Douluo Continent, Huo Yuhao who returned from Sekiro

Chapter 557 How about I give you the position of Vice Sect Master of the Tang Sect? (Daily 10,000 words)

After listening to Huo Yuhao's righteous and eloquent recounting of He Caitou's numerous crimes, including being disorganized and undisciplined, betraying the singles group, and being the first to betray them despite his thick eyebrows and big eyes, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi both had embarrassed expressions on their faces.

He Caitou and Huo Yuhao weren't at the academy; they were out on an exchange program and didn't know that someone in the academy had long hair, but the two of them knew perfectly well.

You, Huo Yuhao, still have the right to criticize He Caitou?

However, the two didn't say much. They simply pulled Huo Yuhao into the Tang Sect and began to share with him the recent developments of the Tang Sect—well, mainly to complain bitterly, saying that the Tang Sect was having a tough time and they really didn't know how to develop.

Beibei: "Currently, the Tang Sect is still short-handed, mainly divided into two categories: formal disciples and nominal disciples. To be honest, I actually envisioned the Tang Sect being divided into two halls."

"The inner hall is responsible for sect management and soul tool production, while the outer hall is responsible for foreign negotiations and combat. Unfortunately, manpower has always been the biggest problem restricting development."

"I've been thinking about training the Tang Sect's own Soul Masters and craftsmen, but then something happened, which Cai Tou may have told you about."

"Since then, San Shi and I have been basically broke until Cai Tou brought back the rare metals yesterday and sold them to the academy. Only then did we have the funds to keep Tang Sect running again."

"I've been working hard to recruit more students, but progress is slow. The Tang Clan's reputation isn't great these days, and being a small sect, it's difficult to attract talented Soul Masters."

"I'm considering improving the welfare benefits for sect disciples to attract talent, but a small increase won't be effective, and a large increase will..."

At this point, Beibei gave a wry smile: "I'm not afraid to tell you, Yuhao, I'm terrified whenever I see the account book. I'm afraid that if the Tang Clan has too few people, it won't be able to develop, and if there are too many people, the funds we finally got will be gone in no time."

"Supporting a hundred people isn't much, and a thousand or so gold soul coins per person per month isn't much either. Food and lodging are minor expenses. Researching ways to make money always requires spending money to try and fail. All these things add up to a million gold soul coins a year, enough to buy a ten-thousand-year-level soul bone!"

At this point, Beibei clutched his head in despair. He could only spend a fraction of all those gold soul coins during his six years at Shrek Academy's outer court. But once he started building his power, the money just flowed out like water, and all he could see was money going out; he couldn't see any coming in.

Bei Bei's words startled Huo Yuhao. Yes, he had always thought that the Tang Sect's development was nearing a standstill due to a lack of experience. But even if Bei Bei and the others were novices in this field, after two and a half years of trial and error, they had learned everything they needed to.

However, maintaining order in a sect is incredibly expensive. Just as Bei Bei said, a sect with a hundred people is not much at all; it's only about the size of a small to medium-sized sect. Each person receives a few hundred or a thousand gold soul coins per month. Add in all the expenses, and the total becomes an astronomical figure!

A super sect like the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School, with its spies scattered throughout the country, might have tens of thousands of members. Every year, it would take hundreds of millions of gold soul coins to maintain basic operations!

The reason why he could maintain his Soul Palace without feeling any difficulty was mainly because Huo Yuhao himself had a demi-plane of the dead, which allowed him to transport rare metals in large quantities, making it an extremely profitable industry.

Moreover, there are very few living people in the undead demiplane; the rest are all undead. Whether they are recruited to work on construction sites or to make soul tools, it is a good way for undead to pass the time. Not only do they not have to spend money, but these undead also have to compete for the right to work.

Even the major empires don't actually control that many Soul Masters. When it comes to distributing grain, they have to use a combination of food and money, otherwise the annual tax revenue wouldn't even be enough to cover the distribution.

Although the Empire's standards for recruiting Soul Masters may not be as high as those of a once-declining sect like the Tang Sect, the high standards of sects that start with high-end recruitment or legendary sects like the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School might only be a fraction of the salary offered, but the sheer number of recruits makes it all worthwhile.

Huo Yuhao vaguely gleaned a glimpse of the secret from Bei Bei's complaints, but upon closer examination, it was like trying to see flowers through a fog—he couldn't see anything clearly.

"The precious metals trading system has inherent flaws, systemic flaws that are irreparable."

Huo Yuhao spoke slowly and deliberately, condensing some of his wildest ideas into a few words, chewing them over and over, forcibly memorizing the thoughts he had grasped.

"What's expensive, what are the drawbacks?"

Xu Sanshi spoke with a slight lisp; what Huo Yuhao had just said was too convoluted for him to understand.

"It's nothing."

Huo Yuhao shook his head.

"Let's try to train Tang Sect's own Soul Masters first. It's okay to start with higher salaries. We can create an incentive plan that lasts for a period of time, with monthly salaries combined with bonuses. This way, when we expand recruitment later, the salaries will actually remain the same."

"In this way, we can not only motivate members who join the sect early, but also control the rate at which cash flow is consumed. Brother Beibei, you still need to pay attention to the matter of combining Tang Sect soul tools and hidden weapons. Brother Caitou alone definitely can't handle it."

"Besides the soul tool trade, the Tang Sect also needs to try to get a share of the pie from other places and make a comprehensive allocation of the sect's funding sources."

Huo Yuhao's words were like a wake-up call, making Bei Bei and the others feel as if the fog in front of them had been cleared away. However, Huo Yuhao's slightly complaining words at the end made Bei Bei feel a little embarrassed.

"That's for sure, but I really don't know where else the Tang Sect can make money besides the soul tool trade."

Beibei frowned and said, "Yuhao, why don't you join the Tang Sect? You can be a sect elder, or even the vice sect leader. Without your help as an external brain, the Tang Sect we've been messing around with is just getting worse and worse."

Upon hearing this, Huo Yuhao could only shrug helplessly, looking like he couldn't help at all: "Brother Beibei, I've been trying to build my own force recently, and I really can't spare the time. Without my own force to help me gather intelligence and rare metals, many of my research progresses have started to be affected."

"So, how does your organization plan to make money?"

Bei Bei's eyes lit up. She hoped to get a share of Huo Yuhao's money-making scheme, even if it was just some of what Huo Yuhao left over!

Huo Yuhao shrugged and said, "I'll make new and high-level soul tools and then make a profit. In another year or two, when I break through to the sixth-ring Soul Emperor level, it won't be too difficult to make level seven soul tools."

"My people help me collect rare metals, which I then use to make high-level soul tools to earn a profit. The money I make is just enough to support my people. Unlike the Tang Clan, I don't need to start with dozens of people and then need hundreds or thousands later."

(End of this chapter)