Outside God Wang Towerâ
Two old men in daoist robes held glasses and sipped the offered wine; they started frowning.
âElder Lu, this wine tastes weird, but itâs not too bad. The glass is really unique, though!â one of them said with a smile.
âItâs unique indeed, but itâs only made of ordinary materials. Iâve crafted similar crystals with my apothecary furnace before; this isnât something of real value. Anyway, what about you, Elder Sun? Itâs awfully rare for you to take time out of your busy schedule to grace this opening ceremony!â Elder Chen laughed.
âArenât you the same? Heh, there are so many people here! All the sects sent many representatives! Itâs just a little messy, if you ask me. Do you know something about the God Wang Companyâs background?â Else Sun asked curiously.
âI donât know either. But canât you glean something by looking at the whole setup here?â Elder Chen whispered.
âGod Wang Company is being opened under Wang Keâs name, but look⊠The Heavenly Wolf Sect Lord Chen Tianyuan and the Four Hall Lords are present; do you really think itâs that simple?â Elder Chen continued.
âItâs more than that! Take another look at the ones keeping order! Other than the Heavenly Wolf Sect disciples, who else is there?â Elder Chen pointed at a place in the distance.
âThose⊠Are they Golden Crow disciples?â Elder Sunâs eyes widened.
Elder Chen replied, âThatâs right; from the Golden Crow Sect. I arrived here a few days ago to observe the situation; their eldest apprentice-sister Zhang Liâer actually came in person. Sheâs been living in the tower, and Iâve seen her being extremely courteous toward Wang Ke!â
âThe God Wang Company⊠has both the Heavenly Wolf Sect and the Golden Crow Sect as backers?â
Elder Chen sighed in amazement, âYeah! Letâs not speak about the Great Yin Demonic Sect for the moment. Thereâs also the Blood Temple, one of the four top immortal sects in the Ten-thousand Great Mountains; they have remained in isolation for a long time. Back to topic, although the Golden Crow Sect and Heavenly Wolf Sect are both part of the righteous faction, both have been trying to press each other down. When have we ever seen them treat each other nicely? Something is different this time; itâs not that simple!â
âWhat if itâs a misunderstanding?â
âHow can that be? Zhang Liâer already represents the Golden Crow Sect in the absence of their Infant Stage cultivators! The God Wang Company came out of nowhere; my prediction is that the balance of power will change in the Ten-thousand Great Mountains!â Elder Chen whispered.
âIsnât Wang Ke a Heavenly Wolf Sect disciple? HowâŠ!â
âHeh, donât take this kind of news as set in stone! Iâm guessing⊠The power backing the God Wang Company is much, much greater!â Elder Chen said.
âJust you wait. Letâs keep an eye on the Heavenly Wolves and the Golden Crowsâ attitude toward this. Okay, enough said. I see Wang Ke coming!â Elder Chen said.
âThat one, look!â Elder Chen pointed at the one surrounded by a group of Heavenly Wolf Sect disciples.
Since the invitation stated that Chen Tianyuan and the four Hall Lords would attend, the other sects sent their own people as well; many of them arrived ahead of time and had also seen Wang Keâs depictions.
Everyone was filled with doubt. I wonder what the God Wang Company has up its sleeve. What kind of shop is it?
The crowd quieted down when Wang Ke arrived.
Amidst the crowdâTong Anâan and his men seemed determined to go for the kill, while Zhang Liâer and her gang ambled toward their mountain of gold. Murong Luguang felt jealous, noticing how Zhang Liâer was looking at Wang Ke with glistening eyes.
And so, Wang Ke walked up to a tall platform by the squareâs northern side.
âDear guests, I am Wang Ke,â Wang Ke said, âForgive me for shamelessly sending invitations to all of you, and have you here for the opening ceremony of my God Wang Company. I didnât expect for this many of you to actually attend! This is a great show of support! I would like to express my deep gratitude to each and every one who came. I, Wang Ke, promise all of you that your journey was not made in vain!â
Amidst the crowdâthere were cultivators from each sect who were looking at Wang Ke with doubtful eyes, while taking glances at Chen Tianyuan, who had just arrived in a quiet manner. Are they going to make some critical announcements? All of this canât be just for the opening of a small shop.
Only Zhang Zhengdao was giving Wang Ke an awkward look. You can sound this humble even when youâre about to ask them for money? Beyond shameless!
âEveryone must be wondering at this point: what is God Wang Company?â Wang Ke continued.
Everyone held their breaths in anticipation. Yeah! What does the God Wang Company do? Weâre here just to show face to the Heavenly Wolf Sect Lord.
âMy God Wang Company is devoted to making products that will benefit cultivators! Products that make cultivators happy; they are starkly different from the items you can find at shops you have access to right now. Those people sell perishables to empty your pockets, while I sell happiness and the future!â Wang Ke said with a clear voice.
All the cultivators were taken aback. The God Wang Company is a real business? They sell happiness? The future? What do you mean?
While standing amongst the crowd, Zhang Liâer glanced at her brother Zhang Zhenxu and said, âDid you see that? He made money raking sound utterly artistic; how thick must his skin be!â
âSis, are you dishing out praise or insults? Why donât I understand?â Zhang Shenxu asked, feeling lost.
âIs your brain dead? Iâm praising him, of course. Canât you tell?â Zhang Liâer shot him a stare.
âYour God Wang Company is a real business? What does it sell?â someone shouted.
Wang Ke looked at that person and smiled. âGood question! But itâs very likely that none of you would recognize its worth, even if I were to take it out right now. Be patient. I will host a product launch conference after the opening ceremony, all to introduce my companyâs product. For now, letâs invite our honorable guests to come to the stage and cut the ribbon; may this be an auspicious sign for my God Wang Companyâs future!â
At Wang Keâs signalâa lady wearing a qipao took a ribbon to the stage; the thing had a silk ball tied at the center.
Below the stageâall the cultivators were shocked. What does this mean?
âWe respectfully invite the Heavenly Wolf Sect Lord, Chen Tianyuan, to join us on stage!â Wang Ke shouted.
Chen Tianyuanâs face was pitch black.
There was no way he would have expected ribbon cutting to be like this! What is all this about? Youâre asking me to perform a rope-cutting move in front of everyone? You, dreadful disciple, youâre embarrassing your Revered Teacher!
He wouldnât have agreed to take an active part in the ceremony had he known what ribbon-cutting entailed. He would have rather beaten the crap out of his disciple than agree to that!
But now, everyone was looking at him, and he had already agreed.
Chen Tianyuan could only walk up awkwardly to the stage with a poker face.
âMay we have the presence of the West Wolf Hall Lord, Mo Sanshan!â Wang Ke cried out.
The latter walked up the stage, also wearing a black face. Did I fall into Wang Keâs trap? Damn, Iâm an Astral Infant cultivator, yet youâre asking me to cut some rope? Damn!
âMay we invite the East Wolf Hall Lord, Murong Luguang to grace us with his presence!â Wang Ke cried out again.
The latter walked up with an unhappy look. You didnât ask me to show off my Demon Slaying Draw Strike, yet now youâre asking me to cut a rope? You are nuts!
âThe South Wolf Hall Lord cannot be here with us. His direct disciple has come to represent him, Tie Liuyun!â Wang Ke shouted.
He phrased his words with ingenuity. He didnât say that the South Wolf Hall Lord would participate in the ribbon-cutting part. Still, everyone understood that the South Wolf Hall Lord wasnât able to make it, so he asked his disciple to represent him.
Tie Liuyun felt no shame. What shame is there when it comes to helping junior brother Wang Ke? He risked his life for the sake of the righteous faction; what is my face worth?
[TL: Please check out the translator notes on updates about release schedule.]