“Brian Cooper, when did this kid become so smart... Could it be that he’s been playing dumb all along, hiding his true abilities?” After finishing grading the test, this was the only reasonable explanation that surfaced in Mr. Bolton’s mind, and a hint of a satisfied smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. “This is a tremendous piece of good news! To have such a genius student in my own class—looks like my chances of being promoted to grade director next year just went up again.”

……

After leaving the school gates, Eric Carter felt the ten yuan and sixty cents left in his pocket and muttered calmly to himself, “Cultivation costs money too. Being this poor just won’t do... Let me think, what was the name of that consortium I established in the mortal world when I first entered society...”

“It should be... the Tianbao Consortium... That’s right. I wonder, after I withdrew from the mundane world and entrusted the consortium’s assets to those juniors, have they managed to make it flourish? But even if they just maintained the status quo, by now it should have accumulated a staggering amount of wealth...”

Chapter 5: Tianbao Consortium

The iconic Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai, on the southernmost end of the 66th floor, inside a lavishly decorated, arc-shaped office, David Thompson, the executive president of the Asian region for a world-renowned super consortium, was nervously taking orders from the three major directors of the Tianbao Consortium.

“Wrap one hundred thousand yuan in a newspaper and stuff it into a trash can at the corner of a certain street...” After hanging up the phone, David Thompson stood there in a daze for a while. If he hadn’t been absolutely sure that the call had come through the special line used only by the three directors, he would never have believed that such a childish order could have come from those three, whose slightest move could stir up a storm in the international financial world.

The Tianbao Consortium is a mysterious entity that baffles the world for two reasons. First, for thirty years, the Tianbao Consortium has operated without a chairman—an unbelievable fact for a global giant of its scale. Second, despite being such a massive multinational, it has never gone public to raise funds. Of all the consortium’s shares, each of the three directors with absolute decision-making power holds 15%, but the whereabouts of the remaining shares are a mystery. No one knows where they are or who holds them; at least, no one has found out in the past thirty years.

David Thompson’s car was a silver-gray Lamborghini. Such a multimillion-yuan luxury car parked at the gate of CY Middle School certainly drew plenty of stares from passersby, but David Thompson had no interest in basking in their envy. He got out, closed the door, tucked a bundle of cash wrapped in newspaper under his arm, and walked toward a nearby alley. After turning a corner, he looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then quickly tossed the newspaper-wrapped bundle containing one hundred thousand yuan into the trash can beside him.

Back in the car, David Thompson instructed his bodyguard and driver, Henry Clark, “Henry, back to the office.”

The Lamborghini sped away. Feeling the cool breeze blowing in through the window, David Thompson couldn’t help but find his recent actions both odd and amusing, but even more so, he was puzzled by the strange task assigned to him by the three directors.

Then David Thompson recalled that the three directors had made it clear over the phone that they would all be coming to Shanghai soon, so he composed himself. “For now, I’d better check over all the major projects I’m responsible for in Asia. I can’t afford any mistakes when the three directors arrive in Shanghai. I don’t want to lose this job with its eight-million-dollar annual salary!”

Not long after David Thompson left, a young man strolled in from the other end of the alley, retrieved the bundle of cash from the trash can, and casually tossed the hundred thousand yuan into his backpack.

“Looks like the three subordinates I recruited in the mortal world back then are still pretty loyal. I contacted them, and the whole thing was settled in less than half an hour...”

A faint smile appeared on Eric Carter’s lips as he thought, “For now, since I haven’t completed my Foundation Establishment, I don’t need a huge amount of money. This hundred thousand is more than enough. Once I finish Foundation Establishment and my internal energy transforms into true essence, I might as well return to Tianbao, meet with my subordinates, and take back control of the consortium. After all, by then, a few tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands won’t be enough—the wealth I’ll need will be in the tens or even hundreds of millions.”

Don’t think that all cultivators are lofty beings who transcend worldly needs. Even if such people exist, it’s only after their cultivation reaches a certain level. Before reaching the Nascent Soul stage, money is absolutely essential for any cultivator.

In fact, in today’s cultivation world of the Central Plains, any sect with even a bit of strength will have disciples or members in the mortal world doing business to make money. After all, alchemy, artifact forging, and energy refinement all require massive financial support. For example, the material needed to forge a mid-grade flying sword—refined gold—just a few taels of it requires over a ton of gold to be smelted and purified. The enormous consumption of resources for cultivation items is evident from this.

Hailing a taxi, Eric Carter said directly, “Driver, please take me to a few of Shanghai’s famous antique markets. Here’s the fare in advance—if it’s more, keep the change; if it’s less, I’ll make up the difference.”