Chapter 688 The fisherman

Chapter 688 The fisherman

""Fuu~"", Madam Liang and Zhao Biren heavily exhaled, opening their eyes as they, unlike Wu Long, had to concentrate and meditate in order to view, as well as influence, a remote location, not having the capacity to process two realities at the same time as he did.

Hong Yue, who was this whole time silently conversing with Wu Long, cut off her speech, seeing that they were no longer in the privacy of their companions being mentally preoccupied.

Though her conversation was not exactly of a private nature, as she was simply inquiring his motives in moving so stealthily and carefully, not openly initiating contact with any of the local official powers.

Though she could partially understand the reasons due to the information he revealed earlier, Hong Yue was in this conversation further affirmed in the sensibility of his actions, when she heard just how paper thin was the veil that separated them from a very tangible threat.

It was fine to assume that the local Iron Claw Group did not pose that much threat to him. In fact, he would likely not find any danger in approaching them directly and finding out any information he so desired, even if he had to antagonize them to do so. The reason he was careful, though, was because of something commonly called the "exponential escalation".

Even the most remote areas of civilized life in the Seven Boundless Worlds, still bore, however thin, a connection to the more affluent regions, and however insignificant and manageable one might at first find their opponents upon arriving in a new Boundless Worlds, they would very quickly realize that confronting them without proper knowledge can disproportionately rapidly escalate to trouble beyond their means.

Directly confronting local forces might truly be easy, but was too reckless of a move in absence of any information about whose influence was present in the area. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

This was something confirmed by the information provided by the man who so generously decided to share his knowledge with them.

As soon as their business was complete, Wu Long's group got up from the table, leaving a small sum of money transported to them by Fen Baihu, and quietly disappeared into the crowd. Although if one were to look for them after, they were nowhere to be found in the city.

—

As Old Yen continued a more soft search of information with the funds so generously provided by the man lost in the dreams of a Mystic Realm, Wu Long returned with the little group to the Eternal Duality Valley where the key figures gathered for another small council, to share and discuss the newly received information, as well as preliminary plans for the future.

"We don't need to", Wu Long chuckled, earning quite a few raised eyebrows, and then with a chuckled giving an explanation, "the first order of business was information, and we have succeeded in procuring what we needed before any of the big players entered the stage. Now, we are no longer in such a vulnerable position, so we can turn our attention to growing our capabilities and developing our strength, something I told you we have to do"

The urgency of Wu Long's first move was to fix a fatal weakness in their position, which was the blindness toward their situation and environment, that made any and all moves extremely dangerous.

Now, however, they were instead in the position of power, since they knew about those around them more than the latter knew about them.

"So your plan is to dive deep and just stay low while consolidating our strength?", Xue Bing asked with a bit of bluntness, expressing what others thought but did not voice.

After all, it was a little hard to believe that he would take such a passive approach.

"Hahaha, no, of course not. We will also be gradually strengthening our positions and expanding our influence, but that has to be a very careful and gradual process in order to not lose our advantage", Wu Long lightly laughed, seeing that no one really believed he wanted to lay low, "we do lack funds, after all. So our second order of business would be to discreetly enter the local market"

"What currency are they using here?", Sui Luxiao's eyes lit up at the mention of the local economy.

"Mm, while I did say that countries of cultivators took up a smaller percentage of territory in the Boundless Worlds, their influence goes way beyond their actual borders. Each region's cultivators use the currency of the overlord of the region. In the case of this region, it is the Wei Dynasty that Old Man Zhao was a vassal of, and thus for several hundred Worlds around, the currency is their coin"

"Then I suppose there is a market of exchange between those powerful nations?", Sui Luxiao nodded with understanding, clarifying the first thing that came to mind.

"Yes, and that is where powerful Trading Companies and other international organizations come into play as well. Overall, the economy here is more complex than in the Three Continents, and there are many players involved. So if we were to aim big for the foreseeable future, it would be to expand the Soaring Feather Trading Company and its influence over the economy of the region, and if possible, further still"

As he made this goal clear, Sui Luxiao's eyes flared with excitement and anticipation. Cao Mei and Cao Xiang also looked at each other as they realized that there was a busy time ahead.

"Well, for now, as you heard, there will soon be a struggle between major forces here, it would be a waste not to use it", Wu Long then added with a grin.

"Hahaha! When the Sandpiper and the Clam fight each other, it's the Fisherman who benefits! Valley Master is wise!", General Feng's voice thundered as he proclaimed his approval as Wu Long's grin froze.