Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 173 - 143: In This Age of Entertainment to Death, Heroes Are Lonely

November 12, 2017

Because of a single word from the Patriarch Qian, the entire mansion became busy once again.

Pooling and attracting private funds to help Qian Ye win the championship... If such a thing were mentioned a hundred years ago, it would be laughed at.

But when Qian Jing heard his elder brother's words, he suddenly had an epiphany and felt inspired.

It's not impossible to do.

Over the past century, the commercial atmosphere in Cyan Cloud City has been continuously thickening, and many projects have already laid the groundwork for promotion. Just take that kid Qian Yu, for example, with the hustle and bustle he recently created with the Spirit Cat Plan, making money hand over fist and even making him, the chief steward of the Qian Family Mansion, a bit envious... This was simply unimaginable a hundred years ago—a cat-eared girl, what's there to rave about? Yet the gentlemen in Cyan Cloud City are spending money like water, leaving people astounded.

And now, when you think about it, the task set by my elder brother is actually no different in essence from Qian Yu's Spirit Cat Plan.

It's just about packaging a person, then letting a group of fools admire him and spend money like crazy... This kind of activity, theoretically, is quite simple. The difference lies in the execution of the details.

After some consideration, Qian Jing decided to consult Qian Yu.

Even though Qian Jing, as the chief steward of the Qian Family Mansion, had long proven his skills in managing businesses, when it came to a specific project, he still trusted the judgment of professionals with successful experience more.

And Qian Yu's Spirit Cat Plan undoubtedly proved that he has unique skills in idol packaging and swindling the audience out of their money. Now that the family has decided to package Qian Ye and find a way to collect private funding, it is natural to refer to Qian Yu's professional opinion.

However, getting hold of Qian Yu proved not easy. Qian Jing had to send twelve Flying Sword Communications before finally summoning Qian Yu back. By the time Qian Yu, panting heavily, arrived at his office, Qian Jing was already waiting with a face as dark as iron.

"Why so slow?"

Qian Yu was silent for a moment before saying, "I was previously disturbed too many times by the second brother, so now I refuse to answer any Communication Spirit Stones or Flying Sword Communications during meetings..."

This immediately reminded Qian Jing of Qian Ye, who, before entering the Golden Silver Mountain yesterday to undergo Spiritual Liquid Marrow Cleansing, stood at the door and wrote love letters to Zhou Yu that were so sappy, they were hard to look at. With this, he could somewhat understand Qian Yu's tardiness.

"...Forget it, I called you here for serious business about this upcoming Cyan Cloud Competition. Your dad proposed an idea..."

Afterwards, Qian Jing briefly explained Qian Long's requirements and his own thoughts, looking at Qian Yu with expectant eyes: "Any thoughts?"

Qian Yu pondered for a moment and said, "This matter has similarities with idol packaging but also differences. To package an idol is essentially to showcase his personal charm to lure the audience into willingly spending money. But now, to promote the second brother and raise money, the audience we need to persuade to spend money are not direct consumers but rather other investors. Also, the selling points for packaging and promotion are different—for packaging the Spirit Cat, it's enough if she meets the audience's aesthetic and showcases her cuteness. But for the second brother..."

Qian Jing said, "These are not issues. To attract private funds and convince investors to invest, one only needs to display Qian Ye's project's profitability. The aesthetic criterion for investors is always money-making ability being the best. Viewing it from this perspective, it's no different from your idol packaging."

Qian Yu immediately understood, nodded, and smiled, saying, "Second Uncle has a point. It indeed enlightened me."

Qian Jing said, "My current thought is this: the profitability points of Qian Ye's project are basically similar to your Spirit Cat Plan. Package Qian Ye as a youthful idol, then regularly organize various programs and produce related peripheral products. If he can win the Cyan Cloud Competition's championship, combined with his consistent personal image, becoming an idol should be more than sufficient."

With professional expertise, Qian Yu analyzed and agreed with his second uncle's judgment.

"But the issue now is that we must raise funds before the competition, even within one or two weeks, so there's no time to wait until he actually wins. So, we can only create hype and depict a scenario where winning the championship is inevitable, convincing investors of this investment's value."

Qian Yu pondered for a while and said, "The specific operation shouldn't be hard. Mobilize the family's periodical and news agency, as well as restaurants and teahouses, to boast about the second brother's current strength, and it shouldn't be hard to create a media atmosphere where winning the championship seems certain. As for previously losing to Li Wanqing, that is indeed a problem; however, we can find an opportunity to have the second brother go to a club to challenge a prestigious expert in their twenties or thirties, have a big win, or even directly challenge Li Wanqing if possible. Just winning once would render previous defeats insignificant."

Qian Jing said, "These are all things I could think of. Anything else?"

Qian Yu slowly furrowed his brow and said, "Furthermore, there's the storytelling aspect. For example, after losing to Li Wanqing, the second brother could come to a painful realization, turn over a new leaf, and correct past mistakes. Or despite Li Wanqing's disruptive actions, his relationship with Zhou Yu has strengthened even more. We can write similar stories, depicting Li Wanqing as the antagonist and the second brother as the protagonist hero. Also, it's not a bad idea to release news about a Holy Sect Immortal Envoy recruiting disciples, adding a mythical flair to the second brother's story. These tales might not fool the seasoned investors in the circle, but figures with a more legendary aura are undoubtedly easier to shape into high-popularity idols and have better profit potential."

Qian Jing couldn't help but laugh and said, "Turning over a new leaf and Immortal Envoy recruiting disciples indeed make for great headlines."

Qian Yu continued, "We might even consider hiring professionals to write this story into a novel, then find artists to adapt it into a painting album, develop film and television works, etc., which will offer broader profit avenues."

"Good, very good," Qian Jing nodded repeatedly. Although the ideas Qian Yu brought up were merely supplemental details for him, they were undoubtedly important supplements. Including these ideas in the report, those investors are likely to be more willing to part with their money.

"So the issue now is, in the coming days... Hmm, let's say three to five days, to first build up Qian Ye's momentum and make him the city's focal star."

Qian Yu then said, "It just so happens that the entire city is focused on the Cyan Cloud Competition recently, without any other distracting projects. Hmm, it seems that there's an idol event arranged at Jiuminglu? However, Shen Qingming is almost out of style, so the influence shouldn't be significant. Why not take this opportunity to arrange for the second brother to challenge some of the star competitors from the last competition, and if he wins, that's naturally best—of course, the likelihood is slim, but making a brilliant performance would be quite commendable."

After listening, Qian Jing pondered for a moment and then offered a new idea, "Speaking of which, it suddenly occurred to me, how about inviting the champion of Lingshan City for a friendly spar?" 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Lingshan City?"

"The Lingshan competition, similar to the Qingyun competition, is a grand event for young cultivators judged by the Saint Sect. The champion gets the qualification to participate in the grand competition in Heaven-Reaching City. However, the Lingshan competition is scheduled every year in June, and both the age limit and competition cycle differ from the Qingyun competition." Qian Jing explained, "Based on the past few decades, the significance of the Lingshan competition is comparable to the Qingyun competition. If Ye'Er wins the Lingshan championship, his reputation will undoubtedly reach its peak in a short time."

"Lingshan champion? Does Second Brother have confidence?"

Qian Jing smiled: "With our current investment from the Qian Family, not to mention the Lingshan champion, we are confident enough to win against the champions of even Shen City and Golden Jade City. With millions of Spirit Stones down, how could the effect be ordinary? Alright, I'll contact Lingshan City, and you can discuss the specific marketing strategy with my staff."

—

The efficiency of the Qian Family was incredibly high.

On the morning of the 12th, Qian Jing and Qian Yu finalized the marketing strategy. By that evening, Qian Jing had already invited Lingshan City's champion back and set the duel date with Qian Ye, which would take place three days later.

The champion of Lingshan City was a crafting genius from Cyan Lotus Academy, named Ling Sheng. At just 18 years old, he had reached the peak of the True Essence Realm of the Cloud Surge. What's more remarkable is that he not only excelled in Cyan Lotus Swordsmanship but also specialized in crafting various magical treasures. In practice, he often won through versatile magical treasure tactics, using his deep mastery of the Cyan Lotus Swordsmanship as a mere support.

Before Ling Sheng came to Qingyun, Qian Jing conveniently found footage of Ling Sheng's finals in the Lingshan competition. After broadcasting it within a small audience, the elders all had grim expressions.

The standard of Lingshan City was higher than expected. Although Ling Sheng was only 18, the strength he showed was already clearly beyond that of Qian Ye before the Spiritual Liquid Marrow Cleansing and not far from Li Wanqing. After winning the championship, Ling Sheng talked with the Holy Sect envoy for an entire afternoon and greatly benefited from it.

That evening, Ling Sheng arrived in Qingyun City, enjoyed a lavish welcome banquet at the Qian Family Mansion, and then went to Golden Silver Mountain to find a training room to seclude himself in preparation for the duel with Qian Ye in three days. That night, many elders, coincidentally, began to worry about Qian Ye's odds. Ling Sheng at the banquet seemed to have undergone a complete transformation compared to his appearance in the talisman footage.

The Qian Family wanted to use Ling Sheng as a stepping stone to boost Qian Ye's reputation, but this was just the Qian Family's plan. Ling Sheng was no fool; apart from the agreed-upon appearance fee of ten thousand Spirit Stones from the Qian Family, he naturally had full confidence that he could win.

—

November 15, 2017, the largest martial arts arena in the Central District of Qingyun City.

Qian Ye panted heavily, feeling as if his lungs were about to explode with heat, his mind ringing as if with bells and drums, making him dizzy.

A fierce battle had left his True Essence depleted by seventy to eighty percent, and the bloodline divine techniques being overworked brought severe side effects. Later, he would need to soak in the recovery liquid gradually to ease the situation.

However, no matter how battered he looked now, he finally managed to smile in the end.

The genius teenager from Lingshan City lay before him, unwilling to accept defeat, surrounded by more than a hundred fragmented small magical treasures.

Indeed, this was a formidable opponent. Before the Spiritual Liquid Marrow Cleansing, Qian Ye thought that no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't have gained any advantage against him, even if he used the Qiankun Throw technique to try and break through the Sea of Magical Treasures.

But now, in the end, he had won!

Thinking of this, Qian Ye endured his fatigue and pain, and let out a long howl towards the sky!

Meanwhile, the Qian Family elders, who had witnessed the entire event, wore different expressions.

Even Qian Jing, who had orchestrated this whole duel, looked somewhat pale.

"Damn it, how come such a rare high-level event before the Qingyun competition attracted so few spectators!?"

Looking around, the vast audience seats in the arena were sparsely populated, with not even three to five hundred people present, aside from the writers invited to pen biased articles.

In the plan, although the duel had been set hastily and there was no time for hype, there should have been a few thousand people watching, and optimistically, it could have even reached ten thousand.

In contrast, the main matches of the Qingyun competition filled arenas with thirty thousand seats to the brim, even if it was just two early-stage Cloud Surge practitioners squabbling!

Moreover, this time, they even organized a lottery draw with the top prize being a VIP ticket to the main competition... Such an attractive reward, and yet nobody came to watch!?

Stunned, the steward ran over, panting.

"Master, Master, it's bad!"

"What happened!?" Qian Jing's heart tightened; could this pre-emptive hype-building match have drawn unwanted attention?

"Master, it's… it's about the Spirit Cat, the Spirit Cat Plan!" The steward struggled to catch his breath, "Today, they launched an idol group plan at the grand theater, introducing a new Spirit Cat sister, who is extremely sweet and charming, and… and wore an indecently short skirt. Now everyone in the city has gone to see the Spirit Cat Team…"