Nie Yan became the topic of conversation for the whole school. He was the third student in the history of Huahai High to enter the Top Military Academy as an Ace. This was an incredible honor!
Yang Boyi rushed over to congratulate Nie Yan whose results exceeded his expectations by a country mile. All the teachers and administrative staff were shocked. The school quickly got into action to celebrate this joyous event. It was crucial to publicize this news. A role model student like Nie Yan would undoubtedly increase enrollment numbers!
Yang Boyi pestered Nie Yan to no end, informing him that he would be attending interviews, giving speeches, and so on. Huahai High's foundation was formidable, so he didn't dare to not give face. He would accomplish every task they handed him with utmost perfection.
After being run ragged for three hours, Nie Yan was exhausted. However, the matter of the school's reputation had been taken care of.
Nie Yan had become a legend in Huahai High. This sort of achievement was the first of its kind in the school's history. Just a few hours later, word of his accomplishment had reached all the way to his hometown of Ningjiang. Likely there were other students in the school who also came from Ningjiang.
Back in Nie Yan's old high school, when his former classmates learned of his achievements, each and every one of them was completely flabbergasted. Nie Yan's grades in their class ranked in the top five at best. How did he suddenly become so amazing after transferring to Huahai High? When they asked around and confirmed it really was Nie Yan, they were speechless. This kind of transformation was too dramatic! They were starting to question reality.
After settling all his matters at school, Nie Yan drove Xie Yao back home before making a trip to his father's company. Once Father Nie learned Nie Yan had entered the Top Military Academy as an Ace, he was so elated he draped the halls in red silk and threw a company wide party.
Father Nie laughed heartily as he was surrounded by relatives, employees, and friends giving their congratulations. His face radiated like the spring sun. Seeing his father's gratified appearance, Nie Yan felt happy too. Recalling how much his parents had suffered in the previous timeline, he held back the urge to cry.
After two hours of celebrating, the atmosphere in the company finally settled down.
Nie Yan chatted with Ah Chen about the War God Tribe's development. Although everything was on the right track, the lack of funding still remained a vital issue. They required at least several hundred thousand gold to fully expand their base of operations.
Second to only Calore, Nisode was an ideal place to set up a foundation. It was the territory of the Tuoba Family. However, there were undercurrents of change flowing beneath the city. After falling victim to the machinations of the Century Financial Group, the Tuoba Family showed signs of withdrawing from the virtual reality industry altogether as they sold off a large portion of their virtual assets. All the while the several guilds under the Tuoba Family were in chaos as the administrative layer which oversaw them splintered and collapsed. In this environment, the War God Tribe thrived. With several dozen gaming orgs serving as the framework, they rapidly established themselves as the new dominant force in Nisode.
It was just like in the previous timeline. The Nie Family's immense capital was put on full display. With money serving as a weapon, they would naturally sweep away everything in their path.
The War God Tribe's growth potential was unrivalled. Even with their development stunted in the previous timeline, they still reached a point where they could rival Victorious Return at the peak of their glory, even holding the advantage over them at some point. One could imagine just how glorious the War God Tribe was back then!
"No need to worry about the gold. I'll settle the issue by tomorrow," Nie Yan said. He would have plenty of gold after selling off the remaining Night Vision equipment. It would be used to invest in the War God Tribe, Sapphire Shrine, and Holy Empire. It was crucial these several guilds grew as well!
Nie Yan roughly understood the War God Tribe's situation after chatting with Ah Chen. Even though they had some minor setbacks, they were much better off compared to the previous timeline. After all, they had just started expanding their operations.
Thanks to the information Nie Yan provided, Father Nie participated in the Tuoba Family's dispute. He secretly bought a large amount of shares from several subsidiary companies owned by the Century Financial Group. Although the rate of acquisition was slow, it was nearly impossible to detect.
Father Nie understood this had to be done covertly, or the consequences would be severe if the Century Financial Group found out.
Nie Yan felt confident in his father's ability to properly run the company. The failure of the previous timeline was in part due to the War God Tribe requiring too much resources, and in part due to the rampant misuse of funds as well as the betrayal of Luo Ming's group. The danger of the latter was eliminated early on, and with him backing the War God Tribe, the burden on his father needing to purchase gold was greatly reduced. Like this, the crisis that befell them in the previous timeline wouldn't see itself repeated.
Thanks to the success of the company, Father Nie's net worth surpassed ¥1 billion. Although this was nothing compared to those large financial groups, he could still be considered an accomplished businessman. With the rapid expansion of the company, they would inevitably branch out to other industries.
The future power structure of the Viridian Empire was already set in stone.
"There's been new movements from the Century Financial Group. They're currently investing a large amount of resources into Conviction and rapidly expanding their gold farming operations. I know you're at war with Bloodlust Blades, be careful," Ah Chen warned. This was news he had received not long ago.
"No worries. I have a pretty reliable source of income. I want for nothing more than to see the Century Financial Group go at it with me. We'll see who lasts until the end. Either way, in the long run, they'll be the ones losing out the most," Nie Yan said. His trade deal with Fallen Angel was extremely profitable.
"Huh? Really?" Ah Chen was a bit surprised. No matter how profitable Nie Yan's businesses were, several auction houses and the Starry Night Potion Shop couldn't possibly generate enough gold to compete with the Century Financial Group, right?
Nie Yan proceeded to explain his dealings with Fallen Angel in the Underworld, leaving Ah Chen speechless. No wonder Nie Yan could obtain so much Night Vision equipment! Every 10 days he would receive a terrifying sum of wealth. If the Century Financial Group truly took the step to compete with him, they would find they had fallen into a never-ending quagmire.
Bloodlust Blades was doomed to become the next abandoned child of the Century Financial Group. The Century Financial Group was currently pouring most of its resources into Angel Corps, who was also looked favourably upon by two other powerful entities. Their growth far exceeded all other guilds. The Century Financial Group mainly backed Angel Corps. Guilds like Bloodlust Blades, Alliance of Mages, and Divine Protectors were disposable, and the Century Financial Group wouldn't hesitate to abandon them if their interests were truly threatened.
Before the release of flying mounts, Angel Corps was stuck in the Satreen Empire. They posed no danger for the time being, so Nie Yan could deal with Bloodlust Blades, Alliance of Mages, and Divine Protectors without fear. He was currently chipping away at the Century Financial Group's capital in preparation to deal with them in the future.
"Since you're confident about taking on the Century Financial Group, I guess I don't have to worry."
Ah Chen let out a deep sigh in his heart. The War God Tribe was truly blessed. With Nie Yan, they would never have to worry about gold. They could freely grow and expand their domain without restraint. They could take their time with building an in-house gold farming organisation and put all their energy into the guild.
Ah Chen informed Nie Yan of the War God Tribe's plans to capture strongholds while coordinating with Asskickers United.
Nie Yan looked over the plans and saw no problems. It was the correct choice to leave Ah Chen in charge of handling the War God Tribe's affairs.
Ah Chen was also tasked with running the War God Tribe in the previous timeline. He performed remarkably given the bad hand he was dealt. But sadly the enemy was too powerful. They had to fend off the combined power of Victorious Return, Radiant Sacred Flame, Bloodlust Blades, Alliances of Mages, and Divine Protectors. At the same time, The Century Financial Group was constantly manoeuvring against them in reality. These threats were neutralized for the most part in this life, so the War God Tribe naturally wouldn't have to worry about them.
Nie Yan returned home from his father's company. Looking at the clock, it was almost time for the servers to come back online. After finishing supper, he headed upstairs to his room and put on his game helmet. There were still 20 minutes left, so he couldn't log into the game yet. But he could browse the web.
Nie Yan started looking up information related to magic barriers.
Magic barriers were a type of formation created out of magical energy. They required a catalyst such as a magical array, runes, or a scroll.
Seeing this, Nie Yan recalled seeing the runes engraved on the bars of the cell door. He guessed they were powering the magic barrier which prevented anything from passing through.
Nie Yan continued reading the information. There were all sorts of formations used to create magic barriers, along with many different classifications. He would have to investigate the runes engraved on the bars to identify the magic barrier surrounding the prison cell.
After looking through other related topics, Nie Yan still failed to find anything useful.
Don't tell me the only way to open that cell is by killing the Black Flame Hellhound? Nie Yan despaired. He was nowhere near strong enough to do that!
Nie Yan suddenly recalled a short passage pertaining to magic immunity at the beginning of the page. It was an introduction to magic published on the official website.
「Magic is an undying spirit. The world has the sharpest sword as well as the sturdiest shield. When the flow or circuit of magic is broken, magical energy can no longer be guided.」
This was referring to magic immunity!
In other words, magic immunity from the angle of element formation could completely isolate magical energy from the rest of the world!