Liang Ting is not Niu Chuanchuan, so it won't be easy to persuade him.

After Shang Yanting's first conversation with him, he did not express his opinion. However, he immediately sent someone back to Zhaocheng by fast horse.

Two days later

Liang Ting sent someone up the mountain to invite him.

The actions of the aristocratic families were exactly as Shang Yanting had predicted.

The aristocratic families have already made contact with the city lord of Zhaocheng and are preparing to open shops in Zhaocheng.

Moreover, the city lord did not accept the gifts that he had sent with his men.

He wanted to settle things peacefully, but the other party wanted to destroy his foundation!

Liang Ting is a smart person.

He knew what the consequences would be if he let it go unchecked.

This meeting was between him and Shang Yanting, in a highly secluded room.

There were people guarding outside, and he personally invited them to take a seat.

“Young Master Yan, I am willing to consider the cooperation you mentioned before. But I would like to hear your plan.”

"On the third day of next month, I want you to personally go to the Holy Capital Academy to represent Wanbaoge in the competition for next year's material supply."

Anyone in business knows that the supply of materials to Holy Capital Academy has always been handled internally by the eight great families. If he were to compete for it, wouldn't that be tantamount to declaring war on these families in front of everyone else?

"are you serious?"

Liang Ting frowned. "Young Master Yan, our family has been cooperating with the academy for many years. Can you be sure that if I compete, the academy will let me provide supplies for next year?"

It's not a question of whether there's a chance, but rather that there's simply no possibility of success.

"I will provide you with the best bidding environment. All you need to do is gather the best gentlemen and abacus masters, calculate the lowest price you can afford, write the most compelling application, and then wait for his notification."

Shang Yanting spoke slowly, his calm and composed words always inspiring confidence.

"But I can't trust you right now."

Liang Ting is the type of person who won't act until he sees a clear benefit.

"Boss Liang, you've been calling me Young Master Yan for so long, have you forgotten my real name?"

At the Zhaocheng auction, he did not change his appearance or his surname.

Liang Ting's greatest strength was his ability to control his curiosity and refrain from prying into other people's affairs. When Shang Yanting said his surname was Shang, he called him Young Master Shang; when Shang Yanting said his surname was Yan, he changed it to Young Master Yan.

Those who pretend to be ignorant when they know the truth are often the most astute.

“Mr. Liang, you do your business, I’ll take my revenge. We have a common enemy, so we are the best allies.”

Liang Ting did have a vague idea of ​​Shang Yanting's identity, but when he heard him admit it himself, his expression changed.

Should we cooperate with him, or reveal this secret to the aristocratic families in exchange for benefits?

Two choices came to mind, with the latter clearly being easier.

"If you're thinking about how much you'll benefit from handing me over to a powerful family, I suggest you prepare a coffin for yourself."

Shang Yanting seemed to be able to read his mind, and spoke out what was on his mind.

If a powerful family can kill its own children and grandchildren for profit, how can an outsider with no connection to the family expect to benefit from it after knowing its secrets?

This will only lead to utter destruction.

Liang Ting is a smart person.

When he heard Shang Yanting say those words, he knew he had no way out.

"Okay, I'll cooperate with you."

Since there's no way to avoid it, we can only face it. Every moment of life is a gamble.

It's either a meteoric rise to the top or a precipitous fall to hell.

Liang Ting talked with Shang Yanting for a long time.

As he watched them leave, he couldn't help but take a deep breath; the most difficult days for Wanbaoge were yet to come.

##

Persuading Liang Ting was the first step.

Decades ago, the cooperation between the eight great families and the Holy Capital Academy was not as close as it is now.

After becoming the young master, Shang Yanting used various methods to make the eight great families and the Holy Capital Academy inseparable. Now he wants to sever their connection with his own hands.

Promoting an alternative is the easiest way.

Inside the college

After more than a month of rumors circulating, most disciples had heard about the fact that the eight great families were superior to the Holy Capital Academy.

Jinyang Peak

The disciples, already superior due to their status, became even more arrogant with the added influence of the comments, acting with increasing arrogance. They looked down not only on disciples from ordinary peaks, but also on teachers with slightly lower cultivation levels.

This made other disciples and some teachers very unhappy.

But that's not enough.

Shang Yanting was ready to add fuel to the fire.

##

Winter morning

The sun rarely appears on the mountain; it hasn't fully risen yet, but it has already painted the horizon with a rosy hue.

The dean got up early and went to the cabinet.

Today is the day to discuss the expenses for the disciples next year.

On the way, he happened to encounter a group of disciples practicing martial arts below.

He was already here at dawn, so he must have gotten up very early. Seeing how eager his disciple was to learn, he couldn't help but nod.

However, there were some problems with their swordsmanship.

As the dean, he was about to appear and correct them when several disciples were already preparing to sheathe their swords.

"It's getting late, let's hurry back."

Is it late now?

The dean was taken aback. Most of the disciples were probably only just starting to practice martial arts at this time. What was going on with these few disciples?

"Sigh, such a nice place, it's a pity I can't use it all day."

While tidying up his things, another disciple couldn't help but sigh, "If only I were a disciple of Jinyang Peak, I wouldn't have to get up early to fight for a spot."

"What are you thinking? Even if you are a disciple of Jin Yang Peak, it won't work. You must be a disciple of one of the eight great families."

"That's right. If you were a disciple of one of the eight great families, you could train wherever you wanted, and the entire Holy Capital Academy would be yours."

Upon hearing what the disciples said, the dean frowned.

When did Holy Capital Academy become one of the Eight Great Families?

He certainly wouldn't take his disciples' jokes seriously, but his good mood for the day was instantly ruined.

Just as he was about to leave, a group of people suddenly walked towards him.

"Hey! Which peak are you guys from? Don't you know this is our territory?"

A group of people pushed and shoved the few disciples who had practiced martial arts in the early days; they were disciples of Jin Yangfeng.

"Senior brother, look at the way they looked at us just now! They took over our territory and still dared to glare at us?!"

"What a joke, who do they think they are?"

"Exactly! If it weren't for the support of our eight great families, would Holy Capital Academy be what it is today?"

Damn it!

Just as the dean was about to reprimand him, his teacher, who had come to fetch him, jogged over and said, "Dean, what are you doing here? The people from the eight great families are almost here."

"When they arrive, tell them to wait."

The teacher's constant references to his family's history, his overly cautious attitude, just happened to be the one who provoked him.

The dean flicked his wide sleeves, not caring whether it was time or not. Unusually, he was not punctual and arrived late, only after everyone had arrived.

His gaze swept across the crowd in the Tianyuan Hall: the Shang family, the Song family, the Li family, the Yu family…

He suddenly realized that although the business was looking for suppliers for next year, all eight major families were present, but no one from the other business was there.