"Master, the latest secret report from the Chang Kong Sea confirms that the Money Guild has made a move."
At the Floating Cloud Platform in the Que Luo Immortal Abode, in the North Sea, Nie Yingzhi once again came before Li Ling to report the news.
Li Ling glanced at the report and sighed. "War beacons have been flaring everywhere lately, and the workings of heaven are shrouded in chaos. All manner of prediction and divination have lost their effectiveness. Yet some people take this as their golden opportunity and sneak out to stir up trouble. How foolish."
He felt neither anger nor regret, only a faint sense of wistfulness.
Nie Yingzhi said nothing. He knew this matter had far-reaching implications and did not feel it was his place to speak lightly.
"The Four Seas Commerce Guild has always been a mercantile power that puts profit first. It is hardly surprising that they would do something like this. But the Money Guild has its own factions, too. We must still seek the support of the Grand Elders friendly to us, unless they turn against us as well."
After giving these instructions, Li Ling told Nie Yingzhi to act as though nothing had happened and dismissed him.
Once Nie Yingzhi had left, Li Ling picked up the secret letter and read it again.
The sect's informants scattered throughout the market towns had detected unusual transfers of resources and treasures within the Money Guild, confirming that it had entered the fray.
Those people had blocked investigation by cultivators' methods, but their influence at the grassroots level was insufficient, making it difficult to evade the Incense Accumulation Sect's informants entirely.
Thus, the two special envoys dispatched by the Money Guild soon had their movements exposed.
What had truly alerted the informants was that