"You're not worthy of the name 'Black Abyss' yet. Let's just call you 'Little Black' for now. You can have your proper name back when you're strong enough to dominate the three realms," Ye Chuan said.
The black dog snorted a few times in response but obediently trotted to a corner of the yard and lay down, surprisingly well-behaved.
"Alright, don’t just pick up random things and bring them home from now on," Ye Chuan reminded Bai Qianshuang, since bringing back something potentially dangerous wasn’t ideal. His house couldn’t afford any accidents.
"Mm," Bai Qianshuang nodded.
Though it was unclear whether she actually took the warning to heart.
"Wait, you broke through?" Ye Chuan suddenly noticed Bai Qianshuang’s aura—now no weaker than that old geezer Ziyun’s—and couldn’t help but feel surprised.
Was it because of the rewards he had distributed, or had Bai Qianshuang managed to advance purely through her own efforts?
"I tried yesterday, and it went surprisingly smoothly," Bai Qianshuang explained before pausing and adding,
"Actually, I’ve never really hit a bottleneck when breaking through."
"Well, you are a red-tier innate Dao body, after all," Ye Chuan mused, finally understanding what it meant to be a true protagonist—someone who leveled up effortlessly, as easily as drinking water.
Meanwhile, Ye Chuan still had to spend resources and gather materials like a normal cultivator.
Bai Qianshuang was the real cheater here. Ye Chuan was just an ordinary practitioner.
After taking in Little Black, Ye Chuan decided to build a doghouse for it. After all, leaving the poor thing out in the yard without shelter from wind and rain wouldn’t do.
"Huh… 50,000 bucks for a doghouse?" Ye Chuan opened the construction app and was stunned by the price.
"What kind of golden kennel is this?" He twitched his lips, looking down at Little Black wagging its tail at him.
"Guess you’re getting a cardboard box instead."
"Woof!"
"Oh, and you’ll have to fetch the cardboard yourself."
"Whimper~"
Of course, Ye Chuan was joking. Money wasn’t really an issue for him anymore—between rental income and earnings from the Wang family, he was well past the days of worrying about affording extra pork ribs for every meal.
With a flick of his fingers, a doghouse materialized in the yard. Ye Chuan still didn’t understand why the thing cost tens of thousands, but Little Black seemed thrilled, immediately darting inside.
Just then, Ye Chuan noticed a new option in the tenant interface—
Huh?
Pets counted too?
[New Pet Discovered: Black Abyss
Origin: Tianxuan ContinentOld, accidentally crossed through a spatial rift into the modern world. Insufficient intel…
Realm: Foundation Establishment, Great Perfection]
[Pet Quality: A]
[Effect After Moving In: Permanently increases all tenants’ attributes by 5%]
Oh?
"So you’re a dog from the Tianxuan Continent? But what does ‘Old’ mean?" Ye Chuan muttered in surprise, taking a moment to process this before calming down. Who knew pets could boost stats too?
And a percentage-based buff at that.
Ye Chuan’s gaze toward Little Black instantly softened. "Little Black, I can tell you’re a prodigy."
"Woof?"
After playing with the dog for a while, Ye Chuan returned inside. "Qianshuang, from now on, feel free to bring home any cats or dogs you find—especially the weird ones. The weirder, the better. The bigger, the better."
Bai Qianshuang, sitting on the sofa munching on snacks, turned to him with puffed cheeks and a puzzled look in her eyes.
Chew chew chew… Didn’t he just… chew chew chew… tell me not to bring things home?
Why the sudden change of heart?
After lingering in the living room for a bit, Ye Chuan remembered the shrink ray and headed to Ke Ning’s door, knocking lightly. "You there, Ke Ning?"
"If I’m not dead, I’m usually here," came the reply from inside.
Ye Chuan opened the door to find Ke Ning seated at her desk, staring blankly at something on the lab table.
"If you’re busy, I can come back later," Ye Chuan offered, seeing her deep in thought.
"It’s fine." Ke Ning removed her glasses and casually wiped them with a handkerchief.
"With how advanced your world’s tech is, do you guys still need glasses? Couldn’t you just get laser eye surgery?" Ye Chuan asked curiously.
"You think I wear these because I’m nearsighted?" Ke Ning tilted her head up with a faint smile. Without the glasses, her eyes were strikingly bright, contrasting beautifully with her dark circles.
"Aren’t you?"
In response, Ke Ning handed him the glasses. "Try them."
"Try them?" Ye Chuan took them and put them on.
Instantly, countless windows popped into view, displaying streams of data he couldn’t comprehend. Even Ke Ning had a status window floating above her.
[Age: 18]
[Gender: Female]
"So these aren’t prescription glasses," Ye Chuan remarked, removing them, thoroughly impressed.
"They can be," Ke Ning said, putting them back on. "You’re here about that device?"
"Yeah, any way to recharge it?" Ye Chuan pulled out the shrink ray. He was quite fond of this little toy—if only it could be refueled.
Next time he got into a fight, he could start by confiscating the opponent’s clothes, then shrink their… equipment.
A nasty little combo.
"For recharging, hand over the spirit crystals," Ke Ning adjusted her glasses.
"You want spirit crystals?"
"Mm."
Ye Chuan reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of crystal cores from his inventory, placing them on the table. "Take as many as you need."
"Not enough."
"Here’s more."
He dumped another pile onto the table. "Still need more?"
"That should do." As soon as Ke Ning spoke, the magic cube floating beside her glided over, scanned the crystals, and absorbed their energy with a beam of light.
"Vrrrm—" It then hovered next to the shrink ray and began transferring energy into it.
The process was quick. Within minutes, the device lit up again, its usage count restored.
"Done. Though it’s just a toy—there are plenty of ways to undo its effects," Ke Ning remarked.
"Perfect, this is enough," Ye Chuan said, pocketing the device. "Thanks. I’ll let you get back to work."
"Did you forget something?" Ke Ning’s words halted Ye Chuan mid-step.
She looked at him lazily. "What about the favor you promised me?"
"What do you need me to do?" Ye Chuan smiled.
"Sit here."
"Huh?" Ye Chuan sat down on the chair as instructed. The next moment, Ke Ning walked over and plopped herself onto his lap.
The sudden contact caught him off guard—not because he thought it was a gesture of affection (her expression remained as indifferent as ever), but because of how unexpected it was.
Ke Ning was light. Just as Ye Chuan was about to say something, her head drooped, and she fell asleep against him, breathing evenly.
Ye Chuan: "?"