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--- Chapter 139 ---
A month has passed.
Dao Academy's invitation to all major parties on the Douluo Continent shook the spirit master community for a while, wondering why the secretive academy made such a move.
Even then, the reply from the major parties is good. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda even said their patriarch and Sword Douluo would attend the Dao Meeting, and the Heaven Dou Empire would also send their crown prince, Xue Qinghe.
This public announcement broke the public's opinion. After all, the close cooperation between Dao Academy, Heaven Dou Empire, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was secret. Well, it's not so much of a secret due to a certain cross-dressing prince.
...
...
Desolate Mountain Range, Dawnbreak Mountain.
Han Yuan sat at the edge of a cliff, watching a group of architects and builders construct the venue for the Dao Meeting.
The venue was huge, with a capacity of at least 30,000 people. It is also 'obviously' designed to resemble a football stadium, featuring an open ceiling.
The surrounding area has been cleaned and planted with older blue-silver grass that has become a tree and countless other decorations, which add charm to the upcoming Dao Meeting.
"Ah, you're here." Someone walked behind Han Yuan.
Han Yuan smiled as he didn't have to look back to know who it was. "Aunt Xuelan, come and sit down with me."
Ye Xuelan giggled, sitting beside Han Yuan. She grabbed his left hand and started rubbing it gently, "Everything went well so far. Fengyuan told me the venue cost a lot."
"Do you have enough gold?" She jokingly added. "I can use Ye Family to lend some for you."
Han Yuan glanced at her helplessly, "Money is one thing I wasn't worried about in this world. I have billions of gold in my savings, though they aren't physically in my hand."
"Only you would say such a thing." Ye Xuelan rolled her eyes.
After joining the Dao Academy, she noticed that, unlike other advanced academies, they never seemed to run out of funds.
Even though they spend millions monthly on maintaining infrastructure, fresh food, and other necessities, the academy has never faced any financial issues.
Ye Xuelan believed that even the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, which is supported by the Royal Family, 'literally' wasn't as wealthy as their academy.
The answer lies in Han Yuan's profitable business all over the continent and his connection with the Merchant Union.
While Han Yuan wasn't the wealthiest person on the continent, he owned 10 to 15% of the Douluo Continent's wealth, monumental on many levels.
And Han Yuan's wealth is still growing!
Since Han Yuan collaborated with the Seven Treasured Glazed Tile Clan, Heaven Dou Empire, and Spirit Hall (secretly), he got several precious and strategic lands with several mines that supported Gengxin with rare metals monthly.
In fact, it was a passive income as Han Yuan didn't have to touch anything besides observing and occasionally giving orders. Merchant Union is like a complex, tight-woven web, and he's the spider who controls it from the shadow.
Han Yuan humorously added, "If money can rule the world, everything would be much simpler."
"Unfortunately..."
"This world was ruled by the strong." Ye Xuelan sighed while finishing his words. "Even the Goddess of Life lamented how backward the Douluo Star was."
"However, she already told me the Douluo Continent already shows a sign of unification."
"Are we going to make a move, Xiao Yuan?"
Hearing "we" in Ye Xuelan's words made Han Yuan's heart comfortable, but they couldn't afford to cause too much chaos now. While the butterfly effect has changed many things due to his presence, he wished to abuse some canon information about the world to his advantage.
He didn't want to make the first move for unification because that was Bibi Dong's job as the Empress of the Spirit Empire. After people realized the pope's crazy ambition, he could make a move.
"No," Han Yuan replied calmly. "At the moment, we should focus more on getting stronger."
"You're currently on your fifth trial, right?"
Ye Xuelan reached the Title Douluo Realm in her third trial, and that was one year ago. She recently finished her fourth trial, which aged her spirit rings and strengthened her foundation to become a new Flower Goddess.
Unfortunately, Ye Xuelan's version of the Flower Goddess's seat would be different from the original because the God of Destruction told Han Yuan that the Flower Goddess died with a split God's seat, weakening the 1st Class God's position to two 2nd Class God's positions.
Even with the help of the Goddess of Life, Ye Xuelan might only reach 1st Class God's position unless she got a lucky encounter or comprehended another law to compensate for the lost divinity.
Ye Xuelan sighed bitterly and leaned on Han Yuan's shoulder, complaining slightly, "My fifth trial is more challenging than expected, Xiao Yuan!"
"Not only must I learn how to communicate with nature, but I also need to understand the laws of purification and life and then develop my own self-created skill."
Han Yuan gently patted Ye Xuelan's back, "I believe in you, Aunt Xuelan-!"
Before Han Yuen could finish his words, Ye Xuelan pouted at him, "You call Erlong and Fengyuan by their name, but not me?"
"Hmph, I'm just an auntie, after all..."
"No, you're not, Xuelan." Han Yuan seized her waist. "You're more than an auntie for me..."
"Is that so? Then, prove it!" Ye Xuelan's eyes gleamed with green light, the sign of the Flower Goddess's divinity.
"I..." Han Yuan was speechless.
This woman, did she trick me?
Even then, Han Yuan was helpless at their advances. While he couldn't focus on love with too much revenge in his heart, it didn't mean he was rejecting them.
He couldn't afford to become a heartless demon, so the love given by Ye Xuelan and others was his way to stay sane and rational. So, he steeled his heart and stared at a mature woman in a white-blue dress.
Then, he kissed her cheek quickly before looking away, trying to look calm.
I mean, what do you even expect?
Even then, Ye Xuelan was happy. She smiled warmly and couldn't help but feel happy after seeing how shy Han Yuan was.
She licked her lips, 'I really wanted more, but I've agreed with Ah Yin and Han Yue not to overstep...'
'What a shame... Xiao Yuan, you're really making me hungry~!'
"Hmm, I guess that proves it." Ye Xuelan giggled softly.
"Here, I give you one, too."
Ye Xuelan leaned on Han Yuan's face and kissed his cheek a few times, hugging him tightly.
On that edge of a cliff, they are alone, cuddling.
After a while, Ye Xuelan stopped hugging Han Yuan. She felt her body brimmed with energy as if she could fight a thousand rounds.
"Phew, I felt like I could finish my trial now." Ye Xuelan grinned. "Thank you, Xiao Yuan!"
Han Yuan chuckled and held her waist firmly, "That was the best I could for now..."
"Mm." Ye Xuelan closed her eyes.
...
...
Another month passed quickly.
Countless carriages rushed toward the Desolate Mountain, parking at the humongous main entrances. If not for ample preparation, this area will get crowded already.
Although the initial plan was to invite other academies, Han Yuan knew it wouldn't stop others from joining with a little bit of a trick. So, the Dao Academy invited more people.
Liu Erlong and Ning Fengyuan stood at the Dao Academy's main entrance and watched the inner students welcoming the guests. They spotted the representatives from the five elemental academies, Canghui Academy, and many others.
"Where is Xiao Yuan?" asked Liu Erlong.
Ning Fengyuan smiled, "Well, the main character always comes late to an event, right?"
Liu Erlong's eyes flashed in understanding as she smiled back, "I see, so he wanted to make an entrance later."
"Let's make it as flashy as possible then, hehe."
...