Chapter 656: Drafting Tournament Details
"The tournament will require proper structure." He murmured, his mind already drafting the logistics. "I just wonder how many will join. There’s also the fact that it’s a chance to monetize it. Entry fees can cover the prize pool but since we’re gonna hold the maxim of ’convenience’, it cannot be too high to allow most patrons to register. It’ll also be a good start to broadcast the matches live through the ’Celestial Broadcasting’ feature I pitched to Matriarch Layla. Monetize the viewership with the ’Divine Tipping’ system. Hopefully, the old man or Zhenren Lihua will approve of the suggestions soon."
He continued mapping out the plan, spending more than an hour. At some point, Wu Meiyu and Liu Xiaoyu showed up. They clearly didn’t sleep in the quarters but spent the night in the cultivation room.
Liu Xiaoyu looked like she had just comprehended a new secret technique. And sure enough, the young woman didn’t hide it. She even boasted about it, challenging her Boss for sparring.
Naturally, Lin Mo didn’t agree. She’s already a Core Formation Stage cultivator and he’s still only a half-step to it. Besides, the cultivation room could be configured to simulate someone who had once used it. After all, it only needed to collect a patron’s spirit signature and before they leave the room, their current state will be recorded.
Clearly, she just wanted to beat him up and make herself feel better. He wouldn’t give her that. He’d accept her challenge after he broke through. Who knows? He might just win against his prodigious assistant.
Other than that, he asked her when she’s going to impart him the [Thundering Void Stomp]. Liu Xiaoyu mischievously stuck her tongue out, saying she forgot.
That, obviously, earned her a flick on her forehead. Even if she’s stronger than him, Lin Mo’s flick could cross over higher stages!
"Ugh. Boss, you’re a cheat." Holding her forehead, Liu Xiaoyu lightly threw a punch on his shoulder.
"Am I? It’s you who’s not dodging it. Anyhow, sit down and check the interface. We have new Weekly Tasks."
After saying that, he turned to Wu Meiyu, who went to the coffee machine to brew their morning drinks.
She gracefully placed three steaming cups on the low table, the aroma of the [Morning Star Coffee] cutting through the lingering sleepiness in the air.
"The new tasks are ambitious, Shopkeeper," Wu Meiyu noted as she scanned the projected interface. "Fifty thousand new users in one week. That requires a systemic push beyond our region. We might need to lift the limit we imposed on the Viewing Jades purchased by the merchants."
"Mhm. I’ll leave that to you and Pan Ruo." Lin Mo nodded.
Spreading the Viewing Jades was easy but having those users come to the store was the difficult part. After all, traveling from afar was often accompanied by dangers. Even if the road used by most cultivators that connects the Western Sacred Lands and Eastern Abyssal Domain has become quite safe lately, those from other regions are risking their lives to travel to Fanling City.
That’s why the task of deploying store beacons to other regions is timely. For the past week, the Northern Arctic Dominion had seen an increase in patrons due to the existence of the Celestial Shuttle Hub at the Frozen Spire Tower.
Many Arctic Sea Palace disciples and elders, as well as some smaller sects in their region, had started visiting the store.
The Southern Wilderness has a branch store but considering the crisis of the insectoids there, it’s still in a growing phase.
At the moment, he needed a suitable Anchor or Tower located in the Inner Abyssal Region and the Western Sacred Lands to connect more patrons to the store.
The Golden Carp had started gathering intelligence about it but most of the places are tightly guarded or in the territory covered by the Violethaven Temple and its allies.
Meanwhile, the Poison Demon Cult had yet to penetrate the inner ring of the Inner Abyssal Region. That one lead regarding an Anchor that the High Priest mentioned before had yet to be located.
"Un. Leave it to us." Wu Meiyu smiled before continuing, "I believe this tournament can be a perfect catalyst to draw more patrons to our store."
"Indeed," Lin Mo said, taking a sip of the bitter, energizing brew. "We’ll announce it later but help me finalize the details first. I plan to divide the tournament into two distinct brackets. The ’Standard League’ will be open to everyone, including mortals. It will rely purely on deck-building, strategy, and understanding the card synergies. The ’Awakened League’ will be restricted to Foundation Establishment and above, utilizing the physical integration of the Celestial Fields."
Upon hearing that, Liu Xiaoyu slammed her cup down, her eyes burning with competitive fire. "Oh! I’m entering the Awakened League! Sparky and I are going to sweep the floor with everyone! What’s the grand prize, Boss?"
"No. You’re not allowed to participate, Xiaoyu. You’re too strong for that game. And Sparky... is an anomaly." Lin Mo shut her down, making the young girl sit down in disappointment.
"The prizes will be substantial, however. Millions of Dimension Essence or Store Credits, exclusive cosmetic titles for their Viewing Jade profiles, and perhaps a custom, personalized Unit Card? It’ll probably not be difficult to ask for that."
"A custom card?!" Liu Xiaoyu gasped and became energized once again, "I want a card of myself! No, a card of you, Boss! I can summon you to fight for me!"
"Request denied," Lin Mo sighed, rubbing his temples. "Meiyu, I need you to draft the tournament brackets and rules. We will host the qualifiers in the [Divine Arena & Exhibition Hall] over the next few days. Set the entry fee at a flat fifty intermediate-grade spirit stones. High enough to filter out the completely uncommitted, low enough to ensure massive volume."
"Consider it done, Shopkeeper," Wu Meiyu nodded, her mind already calculating the logistical flow of thousands of participants.
Just as she spoke, the Divine System Interface flashed with a brilliant, golden priority notification.
His suggestion regarding his offers to the Sacred Foundation Bank and the Heavenly Silk Consortium had arrived. And it only takes the Pantheon a day to come up with a decision.
[Feedback & Suggestions]
[From: Zhenren Lihua, Goddess of Harmony and Commerce]
[Subject: Credit and Banking Platform, Broadcasting and Tipping Platform and other miscellaneous suggestions tied to industries run by the two economic factions]
[Shopkeeper Lin Mo,
The Divine Pantheon has convened a meeting overnight regarding these suggestions. I must admit, your understanding of mortal vanity and the flow of commerce continues to surpass our expectations. Taihao laughed so hard he spilled his celestial wine when he read the concept of ’Divine Tipping’, saying how he should’ve forgotten that.
Your proposals are approved. They are elegant, efficient, and wonderfully convenient in the store’s operation going forward.
To facilitate this, the system will be updated. Two new backend modules are now available for purchase in your interface: the [Divine Credit Ledger] and the [Celestial Broadcast Hub].
However, unlike the [Queue System] that we previously implemented, integrating external banking algorithms and creating a realm-wide, high-fidelity projection network requires significant divine bandwidth. It will be added in [Dimension Essence Upgrades] and the cost for these modules will be steep. Consider it a necessary infrastructure tax.
Proceed with your negotiations. We look forward to the show.
-Zhenren Lihua]
Lin Mo closed the message, a wry smile forming. "An infrastructure tax. When did they learn corporate speak? Did Taihao return to Earth and bring back more knowledge? It can’t be. But it’s definitely him who’s influencing them. Really, he’s one heck of an Origin God."
He opened the [Dimension Essence Upgrades] tab. Sure enough, the two new modules were listed at the very bottom. Although there wasn’t anything new unlocked recently, the other upgrades had gotten their enhanced version. But at the moment, Lin Mo only bought the last ’Greater’ form of aura to complete the triple Greater Aura buffs for all patrons.
As for the rest of Dimension Essence accrued over the past week, he’s letting it accumulate.
[Divine Credit Ledger: 5,000,000 DE]
[Celestial Broadcast Hub: 5,000,000 DE]
"Ten million DE just to set up the framework," Lin Mo sighed, though his finger didn’t hesitate as he tapped ’Confirm’ on both. "Gotta spend essence to make essence."
Soon enough, more panels popped up in front of them.
[New Feature Unlocked: Divine Credit Ledger]
[New Feature Unlocked: Celestial Broadcast Hub]
Lin Mo read the description of both and it was truly toggable. At the moment, since he hadn’t entered an agreement with the Sacred Foundation Bank and the Heavenly Silk Consortium, they would remain inactive.
He’s still looking forward to how they’re going to show their sincerity. If he was unsatisfied, he could just appoint someone else to manage those platforms.
In a corner of his mind, he already had a candidate. For example, he’s thinking of calling Yu Qingyan back and having her stay next to him instead of traveling in the north as a Distributor. She could pass the Official Distributor position to her Grandmother or Chu Yueying instead.
But knowing the woman, Lin Mo knew she might not be too keen on giving up that position. It wouldn’t hurt to bring it up as a suggestion, right?
