Chapter 338: Clearance, Jianghu Reputation

Wang Song knew that Su Wangchuan had some real ability in 《spirit realm》 and was not comparable to an ordinary third-rank martial artist, so he treated him with particular courtesy and explained many things a game studio owner needed to pay attention to.

In truth, the daily duty of a game studio owner was simply to serve as a protective umbrella for a group of newcomers, and that was entirely sufficient.

What the officials of the 《spirit realm》 Online Guidance Center hoped for was simply that each game studio could use the strong to guide the many, helping more newcomers adapt to the environment inside 《spirit realm》 and find a way to survive.

A small number of talented people, those with strong adaptability, could enter a Land-Clearing Team through 《spirit realm》, cultivate martial arts, and become Martial Artists.

As for the majority, they only needed to understand the basic ways of survival so that, once 《spirit realm》 was officially rolled out on a full scale, they would be able to get started quickly.

Wangchuan nodded to show that he understood.

He himself belonged to the category of talented players with strong adaptability. Although he still officially carried the label of a member of a Gold-Farming Team, in truth he had adapted to 《spirit realm》 even better than those in the Land-Clearing Teams and had already carved out a small world of his own.

“Director Wang.”

“I have a few questions.”

This was Wangchuan’s first time dealing with an official, so naturally he wanted to obtain some information that he normally had no access to.

“Who exactly developed 《spirit realm》? And why is it being fully promoted?”

“The question you’re asking is actually the same goal I’ve been pursuing myself.”

Wang Song’s answer was startling.

As an official, the answer he gave was that he did not know.

Naturally, Wangchuan did not believe him.

Wang Song explained, “I know. You find that hard to believe. But in the 《spirit realm》 Online Guidance Center, I’m just a runner who does the work. Above me, there are supervisors, prefecture-level directors, and provincial-level directors. My clearance level still isn’t high enough to access those secrets.”

“Secrets…”

Wangchuan frowned slightly, thoughtful.

Wang Song glanced at Su Wan and explained, “Actually, I’m the same kind of person as Su Wan… Su Wan was also trained by our 《spirit realm》 Online Guidance Center as a liaison. The difference is only that my post is in H City, while Su Wan’s post is at Warring States Game Studio. My clearance level might only be a tiny bit higher than Su Wan’s.”

Wang Song’s words were very realistic.

“The doubts and questions in your heart can only be answered by people with higher clearance. But if you only have the cultivation of a third-rank martial artist, then the information you can access is impossible to exceed mine. The same goes for Bai Jingtang, the fourth-rank martial artist who came out of Warring States. If she cannot produce results and gain greater influence, she likewise cannot come into contact with higher-ranking personnel or intelligence.”

A grave look entered Wangchuan’s eyes.

“So what you mean is, if I want to obtain higher-level intelligence, I must have greater strength and greater influence. Strength I understand. That is measured by martial rank. But how is influence measured?”

“Reputation!”

Wang Song lifted his eyes and looked straight at Wangchuan, speaking each word distinctly.

“Not reputation in one town or one commandery, but your reputation ranking in the entire Jianghu.”

Wangchuan froze.

Even Su Wan could not help revealing a look of shock and confusion.

Wang Song let out a light laugh and explained, “If you want to have a reputation ranking in the Jianghu, then at the very least you have to do something that shakes the martial world. For example, kill imperial hounds, kill an imperial envoy, storm a prince’s residence, or kill a high official. Or you can challenge one of the famous orthodox sects, step on the faces of the great figures of the Jianghu, and fight your way onto the Jianghu Reputation Rankings.”

Wangchuan felt his scalp go numb just listening.

Kill an imperial envoy?

He actually had encountered such a person before…

A Silver-Ranked assassin from the Crimson Pavilion!

A fifth-rank martial artist!

In the end, that man had been driven back by another fifth-rank martial artist and then torn apart by a pack of Jianghu fighters on the Sanhe River.

The difficulty of that…

was somewhat terrifying.

As for storming a prince’s residence…

Heh.

That was even less worth mentioning.

A fourth-rank martial artist entering the Caobang hall in Sanhe Commandery would be surrounded, crushed, and crippled almost instantly. Even if redeemed at enormous cost, that person would only spend the rest of his life as a useless wreck.

And that was merely an ordinary hall, already full of lethal danger.

How much more terrifying, then, would a prince’s residence be, packed with top experts and elite warriors?

A fifth-rank martial artist would probably be beaten to pieces and thrown out the moment he entered.

As for challenging the great figures of the famous orthodox sects in the Jianghu…

The starting point would be at least the sixth rank!

The difficulty of that challenge would be defeating the very best among people of the same rank.

It was no different from Luo Laoqi challenging him at the Sanjiang Branch Helm.

He had ten thousand ways to toy the man to death!

In short—

The Jianghu Reputation Rankings…

were not something he could touch at his current stage.

Nor were they something Bai Jingtang could currently reach.

They were far too distant.

Su Wan’s expression grew solemn. She looked at Wang Song, then at Su Wangchuan, and interjected, “It truly isn’t easy to gain higher-level clearance and intelligence. The owner of our Warring States Game Studio currently only meets the cultivation requirement, having just stepped across the threshold of the fifth rank, but his Jianghu reputation is only average, and he still can’t enter the rankings.”

“Wangchuan, you don’t need to concern yourself with that right now.”

Su Wan reminded him, “As the owner of a game studio, your top priority right now is to properly settle the people who belong to you, complete your tasks, obtain policy support from the Online Guidance Center, and acquire more equipment, martial arts manuals, pills, and other resources so that you can charge toward higher ranks.”

As the person in charge of Warring States Game Studio, Su Wan’s words were very sincere.

Su Wangchuan nodded.

“I know you’ve been visiting the Bajiquan Martial Arts Gym frequently lately. You have close ties there with several Martial Artists from the real world… You want to bring them into 《spirit realm》 and train them. Now that you have your own studio, carrying that plan out will become much easier.”

Before Su Wan had even finished, she had already begun slipping in a private agenda of her own.

“Before that, would you like to consider exchanging some money through me? You’ll need it to pay salaries in the first month and to purchase security robots.”

As she spoke, she glanced meaningfully at him.

Su Wangchuan turned to Wang Song.

The latter nodded.

“As for the security robots, you really will need to handle those yourselves. The same goes for the later renovation of your floors, interior construction, and any other additions… That will all require money.”

Su Wangchuan let out a helpless sigh.

Although he knew perfectly well that Su Wan wanted to make one last profit from him, her suggestion really was difficult to refuse.

Recruiting men and buying horses did, in fact, require money.

The authorities had allocated a building and assigned him a supervisor, but all the other supporting necessities would still have to be handled by him, the owner.

The bit of money he had on hand would not even cover the loose change.

“Does your Online Guidance Center provide guidance on the exchange rate?”

Su Wangchuan asked Wang Song.

Wang Song spread his hands.

“That depends on the market…”

“At present, the market exchange rate is one to fifty.”

“All right, then.”

“Chief Administrator Su, I’ll exchange one hundred taels of gold through you.”

Su Wangchuan decided to part with one hundred taels of gold first.

“Certainly!”

Su Wan beamed with delight, afraid the transaction might slip away, and immediately transferred the funds.

“Five hundred million has already been sent to your account.”