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n”Gentlemen… can you tell me your real intention?”

n“They are here to seek a cooperation,” Goldfiend said lazily.

nAlthough Goldiend was their representative, he had other reasons to visit Maximus.

n“Cooperation? What kind of cooperation?”

n“A cooperation to earn merits.”

n“We hope you’ll give us a discount when we buy materials from you,” an Apex Sovereign said.

nAlthough they had a lot of money, these years really hurt their pockets.

nIf things continue as they are, they will lose all their wealth before they can earn enough merits.

n“A discount? What will I get?”

n“We would give you a greater part of merit than the calculated by the World’s Will.”

nThe World’s Will would calculate everyone’s contribution, no matter what they did.

nThus, even though they paid for the material and knowledge they got from him, Maximus could still receive part of their merit reward.

n“You can do that?”

n“Yes, this is also the way we cooperated with fellow Vanderbilt.”

nAs the richest individual in the world, Goldfiend Vanderbilt could reap benefits just by paying money.

nWith Goldfiend’s wit, he wouldn’t just be satisfied with the fair calculation by the World Origin.

nSpending a massive amount of funding, he convinced these Apex Sovereigns to give him a higher proportion than the World’s Will.

nThinking about this form of cooperation, the Apex Sovereigns hoped to adapt the same for Maximus.

nOf course, the exact proportion distribution depends on Maximus’ negotiation skills.

n“How much are you willing to give?” Maximus asked, tapping his finger on the table.

n“It depends on how much discount you are willing to give,” they said, passing the problem to Maximus.

n“How much can you give me if I give you a 10 percent discount?”

n“Is fellow Maximus satisfied with 0.5 percent of the reward?”

nUsually, the contribution percentage reward that Maximus got is a millionth percent.

nThus, a five hundredth percent for a 10 percent discount is already generous.

nHowever, hearing their offer, Maximus shook his head.

n“How about 0.7 percent?”

n“No.”

n“0.8?”

nSeeing Maximus didn’t budge, they gritted their teeth in frustration.

nThis brat is really like that greedy Vanderbilt, giving them so little yet wanting so much.

nCalming down, they offered another bid.

n“How about 1 percent?”

nMaximus: …

n“Is fellow Maximus still not satisfied?” they asked with a frown.

n“This is already the highest we can go; unless you increase the discount, we have nothing more to offer.”

nA percentage is already generous.

nAssuming they earn a hundred quintillion of merits, Maximus could earn a quintillion.

nThis is just Maximus giving them a 10 percent discount.

nFurthermore, deep down, they knew that Maximus was already scamming them with the price that he had given.

nHaving a monopoly, Maximus could do whatever he wanted, who knows how much he hiked the price?

n“Increase the discount, is it?”

nAfter a little interaction, he already knew the limit of these Apex Sovereigns.

nUsing this knowledge, it’s time to squeeze the greatest benefit he could get.

nFinally, after a few hours of discussion and nearly a fight, they came to an agreement.

nThat is, Maximus would give them a 70 percent discount in return, for which they would give Maximus 10 percent of their overall reward.

nCursing in their hearts, they left in satisfaction.

nAlthough Maximus got a chunk of their profit, they could get the items at over half the price.

nUnfortunately, that cunning Maximus forbade them from reselling the items bought with a discount.

nOtherwise, they could earn back their money, only using their hard work to earn merits.

nSoon, the only individuals remaining in the room were Maximus and Goldfiend.

n“What do you want, fellow Goldfiend?” Maximus asked.

nExcept for mediating, Goldfiend didn’t help in the negotiation at all.

nGoldfiend didn’t seem to care about the discount he would get and had some other agenda.

n“You mentioned earlier that you wanted to barter the treasure in the Merits hall. Do you want to trade with me?”

nInstead of answering the question, Goldfiend repeated what he had said earlier.

n“Trade with you? Are you so generous?” Maximus asked with a frown.

nEarlier in the negotiation table, Maximus offered to barter other treasures for the 11 materials they auctioned.

nMaximus even proposed to lower his share if they bartered it to him through a discount.

nHowever, unless Maximus paid them several times the usual bid price, they didn’t budge and let him get the tier 11 materials.

nThus, Maximus had no other choice but to shelve the plan and save enough money first.

nApparently, although the merits and crystal merit of the abyss have the same unit of energy, the former is more precious.

nUnless Maximus bid at least a 1:5 ratio of merits and crystal merit worth of treasure, they wouldn’t even entertain the idea of barter.

nUnder Maximus’ question, they also revealed several uses of Merit.

nMerits were the manifestation of the dimensional laws and origins of the Etherium realm.

nNaturally, using them directly provides great benefits in comprehending the laws and origins of the world.

nAlthough the Abyss crystal merit could also achieve these things, it was only useful to individuals born in the Abyss.

nThat is also why individuals born there exhibit great strength, easily catching up to the top powers of the Etherium realm.

nRakasha is a living example of this, reaching the Apex Sovereign Limit despite not being from the same era as those Ancient Apex Sovereigns.

nThe second function is direct advancement.

nLike the Abyss Crystal Merit, Etherium Merit can be used to advance one’s realm without consequences.

nThe third function is luck.

nThose who possess great amount of merit would be lucky.

nAlthough it may seem illusory, it’s real.

nA stroke of luck may break down a bottleneck that was bothering you.

nAn enemy that may be pursuing you may be cursed by fate.

nAlthough it’s only useful in the Etherium realm, it could save one from many troublesome affairs.

nAs for other functions of merits, those apex sovereigns didn’t tell him.

nEven then, just these three functions gave Maximus a glimpse of how useful the Etherium Realm Merit is.

nJust helping with comprehending laws is already a great benefit.

nAlthough there are similar treasures in the Myriad World Mall, they are either too expensive or not suitable.

nHaving such a convenient panacea at his fingertips already made him satisfied.

nThus, knowing the importance of Merits, yet hearing Goldfiend was still willing to barter with him, made him vigilant about his agenda.

n“I have no hidden motives; I only wanted to know how you created your empire system.”

n“The empire system?”

n“Yes.”

n“I can’t give it to you,” Maximus quickly shook his head.

nIt seems that Goldfiend got a glimpse of the potential of his empire system.

nUnfortunately, due to many reasons, Maximus would never disclose the creation of the empire system to anyone.

nMaximus even had to work on it alone so others wouldn’t know about its creation.

nHow could a mere benefit allow him to give in now?

nSeeing Maximus’ resolute expression, Goldfiend knew that no matter what he said, Maximus wouldn’t budge.

n“How about a cooperation?” Goldfiend suggested after thinking.

n“What kind of cooperation? To earn merits?”

n“No, I don’t bother myself with those kinds of things. I want to cooperate with you and your empire.”

n“Oh? How specifically?”

n“From establishing the EGCC, monetary investment, manpower investment, anything.”

n“As long as your empire has shortages, I would fill them.”

n“What for?” Seeing Goldfiend being so generous, Maximus was still a little puzzled.

n“I just want you to convince your daughter to be my apprentice,” Goldfiend said with a smile.

nAll along, this was his hidden agenda.

nThe negotiation, barter, asking about the creation of the Empire system, and various investments were all for one thing: to take that lucky girl as his apprentice.

nHe felt that this world was becoming weirder and weirder.

nThis should be a sign of impending disaster and change.

nHe feared that his strength was not enough to cope with these changes.

nAfter seeing Asha, he felt that this should be his sure-fire ticket to safety.

nHaving overwhelming luck can help one survive any adversity, like walking in a park.

n“Who? Asha?” Maximus said, remembering his daughter and this rich man’s interaction.

nSeeing his sincere eyes, Maximus’s eyes widened with killing intent.

n“Do you have something for my daughter?”

nThis bastard was already an ancient artifact; to have such an idea, how dare he?

n“No, no, you misunderstood. It’s not for anything but for luck.”

n“I fear that something would happen in the future. Having an apprentice with such luck is all I need.”

n“Are you sure?” Maximus squinted his eyes, as if to see through Goldfiend’s eyes.

n“Yes, I have no interest in the opposite sex or whatever, much less your daughter,” Goldfiend said sincerely.

nHe really hadn’t thought of these messy things in his mind.

nAll he saw was interest.

nDriven by interest, he could do anything.

nAnd the number one rule to protect one’s interest is never to let it involve a woman.

nThis was already a tested and tried theory.

nLike the three of the world strongest, Malgron, Rakasha, and Fealan.

nThroughout their lives, they didn’t involve themselves in this taboo, thus reaching the apex limit.

nAlthough this would not always be the case, like Radious and Alabaster having countless wives.

nTo increase his chances, Goldfiend would never touch this taboo.

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