Chapter 409: The Shock of the Pavilion-Guarding Elder

Several hours later, the scorching sun overhead was replaced by a sky full of stars; Xiao Han left the Immortal Fox Sect and returned to the Northern Continent...

"How is the Chamber of Commerce developing now?"

Xiao Han looked at his old subordinate, Yang Qianshan, his tone calm yet tinged with a hint of expectation.

Yang Qianshan was momentarily caught off guard by Xiao Han's sudden inquiry, but driven by his excellent professional instincts, he quickly organized his thoughts and spoke:

"Reporting to the President, our Chamber of Commerce has now established branches in the Tianyu, Wuyuan, and Jinghong continents outside of the Beicang Continent, occupying about thirty percent of the market share in each."

"In addition, we have also fostered some small forces in dozens of other, slightly more distant continents."

"Give your subordinate another ten years, and more than half of the market share in these continents will belong to our Hanyi Chamber of Commerce."

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Near the end of his words, Yang Qianshan assured Xiao Han with great fervor; his words were resonant and powerful, and the infectiousness in his tone made one trust him involuntarily.

"If the Chamber of Commerce enters the Shang Continent, will there be any problems?"

Xiao Han seemed to ignore the bright future Yang Qianshan had painted for him and asked unexpectedly.

"The Shang Continent?" Yang Qianshan was startled; he did not question it, but instead began to calculate rapidly in his mind.

After only the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, Yang Qianshan frowned and said hesitantly:

"President, with our Chamber of Commerce's current strength, I'm afraid that won't be easy!"

"What if I said the Immortal Fox Sect would provide assistance?"

Xiao Han was not surprised and continued to speak.

"What?!"

A suddenly raised voice rang out in the great hall. As soon as the words fell, Yang Qianshan subconsciously covered his mouth, showing a look of annoyance, and said in a panic:

"Your subordinate spoke out of turn; I ask the President to forgive my sin!"

He was quite familiar with Xiao Han's personality; he wouldn't dare speak of trivial matters, and at the very least, he was not the type to trifle with him on major issues.

What had just happened was merely an instinctive reaction to shock, and he quickly regained his composure.

"It is fine, answer my previous question." Xiao Han waved his hand with a calm expression.

Without much thought, Yang Qianshan immediately gave his answer,

"Absolutely no problem."

At this moment, Yang Qianshan's admiration for his President rose to a new level.

The biggest obstacle for the Hanyi Chamber of Commerce entering the Shang Continent was the overlord of the Shang Continent, the Immortal Fox Sect. With them intervening, the difficulty of entering would skyrocket.

However, the President was actually able to turn this obstacle into an advantage; with the shift in power, the difficulty was almost non-existent.

"Then proceed as planned."

Xiao Han dropped this sentence. When Yang Qianshan looked up toward Xiao Han's direction again, that white-clothed figure was no longer in the original seat; only the faint ice flowers on the chair's armrest left traces of that person.

One month later.

The Tianye Continent, a vast region separated from the Beicang Continent by dozens of other continents; in terms of area alone, it could even rank in the top hundred of the Great Thousand World.

Qianyuan Region, Nine Seas City.

Shops lined both sides of the hundred-meter-wide city road, hawking cries rose and fell, and pedestrians on the roadside rubbed shoulders, crawling forward bit by bit like insects.

At the end of the bustling and crowded road, a towering pavilion that reached into the clouds and could not be seen to the end stood proudly. From time to time, a powerful squad of dozens of people patrolled in front of the gate with expressionless faces.

Even the gatekeeping old man, who was lying on a recliner at the entrance, waving a cattail fan and squinting his eyes, appearing unremarkable, gave many interested parties a subtle sense of trepidation, making them afraid to act rashly.

The huge characters on the plaque could be easily seen from several miles away.

"Ten Thousand Gold Pavilion!"

"This must be the place."

A man in white looked up, glanced at the name and the gilded characters above that were full of nouveau riche flair, and murmured.

Then, he stepped forward...

Just at this moment, a withered, aged palm covered in cracks suddenly blocked the man in white.

The latter looked at the owner of the palm in confusion. At this time, the other party had already woken up; his wrinkled face was solemn, and a pair of sharp eyes emitted a daunting spirit.

"Isn't the Ten Thousand Gold Pavilion a place for business?"

"Could it be that you do not welcome me as a guest?"

Seeing this, the man was not annoyed, but instead asked with a smile.

"The Ten Thousand Gold Pavilion is a place for business."

The old man's tone was lazy, yet carried a sense of refusal that could not be denied,

"But it only accepts guests who follow the rules."

"The rule of the Ten Thousand Gold Pavilion: present an invitation before entering."

The Ten Thousand Gold Pavilion was a well-known force in the Tianye Continent and the sole overlord of Nine Seas City. As the name suggested, it specialized in selling various high-value treasures, Divine Artifacts, divine arts...

Even cubs of divine beasts were within the scope of the goods they dealt in.

It was rumored that as long as you could afford the price, they could satisfy any of a guest's needs.

Although such a declaration was somewhat exaggerated, generally speaking, it was indeed not a false claim; at the very least, at the level of the Supreme Realm, they were indeed qualified to say such things.

However, a shop like the Ten Thousand Gold Pavilion, which focused on profit, did not follow the principle of welcoming all wealth; instead, it was extremely picky.

Not just anyone could be their guest; to enter, one had to hold an invitation from the Ten Thousand Gold Pavilion.

The invitations were not registered to a name; they could be gifted by the Ten Thousand Gold Pavilion or obtained through channels such as auctions.

Even taking them by dishonorable means like robbery was fine; the Ten Thousand Gold Pavilion would not interfere. They only recognized the invitation, not the person—a strange rule that was surprisingly similar to a certain force.

"Young man, you had better inquire about the rules of the Ten Thousand Gold Pavilion before coming back."

Coldly sizing up the white-clothed youth in front of him, the old man issued an order to leave without mercy.

He had worked at the Ten Thousand Gold Pavilion for so many years and had long since trained a pair of discerning eyes; he could see clearly at a glance what kind of person someone was and what their status was, so there was absolutely no issue of him looking down on others.

This young lad's strength was not bad, but he was definitely an outsider who did not understand the rules; happening to be in a good mood today, he spoke up to offer a few words of advice.

Having said this much, a normal person should have tactfully left; the old man was just about to close his eyes, turn over, and continue basking in the sun, but he sensed that this person was actually still not leaving.

Displeasure rose in his heart, and anger surged up; he stood up quickly, his aura billowing throughout his body, blowing his robes until they snapped in the wind, and just as he was preparing to give this lad who did not understand the rules a profound lesson, his vision suddenly blurred, and a token as black as ink came into view.

"I don't have a token, but I do have this thing; I wonder if it is enough?"

The young man smiled slightly and said in a calm tone.

The old man only took a casual glance at first, but then his pupils shook violently, and he stared blankly at the token.

After a long while, he suddenly rose from the reclining chair and looked sharply at Xiao Han, with lingering, undissipated shock in his eyes.

"It's you?!"

"Oh, you know?"

Xiao Han raised his eyebrows slightly, appearing surprised.

"Your Excellency, please follow this old man inside."

The old man first stood stunned on the spot for a moment, the expression on his face flickering, and then he sighed heavily and said helplessly.

Having obtained Xiao Han's consent, the former stretched his palm toward the direction of the door, his aged yet still upright back bent slightly, and then he walked into the Ten Thousand Gold Pavilion first.

Xiao Han did not hesitate and stepped forward to follow.