Chapter 3848 — Not in the Least Bothered

Here on North Island, however, Nan Tianguan seldom frequented the Hong Chamber of Commerce. Another great merchant house had courted him with lavish sums instead; given his standing in the Soaring Sky Pavilion, anyone who could genuinely win him over stood to reap enormous profit.

"Guests, too, come in good and bad. A good guest is received by every soul in the Hong Chamber of Commerce with all courtesy. A bad guest—well, there is nothing left to say. That the strong are honored in the cultivation world is a principle I imagine you understand full well, sir." Hong Zhong spoke with his features composed, betraying nothing.

The strong are honored? At those words Nan Tianguan's eyes flickered. Only now did he realize, to his astonishment, that he could not see through the strength of this Hong Zhong before him at all!

To be sure, the man might be concealing his power through some secret art. But judged by plain logic alone, being unable to see through another's strength meant that strength very likely surpassed his own!

No wonder the man could take the seat of manager at the Hong Chamber of Commerce's North Island branch—he was not to be underestimated! Nan Tianguan felt a chill of caution inwardly, yet he had no intention of giving up. After all, he had come to the Hong Chamber of Commerce today having made thorough preparations in advance.

"Hmph! It seems in Manager Hong's eyes this seat of mine has already been filed under 'bad guest.' But do you know who I am?" Nan Tianguan gave a cold snort and looked down his nose at him.

Compared with his third brother Nan Tianyong, Nan Tianguan was not only the stronger, but held a far higher position in the Soaring Sky Pavilion!

Nan Tianyong's post as inspection deacon might inspire a measure of awe at best, but Nan Tianguan's position was truly coveted—it commanded awe and, more than that, controlled vast stores of cultivation resources. To have dealings with him was to reap tremendous advantage.

Nearly half the merchants along the market's inner street actively courted Nan Tianguan—fawned on him, one might say—and no few were eager to secure him with lavish sums.

Yet among those merchants the Hong Chamber of Commerce, that flagship giant of commerce, was nowhere to be found. Small wonder, then, that Nan Tianguan had long harbored a grudge against the Hong Chamber of Commerce—strictly speaking, against its North Island branch.

So this time Nan Tianguan had schemed and come in person. On the surface it was for Nan Tianyong's sake, but underneath he had by no means ruled out the intent to give the other party a proper dressing-down while he was at it.

Nan Tianguan assumed that Hong Zhong dared to treat him so rudely out of ignorance of his identity. Otherwise, what merchant who knew who he was would not enshrine him as a god of wealth? Who would wear such a cold face?

To his surprise, Hong Zhong did not even raise his head. "Second of the Three Heroes of the Nan Clan. Senior Disciple in charge of affairs at the Soaring Sky Pavilion. Nan Tianguan."

"You knew?" Nan Tianguan's expression changed on the spot.

If the other man had not known his identity, that cold face might have been forgivable. But to dare treat him this way while knowing full well that he was the Soaring Sky Pavilion's senior disciple in charge of affairs—that was beyond anything he had anticipated!

Senior disciple in charge of affairs at the Soaring Sky Pavilion—the title sounded much the same as that of Meng Jueming, a newcomer's senior disciple in charge of affairs at the Azure Cloud Pavilion, yet the standing of the two was separated by a gulf as wide as heaven and earth!

Meng Jueming, senior disciple in charge of affairs, commanded a mere dozen or so newcomers of the Azure Cloud Pavilion, the great majority of whom had not even succeeded at Foundation Establishment. But Nan Tianguan, senior disciple in charge of affairs, commanded every disciple of the Soaring Sky Pavilion's inner sect below the Golden Core stage. The power in his hands, the cultivation resources under his control, were enough to make countless people green with envy and itch with desire. The standing and authority of the two could not even be mentioned in the same breath.

Even Hu Yunfeng, the pavilion master of the Welcome Pavilion—a man of real power, head of an independent department—did not dare show the slightest presumption before Nan Tianguan, let alone a mere Meng Jueming.

Of course, not every head of an independent department held Nan Tianguan, senior disciple in charge of affairs at the Soaring Sky Pavilion, in any regard.

Hu Yunfeng was the way he was only because the Welcome Pavilion ranked last among all the independent departments. Were it the master of a top-tier department like the Law Enforcement Hall—a man of Gongyang Jun's power—he would not even deign to glance at Nan Tianguan.

Even so, in the eyes of the market's merchants and managers, Nan Tianguan, senior disciple in charge of affairs at the Soaring Sky Pavilion, remained utterly coveted—a god of wealth worth securing with lavish sums.

Let him walk into any shop in the market, and he was certain to receive the most magnificent of receptions—treatment such as would befit one's own father, and no less!

So long as one bought Nan Tianguan's favor, so that later, when he procured resources for the Soaring Sky Pavilion's disciples, he might tilt things slightly toward one's own shop, the profit therein was nothing short of astronomical—enough to drive any merchant wild with greed!

Yet Hong Zhong, manager of the Hong Chamber of Commerce's North Island branch, had always turned a deaf ear to Nan Tianguan—and now, when the man had come to his door in person, knowing full well who he was, he still dared to receive him with such a cold face!

No wonder Nan Tianguan was so shocked and thrown off balance by such a stark contrast. Hong Zhong could sit in the manager's seat of a branch, so he must be a merchant through and through—and what merchant would treat a god of wealth this way?

Watching Nan Tianguan's astonished expression, Hong Zhong said with a hint of a smile: "The Hong Chamber of Commerce may not be an intelligence organization, but to do business out here on North Island, keeping one's eyes and ears open is the basics. You are, after all, the senior disciple in charge of affairs at the Soaring Sky Pavilion—is it so strange that this old man should recognize you?"

To be recognized by a figure of Hong Zhong's rank, a manager of the Hong Chamber of Commerce, ought to have been proof of one's eminence. Yet hearing these words, Nan Tianguan's face in that instant turned all the more forbidding.

To know full well who this seat of mine is and never once inquire after me—and now, when I come in person, not only to fail to enshrine me but to treat me so slightingly—was this not a slap in the face to my very person?

He had thought that by virtue of his standing he could at least overawe the other man somewhat. Instead he had been slapped down so, and so imperturbably at that, that Nan Tianguan truly felt his cheeks burn with shame.

Forcing his expression under control, Nan Tianguan feigned a cold laugh: "Hmph. Knowing full well who I am, and still daring to slight me so—it seems Manager Hong has great confidence in himself. I only wonder whether the higher-ups of the Hong Chamber of Commerce on Central Island will have anything to say once they hear of this."

The Hong Chamber of Commerce was, after all, one of the handful of top-tier merchant houses across the five great islands of the Heaven Rank, and Hong Zhong, as branch manager, held absolute authority on North Island. But if the higher-ups on Central Island learned that he had harmed the Chamber's interests out of mere pique, then his tenure as branch manager would likely be over and done.