I'm a genius

An idea struck Li Yichen, and he asked tentatively, "Sister Wang, how about... transferring the shop to me...?"

He had overheard their conversation earlier. The shop made over five thousand yuan in net profit every month. Even if he couldn't handle all the work himself, he could always get a few classmates to help. What remained would still be enough to cover his university expenses.

He had already thought about taking it over, but with no money, he could only dream. Things were different now, though. He still had the fifty thousand yuan Ouyang Xuanxuan had given him yesterday. At worst, he could pay her back once he started making money.

"You want to take over?" Sister Wang froze, then waved her hands. "No, absolutely not. If that Liu fellow keeps coming here to cause trouble, wouldn't I be throwing you into the fire?"

"Sister Wang, it's fine. Trust me." Li Yichen felt touched. She really was a good person; she wasn't rushing to dump her mess on him.

"Well..." Sister Wang still hesitated. She genuinely wanted to transfer the shop as soon as possible so she could return to her hometown in the northeast and look after her husband.

But Madman Liu had just had his head cracked open. Given how shameless and stubborn he was, there was no way he wouldn't come back to cause trouble.

"Sister Wang, don't worry." From her expression, Li Yichen could tell what she was thinking.

He patted his chest and said, "This is Jinling University. All I need to do is make one call. I won't exaggerate, but eighty or a hundred students would definitely be here within half an hour. Why would I be afraid of one thug?"

"Then... all right..." After a great deal of hesitation, Sister Wang finally nodded.

Li Yichen had a point. This was Jinling University, where hot-blooded young people were in no short supply. Plenty of students had powerful connections, too. They really had no reason to fear some Liu fellow.

Besides, judging by the vicious way Li Yichen had smashed that brick into his head, the Liu fellow might not even dare provoke him.

Seeing Sister Wang nod, Li Yichen breathed a sigh of relief. "Sis, the transfer fee is thirty thousand, right? I didn't bring the money today. Can I bring it tomorrow?"

"Little brother, I know your family's circumstances. I can't let you lose out." Sister Wang thought for a moment, then said, "You helped me just now, so I'll only charge you twenty thousand..."

Finally, Sister Wang slapped her thigh. "You don't have to pay it all at once, either. Just transfer two thousand to me each month until it's paid off. How does that sound?"

"Thank you so much, Sister Wang." Li Yichen scratched his head sheepishly.

Sister Wang's offer was practically a giveaway. Without having to go to any trouble, he had landed himself a goose that laid golden eggs.

"No need to stand on ceremony with me." Sister Wang waved generously. "It's getting late. You should head back. Tomorrow, I'll transfer the paperwork into your name. After that, this shop is yours to run."

Back in his dorm room, Li Yichen jumped for joy, then lay down on his bed, feeling comfortable from head to toe.

With this Courier Station, I won't need living expenses from home anymore. Mom and Dad will have an easier time, too. At the thought, the corners of his mouth rose in a smile he couldn't suppress.

Just then, the Black Jade Lotus on his forehead flickered, and a voice rang out in his mind. "You little brat, what are you daydreaming about? If you don't get to cultivating now, what are you waiting for?"

"Holy shit!" Li Yichen jolted and sprang off the bed, nearly hitting the ceiling.

"Great-grandpa, can't you give me some warning? You could scare someone to death." Li Yichen grumbled unhappily. "You'll be happy once you've scared me to death."

But the Black Jade Lotus on his forehead remained completely still. Clearly, the Ghost Emperor Haoran had no intention of paying him any more attention.

Li Yichen could only sit cross-legged on his bed, crestfallen, and immerse his spiritual sense in the Great Netherworld Scripture.

Why does this name seem familiar? He hadn't noticed while refining the Netherworld Soul Jade earlier. Now that he had some time on his hands, he could study it carefully.

"Wasn't the technique Patriarch Bodhi taught Sun Wukong called the Great Celestial Immortal Scripture?" A thought suddenly flashed through Li Yichen's mind. "What's the connection between the Great Netherworld Scripture and the Great Celestial Immortal Scripture?"

He quickly focused his spiritual sense on the opening of the Great Netherworld Scripture, where he saw the words, "This cultivation technique was created by the Grape Ancestor."

"What the hell is the Grape Ancestor?" Li Yichen was speechless. This isn't some knockoff, is it? Even if it is, couldn't they give it a more impressive name?

"Forget it. Whatever. Even if I can't get good at it, how bad could it be?" Li Yichen felt as though he had boarded a pirate ship—and one he couldn't get off.

He stopped dwelling on it, focused his mind, and began circulating the technique according to the cultivation method in the Great Netherworld Scripture. Instantly, the surrounding air tightened, then began to rotate slowly, soon forming one vortex after another.

The center of each vortex resembled a miniature black hole, drawing strands of cold, negative energy from every direction and swallowing them. The Great Netherworld Scripture then forcibly purified and compressed that energy, transforming it into strands of pure netherworld power.

Li Yichen felt a chill sweep through his entire body as threads of icy energy entered his meridians and flowed swiftly along the route prescribed by the technique.

Not daring to be careless, Li Yichen firmly guarded his mind, allowing the cold energy to circulate through his body before gathering in his dantian.

The weather in Jinling was still scorching at the end of August, yet Li Yichen's dorm room felt like an ice cellar.

Ice crystals had already formed on the windowpanes, and even the doorframe was covered in a layer of white frost. If it hadn't been the small hours of the morning, someone would surely have noticed something strange.

In the Netherworld Underworld, the Ghost Emperor Haoran nodded in satisfaction. "The mortal world has changed drastically. Spiritual energy is sparse, while negative energy fills heaven and earth. Yichen is actually cultivating several times faster than I did back then. It seems he'll reach the Ghost Core Realm before long. Good. This is wonderful."

After completing one full circulation, Li Yichen slowly opened his eyes, then exhaled a breath of stale air with a whoosh, blowing it straight onto the cup on his desk.

The half cup of water instantly froze into a solid block of ice, giving off wisps of white vapor.

"This Great Netherworld Scripture is amazing. It takes the opposite approach, absorbing the negative energy between heaven and earth to improve cultivation. Incredible." Li Yichen clenched his fist excitedly. His body seemed filled with endless strength, yet absorbing negative energy hadn't caused him any discomfort.

"I can't cultivate in the dorm anymore." Looking at the white frost covering the room, he couldn't help smiling wryly. Fortunately, his roommates had all gone out for an all-night gaming session. The dorm room was practically an ice cellar.

He checked the time. "Holy shit, it's already five sixty? I'm screwed. If I don't leave now, I won't make it."

Li Yichen nearly jumped. He hadn't expected time to pass so quickly. A single full circulation had actually taken the entire night.

"I can't waste any more time." Li Yichen was about to open the door and leave when he turned back, opened the window, and looked down. "This height should be fine, right?"

Then he gritted his teeth and jumped out of the window. At the same time, he circulated the Great Netherworld Scripture. His body instantly grew lighter, and he floated gently down to the ground.

"Damn, I'm a fucking genius." Then he took off running toward the Administration Building.