Several figures suddenly appeared on Zhong Dingming's lenses.
A trace of confusion crossed Zhong Dingming's eyes. "Li Tianming and Zhang Kuang? Why have those two come to see me?"
"Who? You're saying Li Tianming and Zhang Kuang came to see you?"
"Yes. I've never had any dealings with them. I don't know why they're here."
"...That's strange. Isn't Li Tianming supposed to be opposing Guo Jiuxiao? We have no connection to Guo Jiuxiao..."
Zhong Dingming shook his head. "I don't know. Oh, seeing Li Tianming just reminded me of something. How did it go with persuading Lu Daoxing to join our church?"
"Lu Daoxing? I contacted him. He told me to go back and wait to hear from him, and then there was no further word."
"It seems Lu Daoxing has turned us down."
"Turned us down? How could that be?"
"Someone must have offered him more." A bitter smile touched Zhong Dingming's lips. "The gap in capabilities between us and our competitors really isn't something we can close in the short term."
"You mean Lu Daoxing went to the World-Destroying Church? But I heard the World-Destroying Church has very close ties with Jiang Hao. They've even accepted considerable resources from the Bright Sun Merchants' Association for joint research. Calling them wild grass and wildflowers growing together every day wouldn't be an exaggeration. Why would they recruit Lu Daoxing and upset Jiang Hao?"
Zhong Dingming explained, "The Bright Sun Merchants' Association's prestige has suffered greatly ever since Lu Daoxing single-handedly tore through them time and again. Jiang Hao is the only one left in the Jiang Family, and one man can't hold everything up alone. His value as a partner has plummeted in the World-Destroying Church's eyes."
"The World-Destroying Church has always wanted to expand. But they lack top talent