I Can Control Resources

"Ghost Lightning Art?" Gao Neng understood immediately. This Ghost Lightning Art was probably the liquid lightning Li Tiannan had used against the Dark Ghost Vine.

For Li Tiannan to pass the Ghost Lightning Art to him at this moment, the meaning was already quite clear. It was a sign of Li Tiannan’s absolute trust in him.

Gao Neng was touched.

He had become Li Tiannan’s apprentice by sheer coincidence, but after that, Li Tiannan had taken very good care of him.

Gao Neng quickly put the secret manual away, then brewed another cup of tea for Li Tiannan, casually tossing in two precious fruits meant for nourishing one’s health.

Li Tiannan watched all this without being too polite about it.

’The Ghost Lightning Art in exchange for two fruits...’

’He was getting the short end of this deal.’

Just as he was thinking this, he heard Gao Neng speak.

"Master, I want to be the Speaker."

"PFFT!" The tea Li Tiannan had just swallowed immediately sprayed out of his mouth.

’What the hell?’

’Couldn’t you have waited until after I finished my tea to make a joke like that?’

Li Tiannan was thoroughly annoyed.

’What a waste of good fruit.’

Gao Neng, for his part, was also a little annoyed.

’It’s one thing for Fang Tangtang to do a spit-take. It’s understandable for Wu Qingjing and Yutian to do it, too. But for you, a Strongest, to be spraying tea everywhere? Isn’t that a bit much?’

"Is it really that funny?" Gao Neng nonchalantly tossed another fruit into his own cup, then popped it into his mouth and started chewing.

"What do you mean, ’is it that funny’... Wait, you’re not joking? You’re serious?" Hearing Gao Neng’s words, Li Tiannan instantly realized.

"Of course I’m serious. Do I look like the kind of person who jokes around? Master, I heard everything Sword Elder said yesterday very clearly." Gao Neng found a chair and sat down.

"What did Sword Elder say?"

"He said he’s better at teaching apprentices than you are. He even said that the Military Department’s Commander-in-Chief, Qin Jianfei, is his apprentice. Aren’t you the least bit angry?"

"Angry? Why would I be angry? What that Elder Jian said is true. He is pretty good at teaching his apprentices. And it’s a fact that Qin Jianfei is his apprentice."

"So, Master, you don’t want an apprentice who’s the Speaker?" Gao Neng paused here, his gaze subtly shifting to Li Tiannan’s eyes.

In Li Tiannan’s eyes, he saw a faint glint of light, but it quickly vanished, and his expression returned to calm in an instant.

’What did that mean?’

’It meant that Li Tiannan was tempted by the idea, but his outward reaction was extremely rational.’

And things unfolded just as Gao Neng had expected.

After a moment of silence, Li Tiannan began to curse, "You rotten brat, you’ve really got some nerve. Do you have any idea what position the Speaker holds in the Federation?"

"The highest-ranking administrative official," Gao Neng said with a pout.

"Oh, so the little brat knows about the highest-ranking administrative official? Then do you know how Wu Qingjing became the Speaker of the Supreme Council?"

"I heard him say himself that he worked in the Federation Government Building for nearly thirty years and climbed his way up step by step?" Gao Neng threw out what Wu Qingjing had said before.

"Bullshit. You think you can become the Speaker just by working in the Government Building for twenty or thirty years? The things involved are far beyond what a brat like you can imagine."

"But you know, don’t you, Master?"

"Of course I know... Wait, what are you getting at? Let me tell you, don’t even think about it. Even though we are the Strongest, we absolutely do not interfere in the specific affairs of the Federation. That’s a line between the Strongest that no one will cross!" Li Tiannan’s eyes narrowed as he refused without a second thought.

"You’re overthinking it, Master. Since I’m the one saying I want to become Speaker, I’ll naturally do it with my own abilities!" Gao Neng naturally knew what Li Tiannan was thinking.

In fact, he had never really thought he could become the Speaker of the Federation Council just by relying on Li Tiannan. That would have been far too naive.

The Federation had twenty Strongest.

But there was only one Speaker of the Supreme Council.

"With your own abilities? Heh, you brat, you’re getting more and more full of yourself. But sometimes, you need to remember that there’s always a higher mountain." Li Tiannan chuckled.

Gao Neng didn’t say anything.

He knew that Li Tiannan would definitely continue.

Sure enough, Li Tiannan found a chair and sat down, his gaze drifting out the window. "Brat, do you know why the great families and sects are able to occupy a central position in the Federation?"

"Because of their historical foundations?" Gao Neng asked tentatively.

"After the Great Cataclysm, things like historical foundations vanished long ago. But the sects are still sects, and the great families are still great families. Do you know the real reason why?"

"I don’t." Gao Neng shook his head.

"Then you should know what resource the Federation values most."

"Elemental materials?"

"Correct. But just having raw elemental materials isn’t enough. For a person to break through from the middle-tier to the high-tier, or even to keep advancing within the high-tier, they need to refine those materials into medicinal pills!" Li Tiannan continued.

"You’re talking about Alchemy, Master?"

"Exactly. Alchemy. After the Great Cataclysm, Energy Warriors rose to prominence, and raw elemental materials naturally became a key point of contention. But people later realized that raw materials alone weren’t enough. If you couldn’t refine them into medicinal pills, they were basically no different from scrap."

Li Tiannan paused slightly here before continuing, "The true foundation of the sects and the great families is this: they have mastered Alchemy!"