Chapter 605 - 330: Are They Saying I’m a Master Strategist?

"Wait for the price to drop further."

"What do we do now?"

At first, they thought they could swallow a large portion of the resources. But now, not only would they have to spit out the excess, they might even have to forfeit their original share. Moreover, they no longer had any power to resist. They simply couldn't interfere in the struggle between major sects; once they did, the consequences would be entirely unpredictable.

Realizing this, everyone's hearts grew heavy. Initially, they were in high spirits, expecting to sit back and reap the rewards. Now, they were bogged down in a quagmire, facing eternal doom at any moment.

"Why don't we try to negotiate and just stick to the original resource allocation?" the female Elder suggested.

The sword-bearing man retorted, "Negotiate with whom? Which major Sect?"

The big fat man looked at the crowd. "Our attitude toward the Wuyun Sect hasn't been welcoming, so their impression of us is likely quite poor. On the other hand, the Evergreen Sect has shut their doors and refuses to come out, so we can't even see them. We won't benefit from either side. Right now, our only option is to accept the ninety percent resource offer."

"Ninety percent?" the female Elder said. "That's too little. It's a full forty percent less! We must stick to the original amount at the very least. We can give up the Third Layer."

Who would be willing to give up so many resources? They originally wanted more, but to their dismay, they were about to lose even their principal share. This was something they had never anticipated. They had assumed that because the disciples of the major Sects were young, they could squeeze out a bit more profit. However, this person in charge suddenly turned the tables. He wasn't in Cultivation at all; he was just throwing up a smokescreen to confuse them!

For a moment, the great hall fell into absolute silence.

The burly Sect Leader finally sighed. "We need to make a choice as soon as possible to break this deadlock. If we let this drag on, our profits will only continue to shrink.

"It was my carelessness; I underestimated the envoys from the major Sects. I thought that by having lived a few more years, we would have a certain advantage. Now it seems I was entirely wrong."

"Then which one do we choose?" the woman asked.

The big fat man spoke up. "It's not up to us to choose, but them. We need to break the deadlock and make a move that forces out the people from the Evergreen Sect. After that, it will have nothing to do with us.

"As for how much we can get, it's no longer our call to make. Whether it's ninety, eighty, or even seventy percent, we have no power to resist. This time, it truly is a battle between the major Sects."

At dusk.

Zhuo Qingcheng led her people into the great hall. Ever since Jiang Man began issuing orders, she felt brimming with confidence. Why? Because Jiang Man wasn't worried in the slightest. Furthermore, the fact that he dared to continually lower their offer was something she simply couldn't comprehend. But it was exactly this unfathomability that made him seem so formidable.

As for the Evergreen Sect, they weren't opponents she could handle, but Jiang Man would intervene. Her cousin, who had been expelled from the family, had an excessive amount of faith in him, and this absolute trust had infected her as well. She felt that the tides were about to turn.

When she arrived at the great hall again, she realized that the situation truly had changed. The higher-ups of the Cyan City Sect were sitting in their seats looking thoroughly defeated, as if waiting for a final judgment. What had happened here?

Han Meixue and He Que were equally puzzled. These people had been full of themselves earlier, completely unlike their current dejected state. Those who didn't know the truth would think they had just been abandoned by the Evergreen Sect.

Nevertheless, Zhuo Qingcheng asked her routine question, "I wonder how your deliberations are going?"

She fully expected them to refuse, after which she would deliver her next line and leave, planning to return the following morning.

Hearing this, the burly Sect Leader stood up and looked down at Zhuo Qingcheng. "The Upper Envoy mentioned ninety percent?"

"Yes," Zhuo Qingcheng nodded.

"We agree to it," the burly Sect Leader declared.

"In that case, I have a new..." Zhuo Qingcheng paused mid-sentence, suddenly taken aback. "Sect Leader Luo, you agreed?"

"Yes, we agreed," the burly Sect Leader confirmed with a nod. "May I ask what the next arrangements are?"

"Give me a moment," Zhuo Qingcheng said, immediately sending a transmission to notify Jiang Man.

She received a reply shortly after, though she felt a bit perplexed by it. She then turned back to the burly Sect Leader. "We will sign the contract tomorrow afternoon."

The Sect Leader nodded. "Very well. We will await the Upper Envoy's arrival tomorrow afternoon."

At this moment, the female Elder chimed in, "Upper Envoy, I wonder if there is any chance to raise the resource allocation back to the original amount?"

Zhuo Qingcheng was astonished. Had they really stooped so low? Was there some crucial piece of information she was missing? In the end, she shook her head and refused, stating that it wasn't her place to make such a decision.

Everyone in the hall understood that the person in charge from the Wuyun Sect had indeed intervened. Therefore, they only hoped she could go back and ask on their behalf.

"Why have you all suddenly seen the light?" Han Meixue asked curiously.

"The person in charge of your major Sect is a master strategist who masterminded the whole situation. We were far too presumptuous," Sect Leader Luo replied, lowering his head humbly.

Shortly after, Zhuo Qingcheng and her group departed.

"Something we don't know about must have happened in the meantime," Zhuo Qingcheng said immediately upon stepping out of the Sect. "We are fully aware of everything on Senior Brother's side, so the issue must stem from the Evergreen Sect.

"But the Evergreen Sect is currently trapped by Senior Brother's Array; they shouldn't have been able to send out any news at all. Why didn't the Cyan City Sect wait for the people from the Evergreen Sect to come out?"

"Exactly!" Han Meixue was just as baffled. "As long as they waited for the Evergreen Sect to emerge, they could have secured a high price. Since our offer was so low, they had every reason to place their hopes entirely on the Evergreen Sect."

Zhuo Qingcheng pondered this for a long while before asking He Que about the strength of that Array.

"It's very powerful," He Que replied. "It would take me a significant amount of time to break the Array—at least two days."

In an instant, everything clicked into place for Zhuo Qingcheng. If it would take He Que two days, then the Evergreen Sect disciples should have been able to break out long ago. Thus, they must have been waiting deliberately as well.

"Senior Brother is truly meticulous and possesses extraordinary intellect," Zhuo Qingcheng marveled. As for why he scheduled the signing for tomorrow afternoon, it was likely because he intended to clash head-on with the Evergreen Sect and settle the victor once and for all.

Hearing Zhuo Qingcheng's deduction, Han Meixue was absolutely stunned. Had Senior Brother really planned that far ahead? No wonder the opposition completely wilted the moment he barely lifted a finger.

She then turned to He Que curiously. "Senior Brother He, how did you record Senior Brother Jiang's actions?"

She peeked at his notes. Cultivation, Cultivation, and more Cultivation.

Puzzled, she asked, "Is this a log of Senior Brother Jiang's Cultivation observations? How are you documenting his grand strategies?"

"I only record the process and the results," He Que stated flatly.

Han Meixue shook her head. "Nobody's going to want to read records like these, Senior Brother."

He Que put his notebook away. "These are factual records, not a storybook."

At Jiang Man's residence.

Listening to their exaggerated praises, Jiang Man sighed inwardly but smiled outwardly. "You are all indeed the elites of our Sect, with such sharp and agile minds."

He thought to himself, "Why would I waste time overthinking things? Once my Magic Skill reaches Great Success tomorrow, I can just attack directly. What need is there for schemes? It's just adding unnecessary pressure on myself."

As for the Array trapping the Evergreen Sect disciples, he did have backup Arrays prepared to stall them a bit longer. Who could have known they would simply choose not to break out on their own? It certainly saved him the trouble of making further preparations.

The following afternoon.

Moon Gazing Peak.

At the residence of the four Evergreen Sect disciples.

The leader of the group, a man in his early thirties, stared at the dissipating Array and sneered. "The people from the Wuyun Sect are quite bold. It seems they want to clash with us directly."

He was Sima Xuan, an Inner Sect Disciple of the Evergreen Sect, at Primordial Spirit Perfection.

"I heard the envoy is a man named Jiang Man. He's said to be a legendary figure with astonishing Talent," a short-haired woman remarked. "This Trapping Array should be his handiwork. His methods are extremely profound. He beat the Cyan City Sect into complete submission without even lifting a finger. Even we have to play along with his schemes for the sake of our own profits."

She was Xie Jinshu, an Inner Sect Disciple of the Evergreen Sect, at the Late Stage of Primordial Spirit.

The remaining two were a pair of men who looked strikingly similar to each other. One was at the Late Stage of Primordial Spirit, while the other was at the Early Stage of Primordial Spirit.

"His Cultivation is inferior to mine, and his Magic Skills are inferior to mine," Sima Xuan said. "His courage is commendable, though. I just wonder if he has some hidden trump card, or if he's merely blindly arrogant."

He took a step forward, walking into the empty air. "Let's go. Let's see just what this prodigy is made of."

The other three immediately followed. As long as their opponent wasn't at Primordial Spirit Perfection, there was no way they could lose. After all, their group consisted of one at Primordial Spirit Perfection and two at the Late Stage of Primordial Spirit. No matter how strong the opponent was, he couldn't possibly defeat them. Not to mention, they still had other hidden methods up their sleeves.

Meanwhile.

In his courtyard, Jiang Man finally ceased his Cultivation. A phantom image of a great sun briefly surfaced in his eyes before completely vanishing. His overall aura and power were also perfectly concealed.

His progress had been faster than he anticipated. Achieving Great Success across the entire series and gaining deep familiarity with the Magic Skills had significantly accelerated his advancement.

He then stepped out of the courtyard. Zhuo Qingcheng and the others were already waiting outside. Seeing Jiang Man emerge, they bowed respectfully in unison. "Senior Brother, it is about time."

"Let's go. We've delayed long enough. I'll take you all to conquer them," Jiang Man said, brushing past them as he stepped into the air and departed.