Chapter 77: The Shareholders’ Meeting Begins!

Playing with fire?

True Lord Xuantian’s Dao Heart, tempered for nearly a thousand years, was stirred into furious waves by those two words.

He, a dignified Nascent Soul grand cultivator, the stabilizing pillar of the Qingyun Sect, was actually being warned—by a mere Qi Refining ant—pointing straight at his nose.

“Good.”

“Very good.”

True Lord Xuantian was enraged to the extreme. His vast divine sense burst forth without reservation, transforming into a tangible tide of fury that swept out with a thunderous roar.

An invisible shackle instantly gripped Chu Feng’s throat, lifting his entire body into the air.

True Lord Xuantian couldn’t even be bothered to speak another word. With a sweep of his wide sleeve—

An irresistible force surged up, sweeping Chu Feng away along with Leng Yanran, Zhang Daniu, and Wu Hao, who had just rushed over, their faces turning pale under the overwhelming pressure. They turned into streaks of light and were violently hurled toward the West Mountain Old Pill Institute.

Boom——!

A massive golden light screen, woven from pure Nascent Soul spiritual power, descended from the heavens.

The light screen was semi-transparent and golden, its surface flowing with intricate runes, like a blazing glass bowl flipped upside down, sealing the entire West Mountain Pill Institute beneath it.

The spiritual energy in the air was instantly drained and cut off.

The moment the light screen landed, the plants within the courtyard withered at a speed visible to the naked eye, turning into drifting ash.

After doing all this, True Lord Xuantian’s figure slowly disappeared atop the Main Peak.

He believed that within ten days, this runaway machine would collapse entirely without its leader.

By then, he would return to clean up the mess.

……

Inside the West Mountain Pill Institute.

The four of them crashed hard onto the charred ground.

“President!”

Zhang Daniu was the first to get up. He rushed to the edge of the light screen and smashed his fist against it.

Bang!

The barrier didn’t budge an inch. Instead, Zhang Daniu was blasted backward by an immense rebound force, his entire arm trembling unnaturally.

“Damn it! What the hell is this thing?!”

Zhang Daniu’s face twisted in shock and fury.

“It’s a Nascent Soul restriction.”

Leng Yanran walked up beside him, lightly touching the light screen with her fingertip. A searing pain, like being burned by fire, shot through immediately.

She withdrew her hand, her voice colder than the barrier itself.

“The one who set this up is the Supreme Ancestor of the Qingyun Sect—True Lord Xuantian.”

Nascent Soul Stage.

Those three words were like three mountains pressing down, making Zhang Daniu and Wu Hao instantly breathless.

“It’s over, it’s over…” Wu Hao slumped to the ground, his face as pale as paper. “The Ancestor himself got involved. Our Group… is about to be forcibly delisted and liquidated!”

“Delisted, my ass!”

Zhang Daniu puffed out his chest, blood surging with anger.

“At worst, we fight them head-on! President, give the order! I’ll lead the brothers to storm the Main Peak right now!”

“Storm it?”

Chu Feng brushed off nonexistent dust from his sleeve, walked over to Wu Hao, and kicked his leg.

“With what—your head?”

He glanced around at his core executives, his face calm and composed, without the slightest trace of panic.

“Everyone, stand up.”

His voice was steady, but it carried an unshakable authority.

“The sky hasn’t fallen yet.”

Chu Feng paced to Wu Hao’s side and patted his shoulder.

“Little Wu, have you forgotten what our Group’s core competitive advantage is?”

“Core… competitive advantage?” Wu Hao blinked. “It’s… your flashy operations?”

“Get lost!”

Chu Feng scolded with a laugh, then straightened his face.

“It’s the system! The model!”

“Our Group stopped being a one-man show long ago. It’s a precision machine—capable of running on its own.”

“If I’m locked up, it’s nothing more than a temporary server maintenance downtime.”

“The machine won’t stop.”

In Chu Feng’s eyes glimmered a light called ‘open strategy’.

“The Ancestor thinks imprisoning me will make the Group collapse. His mindset is still stuck in the ‘decapitation tactic’ of the agrarian era. He doesn’t understand—we’re playing the games of information and finance.”

He turned to Wu Hao, issuing orders.

“Little Wu, immediately activate the ‘Red Emergency Plan’.”

“Use our internal communication network to spread every detail of what happened in the Main Hall today—exactly as it is—to every single ‘family member’s’ ears.”

Wu Hao instantly straightened up and took out his jade slip.

Chu Feng raised three fingers.

“Remember, highlight three key points.”

“First, the Ancestor has been in seclusion for a century and knows nothing of the current world. He wants to forcibly dissolve the Group and reclaim everyone’s welfare and dividends.”

“Second, Elders Liu and Wang, along with other high-ranking members, fought to protect the shared interests of all, even risking their lives to remonstrate, and were gravely injured.”

“Third, I—your President—was unjustly imprisoned by the Ancestor to protect everyone’s enterprise.”

Wu Hao’s eyes shone with blazing understanding.

He got it.

This was a public opinion war! A war of hearts!

“President, brilliant!” Wu Hao cupped his fists excitedly. “I’ll get right on it! I guarantee, within half a day, the entire Sect will know—the Ancestor is an ‘old-era reactionary’ who robs the people, while we are the ‘heroes’ standing for the people!”

“Public opinion alone isn’t enough.”

Chu Feng turned to Zhang Daniu.

“Daniu, your job is even heavier. Go rally the brothers from the ‘Corporate Culture Department’ and the ‘Core Client Relations Department’—launch an ‘offline mobilization’.”

“Reassure every disciple. Tell them not to panic. The Group won’t fall. Their ‘shares’ and ‘contribution points’—I swear on my head—will always remain valid!”

“Then, go ‘visit’ every injured elder. Deliver our best pills to them. Tell them the Group and tens of thousands of family members are their strongest support!”

“And finally—” Chu Feng’s lips curved into a faint smile. “Get the slogan going.”

“Chant it loud—‘Oppose dictatorship! Return our Group! Protect our shared wealth!’”

Zhang Daniu’s blood boiled. He pounded his chest with a thunderous thud.

“Mission guaranteed!”

Chu Feng’s gaze finally fell on Leng Yanran.

She stood quietly beside the pill furnace she had brought, her expression softened.

“Yanran, your task is—to do nothing.”

“Stay here, rest well, and adjust your state.”

Chu Feng paused, then said each word slowly.

“In the meantime, optimize the formula for the ‘Foundation Establishment Pill · Youth Edition’ once more.”

“Because when we walk out of here, it will be the moment our Group launches its ‘All-Hands Foundation Establishment’—and takes off for real.”

Leng Yanran looked at Chu Feng without speaking. She simply nodded softly.

A single “Alright” was worth more than a thousand words.

After finishing all arrangements, Chu Feng found a clean corner near the golden barrier and sat cross-legged.

The pressure radiating from the restriction was like a tangible millstone, slowly grinding down his body and spirit.

Yet he took out a “Foundation Establishment Pill (Clinical Trial Version)” and placed it in his palm, a near-maniacal smile appearing on his face.

“Nascent Soul Ancestor?”

“Perfect—let your barrier’s pressure help me refine this pill’s power!”

He knew True Lord Xuantian had made a fatal mistake.

He shouldn’t have locked him up.

Because for a mastermind who manipulates hearts, when he steps from the stage to the “backstage”—from a living person into a “symbol of resistance” under oppression—

His power would only become… even more terrifying.

“True Lord Xuantian, welcome to the modern business world.”

“Now, I declare—”

“The Ascension Group’s first Emergency Shareholders’ Meeting—against hostile acquisition—”

“Officially begins!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep