Mythical Scroll Artist: Starting with the God of Wealth, Zhao Gongming

Chapter 338 A Parody

As it turns out, this promotional strategy was quite effective.

In the following days, the popularity of the underworld began to soar, especially among the younger generation, who were experiencing a surge of hormones and placing the greatest importance on love.

Not only couples, but even single people want to join in the fun.

The new promotional advertisements in the Underworld region show that, in addition to the Bewitching Palace, there is also a place called the "Three Lives Stone".

There, you can see your past, present, and future lives.

Couples can make decisions about their relationships here, while singles can also look into their past and future lives.

As online discussions intensified, the Underworld realm became incredibly popular, its ranking soaring and surpassing a host of small and medium-sized dojos, second only to the nine major dojos and a few top-tier dojos.

Moreover, judging from the current development trend, it has already begun to show signs of surpassing all the major dojos.

"To be honest, the master who created the Underworld is a genius, to be able to come up with so many ingenious ideas."

"Indeed, it felt just like the real thing."

What do you mean by "truly the same"?

"How should I put it? It just feels like people should go through this process after they die, and it's very relatable."

"I see young people having a lot of fun, is it really that much fun?"

"Upstairs, the Underworld is no longer about whether it's fun or not, but rather... never mind, you wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you. You can only understand that feeling once you've truly experienced it."

"Thanks to the Underworld, I experienced the meaning of life and death for the first time."

"Although other dungeons also have various thrilling and exciting storylines, they are still essentially inseparable from fighting and killing."

"I wholeheartedly agree. It feels like it's just being scary for the sake of being scary, without any substance whatsoever."

"There is also fighting and killing in the key underworld areas. The various battle levels are set up in a very logical and gradual manner. Each station has a unique background and logic."

"To be honest, I've been stuck on the eighteenth level of hell for several days now. I need help with a walkthrough."

"Huh? The eighteen levels of hell are difficult, but surely they're not insurmountable?"

According to netizens, the difficulty of the eighteen levels of hell is dynamically adjusted according to the crime committed; the more heinous the crime, the higher the difficulty of the eighteen levels of hell.

"Holy crap, who was that ruthless killer? How could he stay stuck on the 18th floor for days?"

"Hey~ I suddenly had an idea. In the future, when interrogating criminals, could we just take a trip to the underworld?"

"Forget it. Ordinary mortals can't get in; you need spiritual power to enter."

"Let's put aside ordinary people for now and talk about the law enforcement agencies of us superhumans."

"You can have this."

“It’s possible, it should be,” one netizen replied. “I happen to work in the law enforcement department here, and the leaders have already started to implement it.”

Wow, that's so efficient.

Does anyone know if the past and future lives seen on the Three Lives Stone are real or fake?

"It's probably fake, right? If it were real, it would be too outrageous."

……

The explosive popularity of the Underworld has put unprecedented pressure on various Taoist sects and forces.

The pressure is particularly noticeable in fields of the same type or related industries.

The saying goes, "There is no harm without comparison." Products in the same category are inherently competitors, and their markets and audiences are also fixed.

The explosive popularity of the Underworld realm means that the popularity of other necromancy-related realms is declining.

Most importantly, once you've experienced the Underworld realm, it's really hard to "eat" other necromancer-themed scrolls.

Take the Necronomicon Gym for example. Even the players from their various clubs have started to lose interest. Every day is like clocking in for work. They open a Tier 1 dungeon, go in, and quickly grind through it before it's over.

In short: It's boring.

In contrast, the Underworld is much more interesting. Now, after experiencing the entire first-tier dungeon, people often want to try a higher difficulty level.

Every time there's a new experience, every time there's a new discovery.

Not to mention the contestants, even the vast majority of scroll painters felt that their own scroll painting was a pile of crap after experiencing the Underworld Realm.

On the scroll illustrators' forum, many people were expressing their feelings about this. "Is this the difference between genius and ordinary people?"

"Anyone want to form a group to become an apprentice at the Underworld Club?"

"Stop joking, do you think they'd even want you?"

"Compared to the Underworld, the scrolls from other realms are nothing but garbage."

"In my opinion, the Abyss Demon Lord's [Hall of Ghostly Souls] is nothing special; it only has the selling point of being a contemporary true god."

"In terms of the conception of laws and various mechanisms, the Ghost Realm Soul Palace is still very strong, but unfortunately it is still not as good as the Underworld Scroll."

"Sometimes I even have the illusion that the underworld should be the place of practice for the true gods of this world."

"Yes, yes, I feel the same way."

"Speaking of which, are there any high-quality imitation guys out there? Could we follow the approach of the underworld and imitate some similar functions?"

"It's possible, but it might not be able to replicate the same intricate and logically consistent style as other brands."

……

The Hall of the Dead.

The Zhao family father and son were clearly also considering imitation. With their family's resources and capabilities, it would be easy for them to "polish and imitate" their own domain.

"Hmph! What Yellow Springs Road? Isn't this just copying our Yellow Springs Kingdom concept?" Zhao Qinghe said indignantly.

“Indeed,” Zhao Gao agreed wholeheartedly. “But it’s understandable, after all, our ancestors were all friends back then.”

As the saying goes, "all writings under heaven are largely plagiarism," and similar situations inevitably arise in the world of illustrated scrolls, with varying styles and concepts.

Of course, the actions of writers should not be called plagiarism, but rather mutual learning.

Since the Xue family ancestors borrowed their family's concept of "Yellow Springs" back then, it is reasonable for them to borrow the Xue family's ideas and settings now.

So, the father and son, along with the elders of the branch clans outside, all began to write.

Almost like copying a cat, they incorporated various hot topics from the underworld into their own necromancy-themed scroll.

They then began to utilize the Necropolis's channels and reputation for publicity.

The slogan is also very simple; just copy the one from Underworld Club.

Little did they know that their clumsy imitation would directly trigger a barrage of criticism online.

Although the Undead Gym tried its best to control the comments and resist, it rallied its fan base to flood the screen and turned the public opinion into a war of words between the two sides.

But users aren't stupid; they can tell at a glance who's telling the truth and who's lying.

"The Necromancer's Gym has no shame, has it? Such blatant plagiarism!"

"Speaking of which, isn't Xue Lingling also from the Necromancer's Gym? This is like the older generation plagiarizing the younger generation's achievements!"

"Is that disrespectful old man the one who dares to hold a press conference?"

"I just checked, it's the Zhao family of the Necromancer's Guild, the leaders of the Underworld Kingdom."

"nausea!"

"I just went to the Underworld instance and all I can say is that I can't help but laugh."

"This imitation is so bad!"

"Tch~ Who's imitating whom is still up in the air. Without my Netherworld Kingdom, where would the Road to the Underworld come from?"

"What utter nonsense are you spouting? What does my Underworld Road have to do with your wretched Underworld Kingdom?"

"To be honest, there may indeed be some connection between the two sides, but even after breaking through the Yellow Springs Road, the Underworld is still astonishing."

"Yes, yes, yes, the Yellow Springs Road is at most an added bonus."

……

Here at the Underworld Club.

Wu Xian and Xue Lingling, the master and apprentice, were naturally also paying attention to this war of words.

When Wu Xian learned that the Zhao family was imitating them, he couldn't help but laugh, because this kind of operation had such a relatable, down-to-earth feel to it.

This is the complete opposite of what's going on; the father is acting like the son, isn't he?
(End of this chapter)