The Sword God of the Universe

Chapter 260: Chapter 260 Aggressive Chapter 260: Chapter 260 Aggressive Within the room, astonished gazes fell upon Jing Yan.

Especially for Gao Zhao Hai, others might simply be shocked at the Vice President’s attitude toward Jing Yan, but Gao Zhao Hai was not just shocked, he was horrified.

Amid his horror, Gao Zhao Hai’s body abruptly shuddered.

He began to realize that from the beginning, Jing Yan had not claimed to know Vice President Liu Wen, which meant that Jing Yan had a plan from the start—a plan targeting him, Gao Zhao Hai.

If Gao Zhao Hai had known at the outset that Jing Yan had a close relationship with Liu Wen, then even if he were reluctant, he would definitely have tried to make amends, consulting with Fang Xu at the first opportunity, to have Jing Qingzhu’s name added back onto the list.

But Jing Yan had not said a word.

Clearly, Jing Yan did it on purpose, aiming to deal with him, Gao Zhao Hai.

Thinking this, Gao Zhao Hai looked at Jing Yan with an increasingly sinister gaze, wishing he could tear Jing Yan apart alive.

This wretched brat dared to set a trap and let him, Gao Zhao Hai, jump into it—and he had indeed jumped.

Gao Zhao Hai was well aware that his actions were not insignificant.

Such matters, as long as no one pursued them, naturally wouldn’t be a big deal.

But in the grand scheme of things, he was using his power for personal gain, being capricious with the authority of his position at the Alchemist Association, which could cause a huge negative impact on the reputation of the Alchemist Association.

If he was the one responsible for compiling the list of auction participants, then there might be a reason to prevaricate.

But the person in charge of this list was not him, it was Fang Xu.

Damn it!

How vile!

Gao Zhao Hai was beset by various thoughts at this moment.

“Yes, we are currently waiting for the assessments of the Three Major Academies to begin,” Jing Yan replied with a smile amidst a sea of shocked expressions.

“Right, we shall catch up later; right now, I need to deal with an internal issue that has arisen at the Alchemist Association,” Liu Wen nodded, then turned to look at manager Fang Xu.

“Manager Fang Xu, please explain the sequence of events,” Liu Wen said with an indifferent tone.

“Yes!” Fang Xu quickly responded.

At this moment, Fang Xu was, of course, also nervous, while feeling some annoyance toward Gao Zhao Hai.

Originally, he had nothing to do with this; whatever grievances Gao Zhao Hai had against Jing Yan were irrelevant to Fang Xu.

Yet now, he was dragged into it against his will.

If Jing Yan was of no significant background, then it wouldn’t matter.

However, it was now apparent that Jing Yan had a profound relationship with Vice President Liu Wen.

Manager Fang Xu honestly recounted the events from start to finish, without any bias.

As for the prior conflict between Jing Yan and Gao Zhao Hai, he certainly didn’t mention it, because he was not aware of what was going on between them.

He only needed to objectively report the situation as he knew it.

“It seems that some people within our Alchemist Association have overstepped their bounds,” Liu Wen sighed lightly.

“Manager Fang Xu, you are also responsible for this matter.

This list was yours to screen; how could you allow others to influence you and change a confirmed list at will?” Liu Wen looked at Fang Xu.

“Vice President, I indeed bear responsibility,” Fang Xu said humbly, without excusing himself.

“Let’s not talk about your issue for now.

For the time being, add Jing Qingzhu’s name to the list,” Liu Wen waved his hand.

Since the Green Jade Auction was starting the next day, it was somewhat inappropriate to replace Fang Xu at this time.

Bringing in someone new might not enable them to familiarize themselves with Fang Xu’s work promptly.

A large-scale auction like this requires extremely complicated preparations.

A last-minute change of personnel could lead to significant problems.

“Yes!” Fang Xu said.

“As for Gao Zhao Hai, let’s have him suspended for now, and after the auction ends, the President and I will discuss how to handle this,” Liu Wen directly stripped Gao Zhao Hai of his managerial role.

Liu Wen’s statement caused the atmosphere to tense among the Pill Masters present.

A managerial role in the Alchemist Association was very high.

Now, Vice President Liu Wen had immediately suspended manager Gao Zhao Hai and mentioned that, after the auction, there would be further discussions on specific punitive measures.

Such punishment could be considered very severe.

Even Gao Zhao Hai himself had not anticipated that Vice President Liu Wen would come down so hard on him.

He knew Liu Wen had had it in for him for a while, but Liu Wen’s actions might seem excessive and cause idle gossip.

“Vice President, you can’t do this!” Gao Zhao Hai cried out anxiously upon hearing that Liu Wen intended to suspend him.

“And why can’t I do this?” Liu Wen sneered coldly.

Gao Zhao Hai’s breathing hitched, leaving him speechless.

Indeed, as Vice President of the Alchemist Association, there was nothing inappropriate about Liu Wen seizing this opportunity to suspend him.

“Gao Zhao Hai, take this time to reflect properly,” Liu Wen’s gaze sharpened.

Gao Zhao Hai’s body trembled once more!

A trace of unwillingness flickered across his face.

“Who are these two, and why are they here?”

At this moment, another low shout came from the direction of the door.

An elderly man dressed in a beige robe stood there, looking at Jing Yan and Jing Qingzhu.

Jing Yan’s eyebrows slightly furrowed.

The elderly man’s tone was hardly friendly.

Although his question seemed ordinary, the tone carried an interrogative implication.

“Vice President Xu Dong!”

“Greetings to Vice President Xu Dong!”

Everyone in the room once again paid their respects.

Another Vice President.

Jing Yan’s heart stirred slightly.

The Alchemist Association had one President and two Vice Presidents.

These two Vice Presidents, one of them was Liu Wen, and the other must be this Pill Master named Xu Dong.

“Vice President Xu Dong!” Liu Wen greeted Xu Dong with a cupped-fist salute.

“Vice President Liu Wen, these two individuals are not members of our Alchemist Association, are they?” Xu Dong responded, his gaze steadfastly on Jing Yan and Jing Qingzhu.

Jing Yan also discerned that Vice President Xu Dong’s words had an aggressive undertone.

“Vice President Xu Dong, indeed, neither of these two are members of the Alchemist Association,” Gao Zhao Hai spoke first, his tone colored with vindictiveness.

Upon seeing Xu Dong enter, Gao Zhao Hai’s expression clearly improved, and his eyes lit up once again.

“You just stay put, didn’t Vice President Liu Wen tell you to properly reflect on yourself?” Xu Dong frowned, glanced at Gao Zhao Hai, and scolded him sharply.

“Yes!

Yes!” Gao Zhao Hai nodded repeatedly.

Although Xu Dong had rebuked Gao Zhao Hai, it was clear to Jing Yan and the others that Gao Zhao Hai was definitely close to Xu Dong, and Xu Dong’s remark was deliberate, meant for Liu Wen and the others to hear.

Xu Dong’s gaze shifted away from Jing Yan and Jing Qingzhu, resting intently on Liu Wen.

“Jing Yan and Miss Jing Qingzhu are not members of our Alchemist Association,” Liu Wen replied, as he had to.

Gao Zhao Hai was indeed Xu Dong’s man.

Although Liu Wen and Xu Dong, both Vice Presidents of the Alchemist Association, had a seemingly amicable relationship, in reality, they were rivals with significant competition between them.

Therefore, they each had their own factions, and Gao Zhao Hai was from Xu Dong’s faction.

The reason Liu Wen stripped Gao Zhao Hai of his managerial position so decisively was also influenced by this, seizing the opportunity to hit at Xu Dong’s power.

It was a golden opportunity that Liu Wen certainly wanted to grasp.

If Gao Zhao Hai hadn’t made a mistake, Liu Wen wouldn’t have had a good way to deal with him, but now Gao Zhao Hai had erred, and he was trapped by his own doings.

“Since these two are not members of our Alchemist Association, why are they present within it?”

“Moreover, these two individuals were found in the important administrative area of our Alchemist Association, how can this be?

Isn’t it a known rule of the Alchemist Association that outsiders are not allowed to enter key administrative areas?” Xu Dong’s eyes flashed, his tone became more intense, his demeanor pressing.

Indeed, the Alchemist Association had such rules.

Not to mention the key administrative areas; even the internal sections of the Association were not places ordinary people could easily enter.

The reason Jing Qingzhu was able to bring Jing Yan inside was due to her previous connection with Jiao Ming.

Now, Xu Dong was clearly looking to handle things by the book.

After Liu Wen had stripped Gao Zhao Hai of his managerial role, Xu Dong didn’t express any opinion on it after entering, and with Gao Zhao Hai being his man, Xu Dong showed no intention of pleading with Liu Wen for leniency.

By focusing on Jing Yan and Jing Qingzhu’s presence within the administrative district of the Alchemist Association, it was evident that he intended to use this as a means to strike at Liu Wen.

“We are staff from the Jing Family’s office established within Lanqu County City, Donglin City.

Previously, I had obtained the eligibility to participate in the Green Jade Auction, but then it was suddenly revoked, so I came to inquire about the situation,” Jing Qingzhu quickly reasoned.

Having maneuvered among various powers within Lanqu County City for many years, she understood the contests among these significant figures to a certain extent.

Jing Qingzhu knew of the close relationship between Liu Wen and Jing Yan.

With Liu Wen being the Vice President of the Alchemist Association, he evidently had a dispute with this Vice President named Xu Dong.

She spoke thus to avoid implicating Vice President Liu Wen.

Of course, the presence of these two at the Alchemist Association and their arrival here were not directly related to Liu Wen.

It was after their arrival that Liu Wen appeared to meet Jing Yan.

Yet, in such power games, many things can’t be clearly articulated.

The best approach was to completely sever any connection with Liu Wen.

Hearing Jing Qingzhu’s words, Xu Dong’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he gave Jing Qingzhu a cold look.

“Impudence!” Just a moment ago, Xu Dong’s face showed little change as he assessed Jing Qingzhu, but then his eyes suddenly flashed sharply, and he shouted sternly.

“What do you think the Alchemist Association is, your house?

You think you can just come and go as you please, linger as you wish?

There are plenty who want to attend the Green Jade Auction; should we include every single person who wishes to bid in the Association?

Are all those unable to bid and yet wish to, supposed to come to our Alchemist Association demanding an explanation?” Xu Dong reprimanded her severely.