20 million Martial Crystals is a small matter, just the annual net profit of a dozen Haotian Chamber of Commerces, but if this great master is not appeased, it's a question of whether the Haotian Chamber of Commerce can continue to exist. Money can be earned again, but if the chamber collapses, truly everything is lost.

As a favored figure in the Haotian Chamber of Commerce, Du Shang has quite a few friends. Through emergency funding circulation, he barely managed to gather 20 million Martial Crystals.

The most crucial remaining task is to obtain the fragment Zhang Menglong wanted.

Actually, Du Shang knows very little about the information concerning the fragment. Even the owner of the fragment doesn't know what it does. He only knows it was unearthed from the tomb of a super power who fell thousands of years ago, and that the bones of that warrior clutch this fragment alone.

Even his weapons and other items weren't paid as much attention, indicating the immense value and significance of this fragment to him.

Of course, if they knew it was a Life Pattern Fragment, it could probably sell for tens of millions of Martial Crystals without any problem. Unfortunately, none of them recognize it, as only a few have ever appeared on the entire Haotian Continent; once someone obtains and understands their use, they quietly amass a fortune, and outsiders know almost nothing about them.

The auction's estimated price was 4 million Martial Crystals, and even that price left them uneasy. No one would spend so much money on an unknown object, as this was almost akin to gambling, unless they knew its function.

After a round of negotiation, Du Shang finally spent 5.2 million Martial Crystals to purchase it from the owner of the fragment.

...

"Mr. Zhang, here is the item you requested," Du Shang cautiously handed an exquisite box to Zhang Menglong, "And I've also brought the 20 million Martial Crystals for the time I wasted of yours that day."

"Ah, Xiao Du," Zhang Menglong patted Du Shang's shoulder, "If you had had this vision earlier, we wouldn't be in this situation, would we?"

"Yes, yes, yes," Du Shang kept nodding and bowing, "It's all because I couldn't see the mountain before me; I'll definitely remember this lesson!"

"You seem to have something you want to ask?" Zhang Menglong looked at Du Shang, who had a hesitant expression.

"Mr. Zhang, how exactly did you cause the Haotian Chamber of Commerce to fall into such a plight, and your relationship with Haotian Bank... I'm just curious. If you're uncomfortable answering, just think of it as I said something nonsensical."

"There's nothing that can't be said," Zhang Menglong said, figuring he'd soon be heading to a High-Level World with Feng Cong, "To me, all those sects, holy lands, and valleys are like child's play. My subordinates span the Haotian Continent, and any one of them could easily sweep through them."

"As for Haotian Bank," Zhang Menglong smiled, "My family was already their largest shareholder thousands of years ago. They were just too lazy to manage it themselves, so they left some management and profit rights to them. On the Haotian Continent, whoever I want to deal with is just a matter of a word."

"Are you... by any chance from the Zhang Family?" Du Shang asked in a trembling voice.

"What, do you know my family?"

"As expected!" With this answer, Du Shang's heart was tumultuous. Though he couldn't confirm it, the youth before him was likely at the pinnacle of wealth and power on the Haotian Continent. Yet he boldly claimed the other was a poor wretch!

As an organization with certain background in the High-Level World, the Haotian Chamber of Commerce naturally knows a bit more than other organizations and individuals.

Originally, although talented martial artists occasionally emerged on the Haotian Continent, they never influenced the orientation of its framework.

But thousands of years ago, a group of experts suddenly rose to fame, led by a mysterious figure, striking such terror across the major powers of the Haotian Continent that they did not dare utter a word of protest, and created all kinds of treasures to amass wealth.

However, for all their might, they kept extremely low profiles; this was none other than the predecessor of the Anti-Pornography Task Force!

It was no surprise that the Haotian Chamber of Commerce had conflicts with them, and naturally, their outcome was very bleak.

Since then, everyone in the Haotian Chamber of Commerce has been ingrained with an important piece of information: although the Haotian Chamber of Commerce is the strongest organization on the Haotian Continent on the surface, they must bow to members of the Zhang Family, for for them, playing them to death is as simple as squashing an ant!

This is why Du Shang never thought to associate Zhang Menglong, this young man accompanying a beggar, with the Zhang Family, or he wouldn't have ended up in this situation.

"Alright, seeing as you seem sincere, I won't fuss with you," Zhang Menglong said, "Haotian Bank will continue lending to you, but the interest will increase tenfold!"

"Tenfold?" Du Shang's eyes widened, "The original interest given by Haotian Bank was about 4%; with tenfold, that's 40% interest, and they will be working for Haotian Bank for decades!"

"And the time I spent here playing with you, shouldn't I account for these losses?" Zhang Menglong retorted, "I've done some rough calculations. The losses for these days are 734 million Martial Crystals. When those debts are cleared, I'll restore their original loan interest!"

"I..." Du Shang's lips twitched, thinking of a curse but dared not speak it aloud.

No wonder you act as though money is trash; turns out you already had a plan to make the Haotian Chamber of Commerce the major scapegoat!

"What, isn't my loss related to you?" Zhang Menglong flashed a friendly smile.

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant... These losses indeed should be my responsibility..."

Such an enormous debt is utterly impossible for Du Shang to repay, and he will inevitably have to seek help from the higher-ups at the Haotian Chamber of Commerce headquarters, which naturally means they will become aware of the "achievements" he has made. His outcome likely won't be good.

...

"Old beggar!" After everyone had left, Zhang Menglong directly tossed the Life Pattern Fragment to Du Shang, "See if this is your Life Pattern Fragment!"

"Yes! It's my Life Pattern Fragment; it can't be mistaken!" Though the box was not opened, the feeling of blood and energy connection made it unmistakable.

Feng Cong opened the box, revealing a golden fragment inside. It looked like a small piece of gold leaf, but it was covered with mysterious lines, seemingly recording everything about its owner.

"Brother Zhang, I need to trouble you to protect me!" Feng Cong said, "When I am fusing with the Life Pattern Fragment, I'll be extremely vulnerable and absolutely cannot be disturbed by anyone."

"Okay, a small matter, leave it to me," Zhang Menglong said, snapping his fingers, "You Xiang, my friend is going to fuse a Pattern Fragment, call some people over to prevent anyone from approaching to disturb us!"

"Yes, Captain!"

A few minutes later, just like last time in the Life Forbidden Zone, figures of unparalleled might appeared all around the plain, with tens of thousands of Anti-Pornography Task Force martial artists sealing the area tightly. The overwhelming pressure even drove those martial artists in the nearby Land of Chaos to feel utter despair.

Feng Cong looked up at the dense throngs of people and wondered, wasn't it just to call a few people?

You call this a few? Is it to protect me or to conquer the world?!