Peaceful Sea Company’s conference hall on the 86th floor.
“Sis Xu, it should be fine, right?” The short-haired woman looked at Xu Xin.
“It’s fine.” Xu Xin sat there, seemingly calm.
Luo Feng had been in Chaos City for more than 30 years, while on Earth in the original universe, a hundred years had passed. A hundred years might seem like a long time, but in the vast universe, it was merely an extremely brief period. Especially for Xu Xin, who possessed an Eternal Body, her appearance had barely changed from a hundred years ago. Only her eyes and temperament had clearly matured considerably, like a piece of polished jade refined by the passage of time, radiating her own charm.
“I wonder if we can make it in time.” Xu Xin closed her eyes and silently prayed in her heart. “Luo Feng is about to leave Chaos City. I hope the final inspection passes.”
“Knock! Knock! Knock!” A knocking sound came from the door.
“Come in.” Xu Xin opened her eyes. Her gaze was deep and wise, an aura naturally formed from managing a huge corporate group and overseeing hundreds of millions of employees for a long time.
The door opened. Deputy Director Botlai, dressed very formally, entered alongside a middle-aged woman with silver hair and green eyes. Eight subordinates followed behind them, and the entire group entered the conference hall together.
“How did the inspection go?” Xu Xin asked with a smile as she stood up.
“Haha, I knew Madam Luo wouldn’t disappoint us.” Botlai laughed heartily. Beside him, the silver-haired, green-eyed middle-aged woman smiled and said, “Madam Luo, according to the thorough inspection conducted by our auditing department, the semi-annual financial report you provided is completely genuine, with an error margin of less than 0.01%.”
Xu Xin immediately showed an excited expression.
“Sis Xu, we succeeded!” The short-haired woman beside her cheered excitedly.
“Congratulations, Madam Luo!” The silver-haired, green-eyed woman smiled and extended her hand. “Shaking hands is a custom among you Earthlings, right?”
“Thank you, thank you.” Xu Xin suppressed her excitement and shook the woman’s hand, but tears of emotion were unmistakable in her eyes. She had been waiting for this day all along. Finally, finally, they had made it in time at the very last moment.
“Madam Luo.”
Deputy Director Botlai smiled and said, “According to the semi-annual financial report, Peaceful Sea Company’s current net assets are approximately 100,012 mixed yuan units. According to Virtual Universe Company’s classification system for its various subsidiaries, Peaceful Sea Company’s net assets have already reached the threshold for a second-level subsidiary. Therefore, we will submit the application directly. Within one day, Peaceful Sea Company’s classification will be changed, and you, Madam Luo, will receive the corresponding authority.”
“That’s right.” The silver-haired, green-eyed woman nodded. “In a moment, headquarters will send people over to arrange for Madam Luo’s admission into the core layer.”
“Congratulations, congratulations!” Deputy Director Botlai laughed heartily. “Madam Luo will enter the core layer’s End of the World Secret Realm, while Mr Luo is in the core layer’s Primal Secret Realm. For both husband and wife to enter the core layer of my Virtual Universe Company, this is certainly something worth celebrating.”
Xu Xin’s face was filled with uncontrollable excitement and joy.
“Thank you. Our company has already prepared a banquet for everyone…” Xu Xin hurriedly said.
“Madam Luo.” The silver-haired, green-eyed woman shook her head with a smile. “We still need to return immediately, report the results of this inspection to our superiors, and submit the application for Peaceful Sea Company’s classification. So we won’t stay.”
“That’s right. The promotion of a subsidiary’s classification is very important, so we dare not delay.” Deputy Director Botlai also spoke.
A moment later.
The people from Virtual Universe Company left, leaving only Xu Xin and her assistant in the conference hall.
“Sis Xu, Sis Xu.” The short-haired woman cheered excitedly. “We succeeded, we succeeded! We really managed to expand the company and reach the threshold for a second-level subsidiary before Mr Luo Feng returned. My goodness, this is simply unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable!”
“Yes.” Xu Xin nodded repeatedly, a trace of excitement appearing on her face. “As long as we work hard, it can still be done.”
“We succeeded.”
“We really succeeded.” Xu Xin turned her head and looked towards the huge floor-to-ceiling window beside her. Her reflection was faintly visible in the glass. Compared with the time when Earth had faced the Devouring Beast disaster, her appearance had barely changed. She was still just as beautiful, and her figure was still just as good. After holding a high position for a hundred years, she had rarely become this excited.
And at this moment.
The woman reflected in the floor-to-ceiling glass looked almost like a young girl experiencing the excitement and anticipation of her first date.
“I wonder what expression he’ll have when he sees me at Rainfall Mountain.” Xu Xin whispered inwardly, a trace of anticipation in her eyes.
……
During the last 20 years Luo Feng spent in Chaos City, more than 60 years had passed in the original universe.
Over those 60 years, Xu Xin had managed the enormous group that had previously reached more than 30,000 mixed yuan units after receiving investment. Its total net assets had expanded to more than 100,000 mixed yuan units. Luo Hua had certainly contributed, but Xu Xin, as the person at the helm, deserved even greater credit.
Over 60 years, they had earned more than 60,000 mixed yuan units.
This rate of wealth accumulation was far beyond what even the Lord of the Meteor Star could achieve. Of course, the reason Xu Xin had been able to reach this point was partly because of the initial capital. Luo Feng had given large sums of money to his younger brother and his wife, so when Peaceful Sea Company was first consolidated, its total assets were already close to 600 mixed yuan units.
600 mixed yuan units!
That was comparable to a super wealthy World Lord, and even comparable to a relatively poor Immortal. Such an enormous fortune was something even the Emperor of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire could not produce in one go.
The initial capital was already enormous.
Naturally, it was much easier to build up a large scale. Suppose the initial capital had only been 100 million universe coins, which would already count as an extremely wealthy fortune in the Black Dragon Mountain Empire. With that amount of money, even if hundreds of life planets were purchased and the assets expanded ten thousandfold after struggling for ten million years, it would only amount to 1 trillion universe coins, merely 1 mixed yuan unit!
Therefore, initial capital was extremely important.
Because of Luo Feng, Peaceful Sea Company’s initial capital was already close to 600 mixed yuan units. Then, relying on Xu Xin’s corporate management ability and Luo Hua’s ability to reinvest funds, they slowly and painstakingly increased their enormous pool of capital. After entering a virtuous cycle, they attracted investment from Virtual Universe Company, allowing the company to undergo a huge leap in scale before continuing to grow.
Finally!
After 100 years, Peaceful Sea Company’s total net assets finally exceeded 100,000 mixed yuan units. This was an enormous fortune that made even many Immortal beings hold their breath.
Chaos City.
Streams of air drifted about. Luo Feng sat cross-legged on the rooftop of his cultivation residence. On the other rooftops, cultivators were either standing or sitting. Looking around, tens of thousands of cultivators were all racing against time to observe the law secret patterns manifested in the sky, which seemed like interlocking gears constantly rotating, before closing their eyes and meditating.
Luo Feng appeared to be comprehending them.
In reality, his consciousness had entered the cultivation grounds of the Virtual Universe Network, where he was conducting repeated practice sessions.
“The secret chamber for comprehending the Nine Universe Chaos Stele can be used by the next batch of cultivators tomorrow afternoon.” Luo Feng had already gone there to check. “Then I’ll break through the fifth level of the Heavenly Bridge tomorrow morning. As for now, this is the final period for consolidating my cultivation. I need to fuse everything I’ve comprehended over the years as much as possible and raise the power of the Yan Shen Weapon to its peak.”
Comprehension was important.
Being able to display the power of that comprehension was equally important.
“Hmm?”
Luo Feng opened his eyes on the rooftop.
“Come and see me immediately!”
A voice sounded directly beside Luo Feng’s ears and inside his mind.
“Come and see me immediately!”
“Come and see me immediately!”
“Come and see me immediately!”
“Come and see me immediately!”
The voice echoed again and again, causing all 816 surviving geniuses out of the original 1,000 to stop cultivating.
“Is it the Venerable?” Luo Feng immediately shot into the sky.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!…
Across the vast and boundless Chaos City, with its drifting streams of air, figures shot into the sky from every region. More than 900 figures flew towards the same direction.
High above Chaos City, a dark blue fish nearly a thousand metres long, resembling a monster from the primordial chaos, slowly swayed its tail fin as it flew through the sometimes shattered and sometimes condensed chaotic space. An imposing aura that made people instinctively submit emanated from within this dark blue fish-shaped spacecraft.
Click!
The hatch in the belly of the “great fish” opened, and more than a dozen figures flew out. At the forefront was a purple-scaled man wearing cyan battle robes. Suddenly, the “great fish” that had been floating in mid-air disappeared directly.
At this moment, Luo Feng and the 816 geniuses, together with nearly 100 Immortal beings, had already gathered high above Chaos City and were respectfully waiting.
“Greetings, Venerable!”
The group of Immortal beings respectfully saluted.
“Greetings, Venerable!”
Luo Feng and the vast group of geniuses also respectfully saluted in mid-air.
“Hmph!”
A cold snort sounded, like a heavy hammer striking the hearts of everyone in mid-air. The purple-scaled man in cyan robes was like a heavenly god, his cold eyes sweeping over the huge group of people floating below. Meanwhile, the tens of thousands of cultivators in Chaos City all felt tremendous pressure and did not even dare to raise their heads.
“How terrifying.” Sweat uncontrollably seeped from Luo Feng’s forehead.
It was as if…
It was as if an ant were being stared at by a ten-thousand-zhang giant dragon.
“I didn’t expect a Venerable to be this terrifying when angry.” Luo Feng held his breath inwardly. “When I first met Nine Swords Venerable in the Virtual Universe Network, perhaps only his consciousness was contained within the Virtual Universe Network, so the pressure wasn’t very strong. The last time he came here, he had also kept his pressure restrained. I didn’t expect that once he released even a little…”
Silence.
Nearly 100 Immortal beings and more than 800 geniuses were completely afraid to make a sound.
“Chaos City was arranged as the safest place for you.” The purple-scaled man in cyan robes stood in the void like a heavenly god, looking down at the group below. “Nearly two tenths of your original 1,000 people have already died. You have truly disappointed me!”
Silence.
Above Chaos City, Luo Feng and the others could only obediently listen, not daring to speak.
“In another ten days, you will leave Chaos City.” The purple-scaled man in cyan robes said indifferently. “It won’t be this safe then. Even in a place as safe as Chaos City, two tenths of you have died. Once you return to the original universe, I’m afraid that within just a hundred years, only 500 of you will remain.”
“Hmph.”
“Use these final ten days wisely. Those who should challenge the Heavenly Bridge, go and challenge it. Those who should comprehend the Chaos Stele, hurry and comprehend it. Once you leave Chaos City, it will be a very long time before you can return again.” The purple-scaled man in cyan robes waved his hand and ordered, “Go.”
“Yes!”
The large group of people respectfully responded.
Immediately, they scattered with a whoosh, flying towards different parts of Chaos City. The pressure before a Venerable was simply too great.