Capital.
Inside an upscale villa.
More than a dozen business tycoons, each capable of putting tens of thousands out of work with a flick of a finger, had gathered.
In the Dragon Kingdom, only two groups truly knew how to play the money game.
Tian Bo's European Capitalist Faction, and Seventh Master.
The Tian Family had risen with funding from the West, and most of those under them were magnates engaged in international trade.
Seventh Master was far more mysterious. Most people did not even know his true identity.
Most of Seventh Master's followers were industrialists with deep roots in the Dragon Kingdom.
At that moment, all these tycoons were looking at the man before the altar.
Dressed in ordinary office-worker clothes, his features obscured, the man held three sticks of incense and knelt respectfully on a prayer cushion.
"Seventh Master, Old Dong's in trouble. What do we do now?"
"Should we... gather some men and snatch him back?"
"Or have the Capital pressure Chun Prefecture and get him out first?"
Though anxious, the tycoons spoke with nothing but respect.
Even though, from behind, the man looked younger than all of them.
"Defeat comes at a price. Those are the rules of the game."
The man did not turn around. He raised the three sticks of incense above his head, maintaining his posture of worship as he said quietly, "Both sides are still testing the waters. Why panic?"
"But Old Dong..."
"He'll be fine." The man bowed to the idol without a care. "The point of this clash is to secure more benefits when we cooperate."
"If we kill Old Dong and burn our bridges, how are we supposed to cooperate?"
"Don't take Little White Tiger for a brute. He's just never had an education. His head isn't empty."
Seventh