Karsi’s Teachings: Only by enduring through suffering will a person truly thrive. Some will taste the final joys and sorrows of life. Others are fated to be buried beneath cold-hard gravestones. Hero! Be grateful of the trials bestowed to you by the heavens, for the path to glory is paved with hardship!

Nie Yan’s heart quivered as these words resonated with him. He recalled the hardships of his past life, the bankruptcy of his family and the death of his parents; it felt as if it were but a hazy dream. Yet it was precisely these experiences that made him the person he was today.

Time washed away his muddle-headedness and inferiority complex. His spirit slowly settled, and his mind gained inner purity.

Karsi’s life resembled the rebirth of a phoenix. It ultimately led him to gain immortality as well as his current fame.

As he read deeper into the background information, Nie Yan found that Karsi had received the blessing of the Ten Holy Paladins. He even participated in the war against the dragon race! Since the start of that ancient era, he had lived all the way to the present. This was a legendary figure!

With Karsi’s power and experiences, he was fully qualified to be a Cardinal. Yet he was content with his title of Grand Archbishop.

Nie Yan revealed a look of excitement and expectation. Maybe I can find some clues about the Ten Holy Paladins from Karsi!

To think that someone who lived through that era was still alive today. It was next to impossible to meet such a person. He absolutely wouldn’t let go of this opportunity!

Nie Yan’s heart filled with burning anticipation.

The Ten Holy Paladins were some of the most famous figures of the ancient era!

They led the resistance against the dragon race, and an archangel even graced them with a visit!

Back then, the Glennin province encompassed the northern part of the Viridian Empire, the western part of the Satreen Empire, and the current Geliro Barrens. Its total size was roughly half that of the Viridian Empire. The influence of the Ten Holy Paladins spread that far!

Just what sort of riches would await him if he dug up all the clues related to them? For now, Nie Yan could hardly imagine. However, any reward related to such a crucial part of the game’s lore couldn’t be small!

Although Nie Yan possessed two lifetimes’ worth of game experience, this was his first time delving into unexplored lore. He had experienced many firsts in this life, such as this Legend of the Ten Holy Paladins quest line.

Nie Yan continued reading. It appeared Karsi had participated in every important military campaign. He had interacted with the Ten Holy Paladins regularly. He could even be described as one of the people closest to them.

If I meet with Karsi, perhaps he’ll have some information that can help me!

After looking through all the information, Nie Yan chatted with Yao Yao for a bit longer before hanging up. At his current pace, he would have to push back his plans with her to tomorrow. Black Sea Devil Banmu’s health was just dropping too slowly.

Only moments after ending his call with Yao Yao, Nie Yan received another call. This time, it was Guo Huai.

「Are you busy right now?」Guo Huai asked.

「What do you need? Speak up.」

「I’ll send you a video.

」

「I don’t have the time right now. What is it about?」Nie Yan asked. This video definitely contained something important. Guo Huai would have never disturbed him otherwise.

「It’s a video of Bloodlust Blades capturing their first stronghold. You can watch their core members all riding horses!」Guo Huai replied. It appeared Bloodlust Blades was faster than them by a step. It couldn’t be helped they fell behind, since they were held back in their growth by the combined efforts of Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame. However, they could still catch up!

「Did Bloodlust Blades receive an investment?」Nie Yan asked in surprise. According to his knowledge, the only way for a guild to suddenly have the surplus funds to purchase mounts was by receiving the investment of a financial group.

「I don’t know, yet,」Guo Huai replied.

Nie Yan sank into deep thought. It was very likely Bloodlust Blades had received an investment, and the entity backing them from behind the scenes was almost certainly Century Financial Group. This put him on high-alert.

「How are the negotiations proceeding with the Dragonsoar Financial Group?」Whether they received an investment was crucial to the guild’s growth. He had previously planned to ask his father for help. But after considering, if his father invested into Asskickers United, what would be the fate of the War God Tribe? This was a problem he had to solve himself. He couldn’t always rely on his father to bail him out. Only then could he lead both guilds to glory!

There were no major downsides in Asskickers United receiving financial support from the outside. After redistributing the shares, Nie Yan would hold a 56% stake, Dragonsoar Financial Group would hold a 30% stake, and Guo Huai and the others would hold a 14% stake, meaning absolute control of the guild would still fall to Nie Yan. Although all the shares would no longer remain inhouse, their value would skyrocket following the investment. With a powerful financial backer, Nie Yan could rapidly raise the strength of his core guild members as well as alleviate any concerns they had for the future, allowing them to focus solely on serving the guild.

Obtaining Dragonsoar Financial Group’s investment also meant obtaining their backing. As rivals, there was definitely no small number of conflicts between Dragonsoar Financial Group and Century Financial Group. If Nie Yan pitted these two financial powerhouses against each other, he would gain a powerful ally. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend!

No matter how strong Asskickers United was, it had no chance competing against an entity like Century Financial Group. This was why Nie Yan had to exploit every avenue available to him!

This was what you called seizing the opportunity!

「We’ve pretty much finished negotiations. These are the fruits of our final talks. Take a look. They’ve already said this is the best they can offer.」Guo Huai sent the final draft of the contract to Nie Yan.

Nie Yan looked over the terms. Dragonsoar Financial Group would provide support to Asskickers United in many ways, such as giving all contracted members a monthly salary of 5,000 credits paid out in Nie Yan’s name. Dragonsoar Financial Group would start acquiring gold from the marketplace and invest 300,000 gold into Asskickers United. This gold would be divided into 50 payments over the course of two months. It would be used to improve the equipment quality of the guild members. Dragonsoar Financial Group would send over a supervisor to manage how the gold was utilized.

There were so many players in the entire Viridian Empire that several hundred gold would be traded over the Credit Exchange every single day! It wasn’t too far-fetched to say the Dragonsoar Financial Group could accumulate 300,000 gold in just two months. After all, such a massive consortium would naturally have various supply chains such as employing gaming organizations, buying from professional players, and much more. Their resource-amassing capabilities were far beyond what Nie Yan could even dream of. They wouldn’t just gather gold from Calore but also other cities, including even the headquarters of Bloodlust Blades, Alliance of Mages, and Divine Protectors! Gold from all over the Viridian Empire would gather into one place, the pockets of Asskickers United!

If they could secure such a massive investment for themselves, they wouldn’t have to fear hitting a brick wall in their growth!

Cao Xu’s Century Financial Group would also operate similarly.

Nie Yan could imagine how difficult it would be for Asskickers United to resist Century Financial Group if they didn’t receive the investment of another powerful financial group.

After reviewing the conditions of the contract, they could be best described as extremely generous!

However, Asskickers United did indeed possess such negotiating power!

Nie Yan thought for a moment, then decided it’d be best to add a few more conditions. For example, he wished to include that Dragonsoar Financial Group was not allowed to interfere with Asskickers United’s commands. This clause allowed the guild leader to make a major mistake leading to severe losses, but he would be forced to compensate the Dragonsoar Financial Group for any damages suffered. He sent the contract back to Guo Huai, avoiding any possible dangers that might arise from any loopholes.

Guo Huai sent the revised contract to the Dragonsoar Financial Group.

The contract stipulated an initial investment of 20,000 gold, which Nie Yan could use for various purposes. He could buy horses and other items for Asskickers United’s core elites, fund the money-burning undertaking known as leveling up in Everlasting City, or boost their players’ strength as quickly as possible. After all, these elites were the true backbone of Asskickers United!

Dragonsoar Financial Group showed great sincerity allowing Nie Yan to feel reassured. Their requirement was for Asskickers United to capture a Basic Stronghold within the next five days and 5 Basic Strongholds within the first month. From Nie Yan’s perspective, this was a trivial matter.

If Nie Yan used the 20,000 gold to create a valiant 500-man team composed of all Level 40 or higher players, clearing out a Basic Stronghold would be a piece of cake!

As for the video Guo Huai sent over, he would watch it some other time. Nie Yan hung up, then focused his attention back on dealing with Banmu. When 2 PM came around the corner, he received an update from Guo Huai. Dragonsoar Financial Group had agreed to the additional terms.

Nie Yan signed his name, the person over on the side of Dragonsoar Financial Group and Guo Huai also signed their names, and the contract was complete.

Tomorrow, the first payment of 20,000 gold would be deposited into their account!

Nie Yan was somewhat excited. By partnering up with Dragonsoar Financial Group, only now was Asskickers United taking its very first step on the path to hegemony!

After waiting for a full seven hours, Nie Yan finally heard the despairing wails of a dying Black Sea Devil Banmu. It was finally dead! Looking down, he could barely see past the turbulent waves caused by the boss’ death throes. As the waters slowly settled, the monster’s red eyes dimmed and it sank to the bottom of the cove.