Daily life of a cultivation judge
Chapter 1189 - 1189: Someone I can deal with (2)

While the report didn't mention how the family took it, Yang Qing guessed it may not have gone too well. After all, shortly after joining the Vast Blue Merchant Company, Li Gang had worked at their Yue State branch for only eighteen months before being moved elsewhere—and he hadn't returned since.

Given his background, the logical move would have been for the Vast Blue Merchant Company to keep him stationed there much longer, perhaps even permanently. The benefits were obvious, and his ties to the region could have been leveraged heavily. Yet that didn't happen.

His departure could have been the result of friction with his clan over his decision, or perhaps it was a personal choice—maybe he believed he wouldn't grow much if he remained. It could also have been part of the merchant company's own plans, or even a combination of all three.

Whatever the case, if the move had stemmed from his clan's displeasure, there wouldn't have been much they could do beyond expressing it. In terms of ability, the Vast Blue Merchant Company was on par with their masters, the Azure Bamboo Sword Sect.

While the company couldn't match the strength of the entire Yue State, especially when considering all fourteen founding sects, in terms of reputation and renown, they were arguably superior. This was a merchant company with a strong standing among the rogue cultivator community. They might not match the Yue State in sheer power, but they sure made up for it in terms of connections.

Who knew how many rogue cultivators owed the Vast Blue Merchant Company favors—or what their strengths were? For all anyone knew, one of those rogue cultivators might even be a domain expert. Dong Ping himself could be counted amongst that number, if things went well for him.

With that in mind, whether the Li clan liked it or not, their ability to interfere in Li Gang's affairs would be limited. Perhaps that was the very reason he chose to join the Vast Blue Merchant Company—knowing his clan would have little leverage to sway his path.

Regardless of why he did it, his actions, according to Yang Qing's assessment, showed him to be someone who wanted to set his own path and step out from the shadow of his clan—and maybe even the shadow of the Azure Bamboo Sword Sect. Given his actions, it wouldn't be surprising if he held that ambition.

His actions clearly painted him as someone eager to prove himself, because immediately after leaving the Yue State Branch, the report showed him bouncing from branch to branch, never staying at any single one for more than ten years.

All the branches he had worked in—excluding the Yue State branch—were either startups or struggling outposts. Every single one of them, without exception, became high performers by the time Li Gang was done with them.

His performance elevated his standing within the Vast Blue Merchant Company. Even one of the founders had personally praised his work and endorsed him as a potential future leader of the company. But of course, with praise and stellar results, envy and jealousy were never far behind.

It was inevitable that many of his colleagues would resent him. His accomplishments alone would have drawn attention, but paired with his impressive background, it only made things worse.

The Vast Blue Merchant Company had been founded by rogue cultivators, and over time, most of its members came from similar roots. They were people who had started with nothing. So it wasn't hard to imagine how they viewed someone like Li Gang—a 'prince' with a privileged background—worming his way into their ranks.

They likely saw his actions as those of a rich man, one who already had countless storage chests filled with gold, reaching into a beggar's alms bowl to take whatever copper coins and moldy bread were in there, leaving both the bowl and the beggar empty.

As a result, Li Gang wasn't well-liked by the majority. He was ostracized and targeted, as various groups went to great lengths to sabotage him. Of course, given his background, they only went after his deals, and not his life.

But despite everything they threw at him, he still thrived. He rose through the ranks to the point that he became a serious contender for succession within the company.

Part of Li Gang's success, despite all the troubles he faced, had to do with his exemplary talents as both a merchant and a cultivator.

According to the report, he was a quasi–Palace Stage cultivator who had barely reached the 400-year mark. That meant there was a very real possibility he would step into the Palace Realm before the age of 500, which, compared to the broader continent, would make him an exceptionally young Palace Realm expert. This alone would make him an appealing prospect to any organization, especially one like the Vast Blue Merchant Company, whose founding members were now desperately seeking worthy successors before their lifespans ran out.

Someone like Li Gang would definitely catch their eyes.

Yang Qing also believed another key factor behind Li Gang's success was his clan. Li Gang may have wished to carve his own path, but he wasn't a warrior—he was a merchant. And any competent merchant worth their salt would take full advantage of whatever tools and resources they had. For Li Gang, there was no greater asset than his clan.

That was his strength, and he'd be foolish not to use it, even if his ideals didn't align perfectly with theirs. Judging from the results he had produced and the resistance he had weathered, Yang Qing felt it was almost certain that Li Gang leaned on his clan's backing, particularly in the face of the opposition he encountered.

Merchants were master schemers, after all. There was no way Li Gang had survived a coordinated effort from other merchants out to sabotage him, purely through personal grit. Not alone.

Li Gang must have leveraged his clan's help, the same way Yang Qing knew that if Dong Ping asked Li Gang to come meet him, there was a high likelihood that Li Gang would agree.

After all, doing so would allow him to establish a connection with Dong Ping, a senior, well-established, and well-connected figure within the rogue cultivator community. That kind of association would likely elevate his prestige within the company, given its target audience. At the same time, he'd be forming a tie with a figure from the illustrious Order, all for the simple cost of agreeing to a meeting.

Now that he understood who he was dealing with, Yang Qing felt very confident that Li Gang would agree to the request he planned to make, especially considering the potential gains. The chance to earn favor from someone in the Order was no small thing. And if that alone wasn't enough, Yang Qing was even open to reciprocating the gesture.

Provided it was within reason, he was willing to agree to any request Li Gang might make, as long as the latter revealed the identity of the person who gave him the Heart-Quenching Mulberry Dew.

Bai Chen's disappearance aside, Yang Qing still believed the missing ferry incident—along with Jiang Hao—had been orchestrated by someone with prior knowledge of their route. And the only people who could have known that information were the Bluefin staff, the passengers, and those who had commissioned the escort agency to transport their goods.

Someone like Li Gang, while he may not have known all the ferry routes, would definitely have known at least one of them. That would be the route where he had the escort agency deliver the Heart-Quenching Mulberry Dew he commissioned them to transport.

But what if he wasn't the only one with that information?

Given how precious the Heart-Quenching Mulberry Dew was, the person who entrusted it to Li Gang would likely have wanted to be kept apprised of its state and condition at all times. Its transportation, in particular, would definitely fall under the category of must-know information.

Because of that, Yang Qing needed to uncover the details surrounding the Heart-Quenching Mulberry Dew—particularly who gave it to Li Gang, and why Li Gang chose Bai Chen's escort agency to handle the delivery. From what the records showed, it didn't seem like he had any prior dealings with them before this commission.

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