Collecting Rent From All Realms, Even Empresses Must Pay Tribute
Ch. 90 - A Trivial Matter

…

Several days later.

"Chuan Chuan, I'm going to my club activities. The school anniversary is coming up soon, and I need to rehearse as the host," Luo Xi said, as usual, heading off to her club activities. 

The 70th anniversary of Silver Mountain Academy was approaching, and she had a lot to prepare.

The school anniversary was Silver Mountain Academy's biggest event, with numerous activities planned.

"Go ahead, give me a kiss before you go."

"We're in the classroom! No way! Maybe when no one's around~" Luo Xi said with a grin, pinching Ye Chuan's cheek gently before running off.

Ye Chuan watched her leave, her ponytail bouncing with each step, then slowly looked away.

He took out his phone and messaged Wang Yanran.

Ye Chuan: I'm ready.

Wang Yanran: [Location: Hilton Hotel]

Wang Yanran: I'll be waiting for you here, senior~

Today was the day he had promised to help Wang Yanran capture the Ghost King. 

Although called a "King," according to Wang Yanran, it was only around Level 5, roughly equivalent to an early or mid Qi Refining cultivator.

And Ye Chuan had brought Lan Xiaoke along this time.

"Let's go, we're going to catch a Ghost King," Ye Chuan said, looking up. Lan Xiaoke was hiding in the ventilation duct, only half of her face visible.

Just half a face stuck to the duct looked rather creepy, especially since Lan Xiaoke was a ghost, her pale face adding to the eerie effect.

But according to the scaredy-cat, this was like home to her. 

She used to spend her days hiding here, peeking at people playing on their phones.

Hearing Ye Chuan's voice, Lan Xiaoke floated down. She was now at the mid Qi Refining stage. 

Although her initial breakthrough had only taken a few minutes, reaching the mid-stage had taken several days.

But even so, her cultivation speed was incredibly fast.

At least Bai Qianshuang said the Jade Void Sect now had a successor. Oh, wait, a ghost successor.

"A Ghost King, sounds scary," Lan Xiaoke said timidly. Seeing her cowardly demeanor, Ye Chuan twitched his lips. 

"You're a Qi Refining cultivator now, can't you be a little braver?"

"I don't really feel any different," Lan Xiaoke admitted. 

She did feel stronger and was no longer afraid of sunlight, but she didn't have a clear understanding of her own strength.

And Ye Chuan was taking her to capture a Ghost King.

A Ghost King.

That sounded incredibly powerful, not something a small fry like her could handle.

"Fine, let's go." Ye Chuan grabbed Lan Xiaoke and left the classroom.

After taking a taxi, Ye Chuan arrived at the designated hotel—Wang Yanran was already waiting in the lobby. Beside her stood a man.

Ye Chuan vaguely remembered him; he was the guy who had been with Wang Yanran when they captured Lan Xiaoke.

He couldn't remember his name, though.

"I want to go too," Zhang Chao said with a grin.

"Why is there someone else?" Ye Chuan asked, seeing Zhang Chao. 

Lan Xiaoke, seeing Zhang Chao and Wang Yanran, immediately hid behind Ye Chuan. She still held a grudge from being chased by them.

"Sorry, senior, Zhang Chao insisted on coming along. I couldn't stop him," Wang Yanran said, looking exasperated. 

Although she had warned Zhang Chao, it clearly hadn't worked. He was always doing whatever he wanted.

Especially after hearing that Ye Chuan was coming, he was even more interested.

"Hey, you managed to knock me out with one punch last time. What's your strength level?" Zhang Chao asked, looking at Ye Chuan curiously.

"Why should I tell you?" Ye Chuan asked. He didn't have any strong feelings towards Zhang Chao, after all, he was a one-punch KO.

"Hey, you're buddies with Wang Yanran, take me along," Zhang Chao said, slinging an arm around Ye Chuan's shoulder, acting chummy. 

"We're practically brothers now, after that fight."

"Brothers? He almost killed me!" Lan Xiaoke muttered behind Ye Chuan, glaring at Zhang Chao with resentment.

Ye Chuan didn't mind Zhang Chao trying to befriend him. After all, anyone who could produce gold coins was welcome.

But Lan Xiaoke wasn't happy and started rolling around in the air behind Ye Chuan.

"He bullied me! He bullied me! Ye Chuan, say something!"

Zhang Chao hadn't drunk the talisman water, so he couldn't see Lan Xiaoke's whining. 

Ye Chuan looked at Wang Yanran, and just as he was about to speak, she took out a bottle of talisman water and handed it to Zhang Chao.

"Here, drink this."

Seeing the disgusting drink, Zhang Chao grimaced. They weren't even at the location yet, why did he have to drink this stuff?

He took the bottle and, knowing he would have to drink it eventually, pinched his nose and downed it in one gulp.

"Ugh… blegh… Ugh…" Zhang Chao's eyes rolled back, his tongue sticking out, his body trembling. He almost made a peace sign.

"It's that bad?" Ye Chuan raised an eyebrow.

He could see Lan Xiaoke without drinking the talisman water.

Wang Yanran explained, "It's not that bad, the talisman water itself has no taste, just a slight ink-like flavor."

"Then why is he reacting like that?" Ye Chuan pointed at Zhang Chao, whose face was contorted in disgust.

"Oh, I've been annoyed with him lately, so I added some bittering agent," Wang Yanran said casually.

"What the hell?! You made it taste bad on purpose?!" Zhang Chao glared at her.

Wiping his mouth, he then noticed Lan Xiaoke behind Ye Chuan.

"It's you?"

"You attempted ghost murderer!" Lan Xiaoke said angrily. "You have to pay! Emotional damages!"

Zhang Chao looked innocent and shrugged.

"Hey, little ghost, I was just hired by Wang Yanran to kill a wild ghost, what did I do wrong?"

"I'm not a wild ghost!"

Seeing Lan Xiaoke's anger, Ye Chuan stroked his chin and said to Zhang Chao, "How about this, if you can defeat her, I'll take you along."

Zhang Chao froze, then pointed at Lan Xiaoke, as if asking—

This little thing?

Are you serious?

She was a one-punch KO in his eyes.

"Yes," Ye Chuan nodded with a smile. Lan Xiaoke, however, seemed panicked, still traumatized by their previous encounter. "I can't do it!"

"It's fine, just try, have some faith in yourself," Ye Chuan patted Lan Xiaoke's head.

"Heh, when do we start?" Zhang Chao was already eager.

Beating up Lan Xiaoke?

A trivial matter!