Inside the Shi Clan Estate, the Shi young master stood in the middle of the courtyard with a deep frown on his face.
His hands were clenched tightly behind his back, and a trace of suppressed anger flickered in his eyes.
"Those damn bastards," he cursed through gritted teeth.
The usually calm and arrogant young master now looked extrely irritated.
For soone like him, frustration was a rare emotion.
Ever since childhood, he had always been one step ahead of everyone around him.
Many elders within the clan had praised him endlessly, claiming he was the most talented business prodigy the Shi Clan had produced in generations.
Because of this constant praise, he had grown used to having things go exactly as he planned.
But this ti… things had gone terribly wrong.
When the football craze first began sweeping across the city, he had imdiately recognized the imnse potential hidden behind the ga.
To him, football was not just entertainnt.
It was an opportunity.
An opportunity to control a rapidly growing market.
The mont he realized this, he had begun planning his own football business.
His goal had been simple…create a competing football association that would dominate the city.
However, before he could even complete his preparations, soone else had already moved ahead of him.
A mysterious party secured the two largest arenas in the city.
By the ti the Shi young master reacted, the foundation had already been laid.
Even worse, the identity of the mastermind behind it remained completely unknown.
The Shi young master had tried every thod he could think of to uncover the truth.
He had even attempted to pressure the Thunderpool Trade Hall, hoping to force them into revealing the identity of the person who had purchased the arenas.
But the Thunderpool Trade Hall had remained tight-lipped.
No matter how much pressure he applied, they refused to reveal anything.
The humiliation made the Shi young master grind his teeth in anger.
He had never been this frustrated in his entire life.
Since the day he was born, he had always gotten everything he wanted.
People obeyed him.
People feared him.
No one dared to oppose him.
Until now.
Just as he was seething with anger, hurried footsteps suddenly echoed across the courtyard.
A mont later, one of his trusted aides rushed inside and stopped several steps away before bowing respectfully.
"Young master…" the man called out cautiously.
The Shi young master turned his head slightly.
"What is it?" he asked coldly. "Have you found the bastard who bought all the arenas?"
His voice carried a clear tone of impatience.
The middle-aged aide nodded quickly.
He did not dare make his furious young master wait even a mont longer than necessary.
"Yes, young master," he replied hurriedly. "We have discovered a lead."
The words imdiately caught the Shi young master's attention.
His eyes narrowed.
"Speak."
"According to our informants," the aide continued carefully, "the young master of the newly ford football association visited the Thunderpool Trade Hall a few days ago to make a large purchase."
"Shortly after that, construction work began simultaneously at both arenas."
Hearing this report, the Shi young master's eyes widened slightly.
For a brief mont, genuine surprise appeared on his face.
"So… that's how it happened," he muttered quietly.
Previously, he had believed that soone else had simply reacted faster than him and purchased the arenas first.
He had been secretly blaming himself for being too slow.
But now he realized that was not the case at all.
The mysterious young master behind the football association had moved long before the Shi Clan had even finished analyzing the situation.
While they were still debating whether the football craze would eventually fade into obscurity, he had already taken decisive action.
He had bought the arenas..
And begun expanding the ga throughout the city.
The speed of those actions was astonishing.
It was almost as if he had already predicted the future.
How did he know the football craze would succeed?
The Shi young master could not help wondering.
He stood there silently, deep in thought.
Seeing his young master lost in contemplation, the middle-aged aide hesitated.
He opened his mouth slightly… then closed it again.
It looked as if he was struggling with sothing he wanted to say but was unsure whether he should speak.
Finally, after a few seconds of hesitation, he bit his lip and spoke again.
"Young master… there is another urgent piece of news."
"Hm?"
The Shi young master frowned.
"What could possibly be more urgent than this?" he asked irritably.
"Speak."
His patience was already wearing thin.
Since childhood, he had always believed that no one of his generation could match his intelligence.
He had been praised as a genius in both business and martial arts.
However, despite his natural talent for cultivation, he had little interest in fighting.
That was precisely why he had refused to leave the clan to join any cultivation sect.
Instead, he had focused entirely on building influence through strategy and comrce.
But now…
He had discovered that he could not even compete with a mysterious young master whose origins were completely unknown.
How could he not feel furious?
His pride had been severely wounded.
Until he reclaid his title as the greatest genius of his generation and proved to everyone that his business acun was unmatched…
He would never allow himself to rest.
Unaware of the turbulent thoughts racing through his young master's mind, the middle-aged aide retrieved a newspaper from his storage pouch.
The Tis Newspaper.
When the Shi young master saw the familiar paper, his frown deepened.
"What is this?" he asked impatiently.
"Young master," the aide replied carefully, "this is the latest report concerning the leader of the Blood River Gang."
He handed the newspaper over.
The Shi young master took it, clearly irritated.
Although his annoyance had not lessened, he still forced himself to read the article.
However, after only a short mont…
Whoosh!
The newspaper suddenly burst into flas in his hand.
A powerful aura erupted from his body.
"Now even a worthless gang dares to look down on us?" he said coldly, his eyes blazing with fury.
According to the article, the leader of the Blood River Gang had publicly mocked the noble clans.
He had claid that without their cultivation strength, the noble clans were no better than ordinary mortals.
For people of the Shi Clan's status, such words were an unforgivable insult.
Being compared to commoners was the greatest humiliation they could suffer.
Seeing the rage boiling within his young master, the middle-aged aide spoke quickly.
"Young master, should I send n to capture that fool imdiately?"
However, the Shi young master did not respond right away.
He remained silent for several seconds.
Finally, he turned slowly toward the aide.
"For them to release such a statent," he said calmly, "they must already understand the consequences."
The aide looked confused.
This reaction was completely different from what he expected.
The noble clans, especially the Shi Clan, were famous for their arrogance.
Even the smallest insult often resulted in soone being buried six feet underground.
Yet now the Blood River Gang had publicly insulted them, and the young master seed reluctant to retaliate.
Seeing the confusion on the aide's face, the Shi young master sighed and shook his head.
"Do you really think the Blood River Gang has the courage to release such a statent on their own?" he asked.
"It's not as if they are tired of living."
The aide listened carefully, but the confusion in his expression did not disappear.
"This was arranged by the people behind the football association," the Shi young master continued.
"They are challenging us… and they know we cannot respond rashly."
He clasped his hands behind his back again.
"With the newspapers spreading the story, everyone in the city must have already heard about it."
"If we act violently against the Blood River Gang now, it will only prove their claim that without our cultivation strength, we are nothing."
"All the prestige our clan has built over decades… even centuries… would be damaged."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"Now do you understand?"
"With just a single statent, they have forced every noble clan in the city into a corner."
"There is only one path left for us."
Hearing this explanation, the middle-aged aide's jaw slowly dropped in astonishnt.
If the mysterious mastermind behind the football association could manipulate all the noble clans with just a few words…
Then what about the strange new artifact that had suddenly begun spreading throughout the city?
The thought sent a chill down his spine.
Sothing big was happening.
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