Young Noble Be Monster Slaying

Chapter 757: Male and Female Cultivators, Charge Forward!

The Yu Dynasty had granted amnesty to the rebels of Mount Mang and enlisted them. This news was like a thunderclap, shocking everyone across the four seas and the nine provinces.

The fierce Mount Mang rebels had moved unpredictably, coming and going like the wind. Their recent activities had made them a nightmare for the citizens of the Yu Dynasty, prompting many large cities to increase. They were so afraid of a raid that even the sighs of the wind and calls of cranes would make them panic. Nevertheless, everyone still believed the problem would soon be resolved.

After all, the Mount Mang rebels were merely a group of half-demons on the brink of starvation, and the most powerful among them had only attained the seventh realm. They had taken advantage of the situation to breach Taotie City, but they lacked the power to fight against the top cultivators of the world. The moment they were captured by the Imperial Supervisory Bureau, they would be crushed immediately.

This public opinion was due to the reputation the imperial court had established over the years. The righteous forces might be delayed, but they never failed to deliver justice.

That was why no one had expected the matter involving the Mount Mang rebels to be resolved by granting amnesty and enlisting them…

Throughout the past several hundred years of the Yu Dynasty, there had been almost no precedent for such an approach. Could it be that the imperial court truly had no other means to deal with these outlaws and was forced to resort to this strategy?

By the next day, it became clear that the situation was not so simple. A new issue of The Seven Stars Gazette was released, providing detailed insight into the matter.

With the sudden rise of the Circle of Immortal Friends, The Seven Stars Gazette transitioned to a deeper and more analytical style of reporting—highlighting the advantages of full reports that the short posts on the Circle of Immortal Friends did not have.

On the front page of the "Chronicles of the Nine Provinces," the headline story was, without a doubt, the recent battle at the Ruins of Return in the South Sea.

This battle reaffirms the universal truth that evil can never triumph over good. It also showcases the unity between righteous Daoists and sea demons. Not all demons are vicious and extremely evil; some can coexist peacefully with humans, just like the sea demons.

The Celestial Pivot Pavilion's in-depth report clearly contained an agenda, as its focus was not on the battle itself but rather on emphasizing the newfound alliance between humans and the sea demons.

At the end of the article, the author lavishly praised the young hero from Mount Shu who ultimately slew the Sea Master—Chu Liang.

The champion of the last Assembly of Immortal Sects has returned to the world in an even more dazzling fashion!

Once again, his name shakes the world.

The others who participated in the battle were: the Imperial Supervisory Commissioner; the Ascending Dragon Academy's vice headmaster, Shentu Yang; the leader of the sea demons, Grand Ancestor Wuchao; Noble Baize; Daoist Yan; the Mount Shu Sect's grand peak master, Wang Xuanling; the young, talented, and handsome Xu Ziyang; the leader of the Four Overlords, Lin Bei; and an elite member of the Mount Shu Sect.

Seeing that the Celestial Pivot Pavilion had praised him again, Chu Liang couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile. It was obvious he had a good relationship with the Celestial Pivot Pavilion, but wasn't the praise for him a bit excessive?

Of course, it was also obvious who didn't have a good relationship with the Celestial Pivot Pavilion.

Moments later, an angry roar erupted from Di Nufeng's pavilion.

“ZHOU YIJIAAAN!!!”

A streak of blazing fire shot straight toward the southwest.

…

Chu Liang grinned and continued reading this issue of The Seven Stars Gazette.

Under normal circumstances, the subject of the next article would have been front-page material. However, due to the battle at the Ruins of Return, it had to take a back seat. The article was about the Terrestrial Ten's Sect Selection.

The nomination round had already been underway for some time. The Divine Nine, the Terrestrial Ten, and the imperial court all had the right to nominate candidates. Sects that deemed themselves worthy could also nominate themselves. Of course, as for whether they stood a chance, that was another matter entirely.

The final list of nominees included:

• Starhold Island, nominated by the Penglai Supreme Sect

• The Ice Soul Sword Sect, nominated by the Greater-Yin Cult

• The Great Lunar Dao Sect, nominated by the Celestial King Sect

• War Tomb Mountain, nominated by the Great Astral Sect

• The Xuantian Monastery of the Buddhist Order, nominated by the Buddhist Cloud Monastery

• The Talismanic Sect, nominated by the Mount Shu Sect

• The Yushan Academy, nominated by the Ascending Dragon Academy

• Mount Mang City, nominated by the Imperial Court

It turned out that the imperial court did not just grant amnesty and enlist the Mount Mang rebels. The imperial court even allowed the Mount Mang rebels to establish an immortal sect and nominated them to take the vacant spot in the Terrestrial Ten.

At this point, most readers would be baffled.

The Seven Stars Gazette then proceeded with an in-depth analysis of each nominated sect. While most cultivators were familiar with these top immortal sects, the common folk knew little about them.

At the top of the list was Mount Mang City.

The section on Mount Mang City read as if a member of the Imperial Supervisory Bureau had written it, as it presented the imperial court's perspective on the matter.

The Mount Mang rebels, people of half-demon bloodlines, have suffered injustices for many years. The imperial court has indeed failed them. Their recent rebellion, triggered by natural disasters and famine, was an unforgivable crime, but the Mount Mang rebels are sincere about repenting. They are willing to establish a city on the border and guard the Northern Regions forever on behalf of the imperial court. In his benevolence, His Majesty has granted them a chance to redeem themselves and reintegrate into society.

After reading the previous narrative about the sea demons in the Ruins of Return, the idea of providing the Mount Mang rebels with a home seemed justifiable.

However, those with a keen eye could tell that this was ultimately all about power. Cultivators who knew a bit more about the situation had heard whispers that Mount Mang City might be deeply connected to the Noble Dharma, which would explain everything. After all, nothing was impossible if the Noble Dharma was involved.

After understanding the underlying reasons behind Mount Mang City's emergence, most of the readers turned back to scan the list of nominated sects again.

They all ended up with the same question. "Where on earth did this Talismanic Sect come from?"

The readers had never heard of Mount Mang City before, but they knew it had been established by the Mount Mang rebels. On the other hand, this Talismanic Sect… was completely unfamiliar to them.

The more knowledgeable folks in the Southern Regions might have heard of the Talismanic Sect. However, it was precisely because they knew about it that they found it even more perplexing.

How did the small Talismanic Sect, hidden deep in the mountains, suddenly end up on the stage for large sects?

The readers turned to the article introducing the Talismanic Sect and noticed the tone of the writing had changed.

The entire section focused on one thing—the Talismanic Sect had recently succeeded in making one of the greatest treasures of legends, the Celestial Talismanic Wheel.

You don't need to care about which legend this treasure originates from. All you need to know is that it was from a legend. The talismans made with this Celestial Talismanic Wheel are high quality and inexpensive. The quality of the talismans is guaranteed to meet expectations. Fellow Daoists, the Talismanic Sect's talismans will definitely become your first choice when you're buying talismans!

…

With the latest issue of The Seven Stars Gazette in hand, Huan Leisheng came looking for Chu Liang. He exclaimed, "CEO Chu, you are truly amazing! How did you manage to get the Celestial Pivot Pavilion to promote us?"

Chu Liang shrugged. "Paid them, of course."

He was all too familiar with this game. From the very beginning, he had relied on Celestial Pivot Pavilion to provide publicity for him, and naturally, he had always made sure the spirit-stone coins were delivered in full.

"But..." Huan Leisheng was stunned. "Celestial Pivot Pavilion is part of the Divine Nine. Would they really do this just for some spirit stones?"

Lackey A chuckled. "It's because we paid them a whole lot of spirit stones."

Chu Liang remained as calm as ever and said, "Mister Huan, you don't need to worry about any of this. Leave it all to me. Your only job is to ramp up the production of the talismans."

"Understood!" Huan Leisheng nodded firmly. "Now that the Celestial Talismanic Wheel is complete, the first batch of Five Elements Talismans has been successfully produced. They turned out great! The only thing is... I still don't know where we should sell them."

"I have shops on Red Cotton Peak. We'll have no problem in that regard." Chu Liang tapped his temple. "What we really need to figure out is how to make people want to buy our talismans."

They had already previously discussed how the talisman market was oversaturated. Everyone had their own trusted talisman masters and wouldn't make a switch so easily. After all, even if they were confident in the quality, people still preferred what they were accustomed to.

"Didn't we say… high quality and inexpensive?" Huan Leisheng asked in confusion. "Our production costs are so low. Why not just make our prices really low?"

"That won't work." Chu Liang shook his head. "If we enter the market rashly with a very low price, people will just assume our talismans are low-quality."

"Then what should we do?" Huan Leisheng asked.

He had realized that ever since he started working with Chu Liang, he was gradually growing addicted to this feeling of not having to use his brain. It had become second nature for him to stop thinking and just wait for Chu Liang's answer.

Just as Huan Leisheng expected, Chu Liang already had a plan.

Totally at ease, he explained, "We'll drive up the market price for talismans. Meanwhile, we'll keep selling ours at the original market price. This way, our price advantage will appear naturally. Once the market stabilizes and people are already used to buying our talismans, it won't be a problem if we lower our prices."

"Can we really manipulate market price?"

"All we need to do is increase demand," Chu Liang replied.

The highly saturated talisman market was a problem for both the sellers and the buyers. If demand suddenly surged, then naturally, sellers would raise their prices.

Following Chu Liang's train of thought, Huan Leisheng asked, "How do we increase demand for talismans…?"

"I know!" Lackey A blurted out. "If we want people to use more talismans, we just need to start a war somewhere!"

Chu Liang gave him a big thumbs-up. "Be a decent person, won't you?"

Well, then. It seems we have a war king in the making.

After a pause, Chu Liang continued, "In a couple of days, let's pick an auspicious date and host a shopping festival. Red Cotton Peak will give back to our dear friends and family by holding a large-scale event. Anyone who spends a certain amount at Red Cotton Peak will qualify to participate.

"The event will be a sword-riding challenge along cloud track, where participants will face multiple barriers of spiritual qi to get prizes. To pass through the barriers, they'll have to use the correct talismans at the right time. The more barriers they clear, the better the prizes will be. However, participants must bring their own talismans."

Chu Liang grinned. "I've already got the perfect name for the event—Male and Female Cultivators, Charge Forward!"

"But… wouldn't we have to give away a lot of valuable items as prizes?" Lackey A asked hesitantly. "Wouldn't we be taking a loss?"

Chu Liang explained, "This is only a short-term strategy to boost demand for the talismans. Even if we take a loss now, the real profits will come later. Besides, I doubt we'll actually lose anything.

"Don't forget… not everyone who participates will win, but every person that wants to participate will have to spend money."

GLTD Alternate Universe's Thoughts

Translator: LD