Chapter 1035: 1035

The dispute between Liang Zhongyu and Huang Fu Flawless eventually ended amicably.

The reason was simple. Huang Fu Flawless gave him a few simple examples to illustrate the dangers of being an enemy of Tiantong.

Of course, the most critical point was that Tiantong would also be selling Boiler Camel Motorcycles in the future–after-sales could be handled by Liang Zhongyu.

To put it bluntly, Tiantong originally didn’t take the Boiler Camel Motorcycle seriously, it was purely because others wanted to buy them, and Tiantong was just helping to ship the stock. However, since Liang Zhongyu and his people had been doing well, Tiantong began to consider getting involved in this business.

Tiantong’s sales network was far superior to Liang Zhongyu’s… never mind, there was simply no comparison.

But Tiantong had its shortcomings. To put it in Earth Realm terms, their sales network was strong, but it targeted only mid to high-end customers, which meant they could never really settle in any one place–they couldn’t connect well enough with the general populace when selling luxury goods.

Huang Fu Flawless didn’t have such profound business acumen, but she was very clear that Tiantong could sell the Boiler Camel Motorcycle, but to do so-called “after-sales service” well was probably beyond their capability–if they hadn’t been wary of this, Tiantong would have started selling them long ago.

What she couldn’t do, Liang Zhongyu and his people could do fairly easily. After all, Combat Cultivators could be found everywhere, always struggling and interested in making a quick buck.

For Liang Zhongyu, Ji PingAn, and others, it was no problem to find similarly situated Combat Cultivators in different markets and enjoy a drink together, but partnering up for business was quite problematic.

It was a straightforward task to work collectively on after-sales, earning hard money. The so-called “hard money” is about working hard to earn money and having none if you don’t work; it’s rather simple to form an after-sales Alliance without too much business entanglement.

Thus, Feng Jun suggested, why not consider complementing each other’s strengths?

Both parties thought this made a lot of sense–no wonder, as Earth Realm was even called a global village, and when it came to mature business cooperation models, it was streets ahead of this realm.

This matter was discussed for a day and finally resolved. Two days later, another group appeared at the sect gate–it was people from Wanfu Platform.

It turned out that the Mystic Turtle of Wanfu Platform had finally recovered from its poison and sent people to express gratitude to Feng Jun.

They were indeed one of the Five Platforms and arrived with quite the entourage–one High-Rank Out-of-the-Dust expert, two Upper-Level Out-of-the-Dust experts, and six Qi Refining Disciples. Although they entered the Mortal Realm, intending to keep a low profile, their lineup was quite impressive.

Seeing the stone stele at the entrance with “Out-of-the-Dust or higher, do not enter unless invited,” the people from Wanfu Platform felt it was somewhat… an eyesore, but next to it was the courtyard of the Tiantong Commerce Alliance, and after asking around, they quickly understood the situation.

The people from Wanfu Platform were still somewhat reluctant–it was somewhat contemptible to set up a base in the Mortal Realm.

However, the other party was their benefactor after all, so they didn’t want to be too excessive. Hence, they sent a Qi Refining Disciple in to invite Feng Jun out to talk. They said they brought some gifts and hoped to have a face-to-face discussion with the honorable Feng.

The gifts from Wanfu Platform were very down-to-earth: ten thousand catties of Spiritual Wine and a hundred thousand catties of Spirit Rice, and crucially, there was also a set of “Talisman General Explanation.”

Besides, they wanted to offer Feng Jun a Talented Scholars Plaque just like Tianxin Platform did.

The plaque from Tianxin Platform was given personally by a True Person, but Wanfu Platform only sent High-Rank Out-of-the-Dust experts, so the sincerity seemed to be less.

The people from Wanfu Platform realized this, so they stated: This Talented Scholars Plaque was just to facilitate Mountain Master Feng when entering and leaving Wanfu Platform, and should Mountain Master Feng wish to join us, we would be very welcoming.

But what Feng Jun valued the most was the set of “Talisman General Explanation.” It was a product of Wanfu Platform, impossible to buy in the market–those who dared to call themselves “Myriad Talismans” in this realm would obviously be proficient in the path of talismans.

Feng Jun wasn’t very interested in Alchemy or Artifact Refining, but he knew quite a bit about Formations and Talismans.

Actually, this wasn’t due to his own preferences, just that when he first arrived in the Mobile Phone Realm, he had more exposure to the latter two, which led to a certain degree of… biased learning?

There was no need to delve into the reasons; he had eradicated someone else’s family and had only found a “Basic Talisman Compendium” with great difficulty, but from this book, he learned a lot of talismans like the Thunderclap Talisman, Sweet Dew Talisman, and others, and greatly benefited from it.

But that was just an introduction to Basic Talismans. To advance further, he needed a vast number of specialized talisman books.

For an ordinary Loose Cultivator, this process was both painful and sweet.

The pain was that talisman-related secret manuals were incredibly difficult to obtain, and even when they did, they were only for a particular talisman–and only the most basic ones had “Compendium” in their title.

The sweet part was that talismans were consumables; producing them meant they could be sold repeatedly for profit, which was much better than Artifact Refining–those things you never knew how long they would last before being worn out.

This also resulted in many Talisman Masters knowing not too many talismans.

When Feng Jun was in the Qi Refinement Realm, the Basic Talisman Compendium was very useful to him, but once he reached the Out-of-the-Dust Realm, these basic items were of no use anymore. To craft talismans for the Out-of-the-Dust Realm, he must elevate his Talisman Crafting skills and understanding.

This matter was within his plans, but he had no intention of acting on it recently, believing it could wait–Luohua Manor had him alone at the Ascension Realm, and even if he improved his ability to craft Water Talismans, only he would be able to use them for a while.

However, Feng Jun had already purchased some Ascension Realm Talismans, and as far as he was concerned, as long as these playthings were useful, there was no need to spend too many Spirit Stones on them.

At this time, Wanfu Platform actually took the initiative to send over “Talisman General Explanation,” which was of course a good thing for him.

So, after a bit of polite refusal, he accepted the item and, in return, gave them one hundred walkie-talkies and two Boiler Camel Motorcycles.

The people from Wanfu Platform lingered in Mount Zhige for three days and by chance, discovered the use of infrared telescopes, and asked Feng Jun for ten–which high-rank practitioners didn’t value much, but were quite useful for lower-rank disciples.

In fact, their visit aimed to pressure Feng Jun, depending on the situation, to pursue a guest elder position at Wanfu Platform–someone with superb medical skills deserves high regard from everyone, no matter the realm.

But upon arrival at Mount Zhige and seeing the presence of Tiantong, Wuyou Platform, and even the presence of cultivators from the Crimson Phoenix Sect at his gate, they realized such pressure could not be applied lightly–repaying kindness with ingratitude is never a good reputation.

Thus, they had come in a grand manner, enjoyed themselves for three days, and then left without causing any ripples.

Feng Jun felt that Wanfu Platform’s handling of matters was quite reliable; they had already paid the medical fees and yet made a special trip to deliver gifts.

However, Liang Zhongyu did not see it that way.

This time, he replaced Ji PingAn, staying at Mount Zhige, while Ji PingAn accompanied Zhou Linghai and others in escorting goods back–it was time for him to visit home after an extended stay on Mount Zhige.

Liang Zhongyu believed, “I’ve never seen the Four Sects and Five Platforms pay so much attention to etiquette when facing Loose Cultivators… sending so many people, heh, perhaps they had other intentions, but changed their minds seeing so many cultivators here.”

It’s said that those experienced in society have different insights and higher vigilance; he almost guessed the truth–not that he was cynical, just worldly wisdom.

Feng Jun considered it and felt there was some truth to it, but ultimately, he just smiled, “Let’s not bother about things that haven’t happened… many issues really can’t be dwelt upon.”

Liang Zhongyu nodded, knowing when to stop, “Just a heads-up, they can’t afford to seriously offend a physician, right? Who doesn’t have injuries from time to time?”

Little did he know if his words were prophetic; the following noon, Xuperior Xu contacted Lang Zhen over the phone, expressing a wish to meet with Mountain Master Feng.

Lang Zhen now essentially served as Feng Jun’s steward, and with Mount Zhige’s development stabilizing and work proceeding smoothly, he didn’t need to stay at Feng Jun’s courtyard every day–when off-duty, he would either cultivate on Mount Zhige or return to his own home.

Lone Wolf found himself at a crossroads, unsure whether to seize the opportunity to pursue cultivation.

He was now close to reaching the peak of Middle-Stage Martial Master. With some effort, achieving High-Rank Martial Master was within the realm of possibility.

However, he had aged, and his vitality wasn’t as robust; the chance of breaking through to become an Innate Expert was slim.

As for cultivation beyond that… it seemed even more daunting.

He was not worried Feng Jun wouldn’t support him, and he was indeed tempted by the rare opportunity of cultivation, but that made him worried about squandering the chance.

If he could seek such an opportunity, he thought it might benefit his children more.

Yet, that would mean he was voluntarily giving up the chance for himself, and upon this thought, he felt reluctant–if he could cultivate, he could earn the resources for his children’s cultivation.

Recently, a youth from the Mu Family of the Family Alliance seemed to be courting Lang’s eldest daughter, and she wasn’t averse to him. They sent someone from the Mi Family to feel out the possibility of a marriage.

Lang Zhen knew that if he hadn’t followed Feng Jun, that Mu Fengtang wouldn’t spare a glance for his daughter, and he was conflicted: should he speak to Mountain Master Feng and test his daughter’s aptitude?

A year ago, he wouldn’t have hesitated to ask Feng Jun, but as Feng Jun’s cultivation increased and his authority grew heavier, Lang Zhen grew reluctant to speak so freely–although Feng Jun’s attitude toward him hadn’t changed, it was just him who didn’t dare to be presumptuous.

One need only look at Huang Fu Flawless to understand how one’s manner of speaking to Mountain Master Feng has changed–what used to be a snobby and arrogant demeanor implying control over everything.

Now? She gathered the courage to use “you” instead of “you” in casual conversation.

Lang Zhen wasn’t afraid to come out and say it to Feng Jun, but he felt it best to choose an opportune moment to ensure a higher chance of success.

Recently, that’s what he’d been contemplating. After receiving Xuperior Xu’s call, he instinctively responded, “Does Xuperior Xu wish to enter the mountain for cultivation? Please wait, I’ll call the Mountain Master.”

“No, no, not for cultivation,” Xuperior Xu spoke on the phone, “I’d like to ask Feng Daoist friend to treat a patient.”

(Update: Call for votes to secure the baseline for March.)