Collecting Rent From All Realms, Even Empresses Must Pay Tribute
Ch. 61 - Adventure Sweep

"QianShuang needs to socialize a bit. Staying cooped up all day will eventually lead to boredom, right?"

As Ye Chuan was thinking this, his phone suddenly vibrated.

[You have entered the Late Qi Refining realm.]

[Status: Idle cultivation in progress, 5 days until Peak Qi Refining (Cultivation efficiency is affected by manual, spiritual root, constitution, etc.)]

Ye Chuan was surprised. It seemed absorbing Bai QianShuang's spiritual energy had accelerated his cultivation.

If only he could absorb more, it even smelled good.

But wouldn't Bai QianShuang be drained dry?

Ye Chuan felt the power within his body. It had only been a few days since he got the app, and he was almost at the Foundation Establishment realm.

Amazing.

He was going to become an immortal just by idling.

Ye Chuan lay lazily in bed. 

With money and strength, he hoped these days could last forever.

Just as he was about to rest, he saw a new friend request on his messaging app. 

He clicked on it and saw a girl's profile picture, and the request message was: [Senior, it's Wang Yanran].

Wang Yanran?

Ye Chuan recognized the name. Wasn't she the girl who captured Lan XiaoKe?

The one who used electroshock therapy on Lan XiaoKe, making her scream.

The rich woman who gave him one million yuan.

"Did she change her mind and want her money back?" Ye Chuan narrowed his eyes, sensing something was wrong.

The deal was done, the goods delivered. What after-sales service did she want?

The money was already in his account; it didn't matter even if she was super powerful.

[Reject]

…

Ye Chuan pressed the reject button. He didn't want to get involved with any powerful families. 

Focusing on his own development was the best strategy for now. He had time, and his strength was steadily increasing.

Time to sleep.

Ye Chuan closed his eyes.

Meanwhile, in a luxury apartment in the city center.

Wang Yanran had just finished showering and was sitting on the edge of her bed, wrapped in a towel. 

Before even getting dressed, she eagerly checked her friend request on her phone. Seeing that Ye Chuan had rejected her, she froze.

She hadn't been surprised by the rejection.

After all, for a senior with such strength, it was normal for him not to want to bother with her.

But her grandfather had said that she should try to establish a connection. Wang Yanran thought for a moment. 

If she remembered correctly, that senior was a student at that school, though she didn't know his grade or class.

Silver Mountain Academy was large, with over ten thousand students, but with her abilities, finding him wouldn't be difficult.

But wouldn't it be too abrupt to just go looking for him?

Wang Yanran thought for a moment, then picked up her phone and made a call.

"Hello, Uncle An, I want to transfer schools. See if you can arrange for me to go to Silver Mountain Academy."

…

The night passed peacefully.

Ye Chuan woke up and, as usual, checked his bank balance. Seeing that five thousand yuan had arrived, he exited the app, satisfied, then opened the text adventure.

[Adventure Sweep unlocked. Spend 100,000 to unlock?]

A window popped up, making Ye Chuan pause.

Adventure Sweep?

What did that mean? Could he get rewards without actually going on the adventure?

Ten thousand yuan… he had time for adventures, so this seemed very inefficient.

[50% increased chance of obtaining treasures during sweep, 50% reduced chance of death.]

Ye Chuan glanced at the reduced chance of death. His current death rate in adventures was 100%; he had never survived past the first day.

Hmm.

How much was it again?

Ye Chuan was tempted, but spending a hundred thousand on a sweep function still made him hesitate.

That was equivalent to 20 days' rent.

But thinking of it as just three weeks' rent, it didn't seem so expensive anymore.

[Special Offer: 88,888

(ED: In Chinese numerology, 88,888 (eighty-eight thousand eight hundred eighty-eight) is considered very lucky, especially with the repetition of 8. The number 8, pronounced "bā," sounds like the word "fā" (发), which means "to prosper" or "to get rich." Therefore, 88,888 is interpreted as a triple blessing of wealth and prosperity. The repetition of the digit 8 is thought to enhance its positive symbolism. According to the Wikipedia, the number 8 is associated with good fortune, wealth, and spiritual enlightenment. )

Countdown: 23 hours 59 minutes]

He'd buy it!

After unlocking the feature, Ye Chuan immediately started the Adventure Sweep.

[Adventure Sweep initiated—]

[You died. Items retrieved: 5]

Five?!

Ye Chuan's eyes lit up. He eagerly opened his backpack and found three pills, some spirit stones, and… underwear?

[Item: Bellyband

A bellyband of unknown origin, excellent material.]

Pills, spirit stones, and a bellyband?

What did he do during the sweep? Did he go around stealing things and get killed?

Ye Chuan twitched his lips and decided not to dwell on it. He continued the sweep.

[Sweep attempts exhausted. Spend 1,000,000 to unlock another attempt?]

Ye Chuan: "..."

After confirming that he hadn't misread the number, Ye Chuan felt that this app was insane.

No way.

He chose the regular text adventure instead.

[You have died. Please wait for resurrection: 9 hours 59 minutes (Resurrection time increases with higher cultivation level).]

Huh?

Now he had to wait for resurrection?

Ye Chuan then remembered that he was already at the late Qi Refining stage. So now, if he died, he had to wait to be resurrected.

What about after he reached Foundation Establishment?

"Why does it feel like everything is designed to lure me in and make me spend more money?" Ye Chuan stroked his chin, feeling that something was off. 

But thinking about it, the strength he gained was real, and his life had indeed improved.

Money was just a worldly possession anyway; it wasn't a big deal to spend some.

Whatever.

Ye Chuan put down his phone and went to wash up. When he came out of his room, he smelled a faint fragrance in the air.

He walked towards the kitchen and saw a girl in an apron, cooking. 

She was wearing a nightgown, her black hair cascading down to her hips, her long, slender legs dazzlingly white.

"QianShuang?" Ye Chuan was surprised to see Bai QianShuang.

Why was she in the kitchen?

"You're awake?" Bai QianShuang turned around, seeing Ye Chuan, and explained softly, "I learned how to cook from the phone, I wanted to make you something."

While browsing short videos last night, Bai QianShuang had found some recipes and tried following them.

"You know how to use a gas stove?" Ye Chuan asked.

Bai QianShuang shook her head and extended her hand, a blue flame condensing in her palm. "I used this."

She didn't know how to use a gas stove, so she used her spiritual energy to create a spiritual flame for cooking.

"I see…" Ye Chuan looked at the dishes Bai QianShuang had prepared. Although stir-fried vegetables and pork seemed a bit strange for breakfast, he couldn't help but say, "It looks delicious."

Bai QianShuang's ahoge perked up, seemingly pleased by the compliment.

Ye Chuan picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of the pork.

Sweet!

Very sweet!

Extremely sweet—

"Hmm, why is it so sweet?" The more he chewed, the stranger it tasted. He asked Bai QianShuang,

"Do you... you know the differences between salt and sugar, right?"

Bai QianShuang nodded. "Yes, salt is the transparent granules."

"And sugar?"

"The colorful ones."

Ye Chuan: "..."