64: Financial slaughter

The announcement from Wanbao Tower was like a golden decree spanning the sky, imprinted in the Sea of Consciousness of every top Cultivator.

Madness.

Utter madness.

In this financial storm single-handedly stirred up by Lu Yuan, the appearance of blood crystal sand was not the final straw that broke the camel's back.

It was an ancient divine mountain directly smashing onto the camel's body.

Inside Lu Yuan's Immortal Cave.

On the light screen of the Great Dao Options Exchange, the K-line chart representing the "Qingyun Sect Wins" contract could no longer be called a chart.

It was a colossal pillar piercing through the clouds.

Cold, overbearing, filled with extreme disdain for market rules.

The contract's settlement time had arrived.

["Dragon-Snake Conflict" betting contract has expired, final settlement is beginning.]

[The total value of your 'Qingyun Sect Wins' call option contract has reached: ninety-seven million eight hundred thirty thousand karma points.]

[After deducting leverage costs and transaction fees, your final profit from this transaction is: eighty-nine million one hundred twelve thousand karma points.]

A series of cold numbers flowed before Lu Yuan's eyes, finally settling.

This string of numbers was enough to buy ten Purple Gold Wang Families.

At the same time.

Within Wanbao Tower's Secret Realm, Sword Elder looked at the astronomical profit in his account, yet felt no joy.

His hands trembled slightly.

He looked at the calm name on the light screen and, for the first time, felt a chill from the depths of his Soul emanating from this young collaborator.

This was not a Cultivator.

This was a rule itself... wearing human skin.

He immediately crushed a message sword talisman, his Killing Intent-filled voice directly entering Lu Yuan's Sea of Consciousness.

"Young Friend Lu, the Wang Family is already a fish on the chopping block. This Elder will immediately send people to slaughter their entire Family, to vent our anger."

On the other end of the sword talisman, Lu Yuan's voice was as calm as ever, devoid of any discernible emotion.

"Sword Elder, there's no need."

"Slaughter is the most inefficient method."

Sword Elder was startled.

"What do you mean?"

Lu Yuan spoke faintly, each word dissecting the cruel truth of this world.

"The Purple Gold Wang Family, due to margin calls, owes Wanbao Tower an enormous debt that they can never repay for all eternity, correct?"

"Yes."

"According to the rules of the Cultivation world, creditors have the right to dispose of everything belonging to the debtor."

"That's why this Elder wants to kill them all." Sword Elder's Killing Intent remained strong.

"No."

Lu Yuan's voice carried a barely perceptible patience, as if teaching a child.

"Killing them will only give you momentary pleasure and a ruin stained with blood."

"But keeping them alive, you can gain more."

"Let them use their flesh and blood, their dignity for generations, to repay this debt."

Lu Yuan paused, then articulated the plan that made Sword Elder's breathing hitch.

"I propose that Wanbao Tower step forward and initiate a 'debt-to-equity swap' with the Purple Gold Wang Family."

"Converting their debt into our... ownership of their entire Family."

Sword Elder fell completely silent.

He had never heard of such an absurd, yet perfectly rule-abiding, way of playing.

This was ten thousand times more vicious than killing them.

Several days later.

A team personally led by a Golden Core Elder from Wanbao Tower descended upon the once-glorious ancestral land of the Purple Gold Wang Family.

They brought no swords.

They only brought a decree issued by Wanbao Tower headquarters, stamped with a Heavenly Dao seal.

"Asset Acquisition Offer."

These five cold, golden characters completely shattered the last illusions of all the Wang Family members.

They didn't have to die.

But from this moment on, they were no longer the high and mighty Wang Family members.

They, along with their land, their mineral veins, their shops, their Cultivation Technique scriptures, everything they owned, became an... asset under the Qingyun Sect.

The once arrogant Young Lord of the Wang Family now wore a servant's clothes, numbly sweeping the fallen leaves in front of his own Family gate.

He looked up, watching as the four characters "Purple Gold Wang Family" were removed from the mountain gate plaque and replaced with a new plaque, "Qingyun Sect Outpost."

His eyes were hollow, devoid of tears or hatred.

Only endless numbness remained.

Because he knew that his fate had long been priced and then sold on a chessboard he couldn't understand.

This bloodless annexation brought a shock far exceeding any massacre.

All forces that had once harbored hostility towards the Qingyun Sect retracted their claws overnight.

They finally understood that the young man named Lu Yuan had something more terrifying in his arsenal than Flying Swords and Divine Abilities.

The Qingyun Sect, relying on this astonishing merger, saw its strength skyrocket exponentially, becoming an unrivaled behemoth within a hundred thousand li radius.

And Lu Yuan's status within the Sect was already transcendent.

No one dared to call him by his name directly anymore.

All Disciples, whether inner or outer, privately referred to him with a mix of awe and fear as...

"The Uncrowned King."

Late at night, in Lu Yuan's Immortal Cave.

He was sifting through countless scriptures confiscated from the Wang Family's treasury, searching for any valuable information.

Just then, the Exchange interface in his mind unexpectedly lit up with a golden light.

It wasn't any kind of prompt he was familiar with.

It was a warning from a higher level, carrying absolute authority.

[Warning: Your initiated "market short squeeze" behavior has severely interfered with Karma order. Your trading model has attracted the attention of the 'The Federal Reserve' seats.]