Director

Creation Group. When Yaoguang stepped into the boardroom under the guidance of Xuanqing's assistant, Xuanqing and the other seven directors had already been arguing for quite some time. Upon seeing Yaoguang arrive, everyone's gaze fell squarely upon him. Through the memories of "Immortal King Yuxiao," he was already acquainted with all seven of them. Leaving aside his old adversary, Director Alpha, among the remaining few... Yaoguang spotted another familiar face. The founder of the Sanqing Sacred Hall, the Immortal King who had once specifically descended to the lower realm to search for the legacies of the Time Dao Ancestor and the Void Dao Ancestor—Dao Sovereign Zaohua. At Yaoguang's arrival, a hint of surprise appeared in the eyes of many present. Director Huitian and Director Longhu, who had better relations with him, even smiled and nodded in greeting. Of the two, one specialized in the Grand Dao of Life while the other cultivated the Grand Dao of Strength. Both had stepped into the realm of Immortal Kings, and Director Longhu held over two thousand shares in the Grand Dao of Strength. However, because the Grand Dao of Strength did not even count as a core Grand Dao and carried many limitations, he was not particularly prominent among the seven directors. "Yuxiao is here." Chairman Xuanqing was the first to greet him. "Come, come, have a seat." He pointed toward the seat Immortal King Yuxiao used to occupy, clearly already treating him as Creation Group's ninth director. This gesture, however, made Director Nizhuan, who frequently clashed with Chairman Xuanqing, furrow his brows. "Chairman, our Creation Group—and indeed the Nine Great Groups as a whole—maintains strict standards for joining the board. Not only must one hold Level 18 immortal spirit clearance, but one must also have attained Immortal King in a Grand Dao. As for Immortal King Yuxiao... setting aside whether his clearance has recovered to Level 18, he clearly falls short of the Immortal King cultivation realm, doesn't he?" Saying so, he smiled and added, "Of course, I am not questioning your decision, Chairman. Rather, our Creation Group is, after all, one of the Nine Great Groups, so every aspect of our operations should naturally measure up to the standards of the Nine Great Groups. If we permit an Immortal Venerable onto the board, how would we be any different from those ordinary companies and conglomerates? If word gets out, outsiders might assume Creation Group has declined and no longer possesses the might of a top-tier group, which would severely undermine other immortal spirits' confidence in us." Naturally, his words found support from Director Alpha: "The reason Creation Group could become one of the Nine Great Groups is largely due to the staunch support of the Lord of Creation, the board's wise decisions, and the unity of our many employees. However, the computational power boost provided by the backing of numerous immortal spirits is equally crucial. If immortal spirits come to believe our group has degenerated into a second-rate conglomerate and cease providing computational assistance, the repercussions for Creation Group will be immense. It might even draw personal scrutiny from the Lord of Creation." "Heh, you two directors overstate the matter. In fact, my purpose in calling Director Yuxiao here today is precisely to announce this." Xuanqing smiled faintly. "While Yuxiao has not yet attained Immortal King, the path he currently treads is not the Grand Dao of the Void we were familiar with, but the Grand Dao of Time. Furthermore, he has already progressed to a level on the Grand Dao of Time that is on the verge of an Immortal King." "The Grand Dao of Time?!" The moment those words were spoken, everyone on the board was visibly moved. "There is no need for me to describe the difficulty of cultivating the Grand Dao of Time. Judging by current trends, Director Yuxiao is extremely likely to become the very first Time Immortal King in our Hunyuan Realm! I hardly need to emphasize the weight those words carry, do I? In any Grand Dao, a trailblazing Immortal King receives focused nurturing from the Lord of Yuanxi, substantially boosting their clearance points." Xuanqing explained, pausing briefly before continuing, "While being the first Immortal King of another Grand Dao might not raise a Level 18 immortal spirit's clearance to Level 19, the Grand Dao of Time... is one of the four supreme Grand Daos. If Director Yuxiao sets this precedent, tell me, will his clearance rise to Level 19? And how much positive prestige will that bring to Creation Group in one stroke? How much computational power support from immortal spirits will we receive?" As the chairman laid out the pros and cons point by point, several directors who had originally held a neutral stance were immediately swayed. A Time Immortal King. The path of Time was notoriously difficult to master. Even with the ideas currently brewing among the Nine Great Groups and the sovereigns behind them, joining forces with the Lord of Yuanxi to thoroughly research the Grand Dao of Time and achieve the Dao Ancestor level would still require hundreds of thousands of years. After all, the Time Dao Ancestor had already fallen, leaving behind no reference. Under circumstances where the Grand Dao of Time had become the third greatest conundrum after the Gate of Fate and the Gate of Karma, if Creation Group could give rise to a Time Immortal King... Even a Time Immortal King who was still far from a Dao Ancestor would provide an immediate, dramatic boost to Creation Group's prestige. When that time came, vast numbers of immortal spirits would choose to support the Lord of Creation and 'contribute' their computational power to him. At the same time, their collective will would influence the Lord of Yuanxi, causing some of his decisions to favor Creation Group. Furthermore, any immortal spirits preparing to venture into and fight within the Ancient Immortal Realm who had not been internally nurtured by the Nine Great Groups would, drawn by Creation Group's renown, give priority to joining Creation Group. This would, in turn, reinforce Creation Group's foundation. As long as such momentum continued... Creation Group would without a doubt leap forward to become the strongest among the Nine Great Groups. "Of course, it is true that Director Yuxiao has not yet attained Immortal King, so we cannot simply let him participate in corporate decisions as a full director. However... three thousand years ago, he was a member of Creation Group's board after all. I propose appointing him as an acting director for the time being. Surely none of you have objections to this?" As Chairman Xuanqing spoke, his eyes fell upon Director Alpha and Director Nizhuan. "If even this is forbidden by you gentlemen, I will begin to wonder whether you are directors of Creation Group or directors of Tianyuan Group. Knowing full well that Director Tianyu is targeting Director Yuxiao out of fear that his retreading the path of an Immortal King will threaten his own standing, you nonetheless aid an outsider director in targeting one of our own. Where is the sense in that?" "The chairman is right. Director Yuxiao has only been away from the board for three thousand years. When we encounter difficulties or research complex problems, several thousand or even tens of thousands of years can pass in a flash. We can't very well strip away board seats just because someone hasn't returned to the group for such a short time, can we?" "Indeed. Sometimes when we engage in life-and-death battles with native Immortal Kings, we suffer severe injuries, and our cultivation drops, preventing us from exerting the power of an Immortal King. With heavier injuries, recovery can take thousands or tens of thousands of years. What, during that time when we can't display Immortal King strength, should we also abdicate and step aside?" "Yuxiao was originally an Immortal King. Now his clearance has risen again, and with the chairman's strong backing, reaching Immortal King is merely a matter of around ten thousand years. What is wrong with him returning to the board? In my view, we could even drop the word 'acting' altogether!" One director after another chimed in with their agreement. Seeing this, Xuanqing smiled. "It is for this very reason that I felt there was no harm in Yuxiao joining the board. Stationed in the Ancient Immortal Realm, with the Gate of Fate and the Gate of Karma constantly exerting their influence and interference from above, who among us can claim they will never encounter mishaps? If a single setback warrants expulsion, it would truly cost us morale and loyalty." Saying so, the chairman stared fixedly at the directors who had raised objections. "Are we to hand over our own director just because of a few threats from Tianyu of Tianyuan Group? How would outsiders look upon Creation Group if they heard of this? Some people simply fail to recognize their place. Do you take Creation Group for a subsidiary of Tianyuan Group? If that's truly what you think, you might as well defect to Tianyuan Group right now." Director Alpha's face turned thoroughly unsightly, yet he found himself at a loss for how to retort. However, having sparred with Xuanqing for so many years, Director Nizhuan quickly recovered his footing and replied with a hollow smile, "We were merely considering the group's interests. Tianyuan Group and Creation Group cooperate across many fronts. If those ties were abruptly severed due to Director Tianyu's interference, the losses would be far too severe..." "Tianyu is not yet the chairman of Tianyuan Group; he does not represent the will of Tianyuan Group," Xuanqing said dismissively. "Besides, even if he were Tianyuan's chairman, so what? If some collaborations are severed, then so be it. Without Tianyuan Group, is it impossible for us to turn to Changsheng Group, Shenluo Group, Xiyu Group, Fantian Group, or Star Sun Group?" "It was my excessive worry over the partnerships with Tianyuan Group that made me somewhat impatient." Director Nizhuan kept the smile on his face. Even so, that Chairman Xuanqing had quelled his arrogance was plainly visible. Still, he was merely a director; it was only natural for a director to be pressed down by the chairman. As long as he could retreat unscathed, it proved his competence. Conversely, if he could bring down Chairman Xuanqing even once, his prestige would surge immensely, and he would naturally rally a cohort of allies aligned against Xuanqing's interests. "Then the matter is settled. Proceed with the public announcement." Xuanqing made the final decision. The other directors raised no further objections. With that, Yaoguang entered the board as an acting director, exercising the powers of a board member, needing only to attain Immortal King to have the word "acting" removed. After the meeting adjourned, Xuanqing summoned Yaoguang once more. "Now that you are on the board, you can start building your team. Although a few people remained by your side, quite a few were poached, leaving behind many vacancies." Yaoguang nodded. When Immortal King Yuxiao fell, most of the people around him naturally departed; high-ranking figures like Huanshi and Dikong were ultimately in the minority. "I will recruit a cohort of personnel." "Do you need help?" "No need." Yaoguang said with a smile, "The chairman should focus on finding a way to gather the necessary shares in the Void and Time Daos as soon as possible. If I can become an Immortal King, we won't have so many complications as today." "Shares?" Xuanqing smiled wryly. "Tianyu has been cornering the market on shares of the Void Dao all along. Sensing that we intend to restore you to the seat of Void Immortal King, he drove the price of Void Dao shares sky-high. As for shares of the Time Dao, there are inherently very few on the market. If we truly want to acquire enough Time shares... I fear we'll have to target the native cultivators, but that isn't something that can be achieved overnight." "Native cultivators?" Yaoguang pondered for a moment. "Are most of the shares in the Grand Dao of Time held by native cultivators?" "Yes." Xuanqing added, "Give me some time. Within ten thousand years, I will gather the shares in the Void and Time Daos you need to become an Immortal King." Yaoguang had originally wanted to ask whether they could lure out Immortal King Tianyu and devour this Immortal King who held over three thousand shares of the Grand Dao of the Void. However, considering the grave repercussions, the fact that the timing was not ripe for open war between the two conglomerates, and that his own strength was still somewhat lacking, in the end... ...he suppressed the thought. "Then I will await your good news, Chairman." Yaoguang smiled and nodded.