As for the argument that the Lion Cards primarily measured influence rather than strength, and that Guo Jiuxiao and Li Tianming lacked the reach to earn a place on them?
In the past, that would indeed have been true.
But Qin Siyang had figured it out. This update to the Lion Cards was telling everyone that the criteria for the rankings had changed.
In just half a year, Yan Budong, Jiang Yuanrui, Choi Chan-hoon, Zhang Yingrui, Osses, and others-one titan on the Lion Cards after another-had died.
Their influence, wealth, and clout had all become meaningless the moment they died.
The prestige of the Lion Cards had steadily declined.
With countless bloody examples before their eyes, the Warren Merchants' Association naturally understood this all too well.
To keep the Lion Cards foremost among the Lion, Tiger, Wolf, and Snake Cards, the Warren Merchants' Association had made control over a power base, combined with the ability to protect oneself, the core principle behind its revised criteria.
A big shot on the Lion Cards who commanded vast forces but was as feeble as a lamb hardly deserved to be called a lion. That crown was nothing more than a mark of death that attracted hunters.
Ultimately, a crown of authority needed strength to support it.
The powerhouses who stood upon the Tiger Cards might not have vast organizations or businesses spread across the land. They might even operate alone.
But each of them was a mobile fortress of war! A walking natural disaster!
They possessed the terrifying ability to disregard the barriers of influence and take a commanding general's head in the midst of an army!
More importantly, they possessed equally formidable means of protecting themselves.
Surround and kill them? That was harder than climbing to heaven!
One person was an army!