Volume One, Chapter 51: I’ll Only Make One Move—Let’s See How You Win Without More

Upon hearing this, Gou Anshi fell into a slight silence. “If it weren’t for Langya, perhaps it wouldn’t have come to this. But they offer everything for free, and their services surpass ours by far! Even I, if faced with a crisis, would rather turn to the Langya Foundation!”

In other words, without comparison, there is no pain.

Liu Yanshuang frowned. “What is the Langya side thinking? They don’t even aim to make money? Are they really just losing money to gain reputation?”

Gou Anshi shook his head, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Losing money? Nowadays, the Langya Chamber of Commerce’s prestige is at its peak; their reputation is far better than the combined strength of our three major chambers! Our branch offices on the various islands see their profits shrinking almost daily. Over seventy percent of cultivators choose Langya Chamber first when purchasing cultivation supplies. And what they spend amounts to merely one percent of the chamber’s recorded revenue!”

Upon hearing this, Tang Qian and Liu Yanshuang fell into silence.

The Northern Abyss Sacred Land had a close relationship with the Langya Chamber of Commerce, so this billion-mile sea region was essentially Langya’s home turf, originally controlling over ninety percent of the business in the entire sea. Only the remaining scraps were left to other forces, yet even that was enough to fill their mouths with grease.

However, in recent years, the three major chambers united, entered the Northern Sea, and continuously expanded, engaging in various commercial competitions. They forcibly wrested a significant amount of business from Langya.

The situation gradually shifted from Langya’s solitary dominance to a standoff between the two sides, roughly balanced.

This ignited the fighting spirit of every member of the three major chambers. After all, to take meat directly from the Langya Chamber’s home ground was no small feat.

Yet, over these days, with Langya’s young master continuously organizing the Ascension Conference and establishing a charitable foundation, Langya’s reputation soared. In the Qingyun Archipelago, Xingluo Archipelago, and numerous large islands within the inner ring, nearly all markets returned to Langya’s hands. This phenomenon continued to ferment and expand.

It was foreseeable that if left unchecked, it wouldn’t be long before the territory they had painstakingly carved out in the Northern Sea would be uprooted entirely.

And what Langya Chamber paid for this was merely... one percent of the chamber’s profits.

At this thought, Tang Qian, Gou Anshi, and Liu Yanshuang all broke out in cold sweat.

“A brilliant strategy!”

“We underestimated the Langya young master!” Gou Anshi said gravely. “This man is extremely adept at exploiting human nature. It seems as if he’s throwing money away like water, but in reality, he’s using a small investment to win big!”

Liu Yanshuang’s breathing grew rapid, her chest rising and falling. “Is this really the tactic that legendary playboy possesses?”

The three of them were all battle-hardened veterans in the commercial world, yet had never imagined that this united front would suffer such a crushing defeat at the hands of the Langya young master!

Is this a playboy? Which playboy is this formidable?

“I don’t think he’s that strong,” Tang Qian said coldly, his voice slow and deliberate. “I admit our defeat this time was because we underestimated Wang Mu. But fundamentally, it’s because his long-standing image as an uneducated, prodigal heir has been deeply ingrained in everyone’s minds... which caused us to let our guard down and not take him seriously from the start, leading to this loss! Simply put, we were careless. If from the very beginning we had regarded him as a capable adversary, we would never have been so easily defeated!”

Upon hearing this, Liu Yanshuang and Gou Anshi exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

In fact, upon careful reflection, was it really so difficult to fathom Wang Mu’s intentions? Perhaps not.

Had they been contending with a seasoned old fox in the business world, they would never have relaxed their vigilance and could have handled many details better!

“Playing dumb to fool the tiger is indeed effective! I have to admit, I was deceived by him...” Tang Qian slowly stood up, his eyes icy as he crushed a teacup in his hand. “But that same trick can only be used once! Wang Mu, I will make you understand that no matter how deeply you hide, you will never be my match!”

...

“Achoo~”

By the seaside, Wang Mu, bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, suddenly sneezed.

Who is secretly badmouthing me?

“Young master, the sea breeze is strong; put on another layer!” Nie Tingting, still dressed in her figure-hugging crimson cultivation robe, carefully draped a sable fur cloak over Wang Mu’s shoulders.

The two stood close, a faint scent of maiden fragrance wafting into Wang Mu’s nostrils.

His eyes narrowed slightly, then he said suddenly, “Tingting!”

Nie Tingting was momentarily stunned. “Ah?”

Wang Mu asked, “Do you know what the crime is for defying the young master?”

Nie Tingting blinked, “I... I didn’t!”

Wang Mu looked into her eyes, certain. “You did.”

Nie Tingting glanced down, suddenly realizing, her cheeks flushing with two pink blooms. She hastily pressed a hand to her chest, stepped back two paces, and coquettishly scolded, “Young master, I didn’t expect you to be like this!”

Wang Mu was somewhat surprised. “Didn’t expect? Is my reputation that good among you?”

Nie Tingting: “!!!”

Wang Mu laughed twice and continued walking along the shore.

Nie Tingting watched his retreating figure, her beautiful eyes swirling with complexity.

Just as Ren Pingsheng had told her: the young master was indeed not as simple as he seemed.

With just one move—the foundation of the charitable foundation—he had recovered so much of the business that the three major chambers had wrested away.

These days, whenever the profit reports from the major islands reached her hands, she was stunned.

It must be known that to counter the invasion of the three major chambers, the leaders of Langya Chamber had made countless efforts and attempts over the years.

But it was no use.

In terms of commercial tactics, the four major chambers were roughly on par.

In terms of financial power, the three major chambers far exceeded Langya alone.

If it weren’t for the backing of the Northern Abyss Sacred Land within the Northern Sea, the situation would have been even more difficult.

And the young master, after initially drafting the foundation’s implementation plan and finalizing some details, never interfered again!

Even when the three major chambers jointly established a second foundation, there was no trace of tension on his face; he even nonchalantly sent them ten thousand spirit stones.

He showed no concern that they might disrupt his plan.

In the end, the facts confirmed this.

Without doing anything, they had already won big.

Although the Penglai Cloud Sea Foundation had not yet disbanded, it was nearly defunct.

It was practically impossible for anyone to donate to it again.

For some reason, at this moment, looking at the figure bathed in golden light facing the sea at dusk, Nie Tingting thought of those legendary reclusive masters she had read about in some old tales.

—“I only use one move; if you can counter it, then you win.”