96: Chapter 96's cultivation technique has also been patented.
“Xiao Mo, why don't you change your creator name, 'Old Wang Next Door Who Wishes to Remain Anonymous'? It really seems a bit unpresentable.”
Lu Jianjie flipped through a few books, and seeing the creator's name on the cultivation techniques, he couldn't help but offer some advice.
“It's not important. As long as they have the heart, anyone can be Old Wang... Don't sweat the details, as long as the cultivation techniques are real.” Lin Mo waved his hand, completely unconcerned.
“Sigh, alright then.”
Lu Jianjie then thought of something else and suggested, “Actually, I have a recommendation. Why don't you only auction those 1.5x speed cultivation techniques, and apply for patents for all the 1x speed ones, then list them on the patent website?”
“Old Lu is right. When the time comes, not only will you make a fortune, but you'll also earn merit points, as well as a good reputation and fame.”
Hearing this, Lin Mo's eyes lit up. “Oh? That actually sounds like a pretty good idea.”
“Alright, let's do that. But for the patent download fee, we must set a flat rate of one hundred thousand dragon soul coins.”
Lin Mo had originally planned to start popularizing low-end cultivation techniques after making a sum of money.
This way, ordinary Awakened ones would also have the opportunity to improve.
Now, hearing Father Lu's suggestion, he felt it fit his philosophy perfectly.
If one has no ability, so be it, but since he has the ability, he should make some contribution, right?
In the dead of night, deep within Vermilion Bird Academy.
The light was still on in the second-floor study of a detached dormitory. An orange glow filtered through the window panes, casting a warm silhouette across the silent courtyard.
Dragon Nation's top Soul Power master, Master Yu Daruan, was hunched over his desk, his pen rustling across the paper. At times he frowned in deep thought, and at others, he scribbled corrections in a booklet.
The desk was piled high with ancient texts and various manuscripts, and the faint scent of ink wafted through the air.
Before long, his weasel-hair brush suddenly paused. He finally relaxed his furrowed brow, and a brilliant smile instantly spread across his face.
“Haha! It's done! The Three-Element Soul Gathering Cultivation Method, this old man has finally figured it out!”
Master Yu Daruan held up the parchment booklet, looking it over repeatedly under the light, his eyes filled with pride and satisfaction.
“A cultivation efficiency of 0.7 to 0.8x speed might not be top-tier, but it has the advantage of being stable and compatible, suitable for most Martial Souls!”
He gently stroked his signature on the booklet, feeling more and more satisfied the more he looked at it:
“With this old man's reputation, if I release this as a new work, those small families and merchants will surely fight tooth and nail for it, won't they?”
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but stroke his stubble, a calculating glint flashing in his eyes.
“I'll send it to the auction house tomorrow. With my reputation as Master Yu, this cultivation technique will fetch at least five billion at auction! That's enough for me to squander for quite a while.”
The moonlight outside fell quietly upon the pages. Master Yu Daruan carefully placed the booklet into a red sandalwood box, the smile never leaving the corners of his mouth.
To him, this was not just a new cultivation technique, but a profound sense of achievement and endless wealth.
He stretched, standing up to loosen his stiff neck.
In his heart, he had already begun planning how to squander this sum of 'pocket change' after the auction.
The light in the study didn't slowly go out until the latter half of the night.
...
The Lu Family was highly efficient.
The next day, while Lin Mo was still shaking test tubes in the laboratory, he received a phone call from Lu Jianjie.
He said the auction had been arranged and was set for tomorrow.
At the same time, patents had basically been secured for his 1x speed cultivation techniques, which would be released simultaneously as soon as the auction concluded.
Receiving the news, Lin Mo got excited for a moment, shaking the test tube with a bit more force, tossing it up and down like he was mixing a cocktail.
“Lin Mo! What on earth are you doing?” Professor Yi, who was nearby, instantly flared up upon seeing this.
“Shaking it so hard, you're going to shake the efficacy of the healing potion right out of it!”
“Oh, sorry, sorry, I forgot for a second.” Lin Mo hurriedly stopped.
“Get out, get out, get out,” Professor Yi waved her hand crossly. “You'd better go read some books on soul tools instead of making a mess here.”
“Sure thing!” Lin Mo was just about to turn around when Professor Yi called him back.
“Wait,” Professor Yi frowned. “My students reported that quite a few peaches in the Cultivation Garden have been mysteriously withering and falling lately. Go see what's going on.”
“Oh? That's happening?” Lin Mo was taken aback.
He remembered those peaches very clearly. Their vitality was incredibly resilient; even past the season, as long as they weren't picked, they would still hang firmly on the branches. How could they suddenly wither and fall?
With a mind full of questions, Lin Mo walked toward the Cultivation Garden.
Logically, Lu Mengmeng and the others' punishment period had long passed, so they shouldn't be working as gardeners here anymore.
But as soon as he reached the entrance of the Cultivation Garden, he saw the figures of the four of them: Lu Mengmeng, Niu Dachun, and the others.
“Isn't your punishment period over? Why are you still here...” Lin Mo's words cut off as he choked on the sight before him.
The four of them were sitting in the shade of a tree keeping cool. Hearing his voice, they all turned their heads at the same time, each holding a half-eaten peach with juice still dripping down their fingertips.
Lin Mo was utterly dumbfounded.
Whose damn subordinates are these?
“No, seriously, have you guys grown this bold now?”
The four of them instantly looked embarrassed.
Su Xiaoxiao and Mu Liuli were thin-skinned, and their cheeks instantly flushed bright red.
Holding the half-eaten peach, they didn't know whether to keep holding it or throw it away, standing there awkwardly, not knowing what to do with their hands and feet.
“Hey, Boss, you're here?” Only Lu Mengmeng didn't feel the slightest bit embarrassed, even grinning as she held up her peach.
“Spill it. What exactly is going on?” Lin Mo pulled a long face.
Only then did Lu Mengmeng recount her 'clever scheme' in full detail.
Those so-called 'withered and fallen' peaches were actually secretly picked and eaten by them. Fearing discovery, they had deliberately bought some ordinary peaches and hung them up.
A few minutes later, Lin Mo munched on a peach freshly picked from the tree, looking at the peach pits scattered on the ground, and said helplessly:
“So in other words, those withered and fallen peaches were all just decoys you hung up?”
“Yeah, Boss! Don't you think I'm amazing?” Lu Mengmeng still had a look of wanting to take credit.
“Amazing my foot!” Lin Mo tapped her on the head. “From today on, you are not allowed to pick a single peach.”
He knew in his heart that with his assistance, the laboratory was currently researching a potion to restore Soul Power.
The progress was already very promising, and the peaches in the Cultivation Garden were one of the key ingredients, so they couldn't let them ruin them like this.
“Fine, I got it.” Lu Mengmeng pouted, feeling a bit regretful.
“Don't pull that face,” Lin Mo couldn't help but laugh at her expression. “You can't pick the peaches, but aren't the strawberries over there about to ripen? Just pick those from now on.”
As soon as these words came out, Su Xiaoxiao and Mu Liuli's jaws dropped.
They thought Lin Mo had turned over a new leaf, but it turned out he was setting his sights on the strawberry patch instead?
This was simply too... 'shameless'!
The two exchanged a look, both seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes.
Following this boss, they would probably have to keep locking horns with orchards in the future.