Low-Level Rebate Card, a Beauty
He had spent six Spirit Stones on Spirit Cuisine, and the system had promptly rewarded him with a full 300.
After spending and receiving, he had made a profit of 294!
He couldn't help sucking in a sharp breath.
That was nearly a month's worth of fixed system income!
He suppressed the excitement in his heart and turned to examine the rebate card he had just obtained.
[Low-Level Rebate Card: designate a single purchase to receive a random rebate of one to five times the amount spent.]
Hiss...
Lu Yang's pupils shrank slightly as another huge wave of delight surged through his heart.
He could get a multiplied rebate just for spending?!
He now had a full 300 low-grade Spirit Stones in hand. If he struck it lucky and triggered a fivefold rebate, that would be a whole 1,500 low-grade Spirit Stones!
What did 1,500 amount to?
Saving that much from his monthly sect allowance alone would take over a decade, even if he didn't eat or drink!
The more he spent, of course, the greater the potential rebate would be.
But he was at the crucial stage of laying his foundation. Pills, cultivation methods, Law Artifacts... which of them didn't cost Spirit Stones?
Since he had to spend them sooner or later, he might as well use the card now.
Besides, every purchase would raise the level of Tycoon's Confidence, so the Spirit Stones he earned each day would only increase in the future.
Investing early on would surely let him advance more steadily and quickly.
Lu Yang barely hesitated before making up his mind—tomorrow, he would go to the sect's market and use the Low-Level Rebate Card.
He slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, gradually pressing down the excitement churning in his chest.
Only when his thoughts had completely settled did he rise from his seat.
Under the subtly complicated gazes of the other entry disciples, Lu Yang sauntered out of the dining hall.
He had eaten two portions of Spirit Cuisine in one sitting today, and the Spiritual Qi in his body was surging through his meridians like a gentle flame. He had to hurry back and refine it, or it would go to waste.
The next day.
In the afternoon.
Golden Rainbow Sword Sect, trading market.
The market lay in a broad, naturally formed valley on the outskirts of the Golden Sun Mountain Range. It was an official trading area run directly by the sect.
Clouds and mist wreathed the valley, and rows of towers and shops had been built along the mountainside in an orderly, staggered arrangement.
The market teemed with people. There were sect-run pill pavilions, Law Artifact shops, talisman halls, and more... as well as temporary stalls set up by disciples and Rogue Cultivators.
Rogue Cultivators, children of aristocratic clans, and disciples of minor sects moved through the crowds. Voices clamored, spiritual light flickered in and out of sight, and the whole place was bustling.
The journey here from the outer sect residences took a little over two hours.
Lu Yang had only arrived in the afternoon because he had first completed his three daily tasks diligently that morning.
He didn't leave for the market until the sun had climbed toward its zenith.
Perhaps because his charm had risen to 1.1, his appearance was becoming increasingly pleasant to look at.
His features had also gained a faint, elusive trace of ethereal grace. Walking among the crowd, he looked like a piece of uncut jade washed clean by a spring.
As soon as he stepped onto the market street, Lu Yang clearly noticed the gazes of quite a few cultivators drifting his way.
The vast majority were female cultivators.
Those gazes were filled with curiosity and appraisal, and some of the bolder women didn't even bother to hide the amazement in their eyes.
Lu Yang couldn't help marveling inwardly.
With a face like this, if he were back in the city in his previous life, he would absolutely slay.
It probably wouldn't even be an exaggeration to say he could be a bridegroom every night.
Before he transmigrated, he had a friend with an outrageously handsome face, and the person beside him in bed was different every day.
Whenever Lu Yang thought of it, he still felt a little envious.
Letting his thoughts wander aimlessly, he headed toward the sect-run pill shop along a familiar route.
He had only taken a few steps when the system's screen popped up before his eyes without warning.
[A nine-point beauty has been found! As a tycoon, how can you be without a beauty by your side? Add the beauty's contact information to receive an extra reward!]
Lu Yang stopped in his tracks. "???"
What? What??
He didn't really pay much attention to the talk of beauties and companions, but his eyes fell on the final words—extra reward.
He had now experienced firsthand just how powerful the Urban Tycoon System was. Surely the extra reward wouldn't be bad either?
And come to think of it...
A city tycoon surrounded by beauties did fit the character.
Lu Yang's gaze naturally swept over his surroundings and soon settled on a female cultivator tending a stall not far away.
Dressed in the robes of an outer sect disciple, she sat quietly behind her stall.
She had a delicate, small, oval face, brows like distant, ink-blue mountains, eyes like autumn waters, and skin as fair as snow suffused with light.
She was indeed extraordinarily beautiful.
The nine-point rating the system had given her would put her beauty on the level of a top female celebrity in the city of his previous life.
A ten was probably the ceiling for human beauty.
Of course, that only applied to mortals.
Cultivators in the cultivation world had cleansed their essence and marrow, leaving their skin more delicate and translucent and their bearing more otherworldly. Naturally, there were far more beauties here than in the mortal world.
Lu Yang even suspected that beauties above ten points existed.
Although he didn't know the female cultivator, he recognized her robes at a glance.
They were the robes of a formal disciple of the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect's outer sect.
One could only wear them after passing the entry assessment.
That meant he ought to call her senior sister.
Lu Yang pondered for a moment before finally walking over.
The system had never had a penalty mechanism.
It didn't matter even if he didn't go and get to know her.
But he really was a little curious about that "extra reward."
Besides, the female cultivator happened to be selling pills at her stall.
He had come to buy pills anyway, so there was no downside to taking a look.
Two young male cultivators were also with her.
The two stood around her, chattering away in turn, their eagerness to please practically dripping from their faces.
The female cultivator, meanwhile, remained calm throughout.
She responded to the two youths' enthusiasm only with an occasional slight nod or a mild word of acknowledgment. A faint trace of helplessness showed between her brows, and she seemed exceedingly quiet and gentle.
Lu Yang had just stopped in front of the stall when he heard one of the youths speak eagerly. "Junior Sister Lin, how about I watch the stall for you while you go back and cultivate? Your talent is so good; it's a real shame to waste it tending a stall."
The girl's voice was soft and gentle as a stream in March, but it carried a hint of deliberate distance. "Thank you for your kind offer, Senior Brother, but I can manage on my own. You two should go back and focus on your cultivation. Don't delay it by staying here."
The other youth hurriedly cut in, his tone carrying a touch of deliberate bravado. "You're being too distant, Junior Sister Lin! Rogue Cultivators pass through this market too. With the two of us keeping watch here, none of them will be blind enough to offend you."
The girl sighed almost imperceptibly, but her tone remained polite. "This is the sect's market, and the law-enforcement senior brothers patrol it. Who would dare offend a sect disciple?"
Lin Ying was extremely frustrated.
She had already been careful enough, deliberately choosing a quieter time to go out, yet she hadn't expected these two pieces of sticky candy to latch onto her halfway here.
No matter what she said, the two refused to leave, standing there like a pair of door gods.
Helpless, Lin Ying simply stopped talking and sat quietly.
Just then, a clear, warm voice suddenly came from the front of the stall.
"Hello, Senior Sister. Do you have any cultivation pills for sale?"
All three raised their heads at once.
When they saw what the newcomer looked like, all three froze for a moment.
The young man before them had handsome features and a tall, slender figure. An indescribably ethereal air surrounded him, and standing in the crowd, he seemed to come with a soft-light filter of his own.
The faintest smile rested on his lips, warm and gentle, making people feel inexplicably at ease.
Lin Ying felt her heart inexplicably skip a beat.
This junior brother is so handsome...
The hearts of the two youths beside her, meanwhile, sank sharply, and their expressions changed in an instant.
Damn it, how did this kid end up looking like that?!
Isn't he way too handsome?!
Feeling uneasy, the two secretly glanced at Lin Ying. Seeing that her expression was still calm, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness, thank goodness...
Junior Sister Lin really isn't the sort of shallow woman who only cares about looks.
The two straightened their chests again, their confidence returning in an instant.
So what if he's better-looking?
He's just an entry disciple who hasn't even passed the outer sect assessment.
He's not on the same level as formal disciples like us at all.
One of them immediately adopted a somewhat condescending air and drawled, "So you're a junior brother who's still in the assessment period... Junior Sister Lin does have pills here, of course. The question is, do you have the money?"
The other chimed in, a trace of contempt in his voice. "Exactly. You don't have much in your pocket and plan to buy them one at a time, do you? Junior Sister Lin doesn't do that kind of petty business, breaking up bottles to sell individual pills!"
For low-level cultivators short on funds, buying a whole bottle of pills was indeed a considerable expense, and many chose to swallow their pride and buy a single pill.
As an outer sect disciple, Lin Ying had to cultivate and refine pills on a regular basis. How could she have spare time to sell them one by one?
She had always sold them by the bottle.
Yet as soon as the two finished speaking, Lin Ying, who had been quiet all this time, suddenly broke into a smile. Her voice was soft but clear. "Junior Brother, don't listen to their nonsense. You're still in the assessment period, so I imagine you don't have many Spirit Stones to spare. We're fellow disciples; there's no problem with selling you a few individually."
The smiles froze on the two youths' faces. "????"
They turned to look at Lin Ying in bewilderment, their eyes filled with disbelief.
That wasn't right...
That wasn't how Junior Sister Lin sold pills before!