The Rise of Dragon Temple By Wu Xia

Chapter 27

After Joseph’s phone call to Alpha 1, the two most powerful forces in Oplen started to make their moves.

Dennis summoned Ernie over and ordered all employees of Gempoint Group to stop work as soon as

possible. All the executives rushed to the conference room for an emergency meeting. As the leader of

underground forces in Oplen, Ernie took charge of more than half of the city’s entertainment industries.

His company, Mysticorps Group, ranked second only to Gempoint Group in the entire region. The

company owned theme parks, shopping malls, cinemas, nightclubs, and so on. Similarly, Mysticorps

Group staff have also stopped all their existing operations. All members of the senior management team

were ordered to rush to Gempoint Group’s headquarters. When the hundreds of executives from both

Gempoint Group and Mysticorps Group were all packed in a large conference room, everyone was

shocked. These business elites were clueless as to what had happened. All they knew was that their

respective bosses, who were not on good terms in the past, jointly held an emergency meeting all of a

sudden. Soon, something even more shocking happened. At the entrance of the conference room,

Dennis and Ernie were respectfully following behind a young man. When Alpha 1 appeared, all the

executives in the room were shocked once again. An unimaginable thought suddenly emerged on their

minds. Did Oplen’s two largest companies merge into one? Who was this person in front of Dennis and

Ernie? Alpha 1 sat directly on the main seat of the conference room. Even so, Dennis and Ernie did not

seem dissatisfied. Instead, they sat on both sides of Alpha l with great excitement. Suddenly, the

conference room, filled with hundreds of people, instantly fell silent. After everyone was seated, Alpha 1

said to Dennis and Ernie, “It doesn’t matter whether you can satisfy me or not. The two of you should

know better. I’ll repeat myself once more. On the 15th of next month, we’ll hold a grand wedding in Oplen

with a budget of one billion. We’ll spend it all! All the cities within Central Region are eligible to take part,

and we will select a thousand new couples. However, these couples must all pass a certain level of

requirements. We can’t simply let anyone in. We’ll cover all their weddings expenses, which includes the

food and beverages as well. You guys can discuss this within the next hour. The news of this event must

spread throughout Oplen, and even the whole Central Region. Make sure this goes viral! Okay, I’ve done

my part here. The rest is up to you…” As soon as Alpha 1 finished speaking, he sat calmly and did not

care about anything

else. Although he remained silent, he exuded an imposing aura like that of a big boss. In fact, his aura

completely overwhelmed Dennis and Ernie. Alpha I was a strong warrior, so he would only yield to one

person-Joseph. Outside of Dragon Temple, Alpha I could rule over anyone else… After hearing Alpha l’s

instructions, Dennis and Ernie nodded respectfully. Immediately, all the hundreds of executives were

stunned by Alpha l’s words. At this time, a bold executive from Gempoint Group suddenly stood up and

asked Alpha 1, “May… May I ask a question, sir? I’m actually getting ready to be married next month.

Can… Can I participate in the wedding?” Although this executive knew that Alpha 1 definitely came from

a strong background, he wanted to hold a grand wedding for his beloved fiancée. “How dare you! What

gives you the right to speak now? Get out of here!” Furious, Dennis got up quickly and shouted, which

scared the good-looking executive to death.

“Mr. Drake… Sir, I’m sorry, I… I’ll get out now…” The executive was startled by Dennis’ cold gaze, so

much so that he wanted to leave immediately. “Wait a minute.” At this moment, Alpha 1 uttered. Terrified,

Dennis quickly replied, “I’m sorry, sir. My subordinates are ignorant. Don’t be angry…” Dennis begged

Alpha 1 so humbly that the executive was almost scared silly. However, Alpha I waved his hand. “Haha,

it’s okay. This person is good-looking, so it’s fine. Nobody said that our own employees are not allowed

to participate in this event, right? If there are benefits, of course, you should give priority to your staff. Mr.

Drake, don’t be stingy… Let this man participate, and offer him more resources when the time comes…”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Dennis quickly turned to the executive and said, “You should thank Mr. Alpha

1.” Alpha 1 waved his hand and nodded with a smile. Then, the atmosphere in the meeting room became

extremely enthusiastic. More than 50 executives of the two

companies intended to get married this year. Soon, all plans were listed out. An hour later, official

websites of both Gempoint Group and Mysticorps Group stated, “On the 15th of next month, a

mysterious president will hold a grand wedding in the Oplen Cathedral, worth one billion! At the same

time, up to 1314 couples are invited to participate in the ceremony. Each couple will be sponsored one

million, including the wedding accessories, gowns, and so on. These items may also be sponsored by

Gempoint Group or Mysticorps Group. The one-billion budget will be entirely used up.” Upon discussion,

Dennis and Ernie had extended from 1000 couples to 1314, while they would cover the additional costs.

They chose 1314 couples as the number traditionally represented long-lasting love.

Ten minutes after the two announcements were released on the websites, all the billboards in Oplen

were also broadcasting the same message. Many well informed individuals have caught wind about the

event… Boom… All Oplen residents were completely shocked by this mysterious president’s actions. It

was one billion, after all, not to mention that over a thousand other weddings would be fully sponsored up

to one million each. People in Shelia could not imagine how grand it would be when the mysterious

president got married. One billion was offered to support more than 1000 new couples, which excluded

miscellaneous costs incurred on the wedding day itself. This wedding could easily cost more than one

billion… A few minutes later, citizens from more than 100 cities in the whole Central Region were also

completely dazzled by the news. Indeed, it was a huge project… Later, all the about-to-wed couples in

the Central Region, including Oplen, began to sign up with great enthusiasm. They wished to be

sponsored one million and hold a grand wedding along with the mysterious president. Which unmarried

woman could resist such a temptation? Therefore, the event instantly became a sensation…

At the same time, members of the Mooney family, who were still talking in the hotel room, saw this piece

of news. Lily immediately screamed, “My lord, isn’t this a tad too much? A wedding worth billions?” Then,

Lily turned her gaze to Paige. “Haha, Paige. Didn’t your so-called husband say that he would hold a

grand wedding for you earlier? Perhaps it’s the same as this one that’s worth billions. How wealth of

Joseph, haha…” Paige’s body trembled. She was no fool, so she naturally knew that Lily was mocking

her. Earlier, Joseph was talking big in front of her family, yet a mysterious

rich man suddenly decided to hold a magnificent wedding in Oplen next month. At the thought of it, she

wanted to find a place to hide her embarrassment. As for the mysterious rich man, could it be Joseph?

No way. She would never believe such a thing. Five years ago when she first met Joseph, he was dirt

poor, so much so that she was the one who bought him a mobile phone. In five years, there was no way

for him to make billions… Deep down, Paige wished that she was wrong this time. If Joseph were here,

he would definitely confront Lily, “That’s right, I’m the one who planned this wedding! Do you have any

problem with that?” Unfortunately, he was not there at the time. “Enough! Don’t you think it’s

embarrassing enough? Lily, you should keep your mouth shut as well. Paige is your cousin, so can you

treat her like family?” Leonard

was angry. What happened to Paige in the past made him ashamed. “Dad, I apologize on Paige’s behalf.

No matter what, she is a member of our family,

so can you please let her return to the company? It’s not easy for her to raise a child now…” Yahir felt

sorry for his daughter. Although he was furious, one could not change the past. What else could he do?

As soon as he finished speaking, Tommy said scornfully, “Hehe, Yahir. There is no open position in the

company now. Furthermore, there are also many other companies in Oplen. Why does she have to come

back? Lily should be more than enough for the job, right?” At this time, Estella could no longer sit idle.

Suddenly standing up, she retorted, “Don’t cross the line, Tommy! Dominic hasn’t even said a word yet,

so why are you stopping Paige from coming back? Indeed, she made a mistake, but Yahir was right.

Regardless of what happened in the past, she is a member of the Mooney family. Fine, Lily has power

and influence in the company, but why is Paige not allowed to return? You might as well snatch all

Yahir’s shares away.” “Estella, what do you mean by that? Why didn’t you bring up the number of

projects I’ve secured over these years?” Lily felt offended. “Enough, both of you! Will you only be

satisfied if Leonard suffers a stroke? Is this something to fight over? If Max hadn’t gone to the military,

would you have a chance to fight for a position in the company?” Leonard’s eldest son, Dominic Mooney,

who had not spoken all this while, uttered. As soon as he spoke, the room completely quieted down.

Indeed, amongst the third generation of the Mooneys, neither Paige nor Lily was the most powerful

figure. Instead, it was Maxton Mooney, who served as a lieutenant commander in the military. Leonard

often cared more about Dominic’s and Maxton’s opinions. After all, the future of the family’s business still

relied on Maxton. Money was not sufficient to strive in this society. One would also need power and

influence. Otherwise, no matter how wealthy one was, success was not guaranteed. Seeing that no one

was talking, Dominic looked at Paige, who was in the middle of the room. “Paige, you are one of us, so it

makes sense for you to return. In fact, it’s also possible for you to take on some important positions in the

company. Since you have brought shame to our family, you should also contribute. Why not test it out?

By the end of your probation period, you will officially become a formal member of the company. What do

you think?” Glancing at Yahir, Dominic then asked, “Yahir, what do you think?” Yahir nodded, while Paige

bowed her head and tacitly approved. Then, Leonard took a deep breath and said, “Well, other

companies have a probation period of at least two months, some even lasting up to more than half a

year. In our case, we shall not fix a duration. Paige, I will list down three conditions. Once you fulfill them,

you shall pass the probation period regardless of the duration. Firstly, the Porter family in Guplyae owes

us two million. Since we have failed to collect this

debt for the past three years, you should get this settled. Secondly, our company now has a batch of new

products, so you are required to expand three new sales channels. Thirdly, we’ve had some projects that

have been difficult to be closed. You may choose one of them for further negotiation.” After Leonard

finished speaking, Yahir suddenly had a change of expression. He quickly said, “Dad; aren’t these three

conditions too difficult?” Tommy responded, “Yahir, didn’t Estella always talk bad about Lily? But didn’t

Lily satisfy such requirements when she first joined the company as well? Paige is only a couple of

months younger than Lily, right? She also graduated from a famous university, didn’t she?” “Tommy! How

can you compare them? How long did Paige work in the industry after graduating from college? It did not

even last a full year! How can she fulfill these three conditions?” Yahir said anxiously. At this time, Paige

looked up at her father. Although Yahir was angry with her, he still felt sorry for her. Similarly, Estella felt

the same way. After taking a deep breath, Paige said to Yahir, “Dad, it’s okay. I’ll agree to the conditions.

I am responsible for my actions. I will try my best to do what Grandpa said…” Glaring at Paige, Yahir said

with a darkened expression, “You know nothing! If those three conditions were so easy to satisfy, they

would have been completed long ago! Alas…” Leonard leaned forward as he shifted his gaze from Yahir

to Paige. “Paige, your father is right. These three conditions are difficult to meet. Well, you are my

granddaughter. If you complete at least one of the three, I will transfer you to a formal position. If you

complete two, you will be promoted to a supervisor. If you meet all three conditions, you will be a

manager.” After saying that, Leonard looked at Yahir. “Alright. Paige is my granddaughter, after all. Now

that I’ve lowered my requirements, do you have any objection?” Yahir was silent. After a long while, he

shook his head. “I… I have no objections.” Glancing at Yahir again, Leonard warned, “Don’t you help

Paige with these three conditions. Forget it. If you can help, go ahead. That’s all for today. I’ll leave now.

As for Joseph, you can deal with it yourself. I only have one condition: don’t make the Mooneys a

laughing stock in Oplen ever again!” After Leonard finished speaking, he sighed before getting up and

leave. Dominic and Tommy also followed suit. However, when Lily passed by Paige, she paused for a

moment and said sarcastically, “Paige, if you can’t meet the requirements, you can ask me for help.

However, I can only help you with the second condition. I can’t help you with anything else.” “Hehe…”

Lily walked away with a smile.

“Hmph. What are you talking about? Look at how arrogant she is. She is exactly the same as her father.

She’s only arrogant because of her fiancé, Rory. If it weren’t for his help, she wouldn’t have landed a

good project.” After Lily left, Estella spat. Yahir’s face darkened. He said to Estella, “Paige has just come

back not long ago. Don’t spout too much nonsense.” Infuriated, Estella continued, “Get out of here! Do

you not let me speak anymore? I should have stayed in Usmait City and not be bullied by you here! You

have been a coward for your whole life. Now, even our daughter is bullied by others in the family!” Estella

added after a pause, “Hmph. Even Lily relies on her fiancé Rory for business purposes. At least she has

someone to rely on. Who do we have? You’re unreliable, Yahir. Should we rely on that poor soldier

instead? A woman must marry a good man. I think it’s best for Paige to get married to her college

classmate Brooks the day after tomorrow. No matter what, he’s an executive in Gempoint Group.”

Hearing this, Paige trembled fiercely. With tears in her eyes, she clenched her fists. “Mom! Don’t say

such things anymore. I don’t need any help! If I can do it, I will do it; if I can’t, I won’t regret it!” As Paige

said this, her tears flowed down… In fact, Paige was reluctant to return to the family’s company, but she

did not want to disappoint her father either… With a change in expression, Estella stopped talking…

Meanwhile, Paige’s heart was filled with determination. She muttered to herself, “I don’t need to depend

on anyone’s help…”