Chapter 75: The Martial Cultivation and Corporate Systems of Han and Tang

“A challenge letter?” Lin Xiang was taken aback for a moment. What was the point of this in broad daylight? He took the letter and saw a few bold sweeping lines written in calligraphy, but since it was cursive script, he couldn’t recognize a single word.

“This is quite common, actually, and has to do with a company’s standing,” Guo Lei explained. She was familiar with business operations, so she knew about these things. Just as she spoke, the main door opened and someone walked in. She turned to look and exclaimed, “President Xiao!”

Xiao Kaitian nodded. He had essentially worked out a plan and had come over intending to bring Guo Lei along; this young woman was highly capable, and he wanted to mentor her.

“It’s a challenge letter, Brother Xiao.” Lin Xiang handed the letter to Xiao Kaitian, who also found it curious. In this digital age, who still bothered with handwritten challenge letters?

“It’s a feature of Han-Tang enterprises,” Guo Lei explained. “There’s a lot of competition between companies. Sometimes, when the business rivalry gets too fierce, it can be detrimental to both sides. So, this custom arose—each company sends a martial artist to compete, and the outcome determines which company gets the market.”

Xiao Kaitian tossed the letter onto the table and crossed his legs. “This is insane!”

The employees all stifled their laughter, and Guo Lei also turned away to hide her smile. She cleared her throat and continued, “It’s not entirely pointless. Company rankings are also at stake. If you lose too many challenge matches, your company’s rank drops, which affects things like financing and loans. In some cases, you might not be able to get a loan at all.”

“Company rankings in Han-Tang?” Xiao Kaitian’s curiosity was piqued. He’d heard of martial artist rankings, but he hadn’t realized companies had a grading system as well.

“You can check a company’s ranking using the Sky-Eye system,” Guo Lei said as she wandered to Xiao Kaitian’s side, a fresh, girlish fragrance wafting around her. She bent over, tapped on the keyboard, entered the website, and brought up a page showing the Han-Tang company rankings.

From top to bottom, it was a list of Han-Tang companies—five-star businesses at the very top, all the way down to one-star at the bottom, the divisions clear and distinct. Guo Lei continued, “This is the ranking system. All Han-Tang companies except sole proprietorships can be found here.”

“Our Qixi Media Consulting is a new company, so by default, we’re ranked as a one-star business,” she said, straightening up. “Most Han-Tang companies are at this level, so challenges usually involve Yellow Rank martial artists.”

“We’re just a consulting firm. Do we even have any market conflicts with others?” Xiao Kaitian took out a cigarette and lit it, fiddling with the lighter in his hand. “Why would anyone challenge us?”

“Maybe someone thinks our business overlaps with theirs.” Guo Lei glanced at Xiao Kaitian, but didn’t say what she was really thinking—she had a hunch that perhaps Xiao Kaitian had secretly offended someone.

“If we don’t accept the challenge, does it affect our company’s ability to move up in rank?” Xiao Kaitian frowned. He hadn’t expected the ties between Han-Tang’s martial world and the business world to be so close.

“It does, mainly in terms of the company’s reputation,” Guo Lei sighed. “It’s also the state’s way of pacifying martial artists.”

There were quite a few martial artists in Han-Tang—people who often went into seclusion or hid away in the mountains to cultivate. To put it bluntly, from a societal perspective, most martial artists were pure consumers of resources; they didn’t create material goods, profits, or technological innovations.

The state had to find ways to keep them under control. Business competition was inevitable, and often, direct commercial rivalry hurt both parties. Having martial artists intervene became a solution: when companies faced irreconcilable disputes and negotiations failed, they could avoid extreme tactics like price wars by each hiring a martial artist for a formal duel to determine the outcome.

With the added layer of company rankings, the state’s tacit approval had forged tight bonds between martial artists and businesses, and, to some extent, solved the livelihood issue for martial artists.

Martial artists, lacking economic output, had no income. But by being hired by companies—either to accept or issue challenges—they and their sects could earn money and sustain themselves.

After understanding all this, Xiao Kaitian couldn’t help but admire Han-Tang’s methods for managing martial artists. Unlike the somewhat chaotic situation in other countries, Han-Tang’s martial world was relatively orderly.

Company challenges were free to initiate but strictly followed the ranking system. A one-star company could only hire Yellow Rank martial artists; two- to four-star companies corresponded to Mystic, Earth, and Heaven Ranks respectively. But at the five-star level, there was hardly any need for challenges. The businesses at the pinnacle of Han-Tang were a select few, and the top martial artists they hired all knew each other—at most, they’d go through the motions, sit down, have tea, and resolve things peacefully.

Not long ago, two top Han-Tang companies, Penguin Group and Ali Group, had a dispute. Both sides hired martial artists, but in the end, it turned out they were fellow disciples who refused to fight, and the matter was dropped.

After this thorough explanation, Xiao Kaitian finally understood. He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray with a faint hiss. “So how do we usually handle this?”

“Normally, we spend money to hire a capable martial artist to accept the challenge. If we can find out the opponent’s martial artist rank beforehand, we have a better chance,” Guo Lei said. Everyone in the room looked at Xiao Kaitian, wide-eyed, waiting for his decision.

The martial world and the business system in Han-Tang were quite fascinating. Xiao Kaitian rested his chin on his hand. “How much does it cost to hire a martial artist?” He could fight himself, but he didn’t have time for such trivial matters.

“The starting price for a Yellow Rank martial artist is one million, with the top tier going for ten million. If we want the best, it’s about eight to ten million. That’s the quote from Yu Mei at First Seaview—she has connections with a few sects. President Xiao, should we consider it?”

As soon as he heard the price, Xiao Kaitian shook his head vigorously. The company didn’t have that kind of money. “Is it mandatory to use a martial artist for the challenge?”

“No,” Guo Lei hesitated, “but hot weapons like firearms are strictly forbidden. If you’re thinking of hiring special forces, forgive me, but the martial artist ranks are much higher—it’s nearly impossible to win across categories.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Xiao Kaitian stood up, hands in his pockets, as everyone stared at him in surprise. “Just have someone accept the challenge. As for the fighter, don’t worry about it.”

He had decided—though it was a hassle and money was tight, he’d handle it himself!

Han-Tang’s martial world, here comes Xiao Kaitian!