"Has there been any change in the Golden Core?" Qingyunzi asked curiously.

After absorbing a bit of his Dao power, there should be some reaction, right?

"No!" Zhang Yang shook his head.

"Continue?" Qingyunzi asked again.

He wanted to test the Primal Chaos Golden Core with a bit of Dao power. As long as he could uncover the truth of the Primal Chaos Golden Core, even losing a bit of Dao power would be worth it.

Zhang Yang also thought it was worth a try. If Qingyunzi's Dao power could help his "Whiteboard Golden Core" develop a Dao prototype, future cultivation would become much easier.

Despite it involving the most crucial Golden Core for cultivators, the two of them began experimenting.

This time, Qingyunzi decided to be more generous.

Since a little bit of Dao power had no effect, what about a bit more? And then a bit more?

Meanwhile, Zhang Yang was fully focused on observing his Golden Core internally.

When he concentrated fully on his Golden Core, he finally sensed the situation of Qingyunzi's Dao power entering it.

Gradually, he discovered that the shell of his Golden Core had thickened again, even more effectively than absorbing hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones.

He was thrilled; the improvement was so rapid.

Suddenly, why did he feel that the flow of Dao power from Qingyunzi had stopped?

"Master, keep going!" Zhang Yang opened his eyes and looked at Qingyunzi.

"Damn!"

Qingyunzi couldn't help but curse and vanished instantly.

He had just lost at least a peak Nascent Soul Stage worth of Dao power, and it still wasn't enough. Continue?

Did he think the Dao power he painstakingly cultivated was free?

Zhang Yang was stunned for a long time, having never seen Qingyunzi so out of character.

After a while, he finally realized: "Compared to Spirit Stones and Alchemical Pills, 'devouring people' is indeed the fastest way to cultivate."

He had verified that his "Whiteboard Golden Core" could absorb Dao power.

Indeed, there are no useless Golden Cores, only useless people.

"When my cultivation is successful, I'll descend the mountain to subdue demons and absorb their Dao power, so I won't have to cultivate so painstakingly." Zhang Yang had already made up his mind.

Of course, he wasn't daring enough to subdue demons now.

He felt that with only a Golden Core Realm, his strength was too weak. Descending the mountain would likely just be delivering benefits to the demons.

Moreover, he was leading the Azurecloud reform, having recruited eighty-seven talented individuals, some of whom were spies. These matters awaited his handling. Before resolving these issues, it wasn't suitable for him to descend the mountain.

He paused his cultivation and began managing Azurecloud's affairs.

For him, sitting in meditation and refining Qi was of little use; acquiring resources was the real deal.

He started inspecting the Azurecloud Sect.

After the repairs by three thousand construction teams, the Azurecloud Sect had transformed significantly. Courtyards were scattered throughout the sect, spread across the seven peaks.

The number of these courtyards far exceeded the total number of people in the Azurecloud Sect.

These were all part of Zhang Yang's prior planning. In the future, the Azurecloud Sect would surely have a large number of disciples who would need these courtyards.

As for the arrangement of these disciples, seeing that none of the current uncles intended to take on true disciples, he decided to use a lecture hall approach for training.

Especially since the eighty-seven talents hadn't fully shifted their mindset, it was even less suitable for them to become true disciples of the uncles.

While inspecting the Azurecloud Sect, Zhang Yang also observed the expressions of the many disciples.

After the Flying Dragon Guard's attack on the mountain, the expressions of the people generally fell into two categories.

One was a fervent dedication to cultivation, even when doing sect chores, they were full of energy. This group was represented by Wang Baole.

The other was dejected, with heads hanging low, lacking spirit in everything they did, and even being very lazy in cultivation. This group was represented by Cao Ying.

Zhang Yang understood why there was such a transformation,

He didn't push those who were lazy, because without resolving their psychological issues, they certainly couldn't focus on cultivation.

Zhang Yang also checked on the situation of several uncles and found that they were all in seclusion, so he didn't disturb them and instead headed to the Azurecloud Market.

Not long after he left, Situ Mingyue caught up with him.

"Senior Brother, this is my proposal for the Bluemoon Trading Guild. Take a look."

Zhang Yang looked at Situ Mingyue's proud expression, clearly pleased with her proposal.

He took the few pages and glanced through the content, which was fairly detailed. It involved a tiered system, such as dividing the guild into several floors and treating those who could reach these floors differently. It also covered the luxurious decor of the guild, showcasing its strength and grandeur.

Zhang Yang handed the pages back to Situ Mingyue and asked with a smile, "Isn't this the tactic of the Yunteng Trading Union? Or rather, isn't this almost every guild's secret weapon?"

Wasn't it the same tactic he encountered at the Hongqing Pavilion last time?

"What's wrong with that?" Situ Mingyue raised her chin, "Everyone does it, so we should do it better than them."

Zhang Yang chuckled, "Precisely because everyone does it, we shouldn't. If we join them in this competition, how much resources would we need to invest upfront, and how long would it take to earn it back?"

"Doing business requires investment. If you don't want to invest, why open a guild?" Situ Mingyue scoffed, "Don't worry, I know you're broke. I'll lend you some when the time comes."

Zhang Yang shook his head, "It's not about investment; it's about cost."

"Then how do you propose we do it?" Situ Mingyue retorted defiantly, looking challengingly at Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang stopped walking and looked seriously at Situ Mingyue, "A guild is about people. Since that's the case, we must consider the people themselves. Let me ask you, who buys more from guilds, small cultivators or big cultivators? Surely it's the small cultivators, right?

Now let me ask you again, suppose you're a small cultivator, and you go into a guild only to be told that the things upstairs are very expensive, and you can't even take a look if you don't have money. How would you feel?

Grading is correct, and differential treatment is correct, but don't make it so obvious. Give those small cultivators a chance to see.

Today's small cultivators might be tomorrow's big cultivators. If they see valuable things in advance, won't they come to buy them first when they have money in the future?

Another aspect is to give people the impression that they can buy bargains at the guild. So, the Bluemoon Trading Guild should periodically sell some items at cost price, or even below cost, to attract people to come.

I've already taught you two tricks, now I'll teach you a third one, called the membership system.

Tell customers they can pay a certain amount of Spirit Stones at our guild to become members. Members have priority in purchasing our guild's goods, and during a certain period, we open member days where all goods are discounted."

Zhang Yang casually shared a few widespread commercial strategies with Situ Mingyue.

He was very satisfied seeing Situ Mingyue's dumbfounded expression.

Since Situ Mingyue came from a business family, she quickly grasped the power behind Zhang Yang's strategies.

She was certain that the Bluemoon Trading Guild was bound to thrive.

Her eyes widened with admiration, "Senior Brother, what else?"

Zhang Yang waved his hand, "These three are enough for now, but I can assure you that other guilds will soon imitate us. When that happens, I'll teach you new ones. By the way, who are you planning to have run the Bluemoon Trading Guild?"

Situ Mingyue was extremely conflicted, "That's what I've been struggling with."

There's no one available in the Azurecloud Sect, and she also needs to cultivate, it's tough!

Zhang Yang smiled slightly, "How about Senior Qin?"

If it weren't for Qin Yushu's strength, why would he collaborate with Situ Mingyue?

Isn't this free labor?

"Right, Uncle Qin would be great... but asking him seems a bit much, doesn't it?" Situ Mingyue realized.

A Nascent Soul Stage expert protecting her was due to gratitude, but asking him to run a guild seemed excessive.

Zhang Yang smiled slightly, "That's where the concept of a professional manager comes in. We can hire Senior Qin as the chief steward of the Bluemoon Trading Guild, granting him a share of the profits. I think he would agree."

"I think he would agree too, but we should ask him first." Situ Mingyue nodded, then suddenly tilted her head, looking at Zhang Yang with a peculiar expression, "Senior Brother, using my money and my people to make money for you, aren't you too cunning?"

How did she end up being sold and still counting money for others?

Zhang Yang looked sincerely at Situ Mingyue, "Among the second-generation disciples of the Azurecloud Sect, we're the only ones who can take charge. As the... senior sister among the second-generation disciples, shouldn't you contribute to building Azurecloud with us? By then, when the Azurecloud Sect prospers, you'll have a share of the credit, and your name will be recorded in history for future generations to admire."

Situ Mingyue nodded repeatedly, a surge of heroism rising in her heart.

However, she still felt something was off, but couldn't pinpoint what it was.