Collecting Rent From All Realms, Even Empresses Must Pay Tribute
Ch. 80 - Unknown Territory

It was past midnight when Ye Chuan, Bai Qianshuang, and Lan Xiaoke finished their barbecue.

On their way home, Ye Chuan noticed Bai Qianshuang looking at the night scenery, a certain emotion in her eyes.

Seeing this, Ye Chuan asked, "Homesick?"

Bai Qianshuang looked at Ye Chuan, then shook her head. "Yes and no."

She wanted to avenge her mother and master, but she wasn't truly attached to the treacherous world she came from. 

On the contrary, she quite liked the peaceful atmosphere here.

There was delicious food, fun things to do, tasty drinks, and more delicious food.

Yes, the most important thing was the delicious food.

Bai Qianshuang looked away and moved closer to Ye Chuan. 

Under the dim streetlights, the faint light cast a fragile glow on her face. Her eyelashes fluttered slightly as she voiced her doubts,

"Ye Chuan, if I stay here, will you let me stay by your side?"

Bai Qianshuang didn't understand whether Ye Chuan's kindness was just a whim or curiosity towards an immortal. In this unfamiliar world, she felt insecure.

She didn't belong here, didn't understand the customs, and had no sense of belonging.

"Of course, I'll teach you everything, don't worry, I need you," Ye Chuan said with a gentle smile, his voice filled with warmth as he said "I need you."

He almost said, "You're my precious money tree."

Bai Qianshuang froze, then lowered her head, her long bangs hiding her expression.

Ye Chuan only heard a soft "mm-hmm," as if carrying a hint of shyness, lost in the night breeze.

Ye Chuan smiled.

He felt his phone vibrate. Bai Qianshuang's favorability must have increased. She truly was his precious money tree.

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm still here, you know?" Lan Xiaoke said, feeling a bit left out, hearing Ye Chuan and Bai Qianshuang's conversation.

Had they forgotten about her?

Wasn't she a person? Was she even a person?

No, wait, she wasn't a person.

"Even if I'm a ghost, you can't just ignore me like this," Lan Xiaoke complained, floating around Ye Chuan.

Even ghosts couldn't stand being given the cold shoulder.

Seeing the busty, white-haired ghost throwing a tantrum, Ye Chuan couldn't help but retort, "You're an old lady, aren't you a bit too childish?"

"I was only eighteen when I died!" Lan Xiaoke protested, hearing Ye Chuan call her an old lady. 

She had been a young, beautiful girl when she died, and her appearance hadn't changed since.

Seeing Lan Xiaoke whine, Ye Chuan said, "Alright, stop bothering me, or I'll pinch your… you know… until they're swollen."

Hearing this, and seeing Ye Chuan's hand forming a claw, Lan Xiaoke grumbled and quieted down.

Fine, as a ghost, she had no rights.

After arriving home, Bai Qianshuang and Lan Xiaoke returned to their rooms.

Ye Chuan checked his bank balance. Since it was past midnight, his daily five thousand had arrived.

And Bai Qianshuang's favorability had increased, probably because of what he had said on their way home. He had also completed the last beginner mission.

[Daily Income: 4000 → 8000, high probability of obtaining cultivation-related items]

[Obtained Divine Ability Upgrade Card]

[Main Mission: Increase one tenant's favorability to maximum.]

Whoa?

Doubled?

So cool!

Seeing his income double, Ye Chuan couldn't help but calculate. Eight thousand a day, wouldn't that be 240,000 a month?

Compared to Bai Qianshuang's earnings, Lan Xiaoke's one thousand seemed a bit pitiful. But after all, she was just a ghost who choked to death on instant noodles, her status far below that of Bai Qianshuang, a reincarnated empress.

But the system had said Lan Xiaoke had high growth potential, so she might be useful in the future.

Putting the income matter aside, Ye Chuan checked the new item in his backpack.

[Item: Divine Ability Upgrade Card

Can upgrade a divine ability once, regardless of quality.]

Oh?

Ye Chuan stroked his chin. So he could upgrade his shadow clone?

The One Qi Avatar was a High-Grade divine ability. Curious about the upgraded version, Ye Chuan used the upgrade card.

[Upgrade successful. Obtained One Qi Avatar (Top-Grade)]

[Divine Ability: One Qi Avatar

Top-Grade Divine Ability

Create a clone. Spells and techniques cast by the clone possess 80% of your original power.

Killed units can be permanently stored as clones. Strength is affected by the unit's strength before death.]

Huh?

Killed targets could be stored as clones?

Ye Chuan stroked his chin. This divine ability seemed quite powerful. Could he create an army of clones?

But where would he find these… units?

Just as Ye Chuan was thinking, he suddenly had an idea—

The adventure?

Yes, he could recruit units from the adventure world.

He then remembered that his adventure attempts had reset and immediately opened the adventure interface.

This time, he didn't use the sweep function, but chose a regular adventure.

[Adventure started.]

[You survived the first day. This is an unknown city in ruins. Besides some monster corpses, the place is desolate. You find nothing else of interest. You choose to…]

[1. Leave this place]

[2. Continue searching]

So this was where he had been the first day?

Ye Chuan thought for a moment. No wonder he had only found some trash and a ring grandpa during the sweep.

The ring grandpa required 200,000 to awaken. Ye Chuan had earned quite a bit from Qiao Xin and had also reached Foundation Establishment, so he could try summoning it.

But he had a feeling that the system would just devour all his money.

But the rewards were good, so he couldn't really complain.

Putting aside his thoughts, Ye Chuan continued the adventure—

[You choose to search the ruined city.]

[Although dilapidated, the modern-style buildings feel familiar. Beneath a crumbling structure, you find a stone tablet engraved with: "2099, they…". The rest of the inscription is illegible. You choose to…]

[1. Continue searching]

[2. Leave this place]

Ye Chuan looked at the inscription, puzzled.

What did this mean? Why was there a "2099" inscription in the Tianxuan Continent? Wasn't this a different world?

Or did the Tianxuan Continent also have a calendar?

With his doubts, Ye Chuan continued searching.

[You search the surroundings and find some broken glass shards and sculptures. But you hear a strange sound behind you. As you turn around, you are torn apart by an unknown monster.]

[You died.]

[Adventure ended. Items retrieved: 0]