FWTS # Chapter 130: Promoted to Platinum

On the Qiyue Group's side, they had anticipated that Hou Muyun would indeed take serious steps to form a team for the production of "Xuan Yuan Sword Master." They didn't entirely dismiss his chances, given the IP's popularity and his personal connections. However, they never expected it to happen so quickly! It was so fast that they even suspected it might have been premeditated.

But after seeing the "preparation agreement" that Hou Muyun provided, whether it was premeditated or not seemed less important.

A production budget of 50 million yuan for one season, and that was just the preliminary amount!

The copyright department of Qiyue was shocked upon seeing this. They understood better than Hou Muyun what kind of production scale this implied.

When they saw the name "Sunny Sky Films," many of them didn't recognize it, but those in the know whispered a few words, and everyone's eyes lit up.

With Chu Feng Group's backing, investment wasn't an issue, nor were connections. As for the filming team, that was beyond their control.

Qiyue's stance was simple: the film and television adaptation rights were a small matter. The key was whether it could drive physical book sales and game rights.

Now, this preparation agreement clearly showed a larger investment than what Legendary Century had proposed.

As for other matters, the name Chu Feng Group was enough.

"Hou Yun, please wait a moment."

The copyright department and the editor-in-chief went out for about an hour before returning with someone from the legal department to start signing the authorization agreement.

After reviewing the agreement, Hou Muyun handed over all the subsequent procedures to the consultant he had specifically brought, Mr. Chi.

Mr. Chi was a legal consultant from the Master Fifteen Studio, whom Hou Muyun had specially called to "borrow" when he came.

Oral agreements are one thing, but some matters need to be put down in black and white. It's not a matter of trust; it's about being precise and professional.

Mr. Chi also participated in signing the contract with Sunny Sky Films.

The contract with Sunny Sky Films involved many more details than the one with Qiyue, even more than Hou Muyun had expected.

There were secondary authorization agreements, script authorization agreements, screenwriter agreements, post-production music agreements, and various investment-related agreements, along with numerous supplementary clauses and terms...

Fortunately, Hou Muyun had the legal awareness to bring a professional like Mr. Chi. Otherwise, to put it bluntly, if Sunny Sky Films wanted to make some tweaks in the contract, it would be impossible for someone like Hou Muyun, who was not well-versed in law, to catch them.

In the end, everything went very smoothly. Mr. Chi professionally and thoroughly explained and clarified some important or incomprehensible points for Hou Muyun. After confirming everything, Hou Muyun signed.

"Pleasure doing business!"

Chu Qing stood up and extended her hand to Hou Muyun.

"Pleasure doing business!"

Hou Muyun also stood up, and their hands clasped together.

...

"Phew!"

As he walked out of Sunny Sky Films, Hou Muyun let out a long breath. This matter was finally settled.

For now, Hou Muyun didn't need to be involved in the upcoming steps.

The production of a TV series can be broadly divided into three steps: pre-production, filming, and post-production.

Pre-production is often the longest phase, primarily involving the script. Now that the script was ready, everything became much simpler, significantly shortening the pre-production time. Forming the crew, getting the project approved, and other preparations could now be put on the agenda immediately.

"Brother Chi, thank you for your hard work today."

Hou Muyun took out a pre-prepared bank card. Although Mr. Chi was "borrowed" from Master Fifteen, it was only right to give him a gratuity.

Mr. Chi accepted it after a slight hesitation.

After bidding farewell to Consultant Chi, Hou Muyun strolled along the banks of the Huangpu River, humming a tune. The night breeze was gentle, and he was in high spirits. He walked for more than half an hour before hailing a taxi to a hotel. Although he initially wanted to find a place to have a drink or buy some alcohol to enjoy back at the hotel, the thought of his abysmal tolerance (a mere 19 points) quickly dampened his enthusiasm.

Instead, he decided to get some writing done.

The main text of "Xuan Yuan Sword Master" had already exceeded 4 million words. According to Hou Muyun’s original update schedule, the book would have been completed by the end of the month. However, due to the slower update pace, the completion date would be delayed. Nonetheless, it was nearing its end, and the story would be wrapped up by February at the latest.

As for the new book, if everything had gone according to plan, it would already be in progress. However, various delays had pushed its start date back. Writing the new book wasn't an issue—he had already outlined the plot and written the opening chapters. It was ready to be updated at any time.

The key issue was signing a contract with a platform.

For platform selection, Hou Muyun's first choice was Qichuang. He hadn’t considered a second option yet.

Currently, Hou Muyun was a level-four writer on Qichuang. Although Qichuang had previously proactively revised his contract, it was only a partial modification. While he appreciated this, he knew that his new book couldn't follow the terms of the modified contract. Qichuang clearly intended to offer him better terms.

The new book would be uploaded only after the contract was finalized.

Around midnight, after taking a shower, Hou Muyun lay in bed playing with his phone. While doing so, he sent a WeChat message to his editor: "I'm ready to start a new book."

...

The editor, already in bed reading the latest updates of "The Quirky Meeting Room," cursed upon receiving the message, "Damn, why didn’t you mention this when you were at headquarters today?!"

He quickly called the chief editor.

The chief editor, who had been asleep, was jolted awake by the call and immediately contacted several others: "Get back to the office for a meeting! What’s up? That troublesome author suddenly decides to start a new book in the middle of the night! We need to finalize the plans we discussed earlier tonight and talk to him tomorrow. Hurry up!"

...

The next morning, Hou Muyun woke up and wrote for a while. Around ten o'clock, he leisurely headed to the Qichuang building, which was near his hotel. After meeting with Consultant Chi, he entered the building, and by around two in the afternoon, he walked out feeling very pleased.

The contract was settled!

As expected, Hou Muyun secured a platinum contract, with several terms modified and supplemented. He obtained all the rights a web novelist could get from an online platform, along with some additional perks that were typically unattainable.

From that day onward, Hou Muyun was a platinum author for Qichuang Group.

Despite having other identities, Hou Muyun, who originated as a web novelist, held this status in high regard. It was a milestone that he once could only dream about, but now it had come to pass naturally.

After bidding farewell to Consultant Chi once more, Hou Muyun returned to his hotel. He needed to stay in Shanghai until Master Fifteen returned. Although the film adaptation was set, there were still matters requiring his assistance.

Additionally, Hou Muyun posted on Weibo: "The new book will be uploaded on the 10th or 20th of this month. Stay tuned!"


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