178: Add another chapter with more than 3,000 words!

At eight o'clock in the evening, in the Tianxuan Pavilion room of the Nine Heavens Building.

The decor here is in the style of Cultivation, using spatial Dao techniques to expand the interior, making it like a Small World.

On the ceiling hung a simulated moon condensed from illusions and moon-based Dao techniques, with the stars of the cosmos slowly flowing across the ceiling, twinkling faintly. On the walls hung ancient flying dancer bas-reliefs, which seemed alive, dancing gracefully on the walls. Their Faces were delicate and beautiful, their skin fine and fair, their waists slender enough to be grasped with one hand, and under the moonlight, they appeared even fairer, pleasing to the eye and refreshing to the mind.

On the ground, a faint mist of Spiritual Qi flowed, nourishing the bodies of the Cultivators present, putting them in a state of relaxation.

The Materials used for the table were even more exquisite; Tang Gao looked at it for a long time but couldn't distinguish what kind of material it was. He could only tell that the table was beautifully crafted, with exquisitely carved Formations, truly impressive.

Looking around, Tang Gao sighed, “Truly impressive.”

No wonder this is a dining place for high-level Cultivators. Look at this prestige, look at the Materials and Formations. A bumpkin like me can't even tell how impressive it is.

A dancer Cultivator, dressed in light and elegant attire, with a beauty score of nine, stood by, brewed tea for Tang Gao, respectfully placed it in front of him, and then obediently retreated to the side, awaiting orders.

General Liu Zhen calmly took a sip of spirit tea: “Beauty is a bone-scraping knife; don't let it hinder your Cultivation.”

Tang Gao asked curiously, “Then how many times have you had your bones scraped?”

General Liu Zhen chuckled, “My beloved wife is a peerless beauty; she scrapes my bones every night.”

Tang Gao: "...?"

General Liu Zhen chuckled, “My bones are hard; they can withstand it. All right, they'll be coming in soon. You'd best keep up appearances, don't lose Face for our Qingcheng.

Oh? They're already here. You stay seated, I'll go greet them.”

General Liu Zhen's perception spanned space, detecting the arrival of the Zhao Family Old Ancestor. He stood up, used the Shrinking Ground technique, and vanished.

Tang Gao sat in the main seat, staring, envious of the awe-inspiring cultivation of these great figures.

Soon after, General Liu Zhen and the representatives from various local factions of Qingcheng, together with the Zhao Family Old Ancestor and high-ranking officials, walked in from the front courtyard, chatting and laughing.

If it weren't for the extremely serious and important nature of the upcoming discussion, from the outside, the atmosphere would have seemed like a joyous feast.

Zhao Shoucheng chuckled and teased Liu Town for a bit. Surrounded by the crowd, he walked in and saw a young man sitting in the main seat. He was slightly surprised, but then smiled, “It seems this is the representative of Pingdan Group. Truly, a young man of great achievement.”

Tang Gao stood up, chuckled, and cupped his hands, “It seems you are the Zhao Family Old Ancestor. I apologize for not coming out to greet you; my cultivation is still shallow, so I could only wait here.”

One does not strike a smiling person. At this moment, Tang Gao was still willing to put on a show.

Zhao Shoucheng smiled, walked directly to Tang Gao's side, sat in the seat next to him, and waved his hand with a smile, “Everyone, please be seated. This is a private meeting, so let's not make it too tense.”

General Liu Zhen sat to Tang Gao's right and said with a smile, “Yes, yes, the Old Ancestor is right. This time, I've only called a few representatives. These are the representatives from the Dan Yao Association, the Medical Association, the Business Alliance, and the Eight Great Families.”

Among these representatives, the most influential was the Business Alliance. The Business Alliance is responsible for the overall commercial system operation of the Xia Dynasty, holding immense weight and rarely making moves lightly.

During the last incident where Qingcheng's commercial system replaced its core production machines, the Business Alliance owed Liu Town a great favor, which is why they sent a representative to support Liu Town's current meeting.

Zhao Shoucheng glanced at the Business Alliance representative, then turned his head and deeply looked at Liu Town and Tang Gao, “You two are truly good at building connections.”

In Zhao Shoucheng's eyes, the ten great Families of Qingcheng were merely small fry. Liu Town's Military System held the most weight.

He didn't expect that the Business Alliance would also participate and assist Liu Town.

It seemed his own Family would lose a portion of its profit.

Zhao Shoucheng was still willing to give Face to the Military System and the Business Alliance.

Liu Town smiled faintly, waited for everyone to sit down, and waved his hand, signaling the dancer Cultivators to notify them to serve the dishes.

Tang Gao sat between the two of them, completely unburdened, calmly sipping his spirit tea. He even wanted to go online and call his teacher for a game of Heroic Glory, as they were definitely going to start haggling soon, which was incredibly boring.

“Timmy~”

Tang Gao took out his phone and immediately saw his teacher pushing ranks online. He made a reservation.

General Liu Zhen, seeing his demeanor, could only ignore Tang Gao and began to exchange pleasantries with Old Ancestor Zhao Shoucheng. After the dishes were served, they started praising each other, subtly displaying their strength and confidence while engaging in a fierce verbal battle and struggle for interests.

Tang Gao had no interest in this. He calmly played on his phone, double-queuing with his teacher, helping Li Caidan climb ranks.

Time passed bit by bit. In the blink of an eye, Tang Gao had finished three games.

General Liu Zhen took a sip of spirit tea to moisten his lips. Seeing Tang Gao destroy the enemy base, he nudged him with his elbow, “Alright, President Tang, it's your turn to speak.”

Tang Gao said goodbye to his teacher, closed the game, looked up, and smiled apologetically, “Sorry, could you remind me? I just forgot where you guys left off haggling.”

General Liu Zhen pursed his lips, “The Zhao Family Old Ancestor wants to invest capital and technology, planning to cooperate with us for mutual benefit. He wants to take 40% of the profit.”

Tang Gao raised an eyebrow, “40%? If he takes 40%, how much do I get? Won't I be left with nothing?”

Zhao Shoucheng chuckled, “Young man, don't rush. You won't be able to take over this entire state in a short time. Why don't we shake hands and cooperate for mutual benefit? I will let part of the market in this state support your development.

Correspondingly, regarding the Pill Formulas, I hope we can share what we have and seek common development.”

Zhao Shoucheng offered cooperation for mutual benefit and resource support as conditions in exchange for Pingdan Group's Pill Formulas, and also conceded a portion of the Mountain State's profit market to help Pingdan Group develop rapidly.

It's hard to say who wins or loses; one can only say that everyone gets what they need.

Overall, Zhao Shoucheng was somewhat restrained, unwilling to cause conflict over this.

Tang Gao smiled, looking at Zhao Shoucheng in front of him, “If I were a businessman, I'd be eager to accept your terms. To receive full support from the renowned Three-Leaf Clover Group, and such generous market profits—it's a treatment many people wouldn't even dare to dream of in a lifetime.

But.”

The atmosphere in the room grew cold.

General Liu Zhen kept his gaze straight ahead, sipping the spirit tea in front of him. He put down the teacup and meticulously examined the patterns on it.

This teacup was truly a teacup.

The representatives from all sides of Qingcheng simultaneously looked at the teacups in front of them, marveling at how these teacups were truly the finest art in the world.

When a great figure spoke, what else could they do but quietly await their future fate?

The smile on Zhao Shoucheng's Face receded slightly, and he sighed softly, “Speak. What comes after that 'but'?”

Tang Gao directly pulled out the Three-Leaf Clover Group's incriminating file folder and slammed it hard on the table, shattering the teacups on it. Tea splattered, even splashing onto General Liu Zhen next to him.

Tang Gao's eyes were filled with coldness and fury:

“To hell with profit! The Three-Leaf Clover Group has committed unforgivable heinous crimes! They experiment on living people! They use the Mechanical Clan as Materials for research!

Furthermore, relying on their monopoly, they have directly forced countless patients to their deaths! They've forced them to go bankrupt to buy your damn overpriced medicine!

Inside and out, there are countless worms! Colluding with the Yao Race! Colluding with the Blood Race! Colluding with the Demonic Path!

I just can't stand this shitty operation, so I'll overthrow your group!

You can let your shitty group use all sorts of methods to deal with me!

I, Tang Gao, truly despise such a garbage group! Greedy for wealth! Worse than shit!

If I were to retreat even one step today, it would be irresponsible to the people of Mountain State!”

Zhao Shoucheng sat in his chair, not even looking at the Materials, but silently took a sip of spirit tea.

Time was like Reincarnation; this scene before him had also happened many years ago. He had personally witnessed it all unfold and participated in it, becoming a pillar of the current Xia Dynasty.

Rage also brewed in Zhao Shoucheng's heart.

Not rage towards Tang Gao.

But rage towards himself.

Towards his arrogant self, his proud self, his self burdened with the responsibility of protection, who today had to stand by and watch a young, spirited youth thoroughly douse his Face with a bucket of dirty water.

This bucket of dirty water was the kind of dirty deed that his former self had most despised, most looked down upon, most hated, most disdained, and most believed he could never commit.

Now, he had squarely taken it with his Face.

Zhao Shoucheng crushed the teacup in his hand. Drops of water fell onto his pants, wetting the pride of this Zhao Family Old Ancestor.

The anger in his eyes churned repeatedly, the shame on his Face intensified repeatedly, and a thousand, ten thousand words in his mouth could not be uttered at this moment. They were choked in his heart, becoming an unresolvable sorrow and indignation.

The most humiliating thing in this world is when you, who once overthrew all that was filthy and unfair, and bore the responsibility of protection, years later, squarely take the dirty water that most shames your ideals with your Face.

The atmosphere in the room solidified repeatedly.

Tang Gao stubbornly glared at the Zhao Family Old Ancestor, not backing down in the slightest despite the other being a Ninth-Stage Cultivator.

Zhao Shoucheng was filled with both anger and sorrow. A gunshot fired by his proud young self had struck his aged self.

The young man's stubbornness and accusation were like the angry reprimand of his younger self.

The bullets of sorrowful rage had left him speechless and shamed.

Zhao Shoucheng stood up, his eyes filled with rage, looking at the Zhao Clan Chief next to him.

The Zhao Clan Chief knelt on the ground, his Face pale, filled with shame and unease. He bowed his head deeply, knocking it on the floor, not daring to rise.

It was he who, for the profit of a single state, had pleaded with the Old Ancestor to come out and offer protection.

Now, he had shamed the Old Ancestor.

Zhao Shoucheng's eyes were filled with sorrow and indignation, yet he could only stand there, unable to utter a single word.

What more could be said?

What more could be said!

What more could be said!?

Zhao Shoucheng's tears flowed with sorrow, and he was filled with both sorrow and indignation: “What a Three-Leaf Clover Group! What a Three-Leaf Clover Group! What a Three-Leaf Clover Group!”

He, who had followed the Dan Emperor in battle and carved out a sky for the common people, today suffered such immense humiliation because of this Medicinal Pill matter.

Zhao Shoucheng could not stay any longer. He tore through space and fled far away, unwilling to see his Face and pride trampled underfoot any longer.

The Zhao Family members wept bitterly, filled with shame, and all knelt on the ground, kowtowing towards the chair where Zhao Shoucheng had sat:

“Old Ancestor!”

The Zhao Family members wept uncontrollably, deeply aware that they had committed a grave mistake.

Shaming the Old Ancestor was the result they least wanted to see.

Liu Town sighed slightly, “You went too far, Little Gao.”

Tang Gao's expression was calm, unmoved: “Whose overall situation are you protecting? Is it the Dynasty's overall situation, the Zhao Family's overall situation,

Or the common people's overall situation?”

To concede even an inch, to take even one step back, would be irresponsible towards the lives of the people of Mountain State.

Haven't the evils committed by the Three-Leaf Clover Group been enough?

The justice for the deceased must never become a bargaining chip at the dinner table.

This is the bottom line of being human.

This is my, Tang Gao's, bottom line.

Liu Town's expression was complex. He opened his mouth slightly, but felt a thousand words stuck in his throat, and could only swallow them.

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Extra chapter! Now I can confidently ask for gifts, generating power for love!

Hmm, I'm really going to sleep now. Good night.