I Can Control Resources

But this was just blatant bullying, wasn’t it?

Yi Qinglian wanted to rush forward, but in the end, she was stopped by Gao Neng. No matter how she struggled and dodged, she couldn’t escape his grasp.

Compared to Yi Qinglian, Shen Ning’Er appeared a little calmer, but only a little. Her brows were knitted tightly.

As for Fang Tangtang...

Gao Neng simply wrapped his other arm around her.

If he hadn’t, Fang Tangtang would have already leaped into the air with a kick aimed at Meng the Second. How could she have let him stand there for so long?

As Gao Neng nodded in agreement, the surrounding sects and families all looked at each other and smiled.

They couldn’t care less about Fang Tangtang’s anger. As long as Gao Neng agreed, the matter was settled.

’This is great!’

’We’ve run into a huge idiot!’

’Next up, the joyous bidding!’

"The West Alliance Lin Family is also willing to compete with Captain Gao!"

"The Huashan Ancient Sect is also willing to compete!"

"The Lingnan Sect is willing to have a friendly match with Captain Gao."

With Meng the Second leading the charge, the sects and families immediately livened up.

"Gao Neng, I know the real material formulas for alchemy. There’s something wrong with the prices they’re offering. You have to believe me!" Yi Qinglian finally couldn’t hold back any longer.

"Oh? Is there something wrong?" Gao Neng asked with a smile, looking at Yi Qinglian.

"Qinglian, stop your nonsense!" a voice full of authority rang out from the crowd.

"Father, if they’re going to make offers, they should at least be reasonable! What do you call this, just throwing out random prices?!" Yi Qinglian retorted loudly, biting her lip.

"Father, my sister has a point. We should stop this. At the very least, there should be a relatively fair price!" Yi Qingge nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

"The young master is right. We families and sects have our own rules. How can we act so recklessly?" an old man standing behind Yi Qingge spoke up.

When Yi Qinglian heard the old man behind Yi Qingge speak, her gaze grew even more determined. No longer caring about Gao Neng’s arm blocking her way, she rushed right in front of him.

"Gao Neng, I’m your assistant! I can help you appraise the value!"

"Alright!" Gao Neng smiled and nodded. Then, his gaze swept over the crowd. "However, since my original intention was to contribute the materials during this exchange, I think we can set the valuation a little higher. For example, how about we calculate it at twenty times the market price?"

"Twenty times?!" Yi Qinglian’s eyes went wide.

’What was that supposed to mean?’

’It was as if she hadn’t said a single word!’

The price Gao Neng was quoting was even more outrageous than the one Meng the Second had offered!

’Or just plain stupid!’

The surrounding sects and families, who had been a little displeased by Yi Qinglian’s words, were also stunned for a moment. Then, they erupted.

’We’ve really hit the jackpot with this super idiot!’

’Twenty times the market price...’

’Does Gao Neng really understand alchemy?’

Just as they were thinking this, Gao Neng spoke again. "Twenty times the market price, with Yi Qinglian in charge of evaluating the pill grade. Simply put, the higher the grade of the pill you refine, the more materials you will receive. Does anyone have any objections to this?"

"None!" The alchemists from the sects and families all shook their heads.

Even the old man who had been standing behind Yi Qingge said nothing more. After all, Gao Neng was doing this of his own free will. What more could he say?

"Since no one has any objections, I’ll state my conditions." Gao Neng once again pulled back Fang Tangtang, who was about to charge out.

"Please, speak, Captain Gao!"

"My condition is simple. The materials for the on-site alchemy must be paid for in advance by the challenger—and that includes my portion!" Gao Neng stated his condition with a smile.

This made the previously excited alchemists freeze once again.

’We have to front the cost of the materials?’

’What kind of condition is that?’

"That’s not right. When we joined this exchange, Speaker Wu made it very clear that the materials would be provided by Captain Gao. Why do we have to supply them now?" No one was a fool. Although they hadn’t figured out the meaning behind this condition, they still raised their doubts.

"Yes, that’s how it would be under normal rules. But this is a challenge, isn’t it? Since it’s a challenge, we naturally have to ensure fairness in the materials used. For example, if you use low-grade attribute materials while I use high-grade ones, the grade of the refined pills will certainly be different, right?" Gao Neng explained.

"..." The crowd fell silent, because what Gao Neng said was indeed a fact.

"If the materials are different, it’s naturally difficult to guarantee fairness. But if we all use high-grade and top-tier materials, that would be somewhat wasteful. After all, there are some alchemists here who can only refine low-grade pills. We need to ensure that everyone can participate and exchange ideas, correct?" Gao Neng continued.

"..." The crowd members looked at each other.

"And taking it a step further, since this is a challenge, there have to be some stakes, right? The stakes are simple: if you can beat me, I’ll give you twenty times the value in high-grade raw materials. But if you lose, then I’m sorry, but the two sets of raw materials you provided, along with the pills you refined, will all belong to me."

"So, Captain Gao, you mean that using the same materials, if we refine more finished pills than you, we can claim the reward of twenty times the materials’ value? And if we produce fewer than you, we only lose the raw materials used in the refinement?" an alchemist asked, having roughly understood Gao Neng’s meaning.

"That’s right, that’s exactly it!" Gao Neng confirmed.

"Then do we also get to decide the type of pill to be refined?" the alchemist asked again.

"Yes! The challenger will decide the type of pill for every single challenge. I will only be responsible for accepting them," Gao Neng affirmed once more.