From the very beginning, Lu Yin had thought the Si Ma Merchant Association was backed by the Gate of All Laws. After all, the association specialized in finding materials for the Sequence Foundation for the Gate of All Laws. It was only when Yue Susu negotiated with Yi Shang moments ago that he understood: the materials eventually reached the Gate of All Laws, but they weren't supplied directly by the Si Ma Merchant Association. They were first sent to Beyond Heaven, which then delivered them to the Gate of All Laws.
This arrangement kept the Gate of All Laws from dealing directly with the Si Ma Merchant Association.
The Si Ma Merchant Association was backed by Beyond Heaven, not the Gate of All Laws.
Yue Susu had pressured Yi Shang to agree to stop competing with the Si Ma Merchant Association for Sequence Foundation materials. Yi Shang didn't refuse because he was unwilling, but because he wasn't authorized to agree. The General Merchant Association was supposed to find Sequence Foundation materials for the Gate of All Laws that could bypass Beyond Heaven. If he agreed to Yue Susu's demand, he would be unable to honor his agreement with the Gate of All Laws.
Only when Zhan Ming appeared and gave his word could the matter be settled.
Yue Susu had laid everything out in advance. If Zhan Ming and Yi Shang refused, she would go down with them and expose the connection between the Gate of All Laws and the General Merchant Association. If they agreed, Yue Ting would step in and abandon Yue Susu.
Everyone had their own schemes, each link leading to the next. If Lu Yin hadn't saved Yue Susu, he might not have forced this connection into the open, and Old Man Yu might not have