This document had been reported by his mother’s side of the family.
Shang Yifan’s mother was a cousin of Shang Yanfei. She had great influence and many informants.
“What’s the use of acquiring these Gu? A first‑rank Dog‑Controlling Gu, a second‑rank Paper Crane Gu, and a first‑rank Explosive Egg Gu?” Shang Yifan frowned deeply, racking his brains but coming up with nothing.
“I heard that Shang Xinci entrusted the full sum of one hundred thousand to Fang Zheng. Fang Zheng is strong in combat, but he hasn’t shown any business talent before. This haphazard acquisition is just messing around and weakening his own strength. Could it be that I overestimated them?”
Shang Yifan thought.
Although his cultivation wasn’t high, he had also developed business acumen and had a decent understanding of the market.
According to common sense, any experienced businessman wouldn’t choose to acquire Gu insects on such a large scale.
Because this investment had no prospect of returns!
But Shang Yifan kept turning it over in his mind, and a sense of unease lingered in his heart. He felt he had missed something, as if behind this seemingly insane buying spree there was a scheme from the other side.
Just then, the old butler reported outside the door: “Young master, something big just happened that requires your immediate attention.”
“Oh, please come in, Butler Zhang.” Shang Yifan quickly called him in.
This Chief Steward Zhang was a capable subordinate of his mother. He had peak third‑rank cultivation, could handle things on his own, and was experienced. Naturally, Shang Yifan couldn’t treat him like an ordinary subordinate.
Shang Yifan’s mother had also advised him to treat Chief Steward Zhang with courtesy and to consult him often.
Butler Zhang entered, his expression grave: “Young Master Yifan, things are not good. The latest news from Three Fork Mountain is that someone has discovered the correct way to enter the inheritance.”
Earlier, although the Three Kings Inheritance had appeared, with yellow, blue and red pillars of light shooting into the sky, the inheritance had its own mysteries and no one could find the entrance.
After several days of intense exploration by many talented people, the method for entering the Three Kings Inheritance had been figured out.
Hearing Butler Zhang’s words, Shang Yifan immediately became intensely interested: “Oh, enter the Three Kings Inheritance? What needs to be done? Wait, could it be…”
Suddenly, his expression changed, and his eyes involuntarily fixed on the document he had just received.
He thought of a possibility and slowly rose from his seat.
Butler Zhang smiled bitterly: “Young Master Yifan seems to have guessed correctly. That’s right, to enter these three kings’ inheritances you need three different Gu. To enter the Dog King Inheritance in the yellow pillar, a Gu master must have refined at least a first‑rank Dog‑Controlling Gu. To enter the Letter King Inheritance in the blue pillar, the Gu master needs a Paper Crane Gu. To enter the Explosion King Inheritance in the red pillar, the requirement is at least one Explosive Egg Gu.”
“How could this be?” Shang Yifan exclaimed.
He plopped down into his chair, looking devastated.
He finally understood. This was why Fang Bai had mass‑purchased these three Gu.
Now, news of the Three Kings Inheritance had spread throughout the Southern Border. Three fifth‑rank Gu masters’ inheritances appearing at the same time — countless people were itching to get a piece of the action.
But to enter the Three Kings Inheritance, one must possess at least one of the three Gu.
But now, most of these three Gu in Shang City were concentrated in Shang Xinci’s hands. Unless they were fools, anyone could imagine how explosive their Gu trading business would be from now on.
Shang Yifan was no fool; on the contrary, he was very sharp, even more so than Shang Yazhi.
“Where did they get that information? And so accurate?”
“No, it’s useless to trace the source now. The key is, how do I stop them?”
A vicious glint flickered in Shang Yifan’s eyes as he racked his brains.
After a long time, a look of dejection and helplessness came over his face.
There was no way!
Shang Xinci’s side had done things cleanly. It was a very normal, very ordinary investment, but it stood out because it rode the wave of the Three Kings Inheritance.
Although they had spent far more than one hundred thousand yuan stones in the acquisition, this act didn’t violate the clan rules; at most, it exploited a loophole.
As long as the yuan stones earned were only calculated based on the initial capital of one hundred thousand, there was nothing improper.
If Shang Yifan wanted to challenge them on this, he would have no solid ground. Because he, too, was exploiting loopholes by using his mother’s resources, such as Butler Zhang. Strictly speaking, he was exploiting the loopholes even more ruthlessly than Shang Xinci.
“Young Master Yifan, this time the other side has obtained the most accurate intelligence. After this move, their capital will at least triple. We have no leverage over them, and it’s better not to use underhanded methods. Let’s focus on our own business. With Madam’s connections in Shang City, after three months you will have at least six hundred thousand, still enough to win.” Butler Zhang consoled him.
“Hmm, I suppose we have no choice…” Shang Yifan let out a breath, but a lingering unease wouldn’t go away.
The competition for the young master position had only just begun, and the other side had already given him such a “surprise”. He really wondered what else they would come up with.
Shang Yifan, originally full of confidence, began to feel more uncertain.
…