Chapter 77

After the group fooled around for a while, they arrived at Cloud City’s exhibition hall.

Song Yi walked up to the booth of a sect called the Cloud Dream Sect and looked it over curiously.

The Cloud Dream Sect was a sect that worked in the culture and entertainment industry. They had games, and they had video productions too, but none of them stood out. Compared with a sect like the Spirit Game Sect, which had extremely popular representative works, they were far behind.

In the past, Song Yi had not cared about the culture and entertainment industry at all. Was this not just something that neglected proper work and wasted the Great Dao?

There was not enough time to cultivate as it was, and people still had time to read storybooks?

How could those whose Dao heart was not firm continue down this long, endless road?

But now, she no longer dared look down on this line of work. This was, after all, known as the spiritual food of the cultivation world.

A person could choose not to cultivate, and they could even fast, but spiritual food could not be lacking. These were not Song Yi’s words, but something she had seen a cultivator say on the Spirit Net.

“Like in the Old Era, a food desert can be saved, but a spiritual desert cannot.”

Song Yi, who came from the Old Era, felt an arrow hit her right in the knee.

In any case, whether the New Era’s views were entirely correct or not, she could not say for sure. It was enough that they bought into this stuff.

Song Yi had already realized the importance of publicity.

Nothing else needed to be said. Just now, Chu Wen’s seemingly ridiculous remarks had made Cloud City and sword cultivators’ popularity surge sharply.

What Song Yi was considering was whether she should invest in a game or video production that promoted the sword Dao.

If she was going to invest, then of course she should support her own side’s industry first. Leaving feelings aside, at least it would be cheap.

“You want to invest in us?” The Cloud Dream Sect member found it a little hard to believe.

First, Song Yi was too young. Second, it was not that they lacked confidence, but that they knew themselves. Aside from being cheap, they really had no advantages.

After hearing Song Yi’s specific requirements—that the scenes needed to be grand and have a legendary feel—they did not know whether to laugh or cry even more. It was lucky Song Yi was young. Otherwise, they would have thought she had been sent by a competitor to smash their booth.

Sorry, but this was completely outside their specialty.

Li Wenwen was very familiar with the food, drink, and entertainment side of things. She quietly explained to Song Yi, “Little Yi, their technology isn’t good enough. People call them the Sleepwalking Sect. Supposedly, all their technology was developed while sleepwalking.”

Chu Wen found his advantage again and started getting a little smug. “I know people from the Spirit Game Sect. Want me to introduce you? I also have connections with other sects that do culture and entertainment.”

The Cloud Dream Sect members heard this and awkwardly rubbed their noses. They did not refute it either, because what they said was the truth. “Ahem. Special effects scene teams are relatively hard to hire.”

Creating grand scenes was also technical work.

High-level cultivators were better at doing this kind of thing. But that did not mean all high-level cultivators knew how.

Take Song Yi, for example. Her sword was incomparably powerful, but it leaned more toward being simple and unadorned, leaving an enemy’s head separated from their body without disturbing a single blade of grass or tree beside them.

Those who understood would know this was very strong. But if it were placed in a game or video production, it would basically equal zero points.

Did you want the audience to stare at nothing? Even people with no cultivation at all fighting with a few magical treasures would be livelier than this.

No matter how much Song Yi complained that flashy showpieces were useless, it would not matter. In any case, people who could create grand scenes without destroying the setting were just that awesome.

But their salary requirements were high, and they had all kinds of demands that burned through funds. The Cloud Dream Sect could not afford to lose that much money.

So they had accurately grasped their own advantage. They did not make any big productions. They just made low-budget ones.

Song Yi could not afford to lose that much either.

The Work-Study Club counted as very capable of making money among the clubs, but whether or not one had money was always determined through comparison. Her little bit of money was not enough to look at in front of a “big production.” Wanting an exclusive custom job would be even harder.

She needed to find a sect that was cheap and good to cooperate with.

Song Yi looked over the many templates the Cloud Dream Sect had displayed. Leaving aside the core of the stories for now, just the scenes they had made carried a fake and hollow feeling.

People in Tribulation Transcendence fought a battle, but it gave off the feeling of Qi Refining. It was only normal that cultivators who had seen all kinds of grand scenes would not buy it.

The Cloud Dream Sect thought they were about to lose this god of wealth. Unexpectedly, the child rubbed her chin and suddenly asked, “Do you need a special effects team?”

“Huh?” Now it was the Cloud Dream Sect members’ turn to be stunned. So she had come to apply for a job? Was she not way too young?

The Cloud Dream Sect member was about to refuse. “No need.”

It was still the old problem: they could not afford anyone too expensive, and hiring someone cheap would be superfluous.

Song Yi said, “It’ll definitely be worth more than the price. If you don’t believe me, I can demonstrate for you.”

The Cloud Dream Sect members hesitated for a moment. At this time, there were not many people in front of their booth, and Song Yi was looking at them with a determined expression. A serious little kid was strangely cute, making it hard for people to refuse. They might as well take a look at this child’s performance.

The booths were right next to one another, so it was not very convenient to use techniques there. The Cloud Dream Sect members accompanied them backstage.

In an empty little room, Song Yi raised her hand and flicked the sword in her hand. In an instant, rosy light shone for ten thousand zhang, its aura vast and majestic. If it were recorded, the effect would definitely be good.

Chu Wen sank into thought. For some reason, this scene gave him a strange sense of familiarity. He felt like he had seen it somewhere before, but he could not remember where.

Li Wenwen clapped loudly, then poked Song Yi. “Little Yi, when did you learn this?”

Song Yi tilted her head. “Just now?”

Li Wenwen looked blank. What the heck?

Everyone had clearly been playing, yet you were the only one secretly learning with cheats on. How did that make any sense?

Even Heavenly Dao enlightenment infusion would still need time to digest, right?

Wang Yisheng said with practiced experience, “I get it. This is called quietly working hard, then stunning everyone.”

Li Wenwen suddenly understood. “So that’s how it is! This is a new routine for showing off. I want to learn this too.”

Song Yi was expressionless. No, you do not get it.

Also, Old Wang, could you please not be so familiar with this kind of weird knowledge?

As everyone gradually came to understand Old Wang’s true nature, they could no longer bring themselves to call him “senior.”

Song Yi, of course, had not been fooling Li Wenwen.

What she had used was the sword technique of the sword cultivator she had seen that morning.

Previously, Song Yi had somewhat disdained the way he had turned a perfectly strong sword move into something flashy. But after being inspired by so-called “special effects,” she felt that flashiness had its uses too.

This sword technique was very special. Under the resonance between spiritual power and sword intent, it could very easily trigger unusual phenomena in heaven and earth. In other words, the grand scenes needed for “special effects.”

That morning, she had removed the form and imitated the spirit. Now, she had removed the spirit and imitated the form.

Because she had modified it too severely, none of them recognized it. At most, like Chu Wen, they felt an inexplicable familiarity.

The Cloud Dream Sect members looked at Song Yi with burning eyes and tightly grabbed her little hand. “Do you want to join our sect? We’re willing to wait a few years for you.”

They could tell that Song Yi’s cultivation was not high, and using this did not seem to cost her much effort. More importantly, the people beside her would not feel pressure from the aura. It would not affect other people’s performance, and it would not destroy the furnishings. Just like Song Yi had said, it was cheap and good.

The romantic scene, the enthusiastic attitude, the confession after bitter waiting… Anyone who did not know better might think this was some kind of love confession scene.

Song Yi heartlessly pulled her hand back and, with two crisp stabs, shattered the phenomenon she had created. She looked exactly like an emotionless sword cultivator.

“Oh, I wasn’t talking about me. But I can get you a team. This shouldn’t be hard.”

That sword cultivator from this morning looked like he held a high position and great authority. There should be quite a lot of sword cultivators learning from him. With a foundation already there, accepting a modified version would be much simpler.

Besides, the hardest part of the sword Dao was grasping its spirit and intent. Removing the spirit and intent, removing the substance, and imitating the form and surface was the easiest part. If they could not even do that, they might as well change professions as soon as possible.

Song Yi decided to ask the sword cultivators she knew whether any of them wanted to take this job.

When she had been in Sky City, she had also gotten to know Luo Zhi, the sword cultivator who rode black swords there. He knew even more sword cultivators, so assigning some manpower should not be a problem.

Listening to Song Yi mutter, Chu Wen’s face felt a little numb.

He had discovered that Song Yi’s network was also very broad. It was just that the people she knew went in a completely different direction from his.

Before contacting Luo Zhi, Song Yi remembered that she first had to ask what the sword technique she had used was called.

“You don’t even know the thing you used yourself!”

Song Yi blinked. “It’s not like I created it myself. I learned it from someone. Who was the sword cultivator who opened the exhibition this morning?”

“You mean Lord Qin Ye? He is the highest-ranking official of the East Continent Sect Supervision and Administration Committee, known as the strongest sword cultivator in a thousand years!”

Chu Wen’s tone carried a hint of admiration. Although he was not a sword cultivator, he always yearned for people with titles like “the strongest.”

From genius to strongest—this was the Dao he wanted to walk.

Song Yi automatically blocked out all the titles and rainbow-fart praise that followed. She only wanted to know Qin Ye’s name. Once she knew Qin Ye, she could very quickly search up the sword art that had made him famous: the Ten Thousand Rosy Clouds Sword Technique.

As expected, celebrity effect was very important. Qin Ye was that powerful, so there were a ridiculous number of sword cultivators choosing to study this sword technique. There were even many non-sword cultivators learning it to show off.

As Chu Wen spoke, his expression began to twist and his voice began to tremble, because he had noticed the problem. “You… what you used… it couldn’t be the Ten Thousand Rosy Clouds Sword Technique, could it?”

“Yeah.” Song Yi answered readily.

She contacted Luo Zhi and introduced the situation to him.

Without a doubt, doing special effects work would earn more money than driving black swords, and it would be much more stable.

Luo Zhi had not expected such a good thing to exist and was even embarrassed. “But we don’t know how…”

This was not an industry they were familiar with.

“That’s fine. It’s pretty simple. Do you know the Ten Thousand Rosy Clouds Sword Technique? Try to find people who know it and bring them over to test the effects. The cultivation level of the sword technique? No requirements.”

Luo Zhi took Song Yi’s words very seriously and immediately brought a few people over from Sky City by teleportation array.

The Cloud Dream Sect was equally enthusiastic about this so-called special effects team and found an even larger venue for them to experiment.

Teacher Yuan saw that what Song Yi and the others were doing was all proper business and felt much more at ease.

According to past experience, after every round of messing around, these children would settle down quite a bit. It seemed this time was no exception.

Song Yi and the others could be busy with their own work, while Teacher Yuan could finally catch his breath and take a good look at the new products at the exhibition.

Oh, you said the special effects Song Yi used seemed a little familiar? Maybe special effects were all more or less the same.

He came over and glanced around. After confirming there was no problem, he clasped his hands behind his back and strolled away leisurely.

Chu Wen, who knew the truth, had no way of possessing Teacher Yuan’s good attitude. He watched helplessly as Song Yi guided the newly arrived sword cultivators: change this part a little, move that part a little.

All the powerful parts were cut away. It absolutely had to be turned into the prettiest, most dazzling showpiece possible.

The effect of multiple people working together looked better than the effect of one person alone.

These modifications were not difficult for sword cultivators who had been immersed in the sword Dao for many years.

The Cloud Dream Sect members did not care how Song Yi had done it. They only knew that she had accomplished it using the simplest and most cost-saving method!

They said eagerly, “Can we record this? We should still be able to make it in time for this exhibition! Of course, we’ll definitely pay your compensation. Why don’t we sign a contract now?”

Their Cloud Dream Sect would also be a sect capable of taking on big productions in the future!

The sword cultivators were equally invigorated, feeling that the future of their money prospects was bright.

Song Yi gave a dry cough, and the Cloud Dream Sect immediately came to their senses and said to Song Yi, “Student Song Yi, please don’t worry. We will definitely produce your project with the highest priority and give you cost price!”

That way, even if the finished product was completely unpopular, Song Yi would lose the least money. Of course, if it made money, she would be able to earn the most.

Song Yi was very satisfied with this winning situation. “Right. If it goes up at the exhibition, can you add a note about the role of sword cultivators and the Ten Thousand Rosy Clouds Sword Technique?”

She was someone who respected copyright very much.

The Cloud Dream Sect agreed immediately. “Of course, no problem.”

Meanwhile, the sword cultivators were sending messages to other sword cultivators. How’s your study of special effects sword techniques—oh no, the Ten Thousand Rosy Clouds Sword Technique—going? We still recommend studying this sword technique…

Only Chu Wen did not quite fit into the harmonious atmosphere before him.

He was doubting life.

He had not only seen Qin Ye use this sword technique in person, but had also seen other students use it. But none of them were like Song Yi.

This could not be said to be completely identical to the Ten Thousand Rosy Clouds Sword Technique. It could only be said to have absolutely nothing to do with it.

Before knowing this was the Ten Thousand Rosy Clouds Sword Technique, it had been fine. But after learning the source of the “special effects,” Chu Wen felt he could no longer look directly at this powerful and handsome sword technique.

If Qin Ye himself knew that his sword technique had been modified into this kind of showpiece, would his mentality not explode?

It was like using a divine artifact to cut down ordinary people, or using a butcher’s cleaver to kill a chicken. Even if someone praised, “This divine artifact is really useful,” or “This butcher’s cleaver is really handy,” it would not give anyone a sense of accomplishment at all, okay?

And they were even going to specially mark it…

Out of humanitarian concern, Chu Wen reminded Song Yi, “Well, if you had a powerful sword technique, and someone used it as a pig-slaughtering method, how would you react?”

A faint killing intent seeped through Song Yi’s smile. “Cleaning up the sect is our generation’s responsibility.”

They had learned her stuff, so she counted as half a teacher. No problem there, right?

“So, Lord Qin Ye’s Ten Thousand Rosy Clouds Sword Technique…” It should also be used in the correct place!

Song Yi displayed the necessary self-cultivation of a double-standard dog and followed his words right along. “Using it for special effects counts as making the best use of things.”

She felt there was nothing wrong with that. He was the one who had made it so flashy. On that foundation, she had only expanded on it by a tiny little bit.

Chu Wen collapsed weakly. Sorry, idol. I already fought for you.

Song Yi comforted him absentmindedly. “It’s fine. According to what you said, he should be a very busy person. Who would pay attention to how an openly authorized sword technique is being used?”

Something he did not know about was basically equivalent to not existing.

Normally speaking, what Song Yi said was not wrong.

But do not forget, although the Cloud Dream Sect was a small sect, it worked in culture and entertainment, so it understood publicity.

Culture and entertainment depended three-tenths on strength, seven-tenths on gimmicks and hype.

Just making up for their weakness in special effects was not enough. They still had to have a point that attracted people, right?

And so, a new slogan appeared: Qin Ye? He doesn’t understand the Ten Thousand Rosy Clouds Sword Technique.

This slogan was extremely good at drawing aggro, but the effect was genuinely quite good.

Everyone came to the Cloud Dream Sect’s booth filled with righteous indignation, ready to file a wave of reports.

If it was false advertising, then after receiving reports and verifying them, the organizers had the authority to remove the Cloud Dream Sect’s booth. Publicity still had to follow basic rules. Openly insulting a big shot was not allowed.

But after everyone went over and took a look, they all fell silent.

Was this statement asking to be beaten? Yes, it was.

But if you said it was false advertising, well, it was not.

Come to think of it, what had the original Ten Thousand Rosy Clouds Sword Technique looked like again?

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