Chapter 94: A Life Competing with Immortals

With access to a multitude of planes, Ma Jun did not just pick one realm to plunder and leave. He used the old trick of plucking every feather from a passing goose, making full use of everything, not wasting a trace.

Among the five realms, the Avatar realm was already nearly exhausted in resources; all the advanced technologies had been seized, and even the unique superconductive ore there had been taken in full. He still did not yet have the ability to consume an entire realm.

The other realms were flourishing and brought in countless resources.

The path of development is never straight: sometimes it demands patience, sometimes bold forward momentum.

Now that all resources had been consolidated and fed back into the main plane, and with immense manpower, materials, and finance behind it, Junma Pictures Group grew at a breathtaking pace.

First, it acquired part of the major cinema chains and distributors in global film markets. With countless low-tier biocyborgs helping, there was no need to worry about loyalty.

Next, the conglomerate bought several established film studios, bolstering its film library. It also took a large stake in the hottest animation-adaptation studio in the market.

Finally, it acquired and integrated various traditional and modern media outlets and publishers, covering most of the literature and animation industries.

In this way, with the world staring in disbelief, Junma Pictures finished building its layout.

Junma Pictures became the largest film company in the world, combining production, distribution, cinema chains, source IP, and media into one complete industrial chain.

Of course, to avoid drawing too much attention, some sectors were handled by others and were not fully folded into Junma Group.

Even so, Junma Pictures made peers in both domestic and international film industries uneasy.

Ma Jun spent the New Year at home, which was a happy New Year for him, though tinged with helplessness. After acting in Silent Bloom, he had gained some recognition at home, and whenever relatives and friends met him they offered praise. Even people who only partly knew him, or barely knew him, would crowd around. Many even asked whether he could take them along somehow.

Such expressions of envy had long ceased to move Ma Jun. After training across several realms, he had become a calm, old fox.

Yet seeing his parents’ joyful faces still made Ma Jun truly happy. Family is always the nearest.

After the New Year, Junma Pictures resumed work. In addition to producing and distributing films to expand influence, the major project of the year was a Chinese-foreign co-production.

Its title was Rise of the Rag King, adapted from a science-fiction novel. The book had numerous devoted readers worldwide, so its potential was immense.

The scenes in the novel were grand, full of dream and hope, and deeply alluring. Junma Group, of course, paid heavily to secure the rights. From production to distribution, the project had many partners, including two giant studios from Hollywood, the very heart of cinema.

So when the shooting announcement was released, it drew global attention.

After initial preparations, Junma Pictures unveiled the cast list, and the line-up was extravagantly luxurious: two national treasure–level actors from the Mainland, four actor-emperors from Hong Kong and Taiwan, and two Oscar-winning actor-emperors from Hollywood. The actresses included two globally renowned stars. Among them, Ma Jun was the least famous.

When the first list appeared, film lovers and novel readers did not quarrel; they were simply thrilled, waiting eagerly for such a heavily funded production. No specific roles had been announced.

Then Junma Pictures moved through a staged promotional campaign, first releasing news that all the actors were gathered for discussion. In their interviews, those actor-emperors and actress-emperors all mentioned Ma Jun, saying he was a very excellent actor.

Afterwards came a set of character stills—each actor photographed in different costume sets.

Fans naturally did not understand the hidden maneuvering. They only felt that the stills of Ma Jun in the protagonist’s costume looked most fitting. Especially after putting on lenses that turned his pupils blue, he had a truly leading-man aura.

After a series of promotions, Junma Pictures again announced that global fans could vote for the male lead.

Without doubt, after months of groundwork, Ma Jun’s fame immediately surpassed all same-age actors on the Mainland, and people worldwide were watching. With carefully guided public opinion behind the scenes, Ma Jun became the inevitable and deserving lead.

By then, pre-production was complete and filming began.

Rise of the Rag King was scheduled as a six-part production with a total budget of three billion U.S. dollars. The director was Black, a three-time Oscar winner. The cast was all heavyweight names; even some of the supporting actors were leads in other films.

Such immense effort to stage-manage Ma Jun meant it was almost impossible for him not to become famous.

Ma Jun’s appearance was not breathtakingly supernatural, but he was handsome enough; paired with an indefinable charisma, he was highly attractive. As for his acting, there is no need to say—his skills were already refined to the highest.

The production process was very smooth, and no one got the chance to make Ma Jun lose face.

Unless a person was foolish, after all the publicity and after seeing Ma Jun’s clothing, entourage, vehicles, and impeccable professionalism, one would understand that this man had strong background and ability and was not someone to offend.

Even the cunning actor-emperors would not dare, and neither would the staff.

And Ma Jun knew how to conduct himself; he handled everything with perfect tact.

Under harmonious filming conditions, the crew traveled across Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, and Zhangjiajie. After four months, one installment of Rise of the Rag King was completed.

In post-production, Ma Jun was largely unnecessary.

After being busy for nearly half a year, Ma Jun took his father and mother on a world tour and then returned to a small island near Australia. The island, newly built, had been bought by Junma Pictures and discreetly equipped with various military deployments.

It was entirely Ma Jun’s private domain, guarded 24 hours a day by twenty thousand low-tier biocyborgs.

The island was beautiful in every season, almost eternally springlike. It had a private airport, private football field, basketball court, golf course, and more, along with various residences.

On the west side of the island, near a mountain hollow, stood Ma Jun’s home—a castle.

Inside the castle were hundreds of rooms, all differently designed in Western, European, and modern styles. The interiors held many antiques, famous paintings, and rare plants.

In the gardens outside, tigers, lions, and even pandas were kept.

All of this had been arranged by Old Qian and his men; Ma Jun had never asked for it.

At this moment, on the open-air balcony atop the castle, Ma Jun wore sandals, a vest, and loose shorts, lying in a chair, sunglasses on, smoking cigarette after cigarette.

Now his daily necessities—including clothing, cigarettes, and food—were all produced separately on his own realms in other planes. He had prepared the vegetables and food especially for his father, his mother, and Mu Jianping as well.

Life lived so carefree that it surpassed that of the gods—if it were ever reported, it would leave many people stunned.