Misheard

After Lan Xiaoke dealt with those Rock Lizard monsters, Ye Chuan immediately released his spiritual sense to scan the area, only to find that not a single energy crystal core could be extracted from the hundreds of slain creatures.

"Seriously, how are they this broke?"

"The drop rate is absurdly low," Ye Chuan muttered, though he was somewhat accustomed to the infuriating rarity of crystal cores by now. Most of the time, he relied on the bespectacled girl at home to manually craft one, followed by him duplicating it with his replication magic.

Who would’ve thought that a measly little crystal core would require the combined efforts of two S-tier powerhouses in his household?

Truly terrifying.

But collecting these cores was a necessary step to unlock the tech tree, and Ye Chuan had no intention of grinding for them himself given the abysmal drop rates.

The smarter move was to let other super martial artists supply him instead.

Ye Chuan dismissed his transformation and waved at Wang Yanran. "Come with me for a moment, Yanran."

"Alright." She followed without hesitation.

The two entered a tent for privacy, where Ye Chuan noticed a young girl trailing behind Wang Yanran. The child bore a resemblance to her.

"This is my younger sister, Wang Nuonuo," Wang Yanran introduced. "She just became a Tier-1 super martial artist, so I brought her along to observe and learn how to fight those monsters."

"Um, hello~" Wang Nuonuo peeked out from behind her sister, her voice as soft and sweet as her name suggested.

"Adorable," Ye Chuan remarked, ruffling her hair before pinching her cheek. "Yanran, have her wait outside for now."

"Of course."

Wang Yanran coaxed her sister, who glanced back reluctantly before obediently stepping out to wait.

"What is it, Ye Chuan?" Wang Yanran scanned their surroundings, curiosity evident in her tone. Given the private setting, she assumed it had to be something important.

"This." Ye Chuan casually placed an ordinary armor transformation device on the table. "It’s a suit that lets you transform—you saw its effects earlier. I plan to supply these to your people."

Wang Yanran froze, her breath hitching as her eyes locked onto the device.

"Of course, it’s not as strong as mine," Ye Chuan added with a chuckle. "Think of it as a mass-produced model."

"Oh… that makes sense." Wang Yanran visibly relaxed. For a moment, she’d thought he meant everyone could become a golden meteor like him.

That would’ve been apocalyptic.

A world full of golden lightning bolts.

"How strong are these devices?" she asked.

"Hmm… anywhere from Tier 1 to Tier 9," Ye Chuan replied. While he could technically craft armor matching Golden Core-level strength, he wasn’t foolish enough to hand those out. Even Foundation-level gear was off the table.

"Tier 9?!" Wang Yanran’s expression turned dazed.

That powerful?

She understood the implication—these devices could be mass-produced. Meaning, mass-produced Tier-9 powerhouses?

As far as she knew, the Super Martial Alliance had only one or two individuals who’d ever reached Tier 9.

The idea of mass-producing them made her feel like she was dreaming.

If her family’s elders heard about this, they’d probably grumble endlessly—something about wasting their entire lives training. Pathetic as it sounded, there was nothing they could do.

"Are you planning to sell them for money, Ye Chuan?" Wang Yanran knew his obsession with wealth and couldn’t help asking.

"No. I’ll give you three Tier-9 devices and ten Tier-5 ones. Spread the word—they can be exchanged for crystal cores." He pulled out a core from his spatial backpack.

"These are extracted from monsters. The drop rate is minuscule."

Wang Yanran immediately grasped his scheme: an open exchange system.

"I’ll inform the major families. But the exchange rate…?"

"Ten cores for a Tier-9 device. Three for a Tier-5."

"Consider it done." She nodded.

She’d seen these cores before—highly valuable research materials, though even the Super Martial Alliance had very few. Still, she knew the moment this news spread…

The super martial artists would lose their minds.

Most of them weren’t short on cash, so money wasn’t a strong motivator. But transformation devices? That was another story.

Forget how cool they looked—the real appeal was instantly granting an ordinary fighter Tier-9 strength.

Anyone would be tempted, even if gathering ten cores seemed impossible.

Seeing Wang Yanran’s solemn expression, Ye Chuan smirked. "Do this well, and I won’t shortchange you."

He produced a pill. "Take it."

Wang Yanran stared for a second before swallowing it without hesitation. She trusted Ye Chuan wouldn’t harm her.

If he wanted to, he wouldn’t need such roundabout methods.

As the pill dissolved, an overwhelming surge of energy flooded her body. Her meridians expanded, and power poured in from all directions.

"Absorb that energy and store it in your dantian," Ye Chuan instructed, tapping her lower abdomen.

Wang Yanran shivered at the contact but quickly focused on channeling the spiritual energy.

Moments later, her eyes snapped open in shock. She’d broken through.

Is this… Tier-10 strength?

"Foundation Establishment—well, Tier-10 in your terms," Ye Chuan clarified. "Now, don’t forget what I asked."

Wang Yanran snapped back to reality, excitement coloring her voice. "Understood!"

To Ye Chuan, crafting low-tier devices was child’s play. Besides, anything below Tier-10 would soon become obsolete as super martial artists leveled up rapidly with the rifts’ emergence.

Even the pills would depreciate.

With a "strike while the iron’s hot" mentality, he had to capitalize on this opportunity.

After their talk, the two stepped out of the tent. Ye Chuan’s gaze drifted into the distance, where Lan Xiaoke hovered near a rift, hammer slung over her shoulder, seemingly lost in thought.

"What’s up?" Ye Chuan teleported beside her. "Something wrong?"

"Ye Chuan, I think I heard someone callin’ my name from over there," Lan Xiaoke said, pointing at the rift.

"Someone called you? What do you mean?"

"…" She scratched her head. "Eh, maybe I imagined it."