Protect Our Patriarch-Chapter 44Book 6: : Explosive Popularity! ’Mystic Spirit Saintess vs. Eclipse Moon Demon Lord’

……

Primordial Dao Palace.

Wanhua Sacred Island.

The Wanhua Sacred Island has been the sacred land passed down through generations of the Wanhua lineage and is also the dojo of Saintess Jinyu.

However, on this day, the main character of Wanhua Sacred Island was not Saintess Jinyu, but the recently famous Little Immortal Lord Lici.

Today was the four-hundredth birthday banquet of Little Immortal Lord Lici.

Saintess Jinyu and Wang Lici hit it off immediately upon meeting, and they became very close in a short time. When Wang Lici wanted to hold her four-hundredth birthday banquet, Saintess Jinyu offered her Wanhua Sacred Island for the event, ensuring it would be a grand affair.

Thus, today's lively scene unfolded.

Many guests came to celebrate on the sacred island today, including a few Saintesses who had already been "harvested," but most were True Immortals, heirs, or outstanding young disciples from various sacred islands.

Ordinarily, a mere Divine Realm disciple's birthday would only be celebrated by close friends and family, without such grand scenes.

The reason for this extraordinary event was due to the widespread publicity by Yunhai Holy Sovereign.

He spread exaggerated tales, such as "the future quasi-Dao child of the Dao Palace" and "the Dao Master was so impressed by Lici that he shamelessly competed with Yunhai for a disciple." Yunhai Holy Sovereign boasted to everyone he met, taking great pride in it.

Although other Saintesses often criticized Yunhai Holy Sovereign, the fact that the Dao Master had Lici stay in Hongzhen Palace for a while and bestowed treasures upon her was undeniable. Even if they disliked Yunhai Holy Sovereign, they understood he had indeed found a good disciple.

Having caught the Dao Master's eye, the future of Little Immortal Lord Lici was somewhat assured.

Such a person was naturally worth befriending.

Therefore, many young talents prepared generous gifts and came to make connections with Wang Lici. Moreover, Wang Lici's birthday banquet welcomed all, even inviting many Void Realm and Divine Realm disciples.

At the same time, Yunhai Holy Sovereign came up with an even more outrageous move.

He set up a large sign at the entrance of Wanhua Sacred Island, listing the birthday gifts given to Lici by various Saintesses, with real-time updates.

This maneuver forced those who hadn't prepared gifts or had given less to supplement with generous offerings.

One must admit, Yunhai Holy Sovereign's tactic was effective. After the birthday banquet, they tallied up the gains, and this wave earned them over sixty Immortal Spirit Stones.

However, the Saintesses who suffered a loss naturally wouldn't let it go.

A certain Saintess, who had been "cut" a large piece of meat, sneered publicly, saying, "Yunhai, Yunhai, you act as if no one else has a few excellent disciples. After this, my disciple will also have a six-hundredth birthday banquet, and you'll have to return the favor."

This rumor startled the other Saintesses, reminding them that they, too, had outstanding disciples. If Yunhai could hold a birthday banquet, so could they. By hosting a few more, they could reclaim what Yunhai had taken today.

With this thought, many Saintesses began secretly planning their disciples' or their own birthday banquets upon returning.

After all, if you don't host, how can you recover the gifts you've given away?

A trend of hosting banquets began to brew in the Primordial Dao Palace.

Within a month, a certain Saintess indeed held a six-hundredth birthday banquet for her direct disciple, widely inviting fellow Daoists, especially targeting Yunhai Holy Sovereign and his disciple, with plans to make them spend more.

However, they underestimated Yunhai Holy Sovereign.

When the disciple delivering invitations went to visit Yunhai Holy Sovereign, they found his residence empty, with only a letter left behind, informing fellow Daoists that they had gone on a journey to the Central Lands and not to worry.

Upon hearing the disciple's report, that Saintess almost spat blood in anger, lamenting to the heavens.

Yunhai's shamelessness was beyond ordinary people's reach. In the end, she was outmaneuvered by him~

……

Meanwhile.

In Xinping Town, Changning Garrison of the Great Qian, at the Xinping Administrative Center on Shouzhe Avenue.

With the expansion of the Cultural Entertainment Office, the forty-ninth floor was fully occupied, and they had "annexed" the forty-eighth and fiftieth floors, with a total of over five thousand employees.

Such a massive structure far exceeded the framework originally planned by Wang Baosheng.

Fiftieth floor.

The office of Director Wang Baosheng.

This office was the core of the Cultural Entertainment Office, where all important decisions were made. However, the office itself wasn't very large, and its decor was similar to other offices in the Cultural Entertainment Office, with nothing particularly special.

If not seen with one's own eyes, no one would believe that Director Wang Baosheng, the most esteemed young master of the Changning Wang's Clan, would have such an office.

But for those who knew him, it was not surprising at all. Wang Baosheng was known for his extreme self-discipline, with strict demands on himself. In his view, extravagance and comparison were unhealthy trends, and he naturally wouldn't encourage them.

He had no particular demands for food, clothing, or daily necessities, except for the necessary pills and spiritual food for cultivation. It was only because some elders couldn't bear it and occasionally sent him some ornaments, and his mother Yun Mengyu would occasionally press him to make a few sets of formal attire for various occasions, that he had a semblance of a noble young master.

The most conspicuous and unique feature in the office was probably the large crystal screen embedded in the wall.

It was a new crystal screen developed by Wang's Research Institute. The technology for Wang's crystal screens had matured significantly, and due to differences in data and demand, it had diverged greatly from the original crystal screens excavated from the Shenwu relics, possessing various magical functions.

In the Director's office, the now sixteen-year-old Wang Baosheng stood with his hands behind his back in front of the crystal screen.

Over the past seven or eight years, he had grown into a handsome and upright young man, appearing even more graceful and dignified when standing tall, though his perpetually cold face and serious expression always gave off a "do not disturb" vibe.

At this moment, he was reviewing the best-selling data for the month on the crystal screen.

Standing beside him, Ouyang Nanyan held a small crystal screen, communicating some data with him.

"Boss, in the educational book category, 'Elementary Mathematics Volume One' is the top seller, with cumulative sales reaching over 3.065 billion copies this month," Ouyang Nanyan reported. "However, as the market in both dynasties becomes saturated, sales have dropped to second place this month, with the top spot taken by '300 Questions of Edutainment' published by Wang's Clan School Press, selling over five million copies across all Shenwu channels."

Speaking of these figures, even Ouyang Nanyan couldn't help but admire Wang Baosheng.

Years ago, he decisively crushed all small copybook channels and pushed for the establishment of relevant laws. Subsequently, he consolidated control under the Cultural Entertainment Office and began laying out the Shenwu full channel.

Simultaneously, he discussed the issue of universal education with Crown Prince Jingming, Princess Suiyun, and emperors of various nations, persuading them to implement a universal education plan. After receiving approval from Wang Fugui and many elders of Wang's Clan, he organized a team to revise Wang's educational books, incorporating some educational content from the Immortal and Demon Dynasties, and published them openly for sale.

Now, after all these years, from the Immortal and Demon Dynasties down to each garrison town, Cultural Entertainment Bookstores had been established.

To promote knowledge, some elementary knowledge textbooks were sold for just one large copper coin per book. Yet, even so, the total sales of 'Elementary Mathematics Volume One' reached tens of millions of Top Gold, equivalent to hundreds of thousands of Immortal Crystals.

The total sales of elementary knowledge textbooks, covering fifteen subjects, had exceeded forty million Immortal Crystals.

But this was just the beginning.

Through the educational books, the full channel of the Shenwu World now also sold official entertainment publications, including previously well-selling works that had been banned due to problematic views or overly sensitive content, which, after extensive revisions, finally passed review and aligned with the spirit of the Cultural Entertainment Office.

These books exploded upon release, with sales, though not matching the strongly promoted textbooks, still reaching billions per volume. Moreover, these entertainment-oriented books, lacking government subsidies, were priced high, with thin volumes often selling for ten or even twenty large copper coins.

Additionally, under the strict control of the Cultural Entertainment Office, piracy was severely cracked down upon. Wang Baosheng's domineering and forceful methods were not to be underestimated.

Now, after years of stable development, the Shenwu World's total population exceeded three hundred billion. Single-volume sales exceeding a billion Top Gold were no longer a myth. The bestseller, 'The Daily Life of the Overbearing Princess,' revised and improved, had released twenty-five volumes, with total sales exceeding thirty billion Top Gold!

Converting this into top-grade spiritual stones, it amounted to thirty Top-grade Spiritual Stones! The "mysterious author" earned enough in royalties to afford a Divine Realm inheritance.

Writing to become a god was no longer a legend.

This person's success revealed a vast business opportunity to countless others, leading to a surge of legitimate publishers. Within Wang's Clan alone, fifteen publishers were registered, recruiting talented writers to operate works and attempt to replicate the myth.

Former underground guerilla teams, enticed by substantial profits, transformed into regular forces, staunchly supporting every review by the Cultural Entertainment Office.

As the report continued, Ouyang Nanyan's tone grew increasingly excited: "Besides the booming publication of entertainment books, our promotion of large crystal screens has been extremely smooth, successfully occupying every garrison town in Shenwu. Each town now has at least one cinema, with a minimum of three crystal screening halls."

"Currently, there are over a hundred thousand large crystal screens in Shenwu, growing at a rate of ten percent per month. The Shadow Screen Division under Wang's Refining Headquarters is desperately increasing production, yet demand still outstrips supply."

"Now, in the large screen films, the top-grossing is 'Mystic Spirit Saintess vs. Eclipse Moon Demon Lord'?" Wang Baosheng frowned at one set of data.

He knew about this large screen film. While not vulgar, it was overly sentimental, with a style leaning heavily towards entertainment, glossing over many issues without depth. He had rejected it once during review.

But that day, after returning home, his Ancestor Grandmother called him for tea, and he didn't know what happened afterward. The next day, he expedited the review process.

Unexpectedly, the large screen film he had no faith in exploded!

A hundred thousand large crystal screens played it day and night, yet it still couldn't satisfy the audience's demand.

The most impressive part was that, due to the limited number of large screen films, they were considered high-end luxury consumption, with a single viewing ticket averaging one Top Gold, accommodating five hundred viewers per full house.

On the first day of screening, 'Mystic Spirit Saintess vs. Eclipse Moon Demon Lord' grossed five billion Top Gold. Now, after about twenty days of release, the box office had reached sixty-three billion Top Gold!

Industry "experts" predicted that this blockbuster film might eventually break the hundred billion Top Gold mark, equivalent to one Immortal Spirit Stone.

"Hmph!" Wang Baosheng's expression showed slight displeasure. "The level of education among the Shenwu populace is indeed lacking. Such an exaggerated plot can sell so much."

He continued scrolling through the box office rankings.

As he operated, the rankings on the crystal screen shifted, revealing new data.

"Boss, which film's box office are you looking for?" Ouyang Nanyan asked. "I have all the data memorized."

"Uh, the film I reviewed earlier, 'The Struggles of the Holy Emperor of Shenwu: The Beginning,' has a positive message, showcasing the Holy Emperor's perseverance in overcoming difficulties. It's a good film," Wang Baosheng said, frowning. "Hasn't it been released yet?"

"You mean that flop film," Ouyang Nanyan laughed. "It was released alongside the Mystic Spirit Saintess film, but viewers criticized it harshly, leading cinemas to reduce its screenings. Uh, here's the data: its premiere grossed 370,000 Top Gold, and its total sales are currently 600,000 Top Gold. 'Experts' predict its final sales will be around 800,000 Top Gold!"

"Ridiculous!" Wang Baosheng was incredulous. "Such a good film, why only 600,000 Top Gold? And that Mystic Spirit Saintess film, sixty billion Top Gold? Which cinema reduced its screenings?"

"Every cinema reduced them..." Ouyang Nanyan gave Wang Baosheng a strange look. "Unpopular films have their screening ratios reduced, with fewer showings. It's a normal sales tactic. Boss, aren't you overreacting a bit?"

Wang Baosheng huffed in dissatisfaction: "Such a good movie, yet so few appreciate it. It seems the public's artistic appreciation needs improvement."

"Boss, I don't like hearing that," Ouyang Nanyan retorted. "Let's be honest, the film about the Holy Emperor wasn't appealing. If it had a unique angle, maybe it would be watchable. But it ended up with a flat narrative, no highlights, and the content was cumbersome and full of pitfalls. Shiho and I contributed to the premiere... and we both cried, lamenting our money wasted. I scoff at the so-called art..."

Wang Baosheng's face turned red, seeing Ouyang Nanyan's hesitant expression.

"Wait..." Ouyang Nanyan seemed to realize something, cautiously eyeing Wang Baosheng. "Boss, you didn't... make that film, did you?"

"Is Mr. Shentu idle?" Wang Baosheng's eyes flickered, his voice rising several octaves as he exclaimed, "She just passed her doctoral exams, is she satisfied already? Everyone knows, learning is endless, and a doctorate is just the beginning of an academic career. As a young elite of the Shentu Clan, bearing the expectations of the Demon Emperor Ancestor, how can she stop here?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Just right, I have a few topics on hand... very suitable for Mr. Shentu's research direction... I hope she can produce results soon. Not asking for major achievements like the Shouzhe Award or the Liyue Award, nor demanding she be one of the Ten Outstanding, but at least a Youth Progress Award. With Mr. Shentu's talent, if she spent just a bit more effort on research, it wouldn't be a problem."

"Uh..."

Ouyang Nanyan's mouth twitched, feeling a pang of sympathy for her bestie for three seconds.

Ever since Shentu Shiho got involved with Wang Baosheng, she hadn't had a peaceful day, constantly pushed to improve under his urging.

Just starting her doctorate, and already aiming for the Youth Progress Award? If she gets that, will the next target be the Ten Outstanding? And then the Shouzhe Award?

It seems her bestie's wish to lie flat and be a salted fish is destined to be unfulfilled.

Of course, she only muttered this in her heart, not intending to stop it.

Firstly, if she intervened, Baosheng's attention might shift to her, and she'd be the one in trouble. Secondly, it wasn't entirely Baosheng's fault for focusing on Shiho. The girl was indeed an anomaly, sometimes even she couldn't stand it.

As a young member of the Shentu Clan, Shiho's talent for learning was naturally high, having been sent to Wang's Clan School and graduating at a young age.

Yet, she had a lazy nature, always getting by in school, often daydreaming in class, and completing homework just as the self-study bell rang, never a moment earlier, and never doing extra exercises. Yet, her grades were excellent, truly infuriating.

Even after graduating and becoming a teacher, it was purely to laze around, aiming to achieve her goal of being a salted fish.

Ouyang Nanyan had mixed feelings about this, on one hand, frustrated by her lack of ambition, on the other, envious of her ability to act freely, lying flat when she wanted.

Unexpectedly, after years of indulgence, Shentu Shiho encountered Wang Baosheng.

While Wang Baosheng couldn't stand others wasting their talent, he didn't meddle with everyone. Unfortunately, Shentu Shiho was from the Shentu Clan, not far removed from Princess Zhaoyu by blood, and having been Baosheng's teacher, their relationship was naturally closer than with other Shentu Clan members.

As a result, she became one of Wang Baosheng's regular targets for urging, and due to her personality, she was nagged more frequently.

If that were all, it would be manageable, but later, her family elders learned of this and specifically sought out Baosheng, sincerely requesting him to supervise their daughter, effectively handing over the supervisory rights to him.

This led to a series of subsequent urging actions.

It was evident that her parents had likely been troubled by this for a long time, and upon seeing hope, they immediately approached, regardless of the fact that the other party was a child under ten.

It could only be said that one thing subdues another. Shiho's nature was truly challenging, and perhaps only Baosheng could handle it.

Leaving aside Ouyang Nanyan's internal musings, after successfully diverting the topic and leading Ouyang Nanyan's thoughts astray, Wang Baosheng grew increasingly frustrated and left the Cultural Entertainment Office with a wave of his sleeve.

It was already time to clock out, and he needed to return to pay respects to his mother and aunt.

In no time, Wang Baosheng returned to the Wang's main residence, "Idle Residence."

His mother and aunt were chatting, discussing the recently popular large screen film "Mystic Spirit Saintess vs. Eclipse Moon Demon Lord." They clearly had a favorable impression of the Mystic Spirit Saintess, marveling at her heroic act of stopping the Eclipse Moon Demon Lord during humanity's crisis and being moved by the sacrifices of the Demon Sword Immortal, Beast Venerable, and others to buy her time.

"The actor playing the Demon Sword Immortal, stage name 'Gentleman of Longing,' is quite handsome and performed very well. But I feel like I've seen him somewhere..." Princess Zhaoyu said, slightly frowning.

"I think so too," Yun Mengyu pondered, "but I can't recall where. How about having Sheng'er find out and bring back some signed photos?"

"Greetings, Mother, Aunt," Wang Baosheng's eyelid twitched as he forcibly suppressed his emotions and respectfully greeted them. "That Gentleman of Longing is our clan's Wang Yinjian, a child of the Seventh Ancestor's line..."

Regarding Wang Yinjian, Wang Baosheng naturally had his reservations.

This young man was among the top in the Yinjian generation, having briefly held the top spot on the Lingtai Ranking.

After being knocked down by Zhao Wuqing, and then Wang Baosheng knocked down Zhao Wuqing, it wasn't long before Wang Yinjian, who ranked third, broke through to the Celestial Realm. Because the time between the Celestial Realm and the Purple Mansion Realm was relatively long, and there were more geniuses.

After all, many on the Celestial Ranking were once the top of the Lingtai Ranking.

Therefore, even when Wang Yinjian first reached the Celestial Realm, he couldn't break into the top hundred. However, as his cultivation deepened, when he reached the later stages of the Celestial Realm, he would likely be in the top ten of the Celestial Ranking.

Such an elite of the Wang's younger generation went to act in a large screen film, even adopting the stage name "Gentleman of Longing"... Most importantly, he played a "wanted criminal" who repeatedly violated the laws of the Shenwu Royal Dynasty. This mindset was highly problematic~~

Naturally, Baosheng had significant reservations about that young man and was already considering discussing it with his father.

"So it was Yinjian," Zhaoyu clapped her hands in realization. "Now that you mention it, I remember he visited Idle Residence before. He seemed quite ordinary then, but he's quite impressive in acting."

"Baosheng, invite Yinjian over for a meal sometime," Yun Mengyu instructed. "Oh, and the actress playing the Mystic Spirit Saintess, your Ancestor Grandmother quite likes her, invite her too."

"This..." Wang Baosheng's expression faltered.

"Is there a problem?" Yun Mengyu glanced at her son, smiling knowingly. "As the Director of the Cultural Entertainment Office, surely you can invite popular actors?"

"Of course, no problem," Wang Baosheng quickly agreed.

He was joking; if he upset his mother, she'd whisper to his father, and he'd be in for a beating. Over the years, he'd been forced to learn to be flexible.

"That's good. By the way, your father is home visiting and waiting for you in the study," Yun Mengyu reminded her son, "Be careful, his mood doesn't seem good."

Wang Baosheng immediately tensed up.

"Has Sheng'er done something outrageous recently?" Zhaoyu was also puzzled.

"I haven't," Wang Baosheng's cheek twitched slightly. "Since my last runaway, I've been diligently studying and managing the Cultural Entertainment Office. My achievements are evident..."

Before he could finish, Wang Fugui's angry voice came from the study: "You little brat, what are you dawdling for? Get in here!"

Wang Baosheng shivered and quickly entered the study with his head down: "Greetings, Father."

"You unfilial son, kneel!" Wang Fugui was angrier than ever.

"Thud!"

Wang Baosheng knelt promptly, trembling: "Father, what have I done wrong recently?"

"I don't know what you've done wrong," Wang Fugui fumed, "but your great-grandfather just returned from a trip to the Shenwu Heavenly Abyss and wrote to me, saying that when I go treasure hunting in the Shenwu Heavenly Abyss, I must bring you along. He said he wants to apologize to you personally!"

"Apologize?" Wang Baosheng was bewildered. "Why would Great-Grandfather apologize to me?"

"How would I know what you've done, you unfilial son?" Wang Fugui was exasperated. "You've managed to make Great-Grandfather want to apologize to you? Why don't you aim for the sky and have Ancestor Grandfather apologize too?"

"Father, I was wrong..." Wang Baosheng quickly pleaded, "I don't dare!"

"You don't dare? I think you dare plenty, even daring to meddle with the Mystic Spirit Saintess vs. Eclipse Moon Palace~~"

"This is a misunderstanding, how would I know about the Mystic Spirit...

"Ouch~~"

"Ouch~~~ Father, I was wrong."

……

After a round of punishment, more than a month passed.

The Shenwu Heavenly Abyss entered another tidal low period, and Wang Fugui took Wang Baosheng to the Shenwu Heavenly Abyss to begin the next wave of treasure hunting.

Upon arriving at the temporary palace in the Shenwu Heavenly Abyss, they found Princess Huari there, saying she had been having nightmares about some whirlpools in the Shenwu Heavenly Abyss and came to take a look, also to visit her grandfather.

"Oh, isn't this Baosheng?"

Princess Huari was fond of her nephew and, upon seeing him, pulled him over to chat, asking about his recent studies and whether he had a girlfriend, among other things.

Though the topics were trivial and unrelated, Wang Baosheng felt warm inside, knowing his aunt cared for him.

But after a few exchanges, Princess Huari shifted the conversation: "By the way, I've recently established Canglong Film Industry and produced a few military films. Please expedite their review and promote them through the Shenwu full channel. Sigh~~ The military is so costly, sometimes the budget falls short, and we have to earn some extra income."

Uh...

Facing his aunt, Wang Baosheng didn't dare refuse, nodding repeatedly: "As long as the content is generally acceptable, I'll promote it well."

Then Wang Anye called them over for tea.

At the tea table, Wang Anye looked at Baosheng with a slightly complex expression, patted his shoulder, and said: "Baosheng, Great-Grandfather has misunderstood you all these years. You've been doing well and deserve praise. But don't take on too much pressure in the future. Whether it's the clan or humanity, you don't have to bear it alone. If the sky falls, our Wang's Clan will bear it together!"

"Great-Grandfather, you're not blaming me?" Wang Baosheng felt uneasy seeing his expression.

"How could I? Great-Grandfather is just worried about you." Wang Anye turned to Fugui, "Fugui, you should show Baosheng more care."

Wang Fugui, realizing he might have wronged his son, felt guilty: "Rest assured, Grandfather, my love for Baosheng is... like a mountain."

"Spend more time with him, and stay at home more," Wang Anye advised. "Your Ancestor Grandfather asked me to tell you that when he returns from this trip, he wants to see the Wang's 'Gui' generation's eldest daughter. He even has five names ready..."

"..." Wang Fugui.

Wang Baosheng nodded secretly in his heart.Ancestor Grandfather's decision was wise. By adding a few more children to the Idle Residence, it would significantly reduce the attention from parents and aunts on oneself, sharing some of the overwhelming parental love.