Collecting Rent From All Realms, Even Empresses Must Pay Tribute
Ch. 87 - The Being Within the Ring

After showering, Ye Chuan emerged to find Bai Qianshuang waiting for him.

"Ye Chuan, Lan Xiaoke has broken through to the Qi Refining realm," she said, a hint of surprise in her voice.

Lan Xiaoke, still not quite grasping the situation, had a bewildered "OvO?" expression on her face, as if asking if Qi Refining was something special. 

After all, she had only absorbed spiritual energy for a short while and didn't really understand what cultivation was.

She had even broken through before Ye Chuan finished his shower.

"Qi Refining realm? Really?" Ye Chuan was also surprised.

He pointed at the dumbfounded, blinking Lan Xiaoke, as if asking—

This little thing?

Ye Chuan looked at Lan Xiaoke and confirmed that her aura had indeed reached the early Qi Refining realm. A genuine Qi Refining cultivator.

He was surprised that Lan Xiaoke had achieved this with just a brief period of cultivation.

He had been using idle cultivation for days to reach his current level. How did Lan Xiaoke do it so quickly?

No wonder the system description mentioned her weak strength but high growth potential.

So this was what it meant.

"But if that's the case, why haven't you made any progress in decades?" This was what Ye Chuan couldn't understand. 

If Lan Xiaoke truly had such talent, why was she still a low-level ghost after all these years?

Ye Chuan glanced at Lan Xiaoke, who was blinking at him with a puzzled expression.

Seeing her reaction, he quickly figured it out.

She was—

Lazy and a shut-in.

Lan Xiaoke never harmed anyone and never left the school building. 

A harmless, unmotivated homebody ghost who spent her days hiding in ventilation ducts, peeking at people playing on their phones, how could she have any interest in cultivation?

She probably got annoyed when someone swiped past a short video she wanted to watch.

"Shouldn't you be cultivating then?" Ye Chuan said, looking at Lan Xiaoke.

If she had some strength, would she have been caught and electrocuted?

"Cultivation is so boring," Lan Xiaoke grumbled. Besides, she was Ye Chuan's… person now. If she was bullied, wouldn't he protect her?

Seeing Lan Xiaoke's reluctance, Ye Chuan stroked his chin, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"How about this, for every minor realm you break through, I'll give you five thousand yuan, how about that?"

"H-how much?!!!" Lan Xiaoke's eyes widened.

Five thousand?

Five thousand yuan?!

"I'll cultivate now!" Lan Xiaoke immediately latched onto Bai Qianshuang. 

"Coach Qianshuang, teach me how to cultivate! I want to learn!"

Bai Qianshuang looked at Lan Xiaoke.

Did this ghost want to cultivate, or did she just want the money?

"Alright," Bai Qianshuang finally agreed. "But you have to join the Jade Void Sect and become a disciple. From now on, I'll be your senior sister."

Bai Qianshuang still valued tradition. She could teach Lan Xiaoke, but there had to be a proper lineage.

"Oh? Jade what? So I'll be a disciple?" Lan Xiaoke didn't quite understand.

Whatever, as long as she could earn money!

The reasons for Lan Xiaoke becoming a ghost after death were twofold: choking on instant noodles and money. 

She had finally obtained a valuable item drop in her game, but she died before she could sell it.

Having been poor for so long, it was understandable that she had some resentment.

In some ways, Lan Xiaoke and Ye Chuan were equally obsessed with money.

Soon, Bai Qianshuang took Lan Xiaoke to her room to cultivate. Ye Chuan wasn't interested in joining them.

After all, he didn't need to meditate and absorb spiritual energy; he could just use idle cultivation.

Sitting still for ten days or half a month was something Ye Chuan couldn't do. He still wanted to enjoy life.

Returning to his room, Ye Chuan sat down and saw a notification on his phone.

[Mission: Gain Lan Xiaoke's favorability (Completed)]

[Daily Income: 1000 → 3000, medium probability of obtaining ghost-related items]

[Obtained Thunder Peachwood Sword (Mid-Grade)]

Ye Chuan hadn't expected Lan Xiaoke's favorability to increase.

Had he done anything?

He had just promised to give her five thousand yuan for every minor realm breakthrough. Was that incentive enough to increase her favorability?

What a money-grubber.

[Item: Thunder Peachwood Sword

Mid-Grade magical treasure

Deals extra damage to ghosts and spirits.]

A Mid-Grade magical treasure? That was slightly better than his Green Peak Sword, though only slightly.

Ye Chuan summoned the peachwood sword. It was dark wood, with a jade-like sheen.

Not bad.

Especially since Lan Xiaoke, his little money tree, had evolved. She truly was a diamond in the rough. 

Ye Chuan was glad he had brought this cowardly ghost home.

If he had been any later, she would probably have been electrocuted to death.

After sitting for a while, Ye Chuan put the sword in his backpack and noticed the jade pendant lying quietly in the corner.

The one he obtained from the sweep, containing a dormant soul, which required two hundred thousand yuan to awaken.

The so-called "ring grandpa."

"I obtained this from the ruins with the '2099' inscription. So, the being inside might not be ordinary," Ye Chuan thought, and after some consideration, he decided to awaken the soul.

"Come forth, come forth, give me a ring grandpa, and from now on, my cultivation will soar, and I will become the supreme immortal emperor."

Ye Chuan looked at the awakening cost and, remembering the money he earned from Qiao Xin, pressed the button.

After deducting two hundred thousand, the jade pendant in his hand glowed.

Ripples of light spread outward.

Then, the light coalesced, taking a human form.

"Is it coming out? Ring grandpa? Or ring grandma?"

"Weng—"

A bright light filled the room, so bright that Ye Chuan could barely open his eyes!

"Who threw a flashbang?!"

As Ye Chuan cursed inwardly, the image before him gradually became clear. 

A figure slowly descended, and to Ye Chuan's surprise, it was a small loli dressed in purple gothic clothing.

She was about four feet tall, with twin tails reaching her knees, her delicate features like a doll's.

She looked at him, her eyes filled with curiosity and a hint of disdain. "Such a weak worm, and you awakened me?"

Ye Chuan: "..."

Ye Chuan was speechless.

Why was it that a jade pendant from the Tianxuan Continent summoned a Western fantasy loli?

Where was his grandpa?!