“I’ve had someone send the items over to you. They should be in your hands soon,” Nie Changkong said.
“Thank you, Principal Nie!”
Su Yu agreed cheerfully.
Then his eyes shifted as he suddenly remembered the Saint-tier demon core in his storage ring—the one the system had valued far too cheaply when it offered to recycle it.
“By the way, Principal Nie,” Su Yu said, smoothly changing the subject, “I’m looking to buy some special cultivation resources—things you can’t find in ordinary stores.”
“Do you know where I can find a high-end auction channel in the Great Xia Kingdom?”
On the other end of the call, Nie Changkong didn’t think much of it.
With the terrifying talent Su Yu had displayed, ordinary resources really were no longer enough for him.
“An auction channel?”
Nie Changkong pondered for a moment.
“There are mainly two types of high-end trading venues in the Great Xia Kingdom.”
“One is a top-tier auction house backed by the government, such as the Star Pavilion in the capital.”
“It’s absolutely safe there. No one would dare cause trouble in the Star Pavilion.”
“But!”
“The rules are extraordinarily complicated.”
Nie Changkong explained in detail.
“Not only do they require real-name verification, but they also conduct extremely strict checks on your assets.”
“On top of that, their commission is very high—usually between ten and fifteen percent.”
“Most importantly, all funds involved in transactions there are subject to supervision by the military and the tax authorities.”
Su Yu’s brow furrowed slightly.
Real-name verification? Financial monitoring? A fifteen-percent commission?
Absolutely not!
His identity was classified. The moment he used his real name, he could be exposed in an instant.
And the commission was far too brutal. On something worth one hundred billion, they would take more than ten billion straight off the top. That was practically robbery!
“What about the other option?” Su Yu asked.
“The other option is the underground black market.”
Nie Changkong lowered his voice, a note of gravity entering it.
“The largest underground black market in the Great Xia Kingdom is located in the unregulated zone outside the capital. Its codename is the Dark Web.”
“There are no rules there.”
“They don’t ask where anything came from, and they don’t ask who you are. Everything is completely anonymous!”
“Moreover, because many priceless treasures that can’t be openly traded end up there, the black market’s premiums are extremely high.”
“A good item can often fetch a price thirty percent—or even fifty percent—higher than it would at an official auction house!”
At this, Su Yu’s heart gave a sudden leap.
Fifty percent higher?!
Wouldn’t that mean his demon core could easily sell for more than one hundred and fifty billion?
“But!”
Before Su Yu could celebrate, Nie Changkong’s stern warning came through the communicator.
“Su Yu, I’m warning you!”
“The black market is far deeper and more dangerous than it looks!”
“It’s a nest of every kind of person—desperate criminals, fallen martial artists, and even agents of the Abyssal Cult!”
“Trading there comes with enormous risks!”
“The moment you flaunt your wealth or reveal some top-tier treasure—”
“murder for profit and outright robbery happen there every single day!”
“Without absolute strength or powerful backing, going to the black market is nothing short of suicide!”
Nie Changkong urged him earnestly.
“What you need right now is to build your foundation step by step.”
“If you’re short on any resources, just tell me. The military will do its best to provide them.”
“Whatever you do, don’t get involved with a place like the black market!”
A hint of disdain flashed through Su Yu’s deep eyes.
Murder for profit?
Robbery?
With nine million units of Dark Gold Divine Blood and the will of the Soul-Forge Spear, his combat power was already approaching the Martial Saint realm.
Who would be devouring whom was still anyone’s guess!
Outwardly, however, Su Yu agreed readily.
“I understand, Principal Nie.”
“Don’t worry. I definitely won’t go to the black market.”
“I was only asking out of curiosity. I just wanted to broaden my horizons.”
Nie Changkong breathed a sigh of relief.
“That’s good.”
“Oh, right. There’s one more thing I absolutely must impress upon you!”
Nie Changkong’s voice suddenly became more serious than ever.
“That Saint-tier demon core!”
“You must, must keep it!”
“Under no circumstances are you to sell it for money!”
Afraid that Su Yu, a money-grubber, might do something foolish, Nie Changkong patiently explained:
“The Abyssal Source inside that thing can save a martial artist hundreds of years of comprehension!”
“It’s a truly priceless treasure!”
“If you plan to break through to the Martial Saint realm—or even the Martial Emperor realm—in the future, that demon core could play a decisive role!”
“Do you understand?!”
Seated on his meditation cushion, Su Yu rubbed his nose.
Save a hundred years of comprehension?
To be honest, that was nothing compared to selling it for money and recharging the proceeds through the system. That could buy him hundreds of millions of years of comprehension!
“I understand, Principal Nie.”
Su Yu’s tone was exceptionally sincere, even carrying a hint of emotion.
“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t sell such a priceless treasure even if you beat me to death!”
“Good. As long as you know what you’re doing.”
Satisfied, Nie Changkong hung up.
Listening to the dead tone from the communicator, the corners of Su Yu’s mouth curled upward.
“Not sell it?”
“Tomorrow, I’m taking it to the black market and turning it into cash!”
More than one hundred billion in cash was already waving at him.
Just as Su Yu was planning his trip to the black market the following night—
Ding-dong.
The doorbell to his apartment suddenly rang.
Su Yu paused slightly.
Who would come looking for him this late at night?
He got up, walked to the entryway, and turned on the video intercom.
On the screen appeared a beautiful, pure-looking face filled with a hint of nervous anticipation.
Lin Xiaoxiao.
She was dressed in a fitted white training uniform.
Her smooth, silky hair was tied into a neat, high ponytail.
The training uniform outlined her youthful, graceful curves, while the fair cheeks of this sheltered young woman carried a faint blush from the cool night breeze.
This stubborn yet kindhearted heiress from a top-tier wealthy family was now standing outside his door, her bright eyes fixed intently on the intercom camera.
Her hands twisted together uneasily.
Looking at Lin Xiaoxiao on the screen, Su Yu remembered their earlier agreement.
“You promised me.”
“You’d teach me how to use a spear.”
Su Yu let out an amused, helpless laugh.
The young lady really was persistent.
He had been busy killing a Demon Saint, recording online courses, and setting up his money-printing operation. He had nearly forgotten all about it.
Click.
Su Yu opened the door.
Under the bright lights of the hallway, Lin Xiaoxiao looked at Su Yu as he appeared before her.
His eyes were deep and restrained, his posture straight as a pine.
Even though they had only been apart for a day, she felt that the aura surrounding Su Yu had become even more unfathomable.
“I…”
Lin Xiaoxiao lowered her head slightly, her voice soft. She didn’t dare meet Su Yu’s eyes.
“I came to learn the spear from you.”
“Are you…free right now?”
Su Yu looked at the girl before him—the one who had once given him precious resources and placed immense value on repaying kindness.
The hard lines of his face softened slightly.
“Come in.”
Su Yu stepped aside, clearing the way.
“To the underground training room.”
“Today, I’ll teach you the basics of generating force.”
Lin Xiaoxiao raised her head, her eyes instantly lighting up with astonishing brilliance.
“Okay!”
Without the slightest hesitation, she stepped into the apartment and followed Su Yu toward the underground training room.
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
