A World Worth Protecting

The visitor was a short-haired young man of average height. He wore robes that belonged to the Vast Expanse Dao Palace. He looked bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and his small eyes shone with a calculative light.

His short hair was waxed. It reflected the sunlight shining from above and sparkled. From afar, he looked like a lamp. It was not an exaggeration.

He was standing outside Wang Baole’s cave abode presently, staring at an incredulous looking Wang Baole with a wide grin on his face. He coughed, touched his hair, then cupped his fists and saluted Wang Baole.

“Senior Brother Baole, we haven’t met in a while.”

Such a unique hairstyle and such calculating eyes. This person was… someone whom Wang Baole had worked many times with while he had been in the Ethereal Dao College—Xie Haiyang!

Wang Baole’s head started buzzing. He almost began to hallucinate that he wasn’t in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace but back in the Ethereal Dao College.

He recalled when he had been back in the Ethereal Dao College, Chen Yutong had mentioned Xie Haiyang and said that he had gone missing. Even though Chen Yutong had used his connections in the college to search for the latter, he couldn’t find him. Wang Baole didn’t expect… that he would meet Xie Haiyang here!

Xie Haiyang’s appearance remained unchanged despite the many years that had passed. He still looked like a businessman as he smiled widely at Wang Baole. His eyes sparkled with light, as if he had just located his latest business deal.

After a long while, Wang Baole finally managed to get over his shock. He eyed Xie Haiyang carefully and realized that the latter’s cultivation had remained at where it had been previously. He was only at the late-stage Ancient Martial realm. Wang Baole shook his head and smiled wryly. He realized that Xie Haiyang’s origins were extremely mysterious. There was a high chance that he had smuggled himself secretly from the Vast Expanse Dao Palace into the Federation.

He had his guesses, but Wang Baole still couldn’t help but ask.

“You… why are you here?”

Xie Haiyang coughed. He touched his shiny waxed hair again, then smiled harmlessly.

“Senior Brother Baole, that’s a secret… look, I haven’t thought about how to explain this to you. Just remember, Senior Brother Baole, I’ve told you the same thing before… As long as there’s a business opportunity, I, Xie Haiyang, will be there! With Senior Brother Baole having such potential of being a big client, I’d naturally keep my eye on you.”

Wang Baole rubbed his forehead. Even though he tried to shove down his feelings of shock and surprise, they continued to surface every now and then. He felt that Xie Haiyang seemed to be shrouded in mystery. A bold idea began to surface in his mind…

Was Xie Haiyang from the Vast Expanse Dao Palace like he had guessed?

Wang Baole narrowed his eyes as he remained silent. Xie Haiyang seemed to sense the many thoughts traveling through Wang Baole’s head. He sighed, then cupped his fists and saluted Wang Baole again.

“Senior Brother Baole, there’s no need for you to overthink this. I, Xie Haiyang, am a businessman. You know what businessmen are like. We’ve done business so many times. You have to trust me.”

“I’ve come here today to pay you a visit, Senior Brother Baole, and also make a business deal with you.” Xie Haiyang smiled lightly. His smiling, squinting eyes didn’t hide the calculative light that defined him as a businessman.

“What sort of business deal?” Wang Baole took a deep breath and set aside his other thoughts. He knew how difficult it would be to find an answer to his suspicions. Besides, he had known Xie Haiyang for so many years, and the latter had always acted in a manner befitting a businessman. He stared at Xie Haiyang.

“Senior Brother Baole, I, Xie Haiyang, have my ways in this Vast Expanse Dao Palace. It’s like what I told you before. Within the Ethereal Dao College, from the Grand Supreme Elder to the ordinary student, there is nothing that I, Xie Haiyang, am unaware of. There is nothing that I, Xie Haiyang, cannot get done!”

“What I said before applies to the Vast Expanse Dao Palace as well. Even if what you’re looking for is Elder Feng Qiuran’s underwear, as long as the price is right, I, Xie Haiyang, would be able to get my hands on it for you!” Xie Haiyang had a look of confidence on his face. As he spoke, he touched his waxed hair again. The expression on his face clearly showed how highly he thought of himself.

Wang Baole’s head began to throb when he heard that. He asked secretly what he would do with Feng Qiuran’s underwear… then, the image of Feng Qiuran suddenly appeared in his head, without rhyme or reason. It gave Wang Baole a fright. He immediately said solemnly, “Let’s talk business!”

Xie Haiyang grinned when he heard Wang Baole. He glanced around, then lowered his head and said to Wang Baole.

“Senior Brother Baole, that boat rental business of yours… based on its current popularity and my understanding of the Vast Expanse Dao Palace, it’s likely you’ll only be able to run your business for another month. Even with that fatty Yun Piaozi vouching for you, you won’t survive three months before the sect acquires your business!”

“It will be an acquisition by force. You’ll have no choice but to sell it. That’s why… you have to earn as much as you can as quickly as you can!” Xie Haiyang whispered. He analyzed Wang Baole’s rental business based on the knowledge he possessed.

Save the light that flickered in his eyes, the expression on Wang Baole’s face remained unchanged. He had predicted that this was going to happen. He knew that this business of his wouldn’t last long. However, he hadn’t expected that he would only have mere months left, like what Xie Haiyang had said.

“Continue,” Wang Baole said after he thought for a while.

“Senior Brother Baole, that’s why you have to earn as many battle credits as possible in the shortest time possible with this business of yours. That’s the most profitable way to go about it. That’s the way to ensure that you won’t make a loss… However, in order to accomplish this, you have to manufacture as many Spirit Boats as quickly as possible!” Xie Haiyang’s eyes shone with a strange light. His breathing quickened slightly as he stared at Wang Baole.

“Senior Brother Baole, do you trust me… If you trust me, let me invest in this business. That will speed up your production of Spirit Boats. You’ll be able to manufacture a great many more Spirit Boats!”

Wang Baole didn’t say anything after listening to Xie Haiyang. That was because Xie Haiyang had only revealed the tip of the iceberg. He hadn’t said anything about the division of profit. He narrowed his eyes, a considering look appeared on his face.

Xie Haiyang immediately understood what was going on when he saw that look on Wang Baole’s face. He smiled. He concluded secretly that he still enjoyed dealing with smart people the most. Wang Baole wasn’t only smart, but he also had great potential to become one of his greatest clients. He lowered his head and leaned in, saying.

“Senior Brother Baole, we’ve worked together so many times. I won’t hide anything from you. I, Xie Haiyang, won’t take a single credit of the revenue you earn in the next few months. I’ll invest three thousand and three hundred battle credits in the business. You can look for me if you need to buy any materials. I can even give you a discount. You’ll save at least thirty percent on your capital. If you do your calculations, you’ll be the biggest winner in this deal.

“As for my profit… when the sect acquires your business in a few months’ time, they’ll be giving you compensation for the acquisition. If the compensation falls within ten thousand credits, everything will go to me, but I won’t take a single credit that exceeds ten thousand credits!

“Senior Brother Baole, I, Xie Haiyang, am a businessman. I’m just looking to earn back three times my original investment within a few months. I’m not greedy at all.”

Xie Haiyang smiled again at that juncture. He looked at Wang Baole and waited for the latter’s reply.

Wang Baole didn’t hide the look of consideration and contemplation in his eyes. He did seriously lack battle credits currently. His business model meant that with an additional Spirit Boat, he earned an additional thirty-six battle credits every day.

Building a Spirit Boat cost hundreds of battle credits. If what Xie Haiyang said was true, he would be saving quite a considerable sum with a thirty percent discount. He could quickly expand his current fleet to twenty boats. His revenue would increase to more than two hundred credits every day. That meant six thousand credits in a month!

Wang Baole weighed against the option of putting his revenue back into the business continuously. Such a gamble might bring him more revenue. After all, this business relied on the snowball effect. As long as he had enough time, his gains would increase exponentially as time passed. Earning more than a thousand battle credits a day wasn’t an impossibility. If he increased his investment, Yun Piaozi would have to do the same as well to maintain the current investment ratio. Else, his returns would be diluted… he could use this to his advantage and strengthen their friendship.

Another thing was how Xie Haiyang wasn’t demanding any profit-sharing while the business was running. What he wanted was the returns from the acquisition by the sect. This meant that the sect’s acquisition of his business was inevitable. It meant that his business wouldn’t survive in the long run. That was why Wang Baole desperately needed all forms of external investments at the moment.

After some thought, a look of determination flashed across Wang Baole’s eyes.

“Xie Haiyang, I’m not going to ask that you throw in more capital. I agree to all of your terms. But I have terms of my own as well. Firstly, you must guarantee that discount. Secondly… you have to use your connections to delay the acquisition!

“Another condition is that I’ll only sell the recipe to the sect, not the final product, the Spirit Boat!

“We’ve worked together many times. I trust you. Besides, I enjoy straightforward deals. If you agree to my terms, this deal is set!”