I Can Control Resources

They had truly never expected Gao Neng to voluntarily refuse compensation.

But just then, Gao Neng spoke again.

"Material compensation is completely unnecessary. After all, I have plenty of money, and I’m not lacking in attribute materials. As for things like alchemy, I can do that myself. So, I think if the Elixir Medicine Federation really wants to compensate me for something, you might as well just make me the chairman."

"..." Secretary General Wang, Sheng Zhuhao, and Vice Chairman Lei were instantly stunned.

In fact, it wasn’t just them.

Wu Qingjing, Yutian, Yi Qinglian, and even the surrounding Alchemists and Noble Young Masters from various clans and families were slow to process what they had just heard from Gao Neng.

He didn’t want material compensation.

He wants... to be the chairman of the Elixir Medicine Federation?!

’Gao Neng, who do you think you are?!’

"Gao Neng, you’ve gone too far! We were only inspecting the authenticity of your elixirs for the sake of fairness, and you dare demand... demand that our Chairman Sheng step down? What makes you think you’re worthy? How dare you covet the position of chairman of the Elixir Medicine Federation?" Secretary General Wang was truly furious.

"For fairness? What fairness?" Gao Neng seemed completely unsurprised by Secretary General Wang’s fury; his expression was perfectly placid.

"For the fairness of today’s exchange competition, of course!" Secretary General Wang retorted without a second thought.

"Heh. In today’s exchange competition... is there any fairness that requires you, Secretary General Wang, to uphold?" Gao Neng asked again with a faint smile.

"Of course, there is fairness that needs..." Secretary General Wang was about to say more when he abruptly stopped.

"Go on, why did you stop? All three thousand of the high-grade attribute materials here today were provided by me, Gao Neng, alone. I didn’t ask for any money; it was all a selfless contribution. That seems... truly unfair, doesn’t it?" The smile on Gao Neng’s face grew wider.

"Yes, you’re not wrong, but..."

"But what? But if all the Alchemists lose to me, they’ll be terribly humiliated, right? And if they’re humiliated, then the Elixir Medicine Federation is humiliated, right?" Gao Neng pressed.

"Nonsense! That’s not it at all! Gao Neng, stop slandering decent people!" Cold sweat beaded on Secretary General Wang’s forehead once more.

"Oh, so you do know that speaking like that counts as slander? I perform a little alchemy with a one-hundred-percent success rate, and your first thought isn’t that the Federation’s future is filled with hope, but that my elixirs must be fake. You’re even willing to risk your reputation to force an inspection. Fine. I agree to your inspection. But in that case, you’d better be prepared to stake your own reputations on the outcome!" Gao Neng’s eyes narrowed, his gaze turning razor-sharp.

"Gao Neng, you..."

"And a moment ago, you asked what makes me worthy, correct? Hmm... that’s a fair question. So, how is this ’worthiness’ to be judged? By you, the Elixir Medicine Federation? Or by one’s Alchemy Technique?" Gao Neng took a step forward.

"Naturally, by us... I mean, by one’s Alchemy Technique!" Secretary General Wang replied, instinctively taking a step back.

"Very good. You’re not a complete fool, Secretary General Wang. Since you said it’s judged by Alchemy Technique, let me ask you this: if I defeat every single Alchemist present here today, would my Alchemy Technique be enough for me to take the seat of the Elixir Medicine Federation’s chairman?" Gao Neng said.

"Of course it would be!" a voice declared.

The one who spoke was not Secretary General Wang, of course.

It was Chairman Sheng of the Elixir Medicine Federation.

Chairman Sheng stepped between Gao Neng and Secretary General Wang, gesturing to stop the latter from speaking further.

"If Captain Gao can defeat every Alchemist present here today, then what’s to stop me from handing over this chairman’s seat?" Chairman Sheng’s words were rather crafty.

This wasn’t about inspecting the authenticity of a few elixirs.

It was about defeating every single Alchemist in attendance.

The scope of this challenge extended far beyond the eighty competitors currently participating.

After all, everyone knew there were several other Alchemists present who had not joined the competition, including one who was standing in a private second-floor room at that very moment.

However, Gao Neng appeared not to have noticed the catch in Chairman Sheng’s words.

"Excellent. We’ll do as Chairman Sheng says. After I defeat everyone, I’ll ask Chairman Sheng to step down and make way for someone more capable. Heh..." Gao Neng chuckled, then turned to Secretary General Wang. "Secretary General Wang, please begin your inspection."

"This..." Secretary General Wang looked to Chairman Sheng.

"Inspect them," Chairman Sheng nodded.

"Right!" No longer hesitating, Secretary General Wang immediately returned to the second challenge area and began to carefully inspect the authenticity of the Sea Horse Pills.

Meanwhile, the Noble Young Masters from the surrounding clans and families looked at one another, their faces a mixture of bewilderment.

’It was supposed to be a simple elixir inspection.’

’How did it escalate into a wager for the Elixir Medicine Federation’s chairmanship?’

The whole situation felt bizarre, no matter how they looked at it.

Wu Qingjing and Yutian both frowned deeply. Gao Neng’s demand had truly caught them by surprise.

’To actually demand the chairmanship of the Elixir Medicine Federation?’

’What on earth is Gao Neng thinking?’

If there was anyone present who seemed to understand Gao Neng’s true intentions, it was the chairman of the Celestial King Group... Fang Yuan!

"So... that’s his real plan!" Fang Yuan muttered to himself.

"Chairman, are you referring to Gao Neng?"

"Naturally."

"What is his plan... Huh? Chairman, you mean he wants to..."

"Exactly. He’s aiming for the Speaker of the Supreme Council! This entire affair is actually one big gambit. How could I have not seen it sooner..." Fang Yuan shook his head as he spoke.

"If this whole thing is a gambit, then Gao Neng’s scheme is far too..."

"Brilliant!"

"If he actually succeeds, he might genuinely have a ten to twenty percent chance at the Speaker’s seat. Should we be putting our full support behind him?"

"Yes. If Gao Neng can secure the chairmanship of the Elixir Medicine Federation today, then our Celestial King Group will devote all our resources to helping him become the Speaker of the Supreme Council!" Fang Yuan’s gaze hardened, and his fists clenched tightly.

"Yes, sir!" the three directors replied in unison.

「In the private room on the second floor.」

Li Tiannan and Sword Elder exchanged a look.

This was especially true for Li Tiannan. He had actually known about Gao Neng’s ambition to vie for Speaker of the Supreme Council, but he hadn’t paid it much mind at the time.

’An eighteen-year-old brat, dreaming of becoming the Speaker? Is that even possible?’

Li Tiannan hadn’t even entertained the possibility.

But now, after hearing the exchange between Gao Neng and Chairman Sheng, he suddenly felt like he was starting to understand.

Putting aside the question of whether Gao Neng was truly being generous, there had been something odd about this exchange event from the very start.

Normally, holding an event like this wouldn’t require three thousand high-grade materials.

But Gao Neng had produced all three thousand high-grade materials in one go, without the slightest hesitation, holding nothing back.

’For what purpose?’

"So that’s what this is all about. That little brat... he’s thought this through completely!" Li Tiannan watched Secretary General Wang inspecting the pills down in the second challenge area, an unconscious smile touching his lips.

The results of the inspection weren’t out yet.

But he already knew the answer.

Gao Neng had paid such a high price to lay this trap, waiting for the Alchemists and the Elixir Medicine Federation to fall into it. Why would he possibly use fake elixirs now?

But, if the elixirs weren’t fake...

...then how on earth did the kid actually do it?

That was the one thing Li Tiannan couldn’t figure out.

But it didn’t matter anymore.

Because Secretary General Wang’s inspection results were in.

"These five Sea Horse Pills... they’re all... r-real!" Secretary General Wang announced, his voice trembling as he forced the words out.