Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 178 - 148: Financial Innovation

November 15, 2017

When Zhang Zhixi left the Drunken Immortal Tower, her steps were somewhat unsteady, as if she was walking on clouds, her whole body felt weak.

Fifty thousand Spirit Stones, five Wanbao Manor Holy Seals, just like that, they were obtained with ease!

She had never seen so much money in her life, alright! As the head of the company's financing department, while she often discussed large loans, what's considered large is already difficult with a few hundred to a thousand Spirit Stones; most are actually settled with mortal world's silver taels.

As for tens of thousands of Spirit Stones, that was really far beyond the comprehension of a young girl from the Wind-Rising Realm like Zhang Zhixi.

Thinking back to Yu Zishen's generous gesture earlier, throwing out five Holy Seals as if tossing out five copper coins, Zhang Zhixi couldn't help but lament, these damned rich people!

Recalling how he lavishly rewarded with a hundred Spirit Cat Golden Swords in the theater, such abundant wealth was enough to shame even the Qian Family—at least the Third Young Master Qian, a company partner, couldn't come up with such an amount. Previously, for a single "Dream of Scarlet" scroll, Qian Yu almost went bankrupt, even hocking the family's heirloom set to gather barely over ten thousand Spirit Stones. If he had Yu Zishen's wealth, would he have been so desperate?

Ah, fifty thousand Spirit Stones, Qian Yu's custom sets could buy three with that!

At this thought, Zhang Zhixi suddenly became nervous again.

Such a huge sum, given not as a loan but as a gift, according to her usual experiences, if anything happened, selling her to the frontier a hundred times wouldn't be enough to pay the debt!

For a moment, the five Holy Seals felt like burning hot balls, making Zhang Zhixi utterly uneasy.

——

A cup of tea time later, Zhang Zhixi hurried back to the Yun Meng Grand Theater and handed the Holy Seals to Li Wanqing, panting heavily.

"Handing over the spoils!"

Li Wanqing was also surprised, handing over a cup of tea and asked, "So many? That guy really is generous, huh? What did you say?"

Zhang Zhixi accepted the teacup, took a sip, and realized it was used by Li Wanqing... her face turned slightly red, then she seriously recounted the dialogue between herself and Yu Zishen.

"There won't be any problems, right?" Zhang Zhixi became a bit nervous, "That guy doesn't look like an ordinary character."

"Haha, what's to fear? You didn't lie to him, everything you said was true, and part of the money really is meant to go to Sister Qingming. If he's dissatisfied with that, he only has himself to blame for being stupid."

Li Wanqing said, taking three Holy Seals from the table, pushing the remaining two towards Zhang Zhixi: "Alright, let's split the spoils."

Zhang Zhixi was surprised: "This is?"

"Commission plus bonus, you exceeded your work, it's a rightful gain." Li Wanqing explained, "Generally, the commission for this kind of extra gain is 20%, plus another 20% as your reward."

"But, but..." Zhang Zhixi became a bit at a loss.

First, when Shen Qingming and Li Chaolu hired her, they made it clear about the treatment, the salary wasn't high, nor were there real shares and bonuses. But clothing, food, housing, and cultivation resources were of very high standards, so although Zhang Zhixi did feel envious of Shen Qingming's easy high income, she herself received quite some benefits over the months, balancing her mind somewhat.

Second, when joining the company, her life's financial fate deficiency was made clear, so she knew she probably would never meet large fortunes, so even though funds in thousands and tens of thousands flowed through her hands, nothing was really saved.

But ultimately, Zhang Zhixi had loved money for over a decade, now that twenty thousand Spirit Stones were placed before her, how could she not be tempted?! Back then, for the sake of Lu Xin's task, she didn't hesitate to abolish her own cultivation!

"Oh, come on, relax! That destiny isn't that absolute. When I was born, it was said I'd only fall for one person in my life, do you think that's possible?"

Zhang Zhixi was stunned: "Someone actually said that?"

Li Wanqing said: "I never lie in front of beautiful girls."

Zhang Zhixi blushed slightly: "So, it seems the so-called destiny does have all kinds of possibilities."

"Of course, take yourself as an example. Even though Wang Jiu and Shen Qingming exploited a loophole in the concept, fundamentally, hasn't your standard of living improved a lot?"

Zhang Zhixi nodded and was about to say something when Li Wanqing interrupted: "Speaking from pure assets, you're in debt, but this asset accounting has no actual meaning. Those wealthy people might look rich but compared to your living quality, there's no essential difference, what's the meaning of a poverty destiny?"

Zhang Zhixi was dumbfounded, then fell into thought.

Li Wanqing said: "So just take it easy and accept it. Destiny often changes due to the people around you, which is what's called the aid of influential figures, reversing fate and the like. Maybe you no longer have a poverty destiny now."

"Thank you, Sister Wanqing." Zhang Zhixi sincerely thanked her.

"No need to be polite, with your beauty, you deserve it." Li Wanqing said, walking in front of Zhang Zhixi, gently stroking her cheek with a finger.

Zhang Zhixi's face instantly flushed, her heart pounding, not daring to look at Li Wanqing face to face.

Then Zhang Zhixi immediately hated herself for behaving so ridiculously, as a former grassroots idol with much experience, having flirted with countless men and with impressive skills, yet when encountering Li Wanqing, she reverted to her maiden self...

At this moment, there were only Zhang Zhixi and Li Wanqing in the VIP lounge. Zhang Zhixi's face turned red, and the atmosphere instantly became more romantic. Li Wanqing had a teasing smile, sizing up Zhang Zhixi's figure, making the girl increasingly nervous and scared.

"Um, I, I have something to do, I'm leaving first."

In the end, Zhang Zhixi couldn't bear the sense of crisis and fled in panic. Li Wanqing couldn't help but chuckle behind her, thinking that teasing a beautiful young girl was indeed the most fun.

——

After leaving the VIP lounge, Zhang Zhixi immediately activated her cultivation technique to suppress her chaotic mind. Moments later, she finally regained her calm and thought she would never engage in a one-on-one conversation with Li Wanqing again, the risk was too high.

After walking a few steps, a middle-aged man with an excited expression approached her, unkempt hair and a face marked by the remnants of the "straight male cancer," causing Zhang Zhixi to instinctively want to retreat. However, the next moment she recognized him as an acquaintance.

Of course, he wasn't particularly familiar, more like someone she'd nod to in passing.

"Hello, Mr. Jinglun."

The person was none other than the well-known Immortal Cultivation theorist and best-selling author within the Li Family Mansion, Li Jinglun, who had met Zhang Zhixi several times due to the Li Family's connections. Upon seeing Zhang Zhixi, Li Jinglun greeted her with a smile: "Zhixi? Long time no see, how have you been lately?"

The two chatted as they walked, and after a few words, they reached the theater entrance. Just as Zhang Zhixi was about to say goodbye, she noticed Li Jinglun was holding a stack of papers and casually asked: "Do you have a new work coming out soon?"

"A new work? Haha, are you talking about this? You could say you guessed half right." Upon hearing this topic, Li Jinglun's eyes brightened as he shook the stack of papers in his hand. "I do have a new book coming out soon, but this stack isn't the manuscript; it's important records. Haha, I almost have the selections for the upcoming Cyan Cloud List figured out."

Upon hearing about the Cyan Cloud List, Zhang Zhixi was curious and asked, "Are you a selection judge this time?"

Li Jinglun proudly stroked his messy beard: "Indeed, because of my achievements in theoretical works over the past two years, the committee specially appointed me as an interpreter for the competition and responsible for selecting the Cyan Cloud List."

Zhang Zhixi blinked her eyes: "Is Sister Wanqing the Cyan Cloud List champion this time?"

"Haha, that's where you'd be wrong." Li Jinglun shook his head with a smug expression. "A few days ago, the champion of the Cyan Cloud List would undoubtedly have been Li Wanqing. But now, well, hahaha..."

Zhang Zhixi couldn't stand the suspense and directly jumped next to Li Jinglun to look at the papers in his hand, only to see that instead of a simple Cyan Cloud List, they were filled with dense mathematical formulas, enough to make anyone's head spin.

"I told you these are records, not a finished manuscript." Li Jinglun shook his head and said, "These are the records I made after observing the battle between Qian Ye and Ling Sheng from Lingshan City. If my calculations are correct, Qian Ye should be the strongest Cloud Surge Realm cultivator in QingCyan Cloud City right now, with a 58% chance of winning, 20 percentage points higher than Li Wanqing."

"Qian Ye?!" Zhang Zhixi couldn't believe it, "The fool who was abruptly rejected by Li Wanqing?"

"Times change, young people. At your age, your cultivation changes rapidly, and progressing by leaps and bounds isn't unusual." Li Jinglun sighed, "Unfortunately, that Lu Family boy has yet to make an appearance, though I've heard he's awakened the Yin Yang Pupils, but his actual combat prowess remains unknown. This Cyan Cloud competition is going to be interesting. I initially thought the Li Family would dominate, but now it seems the other two families have gone all in, especially the Qian Family; they spend money like water."

"The Qian Family has always been wealthy and extravagant."

Zhang Zhixi pondered for a moment, exchanged a few more words with Li Jinglun, and then said her goodbyes.

She wasn't particularly interested in the Cyan Cloud competition. Regardless of who wins, it wouldn't earn her even a single Spirit Stone as a bonus... If anything, she'd keep an eye on the outer betting tables when the competition starts, to see if there's an opportunity for a little gambling for fun.

Now she's a little tycoon worth over ten thousand, and can try many consumption methods she wouldn't have dared think about before. For instance, she's been longing for the Celestial Fragrance Pavilion's fashion, a grand feast at Drunken Immortal Tower, and a small courtyard in the North City District...

Holding the two Holy Seals from Wanbao Manor, Zhang Zhixi daydreamed for quite a while. The prestigious Wind-Rising Realm cultivator ended up bumping into a wall while walking, drawing laughter from passersby. Her face flushed, she decided it was best to honestly deposit them at the bank.

Even if, as Li Wanqing said, she had defied destiny and perhaps broken her Poverty Destiny, it's wise to be financially prudent and cautious.

However, on this topic, due to long-standing impoverishment, Zhang Zhixi really knows nothing about financial management, except for two age-old golden rules: buying property and depositing in banks...

Before long, Zhang Zhixi arrived at the bank near her residence in the South City District to apply for a deposit.

The receptionist was a round-faced woman with a warm smile, looking in her mid-thirties, who showed a very surprised expression upon seeing the two Holy Seals in Zhang Zhixi's hand.

"Do you want to deposit as demand savings or time deposits?"

"Hmm, demand savings, I suppose." Zhang Zhixi thought for a moment and decided flexibility was better, so after the Cyan Cloud competition ends and the property prices drop, she could consider buying a house.

Although the rented accommodation provided by the company is nice, it is always more secure to own your own property.

"Demand savings, huh... The interest is really low at the moment." The round-faced woman frowned, showing a look of pity, "With such a large amount of funds, demand savings is such a loss."

"What should I do then?" Zhang Zhixi asked casually.

"It's just right, we have a newly launched investment portfolio, with a maximum annual return of 20% in just 3 months. With your twenty thousand Spirit Stones, it's equivalent to getting four thousand a year, so a thousand Spirit Stones in 3 months."

"Three months, a thousand Spirit Stones?" Zhang Zhixi's heart fluttered, but she didn't forget to ask, "Is it safe?"

The round-faced woman's smile grew even warmer: "Of course it's safe, this is a newly launched investment portfolio by the Qian Family, very secure indeed."