The matter of the Crystal of Xinghe had finally settled down, but Chu Xinghe's mood was far from calm.
The reason for setting such a low price for the Crystal of Xinghe this time was not only to let the sect earn a little less, but mainly because Chu Xinghe was from Hillside Village.
Hillside Village was a poor place, and in his childhood, Chu Xinghe witnessed countless human tragedies. If the Crystal of Xinghe had existed back then, perhaps these tragedies could have been avoided.
So when it came to pricing, Chu Xinghe unhesitatingly chose the lowest price.
The sect could earn less, but it could also help more people with the Crystal of Xinghe, achieving two goals with one action.
However, even with the lowest price set, the Northern Branch couldn't be stopped from taking over due to the unique production of the Crystal of Xinghe.
Just listen to what the Great Elder said to Sima Bian.
"Sima Bian... keep up the good work. I have high hopes for you to become the Vice President of the Grand Sky Chamber of Commerce this year."
Is this really about having high hopes or not?
Great Elder, you might as well just announce that Sima Bian is the next Vice President of the Grand Sky Chamber of Commerce.Sima Bian was so excited that he knelt down on the spot to thank the Great Elder for his nurturing and also thanked Senior Brother Xinghe for his great favor to the Northern Branch!
Sima Bian emphasized the words "great favor" so much that Chu Xinghe almost couldn't bear it.
Previously, the Northern Branch had taken over the Zhou Medical Hall's business, occupying a large portion of the low-grade pill market.
However, the low-grade pill market was vast, and even the Grand Sky Sect couldn't occupy it all.
But now with the emergence of the Crystal of Xinghe, who would still buy low-grade pills if they could get the Crystal of Xinghe?
Look at the current medicine sellers; they've all switched to selling high-grade pills and giving away low-grade pills for free...
There's no choice... if they don't give them away, no one will buy them!
Sima Bian was now riding high.
But just as Chu Xinghe was contemplating that Sima Bian would likely secure the Vice President position by the end of the year, Ma Liang suddenly popped out from some corner.
You're an outer disciple, yet you wander around the inner sect every day. Do you have any shame?
I heard that Ma Liang's old room was even preserved?
You're breaking the sect rules, do you know that? Ma Liang is an outer disciple... and the kind that can never be promoted. Is this appropriate?
But before Chu Xinghe could decide whether to harshly criticize Ma Liang, Ma Liang excitedly brought some brand-new bad news!
"Senior Brother Xinghe, it's not so easy for Sima Bian to become Vice President! My junior brother Lu Chengqing has already set off with the Soul Devouring Banner. This is Lu Chengqing's performance plan for the second half of the year. Please take a look, Senior Brother Xinghe!"
Ma Liang placed a plan that looked four fingers thick in front of Chu Xinghe.
Chu Xinghe was dumbfounded after just one glance...
Goodness... the incident at the Grand Sky Sect's music venue had long spread across the world, and even today, it's said that big shots from all sides are still asking when they'll get the Supreme Bone back.
Now, with the release of various performance news planned by Lu Chengqing, the reservations have gone crazy.
It's not just about being fully booked; it's an explosion!
But because tickets aren't sold, it's hard to decide who gets to enter and who doesn't, so Lu Chengqing came up with a solution on the spot.
That is to determine priority entry based on the level of respect.
Goodness, once this news came out, everyone started offering their respect, hoping to see the performance as soon as possible.
It's said that now, Lu Chengqing's Grand Sky Tower doesn't even accept respect below a hundred Spirit Stones.
The reason is simple... a hundred Spirit Stones can't express respect at all!
Are you playing a membership pre-recharge game with me, Lu Chengqing?
By the time Ma Liang brought this plan, the respect Lu Chengqing had received had reached astronomical numbers.
It's said that the Grand Sky Tower has stopped recruiting musicians recently and started hiring accountants instead...
There's no choice... too much respect, hard to calculate...
Lu Chengqing even personally asked Ouyang Ming to craft a Holy Artifact Respect List that can update in real-time. How ridiculous is that... using a Holy Artifact as a leaderboard, is that respectful?
Lu Chengqing has already declared that although Sima Bian's Northern Branch has the advantage of time and place, my Grand Sky Tower has the advantage of people, and I, Lu Chengqing, am determined to secure the Vice President position by the end of the year!
You think selling medicine at the Northern Branch is a surefire profit, right? I, Lu Chengqing, will show you with facts that when we artists make a move, even you medicine sellers can't compete!
Haven't you heard that art is priceless!
Regarding Lu Chengqing's bold declaration, Shi Biao from the Eastern Division had something to say.
My Grand Sky Firm was also personally established by Senior Brother Xinghe. In the past, I saw that your incomes weren't great, so I never held any events, fearing that I'd earn too much and embarrass you.
But now, you two are actually eyeing my Vice President position?
Auntie can tolerate it, but Uncle can't!
So Shi Biao launched the Grand Sky Shopping Festival on the spot...
Determined to rub Sima Bian and Lu Chengqing into the ground.
Listening to the news Ma Liang brought, Chu Xinghe could only suppress Thunder Shadow and do nothing else.
Are you really fighting for the Vice President position?
Are you trying to team up and kill your Senior Brother Xinghe?
Among the four divisions, I always thought Qin Xiangqian was the biggest backstabber, but now it seems, Qin Xiangqian is my true Lucky Star, at least he's not always thinking about stabbing me in the back.
You all go ahead and fight for the Vice President position. I, Chu Xinghe, will make sure to push Qin Xiangqian to the position of President of the Grand Sky Chamber of Commerce, and then I'll have Qin Xiangqian target you backstabbers.
While suppressing Thunder Shadow, he also expressed to Ma Liang, don't you have any serious business to attend to?
Get lost, will you? I'm barely holding Thunder Shadow down!
Hearing the mention of serious business from Senior Brother Xinghe, Ma Liang immediately spoke up: "Senior Brother Xinghe, you know about that matter?"
Chu Xinghe was full of question marks, what matter?
Ma Liang, are you going to pull another stunt on me?
Can you slow down a bit? You're making moves too frequently... Senior Brother Xinghe can't handle it.
Then Ma Liang revealed what he called serious business.
The Grand Sky Sect is a large and prosperous entity, so naturally, it often receives requests for help from various forces.
For these forces, the Grand Sky Sect generally helps as much as it can, lending various resources, of course... with interest.
However, the Grand Sky Sect, being the number one righteous sect in the world, usually keeps interest within a reasonable range.
Most forces, facing the massive entity that is the Grand Sky Sect, naturally don't dare not to repay.
But not every force has the ability to repay, so over the years, some of the resources lent by the Grand Sky Sect haven't been repaid on time.
Senior Brother Ma Biao is in charge of debt collection, but as everyone knows, collecting debts is the hardest job.
For those who truly can't repay, the Grand Sky Sect usually extends the deadline as much as possible, after all, the number one sect in the world can't push people to death, right?
Recently, Ma Liang has been hanging out in the Spirit Crane Palace, and over time, he became very close with Senior Brother Ma Biao.
After learning about Senior Brother Ma Biao's struggles with debt collection, Ma Liang stood up on the spot!
"Senior Brother Ma Biao, don't worry, leave this matter to me, Ma Liang... those who lack integrity, I will make them understand what regret means!"
So Ma Liang decided to follow Senior Brother Ma Biao in the coming days to various places to collect debts!
After hearing Ma Liang's words, Chu Xinghe was moved to tears!
Junior Brother Ma Liang, you're finally going to do something decent, aren't you?
The matter of helping Senior Brother Ma Biao with debt collection, Senior Brother Xinghe supports you wholeheartedly.
Is there anything more difficult in this world than collecting debts?
Collecting debts isn't just about showing up with an IOU, and people seeing it's time to repay and then handing over the money...
Those who refuse to repay can come up with a thousand reasons not to...
The debts that the Grand Sky Sect couldn't collect over the years, what use will you be, Ma Liang?
But that's not the point, Ma Liang, as long as you follow Senior Brother Ma Biao to collect debts, you won't have any chance to backstab Senior Brother Xinghe, and even if you can't collect any debts, it doesn't matter.
At that time, no matter who in the sect criticizes you or Senior Brother Ma Biao, I, Senior Brother Xinghe, will stand up and confront them head-on!
After so many days, Chu Xinghe finally heard some good news!
So Chu Xinghe encouraged Ma Liang on the spot, saying that the sect's debts are a big deal, so you must complete the task.
In response to Senior Brother Xinghe's encouragement, Ma Liang confidently assured, "Please rest assured, Senior Brother Xinghe, I, Ma Liang, will complete the task!"
After sending off Ma Liang, who was full of confidence, Chu Xinghe was so excited that he started singing "Congratulations on Getting Rich!"
"I congratulate you on getting rich, hey... I congratulate you on being wonderful, hey yo!"
Go, Ma Liang... go start your debt collection journey...
It's not that I, Chu Xinghe, look down on you, but I've heard from Senior Brother Feng Fei about the sect's bad debts before. Back then, this business was managed by Senior Brother Feng Fei, and he even said that some bad debts couldn't be collected even when the Great Elder personally intervened.
Those shameless debtors use every trick in the book when facing the Grand Sky Sect's debt collection, and they always claim how difficult their situation is, how virtuous the Grand Sky Sect is, being the number one sect in the world, and they plead for the Grand Sky Sect to grant them more time!
Even the Great Elder had to return disappointed in the end.
If even the Great Elder couldn't handle those debtors, what use will you be, Ma Liang?
The happier you are now, the sadder you'll be when you face those debtors.
You two Ma's are in charge of debt collection this time, make sure you can work together!
Chu Xinghe understands too well the difficulty of debt collection... they say the borrower is the grandson, but sometimes, when it's time to repay, the debt collector is treated even worse than a grandson.
Sometimes you really want to kill those shameless debtors.
Ma Liang, oh Ma Liang, you've had it too easy, and now you're even daring to take on debt collection?
You're really not afraid of death, but this fearless behavior of yours is something Senior Brother Xinghe fully supports. You've driven me crazy during your time at the Grand Sky Sect, and now as long as you're not in the sect, it doesn't matter if you can't collect the debts.
Even if you end up lending more money out of sympathy, I, Chu Xinghe, will support you!
Does the Grand Sky Sect need those small amounts?
Go, Ma Liang! Go enjoy the sweet failure of debt collection.