Mu Chen in Tears, Adding More Responsibilities to Your Shoulders

The group admins in the human resources chat groups were all quite sensible, and Chen Yi felt rather pleased.

While the Lingxiao Treasure Vault was important, what mattered even more was talent!

Excluding the deleted Group Six and Group Ninety-Eight, the remaining 118 groups had lost over a thousand members due to Lingxiao’s reckless meddling, leaving 4,821 members.

That meant 4,821 worlds with ascension qualifications!

Lingxiao had no interest in underdeveloped worlds—after all, what he wanted were capable warriors, not resource-draining deadweights!

Chen Yi shared the same sentiment.

No one could deny that low-tier worlds might hide a few hidden dragons, but most were just small fry with locked potential.

Digging for gold in a trash heap was far less efficient than refining iron from a mine!

Repeated tempering turns iron into steel, and steel into workhorses—Purple Star was severely understaffed.

"Whew—crisis averted. Time to bring everyone back!"

Chen Yi’s true form let out a long exhale before reaching into the chaotic void currents to retrieve his chat group avatar, the True Immortal-grade Heavenly Dao essence borrowed from the Azure Cloud Continent, one True Immortal, eighteen Pseudo-Immortals, and forty-five newly ascended Tribulation Transcenders from the Purple Star Continent.

Oh, and Mu Chen, who had been left blowing in the void’s cold winds for months.

The moment he emerged and felt the warmth of the light, Mu Chen’s nose twitched, and he immediately burst into loud, ugly sobs:

"Ah—this familiar earth, this vibrant soil! I’m back, I’m finally back! Waaah—!"

Life in the void currents had been miserable.

He had barely broken through to the Unity Realm in the Illusory Dream Secret Realm, hadn’t even had time to savor it, before Brother Yi heartlessly tossed him into the void.

And what was the void?

The seam between dimensions, the buffer between reality and nothingness—no light, no warmth, just the violent torrents of the void howling past. If not for hiding behind Brother Yi’s avatar, the raging winds would have stripped the flesh from his bones, grinding him to dust in an instant...

Living in constant fear, unable to do anything but endure the endless darkness and cold—each second felt like a year. If not for the chat group where he could at least shoot the breeze with his buddies, he would’ve lost his mind!

It was bitter. So, so bitter...

"There, there," Chen Yi consoled him. "The situation’s been resolved. Nothing like this will happen again. Little Mu, you’ve reached the Unity Realm now, and your soul and body are fairly stable. So, I’m thinking of giving you some responsibilities. Which department would you like to intern in?"

"Waaah—... Huh?" Mu Chen’s wailing cut off abruptly, his eyes widening in shock. "Brother, are you serious? Me? An internship?"

Having often been at Chen Yi’s side, he knew exactly what "department internship" meant.

But...

Wasn’t that something only for those who had broken through to the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, whose souls had undergone transformation to withstand the Heavenly Dao’s aura without being assimilated?

I just entered the Unity Realm!

Intern my ass!

To put it bluntly—I’m not even "of age" yet, and you’re already putting me to work?

This is child labor, Brother Yi!

Well, fine, Brother Yi surely had some trick up his sleeve to fast-track him in. But still...

I just got out of solitary confinement! Months of cold winds, loneliness, and misery—I finally return, and you won’t even let me rest before throwing me into work?

"I don’t wanna, I refuse..." Mu Chen whined, giving Chen Yi the most pitiful puppy-dog eyes. "Brother, please just let me rest. I’m exhausted—I just want to collapse somewhere and sleep for days, not think about anything..."

"Really don’t want to?" Chen Yi smiled kindly. "The Purple Star Continent is about to ascend to the True Immortal grade. Once I finish handling some affairs, I’ll be heading to Lin Yuyu’s world for research—introducing the Divine Incarnation System to establish grassroots governance and fully refine the deity promotion framework. Times are changing, and official positions are limited. If you don’t get in early to learn the ropes, you’ll have to start from the bottom later."

"I’ll do it! I was born to intern!" Mu Chen’s eyes instantly cleared, his voice full of vigor. "Aiyo, Brother Yi, this little brother was being foolish! I failed to grasp your profound intentions right away. Don’t worry—I’ll work hard and won’t let you down!"

Truth be told, Mu Chen had always thought Fang Zheng and Gu Yuan were nothing special. So what if they had talent? So what if they knew how to butter people up? I’ve got the home-court advantage!

But now, Brother Yi was practically stuffing the opportunity into his mouth, and he still didn’t get it—even needed an explanation. If it were Fang Zheng or Gu Yuan, they’d have jumped at it immediately!

Even the clumsy copycat Xiao Chunan wouldn’t have been this dense!

If not for the fact that he’d suffered plenty under Brother Yi’s wing—no credit for merit, but at least credit for toil—he might’ve missed this chance for advancement entirely!

Clearly, he needed to learn a thing or two from Fang Zheng and Gu Yuan. He didn’t need to master it—just enough to recognize an opportunity when it slapped him in the face!

"Mm. Which department do you want to intern in?" Chen Yi nodded slightly, flicking his wrist to unfurl the Heavenly Dao Divine Scroll.

The Lightning Division, Thunderstorm Division, Five Thunder Court, Fate and Rebirth Division, Death and Reversal Division, Four Seas Hall, Celestial River Transport Division, Forge Division, Earth Veil Inspection Bureau, Nether Division, Cycle Hall...

Mu Chen’s eyes spun at the overwhelming options. At a loss, he blurted, "I’ll follow your arrangements! I’m a brick—place me wherever I’m needed!"

Chen Yi chuckled. "You can visit the departments first and decide later. No rush."

"Thank you, Brother Yi! I’ll give it serious thought!" Mu Chen’s gaze burned with newfound motivation.

Just then—

Sensing the Divine Scroll’s activation, the Purple Star Heavenly Dao swiftly descended, gently knocking on the sealed gates of the Illusory Star Grotto.

"Little Yi? Are you done with your seclusion? I sensed a lot of foreign auras—are those forty-five brutes alright? What happened in there? Can I come in?"

"Tsk, this greedy kitten’s nose just keeps getting sharper." Chen Yi shook his head with a laugh and opened the gates.

Whoosh—

In a flash, a vast Heavenly Dao presence flooded into the Illusory Star Grotto.

After confirming that its forty-five "brats" were unharmed, the Purple Star Heavenly Dao relaxed before curiously poking at the unconscious Azure Cloud cultivators.

"Little Yi, where’d you snatch these outsiders from? They’re not bad—sleeping so soundly too. Why’d you bring them here?"

Chen Yi smirked. "Playing dumb, are we?"

The Purple Star Heavenly Dao was benevolent, but it wasn’t stupid.

These Azure Cloud cultivators had rock-solid foundations, faintly exuding the aura of True Immortal-grade Heavenly Dao essence!

With a nose that sharp, how could it not smell that?

It was just waiting for Chen Yi to speak first—too polite to ask outright.