Forty Millenniums of Cultivation
Page 145
"However, the Mountain Sea Sect has survived in the Wasteland for over a century, they are well-established and have marketing network across various cities in the Wasteland, and also have a certain reputation.
"The main market of the Demon Beast Detector is the Wasteland. Even if the inland cultivators had to venture deep into the Wasteland to hunt demon beasts, they would have to first rest at the forward bases. With the advertising and distribution capabilities of the Mountain Sea Sect, it would be a piece of cake to fully cover these important sites.
"Another most crucial point is in their production capabilities.
"Originally, the Mountain Sea Sect wasn't a sect based on refining, but for the sake of a complete transformation, they spent a great deal of money to import a production line comprising of a Mystic Laser Micro-Engraving Machine and various mini-components.
"This production line is very advanced and can be used for refining spirit watches. Although the components of Demon Beast Detector are quite ingenious, in terms of sophistication, there is still a certain difference with the spirit watch.
"In other words, the Mountain Sea Sect is completely capable of mass producing the Demon Beast Detector.
"On another note, the Mountain Sea Sect's technical abilities aren't that great whether it is their newly established R&D center or their elders. The head of their R&D center is Old Jiang who is a Refiner from the grassroots faction and doesn't specialize in crafting precision magical equipment. For technical stuff, they'd still have to rely on your support.
"As a result, you have the technology while the Mountain Sea Sect have the labor, money, production equipment, and marketing network. Both sides are highly complementary to each other. In terms of cooperation, you seem quite compatible."
Having heard Yuan Manqiu's analysis, Li Yao nodded again and again.
The Mountain Sea Sect was indeed the best partner considering his current situation.
After hesitating for a moment, Li Yao asked, "However, would the Mountain Sea Sect be willing to work with me, or would I have to talk with Teacher Jiang first?"
Yuan Manqiu slightly smiled, "What is there to talk about?! Just take the initiative to talk with him and then you just have to wait for him to come and visit!
"I have already sent your combat videos of Thunderbolt Cup and some of your fights in the Wasteland to Old Jiang and also told him that you'd got a patent as well.
"With his insight, he should be able to see the prospects of this patent.
"Furthermore, with the current plight of Mountain Sea Sect, this piece of magical equipment is simply tailored for them.
"All you have to do is think about the terms and conditions you would propose to the Mountain Sea Sect!"
Having explained all that, Yuan Manqiu said nothing else.
Li Yao didn't have to wait for the next day. On that very night, having finished watching Li Yao's combat videos and carefully reading the detailed description of Demon Beast Detector, Jiang Wenbo sent a spiritual crane message to Li Yao rather excitedly.
The Demon Beast Detector was quite appetizing to the Mountain Sea Sect!
Right now, the Mountain Sea Sect was in a very awkward situation.
Taking a bank loan and spending a great deal of money to set up a production line to mass produce spirit watches had all been a waste for the Mountain Sea Sect. All of the spirit watches were stored in their warehouse; each piece they refined was nothing but loss.
Having been unable to produce anything, the production line was just idling. The monthly interest alone on the bank loans was an astronomical figure.
They wanted to sell the entire production line but finding a right buyer was easier said than done. Not to mention that the selling price was also quite low. As the matter stood, the losses they'd suffered were simply shocking.
What's more, what would the Mountain Sea Sect do after selling their assembly line?
With the appearance of the Demon Beast Detector, the Mountain Sea Sect, from top to bottom, was quite excited.
With Guan Xiong acting as the leading battle-type cultivator who often hunted the demon beasts in the Wasteland, they were quite confident with the market prospects of the Demon Beast Detector.
More importantly, the production line imported for crafting the spirit watches could be used to mass produce the Demon Beast Detectors with just a few modifications and without any technical difficulties.
Instead of competing in a competitive and mature market of spirit watches with traditional giants like Zephyr Guild, they might as well try to step into a new market!
Even if the sales aren't high, as long as they could repay the bank loan's interest every month, it would be better than keeping the production line idle!
With such calculations and after a fierce day and night discussion, the upper and lower management of Mountain Sea Sect finally reached an agreement and decided to fully cooperate with Li Yao to produce the Demon Beast Detector!
Chapter 208: The Most Special Examination Hall |
A month later.
Someplace among the high mountains in the western hemisphere of the Star Glory Federation.
A Killer Whale-Class carrier, which was trailed with by colorful streams of light and a long tail of flames, gradually made its way across the clear, blue skies as it plunged into a forest of hundreds and thousands of tall mountains.
Inside the carrier, Li Yao whistled in relief as he happily looked through the contract.
Finally, the contract was finalized.
Producing a magical equipment on a large-scale wasn't trivial. Although both sides really wanted to cooperate, there were still many tedious tasks to deal with when it came to specific issues.
For the next two weeks, Li Yao made some minor changes to the Demon Beast Detector's components and array glyphs, mainly from the perspective of cost reduction.
There were many array glyphs and algorithms that had only recently been invented in the last one or two decades and were still in the patent protection period.
Using the algorithms and array glyphs for learning and research was nothing, but if one wanted to use them in mass production for profit, they had to negotiate with the inventor to pay a certain amount to obtain the patent rights.
The best way to resolve this issue was to find algorithms and array glyphs that were invented thirty to fifty years ago.
The patent protection period of those array glyphs and algorithms was over and anyone could use them.
Of course, not all array glyphs and algorithms could be replaced. For some irreplaceable and crucial array glyphs and algorithms, it was up to the Mountain Sea Sect's business staff to negotiate with the inventor.
In addition to mass producing Demon Beast Detector, the crystal eye was an integral component and, for Mountain Sea Sect, it was far more cost-effective to buy them from others rather than making it themselves.
Although the Mountain Sea Sect was unable to craft crystal eyes on their own, they still had some partner refining sects that had the ability to produce crystal eye at a high level.
They had reached a strategic cooperation agreement with one of their partners from whom they would purchase relatively cheap crystal eyes basically at cost.
All that Li Yao had to do was to fine-tune the production process and replace the Super Falcon-Class crystal eye from the Holy Light Sect, which Li Yao had previously used, with the new model crystal eye.
After having finished all this, Li Yao personally went to the Mountain Sea Sect.
On one hand, he wanted to check the crafting technology and production scale of the Mountain Sea Sect, on the other hand, he also wanted to work with Jiang Wenbo to revamp the production line which was originally designed to produce spirit watches.
Having seen the renovation project of 1st Generation Tai'e Crafting Furnace, Jiang Wenbo was completely confident in Li Yao's "devilish modification" abilities. Thus, the responsibility of revamping many of the crucial sites was handed over to Li Yao.
After being up to their ears in work for one month during which all obstacles in regard to the crafting process were finally solved, both sides went through a series of haggling. Following which, the contract was eventually finalized. A few of the crucial terms and conditions were:
First, Li Yao would grant the Mountain Sea Sect the exclusive rights to mass produce the Demon Beast Detector, and promised that no other sect would be authorized for the next three years.
Second, Li Yao would still retain the patent rights of the Demon Beast Detector and could produce them on small-scale for research or distribution, as long as his output didn't exceed one per day. Furthermore, he would have to engrave a unique symbol on the Demon Beast Detector so as to distinguish it from the Demon Beast Detectors sold by the Mountain Sea Sect.
Third, the Mountain Sea Sect promised to produce at least 50,000 units of Demon Beast Detector during the next three years. And the profit from the sales of each unit of Demon Beast Detector would be split in a 30-70 ratio, where Li Yao would be entitled to 30% and Mountain Sea Sect to 70%.
Fourth, Li Yao would provide technical support and, once he invented subsequent models, the Mountain Sea Sect would get the priority under the same conditions of cooperation.
Li Yao was very satisfied with this contract.
He also researched the market. Generally, for a similar type of contract where the patent rights were still held by the owner and exclusive production rights were granted, the patent owner would at most receive 20% of the profit.
Although the technology was his, the cultivation sect was providing money, production equipment, marketing network, and labor consisting of hundreds and thousands of people who were only working on this project. Also, the cultivation sect would still have to bear the risk of loss; so, giving them a share of 70 to 80% of the profit wasn't actually very much.
Moreover, according to Li Yao's plan, his ambitions couldn't be stopped by fighting over a small amount of money. What would be the point of haggling with the Mountain Sea Sect for one or two percent?
The 1st Generation Demon Beast Detector was just the start. Later, he would develop many, much more advanced detectors that would have a wide range of abilities.
If the 1st Generation Demon Beast Detector sold well, then they could discuss slowly.
Li Yao's gaze fell to the bottom of the contract, at a very strange symbol under the signature part, which was as flamboyant as flying dragons and dancing phoenixes.
It was a tiny pentagram with a long grinning smile whereas the corners of the smile were slightly curved, giving the impression of a sinister smile.
This was the exclusive insignia designed by Li Yao himself.
Every Refiner had his own unique insignia that was engraved upon the magical equipment crafted by him, which acted as the identification as well as a special advertisement.
Even a magical equipment with ordinary functions had its price hiked by hundredfold as long as it was personally crafted by a master refiner and had his exclusive insignia branded upon it. It would be treated as an extreme treasure for which the buyers would swarm like flies.
This small star with an evil smile was named as "Fiend Star" by Li Yao.
He decided that, from now on, if he was on a battlefield where blood was being spilled and bodies kept falling, he would use the nickname "Vulture".
The battlefield, a place where everyone competed to see who was tougher, fiercer, and most fearless.
The Vulture, this nickname sounded like it belonged to a ruthless figure. Someday, even the Demon Kings and Demon Emperors of Blood Demon Sector would tremble upon hearing this name!
But in the refiners' community, using an ominous nickname like "Vulture" wasn't suitable, it sounded as though it didn't belong to someone who was good and honest!
Ergo, in the refiners' community, he would go by the name of "Fiend Star", hahaha, "Grandmaster Fiend Star", this name wasn't bad!
"Hum!"
The Killer Whale-Class carrier lightly shook as it began to slow down.
The passengers inside broke into a series of nervous discussions.
Li Yao stopped smiling and put away the hologram. In the blink of an eye, everything pertaining to the Demon Beast Detector was thrown to the back of his mind.
At present, he had more important things to deal with—the Refiners' Registration Examination!
Li Yao peered through the porthole as he turned his gaze towards the distance.
Where he saw lush and verdant high mountains and lofty peaks surrounded by a couple of huge basins.
Inside the basin, countless silver-white towns and cities glittered under the illumination of bright sunlight.
These were the towns and cities located within the hundreds and thousands of mountains in the western hemisphere of the federation. All of them were military cities comprising of series of munition factories, army bases, and research institutes of war type magical equipment, which formed the last line of defense of mankind.
At the beginning of the establishment of Star Glory Federation, the situation was nowhere near as stable as it was now. The eastern hemisphere of the federation was oppressed by the Eastern Demon Empire, whereas the Wasteland in the northern hemisphere was a paradise for demon beasts. At that time, the beast tides truly blotted the sky and the earth, destroying everything in their wake!
Many people were worried that the beast tide in the Wasteland would gather into a sea of demon beasts which would break through mankind's line of defense with an armageddon-like momentum and directly head towards the south, ravaging the fertile lands in the southeast.
The high mountains and lofty peaks in the western hemisphere of the federation became the last base from which mankind could counterattack.
As a result, the Star Glory Federation spent hundreds of years to continuously develop the hundreds and thousands of mountains in the western hemisphere.
Countless mountains were hollowed out and transformed into large-scale arsenals. Tens of thousands of underground stalactite caves were continuously developed, dug deeper and were connected to transform them into complex, underground shelters. Countless soldiers and their families lived here. Generation after generation, the soldier families flourished into military families, awaiting the final battle!
The registration of refiners was divided into a dozen different categories. Li Yao had applied for Class C, which was focused in a small-scale military direction.
The refiners of this class mainly focused on crafting individual-type swords and sabers, firearms, and auxiliary-class magical equipment. The peak of their class was being able to craft crystal suits, or, in other words, become an "Armadominus"!
As the Refiners' Registration Examination involved the designing and the subsequent trials of a large number of weapons, the small-scale military-type Refiners' Registration Examination would be conducted in various army bases annually.
After drawing the lottery, Li Yao had to go to No.19 examination hall which was set up at military base 8734.
"Wow, it is truly spectacular!"
As the carrier flew over a mountain, the military base 8734 came in sight.
It was a huge military base. Multitudes of super heavy-class magical equipment were installed around the base. There were many crystal railguns were as high as several floors, while the spiritual energy rail was as thick as Li Yao's waist.
The destruction caused by every round fired was hard to imagine.
Before the carrier even landed, Li Yao was completely dazzled by the hundreds of crystal tanks arranged orderly on the ground.
Even though they were older models, when they moved in astonishing number, mounting a charge, they still appeared prestigious. T
hey had a noble air around them that soared to the high heavens, even from a few kilometers away, Li Yao could sense the killing intent lingering around them.
As the carrier gradually landed, examinees from various towns in the Wasteland filed out before they were escorted by a team of soldiers which lead them to the front of a silver-white, dome-like mega-building.
After verifying their identity, everyone's private crystal processor was handed over to the soldiers temporarily in exchange for a crystal processor that would be specially used for the Refiners' Registration Examination.
Li Yao walked into the silver-white dome.
He felt as though the sky had been covered by a metallic shell, and yet it was grand and imposing, and its lobby was enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people.
At the center was a red box which was completely sealed by defensive array glyphs.
It was the primary examination room.
The Refiners' Registration Examination was divided into a primary exam, second exam, and final exam.
The primary examination was a written test which assessed their knowledge of various theories. It was extremely difficult. Over half of the examinees would be eliminated in the primary examination.
Over a thousand examinees from a few dozen towns were gathered in the lobby.
And there were still many examinees continuing to come in, one after another.
Because it was a national exam, the boarding time for everyone wasn't allocated well. Many of the examinees had been waiting for a few hours.
Therefore, there were many special waiting rooms and cafeterias installed in the lobby.
And the crystal processor specially provided for the exam also had mock papers.
The examinees could both eat and drink in the waiting area, to recharge their batteries. Or they could make a last-minute effort by doing some last minute cramming.
Looking at the time, there was still half an hour left for the primary examination to begin.