Minus the face-wrecked troublemakers, the first day of Harun's takeover of the Hypnotic Lute Tavern went without a hitch. But as the tavern owner's execution squads buried the golden silkworms in meals and drinks, Lord Revelation appeared before the World Association, setting off new waves of commotion.
The capital's Branch House was one of the few areas wholly unaffected by the drought-driven chaos. Although business was now at an all-time low, water sales had never been more lucrative, and treasure materials were as cheap as dirt. To contend with the drought, unprepared noble houses didn't hesitate to sell the rights to their ancestral mines and lands for several liters of water. One acre of arable land now sold for three liters, while one acre of mining land sold for 18 liters on average, more or less depending on the land's exact value. At such rates, the Association made a killing on the people's misery, and once the drought passed, they'd hold a hefty percentage of the country's lifeline.
Thus, though the house's halls didn't teem with guests, many of the merchants basically danced on tiptoes. Lord Revelation's appearance ruined their exuberance, and even before they could get ready to welcome him, with his face still shrouded by a golden cloud, the expert sashayed in.
The several merchants he'd saved previously rushed to meet their lord, with fawning smiles and the blessing of their superiors—who stood several steps backward. The senior members and leaders of this branch house were three peak-stage Celestial Guards, and one first-level Celestial Knight. Neither of those could cause Harun any trouble, but though they believed him at God-level, they appeared cool and undisturbed.
This was the expected reaction. Senior members of the World Association represented the joint interests of the Holy Lands and their branches. Lord Revelation's name had gathered a bit of fame, but it hadn't reached the point where they had to grovel. At the same time, considering his cultivation, meeting him with a polite stance was the least they could do. Neither overboard nor underwhelming, this attitude filled Harun with admiration. So much in fact that he waved his large sleeves, summoning the batches of Sin-Glazed Flowers he seized from the merchants.
Instantly, the senior members and leader's faces experienced horrid fluctuations, and they rushed toward Harun, "Hahaha, Lord Revelation, welcome to our humble branch. Tales of your handsomeness go from the First to the Sixth Range, making countless fairies and disreputable Gods swoon instantaneously. How may we assist you?" The leader asked with endless bows as his subordinates flashed fawning smiles at Harun.
"Want to play the immovable gentleman with me? Too bad, I got the dirt. Better behave, bitches." Harun wanted to say, but restrained himself. With the seniors to guide the way, Harun crossed the branch's luxurious halls, heading for the room where they received the most distinguished guests.
"There's a lot you can do, actually. I'm mainly here to warn you of my private investigation in this matter. Your branch committed a fatal mistake, and need to clean up before you get innocent people involved. As I cannot stand for mayhem and injustice, I have lobbied an old friend's services. His Divination Skills are superb. As long as the culprit stands among us, we won't have any trouble exposing him. Now the question is, does he arrive tomorrow, in three days, a week or longer? Traveling fees nowadays…" Harun started, making the leaders understand that the so-called Lord Revelation was nowhere near as unreasonable as the rumors claimed.
Good old blackmail. Now that was a language they could gather around of. Regardless of their involvement levels, the branch's leaders had nothing to gain and everything to lose from this matter leaking. Depending on the investigator, at best, they faced demotion. At worst, their heads would roll. The God-Defying Gates wouldn't protect them from those deities' means.
The best case scenario was, therefore, to solve the matter internally, and dispose of the ringleader. So while three lit up at Harun's words, the fourth's forehead creased, a millisecond change that didn't escape Harun, who observed them all with scrutiny.
"Mhm, but brothers, can we believe him? What if he's bluffing and just trying to get free benefits from us?" Somewhat dissatisfied with Harun's modus operandi, a guilt-free senior member asked in a mental message.
"Imbecile. First, do you want to find out? Second, let's assume for a second that the bastard is bluffing. The fact of the matter is that he currently holds the evidence of our involvement hostage, with many cronies to back his words. If once annoyed, he reveals the whole thing, can we afford the result?" The branch master countered, but couldn't bring his subordinate back to reason.
"But we can kill the three and frame him instead. Why should a branch of the World Association bow to a rogue cultivator's racket?"
"Ah shit. This is why I hate bloody upstarts like you. We are merchants, merchants! Before we achieve a monopoly in our field, the impression we give our customers is of vital importance. Even if we can brush it all off as base rumors, will our competitors take it lying down? It's fellow branches, not outsiders, that will be the first to blow things out of proportion and strike us down! Think for the sake of long-term profit! What use does vanity have here?"
Worse, what makes you think that the Divination Master is not Lord Revelation himself? What makes you think that since he can afford to give us a deadline, he doesn't have 100% confidence in solving the matter whenever necessary? What benefit do we gain from risking exposure when a simpler solution stands right under our nose? At worst, he proves himself the fool, and we've lost some baubles! At least our heads will still be sitting on our necks! Without your life, how can you make money?!"
"Only we will pay him for his silence. Best if we can solve this matter internally. But the more time passes, the less credibility he holds. Regardless of how you look at this, we do need the lapse," another senior member chimed in. All three suspected one another, yet maintained false pretense. Only the fourth one, the guilty one, stayed out of the debate—perhaps to avoid betraying himself.
In the meeting room, Harun took the honor seat, and as if he owned the place, motioned for the merchants to sit.
"Now, let's start the negotiations. I want 15,000 six-star Physique Pastes, 15,000 Sense-Grinding Stones, 1,000,000 top-grade seeds, 300,000 Divine Jades, a fief of 100,000 taxable households, and a Spiritual Land, close to said fief, to build my Treasure Hunting Gang's headquarters on," Harun started, and instantly, the four staggered.
Of the six things he asked for, only the Sense-Grinding Stones and taxable households seemed remotely reasonable. And even then, the Sense-Grinding Stones' numbers were out of their league. Little did they know that Harun had no use for Sense-Grinding Stones. However, given his other requests, not asking for those could raise suspicion, and give hints into his path's requirements. At the same time, he could fold there when needed.
"What are you trying to build? A sect-raping army? Sir, we supply all three top sects, but three years of their combined orders doesn't amount to half what you just requested. Are you trying to put us on the streets? Because even if we peddle our rumps there for 300 years, we still can't afford this," The branch leader countered, and the negotiations thus began.
At the end, Lord Revelation settled for 6,000 Physique Pastes, 3,000 Sense-Grinding Stones, 420,000 seeds, 80,000 Divine Jades, 90,000 taxable households, and a quasi-Spiritual Land. To avoid embezzlement charges, the four shared the expenses, with the branch leader paying the largest share. Seeing how they lost centuries of accumulations for a breather of one measly week, the leader's hatred for the traitor in their ranks skyrocketed.
Bloated by this righteous extortion, Lord Revelation swaggered out of the branch house, with a triumphant gloat speaking tales of his gains.
"Hey, we live in a world where even Gods need to blackmail. This is a kind of honor. Not many celestials can boast having been robbed by a God. Who knows, many years from now on, when this hooligan deters the world, we will boast about today," the mildest of the senior members consoled himself, unaware of how right he was.