I Can Control Resources

Li Tiannan then unfolded the map in his hands.

It was densely covered with all sorts of red dots. In the areas marked by these dots, there were even detailed notes and explanations.

Some notes listed the quantity of materials at a specific location, while others described the surrounding environment, pinpointing details down to a particular rock or gully.

In other words, the map was incredibly detailed.

Li Tiannan was stunned after just a single glance. According to the markings, he could gather at least eight hundred stalks of attribute materials.

Most importantly, Gao Neng had just said this was only a portion of what he knew.

’What does that mean?’

’It means Gao Neng knows about other locations, too. He just hasn’t had the time to draw them all out for me yet.’

Li Tiannan was utterly shocked.

A map this detailed was tantamount to handing all the attribute materials directly to the Military Department, yet Gao Neng only asked to buy them back at eighty percent of the market price?

’Shouldn’t he have asked for thirty percent of the price? Wouldn’t that be more reasonable?’

"Master, you jest. How could we call it a partnership at thirty or fifty percent of the price?" Gao Neng said, looking at Li Tiannan with great seriousness. He then continued, "Eighty percent. That is my acquisition price. I’ll buy as many as you can gather. The Celestial King Group can pay directly in Alliance Coins or with elixirs. Of course, the price of the elixirs will remain at one-tenth of the market price."

"You’re saying the Military Department gathers the raw materials, sells them to the Celestial King Group at eighty percent of the market price, and then the Celestial King Group sells the elixirs back to the Military Department at one-tenth of the market price?" Li Tiannan was truly stunned now.

’This kind of partnership...’

’It’s practically giving elixirs away for free!’

Gao Neng points out the locations of the attribute materials, has the Military Department gather them, and once they’re gathered, they sell the materials to the Celestial King Group. Finally, the Celestial King Group sells the elixirs back to the Military Department.

No matter how you looked at it, the Military Department was making an absolute killing!

"That’s right. This is my attitude toward a partnership." Gao Neng nodded seriously, then turned to face the surrounding sects and noble families. "I wonder, ladies and gentlemen, are you willing to partner with me?"

"..." Silence.

All the sects and noble families fell silent.

Even the few sects and noble families that had been arguing just moments ago were now completely quiet. The reality of the situation had dawned on them as well.

On the surface, Gao Neng was just one person.

But in reality...

A single Gao Neng was equivalent to an entire, self-contained supply chain.

From gathering attribute materials, to the alchemy that produced the elixirs, and finally, to setting the prices and the rules of the market—Gao Neng held it all in the palm of his hand.

’How are we supposed to compete with that?’

’There’s no way to compete at all!’

He didn’t need any of them. He could dominate the entire industry all by himself.

’You want to control him?’

’How could you possibly control him?!’

"It seems you all understand now. That’s right. Not only do I have a one-hundred-percent success rate with alchemy, but I also have access to a massive supply of materials. If I wished, I could gather not just three thousand stalks, but thirty thousand." Seeing that the surrounding sects and noble families remained silent, Gao Neng spoke again.

"..." The members of the sects and noble families all looked at one another, dumbfounded.

’This is just outrageous!’

And yet, they were rendered speechless.

"You say I’m disrupting the market? You’re right, I am. But I ask you, Sect Leaders and Noble Family Heads, to think carefully: what is more important? This so-called market, or the survival of the Human Alliance!" Gao Neng’s gaze once again swept across the crowd.

"Gao Neng, just be straight with us. What is it you’re trying to do?"

"What am I trying to do? Hmm... It’s simple. I’m going to completely reshuffle the entire Elixir Market, and while I’m at it, I’ll reshuffle all the sects and noble families, too!" Gao Neng declared, his gaze defiant.

"Aren’t you afraid of biting off more than you can chew?!"

"Why should I be? I’m selling Attribute Elixirs at one-tenth of the market price. You think I’m disrupting the market because you believe I can’t possibly supply the entire Alliance’s demand for elixirs by myself. But what I’m telling you now is that I *can*. In that case, am I still disrupting the market?" Gao Neng took a step forward.

"..." The crowd fell silent once more.

"Too many people can’t afford elixirs because the price of Attribute Elixirs is too high, preventing them from breaking through from the mid-tier to the high-tier. I imagine... that even your own sects and noble families face this same problem, do they not?" Gao Neng turned his head and glanced at Yi Qinglian beside him.

He recalled that on his first day in the Underground City, Yi Qinglian had proposed buying his Alliance Points with Alliance Coins.

Why?

For attribute materials!

And what was Yi Qinglian’s identity?

She was the young lady of the West Alliance Yi Family, the successor to the title of Saintess in the Bright Sect. Her status could be considered among the absolute top tier of all the sects and noble families.

But even someone like Yi Qinglian had a desperate craving for attribute materials.

Then there was Li Tiannan.

A Strongest!

One of the top figures in the entire Alliance.

Even a man like him couldn’t resist the temptation of a single Celestial Thunder Extremity Pill. If Fang Yuan hadn’t offered a price that made Li Tiannan feel like he was getting an incredible bargain, Gao Neng had no doubt that Li Tiannan would have simply taken it by force.

"..." Yi Qinglian said nothing, but the look in her eyes was telling.

Gao Neng’s gaze shifted to Shen Ning’Er.

If he remembered correctly, Shen Ning’Er had also once mentioned that Attribute Elixirs were so rare that, despite her ambitions, she had only managed to cultivate two attributes in the end.

The same was true for Fang Tangtang.

Fang Yuan had gone to great expense for the sole purpose of sending Fang Tangtang to the Underground City so she could have access to the Attribute Elixirs supplied by the Alliance.

’Were these people short on money?’

From an ordinary person’s perspective, Yi Qinglian, Shen Ning’Er, and Fang Tangtang all had more money than they could ever spend.

Yet they all had one thing in common.

They were desperate for Attribute Elixirs!

Gao Neng’s gaze swept past Fang Tangtang’s face one last time before he turned back to face the silent sects and noble families.

"I will state this one more time! The Celestial King Group will be selling Attribute Elixirs to the public at one-tenth of the market price. Furthermore, the supply will be unlimited. If you want to buy, you can buy them right now. I have four hundred elixirs here, all of which I successfully produced just moments ago," Gao Neng announced.

"We can buy them right now?!" The heads of the sects and noble families grew excited.

’One-tenth of the market price!’

’Where they could once only afford a single elixir, they could now buy ten.’

’How could they not be tempted?’

It was impossible not to be tempted!

"As for the attribute materials you possess, I won’t force your hand. If you’re willing, you can sell them to me at the normal market price. If not, you’re free to use them for your own alchemy," Gao Neng continued.

"..." The heads of the sects and noble families exchanged glances once more.

In the past, as soon as they obtained attribute materials, they would naturally have them refined into elixirs and then sell them on the market.

But now, with the Celestial King Group selling at one-tenth the price...

’Could they still do that?’

’Only an idiot would do that!’

The reason was simple. Say you could sell the raw materials needed for one Attribute Elixir for ten million, but you could buy a finished elixir for only five million. Would you rather sell the materials or go through the trouble of alchemy?

’It’s more profitable to sell the raw materials than to sell the finished elixirs...’

’Who the hell would have ever believed it?’

"Gao Neng, are you absolutely certain? All elixirs at one-tenth the price, with an unlimited supply?" a Noble Family Head finally asked, gritting his teeth as he stepped out from the crowd. It was none other than the Patriarch of the West Alliance Yi Family—Yi Qinglian’s father.

"Of course." Gao Neng smiled. ’The main representative has finally stepped up.’

"If you were selling elixirs at half the market price, I could believe you could sustain it. But one-tenth... how can you possibly maintain a long-term supply? To put it simply, your cost to acquire the materials is higher than your selling price for the elixirs. Even with the financial might of the Celestial King Group, you couldn’t keep that up for long, could you?" Patriarch Yi pressed.

"Patriarch Yi is correct. Under normal circumstances, that would indeed be the case. But has Patriarch Yi forgotten something important?" Gao Neng pointed toward the three thousand high-tier attribute materials in the exhibition hall.

"You mean..." Patriarch Yi’s eyes instantly narrowed.

"Exactly. I possess the ability to control evolutionary energy, a fact I’m sure you are all aware of. Therefore, I can evolve attribute materials to a high tier for a minuscule cost. For example, three days ago I received two hundred billion in funding from the Celestial King Group. I used that two hundred billion to purchase all sorts of low-tier materials required for evolution. Then, I added my evolutionary energy, and the result is the three thousand stalks of high-tier materials you see now!" Gao Neng explained nonchalantly.

"Two hundred billion... evolved into three thousand stalks of high-tier materials?" Upon hearing this, the expression on Patriarch Yi’s face finally changed.

The market value for three thousand stalks of high-tier materials was at least several trillion!

That was a five-fold, or even ten-fold, return on investment!

With that kind of profit margin, the more materials the Celestial King Group acquired, the more they would earn, because his evolutionary energy didn’t cost a single coin.

"It seems Patriarch Yi has figured it out. That’s right. Let’s say I spend ten million to acquire attribute materials. In reality, I can turn those ten million into materials worth two hundred million. Then, I turn those materials into elixirs, and finally, I sell them to the market at one-tenth of the standard price... Does anyone here still think I won’t be able to sustain this?" As he finished, a powerful aura of confidence radiated from him.

"..." The expressions on the faces of the various sect and family heads all changed drastically.

’Not being able to sustain it? What the hell!’

With that kind of profit snowballing, the Celestial King Group’s market value would multiply dozens of times over in less than half a year. He wasn’t just sustaining it; he was making an absolute killing, wasn’t he?

’This is terrifying!’

’The man was clearly using a cheat code!’