Double Joy: A Ten Thousand Year First Soul Ring and Soul Power Level 30!

Luofan's utterly baffled expression made Xue Qinghe's anger flare!

You hurt me, then smiled and walked away!

That was exactly how Xue Qinghe felt about Luofan right now!

She had cried because of him, yet he had no idea what he had done?

She shot Luofan a reproachful look and recited a line of poetry: "When spring is gone, beauty fades; flowers fall and people die, neither knowing the other's fate!"

Hearing the verse, Luofan suddenly understood!

It came from Dream of the Red Chamber, from the poem Lin Daiyu recited while burying fallen flowers.

It captured Lin Daiyu's helplessness and sorrow in the face of fate.

Dream of the Red Chamber had its sweet moments, but its heartbreak cut just as deep!

Daiyu burying the flowers was one of its more painful scenes, and it was the latest installment Luofan had published in the newspaper!

Xue Qinghe must have read it and seen something of herself in it.

Lin Daiyu had lived under someone else's roof, careful in everything she did!

That was much like Xue Qinghe posing as the Heaven Dou Crown Prince and keeping her identity hidden.

So she sees herself in Lin Daiyu?

"Brother Xue, you take these things so much to heart. I really don't think you're suited to reading Dream of the Red Chamber. You should stop following it!"

And this was only the beginning. With even more painful scenes still to come, Luofan couldn't help warning her.

"Nonsense. Dream of the Red Chamber is a major reason the newspaper sells. How could I neglect it?" Xue Qinghe said, her expression turning serious.

After a pause, she added, "And you shouldn't overdo your meditation training. When you have time, write more of Dream of the Red Chamber. It'll give you a chance to rest!"

Luofan's face darkened. "Brother Xue, what gave you the ridiculous idea that writing a novel counts as rest?"

Embarrassment flashed across Xue Qinghe's face.

She realized her words had been rather thoughtless!

"By the way, Brother Fan, I came to discuss something important with you!"

Leaving the subject behind, Xue Qinghe continued, "Newspaper sales have really taken off, but selling each copy for just one Copper Soul Coin has cost me a great deal lately!"

"It sells extremely well, yet plenty of people in Heaven Dou City laugh at me for losing money just to make a splash. They're waiting to see how long I can keep it up!"

"Can we start charging for advertisements and turning that readership into revenue?"

"They don't know a damn thing!" Luofan cursed those shortsighted fools without hesitation!

He had seen this business model play out in his previous life!

First, spend heavily on subsidies and claim the market!

Once the market was yours, start reaping the returns.

Hadn't all sorts of platforms worked that way in his previous life?

More importantly, whether it was food delivery, online shopping, or anything else, those platforms had faced competitors using the same tactics!

But in this Douluo world, where were the competitors?

"Your Highness, we can start now!"

"Let's begin on a small scale, with Heaven Dou City at the center, and auction off a few advertising spots in the newspaper!"

"Once the newspaper is sold across the empire, we can raise the advertising rates!"

Luofan nodded and discussed his ideas for turning the newspaper's readership into revenue with Xue Qinghe, down to the details!

"Good, I understand. Brother Fan, keep writing Dream of the Red Chamber!" With business settled, Xue Qinghe hurried off to arrange the auction for newspaper advertising spots.

Before leaving, though, she couldn't resist asking Luofan in person for the next installment.

Sure enough, in the days that followed, the crown prince sent invitations to many of Heaven Dou City's major merchants, asking them to attend the first auction for newspaper advertising spots!

Naturally, none of the merchants dared refuse the crown prince's invitation!

And once Xue Qinghe explained what advertising could do and how quickly the newspaper's sales were growing, the merchants immediately saw the value of promoting their businesses in its pages.

One after another, they began bidding!

Many of Heaven Dou City's powerful figures had been waiting to laugh at Xue Qinghe, wondering when she would finally stop pouring money into the bottomless pit of her newspaper.

They hadn't expected her to come up with advertising fees!

When word got out that Xue Qinghe had taken in a total of 300,000 Gold Soul Coins for the first quarter's advertisements, many people were stunned!

How long could that much money keep the newspaper running?

More importantly, as sales kept rising, advertising rates were bound to rise too.

Damn it. Had the newspaper really found a way to keep running for the long term?

For the second quarter, advertising revenue climbed to 1.08 million Gold Soul Coins!

Clearly, the merchants who had advertised during the first quarter had reaped huge rewards. With the newspaper now circulating through nearly half the Heaven Dou Empire, advertising fees had soared!

In the blink of an eye, half a year passed.

After six months of rapid growth, the Heaven Dou Daily had spread across most of the Heaven Dou Empire. Millions of copies were printed each day and distributed throughout the empire!

Everyone knew the auction for the third quarter's advertising spots was about to begin.

And the fees this time would be higher than anyone could imagine.

Hum~

Luofan only kept a general eye on the newspaper. Most of his attention remained on his own training!

That day, as usual, Luofan sat cross-legged in meditation, diligently cultivating his Soul Power!

Suddenly, he felt as though a barrier deep within him had been pierced.

At the same time, his Soul Power began surging beyond his control!

The sensation pulled Luofan out of his meditation. He opened his eyes, delight shining in them.

His Soul Power Level had broken through. He had reached level 30!

"That's strange. By my calculations, it should have taken me another half month to reach level 30. Why did it happen early?"

Luofan was thrilled to have reached level 30, but the unexpected boost still puzzled him!

Could it be...?

A thought struck Luofan. He raised his hand!

His nine-tiered Golden Exquisite Pagoda Martial Soul appeared above his palm!

Two Soul Rings appeared with it!

The second Soul Ring was purple as ever, marking it as a thousand-year ring!

But his first Soul Ring was now pitch-black.

It had grown into a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring on its own!