Chapter 256 - - 254 Rapidly Increasing Strength_1

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A path that seemed deformed, but still a normal route of development.

Just like how civilizations on the technology side were developing starships capable of traversing the universe, the people of this world modified their bodies with the planet’s spiritual energy, gradually gaining the ability to cross the universe and search for new civilizations.

That’s why, in the Mahayana Stage, cultivators aimed to fill every cell in their body with spiritual energy.

Clearly, to explore the universe, one needed to accumulate a sufficient amount of energy.

But their approach was likely misguided.

Mahayana practitioners probably didn’t realize how vast the distances between stars were.

Depending on the amount of energy they had stored in their bodies, it was utterly insufficient for interstellar travel—most cultivators who ventured into the starry sky ended up dead.

Nevertheless, those who sacrificed themselves for the sake of civilization’s future were truly commendable for their courage…

…

Under Mountain Academy.

Watching the newly updated top ten list, the expressions on Luo Cang and Shi Chunqi’s faces weren’t too pleasant.

“How did he do it?” Shi Chunqi paced back and forth, “Zuo Zhonghou is at Lanning Temple, Chi Shiwen is at Heavenly Demon Palace, both sects possess Mahayana stages and are far stronger than the Supervisory Academy. How could Wang Chong possibly take out two people at the same time?”

“…” Luo Cang was full of doubt, “Is Wang Chong’s key phrase really related to the economy?”

“Looking at Wang Chong’s history, apart from building industries to make money, he hasn’t done much else. If not an economic keyword, then what?” Shi Chunqi said, “He took advantage of information asymmetry, self-regulated, raised funds at the fastest speed, enhanced his attributes, and then accelerated his own cultivation. Finally, he launched a blitz with his high cultivation level…”

“But Lanning Temple and the Heavenly Demon Palace have Mahayana practitioners,” Luo Cang said. “Even if those in the Mahayana Stage don’t intervene, the Integration Realm is still there to oversee. It’s only been a little over three months. No matter how fast his cultivation speed is, at most he could only reach the Divinity Transformation Realm, which is two levels below the Integration Realm. Bear in mind, both of us in the top ten are merely at the Golden Core Realm.”

“Old Luo, you can’t think like that. Wang Chong’s influence is greater than all of us combined, and his attributes are off the charts. When he fought Dan Cong, he was already at the Divinity Transformation Realm. With all this time passed, he must at least be at the Void Refinement Realm,” Shi Chunqi said.

“Void Refinement?” Luo Cang looked at Shi Chunqi. “Aren’t you overestimating him? Even if he chews on spirit stones day and night, he couldn’t accumulate that much spiritual power!”

“Treating him as if he’s at the Void Refinement Realm, it would be easier to fight if we discover he’s actually at the Divinity Transformation Realm, right?” Shi Chunqi smiled, “Also, we can’t overlook that Dan Cong is with him. When Wang Chong launched a surprise attack on the Capital City, Dan Cong summoned a black dragon. We weren’t present, so we can’t assess the combat power of that black dragon.

But it’s undeniable that Wang Chong’s rise is inseparable from Dan Cong. Together, they have four skills. Their skill synergy is terrifying. That’s probably why they could kill Zuo Zhonghou at Lanning Temple…”

“So, to take down Wang Chong, we first need to destroy the economic system he’s built up. Next, we take out Dan Cong.” Luo Cang analyzed, “Dan Cong has published a lot of poetry and articles in the Capital City. His key phrase should be related to culture, which is easy to deduce.”

“Start with public opinion,” Shi Chunqi said. “Under Mountain Academy has top scholars. We can brand Dan Cong as a plagiarist through our teachers, tarnish his public reputation, and significantly reduce his clout. Then, we hire people to publish classic poetry en masse to dilute his influence…”

“Hmm,” Luo Cang nodded, “As for Wang Chong, I will pressure Yan Country through Heaven’s Path Institute to remove the Supervisory Academy’s protection over Seven Star Mountain. Then, we’ll mobilize some experts to strike at Seven Star Gate and other small sects, completely annihilating them to cause widespread panic, ideally leading the masses to sell off their stocks in droves.”

“Still not enough,” Shi Chunqi said. “We can exchange spirit stones for a large amount of silver coins and manipulate the stock market with money, stealing Wang Chong’s funds. Once his financial chain breaks and all his projects grind to a halt, he will naturally collapse.”

“Wang Chong controls the Supervisory Academy, and his cultivation speed is very fast; he probably isn’t short on spirit stones,” Luo Cang frowned slightly.

“No matter what, we must try,” Shi Chunqi smiled, “I’m planning to persuade Under Mountain Academy to go public for fundraising, issuing stocks…”

“Right, let’s each do our part,” Luo Cang said, “if we don’t make a move now, we’ll really be defeated by Wang Chong one by one. I’ll make another trip to Longevity Residence to contact Yin Juntang.”

“Good, Brother Luo, proceed,” Shi Chunqi stood up and clasped his fist towards Luo Cang, “Once I’ve arranged things at Under Mountain Academy, I’ll send someone to Lanning Temple to find out what happened. Then I’ll go to Blue Sea Palace to liaise with Niu Zilian and Qi Zongwang. Wang Chong is developing too quickly. We need more allies to suppress him together…”

The two reached an agreement to join forces against Wang Chong but tacitly avoided asking about each other’s abilities.

…

It wasn’t just Luo Cang and Shi Chunqi who were on the move.

Others who realized the danger were rallying to Lanning Temple, helping to bond broken arms and win over hearts.

Various upheavals erupted throughout Yan Country.

Many of Wang Chong’s project sites suffered from sabotage by cultivators and had to halt construction;

Some bought large quantities of shares, artificially inflated stock prices, and then sold them off, triggering panic;

Large-scale bloodshed occurred at stock exchanges across the land, with Supervisory Academy cultivators being publicly executed;

Sects that had fallen under Wang Chong’s influence were annihilated;

More newspapers appeared like mushrooms after the rain, detailing the perils of stocks…

…

Panic quickly spread throughout Yan Country.

The smear campaign against Dan Cong didn’t even make a splash; when you’re struggling to have food, who cares about poetry?

The public, fearing their stocks would become worthless paper, flocked to the exchanges to sell.

Soon enough, everyone realized that no one wanted to buy their shares.

Even following an announcement by Seven Star Gate declaring “Due to unforeseen circumstances, the stock exchanges will temporarily close. Fellow investors, please remain calm. Once we quell the rebellion, trading will resume,” one exchange after another began to shut down.

Investors were teetering on the brink of a complete collapse.

At this point, they didn’t even know who to sell their stocks to.

Secured loans were out of the question.

Construction projects were halted, and the stocks in their hands had become worthless paper…

The entire Yan Country was plunged into turmoil.

The government offices were filled with lawsuits against Seven Star Gate and Wang Chong.

Rich merchants like Fang Shan, who were in charge of managing the stock market, were chased down and blockaded by the populace. They had no choice but to hide within the major sects, shivering with fear, yet helpless. Both overtly and covertly, they complained about Seven Star Gate.

As stocks plummeted, their amassed wealth had also significantly shrunk.

In various places across Yan Country, people, unable to survive, were rising up in revolt…

After all.

They had invested their lifetime, even generations’ worth of wealth, in purchasing stocks, and now they simply couldn’t survive anymore.

The commercial system that Wang Chong had established disintegrated in just over a dozen days.

…

While Alien Warriors were displaying their divine skills and sabotaging Duge’s hard work.

Duge was also busy. In cooperation with several Mahayana Stage experts such as Zhuo Shaoan, Hong Ren, and Hong Jie, he successively took control of Heavenly Demon Palace and Blue Sea Palace, performing countless surgeries.

Now.

“Knee surgery,” “stitching up,” he could do it all with his eyes closed.

During that time.

Duge made a side trip to Qing Country, and he plucked the princess of Daqing Country’s head right off.

He added another warrior called Yan Shengtian to the top ten. His identity was that of a Ranger, not belonging to any sect.

The princess of Daqing Country’s keyword was “mentorship,” which allowed her disciples to follow her orders with absolute loyalty, enhancing their comprehension and enabling her to siphon the Spiritual Power cultivated by her disciples for her own use.

A keyword that, in the later stages, could be invincible.

But Mo Yingjun’s development was too slow,

By the time Duge found her, she had only shared the Realm and Spiritual Power of one Integration Realm disciple, which was impressive by any standard.

Unfortunately, Duge’s development simply defied all reason.

With the Cultivation Level of the Mahayana Stage, even without using skills, he could easily take care of them.

Not to mention that those Alien Battlefield warriors, by cleverly destroying Duge’s industrial chain, thought they were smart.

All the wealth he had plundered didn’t have to be spat out, and Duge’s attributes had multiplied by an unknown factor.

Before.

The flying swords, empowered by Dan Cong with the attributes “sharp” and “lethal,” could still slash him, but now, they couldn’t even break his skin.

Duge had undeniably become the world’s foremost power.

At this time, Duge, by transporting the Spiritual Energy of a full cycle, a medium-sized sect’s Spiritual Energy would be drained empty by him, hardly slower than forcibly absorbing others’ powers.

Now.

For Duge to fight against those in Mahayana Stage was like an adult beating up a child; within three to five rounds, he could strip them completely, not leaving a single hair on them.

Of course.

Duge spared the princess some dignity, not stripping her publicly. He simply plucked off her head and then drifted away.

Stripping people of their clothes was because his power was insufficient, but extracting their organs was because he wanted to subjugate them.

When his power was overwhelmingly superior, and especially when the opponent had no value to him, Duge didn’t indulge in such malevolence. He simply cleaned them out crisply and neatly.

The emperor of Daqing Country watched as his daughter was killed, not daring to utter a harsh word. Instead, he felt grateful that Duge did not vent his anger on his country.

After Duge left, he immediately disbanded the female academy established by Mo Yingjun.

Niu Zilian and Qi Zongwang, both previously among the top ten along with Blue Sea Palace, were lucky that Shi Chunqi had happened to call them away, resulting in Duge missing them.

It must be said.

Their luck was indeed not bad.

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