Chapter 481: Guanghan Palace

Seeing Jiang Ding make his decision, Jin Jin Lingfeng gestured toward the door.

Knock knock!

Accompanying the knock, a capable-looking middle-aged woman walked in, Qi Refining Layer Eight, the name on her badge reading Liu Liu Caihua.

"Senior Jiang, Miss Jin."

After paying her respects, Liu Liu Caihua introduced herself: "From today onward, I will lead some of the company's administrative, financial, and logistics personnel on secondment to Sword Dao Hall Education and Training Limited Liability Company, until the company has trained its own financial, administrative, and logistics personnel."

"You've worked hard."

Jiang Ding smiled faintly.

These were personnel seconded from Moonstone Group for a fee, working in tandem with Wei Hu, and also implicitly meant to keep an eye on each other.

Don't be fooled just because they're all mortals—if one wanted to legally siphon off company funds, there were plenty of ways; best not to test human nature.

"I will invest one million low-grade spirit stones every year, until Sword Dao Hall can spread to every county-level city and above within the Immortal Sect, become profitable, and sustain itself."

Jiang Ding said calmly: "I hope the two of you can cooperate sincerely and do well with this matter that is very important to me. If you succeed, I will not go back on what I've promised."

"Yes, Senior!"

Wei Hu and Liu Liu Caihua revealed excited expressions.

After the two bowed once more, they took their leave.

Next, they would use the funds already in the account to begin recruiting, renting venues, and so on—they were both top performers in the industry, thoroughly familiar with every aspect.

Jiang Ding and the two then flew into the sky, returning to the school.

"That's it?"

An Siyan hesitated: "Although I've never run a company, I always feel that many things need to be handled personally. Finding two people, giving them money, and then just letting go… isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

"That's all there is to it."

Jiang Ding was baffled.

He had always done it this way.

Xiang Qiyu Sect, Master Tushan Demon Country—all of them found people, Li Li Qingyun or someone else, confirmed they had the ability, and then left them alone, at most providing some assistance and checking on progress from time to time.

Anyway, if anyone dared to embezzle his money, he'd just kill them, then find someone else to do the job…

Oh, if they hadn't openly violated Immortal Sect law or committed a serious crime, it seemed he couldn't just kill them.

"Don't worry, the Immortal Sect's oversight in every aspect is very strict."

"At most, those two will slack off; they don't have the ability to brazenly embezzle."

Jin Jin Lingfeng laughed: "Besides, Jiang Ding has even offered them Foundation Establishment Pills as an incentive, and there's no danger. No Qi Refining cultivator wouldn't be tempted—they might be even more anxious than us, afraid something will go wrong."

"A high-level cultivator's time is very precious; using it to handle these trivial matters is too wasteful. When many high-level cultivators begin to nurture their own companies, aside from holding onto the core business, they let go of everything else. I've never heard of anything going wrong."

"After all, within the planet's borders, everything is watched by the Central Array Spirit Computer; there are no blind spots. Even if someone embezzles a large sum of spirit stones, they can't spend it."

"I see."

An Siyan suddenly understood.

The three arrived at the dormitory area and went their separate ways.

Their magic power and divine sense had not yet been polished to the limit; the next dozen-plus years would be spent on that.

Jiang Ding thought for a moment, made an appointment on his phone, and flew toward higher skies.

……

Passing through a spatial array node.

Hazy and indistinct.

Jiang Ding looked up.

The brilliant sun in the sky was gone, replaced by a crescent moon. The temperature was slightly cool, and moonlight like water poured down.

Not far away, an ancient, unadorned palace floated in the sky, dozens of acres in size, pure white all over, spontaneously drawing in the lunar essence from all directions, which surged into the palace.

The wind blew, stirring the white gauze hanging in the palace, swaying left and right.

"A spatial-type cave abode… the Sword Son of Qingmuxian Sect is really rich."

Jiang Ding clicked his tongue.

"I don't have one."

He said enviously.

He had often heard people say that high-level cultivators of the Jiudaxian Sect were richer than those of the Immortal Sect. In the past he hadn't thought much of it, but now, truly comparing, the gap immediately revealed itself.

He had already obtained the palace array's permissions.

He walked slowly inside, admiring the scenery along the way—rockeries, flowing water, laurel trees—all exquisitely beautiful and imbued with profound mystery.

Jiang Ding paused for a moment before a painting.

It depicted a crescent moon rising from the sea surface, precisely the moment when the dusk sun set and the bright moon rose. Within it, lunar sword intent lay hidden; the waves, the moonlight, the distant coastline—all were parts of a single sword technique.

It seemed, faintly and indistinctly, to conceal the meaning of the eternal setting of the great sun and the eternal moon.

The painting was not of the present era; it was at least from ten thousand years ago, painted by a moon-sword cultivator of extraordinary talent.

"A beautiful aspiration."

Jiang Ding offered a brief comment.

Passing through the corridor, he walked for several more minutes and arrived at an immensely spacious palace hall.

A girl in a moon-white immortal skirt lay sprawled on a carpet, facing a computer, tapping away at the keyboard. From time to time, sounds emerged from it—"Save me, save me!" "Silence him!" "Run!"—and the like.

"Wait a moment, this match isn't over yet."

Yu Yu Qianzi faced the computer, not turning her head.

"Suit yourself."

Jiang Ding was speechless.

She glanced at the screen—her healer character was being chased and hacked down by a greatsword warrior. People around her kept slowing and stunning to block her path, but the five of them ignored everything else, only beating on her, and in no time at all the screen went black.

"These wretched commoners!"

"Why are you all chasing me? I never even provoked you!"

Yu Yu Qianzi was furious with frustration.

Jiang Ding was unfazed—he'd seen it all before.

Don't think this is just a game; it hides real dragons and crouching tigers. Plenty of Jin Dan and Nascent Soul cultivators play, squeezing in a match whenever they have spare time—

These fellows usually picked up the hobby in their youth and kept it up for hundreds, even thousands of years.

If anyone thinks they can crush these players with the divine sense and reflexes of a high-level cultivator, they're dreaming.

About twenty-some minutes later,

Along with the bright red defeat screen came the sound of a keyboard and computer being smashed. Yu Yu Qianzi turned around and asked irritably, "What do you want?"

One look told you she was in a terrible mood.

"I want to invite you to the Aerial Combat class."

Jiang Ding said directly, trying to bluff: "This opportunity is very rare. Back when An Tuzi wanted to take this class, Wuxingtian Sect had to pull strings for ages and pay a considerable price before the Immortal Gate agreed."

"Now, there's a good chance."

"No requirements needed—you can start the class right away."

He tempted her with all he had.

"That rare?"

Yu Yu Qianzi smiled half-heartedly: "Then why did the Eastern Extreme Demon Sect agree?"

"I applied."

Jiang Ding said confidently.

"Not going."

"Huh?"

"I said, not going."

Yu Yu Qianzi gave a light laugh: "The Eastern Extreme Demon Sect wouldn't custom-design and build a warship for me. What's the point of me going? Be someone else's sparring partner? Surely not?"

"Probably not, right?"

"Definitely not."

Jiang Ding's expression didn't change: "One Great Sun Sword Pearl every six months."

"This…"

Yu Yu Qianzi hesitated for a moment.

The sword intent of the last-generation Great Sun Sword Child was very tempting to her.

"This…"

She drew out her words again.

"Fifty Sun Flame Crystals and Moon Stream Crystals—enough to let you rapidly temper your flying sword for fifty years."

Jiang Ding showed a flicker of pain on his face.

These two sword-path treasures, which simultaneously temper both sword body and sword intent, could only be drawn out by the Great Sun Sword Child himself. Anyone else who tried would immediately draw the attack of the Great Sun Heavenly Lake formation—absolute limited editions.

"One hundred."

Yu Yu Qianzi held up one slender, fair finger.

"Deal."

Jiang Ding said helplessly.

He truly needed someone to exchange sword-path insights with. If he kept working behind closed doors, his swordsmanship would never improve.

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