I Can Control Resources

In each challenge area, there were five tripod cauldrons.

Inside every tripod cauldron, one elixir.

When the number of elixirs reached four hundred, the challenge for the eighty alchemists was officially declared over.

"Four hundred elixirs!"

"Not a single failure!"

"..."

When the sect members and noble young masters looked at Gao Neng again, their expressions had all changed. It was as if they were looking at a monster, filled with an emotion they couldn’t quite describe.

Meanwhile, the eighty alchemists who hadn’t finished their alchemy just stared at each other.

Originally, they thought this would be a complete steamrolling...

And in fact, it was.

The only difference was a slight deviation in who was getting steamrolled. They, who considered themselves the elites of the Alchemy Realm, had all been crushed by the same person.

’Does it have to be like this?’

’We haven’t even finished refining our elixirs!’

"..." The alchemists were all speechless. It was an awful feeling. They hadn’t even finished their "masterpieces," but the competition had already ended prematurely.

What was even worse was that they still had to finish the elixirs they were working on.

After all, these elixirs were all made from elemental raw materials.

They were very precious.

They couldn’t possibly be wasted.

’We lost a challenge we designed ourselves?’

’A one hundred percent alchemy success rate... My God!’

The alchemists felt a bitter taste in their mouths but had nothing to say.

Of course, three people felt even more bitter than them: Secretary General Wang, Vice Chairman Lei, and Chairman Sheng.

Among them, Chairman Sheng was naturally the most miserable of all.

He really wanted to curse, ’Son of a bitch!’

’Why is this happening to me?’

He was truly innocent! When all was said and done, he had only come here today to "witness the grand occasion of the alchemist exchange." But somehow, it had suddenly escalated into a bet between him and Gao Neng.

And it looked like he was about to lose.

’My chairmanship is on the line!’

Chairman Sheng was in agony.

His gaze shifted to the areas reserved for the sects and noble families. That was where their true foundations lay—the Alliance’s most elite alchemists.

Just then, an old man stood up.

His name was Wei Wuya.

His name meant: The sea of bitterness is boundless.

And he had another identity: Wei Ya’s grandfather.

The main reason Wei Ya was the representative figure among the noble young masters was that his grandfather, Wei Wuya, was one of the most elite alchemists in the Alliance.

Wei Wuya stood up at this moment.

And so, the top-tier alchemists from the other noble families could no longer remain seated.

One by one, they all stood up.

But at that exact moment, a burly figure blocked Wei Wuya’s path.

"What is it?" Wei Wuya frowned. The one blocking him was none other than his precious grandson, Wei Ya.

The super-genius ranked second on the Dragon List.

The representative figure of the noble families.

"A one hundred percent success rate... Grandfather, are you truly confident?" Wei Ya glanced back at where Gao Neng stood, then bowed slightly and replied respectfully to Wei Wuya.

"Of course not," Wei Wuya shook his head.

"If you know you aren’t, then why must you still do it?"

"You know the status of our Wei Family. Some things must be done, even when you know they’re impossible." Wei Wuya casually patted Wei Ya’s head, his eyes showing a hint of affection.

"Grandfather, you are wrong. Some things must eventually change!" Wei Ya raised his head, his gaze firm.

"Yar, what nonsense are you spouting?" a voice from the side interjected, seemingly angered by Wei Ya’s words. "Someone, escort the young master away!"

"Father, you yourself are muddled. Why must you lead the Wei Family astray?" Wei Ya stared directly at the middle-aged man who had spoken.

"You..." The middle-aged man was stunned.

"Alright, my grandson has grown up. Let him state his reasons," Wei Wuya waved his hand, showing no intention of immediately moving forward.

This showed the status Wei Ya held in Wei Wuya’s heart.

"If Gao Neng wins today, the landscape of the Elixir Medicine Federation will change. And if the landscape of the Elixir Medicine Federation changes, so too will the landscape of the noble families. That is my reason," Wei Ya said in a calm, steady voice, without the slightest pause.

"Hmm... The landscape of the noble families will change..." Wei Wuya tilted his head back, looking toward the private rooms on the second floor. Then, a smile touched the corners of his lips. "What my grandson says has some merit. In that case, we shall wait a little longer."

After speaking, Wei Wuya stepped back and sat down in his chair again.

Seeing this, the expressions of the other noble families’ alchemists flickered. Then, one by one, they shook their heads and sat back down.

When Chairman Sheng, Vice Chairman Lei, and Secretary General Wang saw this, their faces instantly turned pale.

’This is so fucked up!’

’They’re ditching us now that the job is done!’

Unresigned, Chairman Sheng turned his gaze once more to the area where the sects were seated.

There, two large golden words were written.

Esoteric Sect!

And in the Esoteric Sect’s area, there were several monks in strange robes. Among them was an acquaintance of Gao Neng.

Shaximo, ranked first on the Dragon List.

Behind Shaximo sat an old monk with his eyes lightly closed, appearing as if he were in a state of deep meditation as he sat silently on the ground.

"Master," one of the monks whispered, having noticed Chairman Sheng’s gaze.

"Shaximo," the old monk said, his eyes still lightly closed.

"Present, Master," Shaximo immediately replied, turning around.

"Share your thoughts and experiences."

"Yes. The Buddha said: Use stillness to overcome motion. This disciple’s understanding is that if one can avoid entering the fray, the conflict may end more quickly," Shaximo replied after a moment of thought.

"Mm, did you all hear that?" the old monk nodded and continued to rest with his eyes closed.

"Yes, Master!" The other monks immediately fell silent.

The Esoteric Sect’s area fell silent once again.

The other major sects, who had been on the verge of making a move, exchanged glances, and then, one by one, they all settled back into their chairs.

This was very awkward.

The faces of Chairman Sheng, Vice Chairman Lei, and Secretary General Wang turned green.

No one else stood up to issue a challenge.

That meant they had lost their bet with Gao Neng!

Meanwhile, the three directors of the Celestial King Group watching from the side could no longer hide the smiles on their faces.

’We succeeded!’

’We actually succeeded!’

They had originally thought this alchemist exchange event would cost them their entire two hundred billion, down to the last cent. But in reality, the exact opposite had happened.

The two hundred billion remained untouched.

Oh, wait.

Actually, it wasn’t just two hundred billion, but at least one trillion.

Because those three thousand high-grade elemental materials, including five hundred top-tier elemental materials, had not been given away at all.

In fact, by now, they had long since understood Gao Neng’s plan.

The three thousand elemental materials were merely bait. And most importantly, aside from looking at this bait, you couldn’t obtain a single stalk.

That was the truly brilliant part of Gao Neng’s scheme.

"The Elixir Medicine Federation is under the direct leadership of the Supreme Council; it’s the most direct bridge between the Supreme Council and the sects and noble families. If Gao Neng becomes the chairman of the Elixir Medicine Federation, he can naturally become a member of the Supreme Council," one director said excitedly.

"Exactly. And once Gao Neng controls the Elixir Medicine Federation, he’ll essentially become the communication channel between the sects, the noble families, and the Supreme Council. As long as our Celestial King Group supports him financially and maintains good relations with the major sects and families, how could they not support his bid for the position of Supreme Council Speaker?" another director nodded.

"Killing two birds with one stone!" the third director affirmed.

"Do you really think Gao Neng went to all this trouble to become chairman of the Elixir Medicine Federation just to be a ’middleman’ between the sects, noble families, and the Supreme Council?" Fang Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Isn’t that it?" the three directors asked, confused.

"Have you ever heard the old saying? ’A newborn calf isn’t afraid of a tiger.’ Gao Neng has his sights set on becoming the Supreme Council’s Speaker. Why do you think he’s fighting for this position?" Fang Yuan didn’t answer their question directly.

"For power, naturally..."

"Gao Neng isn’t someone who acts solely for power. He’s likely doing it for that cat. Or rather... he’s doing it so he can make a decision," Fang Yuan said, tilting his head back.

"Make a decision? Chairman, you mean...?"

"If he’s going to make a decision, then he certainly won’t be like the previous Speakers, acting merely as a middleman for the sects and noble families..." As Fang Yuan spoke, his eyes began to shine.

"Don’t tell me he also wants to..." The three directors didn’t finish their sentence, because just as they were speaking, the curtain of a private room on the second floor was suddenly drawn open.

The first person to walk out was a woman.

She looked to be only in her thirties, with an ethereal, fairy-like aura. She wore a long white dress, and between her two curved, willow-leaf eyebrows rested a beauty mark.

She looked down at the crowd below, a serene smile on her lips.

When the sect leaders and patriarchs of the sects and noble families below saw this woman, they were all slightly startled, and then immediately bowed respectfully.

"Fairy Liu!"

"Fairy Liu?" Gao Neng’s gaze fell on the woman who had walked out of the private room. Then, he subconsciously glanced at Luna, who was standing not far away.

Before seeing this Fairy Liu, he had always thought that Luna maintained her youth remarkably well.

But after Fairy Liu appeared, he finally understood that people who grew younger with age truly existed, and one was standing right in front of him.

Before Gao Neng could think any further, Fairy Liu leaped into the air.

SWOOSH!

She landed in front of Gao Neng.

And besides Fairy Liu, there were two familiar figures—none other than Li Tiannan and Sword Elder.

The two flanked Fairy Liu, one on her left and one on her right, like a pair of Flower Guardians, never leaving her side.

Gao Neng felt there was probably a story there.

But that was clearly not the most important thing. Because after Li Tiannan, Sword Elder, and Fairy Liu appeared, two more figures landed in front of him.

Furthermore, one of these two stood in front of Fairy Liu.

This signified his status.

(It’s the last day of June, and July is just around the corner! If you have monthly tickets, hurry up and vote!)