Chapter 1405 - 857: What Pleases Those Above, Those Below Will Exceed

"But do you still not get what this so-called ’voluntary’ means in Kunxu? It’s the kind of ’voluntary’ that makes people voluntarily jump off buildings, voluntarily go bankrupt, voluntarily pay to work overtime."

"As our influence grows, every word and action of ours can have a huge impact. As long as we keep climbing up, we have to learn to properly control that influence."

Wild Bull said calmly, "The sun... has to learn to rein in its own light and heat, so it can nourish all things instead of bringing total annihilation."

The Kao Sect Avatar snorted coldly. "Soul Cultivators? Just a bunch of bottom-feeding losers in Kunxu, randomly guessing at what we mean. If they lose Immortal Coins, that’s on them. What’s it got to do with us?"

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Yu looked at Zhao Tianxing in front of him and said, "Alright, tell all the Soul Cultivators they don’t need to pay for manifestation anymore."

"Count up all the manifestation fees for Soul Cultivators during this period. Whichever department did it, have them use their own budget to reimburse the Soul Cultivators."

At these words, a trace of surprise flashed across Zhao Tianxing’s face.

Zhang Yu said flatly, "Soul Cultivators already earn pathetically little. This bit of Immortal Coin is a drop in the bucket for us, but for those at the very bottom it might be the line between life and death, the brink of mental melt-down."

"Besides, if we let the public opinion keep fermenting, it’ll affect our Soul Cultivation business in the future—make Soul Cultivators worry that working for us means paying for manifestation."

"Better to use money to press it down as soon as possible."

Of course, Zhang Yu knew the biggest backing that let him say this kind of thing was the fact that he now controlled multiple departments of the Management Committee, and he was also the top person in charge of the Netherworld Property Department, Youhu Company, and the Joint Venture, with the funding and personnel of each department in his hands.

And the manifestation fees for the Soul Cultivators these past few days, added up, amounted to at most just a few thousand Immortal Coins.

Spending a few thousand Immortal Coins to reduce the impact on future Soul Cultivation business was an easy decision for Zhang Yu at this moment.

Zhan Xian sighed. "Money and power, that’s what gives you spine. The more you hold, the stronger your capacity to mobilize resources in Kunxu. If you want to change Kunxu, having enough capital and power is non-negotiable."

"If our Joint Venture can one day control 10%, or even 20% of the Old Graveyard Soul Cultivation Market, then we will have endless funds and authority, enough to exert influence over an entire Small Realm."

With a thought, Zhang Yu had already sent down his intent to leaders at all levels under him, then continued reading the intel Zhao Tianxing had delivered.

Through this intel, Zhang Yu seemed to already see the living conditions of countless low-level Soul Cultivators in the Old Graveyard.

Without form, without shadow... ignored by the vast majority of Cultivators, sometimes parasitizing some part of a Cultivator’s body, sometimes surviving off the Mana-polluted waste channeled underground.

Zhan Xian said, "Immortal Dao Technology pushed to the extreme completely stratifies people of different levels, and the poor low-level Soul Cultivators of the Old Graveyard—whether in behavior patterns, mode of existence, way of feeding, or place of dwelling—have basically... become another species."

"Even though they live in the same Old Graveyard, compared to high-level Cultivators it’s like they inhabit two segregated worlds."

Wild Bull added, "This is the alienation of individual lives under the technological tyranny of the Immortal Path—because of differences in technology and control over resources, you get a species-level split."

Hearing this, Fu Ji cursed inwardly, "Fuck... these two... They’re clearly just avatars fused from Zhang Yu and some dead guy’s memories, but they sure can talk the talk, one buzzword after another."

Fu Ji reminded him, "Zhang Yu, forget this messy theorizing. Our next goal is to grab more of the Soul Cultivation Market. Everything else has nothing to do with us."

Looking at the intel, Zhang Yu then said, "This kind of blockade can only be spread under the table, right? What’s the official line?"

Zhao Tianxing said, "Ban transparency, and they’ll say they’re responding to your call. Ban eating shit, and they’ll say they’re worried about pollution spreading. Ban storing private devices like Yin Artifacts, and the excuse is fear of work data leaks and information security."

"In short, the real criterion is whether they cooperate with us. But on the surface they won’t put it that bluntly—they’ll dress it up in all kinds of legal and compliant reasons."

Zhang Yu continued reading the intel: low-level Soul Cultivators were blockaded from food, clothing, housing, and transport; for mid- and high-level Soul Cultivators, it was even simpler—hit them through jobs and pay.

...

In the Spirit Realm, the Soul Cultivators under Xie Lanyin were wandering back and forth, passing along one bit of gossip after another.

"Any Soul Cultivator who works with Zhang Yu’s side can forget about finding any job with the Ancient Alliance in the future."

"Don’t say we didn’t warn you. If you dare to go work with them, the wages the Ancient Alliance still owes you can kiss goodbye."

"Once you’re on the blacklist, you can forget about ever finding a job in the Old Graveyard again."

...

Looking at the intel in front of him, Zhang Yu found that besides targeting Soul Cultivators, there were measures aimed at various upstream and downstream companies as well, using all kinds of means to prohibit them from cooperating with his side.

"Truly comprehensive." Zhang Yu sighed. "If I hadn’t gotten advance word about the blockade from Su Lingyou, and had just gone ahead and burned money to start Soul Cultivation business, I’d probably be losing money every single day from then on."

Fu Ji said, "Heh, let them make a fuss. Once we finish our tech preparations and get the business flow running, then we’ll start fighting back!"

Just then, Zhang Yu’s gaze shifted slightly as a message from Bu Yingshu appeared in front of him.

Bu Yingshu: Yu, did you get the test invitation? Did they send you the Cultivation Technique they’re testing?

Bu Yingshu: If you got it, reply to me ASAP. We’ll refine it together.

A moment later, Zhang Yu received a test invitation from the Martial Arts Pavilion, and he immediately chose to accept.

Very soon, a Strategic Level Immortal Sect Technique still in testing appeared in front of Zhang Yu.