The communications experts behind Ye Zichen felt a surge of terror at the bulky man’s aura.
Even the guards were immortal kings! A faction at this level could obliterate the Heavenly Court or Underworld in the blink of an eye.
However, judging from the guards’ expressions, it seemed they didn’t recognize Emperor Ye.
But didn’t Emperor Ye tell them on the way here that he’d founded Upheaval?
Ye Zichen backed down the stairs and smiled bitterly despite himself. His own subordinates had blocked his path! This felt rather awkward.
“You… don’t recognize me?” asked Ye Zichen probingly. When they heard that, the guards’ hearts shook.
One of them couldn’t help but ask carefully, “You are?”
When he heard that, Ye Zichen sighed, seemingly deflated. It seemed like he kept too low a profile. Even members of his own gang didn’t recognize him!
The atmosphere was rather hard to take, but what could Ye Zichen do? He couldn’t blame the guards; they were acting in accordance with gang regulations.
“Forget it. Just return to your work.” He rubbed his nose, walked up to a nearby tree, leaned against the trunk, and sent Wei Jie a message. Before long, a voluptuous woman stepped outside of the base.
“Elder Yue.” The immortal kings guarding the entrance nodded at her. She tilted her head slightly, then looked off into the distance.
“I’m over here!” When Ye Zichen saw her, he left the shade and raised his hand.
This was none other than one of the human immortals who’d helped him establish Upheaval right at the start, Yue Zhilan.
When she saw Ye Zichen, her eyes lit up with delight. In a few steps, she rushed up to him, then bowed as befit a subordinate. “You’ve returned, Your Excellency.”
“Mm. Why didn’t Wei Jie come out? What, has being gang leader for so long gone to his head?” asked Ye Zichen.
“Your Excellency, you’ve misunderstood. Wei Jie is not currently in Raging Flame City. When he got your news, he immediately notified me so I could come greet you. His Excellency, Wei Jie, has poured ihs heart and soul to the gang, and is deeply loyal to you. Please understand.”
Ye Zichen had really just said that as a joke, and was surprised that Yue Zhilan would explain it so earnestly. Also, her expression just now was a little frantic.
Something was wrong!
Ye Zichen chuckled at her, then said, “Alright, alright, I know full well how loyal Wei Jie is. No need to go on about that; let’s go on inside.”
“Please, after you.” Yue Zhilan walked a step behind him and entered Upheaval’s main headquarters.
“Did you hear what Elder Yue said just now?” said one of the immortal king guards.
“She said Boss Wei was deeply loyal to that man…. Doesn’t that mean that esteemed gentleman was the secret leader behind our gang?” The man who’d stopped Ye Zichen put his head in his hands. “What did I do just now?”
In the Mental Cultivation Hall.
Since Ye Zichen didn’t want too many people to know of his existence, Yue Zhilan led him directly here.
Upheaval was such a vast organization and so much went on that, whenever Wei Jie had spare time, he liked to sit here and look up at the night sky.
Only elders and higher were allowed in. It was private and secluded.
“Wei Jie’s got it awfully good!” The past few years, Chen Jiannan and the others had bullied Ye Zichen to the limits of his endurance, so when he saw the luxurious Mental Cultivation Hall, he was a little jealous.
“Your Excellency, Wei Jie, he…” Yue Zhilan wanted to stick up for him again.
Ye Zichen couldn’t help but shake his head and laugh, “Hm, it’s a little strange! Why do you get so nervous the moment I say anything even slightly critical of Wei Jie? Is there something going on between you two?”
Yue Zhilan’s face inexplicably reddened. “Last year, Wei Jie and I got married.”
“….” No wonder she got so nervous every time he brought up Wei Jie! So they’d gotten married.
Ye Zichen stared blanky at Yue Zhilan, who’d gone red with embarrassment. After a brief pause, he reached into the Yao-Sealing Pagoda and took out an ice spirit pearl.
This pearl’s level wasn’t all that high; it was just an immortal artifact. However, it had the effect of continuously providing moisture, and it kept your skin smooth and lustrous. Ye Zichen had obtained it after robbing one of the female sky supremes.
He had no use for it, so he could pass it onto someone else. “I’m sorry I couldn’t attend your wedding. Please take this pearl as a congratulatory gift.”
“Your Excellency, this….”
“Take it.” He pushed it into her hands, and although she tried to refuse, when she sensed the pearl’s effects, her refusal weakened a little.
What woman didn’t want to make herself more beautiful?
Ye Zichen noted her subtle movements; they revealed her true intentions. He couldn’t help but chuckle.
He took a seat and said, “Upheaval has developed nicely in three years I was gone. I noticed that even the guards are immortal kings? Also, they had Blazing Lions. Those are pretty expensive, aren’t they?”
Blazing Lions were similar to yao, but they were magic beasts, not true yao.
Even so, their combat prowess was exceptional. Even a Blazing Lion cub was on part with a human immortal, and in adulthood, they could reach the supreme level.
Yao permitted humans to buy and sell magic beasts, but they were extremely costly.
“That’s right.” When he asked about the gang, Yue Zhilan’s aura shifted a little. “We now thoroughly live up to our reputation as the number one faction of the Lower Lands. Our ranks include over three million immortal kings and countless sky, earth, and human immortals. Actually, Blazing Lions are just second-rate battle beasts here; every immortal king has one. However, we only have six thousand spectral horses, so only base leaders and higher can use them.”
“Then aren’t we tight on funds?” asked Ye Zichen in surprise.
“Reporting to His Excellency, the gang already has no further need for external support. Every month we bring in an estimated four billion coins in profit, and that’s a conservative estimate.”
“Four billion?” When Ye Zichen heard that, he was rather stunned. Back when he’d first established Upheaval, the gang was like a black hole.
He’d toss in a billion coins and they’d burn through them in just a few days. Ye Zichen had wracked his brains and gone to great lengths just to support and stabilize the gang’s daily expenditures.
Now, only three years had passed, but they’d undergone such an earth-shaking, heaven-defying transformation.
“If we had a genius in the art of commerce, I think that four billion wouldn’t even be our limit. Although we collaborate with the Skyspan Trading Company, we’re just their customers. Since we’re such an important client, they only scrape a three percent margin off our profits, but that’s still no small sum.
“We’re really missing out in terms of commerce, too. Wei Jie has suggested forming our own trading company more than once, but unfortunately, we have no way to get started. If we could build one, we could even do business with the Yao and Demon Realms, rather than just selling our goods to the Skyspan Trading Company and letting them turn a profit instead.”
The Skyspan Trading Company.
That was one of his little wife’s family business. Selling to them wasn’t really a loss, per se. After all, they were family! That said, Ye Zichen also thought that given how much the gang had developed, they really did need to build their own trading company.
As for the person to lead it…
He already had just the right woman in mind!
