Eating Alone

Zhao Yun left Chen Ze's residence. After purchasing a map of the Dagan Dynasty in Wannan City, he embarked on his journey.

Zhao Yun did not have a specific destination in mind; he simply picked a random spot on the map and began walking in that direction.

Inside the Mysterious Iron Ore mine.

Ye Zhengping had already received the latest orders.

The Ye Family members were now being forced to mine, treated exactly as they had once treated the miners themselves.

As for the miners, they were told that if they worked for one final month, they would be set free.

Most of them refused to believe it, simply because the ones delivering this message were still Ye Family members.

They found it impossible to trust a single word coming from the Ye Family.

Although they had witnessed the previous battle, in their eyes, it was nothing more than the Ye Family fighting amongst themselves.

The doppelgangers felt quite helpless; the Ye Family's reputation was truly beyond saving.

In the end, no matter what the doppelgangers said, it was useless.

Those who refused to believe remained stubborn, continuing to mine according to the old rules.

Seeing them like this, the doppelgangers couldn't be bothered to explain any further.

They would just send them away in a month; explaining so much was just a waste of time.

Back at Chen Ze's residence.

"Ling'er, how are the profits from taking over the Mysterious Iron Ore mine?"

"Master, as per your instructions, aside from keeping all the medicinal pills from the three Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators, everything else we confiscated has been processed."

"Good. Let's go, let's take a trip to the Myriad Things Space." Chen Ze let out a hearty laugh as he spoke.

He had been completely tapped out; after purchasing the three doppelgangers, his Points had been wiped clean, and he only had about eight hundred Spirit Stones left.

However, he wasn't worried anymore; he was about to be a wealthy man.

Zhao Ling'er had already calculated it for him based on the number of people currently in the Mysterious Iron Ore mine.

With 100 miners plus the 30 Ye Family members, each person averaged 50 kilograms of Mysterious Iron Ore per day.

In a single day, they could extract 6,500 kilograms of Mysterious Iron Ore.

Based on the value of the ore, that was a daily profit of 1,300 Points.

And that wasn't even counting the doppelgangers, who could mine without rest; a single doppelganger could now extract at least a hundred kilograms of ore a day.

Just looking at the mining revenue alone, how could Chen Ze not be happy?

Chen Ze couldn't help but shout in his heart, "When in my life have I ever fought such a wealthy war?"

Inside the Myriad Things Space, Chen Ze didn't even glance at the pile of Mysterious Iron Ore.

He went straight to the Myriad Things Shop and had the Green-robed Woman recycle everything.

He only kept the medicinal pills; selling such items outside wouldn't easily lead others to his trail.

There was no helping it—Chen Ze was in urgent need of a batch of Spirit Stones, and his plan to open a shop needed to be put on the agenda.

Soon, the Green-robed Woman's calm, indifferent voice echoed.

"Recycling all items. Total: 10,000 Points."

Hearing her voice, Chen Ze was momentarily stunned. "I never expected the Ye Family members to have so many good things on them. This single haul is more than all our previous profits combined.

If it's like this, why are we working so hard to save up Points? We should just go and rob the Ye Family directly."

Although the logic held up, Chen Ze was only thinking about it.

It wasn't the right time to go and rob the Ye Family.

Compared to the Ye Family, his strength was still lacking by quite a margin.

"Ling'er, do you think I should upgrade the Myriad Things Space now, or save the Points?"

Chen Ze knew very well that if the Myriad Things Space reached Level 3, the number of Spirit Fields would certainly double, and the time acceleration would improve once again.

The items available for exchange in the Myriad Things Shop would likely reach the Golden Core level.

The shop would surely gain new skills and functions as well.

However, spending all 10,000 Points right now felt a bit reluctant; after all, these 10,000 Points hadn't been easy to come by.

He had no idea how long he would have to wait to get another 10,000 Points.

"Master, you have not yet reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, and the items currently available in the Myriad Things Shop are sufficient for your needs.

Furthermore, the existing functions and skills are enough; you don't have a use for too many extra features right now.

As long as you have enough doppelgangers, the Mysterious Iron Ore mine will provide a steady, continuous stream of income."

In truth, Chen Ze had already made up his mind.

With Zhao Ling'er saying this, he felt even more certain of his decision.

"Ling'er, you're right. As long as I have my doppelgangers, these ten thousand Points are nothing."

"My doppelgangers are a form of my own strength, so for now, I should prioritize increasing that strength."

Chen Ze finished speaking and opened the shopping interface of the Myriad Things Shop.

Without much hesitation, he exchanged for six doppelgangers, consuming 9,300 Points in one go.

Chen Ze now possessed 18 doppelgangers.

Aside from Chen Fan at the Qingyun Sect.

Zhao Yun, who was traveling abroad.

And Zhao Ling'er, who was by his side.

All the other doppelgangers were mining in the Mysterious Iron Ore.

As for these six new doppelgangers, Chen Ze did not give them specific appearances.

He modeled them directly after the Ye Family Member who had been accidentally killed in the Mysterious Iron Ore.

Sending five doppelgangers to the Mysterious Iron Ore, Chen Ze exited the Myriad Things Space with Zhao Ling'er and No. 18 Doppelganger.

"Take all these medicinal pills to the Market to sell. Be flexible; don't sell them all to a single shop."

"Yes."

Chen Ze handed all the medicinal pills to No. 18 Doppelganger.

No. 18 Doppelganger left Chen Ze's residence with the pills.

"Ling'er, I've been busy all day, and I'm a bit hungry."

"Yes, Master. Ling'er will go prepare it right away."

As Zhao Ling'er went to prepare the meal, Chen Ze sat on a recliner, calculating how much longer he needed to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Qi Refining Tenth Layer 58/100, 42 points remaining.
With the Xuantian Record at Major Accomplishment proficiency, practicing it once increases cultivation by 3 points.
In another 14 hours, I can break through the Qi Refining Realm and reach the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Hmm, not bad. I'll break through after a good night's sleep.
I'll soon be a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and once I reach that realm, I can use Sword Flight.
I can finally be like a real cultivator, soaring through the skies and traversing the earth. This is the Cultivation World I've dreamed of.

"Time flies. Before I knew it, I've been in this world for almost a month."

Just as Chen Ze was feeling sentimental, he suddenly heard Zhao Ling'er's voice.

"Master, the meal is ready."

"Mm."

Watching Zhao Ling'er bring the dishes over, Chen Ze felt, Everything feels like a dream. Why does it seem so surreal? Yet, everything is so real.

At this moment, Zhao Ling'er had already set all the dishes on the table.

"Ling'er, sit down and eat with me!"

Zhao Ling'er chuckled softly: "Master, have you forgotten? Ling'er doesn't need to eat."

"It's fine, let's eat together! Even with delicious food in front of me, it's a bit boring to eat alone."

Zhao Ling'er looked at Chen Ze with curiosity, seemingly touched by something, and sat down silently.

"Come, Ling'er, taste your own cooking. The food you make is much better than those restaurants outside."

Chen Ze picked up some food with his chopsticks and placed it into Zhao Ling'er's bowl.

Zhao Ling'er giggled, picked up her chopsticks, put the food into her mouth, and chewed it carefully.

"Hmm, it is better than the food from that restaurant last time."

"Haha." Chen Ze laughed out loud, "You're singing your own praises a bit there."

"Hee hee."