Chapter 320: Debates, Announcements, and Unexpected Encounters

“Is that even a thing?”

Zhu Qiang’s expression darkened.

“Yeah, you can just search online—it’s probably trending now.”

Luo Peng nodded.

“Let me see.”

Without hesitation, Zhu Qiang sat in front of his computer and furiously tapped away on the keyboard. After a few minutes, he finally looked up at Luo Peng and said, “How can Dino Park’s so-called Alice’s Wonderland compare to our Mingsha Fudi? If they really were on par, why are ‘those people’ scrambling to retire at our Mingsha Fudi instead of Dino Park? And why isn’t anyone mentioning the North Campus of Mingsha Academy? Their Eight Formations Array is far more exciting than any maze Dino Park could offer!”

His face was sour. The forum posts might fool some netizens, but they crumbled under closer scrutiny. When compared head-to-head, many parts of Mingsha City could easily outshine Dino Park.

“Yet many netizens bought into it—even saying that once Dino Park’s Magic Academy opens, they’d travel over to experience a real taste of Western fantasy.”

Luo Peng slowly set down his teacup.

“So, what do we do now?”

After a brief pause, Zhu Qiang looked at Luo Peng.

“You scratch my back, I scratch yours! I called you here today to discuss our entertainment project on the south side of Wudi City. The project is nearing completion—we’re just cleaning up, and in a couple of days it’ll be finished! I was thinking maybe it’s time to officially announce it and welcome guests.”

Luo Peng spoke up,

“So the project on the south side of Wudi City is done?”

Zhu Qiang was taken aback.

“Yeah. It’s the easiest project in the entire Mingsha City entertainment lineup, which is why it was built so quickly, especially with Daoist Yougong lending a hand.”

Luo Peng nodded.

At the moment, Mingsha City has five large barricaded zones. Except for the tech expo display area north of the Qingming Scroll, the other four are all entertainment projects.

Lanruo Temple is just an add-on and isn’t counted as a major project.

“And you didn’t call Brother Hao?”

After a brief hesitation, Zhu Qiang replied,

“I did! Brother Hao is busy with matters north of the Qingming Scroll. He said we should discuss any issues regarding the entertainment projects ourselves. That’s why I’m here.”

Luo Peng nodded.

“In that case, I think opening it ahead of schedule is fine! After all, Lanruo Temple is already open, so this won’t be a problem.”

After a moment of thought, Zhu Qiang added,

Others may not know what exactly is being built in this tourism area, but he was fully aware.

Even though this is the weakest of the four entertainment projects, it can easily outclass Dino Park’s most popular attractions.

“Alright, I’ll post an announcement in a bit!”

A slight smile tugged at Luo Peng’s lips.

“Yes!”

Little did they know, just as Luo Peng and Zhu Qiang were planning to directly confront Dino Park, far away in the Long Kingdom…

In a remote mountain deep in the southwestern border—a place rarely trodden—two figures were slowly making their way along a narrow path. One of them was none other than the reclusive Cangshan Daoist, who hadn’t been seen for a long while.

Trailing him was another daoist of similar age, cradling a small sapling in his arms.

“Senior Brother, how many more days until we arrive?”

Glancing up at the sky, the daoist behind asked.

“I’d say at least another half-month!”

Cangshan Daoist turned to glance at the little sapling in his companion’s arms.

“If it weren’t for this little thing, we’d have reached ages ago!”

“Senior Brother, is that place really that amazing? Don’t go killing our treasure by accident.”

After a pause, the daoist behind continued,

“Of course! That place is nothing short of magical. With a Blood Lake to the left and a mystical haven to the right, I’ve never encountered such a locale in all my years.”

Cangshan Daoist nodded.

“That’s good to hear!”

The daoist behind heaved a small sigh of relief.

“But once we get there, we’ll have to work really hard to tidy up that place properly.”

Cangshan replied.

“Tidy up? Senior Brother, didn’t you say before leaving that you’d explained everything to the City Master? And that you’d even left our sect’s most important asset in his care? It’s been nearly two years now. Wuzhuang Temple should have been well underway by now.”

At these words,

the daoist behind looked confused.

“Yes, it’s been almost two years—but our Wuzhuang Temple isn’t something just anyone can build! Although the City Master has his own flair for ancient constructions, even he can only manage to infuse a hint of celestial charm into the buildings.”

Cangshan Daoist said with a hint of resignation.

If it weren’t for his junior brother clutching that little sapling, he would have remained in Mingsha City until Wuzhuang Temple was completely finished.

“True enough! That thing isn’t something ordinary people can decipher.”

The daoist’s tone paused, and silence fell between them.

After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the trailing daoist suddenly remembered something and spoke up again, “By the way, Senior Brother! If I’m not mistaken, isn’t it close to Daoist Yougong’s place? Shall we pay him a visit?”

“Daoist Yougong? Never mind!”

Cangshan’s eyes bulged as he shook his head vehemently.

“Never mind?”

“Yeah! That guy is unreliable anyway. If he finds out about that part of Mingsha City, he’ll be itching to move his own dojo there! Even though we’re on good terms with him, what’s the point of having two competing dojos in one ancient city? Do you really want his sect to steal our incense offerings?”

At the mention of Daoist Yougong, Cangshan’s lips involuntarily twitched.

No one in the world understood Daoist Yougong better than he did.

“That’s true enough!”

“So let’s hurry and get moving. Once Wuzhuang Temple is completed in Mingsha City, Daoist Yougong won’t even have time to notice!”

Cangshan added.

“Yes!”

Night blanketed the land.

Haishi TV

At his computer, Cai An stroked his chin in deep thought, while a middle-aged woman sat across the desk.

“Leader, as far as I know, the costume sci-fi drama co-produced by Haofang Culture and Yan City TV is nearing its final stages. With their collaboration style, it should be online by the end of June at the latest.”

“Afterwards, Haofang Culture won’t be filing any new projects—giving us plenty of chances to work with them.”

After a pause, the woman added.

“That may be so, but this project is extremely challenging. Will Haofang Culture take it on? Besides, Mingsha City is also gearing up for a tech expo in September.”

Cai An leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples.

Ever since the Culinary Expo fiasco at the Cultural Expo, Eggplant TV and Haofang Culture’s relationship had been completely repaired, laying the foundation for future cooperation.

Although this project is enormous and has the support of the cultural department, its difficulty is off the charts.

Just half a month ago,

the heads of four TV stations in the Long Kingdom—Eggplant TV, Mangguo, Zhe Vision, and Su Vision—were summoned to Yan City for a special conference. The theme was cultural export.

The directive was clear: all four TV stations must remaster the Four Great Classical Novels and translate them into international versions for release in various countries on Lanstarr by the end of next year.

The conference lasted several days!

When it came to such cultural export projects, the TV station heads had few objections. It was a display of cultural confidence that could introduce the world to Long Kingdom culture.

The only point of contention was the selection of the four classics.

With Water Margin and Romance of the Three Kingdoms being the favorites, followed by Dream of the Red Chamber, no one wanted to tackle Journey to the West.

Mainly because Long Kingdom’s current special effects teams were mediocre. If Journey to the West were poorly executed, it wouldn’t just ruin the cultural export—it might even become a laughingstock.

More importantly, remaking Journey to the West would require countless locations; it couldn’t be shot in just one place.

Helplessly,

the higher-ups waved their hands and decided that the four TV stations would determine the order by drawing lots.

And that day, perhaps because Cai An had been in the restroom and didn’t wash his hands, he ended up drawing the most troublesome one—Journey to the West.

Once back in Haishi, the first thing that came to his mind was Haofang Culture.

This led to the scene before us.

“Leader, Haofang Culture is now under Director Fang’s helm. They don’t meddle with other Mingsha City projects! And you’ve seen their film—the quality is exceptional! I estimate the total box office will exceed 2.5 billion.”

The woman quickly added.

“However, Haofang Culture previously did a remake of A Chinese Odyssey. Now teaming up with them for a TV drama—”

Cai An hesitated a bit.

“Leader, I think it won’t conflict at all. Currently, aside from Haofang Culture’s Journey to the West film, there isn’t any other Journey to the West work that qualifies as a classic.”

The woman immediately continued,

“Shall we contact Mr. Fang of Haofang Culture first?”

Before Cai An could consider replying, a knock sounded at the door.

“Come in!”

Cai An paused and waved his hand dismissively.

In the next moment, the door swung open and the Channel Director walked in.

“Leader, are you busy?”

Seeing the middle-aged woman, the Channel Director was taken aback.

“It’s nothing. What’s up?”

Cai An gestured for the Channel Director to speak freely.

“Leader, just now an announcement was posted over in Mingsha City!”

The Channel Director nodded before continuing,

“Hmm? They issued an announcement? What’s it about?”

At the mention of Mingsha City’s latest buzz, Cai An straightened up.

They had just been discussing the possibility of collaborating with Haofang Culture, and now an announcement from over there had caught everyone off guard.

“Leader, this announcement traces back to a hot post from this morning.”

The Channel Director exchanged a glance with the woman before detailing the matter.

“Wait, so you’re saying Mingsha City’s announcement was specifically made because of this issue?”

A few minutes later,

Cai An couldn’t help but ask,

“Yeah! And all signs point to that initial incendiary post being connected to Dino Park, with the ultimate aim of ramping up the hype for Lanruo Temple.”

The Channel Director nodded slightly.

As a seasoned media professional, he knew that many things didn’t require digging for the truth—they were right there on the surface.

“Dino Park? That kid! Why stir up trouble at a time like this? If Mingsha City starts something, it won’t stop at just one incident!”

Hearing this,

Cai An sighed in exasperation, massaging his temples.