185: Second Sister, this is called venture capital!

The void of the Shattered Star Sea was deathly silent.

Jin Qianwan, Chief Manager of the Myriad Spirits Chamber of Commerce's shipping routes, his hands trembling, pressed his Divine Soul brand onto that gilded Jade Slip contract.

The moment the branding was complete.

He seemed to have been drained of all his strength, collapsing onto the deck of his flagship, his eyes hollow.

Behind him, the high-level executives and guards of the Myriad Spirits Chamber of Commerce were as silent as cicadas in winter.

They looked at the fat man holding a golden abacus, smiling like a Maitreya Buddha, and felt more fear than when facing the most ferocious star pirates of the Shattered Star Sea.

Wang Duojin put away the contract with satisfaction, stroking it as if he couldn't bear to let it go.

"Chief Manager Jin, that's more like it."

"Only through cooperation can we achieve a win-win situation."

He patted Jin Qianwan's shoulder, his tone as friendly as an old friend who hadn't met for years.

"From now on, your fleet is our fleet."

"Rest assured, by working with us, we won't treat you unfairly."

Jin Qianwan's lips trembled, unable to say a single word.

What could he say?

What did he dare to say?

...Spirit Frost Divine Hall.

Upon the Frigid Ice Throne, Su Linger quietly watched everything happening in the water mirror.

Wang Duojin's mercenary and roguish face caused a trace of helplessness to flicker in her cold eyes.

Third Junior Brother's style of doing things was always so... unique.

But she also had to admit that it was very effective.

Revered Master once said that when dealing with different people, one must use different reasoning.

When dealing with merchants, Third Junior Brother's abacus was the ultimate reasoning.

"Second Senior Sister!"

Wang Duojin's figure excitedly teleported in from outside, interrupting Su Linger's thoughts.

He waved the contract he had just signed, his face glowing as if it weren't a contract, but a key to endless wealth.

"It's done! Second Senior Sister! Our first Golden Partner!"

"This protection fee... no, this franchise fee, he paid it willingly!"

Su Linger looked at his money-grubbing appearance and spoke indifferently.

"He doesn't look very willing."

"Oh, don't worry about the details! The result is what matters most!"

Wang Duojin leaned toward the throne, his eyes shining.

"Second Senior Sister, for the next step, shouldn't we go to the headquarters of the Myriad Spirits Chamber of Commerce to talk about contracting the logistics business for the entire Immortal Realm?"

"As long as we monopolize the shipping, Immortal Stones will come rolling in!"

Su Linger slowly shook her head.

She stood up and walked to the crystal wall at the edge of the hall, gazing at the fragmented and magnificent sea of stars outside.

"Third Junior Brother, your vision is still too small."

Wang Duojin was taken aback.

Su Linger's gaze pierced through the endless asteroid belt, looking toward the eternally rotating storm in the deepest part of the Shattered Star Sea.

That is the Eye of the Storm.

It is a recognized Forbidden Ground in the Immortal Realm; even Immortal Lord experts risk falling if they step inside.

"The Myriad Spirits Chamber of Commerce is nothing more than duckweed on the water's surface."

Su Linger's voice was cold and firm.

"What I want is to control the undercurrents beneath the water."

"This shipping route is not just a business."

She extended her slender jade finger and pointed at the position of the Eye of the Storm on the crystal wall.

"There, something is calling to me."

Since she refined the Frostfall Ancient Domain, her Spiritual Frost Dao Body had gained a deeper resonance with the ice and snow Laws of this world.

Just now, at the moment the Divine Hall's main cannon shattered the Chaotic Star Alliance, she felt an extremely pure and ancient aura of the frost Origin from the deepest part of the Shattered Star Sea.

That aura created a strong attraction with her Empress Lingshuang Origin.

Wang Duojin looked in the direction she pointed, and his expression changed instantly.

"Second Senior Sister, that place is the Eye of the Storm! It's a Forbidden Ground where even an Immortal Lord might not come out!"

He stomped his feet in anxiety.

"No, no, the risk is too great! How about we call for backup? Call Senior Brother... no, just call Revered Master!"

In Wang Duojin's view, no business was worth risking one's life for.

Especially his Second Senior Sister's life.

Su Linger turned back, looking at the anxious Wang Duojin, a trace of warmth appearing in her cold eyes.

"Revered Master's path is Revered Master's."

"Senior Brother's path is Senior Brother's."

Her voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable resolve.

"I, too, have my own path to walk."

"Revered Master bestowed the Divine Hall fleet upon me as a tool to establish rules, not as a shell to hide behind."

"If I don't even dare to take this small risk, how can I take charge of the Myriad Dao Pavilion and plant Revered Master's banner across the heavens and myriad realms?"

Wang Duojin opened his mouth but ultimately swallowed his words of persuasion.

He knew that once Second Senior Sister made a decision, no one could change it.

Just like Senior Brother's sword, once unsheathed, life and death must be decided... Meanwhile.

The Central Region, one of the nine great sword Dao Holy Lands of the Immortal Realm, Sword Capital.

On a massive floating stone platform called the 'Sword Inquiry Platform,' two figures were engaged in a fierce clash.

Sword Qi crisscrossed, and Laws collided.

Every strike caused the void to tremble, and the countless Sword Cultivators watching below erupted in cheers.

"It's the 'Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal' and the 'Water-Severing Sword Immortal'! They are renowned experts among the Golden Immortal realm!"

"This battle will surely determine who is the number one of the younger generation in Sword Capital!"

In a restaurant opposite the Sword Inquiry Platform.

By the window, a young man dressed in green with an ancient sword on his back was calmly drinking tea.

He looked at the incredibly magnificent sword moves on the stage and gently shook his head.

The sword moves were magnificent, but they had lost their essence.

The Sword Intent was scattered, not condensed into a single point.

Their swords were for others to see.

Not for killing.

Ye Chenfeng put down his teacup, feeling slightly disappointed.

Since the battle in the Western Region, he had broken through to the Golden Immortal realm and followed Revered Master's guidance to come to Sword Capital seeking tempering.

But after several days, all the swords he had seen were like this.

Just as he was preparing to leave.

His expression suddenly shifted, and his Chaos Sword Pupils opened involuntarily.

His gaze passed through the bustling streets toward the most remote and dilapidated corner of Sword Capital.

There, there was an inconspicuous blacksmith shop.

An old blacksmith with a bare torso and knotted muscles was swinging an ordinary iron hammer, striking a red-hot iron billet over and over again.

There was no fluctuation of immortal essence.

No Laws were manifest.

Only the purest, most tempered focus.

But in Ye Chenfeng's eyes.

Every swing of the old blacksmith's hammer seemed to contain the power to create heaven and earth.

Every strike perfectly aligned with some ultimate truth between heaven and earth.

That wasn't forging iron.

That was refining a sword.

Ye Chenfeng's breath hitched slightly.

The disappointment in his eyes completely faded, replaced by an unprecedented heat.

This is what a sword truly is.

He stood up, placed the money for the tea on the table, and with a flash of his figure, disappeared from the restaurant... Shattered Star Sea.

The edge of the Eye of the Storm.

Su Linger stood at the bow of the Spirit Frost Divine Hall, her white clothes as pure as snow.

She handed over temporary command of the fleet to Wang Duojin.

"Third Junior Brother, I'm leaving this place to you."

"In your own way, let them know who the Revered Master here is."

Wang Duojin held a stack of freshly made gilded contracts, looking at the terrifying storm ahead that swallowed everything, his face filled with worry.

But he still nodded heavily.

"Don't worry, Second Senior Sister! I guarantee the mission will be completed!"

He said solemnly.

"But you alone..."

Before he could finish his sentence.

Su Linger's figure had already turned into a streak of light, plunging directly into that chaotic and violent nebula storm without a moment's hesitation.

Like a moth flying into a flame.

Wang Duojin stared blankly as the white figure disappeared at the end of his vision, speechless for a long time.

After a long while.

He took a deep breath, turned around, and the worried expression on his face was instantly replaced by a shrewd business smile.

The golden abacus in his hand crackled as he flicked it, sounding like a war machine about to fire.

"Alright! Bosses! Let's talk about the specific details of 'Myriad Dao Express Delivery's' share dividends!"

"I'm telling you, these are original shares! Once this opportunity is gone, it's gone!"