"Relax, Sect Leader Jian. You and your disciples can produce it. It's not that complicated if you know how. The reason you couldn't analyze its structure is because the artifact has a built-in protection feature."
"Protection feature? Built-in?" Jian Ganglie repeated, confused.
"I mean the artifact itself. Anyway, once I give you the blueprint, you'll be able to produce a basic model," Wei Chen said as he pulled out a paper.
It was the blueprint he had written the night before for the Spirit Net Jade's basic version, one that allowed communication, spirit stone transfer, and access to his stream.
Other features, such as video recording, forums, or live streaming, he planned to introduce in later models once Jian Ganglie and his sect became more familiar with production.
Jian Ganglie took the blueprint and studied it carefully. His face lit up with realization.
"What a genius design! I never thought this spirit array could be used this way!"
"So… you in?" Wei Chen asked, flashing his signature smile.
At that moment, Mo Xingyao realized something.
"So… you want our Thousand Treasure Pavilion to provide Sword Manor with materials and financial support? And maybe you also want us to help you popularize this… Spirit Net Jade?"
"Exactly! You finally figured it out!" Wei Chen pointed at Mo Xingyao with an "Aha!" expression.
Seeing Wei Chen's finger pointing at her, paired with that punchable face and that irritating smile, struck a nerve. She immediately bit down on his finger, which was just a few centimeters away from her face.
"Aaaaaahhhhh! Don't bite!" Wei Chen cried out as his index finger was caught by this little demon.
"Ow ow ow ow ow! I give, I give! I give up! I give up!" Wei Chen smacked the table frantically, as if he were a wrestler begging the referee to count to three so the pain would finally end.
Seeing this, Mo Xingyao finally let go, allowing Wei Chen to pull his finger out.
"What the hell!? Why the sudden violence!?" Wei Chen felt a bit aggrieved as he checked his finger, which now had a clear bite mark. What's wrong with this girl!?
"Nothing! I just suddenly felt like biting you!" Mo Xingyao declared matter-of-factly.
"What are you!? A dog!?" Wei Chen barked.
"Yes! I'm a dog, and I'll bite you to death!" Mo Xingyao threw away her restraint and jumped at Wei Chen, biting his forehead.
"Arrrrgg! Ow ow ow ow ow!"
After a round of biting, Mo Xingyao finally let go. Wei Chen quickly took out a hand mirror, staring at his reflection with rubbing at the new bite marks on his face and forehead.
Seeing his reaction, Mo Xingyao chuckled. This guy was pretty fun to mess with.
The bodyguard was a little startled. She had never seen her young miss reveal such a mischievous side to any stranger before. She then shifted her gaze to Wei Chen, who was still rubbing the bite marks on his face with a look of grievance.
"Do you have any other ideas to make more money?" Mo Xingyao asked.
"Why should I tell you? The bite marks on my face haven't even healed yet!" Wei Chen spat, pointing at the marks.
"Aww, c'mon, stop whining like an old lady. I'll buy you something nice and even give you some pocket money for candy." Mo Xingyao teased, revealing a mischievous smile.
"Do I look like a child to you!?" Wei Chen retorted.
Mo Xingyao giggled at his antics. Teasing this guy was just too much fun. Then she added, "Or I could owe you a favor or two, if you'd like."
At this, the bodyguard's expression shifted slightly, but in the end she chose to remain silent.
Wei Chen, of course, noticed. He guessed it was either because, in the bodyguard's eyes, a favor from this young lady was far too valuable as compensation, or because she thought a vagabond like him didn't deserve it. Maybe both.
Wei Chen calmed himself, though his right hand still rubbed the bite mark.
"To be honest, I want you to carry out the current plan first before we move on. What I have in mind depends on this plan. You shouldn't bite off more than you can chew."
"Hmph, stingy!" Mo Xingyao muttered. She guessed Wei Chen was hiding something but decided to withhold it.
Still, what he said made sense. She shouldn't scatter her focus too much. The plan to popularize the Spirit Net Jade had already stretched her resources and manpower thin. It was better to finish this first.
"Fine. If everything is ready, shall we make a contract? We'll also need to talk about profit sharing!" Mo Xingyao said, looking at both Wei Chen and Jian Ganglie.
"Please wait." Jian Ganglie raised his hand. "There's one more thing we need to be cautious about."
"Huh? What is it?" Mo Xingyao asked.
"Azure Sky Conglomerate… or more specifically, the Azure Sky Elder. If he finds out that we've reached a consensus on this business plan without him, he will certainly be furious," Jian Ganglie said cautiously.
"Of course he would be furious, sect leader Jian. Isn't that obvious?" Mo Xingyao replied matter-of-factly, her lips curling into a sneer.
Wei Chen cut in. "Let me guess, this Azure Sky Elder is a hypocrite A-hole with fragile self-esteem?"
Jian Ganglie smiled wryly, while Mo Xingyao burst into hearty laughter.
"Hahaha! Your description of that old fart is spot on! Tell me, have you met him before?"
Wei Chen shook his head. "No, I've never met him. I was just guessing."
And indeed, it was just a guess. Judging from the earlier conversation and Jian Ganglie's cautiousness, his deduction hit the mark. Plus, in Xianxia, one of the most common tropes was the hypocrite elder, and Azure Sky Elder seemed to tick all the boxes.
Wei Chen continued, "I think what sect leader Jian is trying to say is that he's worried that this petty A-hole will retaliate or take revenge."
"Hmph! Even if he's petty, what can he do? Let him take revenge! We, the Sky-Severing Demon Valley, are not afraid of trouble." Mo Xingyao declared proudly.
Wei Chen sighed and gave a wry smile.
"I know people with solid backgrounds, like you wouldn't be afraid of him. But the one who bears the greatest risk is sect leader Jian and his Sword Manor. Unlike you or me, he didn't have solid backer and can't simply relocate his sect like me, a vagabond." Wei Chen explained.
"That's true," Mo Xingyao admitted, finally understanding Jian Ganglie's predicament.
Wei Chen thought for a moment, then smiled. "I have a plan to keep sect leader Jian safe from this A-hole. Are you interested?"
— Morning of the 4th day —
As the morning sun rose into the sky, a blue and red flying ark sailed through the clouds from the horizon. It hovered above Sword Manor, drawing the attention of the disciples below.
Azure Sky Elder watched the scene with great relish. No matter how many times he witnessed these ants staring at him and the conglomerate's ark in awe and respect, he never grew tired of it.
Looking around, he didn't see the flying ark anywhere. This meant that either those demons didn't dare to come here, or they got chased out!
This was, of course, a given because other than Azure Sky Conglomerate, who would they want to cooperate with? If that man, Wei Chen, had chased the demon out, maybe I could give that man some preferential treatment.
Perhaps I could reduce the commission from the auction to 40% instead of 50%. Hmmm, am I giving him too much face?
Azure Sky Elder thought happily within his mind. He then turned to say to one of his attendants.
"Since we have a meeting today at this sect, we should give some face to the sect leader. Prepare a mini flying ark. I'll go down there myself,"
"Yes, Elder," the attendant replied before quickly going to prepare the mini flying ark.
Azure Sky Elder boarded the mini-flying ark and descended to the Sword Manor sect grounds in front of the main hall.
Still standing proudly on the ark, he felt content under the gazes of the Sword Manor disciples. Their eyes, filled with awe and reverence, reminded him of the envy of those from the lower strata who could only look up at him. The feeling was intoxicating.
But as the mini-ark drew closer to the ground, Azure Sky Elder's expression darkened.
Why did those gazes look so strange?
They were not gazes of admiration… they looked at him as though he were a fool.
No, that was impossible!
Wait… was there something wrong with his clothing? With his presentation?
He quickly checked himself and the ark for anything out of place, but everything was flawless. Everything was as it should be.
When the mini-ark touched down, Azure Sky Elder and his entourage descended the ramp.
Around them, the Sword Manor disciples gathered. Some cast strange looks at the elder's group, while others whispered as quietly as they could.
"Why are they here now?"
"Didn't we finish the talks yesterday?"
"Are they—"
"Shhh! They can hear you!"
These hushed whispers reached Azure Sky Elder's ears, leaving him with a growing sense of foreboding. His gaze turned toward Jian Ganglie, who had just stepped out of the main hall to receive him.