I Contracted All Ancient Divine Artifacts-Chapter 269 - 168: Sinful Gold Coins

"Alliance Leader, here is the latest quote from the Mechanical Sect."

In the council chamber, Elder Bing handed over a document and continued.

"Regarding Chen Tao's matter, the Mechanical Sect is very angry, and as a result, all transaction prices have been increased by 20%."

"Ha, since when did robots also have emotional behaviors? It's just a pretext for exploitation."

Gongyang Jin glanced briefly at the quote in his hand and tossed it aside.

"How much reserve savings does the Anti-Xia Alliance's treasury have? Is it enough to support the major reshuffle after the Slaughter Battlefield ends?"

"It's difficult." Elder Bing shook his head and sighed.

Despite the apparent prestige of the Anti-Xia Alliance, its internal problems are far more numerous than those of other factions.

The term 'sit and eat without contributing' is quite fitting when used on some people.

"The daily cost to maintain normal operations is too high, and the increasing friction with other factions requires money everywhere."

"A significant portion of the Alliance's gold coins has been embezzled by insiders."

Speaking of this, Elder Bing recalled something.

"The newly appointed Geng Jiu has stirred things up quite a bit. Sun Yun, Fan Chaohui, and several other Tier Seven individuals have come to me."

"They have significant concerns," Elder Bing added.

It's normal to have issues; without them, it would be surprising!

Everyone was carefully sharing the cake, and suddenly, a person appeared and gobbled up a large portion of it.

The behavior was too unsightly!

"They have significant concerns yet seek to voice them through you? Because their own positions aren't entirely clean, right?"

People often say that if the water is too clear, there will be no fish; Gongyang Jin is well aware of this.

Every year, during the distribution of Awakening Stones, there is always backstabbing among the small factions and high-level members.

Consequently, each tier receives considerable excess income.

People aren't against this; they oppose only those who try to disrupt the rules—Han Zhan.

"But Geng Jiu has only five special awakening slots; the impact on them should be limited, right?"

"This..." Elder Bing looked troubled, "Indeed, five special awakening slots won't affect their established candidates."

"However, as the dean of Shang Academy, Geng Jiu sold some elixirs during classes. The appearance of these elixirs changed the original state of Shang Academy."

When all the high-level members focused on the bribery case of Han Zhan, they completely overlooked Han Zhan's move.

To move a giant stone, it doesn't always take a strong warrior—a small pebble and a tiny lever can do the trick.

The elixirs from Han Zhan can indeed strengthen the body and enhance physique.

But after enhancing the physique, the students who struggled to walk became elderly men capable of bursting clothes and revealing muscular backs in an instant.

The structure of Shang Academy was disrupted.

"Those elderly men and women who took the elixirs, upon entering the classroom, would throw others to the back, especially students who scored high under those teachers would be directly thrown out of the classroom."

Once they've been thrown out, how can they be given high scores?

Obviously, they can't.

As a result, Shang Academy can now be described as being in complete chaos.

"Can't the teachers control them?"

"Who dares to? Who in Shang Academy doesn't have connections? Those who can pay respect to Geng Jiu, which connections aren't strong?"

Elder Bing spoke with a sense of admiration for Han Zhan's tactics. "And it's not over; Geng Jiu, near the end of classes, even sold these elixirs within Shang Academy, ten gold coins each..."

This is the real killer move.

Someone generously advertising for free, causing chaos after taking elixirs, setting an example for everyone and the higher-ups behind them.

This is only the beginning; from tomorrow onwards, the entire Shang Academy will likely be more chaotic.

The higher-ups are all experts. Realizing this, they tried to pressure Gongyang Jin through Elder Bing to make a move against Han Zhan.

"I understand." After hearing this, Gongyang Jin thought for a moment, "Bring Geng Jiu to me."

Upon hearing Gongyang Jin's usual cold and indifferent tone, Elder Bing silently wished Geng Jiu well.

It's not that there aren't methods to cut flesh from the top of the Anti-Xia Alliance; it's just that one must beware of their table-flipping tactics.

Exposing this matter to Gongyang Jin, unless Geng Jiu can manage Gongyang Jin, otherwise, things don't look good.

Can Geng Jiu manage Gongyang Jin?

Elder Bing was not confident at all.

After discussing these two matters, he turned and left.

Shortly after, Han Zhan's figure appeared outside the door.

"What? Have these old foxes reacted so quickly and can't sit still, wanting to flip the table at you?"

As soon as he entered, Han Zhan playfully said.

Gongyang Jin glared at him reproachfully. "Isn't it because you've gone too far? Others at least eat a little at a time, but you insist on carving flesh from others. They're hurt, afraid, and of course, they will flip the table."

"Tell me, what's your purpose for doing all this?" Gongyang Jin asked.

From her understanding of Han Zhan, he wouldn't act without reason.

Instead of answering directly, Han Zhan shared an observation he had made at Lingyan Pavilion.

"Xiao Jin, have you ever considered something?"

As Han Zhan spoke, he took a gold coin from his pocket, flicking it lightly. The coin landed on the meeting table in front of Gongyang Jin, spinning rapidly.

"How do gold coins circulate in the City of Extreme Evil?"

As his words trailed off, the coin on the table lost momentum and gradually stopped spinning.

This unique City of Extreme Evil coin had one side carved with two crossed "X" chains, and the other featured a lifelike smiling skull taking up the whole coin.

Han Zhan had found the earliest description of these coins in the archives at Lingyan Pavilion.

"Evil coins." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"I couldn't find any introduction on how evil coins circulate in Lingyan Pavilion's archives either."

"They seem to appear from nowhere and rise as if out of thin air."

After listening to Han Zhan's words, Gongyang Jin searched her memory and found no recollection of the evil coins.

"So, you suspect these coins are related to the City of Extreme Evil itself?"

"Can't rule out the possibility." Han Zhan agreed with Gongyang Jin and removed the Sumeru Ring from his hand, placing it into Gongyang Jin's palm.

"What's this..." Gongyang Jin looked at the Sumeru Ring in her hand, still carrying a trace of warmth.

"I've heard the Anti-Xia Alliance's treasury is low; take these coins for now. If it's not enough, there'll be more tomorrow; I'll earn them, you spend them."

"I'm providing for you."

"How to manage Gongyang Jin - A dissertation on Han Zhan's approach"