And when he finally understood why rich people kept using it and its actual purpose, Xiao's mind was almost blown by those truths and facts. He simply looked at his grandmother in a different light.
She also told him that when he turned eighteen, he would receive a small amount of money every month from the trust as pocket money. At the same time, he would gain access to all the investments and properties of the trust, and he could also take a huge loan against the trust if needed.
When he asked how much, his grandmother told him that it would be at least several million dollars. He was once again shocked that their family trust contained that much money. After asking his grandmother how much wealth the trust actually held and what their family's net worth was, she told him that their family's net worth, along with the trust, was well over nine hundred million dollars.
Xiao was shocked out of his wits when he heard this, as he couldn't believe that his family's wealth had almost reached a billion dollars.
Xiao thought about the cultivation world.
'On Earth, there is no cultivation or any other magical power. Because of that, even though the law of the jungle still exists, it exists in a different form and structure, such as capitalism. But in this world, things are different. Because of cultivation, people can become extremely powerful, possess godlike strength, become almost immortal, and live for hundreds of millions of years if they have a sufficiently high level of cultivation.
Because of this, cultivators do not need to hide their wealth, nor is there anything like a government to impose taxes on them. As long as a cultivator is powerful enough, nobody would dare question them. Those cultivators can plunder and control as many resources as they want, and those Sects and Emperor Lineages do not care as long as those cultivators do not cross their boundaries, target their resources, are not loose cultivators, and they have a powerful backing or, in some cases, are themselves extremely powerful.'
Xiao continued to think.
'Those cultivators also carry most of their resources with them inside their Space Rings. If they are extremely paranoid, then they hide those things inside secret vaults, leave their inheritances inside secret realms, or use the Red Dao Pavilion to safeguard and protect their wealth.
Speaking of the Red Dao Pavilion...'
Xiao squinted his eyes.
'The Red Dao Pavilion... one of the most powerful factions in the world alongside the Cardinal Royal Family. An Emperor Lineage with an extremely long and mysterious history, they have nurtured many Great Emperors throughout history. Even among Great Emperors, their Emperors are still considered extremely powerful, just like those of the Cardinal Royal Family.
And just like the royal family, they have produced Great Emperors in almost every era.
The Red Dao Pavilion was founded by a Supreme Emperor by the name of Empress Hong, just as our founding ancestor, the True Dao Emperor, was the first to Prove Dao during the True Dao Era, created the Age of Emperors, and founded the Cardinal Royal Family.'
"Empress Hong, huh?"
Xiao muttered as his expression became filled with suspicion.
His girlfriend's name was Xi Hong, and she came from an extremely wealthy family. Her family owned several multinational banks that operated across multiple countries around the world, managing assets worth many billions of dollars.
Although his girlfriend had a few screws loose in her head just like him in the end, she was extremely intelligent and capable. She managed many of her family's companies and banks with ease and even led them to an entirely different level, shocking both her entire family and the business world.
The Red Dao Pavilion of this world, although it operated like a chamber of commerce, was actually more like the banks on Earth. They gave loans of Spirit Stones to cultivators. At the same time, cultivators could become outer members of the Pavilion, and by becoming members, they would receive a Pavilion card. Using it, they could store their Spirit Stones the currency of this world while also protecting their artifacts, treasures, and inheritances inside the Pavilion's vaults.
At the same time, they could also use the Pavilion's other services, as it provided assassination services, intelligence gathering, spying, and the buying and selling of information.
'The Red Dao Pavilion is the commercial hub of the entire world. They control everything from the world's currency to food, intelligence, brothels, and many other things that even I don't know about. At the same time, they operate much like the banks of Earth. Mostly neutral. But they are officially allied with the Cardinal Royal Family. Well, that's a good thing for me, but it's still strange if we consider their core principle of remaining neutral in conflicts where they can gain many benefits and advantages.'
He looked at the stars in the night sky.
'But the question is, why do they do so? If their goal is to remain neutral in conflicts and care only about their own interests, then why did they choose to ally themselves with someone especially the Royal Family of all forces? Is it because of the Royal Family's foundation and influence? Or is there something else?'
He pondered deeply.
'From what Aunt told me, the Red Dao Pavilion has been allied with the Cardinal Royal Family since its founding. I suspect that their founder, Empress Hong, might have been one of those geniuses whom the Royal Family saved and invested in during her younger days when she was still weak.'
Even though Xiao had no concrete evidence to prove that this was true, and even though his aunt had never told him why the Red Dao Pavilion was allied with the Cardinal Royal Family, he was not stupid.
Xiao could easily connect the dots and make an educated guess about why the Royal Family was allied with the Pavilion.
'I just don't have enough information. I need to visit the Royal Family Library. There, I can obtain a great deal of information, and many of my questions will finally be answered. Also... I'm going off-topic again. Sigh... such a bad habit of mine.'