Praising him into a corner

At this point, Xing Yao shifted his smiling gaze to Clone No. 3. His tone was gentle, yet carried a weight that allowed no refusal:

"It's just that mass-producing cards, infusing them with Laws, and stabilizing their structures all require the purest earth-element power.

So I'll have to thank you for your hard work on what comes next, Clone No. 3."

The moment those words fell-

Clone No. 3's face, which had shown a flicker of emotion just moments ago, instantly fell!

His gaze froze, the corners of his mouth drooped, and he visibly wilted, inwardly stifled with frustration:

I didn't get a computer, and now I'm being dragged off to do hard labor instead?

The other three clones' eyes instantly lit up at the sight-

The moment to enjoy the spectacle without worrying about making things worse had arrived!

Clone No. 1 rushed over first, clapping Clone No. 3 on the shoulder and showering him with praise in an utterly sincere tone:

"Wow! No. 3 really is the badass here! Your Law of the Earth Element is the best in the entire mental world! Who else could handle something this important?"

"As expected of our ace clone! Steady! Reliable! Powerful! You're the only one for the job!"

Clone No. 2 also spoke calmly, putting him on a pedestal he could not climb down from with a single sentence:

"Only you can guarantee the cards' quality."

Clone No. 4 twisted the knife further: "We can only count on you for this."

The three took turns praising Clone No. 3 as unparalleled in heaven or on earth, hoisting him straight to the very top.

Clone No. 3 cared about saving face. However unwilling he was inside, he could not bring himself to refuse. His face alternated between green and white; riding a tiger, he could not get off.

After several seconds of silence, he took a deep breath and finally nodded helplessly, utterly resigned:

"...Fine."

Flowers bloomed with delight in Xing Yao's heart. His plan had succeeded perfectly, but his expression remained perfectly solemn and deeply satisfied:

"Good! Then it's settled! Everyone, get to work!"

"I'll go melt that pile of old cards into resentment points first. You all get your preparations ready."

Suddenly, as though remembering something, he looked at Clone No. 3 again and solemnly added:

"Right, one more thing-once the cards are made, you absolutely cannot duplicate them with resentment points."

Clone No. 3's brows furrowed slightly, the confusion on his face deepening. He took a small step forward and asked in a low voice, his tone carrying some bewilderment and reluctance:

"Why can't we duplicate them with resentment points?

Making them by hand, one at a time, is far too inefficient. How long would that take?

Those Teleportation cards Clone No. 1 condensed before... weren't they all duplicated in bulk with resentment points?

Why is it suddenly not allowed when it's my turn?"

At his words, Clone No. 1, Clone No. 2, and Clone No. 4 all nodded in agreement.

Indeed, many of the utility cards and combat cards they had made before had relied on duplication with resentment points to increase production. It saved both time and effort, and let them quickly expand into the market.

Why, with this new batch of earth-element punishment cards, was there suddenly a blanket ban that did not even allow duplication?

Looking at Clone No. 3's unconvinced, thoroughly puzzled expression, Xing Yao shook his head unhurriedly. A smile that said he had expected this appeared on his face. He slowly stepped forward and, with immense patience, explained everything to him word by word, breaking it down into the smallest pieces.

"You think I don't want to make things easier for you?

More than anyone, I want to improve efficiency, get the goods out faster, make money faster, and earn back the money spent buying the villa faster. And I'm certainly not deliberately targeting you, Clone No. 3.

It's just that-different cards are worlds apart. Their costs aren't even on the same level."

He paused, swept his gaze over the four clones, and continued, his voice clear and his reasoning orderly:

"Think about those cards Clone No. 1 condensed before:

Teleportation cards, extreme speed boost cards, short-range assault cards, spatial evasion cards...

What are those?

High-powered, high-value, highly practical combat cards!

A single finished card costs quite a few resentment points, let alone 100.

But duplicating them with resentment points costs us far fewer resentment points than making them one by one.

Duplicate ten, and we earn a little; duplicate a hundred, and we earn a pile.

The more we duplicate, the more we earn. It's a killing with no losses, and we recoup our costs extremely quickly.

With cards like those, not duplicating them with resentment points would be a real waste of business opportunities and time."

At this point, Xing Yao changed tack, his gaze returning to Clone No. 3 as his tone grew serious:

"But your batch of earth-element punishment cards is different.

They're positioned at the low end, have a single effect, and can't command high prices. They're cards that rely on high volume and thin margins.

First, their main customers are ordinary people, reconstruction teams, and bottom-rung cultivators, not wealthy core disciples or scions of great families.

The prices have to be affordable, have to be cheap, for them to sell and move in volume.

Second, and most importantly-

For low-tier cards like these, the duplication cost is almost equal to the production cost, or even higher!

The resentment-point energy you consume duplicating one with resentment points isn't much different from what it takes to honestly make one by hand.

Yet the profit from selling it is pitifully low.

Duplicate one, and we lose a little;

Duplicate ten, and we lose across the board;

Duplicate a hundred, several hundred, and we lose every last bit of our capital.

Clone No. 1's Teleportation cards are hugely profitable cards. Duplication = profit;

Your earth-element cards have thin margins. Duplication = loss.

One makes us richer the more we duplicate,

The other makes us poorer the more we duplicate.

That's why we can freely duplicate Teleportation cards with resentment points, while not a single card in your earth-element batch can be duplicated. They can only be made honestly by hand, one at a time."