Jing Yu, after all, wasn't the Great Zhou currency — not everyone loved or even knew him.
Even though he had a massive drama fanbase, Great Zhou still had many people who never watched TV shows and only played games — kind of like how, in his past life, girls often loved variety shows while guys had no clue what was going on.
Yao Naili was one such person, and there were plenty more like him.
But today, a lot of these pure gamers had been shaken awake.
Gaming technology in the Great Zhou universe was no worse than in Jing Yu's past life. The difference lay in gameplay design — and it was there that Jing Yu's influence created waves.
What seemed like "standard game design" back in Jing Yu's original world became groundbreaking once introduced here. So while drama fans were mostly talking about Kenshin's backstory, real gamers were focused on the innovative mechanics shown in the new trailer.
"Now this is interesting. Compared to Bluestar Film's earlier game titles, this one looks way more creative."
"Been following Bluestar Media & Film for a while. Their 'Fate/stay night' game? Combat mechanics were garbage, but the story carried it, so it still sold over 10 million. Felt overrated, but hey, that's the market. Their later games were visibly better. And now 'Rurouni Kenshin' — just judging from the trailer — looks just as good as recent triple-A studio games."
"You know how crazy their hiring has been? Bluestar poached over a hundred skilled developers from both domestic and international studios last year. They paid millions in contract penalties just to buy people out. Other studios have been furious, accusing them of using dirty money to ruin the job market. But hey, it's working — their game division is now seriously strong."
"But can you really make a great game just by poaching talent?"
"That's the thing — most of the people they hired were mid-to-senior developers. The top-tier veterans are locked into ten-year contracts and aren't going anywhere. Bluestar upgraded their technical backbone, not their superstar game directors. So I guess they got lucky — some of those hires must've been genuinely brilliant, and Bluestar simply gave them the stage to shine."
"I've also heard rumors that the company's chairman, Jing Yu, was deeply involved in game design himself. Maybe some of the innovation came from him?"
"Yeah, right. I don't buy the genius myth. He writes good scripts, sure. But if you tell me he's also a prodigy in game design? I'm not buying it."
"Whatever the case, 'Rurouni Kenshin' exceeded expectations. I'm definitely picking it up at the end of the month!"
"I just got a Qinyun Video membership. Gonna watch the prequel film first."
"Don't even start. I just got back from watching it. Guys, you HAVE to see it — Kenshin is insanely cool."
"...Wait, are you a Bluestar shill?"
"No, seriously! I saw the trailer, got curious, and watched the movie. I swear, I regret not watching it in theaters back then. My sister asked me to go, but I thought Great Zhou cinema was dumb and just kept gaming. But after watching it now... man, it broke me."
"You're exaggerating."
"No, I'm serious. After watching the movie, then rewatching the game trailer? Whole new level of emotional impact. The cross-shaped scar on the protagonist's face — just seeing it hurts. I'm buying this game, no question."
"Man, you sound like PR. Whatever, it's just a few yuan — I'll buy the movie and check it out for everyone."
After the 'Rurouni Kenshin' final trailer dropped, the entire industry was shocked.
The most unexpected thing? The prequel film 'Trust & Betrayal' saw a sudden spike in sales on Qinyun Video, despite being several years old.
All thanks to people catching up on the backstory after getting hyped by the game.
By late October, the entire entertainment and gaming space was buzzing with news about the game.
Jing Yu quickly shifted into full-blown promotion mode, launching press tours across Great Zhou.
And not just for the game — 'Spirited Away' was being promoted alongside it. He bundled them together to maximize exposure.
A four-to-five-year-old wuxia film had suddenly shot back into trending searches.
Keywords like Kenshin, Yukishiro, and Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu started circulating among gamers and drama fans alike.
"Twenty-five days left," Jing Yu said, glancing at his schedule.
To be honest, launching a new drama no longer made him nervous.
But this game?
It brought back a rare sense of tension.
In his past life, 'Rurouni Kenshin' was only ever adapted into anime. Turning a full manga arc into a game like this? It was a first — even in his original world.
If this model worked, Jing Yu had a long list of IPs that could be developed the same way.
After all, some stories worked fine as anime, but were unsuitable for live-action.
He realized that when filming 'Trust & Betrayal,' all the major fights were centered around Kenshin. Not too many, and manageable thanks to the skillset Jing Yu acquired through the system panel.
But if they'd tried to film the entire manga? With dozens of expert fighters? There was no way he could find actors capable of pulling off those moves. Sure, he could — but not everyone else.
That's why he chose to develop 'Rurouni Kenshin' as a game first.
And there were many more such stories that wouldn't work as dramas but were perfect for games.
Everything depended on this game's success.
Its production costs were high — it wouldn't be easy to turn a profit.
Jing Yu let out a long sigh.
At this point, all three divisions of his company were churning out new content. As chairman, he was by far the busiest person on the team.
He flew to at least a dozen first-tier cities every year to promote his work.
"Am I a workaholic?" he joked to himself with a wry smile.
Because at his level, he'd yet to see anyone else still working at the front lines like this.
But this time, the 'Rurouni Kenshin' game was launching globally. Its main purpose wasn't just sales — it was to establish Bluestar Media & Film's reputation in gaming.
Once November hit, Jing Yu would begin his international tour.
He had fans overseas too — not just in Great Zhou. But due to limited resources and time, he hadn't expanded abroad until now. Only after years of building wealth at home did he finally have the strength to launch international branches and manage licensing.
The deeper he got into operations, the more serious he became about his company's future.
A hit franchise wasn't just about the product — it was also about the power behind it.
'Gundam SEED', 'Ultraman', 'Neon Genesis Evangelion', 'Yu-Gi-Oh!', 'Pokémon', and even 'Doraemon', which he was still planning — all were global IPs in his previous life.
But just because they were popular then didn't mean they'd succeed here.
Even with legendary IPs, if Bluestar couldn't produce quality, it was all for nothing.
After 7–8 years of expansion, Bluestar had hit its current limit. To go further?
The next wave of success had to come from gaming.
With October behind him, November arrived.
A month into the winter season, the TV landscape had stabilized.
Top 10 Drama Ratings:
1, 'My Youth Romantic Comedy'
2, 'Hyouka'
3, A legal drama from Xingtong TV
4, 'Ef: A Tale of Memories.'
5–10. Various other shows from the Big Six
The fact that Xingtong TV's show beat 'Ef' for third place finally brought some relief to an industry long overshadowed by Jing Yu's dominance.
At last, a show had outranked one of his.
While 'My Youth Romantic Comedy' and 'Hyouka' held strong, this quarter's lineup from Yunteng TV + Jing Yu didn't feel quite as unstoppable.
As for 'Ef', it had the lowest ratings of the three. Jing Yu had expected this. Heartbreaking love stories usually generated lots of buzz but not always strong ratings. Even with Jing Yu and Xia Yining in the cast, their limited screen time made their early impact small. Once the novelty wore off, only true fans stuck around.
Still, later in the series — when Amamiya Yuuko and Himura Yuu's storylines picked up — Jing Yu expected a surge.
The tone of the show wouldn't change, but star power would draw viewers back.
Overall, though, the winter TV market was colder than the last two years. Jing Yu himself rarely showed up at fan events after the shows aired.
He had already flown overseas with Xia Yining and the team to promote the game.
In the game, Kenshin was modeled after Jing Yu's own appearance, and Xia Yining — who had played Yukishiro in the film — was heavily featured too.
Now, years later, the two put on their original costumes again — making live appearances at promo events.
Back in Great Zhou, fans were glued to international gaming news.
At Jing Yu's level, just going through the motions would've been enough. But he truly cared about 'Rurouni Kenshin'.
During filming, he'd received a full set of sword-fighting skills via the system panel. But his opponents had been too weak — he never got to truly show off.
This time was different.
What did it mean to "recreate game combat in real life"?
At an overseas gaming expo, Jing Yu took the stage dressed as Kenshin, wielding a reverse-blade sword, and — using actual footage from the game — performed a live sword technique demonstration.
Of course, it was more for show than real combat. True deadly moves weren't flashy — they involved eye gouging, groin strikes, surprise attacks — nothing pretty to watch.
Still, even the purely visual routines Jing Yu performed stunned players around the world.
Clips from the event spread online, shocking fans both at home and abroad.
After all, the system panel hadn't given Jing Yu superpowers — just sword techniques and enhanced physical traits. No flying sword energy, no inner force. So people didn't treat him like a superhuman.
But even so, what he called "flashy but not practical" was borderline wuxia in the eyes of viewers.
One clip on Yindou Net broke ten million views.
The 49-second video featured gameplay footage of Kenshin vs. Aoshi, and Jing Yu perfectly synced up with it in real time.
In games, these moves were expected. Everyone knew games were fake.
But seeing someone replicate those moves with no wires, no equipment, using only their body?
"Is this guy really just an actor? A businessman?"
The wildest part?
After finishing his flashy sequence, Jing Yu landed lightly, struck a pose, and said:
"The sword techniques, moves, and combat style in 'Rurouni Kenshin' are all grounded in reality. This isn't fantasy — we aim to recreate a true martial world, a romantic wuxia grounded in the real world."
And honestly?
After watching that…
Who could argue with him?
If someone else had said it, fans would've laughed.
"Wuxia based on reality? Give me a break."
But after seeing Jing Yu in action?
People began to wonder:
"Maybe we're the ones who are average. Maybe the real world is a lot more exciting than we think. Maybe wuxia isn't just novels or TV — maybe it's something real."