After Transmigrating as an Immortal Master, I Hold a Group Meeting - Chapter 104

The opening ceremony had just ended when Fang Wuyu showed up.

The square was a sea of people and Ning Mingmei had deliberately chosen a secluded spot, yet somehow Fang Wuyu still managed to find him.

Ning Mingmei: “What advice does Senior Brother Fang have for me?”

Fang Wuyu: “You certainly made quite the scene at the ceremony.”

Ning Mingmei bowed slightly. “Many thanks for the compliment, Senior Brother.”

That response left Fang Wuyu momentarily speechless. After a pause, he gave a cold laugh. “Ning Mingmei, you’re good at putting on appearances but those are just parlor tricks. True skill is proven on the competition arena, where only real strength counts.”

Ning Mingmei: “Senior Brother is absolutely right.”

That answer was like punching into a pillow. Fang Wuyu couldn’t get a grip on him. Still, both of them kept their composure.

Fang Wuyu: “Then I’ll look forward to your performance.”

He turned to leave, but Ning Mingmei called out, “Senior Brother Fang, there’s something I don’t quite understand.”

Fang Wuyu turned back. “Oh? What is it?”

Ning Mingmei: “Since we’re comparing our disciples’ results in the Debate Conference, what rules should govern that comparison?”

The Debate Conference was divided by cultivation level: Foundation Establishment and Core Formation.

First came the Foundation Establishment matches. Disciples competed within their category to determine rankings; the top sixteen Foundation Establishment disciples advanced to the Core Formation matches, where the final winner was crowned.

Ning Mingmei: “If we go by who wins first place overall, neither of our disciples may reach that rank.”

He was being perfectly reasonable. It was obvious that the real standouts this time were Qi Miancheng’s and Lu Mengqing’s disciples.

How could ordinary class students compare to those from Tsinghua and Peking Universities? Even their admission scores differed by dozens of points.

Fang Wuyu agreed, nodding slightly. “Then what do you propose?”

Ning Mingmei said, “Conveniently, I’ve prepared a scoring algorithm. Senior Brother, take a look.”

Fang Wuyu stared as Ning Mingmei pulled a printed spreadsheet from his sleeve.

…Why did it feel like he’d planned this all along?

Fang Wuyu studied it carefully. Ning Mingmei had devised a point-based system: each disciple’s ranking would yield a corresponding score and the total would be averaged across the number of disciples.
That average would represent the final result for each peak.

Ning Mingmei: “What do you think of this method, Senior Brother?”

Fang Wuyu: “Not bad.”

Finding it quite fair, Fang Wuyu nodded with his usual proud air.

Ning Mingmei pushed his glasses up. “Then I’ll look forward to your performance as well.”

…For some reason, Fang Wuyu couldn’t shake a bad feeling as Ning Mingmei departed. Something felt off, though he couldn’t tell what. He frowned as he rejoined his disciples.

One of his trusted disciples noticed. “Master, is something wrong?”

Fang Wuyu: “It’s nothing… Where’s Ye Xiao?”

He looked around. Not only Ye Xiao, but several White Cloud Peak disciples were gone.

The disciple: “Master, they ran off to buy Cola right after the ceremony! Ye Xiao said everyone’s going crazy for the limited-edition robe; it’s a once-only release! If you go late, it’s sold out!”

Fang Wuyu: “……”

“Nonsense!” he snapped. “Tell them to return immediately!”

The disciples of White Cloud Peak had seen countless rare treasures and yet they were fighting over a robe? If they wanted robes, Fang Wuyu could make them ten or twenty himself!

The disciple: “But, Master… those wouldn’t be official limited editions. They wouldn’t have bragging rights.”

Fang Wuyu: “……”

What sort of mystical future-world limited-edition fiendish magic was this?

Seeing his master’s temple veins twitch, the disciple quickly sent messages to summon the others back.

Fang Wuyu’s gaze darkened, but then he sneered proudly. “I refuse to believe White Cloud Peak could ever lose to Misty Peak. What can Ning Mingmei possibly use to compare with the righteous sword spirit of my disciples?”

***

Meanwhile, Ning Mingmei, flying back toward Misty Peak on his sword, was in excellent spirits.

The system eyed him warily. [What are you scheming this time?]

Ning Mingmei: “Do you know how many kinds of averages there are in this world? Arithmetic mean, geometric mean, harmonic mean, weighted mean, quadratic mean…”

The system: ?

Ning Mingmei: “Fang Wuyu has 36 disciples competing. Misty Peak has 18. Do you know how the number of participants affects the average score?”

The system: [Huh?]

Ning Mingmei: “That’s what happens when you don’t study mathematics.” He pushed up his glasses. “Now, the advantage is mine.”

???

On Misty Peak’s square, all eighteen inner disciples had gathered. Fourteen of them, not used to being noticed by the sect and convinced they looked quite handsome, were blushing with excitement. The remaining four, the more introverted types, looked even punkier than usual.

Ning Mingmei stood before them, delivering a passionate pep talk.

After several days of ‘mental conditioning,’ the Misty Peak disciples were fully brainwashed, except for the Fifteenth and the Eighth, who were still a bit nervous.

Wen Siheng: “Master, we won’t let you down. I can feel that we’ve become stronger.”

Lin Heting: “Yes!”

Ning Mingmei: “Good. Do well in the conference and when you return, you’ll get three days off, plus two compensatory rest days. That’s a total of seven days of vacation.”

Seven days off!!

Their eyes turned red with emotion. They had no idea what compensatory rest days meant, but the promise alone filled them with murderous intent and blazing sword aura.

Not far away, Xue Zhu gazed into the distance, frowning slightly. “What a heavy killing intent…”

Ren Miao nodded solemnly. “Yes. I can feel it even from here.”

Behind them, the Misty Peak production lines for RainbowBull, Old Platinum, Mind-Clarifying Elixir, Cola, and Sprite were running nonstop.

Gui Ruoxue and Wu Yun had gone off to develop new products, so the lines were now overseen by Hu Yang and the two of them, while the workers were Misty Peak and Truth Abode Peak novice disciples.

If Hidden Sage Peak still had some autonomy, Truth Abode Peak had basically become a branch factory of Misty Peak.

Ren Miao was crouched beside the line, doing bookkeeping, when shouts came from afar.

“Sold out!”

“Cola’s sold out!”

“Sprite too!”

“We need to restock!”

Ren Miao: ???

Seriously?? So fast? That much??

Xue Zhu: “As expected of Peak Lord Ning, truly brilliant!”

Hu Yang: “Peak Lord Ning is a genius!”

Ren Miao just buried her head in the ledger, scribbling frantically. At this point, she had become Ning Mingmei’s most trusted business disciple.

Once Ning Mingmei finished checking on his inner disciples, he came over to inspect the beverage factory.

Ning Mingmei: “This isn’t a factory; it’s a university tech incubator, the perfect example of campus patent commercialization.”

The system: “…”

The system had long since lost the ability to speak to him.

The day after the opening ceremony, the competition draw was announced. Misty Peak’s first match would be in three days.

Ning Mingmei had a lot to do before then.

For example, handling the explosive success of his two drinks.

At the opening ceremony, Cola’s dazzling debut had captivated the entire Supreme Clarity Sect. And with both the Smoky Cloud Tower Master and the Supreme Clarity Sect Master personally promoting it, word spread like wildfire; a true viral marketing effect.

Not only the Supreme Clarity Sect and the Smoky Cloud Tower disciples attended the ceremony, but many from other sects too, and even ordinary cultivators from the town below who had watched the broadcast.

Now, Ning Mingmei was hearing reports that outside cultivators were asking the Supreme Clarity Sect’s disciples to help them buy Cola and Sprite as souvenirs. Shen Liwan, being a long-time Supreme Clarity Sect native, proved invaluable. With his help, Ning Mingmei’s sales network had swept through most of the sect.

Under Ning Mingmei’s suggestion, the Supreme Clarity Sect souvenir shops were established across both the inner and outer sects, all carrying the label ‘Same Style as the Smoky Cloud Tower and the Supreme Clarity Sect.’

The other merchandise hadn’t caught up yet. For now, the shelves held only the drinks. But those were instantly sold out, every time.

Beside the drinks, a little sign read, [Please keep your bottles! They’re not just for the raffle, there’s another secret use!]

As for future products, Ning Mingmei proposed making the Supreme Clarity-branded notebooks, stationery, hoodies, ornaments, and eco-bags. The souvenir shops weren’t just within the sect; they extended to areas accessible to visitors.

You may not be able to enter the Supreme Clarity Sect but you can still buy a souvenir before you leave, right?

Prices were outrageous, of course, but that, Ning Mingmei said, was called brand premium.

As a peak lord, he could use the sect’s branding with a perfectly clear conscience.

Meanwhile, by gifting Old Platinum, he had also roped Yin Xisheng, Shen Liwan’s powerful backer, onto his ship. Who could have guessed that the delicate, sickly beauty Yin Xisheng had such a fondness for milk tea?

“The Old Platinum itself isn’t the important part,” Yin Xisheng had said when Ning Mingmei brought him some. “What matters is that my junior brother thought to visit me.”

Ning Mingmei, of course, hadn’t forgotten to spread the word that ‘Yin Xisheng maintains his looks by drinking Old Platinum.’ Soon enough, Old Platinum became the year’s hottest beauty supplement throughout the Supreme Clarity Sect.

It was even pricier than before, now sold only in deluxe gift boxes.

The system had been worried. [At that price, will anyone buy it?]

Ning Mingmei replied, “We’re selling the idea of a gift. I haven’t even bundled the notebooks and trinkets from the Education Souvenir Store yet. Take this Himalayan Old Platinum as an example.”

The system: ?

A wicked gleam flashed across Ning Mingmei’s glasses. “You see, Old Platinum in English is Birkin.”

Old Platinum… platinum bag… Birkin bag. What a coincidence.

Of course, maintaining business relationships takes more than the occasional gift. In business, one must make offerings but handing over money directly is a bit too patronizing, too bribey, too corrupt.

How could the pure and righteous cultivation world do such a thing?

So Ning Mingmei introduced a new concept: the consumption tax. The tax was handed to whoever held local vending rights for the drinks, used to ‘purchase’ those rights. Naturally, the cost was passed right back to the consumers.

Layer by layer, this ‘tax network’ bound Zhang Zhizhen, Shen Liwan, Yin Xisheng, and Jiang Ying tightly into Ning Mingmei’s beverage empire. Chang Feichang simply went with the flow, offering no resistance. As for Xiang Wuxing and Bai Ruoru, they’d always been easy to deal with. When Ning Mingmei paid them, they actually felt embarrassed, and now they carried Coke and Sprite everywhere they went.

Even the stern, middle-aged headteacher Liang Jiansu was pleased. Not with Coke or Sprite, of course; she preferred RainbowBull and Mind-Calming Elixir. Both products were sold at the Education Store too, marketed as affordable health supplements.

Ning Mingmei even invited Liang Jiansu to Misty Peak for an academic exchange.

Liang Jiansu, a cultivator who’d joined the Supreme Clarity Sect mid-career, had clawed her way up from mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Compared to mild-mannered Zhang Zhizhen, she was her complete opposite: competitive, stubborn, and notorious for overworking her disciples. She and Ning Mingmei had never gotten along. But after their conversation at Misty Peak, Liang Jiansu found herself strangely impressed.

“I hadn’t expected you to be so straightforward, Peak Lord Ning. I like that!” she declared. “And the project to organize the library is brilliant! I’ll send my disciples to help.”

Feigning concern, Ning Mingmei said, “Won’t that be too tiring? I hear your peak’s disciples already have a very intense schedule.”

Liang Jiansu waved it off. “It’s fine. I’ll just buy them more RainbowBull and Mind-Calming Elixir. They can study while hooked up to IV drips.”

What kind of hellscape was this, even worse than Misty Peak?

During those three days, Ning Mingmei also had a cordial meeting with his fellow peak lord, Zheng Heguang, an astute, handsome man who treated him to dim sum and tea. The two exchanged plans for collaboration. For a mentor who cared little for the sect and much for his own enterprise, Ning Mingmei had just the right offer.

“From now on, internal sales within the Supreme Clarity Sect will be handled by Shen Liwan. For external sales, you’ll be the agent.”

They hit it off instantly. Zheng Heguang poured him another cup of tea. “Peak Lord Ning, not only are you beautiful, you handle things beautifully too.”

Ning Mingmei only smiled.

Indeed, strength and money are the master keys to all doors.

By the time of the Debate Conference, ten of the twelve main peaks of the Supreme Clarity Sect were already aligned with him. Only Fang Wuyu’s White Cloud Peak and the rigid Fu Weidao’s Golden Pavilion Peak still resisted.

However, Ning Mingmei wasn’t worried.

After all…

“I’ve only been here for less than a year.”

The system: …

Less than a year? Why did it feel like decades had passed already? What would the cultivation world look like twenty years from now?

Even mosquitoes entering the immortal realm would turn fiendish on the spot.

Ning Mingmei mused, “In the next twenty years, I’ll upgrade my supply chain, master core technologies, and develop advanced products. Once I’ve built the prototypes, I’ll outsource manufacturing to a third realm; either the mortal or the demon. Most probably the mortal realm, since labor’s cheaper there.”

The system: …

A jolt of electricity dropped Ning Mingmei to the floor in agony.

“What? That’s basic economics. It’s called industrial transfer. Besides, we’re the only beverage company on the market anyway.”

The system: [Just wait. Someone’s bound to start pirating your drinks. That’ll be your karmic retribution.]

Apparently, the system had picked up some odd vocabulary.

Ning Mingmei stood, adjusted his glasses, and said coolly, “No rush. Do you know what Disney is?”

The system: ?

Ning Mingmei declined to explain to such an ignorant being. Tomorrow morning was his seventeenth disciple’s first competition and before that, he had one more crucial task to complete. Something that would shape his future plans.

Under the moonlight, Ning Mingmei made his way to the Library Pavilion. Inside, two talisman cultivators raised their disheveled heads.

It was hard to believe that the Ice Quenching Pavilion’s people had been there for days, yet they hadn’t met a soul outside their work.

“Finished?” Ning Mingmei asked.

The two, hollow-eyed and soulless, nodded weakly.

Ning Mingmei patted their shoulders. “Excellent. Cheer up. I’ll grant you some shares. Now it’s time to give it a name. Any suggestions?”

Author’s Note:

Ning Mingmei: Facebook.

The following year, Ning Mingmei said to the two talisman cultivators, “Any ideas on how to reduce your shares to 0.003% without making you too upset?”