The Exchange Tower's Former Members Return, the Merchant Guilds Join Forces to Cut Off Supplies

Ren handed him a pen.

"Write down each item: old belongings of Exchange Tower, a list of former employees, and assets that were acquired."

Lu Ping looked down at the pen in his hand.

"OP, I..."

"You're not working for me."

Ren looked at him.

"You are keeping accounts for those who have died."

Lu Ping took a deep breath.

He raised his head and forced himself to stand up straight.

Then, he solemnly wrote down the first name on the paper.

After Qing Luo Hai was taken away, the prisoners in the underground warehouse were gradually brought back to light.

They've been locked up for too long.

So long that I've almost forgotten what freedom tastes like.

Lu Ping stared at the tattered scrolls, broken crates, and bloodstained chains scattered on the ground, speechless for a moment.

He guarded it for more than ten years.

All for waiting for someone whom everyone had already assumed was dead.

Now that Ren was actually standing in front of him, he felt like he was dreaming.

Ren did not immediately have these people acknowledge him as their master.

He had the account books, prescriptions, Void Link Ring, and remaining supplies all laid out on the table.

"Exchange Tower can be restructured."

Ren looked at the crowd in front of him.

"But not by relying on a group of people forced to bow their heads."

Those who want to stay, follow the rules.

"Those who wish to leave will receive sufficient resources for healing and travel expenses."

"You can choose for yourselves."

The warehouse remained quiet for a long time.

No one immediately reached out and took the resources.

A man with a missing arm suddenly knelt down, his knees slamming heavily onto the ground.

His voice was hoarse, but very clear.

"Back then, the landlord rescued me from the black market, gave me martial arts techniques, and fed me."

I'm not leaving.

Lu Ping closed his eyes, his shoulders trembling slightly.

The man with the missing arm looked up.

"Exchange Tower is gone, I can hide."

"But the host is back, I can't hide anymore."

His words were like a tear in the heart.

More of his former subordinates knelt down in succession.

Lu Ping's eyes were red, but he still forced himself to stand up straight.

He straightened his clothes and performed the most solemn business greeting towards Ren.

"Lu Ping, Former Exchange Tower members, greets the Lord of the Tower."

Ren did not correct his form of address.

He raised his hand, took out a Void Link Ring, and handed it to Lu Ping.

Lu Ping accepted it with both hands.

The moment the ring touched my palm, the broken black and white Pattern lit up again.

Faint messages emerged from the ring face.

Some people work as mercenaries on the border.

Someone is hiding in the mining area.

Someone lives in anonymity and runs a small shop.

Some people hid at the border of the three kingdoms, making a living by identifying Desolate Beast materials for caravans.

The roots of Exchange Tower have not been completely severed.

Those scattered throughout the Profound Wilderness region never truly forgot this name.

Lu Ping gazed at the messages in the Void Network, tears finally streamed down his face.

Fugaku stood to the side, his expression complex.

The Heaven-Mending Clone has perished, but the foundation he left behind far exceeded everyone's expectations.

Ren quickly categorized the information into four types: trade routes, intelligence, former subordinates, and hostile forces.

"Itachi, record all messages."

"Shisui, verify the authenticity, and prioritize confirming the location of the old troops."

"Yes."

Itachi took out the scroll and quickly memorized each message from the Void Network.

Shisui then continuously compared the information from various places, marking duplicates, contradictions, and unconfirmed content.

Sasuke stood to the side, watching intently.

In the past, he thought that building power meant defeating enemies and occupying territory.

But now he realizes that to truly rebuild a force, it requires organizing resources, confirming manpower, distinguishing truth from falsehood, and dealing with every seemingly insignificant piece of information.

Defeating the enemy is just the beginning.

Kaguya walked to the deepest part of the warehouse and raised her hand to set up a spatial barrier.

Black and white Pattern intertwined in the void, concealing the fluctuations between the Void Link node and the Dimension Altar.

She turned to look at Ren.

"The spatial fluctuations here have been observed by many people."

"If external surveillance isn't cut off, the connection between the Void Link and the Dimension Altar will be exposed sooner or later."

Ren nodded.

He raised his hand, using the Yin–Yang Power to reinforce the barrier.

The black and white energies spread along the underground rock layers, and the originally obvious spatial fluctuations quickly merged into the earth and disappeared completely.

As everyone was cleaning the warehouse, a secret letter from the north of the city was transmitted back via Void Link.

The secret letter was unsigned.

There was only one sentence inside.

"The Azure Luo Merchant Guilds is not backed by a single force. Several long-established Merchant Guilds along the border of the three countries have joined forces, preparing to cut off the supply of goods before Exchange Tower can establish itself."

After reading it, Lu Ping's face turned pale, and he said in a low voice, "They're not afraid of the old members of Exchange Tower; they're afraid of the Lou Master returning."

When the news reached the underground warehouse, the faces of the people, who had initially felt a sense of joy at regaining their freedom, turned grim once again.

The former subordinates exchanged glances, and their backs, which had just straightened, slowly bent back down again.

"So many years have passed, and they still won't let us go?"

"Exchange Tower is already gone, what else do they want?"

"Do we have to uproot even this last bit?"

The murmurs grew fainter and fainter, until only suppressed gasps remained.

Ren did not rush to respond.

He looked up at the outside of the warehouse.

The members of the Azure Luo Merchant Guilds had been taken away by the city's stewards, and the merchants and mercenaries who had been watching gradually dispersed. However, in their eyes, besides fear of the Azure Luo Merchant Guilds, there was also a hint of hesitation.

They are waiting.

Whether Exchange Tower can truly rise again remains to be seen.

Ren reached out and took the ledger from Lu Ping's hand.

The ledger was filled with names: missing shopkeepers, shops that had been swallowed up, and guards who had followed Exchange Tower on his journeys north and south.

Behind each name is a record of the last place they were last seen.

Han Zhong.

Ren closed the ledger.

Han Zhong stepped forward.

"Young Master Lu."

"Take some men and invite the shopkeepers from the nearby shops. Don't force them; let them come if they want to."

Han Zhong slightly taken aback.

What are we going to do with them?

"Check the accounts."

Ren spoke calmly.

"Let them see how Exchange Tower's goods were swallowed up and how their trade routes were taken away."

Han Zhong immediately understood.

The Azure Luo Merchant Guilds has been operating for many years, and many people know in their hearts that they do shady things, but without evidence, no one dares to stand up.

Now the ledgers, witness testimonies, and victims are all here.

Once things are brought to the forefront, it won't be so easy for the Azure Luo Merchant Guilds to cover it up with a claim of falsified accounts.

"I'll go right away."

Han Zhong turned and left.

Ren then looked at Lu Ping.

How much of Exchange Tower's inventory from back then is left?

Lu Ping lowered his head and flipped through the account books, his voice hoarse.

"The goods that were openly available had already been taken by the Azure Luo Merchant Guilds. The only things left secretly were some Spiritual Materials, fragments of Soul Artifact, and a few batches of Pill that hadn't been shipped out yet."

Where are the ledgers?

Everything you can find is here.

"Manpower?"

Lu Ping remained silent for a moment.

"I'm afraid there aren't many people who are truly willing to come back."

"Some of those who left back then were forced out, some voluntarily joined other Merchant Guilds, and some..."

He didn't continue speaking.

Ren already understood.

More than a decade after the fall of Exchange Tower, the former members of the group each faced their own difficulties.

If we don't have enough staff, we'll hire more.

Ren put the ledger back on the table.

If there aren't enough goods, order more.

"If the trade route is cut off, then reconnect it."