Actually, Big Shots Are Also Gossipy

The atmosphere was lively as they discussed the candidates for the publication. The big shots, caught up in the mood, even started gossiping on the spot, with Mu Jianli as the focus.

Eunuch Li tapped his fingers on the table, swaying his head as if he were a storyteller. "This girl joined the Sword Inquiry Sect in her youth. She was dull as a child, buried in the outer sect, unknown to all. Three years ago, at the age of fourteen, she stood out during the sect's grand competition. With a blade of common iron, she defeated eighteen inner sect disciples in a row. Her sword heart was pure and flawless, her sword intent sharp and unstoppable. It shocked the entire sect, and Lin Wuya personally took her as his direct disciple, declaring her his only one—meaning that having obtained Mu Jianli, he had no heart left to teach anyone else."

Xue Qingqiu smiled. "This Seat has seen her personally; she is single-minded, living only for the sword. She is cut from the same cloth as Lin Wuya was back then, so of course he would be overjoyed."

Xue Mu glanced at her, thinking to himself, So this Lin Wuya is the one who tried to rob the cradle and ended up getting played by you until he was a mess... Looking at it now, he clearly doesn't measure up to his disciple; his heart is too cluttered.

Xue Qingqiu rolled her eyes at him. "Lin Wuya's sword shatters the void and spans the ends of the earth; even I would not dare claim victory over him. What is with that expression of yours?"

Xue Mu chuckled, offering no rebuttal.

Xiahou Di laughed. "Mu Jianli has not failed to live up to Lin Wuya's high regard. Early last year, at sixteen, she took the crown at the Eight Sects' Hidden Dragon Competition. Everyone said she was practically Lin Wuya twenty years ago. She then stepped into the jianghu, suppressing mountain bandits and slaying the Twin Fiends of Jiangzuo. In over thirty battles, large and small, she fought either those of higher rank or faced multiple foes, never tasting defeat. Early this year... heh, your Demon Sect organized an ambush, yet she fought her way out with a single sword, her white robes soaked in blood. The Star Moon Sect lost people in that battle, too, didn't they?"

Xue Qingqiu smiled. "That is her ability."

Xuan Zhe sighed. "Sect Master Xue truly has the bearing of a grand master. Unlike Shentu Zui, the dignified head of the Heart-Extinguishing Path, who actually harbored resentment and later sought an opportunity to intercept and kill her personally. Bullying the young and weak—it is truly shameful. If everyone in the jianghu played like that, wouldn't everything fall into chaos? The Demon Sect is, after all, demonic... er, my apologies, Sect Master Xue, I did not mean you."

Xue Qingqiu laughed, indicating she didn't mind. In truth, she also held Shentu Zui's actions in great contempt.

The jianghu has its own rules. If a fight breaks out over a dispute, or if it is a matter of revenge, then regardless of status, there is nothing to be said. But for something as simple as trying to wipe out the other side's rising stars, there are still rules in the jianghu that neither the righteous nor the demonic paths easily break. Sending people to set traps, scheme, or surround and intercept is fine—the struggle between righteous and demonic is what it is, and life or death depends on one's own skill. But for a dignified Void-Piercing Realm expert to specifically go out to kill someone else's newcomer is just moronic. If everyone did that, no one would dare leave their homes, or if they did, they would need their masters to follow them around like nannies. What would be the point of anything then?

It is like Mu Jianli coming to the Sword Inquiry Sect; regardless of whether Xue Qingqiu grants her wishes or not, she would never kill her, let alone go out of her way to do so—it would be truly shameful. Besides, are Void-Piercing experts really that idle? If not for coming to the Capital City for Yin Ye, Xue Qingqiu would be focused on her cultivation, intent on merging with the Dao, and certainly wouldn't be running around everywhere.

Xiahou Di laughed. "Doing something improper is destined to have a backlash. Shentu Zui acted personally and was still blocked for ten moves, holding out until strong reinforcements arrived. To resist a Void-Piercing expert for ten moves in the Hua Yun Realm without dying—that is what truly made Mu Jianli famous throughout the world. Shentu Zui truly suffered a loss."

"Shentu Zui was careless. He did not know that Lin Wuya had even given Feiguang to Mu Jianli, giving her the capital to wound him." Xue Qingqiu wore a trace of mockery. "Given Shentu Zui's status, acting against someone else's disciple was already shameful enough; if he had been nicked by a hair, he would have become a laughingstock. Mu Jianli, however, had a sword-heart without fear, trading blow for blow, seeking only mutual destruction. He truly could not win quickly. Of course, if it had dragged on, Mu Jianli would have been dead for sure. In fact, had Lin Wuya arrived a breath later, Mu Jianli would likely have been left with incurable wounds. One can only say her fate was not to end there."

"That is also an ability. To seek only mutual destruction—easy to say, but how many can actually do it?"

Xue Mu listened in silence, only one thought in his mind: Is she the protagonist of this plane? If you gender-swapped her, wouldn't she be the main character?

"Mu Jianli possesses the divine sword Feiguang, and this year she has visited famous masters, traveling ten thousand miles to seek the sword. After this journey, who knows how much more she will grow? I fear she may replicate your miracle of entering the Dao at twenty, Sect Master Xue."

Xue Qingqiu replied quite casually, "In my view, she will enter the Dao faster than I did. With such a pure sword, once her sword path reaches completion, her actual combat lethality may even surpass mine."

This was more than just magnanimity. Given her status, throwing out such a statement—was she not afraid of shaking the morale of her own sect? Several people looked at each other, wondering why Xue Qingqiu was being so generous.

Xue Qingqiu smiled faintly. "The young phoenix chirps, reflecting each other's brilliance; the prosperity of the martial path comes from this. Without such opponents, who would Chan'er sharpen herself against? If I do not recognize the talents of the world, how can I merge with the Dao?"

The scene remained silent for several seconds before Xuan Zhe suddenly left his seat and bowed. "Only today do I realize that the rise of the Star Moon Sect is not without reason."

Xue Mu looked at Xue Qingqiu, suddenly thinking that it was precisely her broad-mindedness and foresight that gave him room to rise. If she were someone jealous of talent, let alone developing any feelings, she would have been lucky not to kill him, or perhaps she would have used techniques to control him and squeeze out whatever value he had...

Xue Qingqiu waved her hand and laughed. "We seem to have digressed. There is still much to discuss regarding how to handle the publication."

Everyone laughed and returned to their seats. After another round of drinks, Xue Mu reopened the topic. "Does the Six Fan Gates intend to handle the production and printing themselves, or do you intend for the ladies of the Star Moon Sect to participate as well?"

Xiahou Di was stunned. "What is the difference?"

Xue Mu smiled. "According to our previous consensus, the Six Fan Gates guarantees the publication's distribution to the world, while my Star Moon Sect provides intelligence and the foundation of the content. In that sense, each performs their own duties—a fifty-fifty split is fair, right?"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, only then realizing one thing... this publication was not just a means to subtly increase the power of the Six Fan Gates; it could also generate revenue, and the revenue would be exceptionally high! This was a brilliant move that killed two birds with one stone.

Previously, their minds were so immersed in the massive influence the publication could generate that no one had noticed its revenue-generating potential, yet Xue Mu had clearly been clear-headed all along. Xiahou Di looked at Xue Mu, somewhat dazed. With this complementary combination of the Xue siblings, who could stop the Star Moon Sect in the future?

Of course, the people of this world had not yet realized the importance of distribution channels. In their eyes, each performing their own duties for a fifty-fifty split was fair. In fact, in everyone's view, the side doing the labor and production was the one that deserved a larger share, as they had to bear the costs and manpower.

That was why Xue Mu asked who would be doing the content production. If the Six Fan Gates did it themselves, they could certainly take more; if the Star Moon Sect participated, then a fifty-fifty split was fine. Xue Mu was being quite sincere, letting the Six Fan Gates choose.

Xiahou Di reacted immediately and said hurriedly, "Regarding this matter, I have already planned to establish a separate Publication Department to take full responsibility. All personnel have already been planned for, and we can handle the production entirely. The Star Moon Sect doesn't have many people in the Capital City, so there is no need to trouble you."

Xue Mu smiled. "Very well. Since the Six Fan Gates is handling the production entirely, let's go with a seventy-thirty split."

Xuan Zhe couldn't help himself. "Production labor and costs are not low; seventy-thirty is not appropriate."

Xue Qingqiu said coldly, "This Seat is too lazy to haggle over profit with you. Eighty-twenty it is; consider it the Star Moon Sect treating you all to a drink."

Come to think of it, one side was a dignified high official of the imperial court, and the other was a heroic Sect Master of her generation. Haggling over percentages was truly a bit embarrassing. Since Xue Qingqiu had thrown that out there, the Six Fan Gates really felt too embarrassed to push further. Xiahou Di immediately made the decision. "Then it is settled. I trouble Young Master Xue to draft the contract."

Do not think that because both sides had special identities, the contract would have no binding force and no one would handle or care about breaches. In fact, the binding force on the Six Fan Gates was quite strong; they needed public credibility. Once a contract was in black and white, if they violated it and the Star Moon Sect spread it, they would lose the trust of the people, which would be extremely detrimental to their future. Conversely, it had little binding force on the Star Moon Sect—they were the Demon Sect, after all; how many people had expectations of their integrity?

Thus, Xiahou Di could be said to be very sincere. Xue Mu smiled, did not decline, and spread out the brush and ink to write.

Only he knew how much profit that eighty-twenty split represented... To be blunt, even a ninety-ten split would have been a massive win for the Star Moon Sect. Not to mention that this matter was about fighting for power for the Six Fan Gates, the Star Moon Sect's follow-up benefits were still to come; even if he didn't want a single percent of the profit, he would have been willing.

Xiahou Di watched Xue Mu write for a while in silence, then suddenly said, "This matter is Young Master Xue's original idea and requires your guidance and oversight. If Young Master Xue is willing to stoop to the position of Libationer of the Publication Department, I can grant you the position of Gold-Badge Catcher, and I can even concede more profit to the Star Moon Sect."

Before Xue Mu could answer, Xue Qingqiu's heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously refused. "This Seat has no interest in that bit of profit! Poaching in front of me? Xiahou Di, do you still have any sense of propriety?"

Xiahou Di was somewhat dumbfounded. "Young Master Xue has his own opinions. Besides, he is nearly thirty, right? Can you, as his sister, manage his future for his entire life?"

Xue Qingqiu said angrily, "This Seat will manage him for his entire life!"

Once these words were out, everyone looked over. Even Xue Mu's wrist shook, leaving a large ink blot on the manuscript.

Where did that respectable, grand-masterly bearing you just had go? How is this any different from a woman afraid of her lover being snatched away? Is this even the same person?