"As for the marketing network, there is no need for us to adopt the traditional distribution model. Those who know how to use the Demon Beast Detector are mostly middle-level and low-level Cultivators. They are most interested in trying new things. One of my classmates, who is a marketing director in the Moon Splitting Sword Sect, mentioned that the Moon Splitting Sword Sect was planning to establish a very unique marketing and logistics network. Maybe we can work together.
"All in all, the Zephyr Guild has the absolute advantage in the traditional magical equipment refining and sales circle. So, we have to jump out of the circle and burn the fire of war on a bigger battlefield!"
Li Yao nodded, but he was confused.
"I know the Moon Splitting Sword Guild. It's a very famous sword Cultivation sect among the top 500. Flying swords are their specialty. But flying swords have nothing to do with logistics, do they?"
Shang Tianling smiled mysteriously.
"It's a trade secret. You'll know when the time comes."
…
At the same time, in the headquarters of the Mountain Sea Sect in the south of the Grand Desolate Plateau …
"Pa!"
A fist was deeply embedded in the office desk carved out of ironwood, leaving a very clear fist print.
The teacups, files, and crystal processors on the desk all jumped up.
"The Zephyr Guild has gone too far!"
Shangguan Jia's face was red. Blue veins were bulging on his neck. His eyes were bloodshot, making him look like a crazy devil.
Shangguan Jia was in his early thirties. He was the leader of the Mountain Sea Sect and an admin-type Cultivator at the beginning level of the Building Foundation Stage.
He was quite frustrated to be the leader of the Mountain Sea Sect.
Two years ago, Shangguan Yu, the father of the previous leader of the Mountain Sea Sect, failed in his attempt to break into the Core Formation Stage and was seriously injured. He was no longer fit to be the leader.
And there were no admin-type Cultivators in the Mountain Sea Sect who were of a higher level.
Although there were many sects in the south, "Professional leaders" had become popular. The so-called leaders were only responsible for the daily operations of the sect. They could be hired from the outside world with a high salary. They could even spend a lot of money. They could even poach the leaders of other sects.
However, the Mountain Sea Sect was still a traditional sect. The leader had to be selected from the inside.
The Shangguan Family was the biggest shareholder of the Mountain Sea Sect. Shangguan Jia was the son of the previous Sect Leader and the most powerful admin-type Cultivator in the Mountain Sea Sect. With the support of Jiang Wenbo, Guan Xiong and other elders, he became the youngest Sect Leader in the history of the Mountain Sea Sect.
When Shangguan Jia first took office, he was ambitious. They were eager to forge ahead, hoping to turn the Mountain Sea Sect into a first-rate large-scale sect in the Federation.
However, the difference between reality and ideals was too great. The little management experience he had learned in university was completely useless.
If one really wanted to run a large sect, there would be a lot of chores.
Although cultivators had all kinds of means to make money, their daily expenses were still astronomical.
Apart from anything else, the medical fees of the hundreds of retired Cultivators in the sect alone were enough to give him a headache.
These hundreds of Cultivators had all fought bloody battles in the depths of the Grand Desolate Plateau in the past few hundred years. Many of the old seniors who had made great contributions to the Mountain Sea Sect were seriously injured for the sake of the Mountain Sea Sect, and had to rely on all kinds of expensive elixirs to survive. This included his father, Shangguan Yu. He could not ignore it.
However, the vitality of the Cultivators was particularly high. Some of the seniors had already lived for more than two hundred years. Although they had lost their arms and legs and could no longer go to the battlefield, they seemed to be able to live another hundred years with the help of tremendous Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and medicines every day.
In the next hundred years … Of course, the Mountain Sea Sect had to provide for them. He could not kick them out of the door. In that case, who would be willing to risk their life for the Mountain Sea Sect?
When it rains, it pours. The new leader had just been appointed. Before the fire started to burn, the bad news came. Guan Xiong, the best expert of the Mountain Sea Sect, had been seriously wounded when he was carrying out a patrol mission contracted from the military. His capability had plummeted.
This news was like a bolt of lightning, which almost struck Shangguan Jia dumb.
The Mountain Sea Sect was a semi-combat sect. It had two business lines. The most important one was that Guan Xiong led a bunch of battle-type Cultivators to take on the quasi-military missions of the Federation government or to hunt demon beasts or explore mother lodes on the Grand Desolate Plateau.
Now that Guan Xiong was seriously wounded, he had broken one of the legs of the Mountain Sea Sect, a particularly thick one.
The silver lining was that Guan Xiong's heroic actions were praised by the Federation government. Not only did the sect receive a few big orders, it also received a large sum of low-interest loans.
Shangguan Jia gritted his teeth. With the loan, he introduced an assembly line of precise magical equipment and tried to transform the sect.
However, the transformation was not so easy. The precise magical equipment produced by the Mountain Sea Sect could only be described as clumsy. Very soon, it ran into trouble in the market.
While the Mountain Sea Sect was caught in a dilemma, the Demon Beast Detector, a project with great potential, came into their hands.
This time, the Mountain Sea Sect had truly invested all its assets into the Demon Beast Detector project.
The market research was quite satisfactory. Under the supervision of Li Yao, the assembly line was modified, and the quality of the magical equipment produced was greatly improved, too.
Right when Shangguan Jia thought that the Mountain Sea Sect was going to be lucky this time, the Zephyr Guild, a behemoth, appeared out of nowhere. Not only was it trying to crush the Mountain Sea Sect in the market, it was also trying to swallow the Mountain Sea Sect!
The document in Shangguan Jia's hand was like a flame that was burning from his palm to his heart.
Shangguan Jia almost tore the document into pieces.
After calming himself down for half a minute, he managed to suppress his anger and read on, gnashing his teeth.
"Another twelve distributors in three cities have suspended their cooperation with us?"
"They haven't found a new crystal camera supplier yet. The Flying Star House is willing to cooperate with us, but the price of the crystal cameras has been raised by 30%?
"They are taking advantage of the situation!
"The Zephyr Guild has proposed another acquisition, and the conditions are getting harsher and harsher?"
Shangguan Jia closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt that his nose was filled with the smell of sulfur, and the fire in his chest was burning more and more fiercely.
He was an admin-type cultivator. In the business world, he paid attention to both harmony and ruthlessness. No matter what it was, as long as the price was right, he could take it out for a trade.
However … Shangguan Jia was also a native of the Grand Desolate Plateau. His personality was as stubborn as the poplars in the Gobi Desert. Stubborn. Stubborn. Dry and tough.
Not to mention the fact that the Mountain Sea Sect was an ancient sect that had been passed down for hundreds of years.
The Zephyr Guild had resorted to such despicable methods in the business competition and even planted spies inside the Mountain Sea Sect.
Shangguan Jia would never agree to the acquisition conditions proposed by the Zephyr Guild.
In the acquisition agreement proposed by the Zephyr Guild, what the Zephyr Guild wanted was only all the assets of the Mountain Sea Sect. As for the disciples, they would have to pass the test of the Zephyr Guild before they could decide whether or not they could stay in the new 'Mountain Sea Branch of the Zephyr Guild'.
It was not hard to imagine that the disabled and retired disciples who had made great contributions to the Mountain Sea Sect wouldn't have a chance to stay in the new branch.
It was very likely that they would be kicked out of the Mountain Sea Sect after they were given a severance package.
Shangguan Jia had been complaining about the disabled and retired disciples a lot, believing that he had shouldered a heavy burden the moment he took over the position.
But it was impossible for him to kick them out of the Mountain Sea Sect!
Even for the disabled and retired disciples, he had to fight the shark Qiu Guanyu. To the end!
Shangguan Jia's canine teeth pierced into his lips. He kept reading.
"Three sects that have cooperated with each other for decades. They turned down all of them and then offered us loans? But it's not surprising. Who would lend us money in the current situation? "
"What!"
"Three more shareholders have expressed their intention to transfer their shares to the Zephyr Guild? Well … "
Shangguan Jia was like a fish struggling in a vegetable basket. His chest was high, but it sank down again. He sat on the office chair, unable to move.
Right then, someone knocked on the door. His secretary reminded him.
"Elder Guan and Elder Jiang are here."
Right now, the Mountain Sea Sect was unstable. Many shareholders had agreed to be acquired by the Zephyr Guild. After all, the Mountain Sea Sect would probably go bankrupt if they continued to resist.
But Guan Xiong and Jiang Wenbo were the most stubborn 'anti-merger' supporters. They were also the seniors that Shangguan Jia trusted the most.
"Let them in!"
Shangguan Jia tidied up his clothes and calmed himself down. He invited the two elders in.
Shangguan Jia, however, was slightly stunned by the joy in their eyes that they couldn't hide.
"Pa!"
Guan Xiong activated a Sound Canceling Rune and imposed a barrier around the room, preventing the outside world from hearing the sound inside the barrier.
"Pa!"
Jiang Wenbo activated a rune casually, too. A yellow light flashed and scanned everything inside the barrier to make sure that there was no eavesdropping magical equipment.
Shangguan Jia was secretly surprised by the solemnity of the two elders. He couldn't help but ask,
"Elders, what's the matter?"
Jiang Wenbo and Guan Xiong looked at each other and smiled.
"Leader, have you ever heard of Fiend Blade Peng Hai?"
Shangguan Jia nodded.
"Fiend Blade Peng Hai. Of course I've heard of him. He is the youngest expert at the peak of the Building Foundation Stage in the Federation. Last year, he hunted two strong demon beasts in a row in the depths of the Grand Desolate Plateau, which shocked the entire world of Cultivators. It is said that he is very likely to become the youngest Jin Dan expert of the Federation!
"He used to be the supervisor of the Crimson Nimbus Guild. Under his leadership, the Crimson Nimbus Guild developed very fast in the past few years. In the past two years, more than seventy places in the list of the top five hundred were improved.
"However, I'm told that he quit the Crimson Nimbus Guild and became an unaffiliated Cultivator in order to enter the Core Formation Stage.
"Why did you mention Fiend Blade Peng Hai all of a sudden?"
Guan Xiong grinned and said,
"Leader, you're right. But Fiend Blade Peng Hai has another identity. He is Li Yao's senior brother."
Shangguan Jia's eyes suddenly shone, but then they dimmed again.
He said, "Got it. Peng Hai and Li Yao are both students of the Grand Desolate War Institution. Naturally, they are fellow disciples. However, the Grand Desolate War Institution has tens of thousands of students every year. There are more than ten years between them. I'm afraid that it will be difficult to establish a relationship with them."
Jiang Wenbo shook his head.
"Leader, there's something you don't know. Li Yao and Peng Hai are not just students of the Grand Desolate War Institution. They are both from Floating Spear City and have the same enlightening mentor. They are the closest fellow disciples!"
"What!"
Shangguan Jia stood up all of a sudden. His heart was racing.
Cultivators valued their enlightening mentor very much.
No matter how many teachers they had in the future, there was only one enlightening mentor.
Such a relationship between fellow disciples was unusual.
Jiang Wenbo continued.
"Right now, Li Yao has established a relationship with Fiend Blade Peng Hai. He intends to invest in the Demon Beast Detector project of the Mountain Sea Sect. Not just the money, Peng Hai also has a strong network in the south of the Federation. What do you think, leader?"
Shangguan Jia rubbed his face hard and tried to calm himself down.
"Is Fiend Blade Peng Hai planning to take over the Mountain Sea Sect?"
Jiang Wenbo shook his head and said, "No.
Fiend Blade Peng Hai is not interested in the shares of the Mountain Sea Sect. He is not going to interfere with the daily operations of the Mountain Sea Sect, either. He is very straightforward. Firstly, for the sake of Junior Brother Li Yao, he is going to help the Mountain Sea Sect. Secondly, he is very optimistic about the Demon Beast Detector project and wants to expand the pie together with us! "
Shangguan Jia smiled bitterly. He knew that he was overthinking.
The Mountain Sea Sect was a second-rate sect in the first place. Now that it was in trouble, it was like a hot potato.
Even if Fiend Blade Peng Hai wanted to own a sect, he didn't need to choose the Mountain Sea Sect.
"Alright!"
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