MTLNOVEL Chapter 160: Big Order
In Alkaid's studio.
Purple Rose continually checked the various performances of the outsourced version of Purple Cloud 12 model Flying Swords through the workbench.
After a while, she looked at Alkaid in amazement, "You actually improved them so quickly?"
"I just weakened them within reasonable limits... No, I didn't weaken these Flying Swords, but left a special command, these swords will be completely suppressed when clashing with the genuine Purple Cloud 12 model Flying Swords."
As Alkaid spoke, he paused slightly, "Besides, this suppression can be controlled by a Great Cultivator of the Primordial Spirit Realm."
The Great Cultivators of the Primordial Spirit Realm are the absolute core of a power, with an extremely low possibility of leaking secrets.
"With this ability, it's enough to ensure that selling this batch of Flying Swords will not affect our Nine Cauldrons Sect."
Purple Rose smiled and nodded.
"Then, I will leave it to you to file a report with the Artifact Refining Hall on my behalf."
Alkaid continued, looking out the window, "The orders for the Purple Cloud 12 model Flying Swords have already been completed, and there is only a little over a month's worth of work left on the improved model Flying Swords. Without new orders, the whole Purple Cloud Courtyard might have to shut down.
Currently, there are over 60,000 people in the Purple Cloud Courtyard, and if we do shut down, times will become tough."
Purple Rose was somewhat speechless.
The welfare and treatment in the Purple Cloud Courtyard are so good that not even the Energy Department can compare. With the salary distributed in less than a year, even if they were to shut down for ten or eight years, the staff below wouldn't face any financial problems.
However, she wouldn't openly speak of this but merely organized the information, saying, "I will submit these materials for you, and I don't think there will be any problems…"
At this point, she paused, "Besides, what are your plans for the outsourced orders? Are you going to look for them yourself, or do you want the sect to take care of it for you?"
"Let the sect handle it."
Having the backing of the Nine Cauldrons Sect could secure larger orders.
"The sect can negotiate the specific selling price. I am willing to split the profits from each Flying Sword fifty-fifty with the sect."
"Fifty-fifty split?"
Purple Rose was surprised to see Alkaid offering such a significant share of the profits and immediately said, "I will report this to the Hall Master right away."
Alkaid nodded.
He had his reasons for choosing to share fifty percent of the profits.
After selling a batch of Spiritual Artifacts, he should be moving into the Treasure domain.
Treasure...
Those are not cheap at all.
The price of a first-generation Treasure starts at ten thousand Spirit Stones.
Not to mention second or third-generation Treasures.
The problem is that the Nine Cauldrons Sect is too poor to afford many Spirit Stones for purchasing. In this situation...
It's better to let them earn some money first, so they won't just buy a few dozen when the Treasures are eventually refined.
What is taken from the Nine Cauldrons, is used for the Nine Cauldrons, after all.
...
Just the second day after Alkaid handed the documents to Purple Rose, she came back to Alkaid's office.
"Alkaid, we've got orders."
She laid several order forms in front of Alkaid, selecting one of them.
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"Look at whose order this is?"
"Golden Temple!? The overlord of the Black Flame Continent!?"
Alkaid was somewhat astonished.
The Golden Temple is the current world's sect with the most Spiritual Power nodes in their possession, enjoying a geographically unique position, with as many as 311 Spiritual Power nodes within their territory, reportedly yielding a staggering total of 200 million Spirit Stones.
To say that they are obscenely rich would be an understatement.
In today's world, having resources naturally leads to nurturing powerful Cultivators.
However...
"Isn't the Golden Temple one of the Six Great Immortal Sects? Would they also come to our Nine Cauldrons Sect to buy Spiritual Artifacts?"
"What they want is the improved Purple Cloud 12 model Flying Sword! Given that these Flying Swords are completely on par with fourth-generation Spiritual Artifacts when under the dominance of a Great Cultivator of the Primordial Spirit Realm, and fourth-generation Spiritual Artifacts...
Currently, in the world, only the Limitless Star Palace, the Immortal Alliance, and the Myriad Beasts Sect have the capacity to produce them."
Purple Rose said, pausing for a moment, "Although the Golden Temple is one of the Six Great Immortal Sects, it absolutely belongs to the bottom tier, especially after several local wars in recent decades, which left them sequentially defeated by the Supreme Yin Sect, the Holy Fire Sect, and the Blue Sea Holy Land, to the point where even the Black Feather Sect, a medium-sized power, dares to provoke them.
If it weren't for the existence of the Golden Core in the Golden Temple, the powers coveting them would have already swarmed over and divided them up."
Alkaid, hearing this, was not surprised.
Among the Six Great Immortal Sects, the Limitless Star Palace is in one tier, the Myriad Beasts Sect and the Immortal Alliance in another, the Supreme Yin Sect and the Heavenly Law Pavilion in yet another tier.
As for the Golden Temple, excluding those in the Golden Core Realm, the Great Sun Sword Sect, the Brahma Heavenly Kingdom, the Ice Snow Divine Mountain, and the Asia-Pacific Dynasty, any sect's regular strength is above theirs.
It's not because the Golden Temple is weak or poorly equipped, but rather...
The unique structure of the Golden Temple is the cause.
The Hall Master of the Golden Temple led the elites to join the war against the Moon Demon Empire, never to return.
Currently, the Elders' Council, composed of twelve elders, governs.
And the twelve elders don't submit to each other, directly forming over a dozen factions, with the situation currently resembling a complete mess.
Recently, rumors have even emerged that the armed force supported by Elder Turel secretly attacked Elder Panqi, nearly killing him on the spot despite his years of inactivity.
Such a power might completely break out in civil war and split into several or even a dozen large and medium-sized powers at any moment.
"The buyer is Elder Panqi's youngest son, representing this elder."
Purple Rose said this, clicking her tongue, "Originally, we didn't want to take this order, given that the current strongest in the Golden Temple is Elder Turel, who has been working to end the division of powers within the Golden Temple, but... Elder Panqi offered too much."
"What's the unit price?"
Alkaid asked curiously.
"You know, for the improved Purple Cloud 12 model Flying Sword, we didn't plan to sell them, so we just doubled the price from the original purchase price, quoting a high price of 3,600 Spirit Stones..."
"Hiss!"
Alkaid sucked in a breath of cold air.
Well, I'll be.
He had thought that although flying swords sold externally could yield high profits, due to tough competition, managing a 30%, 40%, or at maximum a 50% margin was the limit.
But the result...
Had soared to such an extent?
"How much did they bargain? How big is the order?"
Alkaid couldn't help but ask.
"Bargain? Bargaining would be disrespecting the elders of the Golden Temple! They agreed directly."
Purple Rose replied quickly, "This elder controls twenty-eight spiritual power nodes, and furthermore... each spiritual power node is fitted with a Fourth-Level, Third-Generation Spirit Gathering Array arranged by a master from the Limitless Star Palace, resulting in an extremely high yield of spirit stones.
To avenge their previous loss, they have placed a massive order for three thousand flying swords in one go!"
"Three thousand!?"
A number flashed across Alkaid's mind instantly.
A total price of 10.8 million!
The external sale version of the Purple Cloud 12, after accounting for material, labor, and other costs, had a factory cost of about 1600 each.
Which meant that each flying sword had a pure profit of 2000 spirit stones!?
A total of 6 million in profit!
Even if he had to split it with the Nine Cauldrons Sect, that was still 3 million!? Wasn't that more than the annual funding for procurement by the Sword Cultivation Department?
"The Golden Temple after all has a Golden Core overseeing things from above, no matter how fierce the internal struggles are, the Great Cultivators wouldn't dare to step into the fray themselves. At most, it's like us, where the Primordial Spirit takes action; otherwise, what's the difference between that and inciting a full-blown civil war by openly tearing faces?
Elder Pan Qi has a powerful Primordial Spirit Realm cultivator under him, who is extremely compatible with the improved Purple Cloud 12..."
As Purple Rose spoke, she looked at Alkaid, "Now you see why we agreed to sell the Purple Cloud 12-type that we originally did not intend for external sale."
Alkaid nodded.
"It means that the focus of your Purple Cloud Courtyard should now center on this order," said Purple Rose and paused, "Of course, the specifics are for you to decide. Plus, don't let this order delay your cultivation."
"I understand."
Alkaid nodded again.
Hmm.
A multimillion-level order.
This would legitimately justify pushing his breakthrough to the Primordial Spirit Realm back by a year.
Busy.
Too busy to cultivate.
And with three million spirit stones flowing into his account...
The profession of Artifact Refining, let alone advancing to a whole new domain, could enable one to choose between advancing in the Martial Path or Divine Path to the level of a Star God or at the Dharma Phase Level.
All in one go.
"Besides this big order, there are some other smaller ones..."
Purple Rose continued, laying out the other orders, "We've chosen the ones with the highest cost-effectiveness for you to consider—if you have time, take them on; if not, let them go."
Alkaid took a glance.
These other orders couldn't compete with Elder Pan Qi's in terms of profit and required even more time.
Yet, if completed, they could still yield over a million spirit stones.
However...
"Let's expand,"
Alkaid said resolutely, "There's profit to be made without effort; I'll continue to expand the Purple Cloud Courtyard."
"But there's no more room for expansion around the Purple Cloud Courtyard," said Purple Rose, giving Alkaid a look and pondered a moment before speaking, "The upper echelons suggest licensing to lower level Artifact Refining courts, having them pay you a fee for the fabrication... after all, cultivation is paramount, and they don't want you to spend all your time on crafting spiritual artifacts."
Alkaid knew this was a sign of goodwill from the high ranks of the Nine Cauldrons Sect.
Worried that Artifact Refining would interfere with his cultivation.
But...
He shook his head.
The Purple Cloud series had attained such power largely due to his "talent"; if someone else took over, even with his complete technology, they still might not be able to produce the same quality.
"We'll do modular refining then. Other departments can help refine the other components while we at the Purple Cloud Courtyard handle the final assembly."
As Alkaid spoke, he glanced at the Purple Cloud Courtyard, which was already vast but suddenly had to accommodate over forty thousand people, and said, "If there's no space to expand around, then let's relocate."
Purple Rose's eyes lit up, "How about moving to Red City?"
"That won't be necessary; I think Dragon Majestic City is quite suitable."
Being close to the portal to Alkaid Realm, Alkaid didn't want to move away.
He then said, "I will talk with City Lord Luo and ask him to give me a plot of land to establish a new Purple Cloud Courtyard."
Upon hearing this, Purple Rose could not persist in her suggestions.
The top brass had given orders to grant Alkaid sufficient autonomy, and she could not defy them.
Over the following period, Alkaid became exceedingly busy again.
He negotiated with dozens of Artifact Refining Courts, signing supply agreements for flying sword components.
Although this meant giving up a slice of profit...
With a profit of six million spirit stones in sight, what's the harm in losing a little?