Power of Effective Marketing

Zhao Yunxiao woke up early the next day to practise the Xuanwu Fist Art and Xuanwu Movement Art.

Image training was important, but so was physical practice.

After a few hours of doing so, he finally decided to call it a day and headed to the canteen to meet Gu Qiansi and Lu Zhiying.

"So why was Senior Martial Brother Nie looking for you last night?" Gu Qiansi questioned.

"Have you heard that Senior Martial Brother Nie managed to forge a mythical tier bow?" Zhao Yunxiao asked in return.

"Mm," Gu Qiansi nodded. "The entire outer sect is going wild because of that right now. Our poor Junior Martial Sister Lu's accomplishment yesterday is being completely neglected because of that!"

"Didn't Senior Martial Brother Nie return to the canteen last night? Did he say anything then?" Zhao Yunxiao probed further.

"Nothing much. He just said that it was all luck," Gu Qiansi answered.

"I see..." Zhao Yunxiao nodded in satisfaction. "Well, it was nothing much last night either. Senior Martial Brother Nie was just asking me about some items that he had left behind in the furnace room since I happened to be the duty disciple for him."

"Is that so?" Gu Qiansi narrowed her eyes.

"Of course. What reason do I have to lie about this?" Zhao Yunxiao answered without hesitation.

"If you say so..." Gu Qiansi eyed him for a few moments before finally tucking into her food once again.

"Why won't he just ask that in the canteen then?" Lu Zhiying, however, did not give up this easily.

"Who knows what he's thinking?" Zhao Yunxiao shrugged. "Maybe he was feeling embarrassed and wanted to hide the fact that he is actually careless enough to leave things lying around?"

"I have something to hide indeed."

Zhao Yunxiao almost jumped up in shock upon hearing the familiar voice that came from behind him.

Turning around to look, Zhao Yunxiao saw Nie Hanchang placing his food down at their table and settling in comfortably.

"Can I join you guys?" Nie Hanchang asked.

"Sure, why not?" Gu Qiansi said with a playful smile while watching Zhao Yunxiao. "It's not like any of us have something to hide from you."

Zhao Yunxiao: "..."

This was the very first time that Nie Hanchang was asking to join them for breakfast.

Under normal circumstances, the introverted Gu Qiansi would have shown some form of hesitation when posed such a question, choosing to defer the answering part to Zhao Yunxiao instead.

However, she seemed to have no problem whatsoever accepting Nie Hanchang today.

Zhao Yunxiao could not help but suspect that she was doing this solely to spite him.

"So, what exactly do you have to hide, Senior Martial Brother Nie?" Lu Zhiying asked.

Nie Hanchang responded by shooting a glance towards Zhao Yunxiao.

"He is just joking with us," Zhao Yunxiao hurriedly said. "He doesn't really have something to hide, right, Senior Martial Brother Nie? The both of us are just joking earlier."

"That's right," Nie Hanchang answered with a smirk.

"I don't buy that," Lu Zhiying insisted while eyeing Nie Hanchang. "There must be something going on that you two are hiding from us."

"My apologies, Senior Martial Brother Nie. She is a handful at times," Gu Qiansi interjected this time.

"Hey! I'm not a handful, Senior Martial Sister Gu!" Lu Zhiying complained.

However, she also stopped probing further after that.

"What are you intending to do next, Senior Martial Brother Nie?" Gu Qiansi asked. "You are probably the most famous person in the outer sect right now. Has any of the inner sect factions contacted you so far?"

"Nothing has changed," Nie Hanchang shook his head. "With my new bow, I just have to work harder to not let down the heavy expectations that have fallen on me right now. If I really have to say it, my next aim is to enter the inner sect not through relations, but with my own ability!"

"You haven't changed indeed," Gu Qiansi said with a smile. "I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you, Junior Martial Sister Gu," Nie Hanchang said before turning to Lu Zhiying. "I heard that you are one of the three who formed a true spiritual meridian root this time?"

"That's right!" Lu Zhiying answered with pride. "How about you, Senior Martial Brother Nie? Did you form a true spiritual meridian root too?"

"...Unfortunately no," Nie Hanchang said with a sigh. "Back then, I only managed to form a regular spiritual meridian root. This is why I have to work even harder to make up for the difference."

"Ah, don't worry about it, Senior Martial Brother Nie. I've only just learnt this yesterday, but apparently it is very common to form a regular spiritual meridian root," Lu Zhiying tried to console him. "In fact, Senior Martial Brother Zhao and Senior Martial Sister Gu here are the same as well!"

Nie Hanchang: "..."

Zhao Yunxiao: "..."

Gu Qiansi: "..."

All three of them did not know what to feel at this moment.

From the looks of it, she was probably not trying to insult them. But if that was the case, then why did they feel like they were being trampled under her feet?

The group quickly finished their breakfast, and split up after leaving the canteen.

Gu Qiansi and Lu Zhiying went together to their garden plot, while Zhao Yunxiao and Nie Hanchang headed to the Yellowshell Mine.

"I'm counting on you today, Senior Martial Brother Nie!" Zhao Yunxiao said with a smile while on the way there. "Please point out where I should mine in order to get some rare grimiron ores!"

"Junior Martial Brother Zhao is joking," Nie Hanchang let out a dry laugh. "If I am able to find the rare grimiron ores, I would have gotten some long ago. Why the need to wait till now?"

"Haha, perhaps it is a sort of intuition that you have developed after working there for so long?" Zhao Yunxiao shrugged. "In any case, I will be sticking close to you today!"

"That might be a little difficult..."

"Hmm?" Zhao Yunxiao turned to look at Nie Hanchang. "What do you mean? Or do you not like to mine near others? If that's the case-"

"That's not it, Junior Martial Brother Zhao," Nie Hanchang shook his head. "I will not be mining today. In fact, the reason why I am going to Yellowshell Mine right now is to let Senior Fei know that I will no longer be going to Yellowshell Mine in the future as well."

"So that's it..."

Zhao Yunxiao was surprised initially, but on second thought, this seemed to be the obvious choice for Nie Hanchang.

After all, the reason Nie Hanchang had chosen to work at the Yellowshell Mine was to obtain the grimiron required to forge his bow.

Now that he had already achieved that goal, there was naturally no longer any reason for him to keep on mining at Yellowshell Mine.

"Are you intending to get another job then?" Zhao Yunxiao asked. "Or are you intending to do something else?"

The importance of joining a sect job could not be understated, especially for outer disciples like them.

It provided them with precious sect points, which could in turn be used to exchange for resources within the sect.

For outer disciples who were hardly provided any resources otherwise, this was a source of income that most of them could not afford to go without.

However, this was not the only way for disciples to earn sect points either.

Just like how Zhao Yunxiao had managed to earn sect points from selling the prizes of his hunt a few days ago, disciples could earn sect points through other activities such as hunting, sect missions, or simply through making deals with others.

Jun Chuan was an example of the latter, earning sect points solely through his own business of selling items that he had obtained from outside of the sect.

The only problem was that these options often required a certain level of ability or know-how, making them far more difficult as compared to normal sect jobs.

Some of these options, such as hunting on their own, even involved a danger of losing one's life!

"That's right," Nie Hanchang nodded with determination in his eyes. "From now on, I will be spending every bit of my time honing my skills. As for my sect job, I will probably be switching to those that require the use of combat as well."

"I understand," Zhao Yunxiao nodded. "I'm sure you will be able to do it, Senior Martial Brother Nie."

It seemed that Nie Hanchang had found a clear path ahead.

While he felt good for him, Zhao Yunxiao could not help but feel a tinge of envy as well.

When would it be his turn to find the right path for himself, one that he would not hesitate to abandon everything else for?

...No, he must not have such thoughts.

Unlike Nie Hanchang, he might not have a similar level of passion for something, at least not nearly enough to eclipse everything else on his mind.

However, everything he was doing right now could be considered a step towards his eventual goal.

There was nothing that was unnecessary.

Rather than thinking about throwing away these opportunities to grow, he should be embracing everything that he was doing right now, appreciating the intricacies at a deeper level.

Only then would he truly be able to extract every little benefit that these activities could bring.

Geniuses might be able to soar through the ranks with ease, but ordinary cultivators like him had to work on their fundamentals.

Only after he was truly fundamentally strong would he be ready to grasp any opportunities that come his way in the future!

The road ahead was still long, so there was no need to rush.

One day, he would definitely be able to form his true path!

***

Yellowshell Mine – administrative deacon's office.

"Senior Fei, what is with the sign up in front?" Nie Hanchang asked in disbelief.

"What do you think? Isn't it great?" the tanned and burly Fei Weng said with a smile. "I am helping you spread the word of your achievement! Congratulations on accomplishing such an incredible feat, Hanchang!"

"What do you mean you are spreading the word of his achievement?" Zhao Yunxiao felt the corner of his lips twitch. "You are just using his achievement for your own benefit!"

When the two of them arrived at the Yellowshell Mine, the first thing they saw was a huge sign that had never been there before today.

Want to be the next Nie Hanchang? Don't hesitate further!

After all, this is exactly where Nie Hanchang managed to get the rare metal ore that was instrumental in the recent forging of the mythical tier treasure!

Hard work will be rewarded. As long as you are willing to work hard at the Yellowshell Mine, success is only a single step away!

So what are you waiting for? Hurry up and join us!

Who knows?

You might just be the next one to forge a mythical tier treasure!

When Nie Hanchang and Zhao Yunxiao saw the sign, they could not help but feel speechless.

"Don't say that, little Zhao," Fei Weng waved a finger in disapproval. "The primary reason for putting it up is to celebrate Hanchang's achievement. Benefit to the Yellowshell Mine is but an inevitable by-product!"

"Isn't it more like the other way around?" Zhao Yunxiao scoffed. "You are just using his achievement as a way to market your Yellowshell Mine!"

"Smart, aren't I?" Fei Weng no longer tried to hide it. "And it worked too. You can go take a look later when the two of you head down to the mines. It is amazing how hard everyone is working today after I put up that sign. At this rate, the amount of ore I get will probably double this month, or even triple if I'm lucky enough! I guess this is what you call the power of effective marketing!"

"This... I will be quitting my job here, Senior Fei," Nie Hanchang said hesitantly.

"All right, I understand," Fei Weng did not seem one bit surprised. "I kind of expected it, and I guess it's even better this way too. Oh, maybe I can add another line to the sign now – Once you strike the jackpot here, who knows if you will ever have to work again in the future?"

Nie Hanchang: "..."

Zhao Yunxiao: "..."

Zhao Yunxiao had been working at the Yellowshell Mine for years, but this was the first time he was seeing the administrative deacon Fei Weng as excited as this.

Aren't you supposed to be concerned when a disciple wants to quit their job under your jurisdiction?

Don't you need to ask about how he is going to survive from this day on?

How can you treat it this lightly, only thinking about how you can benefit from it?

As expected, in front of benefits, nothing else mattered.

Even the supposedly respectable deacons of the Black Tortoise Sect were no exception to that rule!