Chapter 125: The Nine Great Realms

Li Yajun let out a cold snort and retorted, "That’s exactly why you second-generation types are all lucky to have been born into good families in your past lives; otherwise, who knows where you’d be hauling bricks right now!"

Old Tan offered a smug smile, elegantly waving off the comment. Sensing Zhuang Chen’s interest, Li Yajun continued, "Back in the darkest days of 2008, even if you slammed 300,000 shares onto the limit-down board, it would take all day to sell them off. The next day, you’d have to grit your teeth and do it all over again. It was truly heart-wrenching."

"Those days, I couldn't sleep at night. I’d pace around my apartment with nothing but stock charts in my head. Even if a peerless beauty were lying in front of me with her legs spread wide, I’m not sure I could even manage an erection!"

"Then came 2009, the bull market for the CSI 500. It felt embarrassing if your stocks weren't glowing red every single day. I felt like Brad Pitt, radiating stardom, filled with a sexy fire capable of setting the world ablaze."

"My passion surged like the waters of the Yangtze, my ambition vast as the mountains and rivers under the morning sun. Sometimes I’d think, maybe one day I could be like Tony Leung in 'Infernal Affairs,' standing on a rooftop, looking devastatingly cool as I uttered those lines: 'I’m sorry, I’m a fund manager!'"

"Now, every time I open my eyes, I have to delete 40,000 unread emails, handle 100 new text messages, and deal with dozens of missed calls. From dawn till dusk, I’m buried in research. One hour I’m discussing whether the investment direction for the next five years should be 'one transformation, two adjustments,' and the next, the topic shifts to the cost of water-permeable dams for sea cucumber farming..."

"I finally managed to go on vacation last year to Waikiki Beach, swearing to myself that I wouldn't let investments consume all my time, that I’d slow down the pace. But when I got back, I was right back on the treadmill, unable to stop."

"In the private equity industry, things like your attire, age, or the size of your company don't matter. The only thing that counts is that you must deliver absolute excess returns that match the risks taken."

"Performance, performance, and more performance. No one cares about your looks, your age, or your background; they only care about your investment value and whether you can consistently make money in the market."

"That’s why, in the company, you’re just a number. If your performance is bad, you’re a villain. Everyone from your mother-in-law to the cleaning lady will look at you with a mixture of pity and contempt."

"Last month, while on a high-speed train for a business trip, I chatted with a man who asked what I did for a living. When I said I worked in stocks, his eyes immediately filled with sympathy, and he asked point-blank: 'How much did you lose?'"

"Every time your fund drops even 5%, or you miss out on a 10% market rebound, you immediately hear whispers: 'How can someone be so stupid? Is this guy a complete moron?'"

"A peer of mine, Old T, also a private equity manager, complains all the time that he can’t take it anymore. A client who only invested one million is harassing him 24/7. He says he really wants to kick them out of his fund."

"In reality, not only does he never do it, he ends up groveling even more obsequiously. I can only sigh: 'Petty thieves are executed, but usurpers of states become princes!'"

Old Tan curled his lip in disdain. "That’s just because you aren't bold enough. One million?"

"When you owe the bank hundreds of millions, then you’ll see who the real servant is."

The two engaged in another round of verbal sparring. Zhuang Chen smiled without a word; it was clear they had a good relationship. Only true friends can trade barbs like that.

When things finally settled down, Zhuang Chen probed, "In your opinion, what makes a master fund manager?"

"A master?" Li Yajun paused, pondered for a moment, and said seriously, "If I had to use an analogy, it’s much like a martial arts master—there are nine realms."

"When you first enter the stock market, you know nothing. You buy whatever your peers are buying, trade cautiously, keep positions small, and hold for short periods. At this stage, you’ll basically see small gains."

"Then, because you’ve made money, you start taking it seriously. You learn technical analysis, but you find it works sometimes and fails others. You mostly do short-term trading, following indicators strictly while ignoring fundamentals. Your account swings between profit and loss, usually ending in a slight deficit."

"After trading with technical analysis for a while and remaining in the red, you start secretly copying others' methods. Especially after learning about so-called 'raiders' and Buffett’s value investing, you tend to chase strong stocks. But you only mimic the form without understanding the underlying technique. Like the ugly woman trying to imitate the beauty's frown, you end up losing money. Without a concept of stop-losses, your losses widen, and your operations devolve into chasing highs and selling lows. You constantly experience the misery of stocks falling the moment you buy and rising the moment you sell."

"Feeling helpless and losing confidence, you turn to experts for help or listen to insider tips. The results are hit-or-miss, and overall, you’re still losing. You start to doubt and complain, bordering on obsession."

"Finally, you realize the need to build your own trading system; this is when you truly enter the hall. You study more complex theories—Elliott Wave, Gann theory, and even chaos theory. You understand that market trends are driven by fundamentals, while short-term fluctuations are driven by sentiment. You start paying attention to macro and industry policies, noticing the logic behind the rise of blue-chip stocks, and become interested in researching market sentiment."

"Then, you gain the ability to hold both stocks and cash. Your trades fluctuate between profit and loss; if you're lucky, you can make 30% or more. You can outperform the market, but your biggest problem is the inability to protect your profits; your account balance swings wildly."

Li Yajun laughed, "These aren't just issues for fund managers; every investor encounters them. It’s like learning to collect antiques—you have to pay your tuition. No one escapes it; some are just smarter and learn faster."

"In the primary master realm, your trading system gradually matures. You can formulate and execute trading plans, developing your own trading philosophy. You have your own unique analytical methods, knowing how to balance short- and medium-term strategies, no longer confined to any single approach."

"Because you can face wins and losses with ease, understanding that the market will eventually return the money you've lost, you stop caring about short-term gains and losses and actively wait for bigger opportunities."

"In all martial arts, only speed is unbreakable. Seize the opportunity, strike to kill, and never look back once the arrow is loosed."

"In the mind of an intermediate master, trading becomes an instinct. Your vision is no longer limited to the stock market; you stand higher to understand the rise and fall of indices and individual stocks. Your operations are more decisive, and the influence of index and share price fluctuations diminishes. You focus on the changes in your own logic. Your trading cycles grow longer, your screen-watching time shorter, and your tolerance for risk grows ever greater."

"The heavy sword has no edge; great skill does not need to be ornate. One force overcomes ten techniques. No matter how you change, one strike is enough to claim your life!"

"The truly top-tier masters, as I understand it, can draw parallels from different fields. They aren't limited to the stock market; they invest in other markets as well. They grasp the macroeconomy with precision, using economic cycles to choose where to invest."

"With eyes in all directions and ears in every corner—what they call 'the cicada sensing the autumn breeze before it stirs'—they use hedging to lower risk. Their trading frequency drops to a minimum; they stay silent, but when they do strike, it shakes the earth!"

Li Yajun looked full of admiration. "It’s like the great master Feng Qingyang—the sword has no moves, and yet it defeats all moves. Plucking a flower or picking a leaf can be used to kill invisibly!"