You Can Get Reimbursed for That?
Lu Ping looked at Little C, and his heart skipped a beat.
Little C finally stopped mocking him for being a poor True Person.
However, going all in is gambling, and going all in is risking your life.
He's now quite wealthy, and he certainly doesn't want to experience what it's like to be on the rooftop.
Although going up to the rooftop posed little risk to Golden Core True Person like him...
Little B?
Lu Ping felt that Little B was implying something.
Therefore, Lu Ping chooses A.
[You chose A.]
[You bought a copy of the latest map of Baodi City from a cultivator selling Jade Slip slips and maps by the roadside.]
[This time you learned your lesson. You scanned it with your Divine Sense first to make sure it wasn't a "scam prevention manual" before paying the Spirit Stones.]
[Following the map's directions, you walked through several bustling streets and found the location of the Azure Dragon Merchant Association.]
The Azure Dragon Merchant Association in Baodi City is a nine-story building.
[The entire structure is made of Green Jade and glass, gleaming brilliantly and possessing an extraordinary grandeur.]
[You, dressed in the official robes of the Azure Dragon Merchant Association, walk to the entrance and display the "special appointment" jade token given to you by Shen Yuerong.]
[Friend of Women, in effect.]
[Workwear Thugs, in effect.]
The female nun at the entrance, who was greeting you, immediately became more sincere and bowed as she led you inside.
"Alchemist Lu, please come with me. I'll take you to complete the onboarding procedures."
[The hall you followed the female cultivator through had more than a hundred times more cultivators than the Qingyang City Branch.]
Everyone seemed to be in a hurry, their expressions serious, as if they were conducting a business transaction worth hundreds of millions of Spirit Stones.
[You are led to a side hall, where you are received by an elderly man with Golden Core Perfection cultivation level.]
The old man took your special appointment jade token and carefully checked it.
"Recommended by the Shen Household... Hmm, all the paperwork is complete."
The old man tapped his withered fingers twice on the jade pendant, slightly raised his eyelids, and glanced at you.
"You're from the Central Region..."
He let out a soft hum from his nose.
"Alright, since the Shen Household dared to give you the spot, the Chamber of Commerce will naturally recognize it."
The old man tossed a jade tablet and a bag of Spirit Stones onto the table.
"This jade token is your entry certificate. Also, there are 240 Low-Grade Spirit Stones in the Spirit Stone bag."
[You clutched the Spirit Stone pouch, a hint of unease creeping into your mind.]
[Has the Azure Dragon Merchant Association changed its ways? They're actually giving out money now?]
The old man picked up his teacup, blew away the foam, and began to speak slowly and deliberately.
"Don't overthink it. The competition lasts for several months, and these 240 Spirit Stones are an advance on the Baojia Allowance."
"The Chamber of Commerce doesn't support idlers. If you can't even pass the internal selection and are eliminated early, you'll have to pay for your own Baojia Token for the rest of the time."
[You didn't show it on your face, but you felt a pang of emotion in your heart.]
[Four yuan a day, that's exactly two hundred and forty yuan in two months.]
[They even reimburse the Breathing Tax; is this considered part of Upper Domain's social security and housing fund benefits?]
Is this the true vision of Big Company?
[After completing the formalities, a servant in blue led you through a winding path to a secluded area of cave abode behind the Chamber of Commerce.]
"All of our chamber of commerce's participants are staying here."
The servant pointed to a dwelling on the very edge of the street.
"Alchemist Lu, that's your residence."
Just as you were about to pass by, the Stone Gate of a luxurious cave abode suddenly swung open on the other side.
A fragrant aroma, mixed with the oppressive aura of the Nascent Soul Realm, wafted over.
[The one who stepped out was a middle-aged man wearing a purple and gold Bagua robe.]
[He was holding two crimson Fire Jade Gallbladder in his hands, which made a crisp "crackling" sound.]
The servant immediately bent down and whispered to you,
"This is our team leader for this competition, Manager Yan Xuanyao, Fourth-Level Alchemist!"
Yan Xuanyao's gaze swept over you, landing on your rather plain-looking monastic robes.
"The newcomer? One of the spots from the Central Region?"
You politely cupped your hands in a respectful greeting.
"I have met Steward Yan."
[The Flattery has taken effect.]
[Workwear Thugs, in effect.]
Yan Xuanyao looked you up and down, his brows furrowing slightly before returning to calm.
[Several local contestants from the Upper Domain who were watching the spectacle were also openly whispering among themselves.]
"That bumpkin from the Central Region probably hasn't even seen a high-grade True Fire before, has he?"
"It's the Shen Household who insist on promoting people from below; isn't that taking up resources from our Upper Domain?"
[You listened to these words without feeling a ripple in your heart.]
[But Yan Xuanyao's subsequent reaction was somewhat unexpected.]
He paused, holding the Fire Jade Gallbladder in his hand, and turned to glare at the local cultivators.
"Shut up. You don't know anything."
[Yan Xuanyao turned her head to look at you, her eyes filled with a complex expression.]
"The Alchemist manage to rise through the ranks in the Central Region have all crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood."
"You bunch of weaklings born in the Upper Domain, if you actually got into the Great Expansion Alchemy Formation, you wouldn't even know how you died!"
Your face remained calm, but a hint of surprise lingered in your heart.
[The people of this Upper Domain have quite an interesting thought process.]
[They discriminate against cultivators from the Central Region, yet deep down they harbor a certain degree of fear towards them.]
"Kid, no matter how powerful you are down there, you have to follow the rules of the Upper Domain here."
Yan Xuanyao didn't say anything more, just left a comment, and strolled away with her hands behind her back.
[You push open the Stone Gate to your cave abode.]
[The facilities inside are complete; even the Earthfire Formation is top-of-the-line.]
[Options pop up.]
[A: Quietly prepare for the competition, studying the rules of the "Great Expansion Alchemy Formation" specifically for the grand competition.]
[B: Since I'm just killing time anyway, I might as well explore the real big cities of the Azure Dragon Upper Domain and broaden my horizons.]
[C: Knock on the door of Yan Xuanyao and hand him a "Proposal on Introducing an 'Off-Site Reward Mechanism' and 'Idolizing Alchemists' in the Seven-City Dao of Alchemy Grand Competition." He'll give you 20% of the profits, or even a buyout for 320,000.]