Chapter 1213: Fantastic!
Silver Frost lost again. This time, the defeat was utter and complete. With this win, no one dared doubt the ability of Hong Dali’s team. People’s impressions of them had taken a 180-degree turn. They even felt that Silver Frost had gotten lucky in the second section of the Astral Genius Battle only because Hong Dali did not take part in it!
“It seems that Silver Frost is very lucky. He wouldn’t have gotten first if Hong Dali participated in the second stage of the Astral Genius Battle.” “He got himself a good deal by coming in first this time. At least he had a chance to come in first once.” “Hehe, it seems that Hong Dali is the real champion now. Speaking of which, I’m really looking forward to their next battle.” “Well, Hong Dali’s team is so strong. I wonder what will happen in the Group Battle that is coming up next.”
Everyone was talking about Hong Dali’s team. They were all full of anticipation for the Group Battle that was to follow.
“Dean Fergos.” Even the mentors of the various Astrals were filled with anticipation. McCarron was the most anxious. “Hong Dali won so cleanly this time. I can barely wait for the next round. Shall we begin immediately?”
As soon as he said this, all the other mentors nodded vehemently.
“This…” Fergos touched his beard. It felt good that all the mentors were being so polite and respectful to him. After considering it for a moment, he said, “Okay, no hurry. Let’s take a day off first. Even if we want to begin immediately, everyone must be properly rested. The Group Battle usually lasts more than 10 days, waiting another day to start will not make a big difference.”
What he said was very reasonable, and all mentors nodded their agreement in unison.
And so, Fergos stood up and announced that the Astral Genius Battle was officially over. Everyone was to have a good rest. The Group Battle, which was a large-scale battle, would begin the day after tomorrow.
…
On the Internet, almost everyone was discussing the topic of how Hong Dali came out first in the Astral Genius Battle—
“Hong Dali is really amazing. Did you see it? A team made up of slaves was able to defeat the number one from the Astral Genius Battle! This is way beyond my imagination! Silver Frost is definitely not weak!”
“It’s not an exaggeration. Hong Dali is invincible! You might not know, but I was there watching the battle. It was so fantastic! The Tauren’s defense was invincible. Even Silver Frost’s powerful attack was unable to break through!”
“The Tauren not only has an invincible defense, but all their magicians are also able to cast magic instantly. It’s amazing. The entire team is made up of instant-cast magicians. The Goblin too. The power of their explosives is terrifying.”
With discussions like this all over the Internet, Hong Dali became a household name almost overnight…
…
In the Hong Family estate.
“Aiya, hello, hello, I’m Dronzaro of Salma Astral. I have come to talk to you about working together in some businesses.” A handsome middle-aged man quickly stretched out his hand in greeting when he saw Hua Yueling. “Please accept my humble greeting.”
“Hehe, no need to be so polite.” Hua Yueling led him into the reception room. There were already several people sitting in the reception room, all of whom were royalty from the major Astrals. On the Hong Family’s side, the head of the Ye family, their ally, Ye Wuyou, was also present.
After sitting down, Dronzaro looked at the royalty from the various Astrals and greeted them first. Then, he looked at Hua Yueling and asked curiously, “Old Madam Hua, Old Master Hong is not around?”
It was best to have the head of the family present when talking about business, especially inter-astral business. Otherwise, it tended to be difficult.
“My husband is in retreat.” Hua Yueling understood what Dronzaro meant. She said with a smile, “You can discuss any business with me. I can still make the decision.”
With that, Dronzalo calmed down and smiled. “Well, that’s good. I came here to discuss the trade of elixirs and inlaying of gemstones with your family.”
As he spoke, he looked at the Astral Royal Families around him and added, “Of course, I think everyone is already aware of Hong Dali’s accomplishments. He’s powerful beyond our imagination. Cooperating with Shenglong Astral is definitely something that will pay well in the future. Everyone should be here for the same reason?”
First, he expressed his intentions. Then, he praised Hong Dali. It was smooth and put everyone at ease.
Sure enough, the other Astral Royal Families nodded in unison. And one of them laughed. “Yes, Shenglong Astral has a talented person like Hong Dali who won the first place in the Astral Genius Battle when he was not even a Heaven’s Chosen One. I came here as soon as I heard about it, so as to be the first. When I got here, I realized I was still too late, hahaha.”
He made it sound funny and everyone suddenly laughed.
Hua Yueling loved listening to people praising Hong Dali. Her little sweetheart was now also her pride. What the man said resonated with her and she could not stop smiling. “Aiya, hear what you are saying. Our little sweetheart is just lucky, hehe.”
“How can that be?” Dronzaro shook his head decisively. “Surely he cannot have such a clean victory based on just good luck alone? Silver Frost has reached the stage of achieving his Realm and he’s very powerful. Yet, he lost. Furthermore, he lost to Hong Dali’s slaves. Even I couldn’t believe it! Old Madam Hua, to be honest, if Hong Dali is willing to let go of them, I’m willing to pay 100 billion Astral Dollars for his team.”
One hundred billion Astral Dollars to buy their team! That in itself was a clear indication of their value.
“Mr. Dronzaro must be joking.” Hua Yueling smiled and shook her head. She naturally knew that Dronzaro was just trying to express to the others how valuable he thought the team was. She replied, “Our little sweetheart enjoys squandering. This team of slaves was something he put together for fun. Whether or not they are for sale is not up to me, hehe. Shall we get down to business?”
“Okay.” Dronzaro had said what he wanted to and was perfectly happy to move on. “I mean, I plan to import things such as Kehui melons and Gurong Fruit, etc, from Shenglong Astral. The price shall be in accordance with the current market price, which is roughly estimated at 200 billion. Does Old Madam think it’s a reasonable number?”
Kehui melons and Gurong Fruit were the specialty elixirs of Shenglong Astral. Kehui Melon could permanently increase Strength by 40, and Gurong Fruit could increase Agility by 30 points. They were excellent elixirs. The market price of Kehui Melon was 60,000 Shenglong Dollars and Gurong Fruit was 50,000 Shenglong Dollars.
Dronzaro’s opening offer of 200 billion was quite a large order—although it was not a huge deal, the number of people who had come to talk business was quite substantial.
Even if the Hing Family only earned 20% of this 200 billion, that was 40 billion. More than 10 Astrals came today to discuss business regarding the Holy Garment and more people would show up later. Hong Dali got trillions in financial gain from coming in first in the Astral Genius Battle. If there were other big deals, the Hong family would easily make one or two trillion Astral Dollars.
“Haha, there’s room for discussion.” Hua Yueling was smiling so widely her face might split if it got any wider. “Everyone should get a share if there’s money to be earned. Mister Dronzaro’s suggestion is perfectly acceptable.”
As soon as this topic was breached, everyone immediately started talking business.
With the Astral Genius Battle champion Hong Dali here, everyone was optimistic about the future of Shenglong Astral. In view of that, they were all here to better relations at their own expense. Hence, they were all very generous with their conditions. It was hard to refuse them.
…
On the other side, in the Shenglong Divine College.
A large group of people gathered at the entrance of Hong Dali’s bedroom. Almost all of these people were Heaven’s Chosen Ones from the various Astrals. There were more than 50 of them. They had all come here intending to pledge allegiance to Hong Dali.
After all, they still had to take part in the Shuraba and they would be easily wiped out if they did not work hard. By then, what they lose would be their lives.
“Everyone, stand in an orderly manner and queue properly. Do you understand me?” Li Yang stood proudly at Hong Dali’s door looking at the Heaven’s Chosen Ones in front of him. He said, “Young Master is sleeping. No one is allowed to disturb him when he’s sleeping, do you understand? Otherwise, if Young Master gets angry, there’s no way he’ll accept any of you! Only when Young Master is happy can you be happy. If Young Master is depressed, everyone will be depressed. There’s no escape!”
A large group of Heaven’s Chosen Ones nodded in unison. “I understand! I understand!”
Within the crowd, Kong looked at Li Yang with an intense look. He knew that Li Yang was Hong Dali’s number two lackey. After he had used all kinds of means to find out more about Li Yang’s origins, he was even more full of admiration for Hong Dali.
“Kong,” Yu Muming whispered, “do you think Li Yang’s background is really as low as we have heard?”
“Of course.” Kong had not skimped on the information gathering these few days. He had thoroughly scrutinized the backgrounds of everyone who was with Hong Dali. He whispered, “Li Yang was one of the first to follow Hong Dali. He was just an ordinary person. Simply put, a civilian. We can kill millions of those with one move. What happened to him? Ever since he started following Hong Dali, he has not had to endure any hardship and everything has been smooth-sailing. His strength has increased by leaps and bounds. It has only been slightly more than a year since he first arrived here in the universe. Now, he is already a Third-Order Star Sector-level awakened ability user. How much have we improved in the past year?”
“It’s that scary?!” Yu Muming was completely stunned.
One year, in just one year, they had risen from an ordinary civilian to Third-Order Star Sector-level awakened ability user? This was a speed he only dared dream of! His own ability did not improve that much in the past year!
“Follow Dali, I must follow Dali!” Yu Muming gritted his teeth fiercely. “This time I have to seize the opportunity no matter what!”
Just as he made up his mind, Li Yang suddenly brightened up and said loudly, “Everyone, keep quiet and line up, Young Master is awake! Don’t push, don’t argue. As for who will become Young Master’s next lackey, it will depend on his mood! Do you all understand me?!”
