This Is Helping You Invest

Murong watched the scene outside the window while munching on sunflower seeds. She happened to see Zhou Yuanbao and the others, so she immediately sent a telepathic message for them to return.

Upon hearing Murong's voice, Zhou Yuanbao and Murong Jinyin rushed back, bringing Ye Zi with them.

Seeing Ye Zi approaching, Zhou Hao turned to Murong and asked, "Do you want to hide?"

Murong looked at him as if he were an idiot and asked, "Are we not allowed to be seen? Or am I not allowed to be seen?"

Zhou Hao was stunned for a moment, then thought, "That's right. They're a couple, not doing anything sneaky. What's there to be afraid of?"

Just then, Zhou Yuanbao and Murong Jinyin arrived, followed shortly by Ye Zi.

Ye Zi was taken aback upon seeing Murong, thinking to himself, "What a beautiful auntie!"

Murong gently tapped the heads of the two, smiling as she asked, "Why have you two turned into this?"

"Dad asked us to. He said we needed to be low-key," Zhou Yuanbao said, pointing at Zhou Hao and complaining.

Murong shifted her gaze to Zhou Hao.

Zhou Hao chuckled sheepishly and explained, "It's not appropriate to be ostentatious when traveling."

Murong nodded, flicked Zhou Yuanbao's head, and said, "You should stay in this form from now on! Your dad is right. When you're out and about, the worst thing you can do is flaunt yourself."

"Oh~" Zhou Yuanbao replied dejectedly, holding his head.

He had thought Murong would side with him! It seemed he had overestimated.

Zhou Hao smugly made a 'V' sign at Zhou Yuanbao.

Zhou Yuanbao rolled his eyes but felt helpless. His mother wasn't on his side.

Murong turned her attention to Ye Zi and asked softly, "What's your name?"

Ye Zi shyly hid behind Zhou Hao, clutching his clothes tightly.

Zhou Hao patted his back and said with a smile, "Go ahead and say it! It's okay."

Ye Zi said meekly, "My name is Ye Zi."

Murong raised an eyebrow slightly. Then, a jade-green leaf appeared in her hand, and she smiled, "This is for you."

Zhou Hao's mouth twitched. He noticed a significant pattern: Murong seemed to really like giving things away. Not counting what she gave him, she had given Zhou Yuanbao and Murong Jinyin a pile of Divine Crystals when they first met, and now she was giving something to a child.

Of course, Murong was rich and could afford it.

Ye Zi hesitated to accept, looking up at Zhou Hao as if seeking his opinion.

Zhou Hao smiled and patted his back, saying, "Go on, accept it!"

Ye Zi hesitated for a moment before taking the Jade Leaf. "Thank you, Auntie."

At these words, both Zhou Hao and Murong were stunned.

Zhou Hao was surprised because he thought the term "Auntie" might be offensive to Murong.

Murong was surprised because she truly hadn't expected to be called an aunt. Given her age, she could be a great-great-grandmother, so she didn't dwell on it, only feeling a slight moment of surprise.

She stroked Ye Zi's head and said, "Keep this Jade Leaf with you. It will be beneficial."

"Okay, hehe," Ye Zi giggled happily.

Murong nodded slightly and waved her hand in front of Ye Zi. A drop of blood appeared and fell onto the Jade Leaf. The leaf flashed with light and then returned to normal, signifying that Ye Zi had successfully recognized it as his own.

Then, Murong gently tapped the Jade Leaf with her finger, and it immediately looked ordinary.

She cast an illusion technique on it, which she believed no one in this plane could see through, thus preventing anyone from coveting it.

Zhou Hao secretly nodded. As expected of the Empress, her considerations were thorough.

"Here, play with it!" Murong said with a smile.

Ye Zi looked at Zhou Hao, then at Murong, and wisely excused himself. Although he was young, he understood how to read the room. He knew it was best not to disturb the aunt and uncle at this moment, so he politely said goodbye and left.

Watching Ye Zi disappear at the doorway, Zhou Hao turned to Murong and asked with a smile, "Do you have a habit of giving gifts?"

"Hmm?" Murong was slightly taken aback and asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Zhou Hao chuckled, "You give something to everyone you meet. You gave me a Divine Crystal when we first met, and then all sorts of other things. You also gave gifts when Yuanbao and Jinyin were born, and now you've given something to Ye Zi. All these signs make me suspect you have a habit of giving gifts."

Murong looked at him speechlessly and said, "You and Yuanbao are my people, so giving you things is normal. It's different with Ye Zi. I gave Ye Zi something as a casual investment. Ye Zi contains immense bloodline power, and his potential for development is quite significant."

Zhou Hao was slightly taken aback and then realized, "So that's how it is."

He had a hunch when he heard that Ye Zi was found by Shi Po that Ye Zi might have an unusual background. Generally, in these Xuanhuan worlds, those who were abandoned often had significant origins.

Murong looked at Zhou Hao meaningfully and slowly said, "A faction cannot achieve anything with just one person. You need to discover and recruit people with potential. Back then, I used this 'gift-giving' to trick... no, to invite so many people to join the Ice and Snow Divine Realm?"

She said this with a proud smile.

Zhou Hao's mouth twitched. So that's how the habit of giving gifts was cultivated.

He pondered for a moment and asked, "So you want Ye Zi to join your Ice and Snow Divine Realm?"

"No." Murong shook her head and looked up at Zhou Hao. "I'm paving the way for you."

"Ah?" Zhou Hao looked bewildered. He couldn't quite understand what she meant.

Murong knew he was confused and continued to explain, "When you reach a certain level of cultivation, you'll need to form your own faction. This is an investment I'm making for you in advance."

With Ye Zi's aptitude, she wasn't qualified to be admitted into the Ice and Snow Divine Realm. While they might have invested in and trained her during the early stages of the Ice and Snow Divine Realm's development, the current Ice and Snow Divine Realm would never train someone like her.

Zhou Hao felt a pang of embarrassment. "I haven't even said I want to create a faction!"

Murong raised an eyebrow slightly. "It's fine if you don't build a faction; you can just consider it a favor. However, I still suggest you form a faction when you reach a certain level. It will make things much more convenient for you then."

In her opinion, although rogue cultivators had a high degree of freedom, when comparing individuals of the same strength, those with a faction would definitely be stronger than rogue cultivators.

There were simply too many powerful individuals in this world. No one dared to claim they could suppress all worlds by themselves. Even someone as strong as Murong ended up with only a thousand years of lifespan left, and that was with the backing of the Ice and Snow Divine Realm.

If she had been a rogue cultivator, her grave might have been covered in meters-high grass by now.

Zhou Hao began to think carefully. What Murong said made sense. More importantly, he also felt that he needed a faction. Otherwise, compared to Murong, an Empress, his own standing would immediately drop several levels. He didn't want that.

As a man, one should have their own career.

In conclusion, Zhou Hao felt it would be better to form a faction in the future.

Zhou Hao nodded in response. "I'll see how things go. If there's an opportunity, I'll create one."

"Mm." Murong looked like a promising student and patted her chest. "If you have any problems, you can come ask me. I have experience."

The Ice and Snow Divine Realm was created by her.

Zhou Hao nodded. "Okay."

However, he didn't want to build a country, which would make him just like Murong. If he was going to do something, he wanted to do something different. Therefore, he intended to pursue an elite path.

He wanted to recruit people who, individually, could fight a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand enemies. If an entire organization was made up of such individuals, the prestige would be incredible.

However, the imagination was beautiful, but putting it into practice wasn't that easy, as many factors needed to be considered. But those were things to be discussed later. Right now, things were far from being set in stone.