NOVEL NEXT Chapter 14: Intelligence Tax!
Inside the Saint Master’s grand hall, numerous elders stood there, looking somewhat wilted. The second day didn’t bring the expected explosion of popularity. On the contrary, the sales were even worse than the first day. Yesterday, they had sold 6,000 Little Spirit Communicator rings. Logically, even if it didn’t become popular today, sales should have increased slightly. However, throughout the entire second day, only 4,000 Little Spirit Communicator rings were sold. The sales had dropped by 2,000.
Something was wrong. Even Ye Chen couldn’t understand why, given that the product had just been launched. The sales should not have declined. What went wrong?
Ye Chen furrowed his brows and looked at the elder in charge of external affairs, “Have the shopkeepers in various places send people to investigate in all the major immortal cities and markets!
“We need to find out what’s going on.” This was a product survey. In his previous life, big companies would have people monitoring feedback online when launching new products. However, the cultivation world naturally had no such concept, and there was no internet, making things much more complicated.
The elder in charge of external affairs immediately nodded. They were also curious why their excellent product was selling worse by the day. What was happening in the world? The elder then quickly instructed the deacons within the sect to contact the shopkeepers in various places to investigate. With the Little Spirit Communicator rings, issuing orders was much more convenient.
After waiting for the investigation results, news from various places started coming in one after another. The elder in charge of external affairs listened to the collected information, his face turning green. “Saint Master, cultivators from all around are saying that our Heavenly Origin Sacred Land has gone mad with poverty…
“They say that we are selling a low-grade magical tool for a mid-grade spirit stone, scamming the foolish.
“Only people with problems in their heads would buy it.
“How audacious!
“How dare they slander our Heavenly Origin Sacred Land? Aren’t they afraid of being punished?”
By the end, the elder’s eyes were dark and full of intimidation. The other elders’ expressions were also gloomy. However, Ye Chen found it amusing. No wonder the sales had dropped. Their Little Spirit Communicator rings had been labeled as an intelligence tax. Whoever bought it would be considered a fool with more money than sense.
Under these circumstances, some cultivators who might have originally admired the Sacred Land and wanted to give it a try were immediately deterred by such rumors and decided not to buy it. Who would want to be seen as a fool with too much money?
Ye Chen couldn’t help but laugh internally. He didn’t care that his creation had been labeled as an intelligence tax. After all, in the future, everyone would have to buy it obediently.
So, with an unconcerned wave of his hand, Ye Chen instructed Elder Wang to continue production and then leisurely left. While Ye Chen appeared nonchalant, the other elders were far from having the same attitude. After all, the sect was currently facing a financial crisis. If the Little Spirit Communicator rings didn’t catch on, the consequences would be severe.
In the following days, the elders continued to pay close attention to the sales every day. However, under the influence of the rumors, the sales kept falling. It was only when the daily sales dropped to 2,000 that the data started to slowly rebound and gradually increase. However, there were still no signs of the product catching fire, which left the elders anxious.
A few impatient ones even left the Sacred Land, bought the rings with their own money, and gave them to their friends to try.
After their friends truly experienced the Little Spirit Communicator rings, they were amazed beyond words. They promised to purchase the rings for their partners and descendants and to recommend them to other friends. However, the elders’ actions didn’t seem to make much of a difference. The overall sales of the Little Spirit Communicator rings didn’t see a significant increase, and the majority of cultivators outside still held the same opinion about the rings.
Although Ye Chen appeared calm, he still paid attention to the daily sales. Over the course of a week, the sales dropped from 6,000 to 2,000, then gradually increased to 5,000. This was, in fact, a hint of change. After all, under the influence of the “intelligence tax” rumor, the fact that the sales were still rising meant that people were beginning to discover the benefits of the Little Spirit Communicator rings.
Ye Chen noticed the elders’ actions as well. They were useful, but not very effective. After all, this was not the era of the internet, and a small number of people couldn’t influence the bigger picture. Therefore, if the Little Spirit Communicator rings were to become popular, they would have to wait for their reputation to spread gradually, reaching a certain threshold before a massive boom would occur.
However, what Ye Chen didn’t expect was that a significant event would soon take place in the Great Yan Province, and it was related to their Little Spirit Communicator rings!