entire room.

"So fast."

Shen Youran didn't even see the manifestation process. It was as if a frame of time had been extracted, teleporting the thorn forest directly from another space into the living room. The pitch-black thorns glinted with a chilling light, swaying like chaotic phantoms.

"How did you do that?"

Shen Youran's eyes widened. Although Yan Jing's speed in releasing the Fear Thorn had always been fast, it had absolutely never reached this extent. At the very least, she could usually see the casting process, even if it was just a blur of black shadows.

"Praying for Death Evolution."

Yan Jing snapped his fingers. The thorn forest turned to ash and slowly dissipated as he smilingly pointed out the secret behind it.

This was what he had learned from the exchange.

While developing in the Inner World and clearing Dungeons were certainly important, seeing their combat methods made him realize his own development of his Ritual was still very limited. Logically, with a Ritual of such high quality, he definitely shouldn't be restricted to just his current methods.

Take the long-distance snipe he had achieved with Xiao Xin last time, or using the Praying for Death Evolution to accelerate the growth of seeds this time. As long as he adjusted the method and magnitude of releasing his Ritual abilities, he could achieve unexpected results.

Although he had previously tried things like using the Painting Spirit to increase his output power, he had never specifically set aside time to train this aspect.

Having some free time over the past few days, he had experimented with many different combinations.

"Genius!" Shen Youran flashed a thumbs-up.

How could the match on television be as appealing as her Xiao Yanzi? She quietly squirmed a little closer to Yan Jing. Seeing that he didn't react, her fox-like eyes narrowed into slits.

A few minutes later, the third match concluded.

The representative of Yueyin claimed final victory with a narrow advantage.

"A wonderful match."

"Too wonderful! He Xinquan is so handsome!!! The pride of our Yueyin!!!"

"I'm a guy, but even I have to admit that He Xinquan right now is slightly more handsome than I am fresh out of the shower (Thumbs up)."

"He Xinquan, mommy loves you!!!"

Comments flooded the screen.

All the applause and flowers in that moment were dedicated to the man in the center of the television with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes—He Xinquan.

With his Fourth Tier rank, he had suppressed all the Seeds of the Third Ring Domain, becoming its undisputed number one.

Dressed in white robes with a long sword in hand, he truly embodied the classic image of a young lord unmatched across the world.

Even after winning the duel, he merely dragged his injured body to bow slightly to his surroundings, his expression devoid of any excitement or joy.

Victory was not some rare treasure to this man.

"Next month, I will step into the Fifth Tier."

The man spoke as if declaring it to the entire world, instantly sparking an uproar.

Many people knew that the man had deliberately suppressed his advancement to the Fifth Tier just to find a Dungeon with a high enough ceiling.

So that he could seize the initiative in acquiring an Honorary Title when he reached the Summit.

And now, he had evidently found it.

Yan Jing and Shen Youran watched this scene expressionlessly. Suddenly, a system prompt popped up in front of Yan Jing.

[The next Dungeon task will be announced in five days. Note: The next Dungeon is a Summit task. The task is an individual battle, and your performance will determine the strength of your Honorary Title. Please be prepared.]

It was finally here.

Yan Jing's heart stirred.

"Something happened."

Zeng Qing barged in from outside, tossing that line directly at Yan Jing in his Mao Si persona.

"Speak," Yan Jing said. He was currently communicating with Li Zhiyuan about expanding recruitment for the Sanitarium.

Ever since the Sanitarium's reputation spread, more and more people had applied to join.

But when the pond grew larger, one had to worry about mud balls mixing in with the fish. Therefore, Yan Jing had very high standards for screening personnel.

Hanging up the call, Yan Jing looked at Zeng Qing, waiting for her to deliver the "bad news."

"Our most profitable enterprise right now is still the biological ore vending company that Mr. Luo and I registered at the very beginning. You know this, right?"

Zeng Qing asked.

"I know." Yan Jing nodded.

No matter how many industries they had or how diverse their portfolio, doing business always required a core pillar. And Tianque Biological Ore Vending Company was currently Yan Jing's primary operation; the profits from this single company accounted for over sixty percent of their total revenue.

"Look at this." Zeng Qing activated the holographic projection on her Information Component.

"Nuochen Biotech's Recent Purchasing Prices for Biological Raw Materials Take a Massive Dive"

"Song Wang Group Claims Ore Raw Materials Are Oversaturated, Begins Low-Price Dumping"

"Standard tactics: joining hands to suppress a small company." Zeng Qing's expression was grim.

"I anticipated it might turn out like this, so we haven't been hoarding much stock lately. We've just been relying on the archaeological teams to dig up loose goods out in the Wasteland. But unfortunately, we still have a batch of pre-ordered supplies from before."

"The payment for this batch isn't small. If we can't sell it off in time, our liquid capital will shrink drastically."

"At least we're not in debt," Yan Jing noted, appearing very relaxed.

As long as they didn't operate on loans, the risk wasn't too massive. The expenses they had to bear were just rent, employee wages, and the like—leaving plenty of room to maneuver.

"If they want to keep suppressing prices like this, let them. There are plenty of people more anxious than us," Yan Jing said.

Expanding business scale through loans was the normal operating model for enterprises. Right now, those merchants were probably jumping out of their skins with anxiety.

"That's all we can do," Zeng Qing said, her expression still poor.

If the other side had truly hardened their hearts to crush Luo Sheng this time, it would likely be a war of attrition.

If this batch of goods couldn't be sold for a long time, they would have to dump it to cut their losses as quickly as possible, just to maintain cash flow.

"The main thing is, I'm still a bit worried about something else."

Zeng Qing furrowed her brow deeply.

"Based on my understanding of the Family, this is probably just the beginning."

"We need to pivot to other businesses as soon as possible to survive this crisis."

Zeng Qing understood the tactics of these plutocrats better than anyone; they would resort to practically anything.

Setting everything else aside, if the other side truly discarded all pretenses and publicly announced they would no longer purchase any goods originating from their company, the sheer influence of those two colossal entities would likely force them into a shutdown very soon.

When that time came, they would have no choice but to turn to the underground black market.

Although they could still eke out a living, no one wanted to transition from the surface to the underground if they had the choice.

The risks were simply too high.

Therefore, Zeng Qing's plan was to transition into other businesses, such as the pharmaceutical enterprise left behind by Chen Xiaojing, and the advertising business that Mao Si had been managing all along.

"That makes sense. Have you told Mr. Luo?" Yan Jing looked at Zeng Qing.

"I have, but he said—"

Zeng Qing's expression filled with hesitation. "He said the two of us can decide."

"Okay. Then leave the funding to me, and you take charge of the transition."

Yan Jing spoke lightly, brushing it off.

"The liquid capital—you're going to solve it?" Zeng Qing looked at Yan Jing in disbelief.

She had investigated Mao Si's background, but she hadn't discovered any talent for making money in the street thug before her.

But this was where Zeng Qing was genuinely mistaken.

Only Yan Jing knew that Mao Si actually did have a talent for making money, and he had even caused quite a stir in the past.

It was just that he had no great desire for money, so he had never displayed it.

As for Young Master Yan, although he truly didn't possess any talent for making money—

Bianliu County, Tranquil Valley.

Draped in a dark cloak, Yan Jing looked up. Glancing at the eerie Mountain Man Aspect entities surrounding him with their mouths opening and closing, he spoke:

"The silver taels that Boss Bai left behind last time, as well as the abbot's from Feinan Temple—bring them all over."

"Oh, right. Also, invite over those few minor cultivators we've been nurturing."

"Mm, don't touch the rest. This should be enough."

Of the Fourth Tiers previously in Bianliu County, only one had been left alive. As for the wealth they had left behind, Yan Jing had naturally accepted it all with a smile.

After carefully tallying it up, those staggering sums made him marvel at the wealth-amassing capabilities of those Fourth Tiers.

"Isn't it just money? As it happens, I really do have a bit."

Yan Jing smiled, and then summoned Xiao Xin.