Chapter 19: The Angel Investor, Added More Funds!
Liu Changqing’s cave dwelling was located halfway up a mountain where the spiritual energy was rather abundant.
Pavilions and terraces, bridges and flowing streams—its grandeur was several times greater than Chu Feng’s “Group Headquarters” at West Mountain.
When Chu Feng was led into the guest hall by a servant, Liu Changqing was stroking his goatee, savoring a cup of spirit tea, every gesture deliberately dignified.
“Chu Feng ah,”
Without even lifting his eyelids, Liu Changqing slowly opened his mouth, “That West Mountain Pill Institute of yours has been making quite a stir lately. I heard you’re planning to take part in the Sect Grand Competition?”
His tone carried a hint of interrogation and dissatisfaction.
In his eyes, Chu Feng’s entire model revolved around shutting the doors, developing quietly, and harvesting the “low-level disciples” like crops.
Now that he was going to participate in such a high-profile event as the Sect Grand Competition—wasn’t that like lifting his own underwear for the whole sect to see?
Too risky!
If things went wrong, as the “Founding Partner,” he would also suffer the consequences.
Chu Feng knew exactly what was on this old fox’s mind—he was worried that his investment might go down the drain.
He didn’t expose it, instead sitting down with a solemn face and saying in a deep voice:
“Elder Liu, I came today precisely to report to you, our ‘Founding Partner,’ about our Group’s major strategic deployment for the next stage.”
Another new term.
Liu Changqing muttered in his heart but still waved his hand, “Go ahead, I’m listening.”
“Elder Liu, in your opinion, what is the greatest bottleneck in the development of our ‘Ascension Group’ at present?”
Chu Feng countered with a question.
“Hmm?”
Liu Changqing was momentarily taken aback and instinctively replied, “Isn’t it the lack of people and resources?”
“No!”
Chu Feng firmly denied it. “Those are merely surface issues! Our true bottleneck lies in our lack of brand recognition and our weak market influence!”
“Brand? Market?”
Liu Changqing’s mind started to fall behind again.
“To put it simply, aside from our two hundred members, who in the entire sect even knows about the greatness of our ‘Ascension Group’? Who recognizes the advancement of our new model?”
Chu Feng patiently guided him.
“Right now, we’re like fine wine hidden deep in an alley—no matter how fragrant the wine, if the alley is too deep, those high-quality ‘clients’—for example, inner disciples or even true disciples—don’t even know we exist! This is extremely detrimental to our future ‘business expansion’ and ‘market value growth!’”
Liu Changqing didn’t understand everything, but words like “clients,” “business expansion,” and “market value growth” scratched exactly where he itched.
He unconsciously straightened up. “Then… what does that have to do with this competition you’re talking about?”
“It has everything to do with it!”
Chu Feng slapped his thigh, his voice suddenly rising. “What is the Sect Grand Competition? It’s the Qingyun Sect’s biggest annual event, with the most traffic and attention! It’s the perfect advertising spot for us to make our ‘Ascension Group’ a household name!”
“Advertising spot?”
“Exactly! Think about it—before tens of thousands of sect disciples, our people will use our unique tactics, wearing our unified ‘Group uniforms,’ shouting our resounding slogans, and defeating those arrogant inner geniuses! What a spectacular scene that would be! What a powerful ‘brand promotion effect!’”
Light shone brightly in Chu Feng’s eyes.
“Once this battle is won, our ‘Ascension Group’ name will echo throughout the Qingyun Sect! By then, will we still worry about lacking new ‘premium users’ begging to join us? Will our ‘Contribution Points’ still lack value? Tell me, wouldn’t this ‘advertising expense’ be worth every bit?”
Liu Changqing’s breathing quickened. He was shaken by the grand blueprint Chu Feng painted before him.
Before this, he only thought of the risks of fighting and killing—but he had never considered it from this angle.
Indeed! Wasn’t this essentially spending money to make a name for themselves?
And the fame earned could even be converted into tangible “new users” and “profits!”
“But…”
Liu Changqing still hesitated. “What if… I mean, what if you lose? Wouldn’t that be a joke? Wouldn’t our ‘brand’ be ruined?”
“Excellent question!”
Chu Feng praised him with a look of admiration. “Truly worthy of our ‘Chief Venture Advisor’—your sense of risk awareness is remarkable! I’ve already taken this into account. That’s precisely why I came today—to apply for a ‘Special Market Promotion Budget!’”
“Budget?”
“Yes! In other words—military funding!”
Chu Feng finally revealed his true intentions. He pulled out three densely written papers from his robe and placed them in front of Liu Changqing.
“Elder Liu, I’ve prepared three ‘investment plans’ for you.”
“Plan A: ‘Steady Investment.’”
“You provide five hundred Qi Nourishing Pills and one hundred lower-grade spirit stones. I guarantee that our team will win at least one match in the Grand Competition, completing our ‘basic brand exposure’ goal. The lowest risk, the most stable return.”
“Plan B: ‘Growth Investment.’”
“You provide one thousand Qi Nourishing Pills, three hundred spirit stones, plus ten sets of basic defensive robes. I guarantee that we’ll break into the team battle’s top ten! The ‘Ascension Group’ will become the biggest dark horse in this Grand Competition, achieving ‘rapid brand value growth!’”
“Plan C: ‘High-Risk Investment.’”
Chu Feng’s voice was filled with temptation.
“You use your connections to open a channel for us to purchase standard-grade artifacts and basic formation plates, and provide one thousand spirit stones as ‘project startup capital.’ I, Chu Feng, will lead the ‘Ascension Group’ to challenge the top three teams in the competition!”
“Once successful, our Group’s ‘reputation’ and ‘valuation’ will skyrocket a hundredfold! As our sole ‘Angel Investor,’ your ‘original shares’ will also rise in value accordingly!”
Liu Changqing’s eyes were fixed on “Plan C,” his heart pounding wildly.
The greater the risk, the greater the reward!
That had been his lifelong creed!
He looked at Chu Feng’s confident face, then recalled that ever-growing “Financial Report.”
He made up his mind.
“Good!”
Liu Changqing slammed the table, the fat on his face trembling. “We’ll go with Plan C! Just a thousand spirit stones? I’ll invest! And the procurement channel—I’ll handle that personally!”
Chu Feng smiled.
He knew—the Group’s first batch of “military funds” had landed.
With the thousand lower-grade spirit stones and the access token Liu Changqing had provided for purchasing supplies through special channels, Chu Feng returned contentedly to the West Mountain Pill Institute.
At that moment, in the Pill Institute’s training plaza, hundreds of Group members were following Chu Feng’s previous orders, carrying out basic physical training.
Calling it “training” was generous—it looked more like a pot of chaos.
Some were running, others lifting stones, still others shoving each other around—a complete mess.
Zhang Daniu, the temporary instructor, was running back and forth through the crowd, shouting himself hoarse in his cracked voice, trying desperately to maintain order.
“Everyone, perk up! Run faster! Haven’t you eaten yet?”