Chapter 78: Scheme

The Adamantine Battle Armor’s sales took a large dive on the fourth day.

After losing his advertisement on the main screen, only two hundred copies of the Adamantine Battle Body were sold, and they continued to decrease thereafter. By the tenth day, he wasn’t even able to sell more than forty copies. He sold nearly a thousand copies over those seven days, not even half what we sold on the first day.

Even so, Su Chen was able to earn nearly another hundred thousand Origin Stones, reached Tier Five Dream Officer, and his personal assets had increased to seven hundred thousand Origin Stones.

The good news was that although the Adamantine Battle Body’s sales had greatly diminished, Su Chen no longer had a 90% tax imposed on him. Su Chen’s profit margins experienced a revival on the eleventh day when he sold thirty-two copies of the Adamantine Battle Body, earning 32,000 Origin Stones.

A month later, Su Chen’s profit from the Adamantine Battle body officially reached one million Origin Stones.

Although the Adamantine Battle Body no longer had much selling power, as long as Su Chen kept the notice up, he would be able to sell copies from time to time based on its 9-star evaluation. It would become a constant, long-term source of profit for Su Chen, and Su Chen began to appreciate the value of advertisement and reputation.

The name “Cloud Bat” was known by the general public for the first time, and many people gave the Adamantine Battle Body favorable reviews after trying it out for themselves.

Mid-tier Dream Officers possessed a system for evaluation, and they could begin to build a reputation for themselves.

Many people began to discuss their experiences cultivating and activating the Adamantine Battle Body. There were those who were offering their own genuine views, but of course there were also those whose only goal was to stir up trouble.

Su Chen’s life was more comfortable than it had ever been.

Of course, there were still difficulties he needed to face.

Not long ago, the clans of Zhang Sheng’an and the others finally arrived on the scene.

After getting the gist of what happened from the Hidden Dragon Institute, the clans went to the Falling Eagle Mountain to investigate the truth behind Zhang Sheng’an and the others’ deaths.

Su Chen didn’t know when they were going to return, but he knew that when they did return, the storm would begin again.

Su Chen had already made preparations.

Unexpectedly, however, someone found him before the members of the Zhang clan were able to......

That morning, Su Chen was still in his research lab performing experiments when the tower spirit informed him that there were guests waiting for him.

Upon exiting the Origin Energy Tower, Su Chen found a youth standing in front of him.

The youth had eyes that left a deep impression on anyone who saw them, and his expression was as sharp as a knife.

Even though he smiled as he spoke to Su Chen, Su Chen was still able to feel a bone-piercing, out-of-this-world chilling intent coming from him.

“Hello,” the youth said. “My name is Zhu Chen1.”

“Do I know you?”

A self-confident smile appeared on the youth’s face. “We might not have known each other before, but now we will, Sir Cloud Bat.”

——————————————

The Dream Monarch’s people were able to find him in the end.

Upon hearing the name “Cloud Bat”, Su Chen understood.

Even so, Su Chen did not panic in the slightest.

Just like he had known that the Zhang Clan would send people over, Su Chen also knew that he couldn’t conceal the identity of Cloud Bat forever.

Su Chen sat near the window of a tea shop in the Northeast corner of the Hidden Dragon Institute.

The wind from the river was cool and gentle, and it brought with it the youth’s words. “Let me introduce myself. I am called Zhu Chen, from the Horizontal Mountain Zhu Clan.”

“Horizontal Mountain? You’re from Liao Ye, not Long Sang?” Su Chen was a bit surprised.

Zhu Chen said, “The Dreamrealm serves every Intelligent Race of the Primordial Continent. People who are close in the Dreamrealm may actually be worlds apart; that’s just how it goes.”

“So that’s how it is.” Su Chen nodded. “Then I feel much more at ease.”

Zhu Chen understood the meaning behind his words and laughed, “It seems that Prince Su has been prepared for me for quite some time. But how could someone who developed a wonderful technique like Kaihuang’s Heaven be a common individual? But Prince Su, you’ve misunderstood our intentions. I have come here today with no negative intentions.”

“Oh? So you aren’t here to demand I take down Kaihuang’s Heaven and never let it see the light of day again?”

Zhu Chen’s expression was one of surprise. “My clan’s master does wish for you to take down Kaihuang’s Heaven, but not with the intention of never letting it see the light of day. Prince Su, where did that idea come from?”

Su Chen was caught off guard. “You’re not here to conceal Kaihuang’s Heaven? Then why are you here?”

“Naturally we want to cooperate with Prince Su,” Zhu Chen replied. “Why would we want to prevent and bury such an outstanding technique? We only concealed your notice because you were selling it for only one hundred Dream Droplets per copy – much too low. Most importantly, you shouldn’t be selling such a precious technique on the Dreamrealm in the first place!”

Zhu Chen spoke almost in a lamenting way.

“Oh? Then what should I do?” Su Chen asked purposefully.

Zhu Chen got close to him and said, “You might be able to haul in some temporary profits by selling it in the Dreamrealm, but that isn’t a good long-term tactic. Once secret techniques spread, they lose their value. Only by cooperating with a large Bloodline Nobility Clan like us can you strictly control who has access to the skill. Cultivators need to swear a Blood Poison Oath to always be loyal to the nobility before gaining access to it. This way, we can rely on this tactic to attract more talent and increase our own strength, passing it down through the generations! Although in the short-term it might seem like the benefits are lower, this skill is enough to bring thousands of years of good fortune for you and us!”

“So that’s how it is.” Su Chen understood.

Originally, Shi Kaihuang believed that as soon as a method for breaking into the Blood Boiling Realm without a bloodline appeared, wolves would begin to appear.

He was right.

He was also wrong.

Kaihuang’s Heaven had indeed attracted the attention of the wolves, but it wasn’t for the reason that he had thought.

The reason was very simple.

Breaking through bloodline restrictions would definitely incite a reaction from the Bloodline Nobility Clans.

However, Kaihuang’s Heaven would not break through those restrictions.

It allowed a person to break into the Blood Boiling Realm without a bloodline, but it wouldn’t allow them to reach a higher layer.

Breaking through bloodline restrictions was a long and burdensome path. Perhaps Su Chen would be unable to achieve it during his lifetime.

If you compared the seven layers that Origin Qi Scholars could achieve to that of a tall tower with seven floors, then Kaihuang’s Heaven was only like a two-floor tower. They were still very far away from building that seven-floor tower.

Because of this, the reaction that Shi Kaihuang had anticipated did not occur. Although Kaihuang’s Heaven wasn’t a bad skill, it wasn’t enough to shake the position of many Bloodline Nobility Clans.

But on the other hand, Kaihuang’s Heaven truly was a masterstroke.

It could allow someone without a bloodline to reach the Blood Boiling Realm without fail, which would also raise the foundation of those relying on bloodline strength. Thus, it went without saying that they could obtain even more powerful bloodlines by using it, covertly raising the strength of low-layer Origin Qi Scholars.

To a few of the larger Bloodline Nobility Clans, Kaihuang’s Heaven was an important tool they could use to attract talent.

If someone controlled it, they could use it to accomplish a large undertaking.

Thus, the Dream Monarch of the Du Clan did not prevent the spread of Kaihuang’s Heaven because he wanted to protect the existing bloodline restrictions.

He just wanted to control it for himself so he could use it and control its dissemination.

When Su Chen understood this point, he also began to realize why no such bloodline-less skills had become widespread even though they had been developed hundreds of years before.

It was because of the existence of Bloodline Nobility Clans.

Perhaps they had not prevented these secret techniques from spreading, but they had controlled and restricted its spread, making it basically the same as if these techniques didn’t exist.

If you wanted to obtain the technique, you would need to become their dogs!

1. Not the same character as Su Chen’s name. Annoyingly, they have almost identical pronunciations.