Collecting Rent From All Realms, Even Empresses Must Pay Tribute
Ch. 26 - Sword Control

Meanwhile, Ye Chuan went to bed early, not caring how his forum post would ferment.

Even when he saw replies, he didn't bother responding. He never cared about other people's opinions.

The night passed uneventfully. The next day…

…

At 5 a.m., Ye Chuan woke up. He glanced out the window. 

It was still dark, the sun hadn't risen yet, and the buildings were shrouded in the morning mist, their shapes indistinct.

The burnt smell from yesterday still lingered in the air, but Ye Chuan felt refreshed, not tired at all.

Perhaps it was because he had started cultivating, so his physical and mental recovery was faster. Although it was just a guess, Ye Chuan felt it was likely the case.

Due to his illness, Ye Chuan couldn't remember the last time he had a good night's sleep. He always felt fatigued.

But all of that had changed since Bai QianShuang's arrival.

Ye Chuan picked up his phone and saw that three thousand yuan had arrived.

"With a tree at home, there's no need to worry about being poor." Ye Chuan couldn't help but sigh, seeing his wallet grow fatter.

He decided to check on his precious money tree—

He opened Bai QianShuang's log.

[Bai QianShuang is attacking the potato chips.]

[Bai QianShuang is attacking the glutinous rice balls.]

[Bai QianShuang is attacking the…]

Ye Chuan: "..."

Bai QianShuang had been snacking all night like a little hamster. The chibi version of her hadn't stopped until she had finished all the snacks. 

Then, Bai QianShuang just stared at the empty snack bags, seemingly lost in thought.

After a while, she climbed into bed and started cultivating.

Seeing Bai QianShuang's dejected appearance, Ye Chuan hadn't expected the girl's appetite to be so large. 

He had taken her out for a feast last night and even bought her so many snacks to take home.

It still wasn't enough.

"It's okay, as long as you're happy." Ye Chuan rubbed his hands, thinking about preparing more delicious food for Bai QianShuang today. 

Conquering her with food was the best approach.

He continued checking his phone. Besides his daily income, his adventure attempts had also reset.

Recalling his two failed adventures yesterday, Ye Chuan decided to be more cautious this time, playing it safe.

He had to bring back something this time, right? He intended to make good use of his thousand-yuan opportunity.

[Landing Location: TianXuan Continent]

[You appear in a dense jungle in the Eastern Hua Divine Continent of the TianXuan Continent. There is a dark, bottomless cave in front of you. You choose to…]

[1. Explore the cave]

[2. Leave this place]

[3. Search the surroundings]

Learning from his previous experiences, Ye Chuan sensed danger within the cave. After a few seconds of thought, he chose to leave.

[Not long after you leave the cave, you hear a loud explosion followed by a terrifying roar. There seems to be something fearsome within the cave.]

[You are glad to have escaped, but on your way, you smell the strong scent of blood. You choose to…]

[1. Go take a look]

[2. Escape in a different direction]

[3. Find a place to hide]

Seeing these options, Ye Chuan pondered for a moment, then chose to escape.

Since there was the smell of blood, it meant someone had died. If he hid, he might be discovered by something. It was better to just run.

Run if you can, hide if you must.

Not even at the Qi Refining stage, Ye Chuan felt like cannon fodder in that world. It was better to play it safe and look for opportunities to snag some items.

[You leave the area, but on your escape route, you see several corpses. They are gruesomely mangled, torn apart, and blood stains the ground. You choose to…]

[1. Loot the corpses]

[2. Bury them properly]

[3. Leave this place]

Loot the corpses… meaning he could obtain treasures from them?

Ye Chuan's eyes lit up. Time to loot!

[You choose to loot the corpses, obtaining some spirit stones, a manual, and a sword.]

[You don't search for long before you hear an angry voice behind you, seemingly a woman's. "What thief dares to disrespect the dead?! My sword!"]

[Your body is torn apart by the sudden burst of sword energy, reduced to dust.]

[You died.]

[Adventure ended. Items retrieved: 3]

[All items added to backpack.]

"Dead again."

Ye Chuan wasn't surprised to see himself die. It was possible he would die randomly even if he kept running away in this broken adventure. But at least he had obtained some items this time.

It wasn't a total loss, much better than the previous attempts.

He opened his backpack and checked his loot.

[Item: Spirit Stones

Mineral stones containing pure spiritual energy, the hard currency of the TianXuan Continent. Can be used as currency or absorbed for cultivation.]

[Item: Eastern Hua Sword Technique

Learn to master the basic sword techniques of the Eastern Hua Sect.]

[Item: Green Peak Sword

Low-grade magical treasure.]

A sword?

A good item! What's the point of cultivating if you don't use a sword?

He had to learn how to fly with a sword, right?

Ye Chuan learned the sword technique without hesitation. It contained the Eastern Hua Sect's swordsmanship. 

Although it was intricate and difficult to learn, for Ye Chuan, it was just a matter of clicking a button. The manual also included a method for sword flight, which was a pleasant surprise.

Ye Chuan summoned the Green Peak Sword. It felt heavy in his hand, its blade silver-white, the hilt bronze.

It was clearly not as high quality as Bai QianShuang's immortal sword, which glowed and looked incredibly ethereal.

"Rise." Ye Chuan tried to control the sword. Infused with his spiritual energy, the Green Peak Sword wobbled and floated unsteadily. 

Perhaps because Ye Chuan's spiritual root was fire attribute, the silver-white blade took on a faint reddish hue.

"Ugh, it's not working."

Soon, the Green Peak Sword fell back into his hand. Ye Chuan knew that it was too difficult for him to control a flying sword without even being at the Qi Refining stage.

"It's fine, I'll keep using idle cultivation."

Ye Chuan wasn't short on time. He looked at his backpack again, his gaze falling on the spirit stones.

"I'll give these spirit stones to Bai QianShuang." Ye Chuan didn't need to cultivate or replenish his spiritual energy.

He could level up through idle cultivation, and his spiritual energy would fully replenish every day. 

It was better to give the spirit stones to Bai QianShuang to increase her favorability and obtain better items.

A happy money tree produced better rewards.

But how to give them to Bai QianShuang was another problem.

He couldn't just say they magically appeared.

Hmm?

He could say they were a family heirloom.

(SHMOLL: Dude is so guilt tripping her.)