After a day of teaching, Zhao Ling'er had memorized the lyrics and melodies of every little tune Chen Ze had taught her.
Memorizing those lyrics and melodies posed no difficulty for Zhao Ling'er, who was in the Foundation Establishment Realm.
The reason it had taken a whole day was simply because Chen Ze had taught Zhao Ling'er every little tune he could remember all at once.
Now, Zhao Ling'er was singing for Chen Ze so he could assess the results of her learning.
Zhao Ling'er finished a song.
Chen Ze clapped excitedly. "Ling'er, you're incredible."
Praised so highly by Chen Ze, Zhao Ling'er could not help lowering her head shyly. "It is all because Master taught me well."
"No, it is because your comprehension is simply too high."
If Zhao Ling'er's singing were placed in Chen Ze's era, she could have rivaled even top-tier singers.
"Ling'er, wait a moment."
"?" Zhao Ling'er looked at Chen Ze in confusion, not understanding what he intended to do.
Chen Ze suddenly became busy.
A moment later, a small table had appeared beside Chen Ze's reclining chair. He had carried it out from the main hall.
On the table sat a pot of freshly brewed tea, a plate of simple pastries, and another plate of sunflower seeds.
Once he had finished all that, Chen Ze lay back comfortably. "Alright, Ling'er, continue."
"Huh?" Zhao Ling'er hesitated. Chen Ze's entire sequence of actions truly left her unable to make heads or tails of it.
After all, Zhao Ling'er was merely a Doppelganger that had not been created long ago. It was only natural that she did not understand Chen Ze's behavior.
"It's fine. Keep singing."
As he spoke, Chen Ze poured himself a cup of tea, grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds, and waited for Zhao Ling'er's performance with great interest.
He looked exactly like someone at the front row munching seeds and watching the show.
Zhao Ling'er finally understood. Chen Ze had done all this solely so he could watch her performance more comfortably.
Helplessly, Zhao Ling'er gave a faint smile and began singing again.
Chen Ze smiled as he cracked sunflower seeds, enjoying Zhao Ling'er's moving voice. "Comfortable. A scene like this belongs only in the heavens!"
However, halfway through Zhao Ling'er's song, Chen Ze frowned slightly.
"It seems like something is still missing."
Zhao Ling'er, who had been singing with deep emotion, seemed to notice Chen Ze's furrowed brow. The little tune she was singing suddenly contained a slight mistake.
Zhao Ling'er noticed her own mistake as well and stopped singing. "Master, was there something Ling'er did not do well enough?"
Chen Ze also realized that his expression just now had been inappropriate. He hurriedly smiled and said, "No, you sang very well. It just always feels like something is missing."
"Something is missing?" Zhao Ling'er was also puzzled. She had followed every requirement Chen Ze had explained exactly, so how could anything be lacking?
At that moment, Chen Ze suddenly slapped his thigh, as though he had finally understood something. "I know what's missing."
Hearing this, Zhao Ling'er's eyes lit up. "Master, tell me quickly. I'll change it at once."
However, Chen Ze shook his head with a smile. "It has nothing to do with you. You sang very well. It is only missing a bit of accompaniment."
"Accompaniment?" Zhao Ling'er did not understand what this accompaniment Chen Ze spoke of was.
"It is music played by instruments. But Wannan City does not even have a pleasure house. Finding a musician will probably be difficult."
Chen Ze shook his head and smiled. "Forget it. Just sing like this for now. We can talk about accompaniment once we find a musician later."
Without accompaniment to support her, Chen Ze had no solution either. He could still teach Zhao Ling'er to sing little tunes, though.
But when it came to instruments, he had no way around it. He had never learned any musical theory; even if he had an instrument, he would not know how to play it.
"Perhaps I can search Myriad Things Space for spells and Magic Artifacts related to instruments." Chen Ze pondered inwardly.
And so, Zhao Ling'er continued singing while Chen Ze listened to the tunes at ease.
A day passed swiftly.
"Alright, Ling'er, let's stop here for today."
Chen Ze called a halt to Zhao Ling'er's singing. The trait of Zhao Ling'er's Doppelganger was that she would not feel tired even if she sang without stopping.
"Yes."
"With today's Mysterious Iron Ore profits included, there should be enough to exchange for another Doppelganger."
Though Chen Ze appeared to idle away every day and knew only how to amuse himself, he still kept serious matters in mind.
"Master, I will go check right away."
But Chen Ze stopped Zhao Ling'er and said with a smile, "No need. I'll go myself. Go prepare something to eat. After listening to you sing all day, I'm actually getting a little hungry."
"Yes."
Even if Zhao Ling'er went to Myriad Things Space to check the amount of Mysterious Iron Ore, Chen Ze would still need to go to the Green-robed Woman for the recycling.
Besides, Chen Ze had to personally exchange for a Doppelganger anyway, so there was no need to make Zhao Ling'er take an extra trip.
With a thought from Chen Ze, his consciousness had already entered Myriad Things Space.
The Mysterious Iron Ore mined by the Doppelgangers today had all been piled up in Myriad Things Space.
Chen Ze gave it a rough glance. He was quite assured of the Doppelgangers' work; the daily amount of Mysterious Iron Ore would only be greater than the previous day's.
"With today's amount included, it should be enough to exchange for a Doppelganger."
Chen Ze was also rather helpless. There were already twenty-seven Doppelgangers now, and exchanging for one currently required 2,800 Points.
As for the Mysterious Iron Ore mine, although the Doppelgangers all possessed Foundation Establishment cultivation and their mining speed had doubled,
there were over a hundred fewer miners digging, so the amount mined each day was still less than before.
The ore mined by the Doppelgangers, combined with that mined by the Ye Family Members, came to only 7,500 kilograms a day. Recycled into Points, it amounted to merely 1,500 Points.
"Looks like I need to make the Doppelgangers pick up the pace."
As he thought this, Chen Ze's consciousness had already entered Myriad Things Shop.
Seeing the Green-robed Woman, Chen Ze did not waste words. "Recycle all the Mysterious Iron Ore."
The Green-robed Woman's expression did not change, and she said nothing.
Chen Ze had long been accustomed to this and did not mind. He merely waited quietly.
A moment later, the Green-robed Woman spoke. "Recycling 7,500 kilograms of Mysterious Iron Ore for a total of 1,500 Points."
Hearing the Green-robed Woman's voice, Chen Ze merely nodded slightly. It was exactly as he had estimated.
The number displayed where his Points were shown directly changed to 3,360. The Points from recycling the Mysterious Iron Ore had already arrived.
Chen Ze glanced at the Points total. "Exchange for one Doppelganger."
"Exchanging for one Doppelganger will consume 2,800 Points. Confirm?"
"Confirm."
2,800 Points were deducted, leaving a balance of 560.
Seeing the remaining Points, Chen Ze felt troubled. Two days of savings had vanished in an instant.
Once the Doppelganger exchange was complete, a Phantom had already appeared before Chen Ze.
He had no interest in carefully shaping this new Doppelganger. He casually imagined a familiar appearance and waited for the Phantom to solidify.
Very quickly, the new Doppelganger solidified, and its spiritual intelligence became clear.
Chen Ze spoke calmly. "From now on, you are Number 28. Go mine."
Names did not matter to Doppelgangers; they were merely designations. Chen Ze therefore did not dwell on it too much.
"Yes." Number 28 responded devoutly.
Before you continue