Mingdu, the Ordinary Alliance, the Green Cloud Hotel.
In a luxurious hall hidden from the public, Alliance Leader Shangguan Wei'er sat with her brows tightly furrowed, her alluring face looking rather grim.
Besides the Ordinary Alliance's experts, members of the Aodu Chamber of Commerce were also present in the hall, seated opposite her. Naturally, the man sitting directly across from Shangguan Wei'er was the chamber's president, An Litong.
The two remaining underground powers in Mingdu had gathered. Naturally, they were not planning any good deeds.
An Litong watched Shangguan Wei'er and remarked with a sinister edge, "The Ordinary Alliance put so much into preparing for the Soul Engineer Tournament. It seems the results weren't all that impressive."
A fierce glint flashed through Shangguan Wei'er's eyes.
Although the Ordinary Alliance had paid a considerable price to win the previous underground Soul Engineer Tournament and gain control over the underground forces' rare metal smuggling, that victory had soon burst like a bubble.
After taking the throne through a coup, the new emperor had ordered stronger cooperation with other nations and the gradual easing of export restrictions on rare metals.
The once immensely profitable smuggling industry had suffered a devastating blow overnight. All those arrangements had gone down the drain.
That alone would not have wounded the Ordinary Alliance so deeply, but Shangguan Wei'er had keenly sensed that other forces were encroaching on Mingdu's most important black markets and Soul Tool industries. It was not just the Ordinary Alliance. The other underground powers were facing the same thing.
That was precisely why she had arranged this discussion with the Aodu Chamber of Commerce today.
"President An, you must have noticed the unusual developments in Mingdu lately. This isn't the time for us to attack each other."
An Litong composed himself and said gravely,