First Return, Generous Rewards

Mine No. 5, inside a temporary cave dwelling carved into the stone wall of a canyon.

Qi Yuan took out everything from the Space Ring Old Wu had given him in one go.

There was not much: one C2 Alloy Battle Suit, one Tier 2 Force Battle Blade, and one kilogram of Earth Soul Liquid, used by Star Traveller warriors to strengthen their souls.

The most valuable item among them was undoubtedly that Tier 2 Force Battle Blade.

According to the original work, Force Weapons and Psionic Weapons were similarly priced, while top-grade and low-grade weapons of the same tier could differ in price by nearly a hundredfold.

The original work had mentioned that a top-grade Tier 2 Psionic Weapon cost around six billion Black Dragon Coins.

So even if this Force Battle Blade was the lowest-grade among Tier 2 Force Weapons, a hundredfold difference still put its price at over ten million Black Dragon Coins.

That was enough to buy another two Star Traveller Level 2 slaves like Qi Yuan!

"Heh, my 'master' is pretty generous. He's actually willing to equip slaves with such fine weapons. Having mines at home really does let you do whatever you want!"

Qi Yuan's gaze swept back and forth over the items before finally settling on the bottle of purple Earth Soul Liquid, speckled with silvery-white starlight.

According to Old Wu, consuming Earth Soul Liquid could slightly enhance one's soul power. It was a common resource used by Star Traveller warriors to aid their cultivation.

"The alloy battle suit and Force Weapon are standard Guard equipment, so only I can use them. It seems this Earth Soul Liquid is the only thing I can give away for the first time. I wonder what good stuff the system will return to me."

Qi Yuan casually picked up a fallen rock beside him. A thread of Force Power flowed from his fingertip, and like a blade shaving away stone, he quickly fashioned it into a crude stone jar.

He poured half of the Earth Soul Liquid he had just received into it, then tapped the call function on his Auxiliary Brain.

Not long after, the Lei Yuan tribesman named Cang Fan arrived at the temporary cave dwelling where Qi Yuan was staying.

In the original owner's memories, although Cang Fan cultivated slowly and was not particularly outstanding among the disciples, he had always been calm and unhurried, carrying himself with composure and steadiness.

Yet now, seeing him again, Qi Yuan could clearly sense that his gaze had become somewhat vacant. His whole body seemed listless, like a dejected middle-aged man from his past life on Earth whose family had fallen apart after losing everything in the stock market.

"Teacher."

Cang Fan respectfully bowed to Qi Yuan, but there was a dullness in his movements.

Watching an old man with graying hair bow to him made Qi Yuan feel somewhat uncomfortable.

But he was eager to test the system's return function, so he did not say much.

He directly handed over the stone jar containing half a kilogram of Earth Soul Liquid, while mentally selecting the Earth Soul Liquid within as the Gift to trigger the System Return function.

"This is a precious treasure called Earth Soul Liquid. Consuming it can greatly strengthen your soul. Take it back and use it."

Earth Soul Liquid had a considerable enhancing effect even on the souls of Star Traveller warriors. Using it on a Planetary Level warrior was actually rather wasteful.

But with the Return System, this "super lever," Qi Yuan naturally stood to gain more the more he invested.

If he were not worried about drawing the Castle master's attention, he would have loved to package up all the Earth Soul Liquid and give it away at once!

"Teacher, this is...?"

Cang Fan looked at Qi Yuan somewhat sluggishly, unable to understand why his teacher was doing this.

Seeing his bewildered expression, Qi Yuan could only explain as reasonably as possible.

"The master promised that any of our clansmen who can break through to the Star Traveller Level may shed their status as mine slaves and become members of the Guard Team."

"I will take half of my monthly resource allotment and devote it to helping you break through to the Star Traveller Level. For now, you will not need to undertake mining duties. Focus all your energy on cultivation and strive to break through as soon as possible."

"Ah? This... this..."

Upon hearing Qi Yuan's words, a trace of light finally returned to Cang Fan's formerly vacant eyes, though his face was still filled with disbelief.

"But Teacher, among our clansmen, there are so many junior brothers and sisters more talented than me. Why...?"

Why is this old guy so long-winded? Just take it when I give it to you. I'm still waiting to see what reward the system returns!

"Because you're steady!"

He spoke with complete seriousness. "Our Lei Yuan Clan has suffered a great catastrophe. Though we now barely have a chance to catch our breath under the master's protection, many more of our clansmen remain trapped in misery!"

"The universe beyond is fraught with danger, and your teacher's strength is limited. I may perish at any moment. For the Lei Yuan Clan to pass on steadily, and for us to one day rescue all our suffering clansmen, we need more grounded and dependable people like you to step forward!"

He looked at Cang Fan, his eyes filled with a teacher's kindness and trust toward a beloved disciple.

"Now tell me—are you willing to take on this responsibility?"

After hearing Qi Yuan's righteous speech, Cang Fan, who had previously seemed utterly lifeless, froze at first. Then his breathing gradually became heavier and uncontrollable, while the faint sparks of light in his vacant pupils spread into a raging blaze of Burning Passion!

So Teacher trusts me this much! How shameful. I have always prided myself on being unyielding, yet after one disaster, I became this despondent. I have truly let down Teacher's trust! No, I cannot continue wasting away like this!

His eyes reddened as though they were about to spit fire. He heavily kowtowed to Qi Yuan.

"Teacher, this disciple... this disciple is willing to bear this responsibility! I will make it my mission to rescue all our clansmen. I will devote myself completely and never rest until death!"

After speaking, he bowed to Qi Yuan once more before decisively accepting the stone jar containing the Earth Soul Liquid.

"Rest assured, Teacher. This disciple will never betray your trust!"

The instant he took the stone jar, a pleasant system notification sounded in Qi Yuan's mind.

Successfully gifted 500 grams of Earth Soul Liquid to disciple!

Base Return Multiplier: 8x. Return process commencing.

Detected that the gift brought the disciple immense surprise. Triggered an 88x critical reward. Final Return Multiplier: 704x!

Return reward: 704 Wood Sap Crystals. Stored in System Space and available for collection at any time.

"Oh? My luck seems pretty good."

As he listened to the system prompt, joy spread through Qi Yuan's eyes.

He had not expected his first use of the system to trigger a critical reward—and an incredible eighty-eightfold critical at that!

Qi Yuan had not held much hope for Cang Fan, whose base return multiplier was only eight times. He had not expected this disciple to give him such a pleasant surprise!

An eightfold base return multiplier, multiplied by an eighty-eightfold critical reward, had brought the Final Return Multiplier directly to seven hundred and four times!

What was more, the system had thoughtfully turned the returned reward into the rare Wood Sap Crystal!

Though one Wood Sap Crystal appeared to be worth roughly the same as five hundred grams of Earth Soul Liquid.

Wood Sap Crystals contained abundant life energy and could greatly enhance both the body and soul. Most importantly, they had no side effects whatsoever. They were absolutely one of the most suitable resources for Qi Yuan's current stage!

In comparison, Earth Soul Liquid, which could only slightly strengthen the soul, seemed somewhat inferior.

"Seven hundred and four Wood Sap Crystals in total. Heh, I shouldn't have to worry about cultivation resources until I reach the peak of the Star Traveller Level!"

Qi Yuan was overjoyed. Ever since transmigrating, he had never felt as wonderful as he did now!

Meanwhile, after making his impassioned declaration, Cang Fan remained kneeling on the ground. Yet when he saw his teacher grinning foolishly to himself without paying him the slightest attention, he immediately felt as wronged as a one-hundred-and-eighty-year-old baby.

"Teacher, if... if there is nothing else, may this disciple take his leave first?"

"Oh, I forgot you were still kneeling."

Qi Yuan paused, then waved him away rather heartlessly. "Go on, then. Cultivate diligently when you return. Do not slack off."

"Yes, Teacher. This disciple will remember Teacher's teachings."

Cang Fan respectfully bowed to Qi Yuan once again before turning and leaving.

Watching Cang Fan's departing back, Qi Yuan shook his head with a smile.

"This old disciple doesn't look all that steady either. At his age, he's still as hot-blooded as an angry young man."

I hadn't even used one percent of my PUA skills, and he was already excited enough to practically lose his mind. The old babies of this world are just too innocent.

Once Cang Fan disappeared beyond the cave entrance, Qi Yuan gathered his wandering thoughts.

"Everything is ready. It's time to see the cultivation technique my 'master' prepared for me."

He gently stroked the wrist-screen of his Intelligent Optical Computer, a look of deep anticipation appearing on his face.

With no resources at all, the original owner had managed to cultivate to Star Traveller Level 2 using only incomplete techniques patched together from various sources.

Now, Qi Yuan possessed a complete cultivation technique that could take him all the way to the peak of the Universe Level, along with Wood Sap Crystals perfectly suited to aiding Star Traveller cultivation. Just how far could he go?

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