Money acquired, land bought, preparing to establish an intelligence network

Yan Lingji chuckled softly, tilted her head, and leaned close to Bibi Dong's ear.

"Dong'er, Husband wants me to bear him one hundred children."

"You should come along later and share the burden with me; we'll each take fifty."

"Who would want to have children with him..." Bibi Dong's face flushed red as she turned her head away. "And fifty at once... that's just too many..."

Watching her look of feigned annoyance mixed with shyness, Yan Lingji couldn't help but laugh out loud.

She unclasped her hands, patted the back of Bibi Dong's hand, and then looked toward Zhao Linchuan, her smile fading into a serious expression.

"Husband, go ahead and fuse with your spirit ring. Dong'er and I will stand guard for you."

"Mm."

Zhao Linchuan replied, turned, and walked toward the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

About an hour later.

Zhao Linchuan sat cross-legged by the spring as the phantom of a blood-colored spirit ring slowly began to solidify around him.

At the same time, a pale yellow spirit core, shaped like a diamond-cut crystal, was slowly condensing in the center of his chest.

Though the spirit core was only the size of a thumb, it emitted a heart-stopping energy fluctuation, as if a star had been compressed into a tiny crystal and embedded within his chest.

Bibi Dong stood not far away, staring at the spirit core without blinking, her eyes filled with envy.

She subconsciously moved closer to Yan Lingji and asked, "Sister Lingji, is that the spirit core you mentioned?"

"Is it true that with this, one can kill a Title Douluo while still at the Spirit Saint stage?"

Yan Lingji's gaze remained fixed on Zhao Linchuan as she replied calmly:

"What Husband said should be true. A spirit core can only be born to a spirit master with an ultimate attribute, and those who possess such attributes often possess an innate domain."

"With these factors combined, it is not impossible to kill a Title Douluo."

Bibi Dong pursed her lips, her gaze lingering on the spirit core for a moment longer, her tone tinged with bitterness.

"My spirit has evolved... I hope I can also obtain a spirit core when I acquire my seventh spirit ring."

Yan Lingji didn't respond, merely patting the back of her hand to signal her to be patient.

As they spoke, the blood-colored spirit ring circling Zhao Linchuan had completely solidified, shining in harmony with his other six rings.

Yan Lingji stared at that blood-red hue, her eyes flickering slightly as she murmured, "Husband's seventh spirit ring is only one hundred thousand years old, while mine has already reached the two-hundred-thousand-year mark."

"It seems I will have to be the one to protect him in the future..."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Zhao Linchuan slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes were deeper than before, with golden light faintly swirling in the depths of his pupils, as if two unsheathed swords were hidden within.

He looked down at his hands and clenched his fists, feeling the immense power surging within his body, and couldn't help but reveal a joyful smile.

That power surged like a rushing river, flowing wantonly through his meridians, and his spirit power soared step by step until it finally settled at level seventy-three.

"Linchuan, where are we going next?"

Seeing that Zhao Linchuan had awakened, Bibi Dong hurried over, her eyes bright and full of anticipation.

Zhao Linchuan rose from the bluestone, brushed the dust from his robes, and said slowly:

"Next, we will first buy a manor near Heaven Dou City, and then we will go to the ancestral grounds of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to 'borrow' a few things..."

Seven days later.

East District, Heaven Dou City.

The sky was just beginning to brighten, and the morning mist still lingered in the streets and alleys, dyeing the distant eaves and treetops in a hazy, blue-gray hue.

The East District of Heaven Dou City was a residential area for high-ranking officials and nobles; the streets were wide and smooth, lined with rows of grand, imposing mansions.

In the deepest part of the East District stood a manor covering about five hundred acres.

This had once been the residence of a prince, but after the prince committed a crime, the property was confiscated, changed hands a few times, and eventually ended up in the possession of Zhao Linchuan.

Inside the main hall.

Zhao Linchuan, Yan Lingji, and Bibi Dong sat around a large, long table.

On the table, storage spirit tools were piled into a small mountain.

Dozens of storage rings, bracelets, and belts of various styles lay scattered across the surface.

Over a dozen spirit bones of different colors were arranged in the center of the table, lying quietly and emitting their own unique energy fluctuations, which intertwined to form a subtle, pervasive pressure within the hall.

Several gemstones the size of goose eggs were tossed carelessly on the floor, refracting faint, shimmering light under the candlelight—rubies, sapphires, emeralds...

Each one was worth a fortune, yet they were discarded at their feet like worthless stones.

Bibi Dong toyed with a ten-thousand-year-level right arm bone, turning it over and over in her hands, and couldn't help but mutter:

"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is truly wealthy. They actually didn't dismantle the spirit bones from the former sect master's body to serve as a heritage foundation, just letting them rot away in the coffin like that."

"Perhaps they simply have so much money they don't know where to spend it."

Zhao Linchuan replied casually, his hands remaining busy as he sorted the spirit bones into boxes.

"Plus, they are only ten-thousand-year spirit bones. If it's just one generation of sect master losing a few, it's not something the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect can't accept."

"That's true."

Bibi Dong tossed the spirit bone in her hand onto the table and turned to look at Zhao Linchuan.

"Didn't you say before that you wanted to establish an intelligence organization? Is this money enough for you to use?"

"It's certainly enough, more than enough."

Zhao Linchuan looked up, his gaze lingering on Bibi Dong's face, his tone becoming a bit more serious.

"It's just... aren't you planning to take a share?"

"One must know how to be content."

Bibi Dong waved her hand, then leaned back, sinking into the wide chair. With her hands folded over her lower abdomen, her posture was as lazy as a cat basking in the sun.

"I have already received priceless immortal herbs; I cannot covet these things as well."

"There is still the spirit ring."

Yan Lingji's voice drifted over from the side, light and airy, yet it precisely struck a certain point.

"Little Sister Dong'er is also approaching level seventy; don't leave her behind."

"Oh my—!"

Bibi Dong's face flushed instantly. The red spread from her cheeks to her earlobes, then burned down to her neck, as if a fire were smoldering beneath her skin.

She sprang up from the chair, her voice rising several octaves as she said, hurried and shy, "I don't understand what you are talking about!"

She turned around indignantly and strode toward the outside of the hall, her steps quick and hurried.

"I'm going to rest, don't disturb me if there's nothing important!"

By the time her voice faded, her figure had already vanished outside the door. Her footsteps receded along the corridor, finally cut off by a closing door.

The hall fell silent. Zhao Linchuan slowly turned his head, looking at Yan Lingji with an unfriendly gaze.

That look carried a dangerous implication, like a hunter eyeing prey, or perhaps like dry wood eyeing a flame.