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The square was filled with people in gray robes kneeling on the ground.

Gongsun Yuan was the first to get up, not even bothering to brush the dust off his knees, and hunched over as he waved towards the inner hall.

"Alliance Leader, please come in."

Helian Shuang and Duan Wuji exchanged a glance and then stood up as well.

That stubbornness from just now has completely vanished.

The sight of the four martial saint beasts bowing their heads spontaneously was truly breathtaking.

The Xuanjia Turtle-Snake has followed Gongsun Yuan for thirty years, and even under the contractual relationship, it has never voluntarily submitted to anyone.

The moment it lay down on the ground today, Gongsun Yuan's mental defenses collapsed.

The ancestral precepts are written in black and white.

The Eye of Ten Thousand Beasts has appeared; the four elders obey orders.

You have to admit it whether you want to or not.

Inner Temple.

The stone hall was decorated with animal skin maps hanging on all four walls, and a long table stood in the center.

The four elders sat on either side, with Lin Feng at the head of the table.

Gongsun Yuan cleared his throat and began to report on the current state of the alliance.

"The Alliance has a total of 327 Beast Tamers. 51 of them can control Martial King-level beasts, 20 can control Martial Venerable-level beasts, and as for Martial Saint-level beasts... there are only four of us."

"What about the total number of contracted beasts?" Lin Feng leaned back in his chair.

"You've seen the four Martial Saint level beasts. There are twenty-three Martial Venerable level contracted beasts, nearly one hundred Martial King level beasts, and we won't count the Martial Sect level and below."

Lin Feng nodded. "How much does it cost to keep these things?"

Gongsun Yuan's expression changed.

He rubbed his hands together, pulled an account book from under the table, and pushed it in front of Lin Feng.

"This is the league's financial summary for last year."

Lin Feng opened it.

The first page simply states in large characters: Annual Loss.

A string of numbers followed, and Lin Feng counted the zeros.

"Lost 400 million?"

"To be precise, it's 386 million." Gongsun Yuan's voice trailed off.

Helian Shuang chimed in from the side, "The main problem is that the cost of maintaining the four Martial Saint beasts is too high."

"What is meant by 'support fee'?"

Iron Eagle explained for her, "Our contract technique is different from the Alliance Leader's Eye of Ten Thousand Beasts. The Eye of Ten Thousand Beasts involves direct control, with a clear master-servant relationship. Our contract technique is essentially a cooperative agreement. The beasts fight for you, and you provide them with high-grade pills and spiritual materials as payment."

"Isn't this just like working and getting paid?"

Iron Eagle smiled wryly: "More or less. But the 'salary' of a Martial Saint-level beast is too high. Each one requires at least ten A-grade or higher Body Tempering Pills, thirty catties of high-grade spiritual materials, plus two magic cores every month. For four of them, the monthly maintenance cost is nearly one hundred million."

One hundred million a month.

1.2 billion a year.

It would cost 1.2 billion yuan just to raise four martial saint beasts.

"What about the league's revenue?"

Gongsun Yuan flipped to the back of the ledger. "The annual income from the mineral veins is about 600 million, the income from the fissure resources is about 300 million, plus some miscellaneous commission income, totaling less than 1 billion."

"Income cannot cover expenses."

"That's right." Gongsun Yuan sighed. "The shortfall is due to living off our past savings. The alliance has accumulated wealth over hundreds of years, and we've been squandering it all these years. At the current rate, in another two or three years, our reserves will be depleted."

Duan Wuji tapped his cane. "What's more troublesome is the mineral veins. The Alliance has three mineral veins in the east, and in recent years, nearly 30% of them have been devoured by several powerful families in the East Sea Military Region. The resources in the Rift are also being squeezed down by the Provincial Capital Martial Arts Association. Those with nothing to lose are fearless; they know we dare not turn against the military, so they're just slowly feeding us."

Lin Feng closed the ledger and threw it back onto the table.

"So all these years you've been hiding in the mountains like turtles, not because you want to keep a low profile, but because you're broke?"

The faces of the four elders twitched simultaneously.

Helian Shuang gripped her sleeves and remained silent.

Gongsun Yuan nodded bitterly. "The Alliance Leader is right. The Alliance has indeed been declining in recent years."

Lin Feng tapped his fingers twice on the table.

The hall was silent for a few seconds.

"I will take care of providing for the four martial saint beasts."

Gongsun Yuan suddenly looked up.

"My Eyes of Ten Thousand Beasts can directly replace the contract relationship. I can use the spirit contract to take the four Martial Saints as my controlled beasts without having to provide for them every month."

The four elders' reaction was not one of surprise.

It's sluggishness.

Iron Eagle's beak gaped open for a long time. "Alliance Leader, you can control four Martial Saint-level beasts simultaneously? Adding the Iron Rhinoceros and Ferocious Vulture you currently possess, that makes six?"

"Due to my current level of cultivation, I cannot do it right now. But I will complete the subjugation within a year."

Within one year.

They subdued the four martial saint beasts.

It's all controlled by one person.

Gongsun Yuan braced his hands on the table, and it took him a while to steady himself.

"Alliance Leader, if you can really do this, the Alliance can save 1.2 billion in maintenance fees every year. This alone is enough to turn the Alliance around."

"1.2 billion is barely enough to catch your breath." Lin Feng stood up.

"I'll handle the mineral veins and rift resources as well. But before that, give me a thorough understanding of the Alliance's resources. Iron Eagle, show me around."

Iron Eagle sprang to his feet. "Yes, sir!"

The four elders stood up in unison and respectfully escorted Lin Feng out of the inner hall.

Once the footsteps had faded into the distance, Helian Shuang finally breathed a sigh of relief and plopped back down in her chair.

"An eighteen-year-old Martial King, a third-grade Spiritual Master, who also possesses the Eye of Ten Thousand Beasts."

She wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

"I've lived for 52 years and I've never even heard of such a configuration."

Duan Wuji gripped his cane tightly, and after a long pause, blurted out, "Can he even stand up?"

Gongsun Yuan carefully put the account books away and watched Lin Feng leave.

"Does he look like he can't hold on?"

The three looked at each other for a moment, then remained silent.

......