Without wasting a moment, Jiang Nian immediately accepted the file that Zhang Linyu had sent him.
To give credit where it’s due, although Zhang Linyu came across as just as unserious as Jiang Nian himself, when it came to actual business, the guy was truly professional.
In that document, Zhang Linyu had neatly organized everything—the titles of the productions that had reached out to Jiang Nian, their genres, the directors, the lead actors, and the roles being offered.
Title: Reign of Assassins
Genre: Martial arts film.
Director: Su Zhaobin.
Lead Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Jung Woo-sung, Hsu Hsin-yuan.
Role Offered: The Wheel King.
Title: Tai Chi Master
Genre: Martial arts film.
Director: Yuen Woo-ping.
Lead Cast: Jet Li, Chin Siu-ho, Yuen Cheung-yan.
Role Offered: Eunuch Liu.
Title: The Smiling, Proud Wanderer
Genre: Martial arts television drama.
Director: Huang Junwen.
Lead Cast: Wallace Huo, Joe Chen, Yuan Shanshan, Yang Rong.
Role Offered: Lin Pingzhi.
After going through the document, only these three scripts seemed decent enough.
The rest were either low-budget web series or projects helmed by directors he’d never even heard of.
Now, that wasn’t to say that just because Jiang Nian was rising, he looked down on these people.
Everyone in the entertainment industry was in the same boat—there was no such thing as high or low status.
It’s just that, given Jiang Nian’s current capabilities, he was clearly worthy of better films and dramas.
To put it logically: if you’re a street cleaner, you’re a servant of the people. If I’m a business owner, I’m also a servant of the people. It’s just a division of labor—everyone is an indispensable part of the whole.
He mentally tacked on that little disclaimer to cover his bases.
Of course, there was another reason, and it was just as important.
For instance, among those small web series, some had incredibly strong world-building, with eunuch characters boasting ridiculously high combat power—some even reaching the level of high martial arts.
For a show like that, no matter how good the script was, Jiang Nian couldn’t take it on.
Because he simply couldn’t portray a eunuch of that caliber. He wouldn’t be able to acquire the corresponding martial arts skills.
First, he didn’t have enough attention points. Second, his comprehension wasn’t high enough to support him in achieving enlightenment. And third, his current strength level was just too low.
Trying to get fat in one bite was still out of the question. He was basically being held back by the system. Otherwise, he’d love to jump straight into a mythical drama as a eunuch and skyrocket to the top in one go.
So, Jiang Nian had to climb step by step, starting from low-level martial arts.
“Which one to choose, then.”
Jiang Nian began sifting through the remaining three productions.
Among them, the first to be eliminated was undoubtedly Tai Chi Master.
Not just because the only attractive actress in that show was Yuen Cheung-yan.
But also because Eunuch Liu had too little screen time, no iconic scenes, and his strength was mediocre.
It offered neither visual appeal nor character power—there was simply no point in joining that crew.
As for the remaining two, The Smiling, Proud Wanderer and Reign of Assassins—
They both had decent entertainment value.
Reign of Assassins featured the innocent yet seductive Barbie Hsu, the proud and strong-willed Lin Xi-lei, and the gentle, refined, and rational Jiang Yi-yan.
The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, on the other hand, boasted the young and fresh Yang Rong, the fiery and spirited Yuan Shanshan, and Joe Chen.
“But… I think I’ll go with The Smiling, Proud Wanderer.”
After mulling it over for a moment, Jiang Nian made his decision.
Because in Reign of Assassins, the Wheel King’s performance was just too lackluster.
He was probably only a second-rate martial artist at best, on par with “Du Gao” at the absolute most.
In contrast, Lin Pingzhi from The Smiling, Proud Wanderer—as a major character in the story and a top-tier expert within Jin Yong’s universe—
Jiang Nian conservatively estimated that he would be at least a first-rate martial artist!
“Then it’s settled!”
Jiang Nian murmured to himself.
Although not being able to act alongside Barbie Hsu and the others was a bit disappointing, his decision didn’t waver because of it.
Because Jiang Nian was well aware of one thing: no matter what, power is everything.
Beauty, money, status…
These are all just byproducts of strength.
As long as he grew powerful enough, all of them would eventually fall into his hands!
Having locked in his choice, Jiang Nian messaged Zhang Linyu to start negotiations with the other side, preferably asking them to send over the script for him to review.
Thanks to Zhang Linyu’s efforts, two days later, Jiang Nian received an express delivery from SF.
The package contained two items: one was the script sent by the The Smiling, Proud Wanderer production team, and the other was the contract.
Since this was a television drama with a substantial investment, and Jiang Nian was currently at the peak of his popularity, the producers—Daxia Audiovisual Media and Yu Zheng Studio—had a discussion and generously offered Jiang Nian a fee of ten million yuan!
At first glance, that might not seem like a whole lot.
After all, in this day and age, the hottest female star, Fan Bingbing, could command at least a million per episode for a TV drama.
She even made headlines once for demanding sixty million for just four days of filming.
That breaks down to fifteen million a day!
Or 625,000 an hour.
Even more ridiculous than that certain someone from later years.
But if you dig deeper—talking about profit sharing, how the local gentry’s money gets divided, and which overseas company that money should be invested in—
In reality, what they actually pocket isn’t as much as it appears on the surface.
On the other hand, Jiang Nian’s ten million was the real deal—solid and straightforward.
So, in a sense, his pay wasn’t low at all.
But Jiang Nian didn’t rush to sign the contract.
After all, last time, it was only after he’d already signed that he discovered “Yu Huatian” was just a second-rate scrub.
So, to avoid making the same mistake, he decided to play it safe and picked up the script.
Instantly—
[Character Detected: Lin Pingzhi]
[Realm: First-Rate Martial Artist]
[Skills: Huashan Sword Techniques (Mastery), Bixie Sword Techniques (Mastery), Sky-Shaking Palm (Mastery) (Choose One)]
[Attention Points Required for Unlock: 200,000]
[Comprehension Required for Unlock: 5]
[Unlock now?]
“!!!”
Even though Jiang Nian had steeled himself mentally, he still couldn’t help but be blown away by the sheer magnificence of that stat sheet.
All Mastery-level skills across the board!
If he mastered all of these, wouldn’t his strength skyrocket straight to the peak of first-rate martial artist?
But soon, he calmed down.
Because he remembered one thing—his current Comprehension was only 3, but unlocking Lin Pingzhi required 5.
He simply didn’t meet the conditions right now.
“Damn it, this is such a tease.”
Jiang Nian cursed under his breath.
What was this supposed to be?
Like a eunuch visiting a brothel—all looks, no action?
But he wasn’t willing to give up just like that.
Because as far as he remembered, after this adaptation of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, the next one wouldn’t come until 2024. And that one was a film adaptation, which didn’t even include Lin Pingzhi—just the hypocrite Yue Buqun.
Sure, that character was also strong, but the time gap was just way too huge.
By the time that rolled around, Jiang Nian would probably have already broken through the void with his martial arts.
What would he even need to play Yue Buqun for then?
He needed it now.
So, staring at the prompt asking whether he wanted to unlock, Jiang Nian thought for a moment and, with a hint of stubbornness, clicked “Yes.”
He expected nothing to happen.
But to his surprise, after he clicked it, the system popped up another notification.
[Insufficient Comprehension detected. Force unlock?]
[Note: Your current Comprehension is only 3. Forcing an unlock will require you to compensate for the shortfall.]
[Compensation formula: (Missing Comprehension points) x (Attention Points required for unlock) = (2 x 200,000)]
[Additionally, after a forced unlock, the proficiency gained from each training session will be fixed at 1 instead of 3, until your Comprehension reaches the required threshold.]
Jiang Nian: “???”
Jiang Nian: “!!!”
