Fang Yu's Ambition

"Fang Yu, twenty million a year is enough for me to hire an Earth Martial Artist," Wang Xundao said leisurely. "Isn't that price a bit too high? "I think highly of you, but business is business. "Ten million a year is actually already very generous. After all, I'm only asking for exclusive endorsement rights across Huguang Province." Wang Xundao looked at Fang Yu. He wanted to drive the price down. "Uncle Wang, I'm not completely clueless about business," Fang Yu said unhurriedly. "First of all, when you hire an Earth Martial Artist, it's primarily for corporate tax deductions. That means their Civilization Warrior tier is the key, not their absolute martial strength... Take Uncle Gu, for instance. He's only an Advanced Martial Artist, but his tax deduction value to Shengchuan Group is probably close to that of many Earth Martial Artists. "If you want to hire an Earth Martial Artist to serve as a bodyguard, it wouldn't be twenty million a year—it would be at least a hundred million," Fang Yu chuckled. The smile on Wang Xundao's face remained unchanged, but he did not directly refute it. Hiring an Earth Martial Artist in name only versus hiring one for close personal protection came with a massive price difference. In this world, the supervision over martial artists was strict, and the Alliance's law enforcement was downright terrifying, yet there were always some powerful, desperate rogue martial artists. Whether hired by commercial rivals for assassinations or seeking to kidnap tycoons to amass fortunes, several such cases occurred across the entire Blue Moon civilization every year. Thus, unless they lived in heavily guarded key districts and never ventured outside, most tycoons traveled with a personal security team. When Wang Xundao traveled, although he had not employed an Earth Martial Artist for close protection, he was still accompanied by several battle-hardened Advanced Martial Artists, running up an annual security bill of over ten million. "Furthermore," "the essence of an endorser lies in fame and narrative appeal," Fang Yu said with a smile. "Within Wuling City, a Level-39 Advanced Martial Artist commands far lower endorsement fees than that year's city College Entrance Exam top scorer. "By the same token, an Earth Martial Artist's endorsement fee is far below that of a provincial College Entrance Exam top scorer from their peak year." Fang Yu looked at Wang Xundao. "In the year they achieve top honors, a provincial top scorer can easily secure tens of millions in exclusive endorsement fees." "But you aren't a provincial top scorer," Wang Xundao said, shaking his head. "Yet a legendary story could very well unfold around me—one far more astonishing than any exam top scorer," Fang Yu said with a smile. "If I can test into martial graduate school... a counterattack by a junior college student, with just a bit of media coverage and hype, would be far more eye-catching than most exam champions." "A martial graduate student?" Wang Xundao fell into thought. Martial graduate students held hundreds or thousands of times more prestige than academic graduate students... Academic graduate students were everywhere, but martial graduate programs existed only in the ten key universities of New Moon. In the entirety of Huguang Martial University, only a handful managed to get accepted each year. One could easily imagine how prestigious it was. Fang Yu continued, "Furthermore, getting admitted as a martial graduate student is only my goal for the next two years. In the future, my goal is to compete in the Alliance Martial Arts Tournament. "If a junior college student successfully qualifies for the Alliance Martial Arts Tournament, even without a high ranking, it will be enough to make my name resound across the entire Alliance." Wang Xundao stared at Fang Yu. Held once every two years, the Alliance Martial Arts Tournament permitted only Earth Martial Artists under the age of thirty to compete, standing as one of the most brilliant martial spectacles in the Blue Moon Alliance. Forget claiming the championship; merely qualifying meant standing among the strongest Earth Martial Artists, every one of them exceptionally young with boundless futures. "Are you confident you can achieve that within five years?" Wang Xundao asked. "Before thirty, I have a fair degree of confidence," Fang Yu said. "I'm only twenty-one right now, and the next tournament isn't until next year. That gives me plenty of time to cultivate." "Yet you're only willing to sign with Shengchuan Group for five years," Wang Xundao said, shaking his head. "Five years from now, if I truly display sufficient talent, twenty million a year won't be enough," Fang Yu replied with a smile. "Uncle Wang, what you're asking for isn't an endorsement for a single brand, but an all-industry endorsement across Huguang Province... If I become famous enough in the future, simply licensing my name to other companies through partnerships will earn it all back. "Take Senior Wang Heng, for example—his endorsement fees are astronomical," Fang Yu chuckled. "That's why I'm only willing to sign for five years." "You take all the benefits, while I shoulder all the risk," Wang Xundao sighed. "Either extend the term or lower the fee." Fang Yu merely smiled, taking a tactical sip of water without saying a word. He was indeed strapped for cash. After reaching Life Level 20, his physical constitution had become robust enough to consume large quantities of star force medicines and treasures. To maximize the effectiveness of his innate divine ability, Devour, he had to pour in obscene amounts of money! However, that did not mean he would mortgage his future. Ten years? Far too long. It would tie him down completely to Shengchuan Group. Before thirty was the period of most rapid growth in martial strength. If his star aspect was truly formidable enough, ten years would be plenty for him to grow into an Earth Martial Artist or even a Sky-Patrolling Martial Artist. Once the Void Star Aspect he was about to awaken manifested, the Eight Great Martial Artist Groups would surely jump at the chance to sign him, and he would have good prospects of securing Huguang Martial University's Earth Contract. Either scenario would bring in vast sums of wealth. Thus, while Fang Yu lacked money at present, he was not overly anxious. A five-year term, combined with granting exclusivity only within Huguang Province... In Fang Yu's view, both the duration and scope were quite reasonable. "No room for discussion?" Wang Xundao spoke again. "Uncle Wang, I can only promise that once the contract expires, under equal terms, I will give you absolute priority for renewal," Fang Yu said calmly. This was Fang Yu's concession. Negotiations were inherently a tug-of-war. "Fine, I can agree to your terms," Wang Xundao said, seemingly making up his mind. "However, I have an additional condition: your all-industry exclusive endorsement within Wuling City... I want ten years. "Of course, I won't let you get the short end of the stick. For the exclusive endorsement in Wuling City, I'll prepare a separate contract: 1.5 million Star Coins per year, totaling 15 million for ten years, paid in two installments. Upon signing, I'll pay five million. The moment you awaken your star aspect—regardless of its rank—I'll immediately pay the remaining ten million." Wang Xundao looked at Fang Yu. Huguang Province encompassed over a dozen cities. On the surface, Wang Xundao's second contract was confined to Wuling City, which seemed very advantageous for Fang Yu, who would also receive five million Star Coins right away... Yet Fang Yu knew in his heart that this second contract was likely Wang Xundao's true objective. After all, he was a native of Wuling City. No matter how great his future achievements, the impact of his commercial endorsements would always be most potent right here in Wuling City... Most importantly, Shengchuan Group's businesses were primarily based within Wuling City. "Deal," Fang Yu agreed. "However, I've already signed a one-year contract with Tieshan Martial Club..." Quickly, Fang Yu laid out the details of the contract he had already signed. "A minor detail. We can simply note it in the contract." Wang Xundao did not mind. His business had not yet expanded into martial clubs, and Fang Yu's contract with Tieshan Martial Club was only for a single year anyway. Fang Yu had his own considerations as well. Business matters were intricate, but at the end of the day, what mattered most for a company was still its product. An endorser was merely part of public relations and advertising... Customers were not fools; they would not place blind faith in something just because a famous martial artist endorsed it. An endorser served more to build a degree of trust, provide a memorable focal point, and entice customers to linger a few seconds longer when seeing an ad. Therefore, even for figures as mighty as Star-Sky Martial Artists or champions of the Alliance Martial Arts Tournament, endorsement fees ultimately had a ceiling. For Fang Yu, beyond the quick cash in hand, what he valued even more was Shengchuan Group's local clout. *Conceding a little builds goodwill with the Wang family.* *In the future, I likely won't be in Wuling City for long stretches,* Fang Yu thought. *If anything happens to my father or grandfather, it'll be much easier to ask the Wang family to look after them.* Relying solely on his friendship with his college roommate Wang Mo was hardly sustainable; only shared interests lasted forever. On the other hand, for a martial artist, the hardest endorsement contract to land was always the first... With this contract from Shengchuan Group in hand, he would have a solid foundation to negotiate higher rates when corporate groups from other provinces or nations came knocking in the future. "Uncle Wang," "for this contract, once I arrive at Huguang Martial University tomorrow, I would like to invite my martial senior uncles to act as third-party witnesses when we sign," Fang Yu said with a smile. He was confident the other party could easily discover his martial lineage background. He chose not to sign at Wuling Martial Junior College because Shengchuan Group held too much power locally... Wuling Martial Junior College might not be able to withstand pressure at a critical moment, but having Huguang Martial University as a third party was an entirely different story. Following his father's advice: if one was to borrow influence, the greater the influence, the better. Wang Xundao hesitated for only two seconds before nodding slowly. "Very well. I'll arrange for one of our vice presidents in the provincial capital to meet you tomorrow at Huguang Martial University to finalize the signing." "Thank you for accommodating me, Uncle Wang," Fang Yu said with a smile. "No trouble at all. Fang Yu, it's a pleasure doing business with you." Wang Xundao stood up with a smile and extended his hand. "A pleasure doing business with you." Fang Yu also rose and shook his hand, saying quite earnestly, "Regardless, it's an honor to meet you, Uncle Wang... Please believe me when I say I won't disappoint you." "I believe you," Wang Xundao smiled.