How Did I Become a Capitalist?

There was no way he was going back. Chen Yi was not afraid of danger; it was nothing more than an external incarnation. He had forty-eight more incarnations like this one. Even if he lost it, it did not matter. At worst, he could spend another two and a half years nurturing a new one.

Besides, the chat group's Heavenly Secret Shielding function was more of a restraint to him!

When it came to concealing heavenly secrets, he, who had battled the Tribulation Transcendence eighty-one times, was the true expert!

He could evade the trials sent down by the Immortal Realm's Heavenly Dao, let alone the Heavenly Dao of some Pseudo-Immortal Realm.

"I choose option two: return at a chosen time!"

Within the Phantom Star Grotto-Heaven, Chen Yi's True Body controlled the external incarnation carrying the chat group's core and made his decision.

Have a pleasant journey!

At the same time.

Great Western Sea World.

Chen Yi's external incarnation casually pulled out a cloak made from perception-isolating material and draped it over himself. After activating the runes inscribed upon it and reducing his presence to the bare minimum, he began erasing the residual aura from his earlier attack to deceive the Western Sea Heavenly Dao's senses.

Yet at that moment, the chat group's shielding power abruptly vanished as well.

Rumble!!!

The clear sky darkened without warning. Rolling black clouds gathered, lightning flashed, and vast heavenly might surged like an overturned ocean, locking down everything within a hundred-mile radius in an instant.

"Damn it, didn't it say two and a half minutes?!" Chen Yi's mouth twitched fiercely. Without the slightest hesitation, he sent An Lan, who was trembling beside him, flying a thousand miles away with a backhanded slap.

This external incarnation of his did not matter much. He was used to being struck by lightning, and ordinary lightning could not kill him. But An Lan was different. He was far too weak; even the slightest aftershock would scatter his soul to the winds. He could not die, or the team would be difficult to manage in the future.

After confirming that An Lan had escaped the Western Sea Heavenly Dao's lock-on, Chen Yi finally sat down cross-legged in relief and directly transformed into an utterly ordinary stone.

As he had said, it was only being struck by lightning. He was long used to it.

It was not like the freakish Purple Firmament Divine Lightning of the Tribulation Transcendence. Could the ordinary heavenly lightning sent down by the Western Sea Heavenly Dao possibly break through his defenses?

Go ahead and strike. When you can no longer strike, let's see how I tame you!

Rumble rumble!!!

Deafening thunder resounded through heaven and earth as bolts of azure heavenly lightning poured down!

Some struck where the Demon Spirit Commander had fallen, some hit the towering trees nearby, some blasted into the water and electrocuted countless fish, and some even killed foolish roe deer passing through the forest. Yet not one bolt struck the ordinary stone Chen Yi had become.

Western Sea Heavenly Dao: Ah~ I can clearly smell him, so why can't I catch him?!

"Hehe, I was already prepared to take it head-on, yet you can't even find me?" Chen Yi smiled teasingly.

If this had been the Tribulation Transcendence, it would have found him in less than two and a half seconds. Yet the Western Sea Heavenly Dao had been striking wildly for ages without even touching a single hair on him. It was truly pathetic!

Rumble rumble!!!

The clouds at the horizon grew even heavier, and the heavenly lightning transformed into plasma. The enraged Western Sea Heavenly Dao decided to scour the earth with lightning!

That day, dense heavenly lightning fell like torrential rain.

Chen Yi's external incarnation allowed the heavenly lightning to wash over it, remaining as steady as a mountain. His true body even had the leisure to chat in the group.

Ding! The Group Leader has claimed the mission reward. Group 108 EXP +20,000.

Group 108 has risen to Level 3. 9,527 EXP is needed to reach Level 4.

The Group Welfare Sign-in System has been activated. Group members can claim 100 points by signing in daily.

The maximum value of daily group red packets has increased to items worth 3,000 points. (One point can be exchanged for ten Low-grade Spirit Stones.)

Several consecutive group system announcements immediately excited the group members.

The Runner-Up of the Cultivation World: Woohoo! Great Group Leader is mighty!

A Sword Immortal with Clean Sleeves: We can get one hundred points every day just by signing in. Doesn't that mean a daily allowance of one thousand Spirit Stones? Thirty thousand a month... Holy shit, we're rich!

The Immortal Ascension Tribulation is Still Chasing Me: So little ambition. Are you all satisfied just collecting handouts? If the neighboring groups see this, they'll think I can't afford to send red packets!

The Group Leader sent a lucky-draw red packet containing 30,000 Low-grade Spirit Stones.

The Immortal Ascension Tribulation is Still Chasing Me: Come, come, ten thousand each. Cultivate properly, all of you. Increasing your combat strength can also earn group EXP!

'The Runner-Up of the Cultivation World' grabbed 8,544 Low-grade Spirit Stones.

'A Sword Immortal with Clean Sleeves' grabbed 12,138 Low-grade Spirit Stones.

'God of Light is Unemployed' grabbed 9,318 Low-grade Spirit Stones.

The Runner-Up of the Cultivation World: Thank you, Group Leader! (worship.jpg)

A Sword Immortal with Clean Sleeves: Wuwuwu, if only I'd met a boss like the Group Leader in my previous life. No empty promises—just throwing money at me until I have no choice but to work hard. I will definitely become a true Sword Immortal!

God of Light is Unemployed: Thank heavens the Great Group Leader is all right. I was sent so far away, yet I could still hear that roaring thunder. It was terrifying!

The Runner-Up of the Cultivation World: Huh? Is Great Group Leader undergoing a tribulation? Then everyone, stop sending messages! Don't disturb Great Group Leader!

A Sword Immortal with Clean Sleeves: You have to win! I can't live without you, just as a Sword Immortal cannot live without a sword!

Seeing how concerned the group members were for him, Chen Yi felt quite gratified.

They might be weak now, but they could not remain weak forever. As long as their combat strength increased, they could accept missions on their own, while he, the Group Leader, could simply wait for that extra fifty percent cut.

Some items in the chat group's Myriad Worlds Mall were still extremely tempting. For instance, the Immortal Essence Stones used to nurture an immortal body cost two hundred thousand points each, while he had only earned one hundred and fifty thousand points for completing his first mission.

For someone at the Tribulation Transcendence stage to transform their mortal body into an immortal body, they needed at least a hundred Immortal Essence Stones. Even if he could nurture an immortal body by infiltrating the Pseudo-Immortal Realm that was the Western Sea, what about the subsequent nurturing and continued cultivation?

Without passing the Tribulation Transcendence, one could not enter the Immortal Realm. And the Pseudo-Immortal Realm could not support a true immortal who kept striving to improve; he would lose levels!

Therefore, the resources in the Myriad Worlds Mall were necessary. Even if he worked himself to death accepting missions alone, he could not earn enough points.

There was strength in numbers. He could not personally handle every trash mission. Take today's mission, for example—did a mere opponent with one hundred and fifty thousand combat strength really require him to act personally? Wasn't that like using a cannon to kill a mosquito?

One hundred and fifty thousand points had substantial purchasing power in the Myriad Worlds Mall. To people at the Golden Core Nascent Soul level, it was a considerable fortune, but to Chen Yi at the Tribulation Transcendence stage, it was not worth mentioning at all!

So he still needed group members to work for him.

That said, three group members really were a bit too few.

With that thought, Chen Yi glanced at the incarnation still being randomly struck by the Western Sea Heavenly Dao. Judging that it would not end anytime soon, he cheerfully checked the methods for increasing the number of group members.

Recruitment of New Members Regulations

1. The system autonomously searches and assigns members. There are currently thirty-eight chat groups waiting in line for assignment.

2. Group members may be traded with other Group Leaders through the public regional channel. This function unlocks when the chat group reaches Level 5.

3. The free channel contains members who have been removed from their chat groups by their Group Leaders for various reasons and are unwanted by any other chat group. The Group Leader may choose whether to accept them. This function unlocks when the chat group reaches Level 3. ```

"Hiss~ Why does this feel strangely familiar?" Chen Yi's expression turned rather odd.

Wasn't this exactly the capitalist playbook?

Once the chat group reached Level 3, there were benefits to collect: one hundred points a day, equivalent to a base salary.

When group members accepted missions, it was like taking on commission-based work, while the Group Leader could receive dividends without doing anything.

If a group member was disobedient, they could be kicked from the group chat, which was equivalent to being fired.

Group members outside the chat group were like unemployed drifters, without any security whatsoever...

Oh no, I've become a capitalist?!