Chapter 344: Drawing Attention

After Jin Haitian was carried away, Chu Qiguang picked up the agreement that he had just signed, then turned to the dumbstruck Wu Wei and Sun Bin with a joyful expression and said, "You owe me fifty thousand shares now! Make sure you don't forget!"

Wu Wei felt like he had just been kicked in the chest, but he had signed the agreement in front of so many people, so he couldn't think of any plausible way to weasel himself out of this predicament.

Sun Bin heaved an inward sigh with a forlorn shake of his head. At this point, Chu Qiguang's rise was clearly unstoppable.

Right at this moment, Chu Qiguang turned to him and declared, "Sun Bin, while serving as CEO of the Azure Sun Trade Association, you've taken bribes from cotton merchants, fabricated false accounts and expenditures, and embezzled public funds to use in your personal stock trading account. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Sun Bin immediately looked dumbstruck. No way! He only began looking into the trade association's account books yesterday! How has he gone through everything already? He must be bluffing!

However, before he had a chance to raise any objections, Chu Qiguang gestured for someone to come forward and slam an account book down in front of Sun Bin. It contained concrete evidence of all of his transgressions.

Sun Bin's complexion instantly turned deathly pale, and not a single shareholder attempted to speak up for him as he was being dragged away.

After that dominant display, Chu Qiguang established his authority, and the rest of the merger acquisition process went by very smoothly.

The three trade associations were combined to form the Cloud Sun Trade Association, and its trading center was set to be situated in the Heavenly Melody Manor City. Of course, the trading bank attached to the trading center was also set up there.

During the merger acquisition process, Chu Qiguang was able to secure 250,000 shares thanks to the spinning mule and his personal influence. That, combined with the fifty thousand shares from Wu Wei, amounted to a total of three hundred thousand shares.

As for the silver he had made, 150,000 taels went to the Spirit Province Demon Vanquishing Department, while the remaining 950,000 went straight into his coffers.

However, compared with the financial gain, Chu Qiguang saw much more value in the establishment of the Cloud Sun Trade Association. In the future, he would be able to gradually amass tens of millions of taels of silver through the trade association and become one of the most influential people in the entire empire.

***

While the board meeting was taking place, a rather short and stocky man in a suit of armor was standing on a hill outside Azure Sun County, observing the county town from afar.

The man's face had a bright red hue, and there was a faint, bloody scent emanating from his entire frame. He was none other than Spear God Zhou Junyan, one of the two Dao Comprehension state martial gods of the nine border military bases.

Jin Haitian was standing behind him, hanging his head in shame as he reported, "I lost, Master."

"Why did you lose?" Zhou Junyan asked in an indifferent voice.

"His physical prowess is superior to mine, and he was able to beat me at my strengths," Jin Haitian sighed.

"Can you surpass him?" Zhou Junyan asked.

A hesitant look appeared on Jin Haitian's face. The thought that Chu Qiguang was still only seventeen left him feeling very defeated.

"Do you still remember the promise you made to me?" Zhou Junyan asked.

"I do," Jin Haitian replied as a hint of conviction returned to his eyes. "I vowed to hone my body into the most powerful weapon, one that can overcome even the most formidable foes!"

Repeating that promise seemed to have rekindled his spirit, and he declared, "I'm definitely not going to lose again next time!"

"Good to see that you haven't lost your fighting spirit," Zhou Junyan said with a nod of approval.

"But what do we do about the trade association now?" Jin Haitian asked.

"Nothing," Zhou Junyan replied. "The only thing that's changed is that we won't be able to make as much profit as before, but so long as I'm still alive, no one would dare to embezzle my money, not Chu Qiguang or anyone else."

***

The board meeting continued over the next few days, and during that time, various pieces of news began to spread throughout the Spirit Province. Of course, the most astonishing news of all was Chu Qiguang's dominant victory over Jin Haitian.

Initially, there were many skeptics. It simply seemed far too absurd to believe that a seventeen-year-old could defeat a veteran fifth-state martial artist in the military like Jin Haitian in such crushing fashion.

However, more and more people who had witnessed the battle stepped forward to corroborate the news, forcing the skeptics to reassess their beliefs.

"The Huiqin Feudal Lord said that he personally saw Jin Haitian kneel down before Chu Qiguang! He said if he didn't intervene, Chu Qiguang would've killed Jin Haitian!"

"My uncle's father-in-law was there at the time, and he says that Jin Haitian was carried out of the ring with blood all over his crotch!"

"What does that mean? Did Chu Qiguang beat Jin Haitian into a eunuch?!"

These rumors served to both infuriate Jin Haitian and elevate Chu Qiguang to an almost mythical status among the general public.

***

On the grasslands, the Heavenly Immortal Dao Master had arranged a meeting with the supreme guardians of the Immortal Dao.

"Chu Qiguang hasn't just reached the fifth state; he also has an extraordinary level of physical prowess."

"According to the witnesses, his figure turned golden during his battle against Jin Haitian, which indicates that he's mastered the fourth level of the Primordial High Zenith Qigong."

"Not only that, but he also displayed a set of very powerful palm techniques, as well as superb mastery over gale force."

"Given his achievements at such a young age, there's a very good chance he could reach the Dao Comprehension state in the future."

"If even Jin Haitian is no match for him, then there most likely aren't many people below the Dao Comprehension state capable of defeating him."

"If we allow him to continue to grow unchecked, he's going to be no less of a threat to us than the Eight Han Resurgence Generals."

"Chu Qiguang is going to serve as a massive obstacle to the rise of the Great Qian Empire. I suggest we send people right away to assassinate him at all costs!"

"I agree!"

"I also agree!"

The Heavenly Immortal Dao Master swept his gaze over the supreme guardians, and his attention fell upon the absent-minded Layman Evergreen.

"What do you think?"

Layman Evergreen instantly snapped out of his reverie. He had been thinking about where he was going to search for his missing undying divine general next, and he wasn't expecting to be personally addressed by the Heavenly Immortal Dao Master.

After some thought, he asked, "Is it really a good idea to go after Chu Qiguang? We still have a lot of shares in the Azure Sun Trade Association, don't we? If he dies, won't the stock price plummet?"