Chapter 234: Chapter 136: Thronged with Visitors

Yang Jing welcomed Li Xishan inside and had Iron Head and Ji Feng prepare tea.

General Manager of the Celestial Treasure Tower’s Seven Kingdoms General Tower—this was a position of immense power and influence. With the Celestial Treasure Tower’s headquarters located in the Central Continent, a regional General Manager wielded incredible discretionary power. His authority even surpassed that of any single Sovereign within the Seven Kingdoms.

The two sat down at the stone table in the courtyard.

“I have long heard of your great reputation, Minister Yang. Now that I’ve finally met you, I see you are truly a man of extraordinary bearing, far from the mundane.”

As he spoke, Li Xishan produced a gift box from within his robes and placed it on the tabletop.

“Just a small token of apology for my impromptu visit. Please, Minister Yang, I hope you’ll accept it.”

Yang Jing lifted the lid of the box to find a Golden Order from the Celestial Treasure Tower. This token was worth fifty thousand Spirit Stones and could be redeemed at any Celestial Treasure Tower location.

’Though I never hesitate to accept a windfall, the matter of the Seven Nations Ticket Shop is of utmost importance,’ he thought. ’I have to maintain an impartial stance.’

’Furthermore, judging by the fact that Li Xishan only brought a single Golden Order, he probably doesn’t know about the Seven Nations Ticket Shop. Meng Sima is tight-lipped. It must have been the other Golden Core cultivators at the meeting who leaked the news.’

’This gift is purely for the lending initiative.’

’A small gift like this is nowhere near enough to make me favor the Celestial Treasure Tower.’

Yang Jing closed the lid and pushed the gift box back across the table to Li Xishan.

“Shopkeeper Li, this gift is far too generous. I’m afraid I cannot accept it.”

Li Xishan raised an eyebrow. He couldn’t tell if Yang Jing was genuinely incorruptible or simply thought the gift was too meager.

’These True Disciples from the Six Sects are always a proud lot,’ he thought, ’let alone a peerless, young genius like Yang Jing who became famous so early.’

When an old friend told him that Yang Jing had proposed a lending program to the Governor to help Immortally Cultivation Clans and Independent Cultivators through their current crisis, Li Xishan had immediately sensed the staggering business opportunity within.

’What business could possibly earn Spirit Stones faster than lending? It’s practically like getting paid to sit around.’

And with the Northern Army Governor’s Mansion backing this venture, there would be no fear of uncollected debts.

The Celestial Treasure Tower had branches throughout the Northern Domain Seven Kingdoms. If he weren’t afraid of offending the local bullies, Li Xishan would have tried to take over the entire lending market for himself.

“Shopkeeper Li, you’re here about the disaster relief loans for the Seven Kingdoms, I presume,” Yang Jing said.

Li Xishan’s spirits rose. He knew there was still a chance.

“That is precisely the reason. When I learned that the Seven Kingdoms had suffered such grievous losses in the demonic calamity, and that the Cultivators’ incomes had been completely cut off, I felt their pain as my own. I have come today hoping to do my part for the Cultivators of the Seven Kingdoms.”

Yang Jing nodded.

“Has the Celestial Treasure Tower ever operated a lending business before?”

Li Xishan shook his head.

“The Celestial Treasure Tower’s primary business, after all, is trade.”

In the Cultivation Realm, the biggest hurdle for lending was always debt collection. Without the Northern Army Governor’s Mansion’s backing, if those Immortally Cultivation Clans simply refused to repay their debts, the Celestial Treasure Tower would be completely powerless. As for the Independent Cultivators—the softer targets—many were highly transient. If they took out a loan and fled, they would be nearly impossible to track down.

Previously, the only ones engaged in lending in the Northern Domain were powerful Immortally Cultivation Clans with deep local roots. They would assign their own disciples to collect debts, unafraid of anyone defaulting.

These clans often charged extremely high interest on their Spirit Stone loans.

Independent Cultivators wouldn’t borrow from them unless they were driven to desperation.

Li Xishan went on to explain the Northern Domain’s lending model in detail to Yang Jing. It was little different from usury among mortals.

When Independent Cultivators couldn’t afford the exorbitant interest, their only option was to sell themselves into servitude, repaying their debt by toiling in the Spiritual Ore mines or Spirit Fields of these Immortally Cultivation Clans.

“These great clans have a terrible reputation in the Northern Domain. If they’re put in charge of lending, even a benevolent policy would be twisted into a malicious one that preys on Cultivators.”

Li Xishan was clearly badmouthing his competition in front of Yang Jing.

Yang Jing nodded.

“Shopkeeper Li, this initiative to provide loans to the Cultivators of the Seven Kingdoms is on a completely different scale from the small-time operations of the past. The Governor is determined that this policy should benefit the majority of Cultivators in the Seven Kingdoms. As for the specific execution, Meng Sima will be the one to make the final decision,” Yang Jing said.

Li Xishan’s expression was one of confusion. He couldn’t imagine what there was to contemplate about lending. Wasn’t it just a matter of carving up the Northern Domain Seven Kingdoms into territories and assigning them to the great powers of the Northern Domain to manage the loans? Everyone would keep to their own territory, and no one would step on anyone else’s toes.

He had come today simply to secure a larger slice of the pie.

Though Li Xishan was dying to get to the bottom of it, Yang Jing was completely evasive, deflecting his questions and refusing to reveal a single detail.

Yang Jing was, after all, a top disciple of the Six Sects. Li Xishan couldn’t very well use his own Golden Core Cultivation to pressure him, so he had no choice but to depart with his gift box, completely bewildered.

Over the next several days, Yang Jing made daily visits to Meng Sima’s official residence to discuss the establishment of the Seven Kingdoms Bank.

During these meetings, they would also summon Cultivators from the Northern Domain whose clans had ties to the Northern Army Governor’s Mansion, questioning them for information.

From the afternoon into the night, the courtyard was as crowded as a marketplace, with an endless stream of visitors from the Golden Core Clans and envoys from the Royal Families of the Seven Kingdoms.

The gifts they brought were a dazzling array: not just Spiritual Artifacts and Spirit Pills, but also various Spiritual Ores, deeds to shops, and even Tripod Furnaces.

Yang Jing, showing no sign of impatience, received every single envoy, using the opportunity to learn about the current state of affairs in the Northern Domain Seven Kingdoms from them.

He did, however, return all of the gifts.

Through these envoys, Yang Jing gained a much deeper understanding of the current situation in the Seven Kingdoms, recording everything on a Jade Scroll.

Chi Yu sat in Yang Jing’s lap, pinching a piece of Spirit Deer jerky between her fingers and holding it up to his lips.

Busy organizing his records, Yang Jing could only open his mouth and accept the jerky. After he’d refused every bribe, the envoys staying at the Northern Army Governor’s Mansion had turned their attention to his four disciples.

Iron Head, Yinjiao, and Ji Feng were fine, but Chi Yu had accepted an entire Storage Bag full of various snacks, Spirit Fruits, and trinkets.

Because their value was not very high, Yang Jing could only turn a blind eye.

After Yang Jing ate the jerky, Chi Yu grinned and pulled a bunch of grapes from her Storage Bag. She carefully peeled one and continued to feed her master.

With so many powerful factions diligently probing for answers, news of the Seven Nations Ticket Shop inevitably got out.

Li Xishan was the first to come find Yang Jing.

“Minister Yang… a masterstroke! Truly a magnificent masterstroke!”

He stared at Yang Jing, his eyes blazing with intensity.

“I honestly never imagined business could be done this way! Compared to you, my own vision seems so laughably small.”

“You flatter me, Shopkeeper Li,” Yang Jing said, shaking his head.

“While the Northern Army Governor’s Mansion may be spearheading the Seven Nations Ticket Shop, rolling it out successfully will be absolutely impossible without the support of great trading houses like the Celestial Treasure Tower and the Taichang Trading Company.”

The moment Li Xishan heard the name “Taichang Trading Company,” his eyelid twitched. He knew that when it came to the Seven Nations Ticket Shop, the Celestial Treasure Tower’s greatest rival wasn’t the Golden Core Clans or the Seven Kingdoms Royal Families, but the Taichang Trading Company—another trans-continental Great Trading House.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep