146: Xu Ruoying

“This is truly excellent; this place can serve as my small base!” Mr. Long's heart filled with joy, and he quickly used Shadow Step to move towards the small island. He hadn't yet learned true flight, so he had to take two steps on the water surface before reaching the island.

The island was oval-shaped, about five hundred meters long and three hundred meters wide, rising five or six meters above the lake. However, as the water level continued to rise, it would likely settle around three or four meters. This area already exceeded Mr. Long's expectations and was perfectly sufficient for his use.

In the middle of the island, there was a longitudinal raised mountain shape, which could be used to build a residence and a base. The surrounding lakeside areas were relatively flat and could be used as activity zones. Along the lake's edge, a circular island path could be built, with flowers, plants, and trees planted on both sides. Adding some pavilions, terraces, and waterside structures would undoubtedly make the island a unique scenic spot in the lake!

Additionally, this small island could serve as the main Formation Eye for the planned illusion Formation. With this small island, Mr. Long was confident he could set up a first-tier illusion Formation, making the place even more secretive, safe, and reliable…

Without further ado, Mr. Long immediately took out the Artifact Refining Materials he had just purchased tonight, and moved a huge Artifact Refining furnace, forging platform, and other tools from his space to begin crafting Formation Flags and a Formation Plate…

Because beginner Formations are relatively simple, Formation Masters often engrave them onto Formation Plates and Formation Flags, which allows for portability and convenient use. Of course, some powerful Formation Masters can elevate the level of Formation Plates and Formation Flags to an extremely high tier, making them no less effective than grand Formations that harness the power of heaven and earth. However, such Advanced Formation Plates and Formation Flags require very high-quality Materials and Advanced Spirit Stones, and the techniques for engraving Formation patterns are equally demanding. Some Formation Masters can engrave countless Advanced Formation patterns onto tiny Formation Plates and Formation Flags, allowing them to even evolve autonomously. Over time, it's even possible for Formation Spirits to be born, making the value of such Formation Plates and Formation Flags immeasurable.

But currently, Mr. Long had not reached such a level. He had merely entered the Dao of Formation in an extremely short period, relying on his super high intelligence and Divine Sense. However, while he himself didn't think it was anything remarkable, if people from the Immortal Realm were to find out, it would probably make their jaws drop!

Those Great Masters of Formation Dao would likely scramble to take him as a Disciple upon hearing the news, but this Disciple was destined to be unrelated to them, because Mr. Long's progress in the Dao of Formation was almost visibly miraculous.

As his Artifact Refining techniques became more proficient, he only spent about two hours crafting a Formation Plate and eight Formation Flags. Next was the engraving of Formation patterns, which would not be as quick. Mr. Long felt he needed to study it thoroughly for another one or two nights before he could engrave them properly, so he put down the Formation Plate and Formation Flags and prepared to go to school…

Just then, the phone rang. Mr. Long's Divine Sense swept over it and found that it displayed “Shidai Tianyin Company”!

“Oh? They found me so quickly?!” Mr. Long was slightly surprised and couldn't help but sigh. These big companies were truly formidable. He was just an unknown nobody hiding in a remote corner of a third-tier base city, yet they managed to find him directly within a few days, just based on a short video!

“Connect!” Mr. Long said.

“Hello, may I speak with Mr. Long?” a sweet female voice asked.

“I am Mr. Long! And you are…?”

“Hello, Mr. Long! I am Xu Ruoying, the director of Market Department Three at Shidai Tianyin Company in Shuntian Prefecture, Northern Capital. I hope I haven't disturbed you with this call?” Xu Ruoying said sweetly.

“Oh? Please speak directly if you have something to say!” Mr. Long responded, too lazy to be polite.

“Alright! Mr. Long, it's like this: I wonder if you've been following the great ming golden melody chart? The song you sang, 'you at the same table,' was recommended by my department, and the results did not surprise us. It has already ranked seventh on the Golden Melody Chart, with over fifty million downloads!!!” Xu Ruoying said.

“And then?”

“And then… aren't you surprised at all?” Xu Ruoying asked, puzzled.

“What should I be surprised about?”

“For example, why did we recommend this song to the great ming golden melody chart management? And why did they agree to let this song directly enter the chart for ranking competition? Or don't you want to know how much money you can get now?” Xu Ruoying said with a smile.

“I don't care, it doesn't matter! Anyway, I won't sing again!” Mr. Long directly killed the conversation, because he really didn't want to waste time on this path that could easily make him a big star…

Xu Ruoying obviously hadn't expected Mr. Long to have such thoughts. She was stunned for a long while before finally reacting, saying in shock: “Mr. Long, what did you just say? You don't want to sing anymore? You're so young and have such great talent in the Dao of music. What a pity if you don't sing anymore! Besides, you're famous now and have gained many fans. As long as you release new songs, wealth will surely flow in, and your reputation will spread far and wide. You won't have to worry about money for the rest of your life…”

“Please, Young Miss Xu, I don't have to worry about money now!” Mr. Long said grandly.

“Ah, this?!!!” Xu Ruoying was stunned, not knowing how to respond…

“If you have nothing else, then I'm hanging up!” Mr. Long said.

Xu Ruoying quickly regained her composure and said anxiously, “Don't hang up! I still have something to talk to you about!”

“What is it?”

“It's like this, I'd like to know your specific address and bank account number. If you don't have an account, it's fine; I'll directly express a bank card to your address, and all future earnings from your song will be deposited into that card!” Xu Ruoying said.

“Well, this…”

Mr. Long thought about it. Who wouldn't want money, right? So he told Xu Ruoying his address.

“Hehe, thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Long! But, aren't you really curious why your song could directly enter the great ming golden melody chart?” Xu Ruoying chuckled.

“If you put it that way, then I really do want to know the specific reason!” Mr. Long still fell into the trap Xu Ruoying dug. He indeed wanted to know the reason, after all, the Heavenly Dao Eye couldn't currently understand what was happening in Northern Capital, so he could only ask this Xu Ruoying.

Xu Ruoying smiled and said, “To know that, I need to first ask Mr. Long, do you know Prince Dai?”

“Prince Dai?!” Mr. Long was stunned. When did he get involved with Prince Dai?

“Yes, that's Prince Dai, the twenty-sixth in line of the Great Ming Royal Family's direct lineage!”

“I don't know him! I'm just a commoner, how could I be so fortunate to know Prince Dai, that venerable man?” Mr. Long said.

“Mr. Long, please don't joke. Prince Dai told me that you are also a member of the royal family, and his nephew or grand-nephew!”

…