As soon as the Human Emperor Banner came out, I became the Lord of the Old Ones

Chapter 138 The Core Advantages of the Cardless Flow
Xu Yan actually quite agrees with Grandpa Xiong's business strategy.

The no-card system is perfect for building a solid foundation for teenagers, giving them a strong enough physique to form contracts with more guardian spirits.

If you stay put and play the role of a "youth training camp," you may not be able to grow big and strong, but it won't be so easy for others to completely eliminate you in your own field.

However, after Xiong Ruyue took over her father's business, she became ambitious and changed her ways.

She immediately renamed "Kuangtie Martial Arts School" to "Kuangtie Club," making no secret of her determination to enter a completely new arena.

They also actively learned from the three major clubs in the city and introduced high-end service facilities, including fully automatic massage machines, medical cabins, deep meditation cabins, and constant temperature medicinal baths.

They also ordered a large number of advanced training devices that can insert training cards, and acquired the two shops on either side of the original Kuang Tie Martial Arts Hall, knocking down all the walls and investing heavily in a comprehensive upgrade, from decoration to facilities to business area, fully benchmarking against the three major clubs.

In addition, Chu Zhifeng, the true disciple whom Xiong Tieshan had painstakingly cultivated, had also reached the age of fruition. In the past two years, he had shown outstanding performance in many Spirit Control Competitions in Dawn City, and had defeated many single-card and multi-card masters, becoming the most outstanding new star in Dawn City.

As a result, Kuangtie Club rose to fame, and its membership increased dramatically year after year, growing tenfold compared to three years ago. It was no longer a harmless youth training camp, but a rising competitor.

As the saying goes, "competitors are enemies." In recent years, with the economic downturn in Dawn City, the business of selling and training spirit cards has not been easy. The pie is only so big. If you take a bigger bite, I will take a smaller bite.

If Xiong Ruyue still wants to make a big show of barging in to snatch the cake, what's so strange about it? They've joined forces, resorted to underhanded tactics, smear campaigns, and even more despicable and brutal methods, determined to eliminate the Kuangtie Club as quickly as possible.

After listening to Xu Yan's meticulous analysis, Xiong Ruyue was dumbfounded for a long time.

"I... I didn't think that much about it. At first, I just listened to a lot of complaints from the old members and added a heating card system that could automatically control the temperature in the bathhouse. Later, as business got better and better, I tried to make changes little by little. Was I really wrong?"

Xu Yan shrugged.

"Now that things have come to this, right and wrong are not important. What's important is, Sister Xiong, what are your plans?"

Xu Yan looked around and said, "Yesterday you verbally promised to help me get a permanent position, including the Spirit Card Maintenance Technician position, a part-time position as a special instructor, plus allowances and commissions. Does that still stand?"

Xiong Ruyue was stunned for a moment.

Unexpectedly, amidst the turmoil of losing star players and veteran coaches, Xu Yan was still willing to stay.

She looked grateful, but after thinking it over carefully, she slowly shook her head and said with a wry smile, "Ah Yan, I appreciate your kindness, and of course I would like you to stay and help me, but you have seen the current state of the Kuang Tie Club."

"Yesterday, so many members came to our door demanding refunds. Today, the negative news has made the front page and caused a huge uproar. The number of people coming to get refunds may increase tenfold. We simply don't have that much money in our account."

"Even if we could beg them to give us some more time, all the senior coaches who helped my dad support the Kuangtie Martial Arts School, as well as the main members of the Kuangtie team, have been poached by the Shattered Star Club."

"Our coaching team's strength has declined significantly, and the Kuangtie team's performance will definitely plummet. What can we use to attract more members, and what services can we provide to them once we attract them?"
"Moreover, to be honest with you, I borrowed a large sum of money from three banks for the comprehensive upgrade of the Kuangtie Club."

"We had already reached an agreement with several advertising sponsors. As long as the Kuangtie team could achieve good results in this 'Dawn Cup' Super Rookie Challenge—not necessarily winning the championship, but just making it into the top eight—we would receive a large amount of sponsorship fees to solve our funding problems."

"Now it seems that all of that has gone down the drain."

"I don't know how much longer the Kuangtie Club can hold on."

"Of course, as long as Kuang Tie's reputation remains intact, your food, lodging, and salary here will definitely not be a problem. But you can also go out and see if there are any better job opportunities..."

At this point, Xiong Ruyue suddenly seemed to have thought of something.

Opening the Dawn Morning Post, a publication under Dawn Media, I found the "Dawn Cup Special Report," which included an interview with Xu Yan and a very clear photo.

Xiong Ruyue's face turned pale, and her lips were bitten so hard that a line of fine teeth marks appeared.

Only now did she realize why the two highly paid spirit card maintainers had suddenly resigned, and why no one dared to apply for the job for more than a month afterward.

The circle of card makers in Dawn City is not large.

Many people probably already knew that the Shattered Star Club was secretly planning a surprise attack on the Mad Iron Club.

She was the only one kept in the dark, foolishly dreaming of making the Kuangtie Club bigger and stronger.

"You're right, I'm indeed not good at running a business."

Xiong Ruyue looked guilty. "I was too arrogant. I ruined my father's life's work and dragged you down with me."

"I don't feel like I've been implicated in anything."

Xu Yan had already read all the reports and, amidst the various exaggerated and nonsensical tales, he had happily devoured three meat pies.

He looked at her intently and said, "Sister Xiong, I think you're overthinking things. Maybe not so many members will request refunds today. In the coming months, our membership numbers can be maintained, or even increase day by day." Xiong Ruyue looked at him with surprise.

I thought he had suffered some kind of shock and was daydreaming.

"Sister Xiong, it seems you still haven't realized where Kuang Tie Club's biggest competitive advantage lies."

Xu Yan sighed and asked, "Sister Xiong, have you never thought about what the core competitiveness of our cardless club lies compared to the long-established multi-card clubs with their rich history, strong strength, coaching team, talent pool and marketing channels? Why are we able to thrive in border towns and even challenge the former when cardless clubs are declining?"

Xiong Ruyue opened her mouth.

I originally wanted to say that it was because I adjusted my father's outdated business strategy in the past two years and fully benchmarked against the three major clubs that we were able to attract more and more members.

But looking at Xu Yan's ambiguous smile, and recalling how helpless she was when she was suddenly attacked yesterday, she felt a little guilty.

Upon closer examination, no matter how comprehensively it is benchmarked, it is nothing more than imitating without understanding.

If members are really after "automatic massagers" and "thermal herbal baths," they can simply go to the Shattered Star Club. Why settle for something less?
"In short, prices, or more accurately, poverty."

Xu Yan began to think about this question as soon as he entered Dawn City.

However, during that period he was busy getting familiar with the new work environment, practicing the "Mind Palace Meditation Method", and collecting intelligence related to Dawn Heavy Industry and the Black Dream Organization, so he didn't have time to sort out the details.

After settling Xiong Ruyue on the sofa last night, he went through all the old newspapers piled up in his office and, combined with what he had seen and heard, finally understood the reason.

The so-called "price" is not just about how much difference there is in the membership fees between the Kuangtie Club and the Suixing Club.

To be honest, Xiong Ruyue's investment of an astronomical sum for a comprehensive upgrade is certainly not charity; the costs will all be factored into the membership fees.

Their membership fees are comparable to those of the three major clubs, and not much lower.

The various discount and annual/monthly subscription offers are all pretty much the same across different companies.

In fact, if it really comes down to a price war, those companies are richer and more financially capable than them.

The core issue is the cost of holding a card.

Branded seal cards produced by large companies are very expensive.

An investigation and analysis concluded that a sealing card that can fully unleash a Spirit Master's life potential costs approximately three to six months' worth of a Spirit Master's income.

This is just a fairly standard "basic card".

Those "super cards" and "rare cards" that have been modified by masters, engraved with special runes and inscriptions, and possess special skills are even more outrageously priced. After being hyped up in the market, they can even fetch millions or tens of millions of dollars at auctions.

Buying the card is just the first step.

We will need to hire a professional coach for further guidance, with fees calculated on an hourly basis.

There are also insurance premiums, maintenance fees, repair fees, recasting fees, and upgrade fees.

If the guardian spirit inside the sealed card is agitated after a fierce battle and is in a bad mood, a psychic will have to be hired at great expense to provide psychological counseling to the remnant soul.

The premium cards purchased at exorbitant prices obviously cannot be activated using inferior card readers from small workshops.

High-end card readers from major brands offer faster activation speeds, cause less damage to sealed cards, have more card slots, and boast a more attractive and luxurious appearance, naturally at a significantly higher price.

To make matters worse, the "multi-card flow" is now all the rage.

If a spirit master goes out without carrying seven or eight sealing cards, they'd be embarrassed to greet their fellow spirit masters.

With such a smooth and fluid combo, even a seemingly wealthy and successful Spirit Master can be completely wiped out.

According to statistics, the vast majority of spirit masters spend 50% to 60% or even 70% of their total income on sealing cards.

To compete for a super card with powerful skills, one often has to incur huge credit card debt in order to have a chance to win at the auction.

If you're unlucky and encounter an accident during use, causing your guardian spirit to mutate or even dissipate, then all your efforts will be in vain.

Or perhaps they are too lucky, their guardian spirit has a serendipitous encounter, and they are forced to upgrade their sealing card. Before they can pay off their old debts, they incur new ones, interest compounding, loans upon loans, and ultimately they fall into an abyss of no return.

(End of this chapter)