CHAPTER 174: 132 THE KING’S AMBITION

"Master Qing, this..."

Yang Qingqing picked up her chopsticks and casually said, "For the Shadow Gu Tower project, Great Xia gave our team a certain amount of research funding.

Now that the Shadow Gu Tower has been successfully conquered, the results are impressive. We’re going to set aside a portion of this, as rewards for those who made significant contributions to the project."

Du Yu looked at the bank card in his hand, only half-believing Master Qing’s explanation.

Her answer seemed reasonable enough.

But last time after he cleared the tower, Master Qing had promised him a Demon Pet Cub as a reward.

It was just that Du Yu’s energy was limited, so he couldn’t raise too many demon pets at once, and the matter was put on hold for now.

Back then, she hadn’t mentioned anything about a money reward.

Maybe at Master Qing’s level, she’d long since stopped caring about "money"—the best things a master can give a disciple are naturally potent demon pets with great potential.

Could it be...

Du Yu’s heart skipped a beat. Last night, as he sat by the big flowerpot all depressed, he’d carelessly let Master Qing overhear his worries about making money.

And now, early this morning, she just smacks him in the face with 200,000 yuan?

Yang Qingqing pointed to the seat next to her, beckoning Du Yu to sit: "Monetary rewards are honestly the lowest tier. Talented folks from all over Great Xia travel here for honor and to increase their power—hardly anyone cares about these worldly materials."

As she spoke, Yang Qingqing picked up a slice of celery: "But since it’s part of the reward system, just accept it."

Du Yu: "..."

He couldn’t tell if Master Qing was reminding him not to focus too much on external possessions and instead devote himself to cultivation, or just giving him an excuse, saying everyone gets this reward anyway.

Honestly, if those other Demon Tamers who cleared the tower really don’t care about these "worldly possessions"...

Du Yu would be more than happy to help solve that problem for them!

Please, feel free to smack my face with all that filthy cash, let me help you destroy this disgusting heap of paper!

This breakfast, Du Yu ate in a daze.

All things considered, for the contribution I made in conquering the Shadow Gu Tower, no amount would really be too much...

But now that the Shadow Gu Tower is following me around, I can’t really ask for too much more, can I?

After Du Yu and Fu Jianzhou finished washing the dishes and tidied up the kitchen, under Master Qing and Xiaobai’s farewell, the two took the elevator to the underground parking lot.

Owing to the terrain of the Bottomless Pit, Xiaobai isn’t suitable for combat inside, and with Master Qing focusing on her cultivation, it makes more sense for Xiaobai to stay in her Acupoint Home to further strengthen himself.

"Unbelievable, little junior brother, you actually climbed two whole floors!" Fu Jianzhou opened the car door and grinned, "You’re about to go down in history."

Du Yu was busy texting the group chat, telling his big brother and third sister that he was about to go off on a sect mission.

When he heard that sensitive word, he hurriedly looked up: "Master Qing? Where? Master Qing?"

Fu Jianzhou was speechless, thinking this kid was hopeless—his head is just full of Master Qing?

Du Yu felt a little embarrassed and quickly climbed into the passenger seat.

"By the way, you can finally tell me what my name means." Right as the car started, Fu Jianzhou suddenly spoke up.

"Uh..." Du Yu scratched his head and said loudly, "Sword descends upon the world, reigning supreme over all the provinces! How’s that for imposing?"

Fu Jianzhou frowned slightly: "You gave me the same explanation last time."

"Huh?" Du Yu blinked. "Then how about, ’Sword descends upon the world, supreme over all the lands’?"

Fu Jianzhou looked at Du Yu with deep grievance, his words tinged with melancholy: "Are you messing with me? You just changed one word?"

"Hehe~" Du Yu chuckled awkwardly, "I really don’t have any better explanation. I just wanted to give you something to hold on to. I want you to hang in there—make sure you come back alive..."

On hearing this, Fu Jianzhou’s aggrieved expression softened a little.

He was silent for a while, then finally shook his head with a smile: "Alright. But Du Yu, I won’t forget this."

"Eh~ Just call me Junior Brother, using my name is too formal."

Fu Jianzhou looked ahead, ignoring Du Yu entirely.

Du Yu felt helpless—he did have a good explanation, just couldn’t bring himself to say it.

He knew his limits. With his shallow life experience and pitiful literary skills, there’s no way he could come up with something so poetic—it’d be totally unconvincing.

But by the time I’m powerful in the future, anything I say will sound right anyway.

Just like those rich dudes in my previous life—even if they farted, people would nod and agree.

Du Yu turned to look at Senior Brother Fu quietly driving and whispered: "Senior Brother, are you mad?"

"Nope."

Du Yu nodded decisively: "Good."

Fu Jianzhou: "..."

Du Yu turned to look out the window. Honestly, even if Senior Brother Fu was pissed, it didn’t matter.

After all, Fu Jianzhou is a proper big softie, pure top-grade pushover—even if he gets angry, it never lasts long...

Yeah, that’s gotta be it.

An hour later, the car rolled into South Suburbs Bottomless. Strictly speaking, they were inside a military camp now. The streets were so clean and empty, not a soul to be seen.

After parking, the two headed straight to South Suburb Bottomless · Demon Spirit Bookstore.

Unlike other bookstores, this one wasn’t particularly cozy.

Though there was a lounge on the first floor, the place was empty—no one resting or eating. The windows sparkled and the silence was almost scary.

Seeing people enter, a soldier in camouflage behind the counter stood up: "Hello there,."

"Hi." Du Yu nodded. The soldier was built like a tank, with sharp eyes—he looked like a real pro.

Du Yu glanced at the name tag on the soldier’s chest—super down-to-earth and easy to remember: Wang Dabao.

Honestly, if there weren’t people still sitting in the bookstore, Du Yu would’ve thought the place went out of business.

Looks like Demon Tamers really don’t like the battlefield, huh?

After all, most don’t have Spiritual Qi to protect themselves—no one would come here to cultivate.

Fu Jianzhou, clearly familiar with the process, took out his ID and tapped it on the card reader: "We’re heading to the battlefield. Can we get a map and two sets of gear, please?"

"Of course." Wang Dabao glanced at Fu Jianzhou’s profile card, checked his Demon Taming Level, then took out two sets of Invisible Headphones.

He reminded them: "Mr. Fu, you’re very strong, but as civilian Demon Tamers, you have to follow Bottomless rules—no going below the 10th floor.

If you run into trouble, or if the cold qi starts messing with your mind, make sure to ask for help right away. The headphones have tracking—they’ll send a rescue team as soon as possible."

Fu Jianzhou nodded: "Got it."

Du Yu frowned, looking at a chalkboard on the wall. There was only one mission written:

Confiscate Demon Crystals (this mission can be submitted repeatedly)

Mortal-level Demon Crystal: 0.1 Point.

Earth-level Demon Crystal: 1 Point.

Celestial-level Demon Crystal: 8 Points.

Spirit-level Demon Crystal: 40 Points.

Only one task on the board—simple and to the point. So this is the legendary battlefield?

In the Newbie Realm, killing an Earth-level Demon Beast possessed by Cold Qi would get you 20 Points. But here, Earth-level drops to a measly 1 Point?

This alone makes it clear how much Great Xia supports newcomers. Of course, the realms are different, and for different levels of people.

In the Newbie Realm, only Demon Warrior level and below can enter, and even inside, it’s rare to see a Cold Qi-possessed demon beast.

You grind Points there, but the income source is super unstable.

But in the Bottomless Pit, Cold Qi-possessed demon beasts are everywhere!

Not just that, but the bookstore missions here can be submitted as many times as you want, unlimited!

Du Yu turned to look up at the chalkboard above the shop’s door. The real store quest made him a bit dizzy.

Mission target: Capture 3,000 Demon Crystals in the Bottomless (any quality will do).

Mission reward: Demon Spirit Bookstore—South Suburb Bottomless Branch Ring.

"This..." Du Yu pursed his lips.

Not just the way the store’s quest is completed, but the regular missions too—everything about this place is designed to encourage powerful Demon Tamers to enter the Bottomless Pit!

A Celestial-level Demon Beast is worth 400 yuan.

Someone at Senior Brother Fu’s level, even without supplemental Demon Breath, could probably take out 30 or 40 Celestial-level Demon Beasts in one go, no problem, right?

So next time in the Bottomless Pit, you could pocket ten or twenty thousand yuan?

Holy crap!

No wonder High-Level Demon Pet Food—a single stuffed biscuit—costs 50 Yuan. The wool really does come from the sheep themselves!

The daily expenses of ordinary Demon Tamers, all the materials bought for raising demon pets—all this money ends up being handed to the strong Demon Tamers sent to the battlefield, right?

Yeah... If you think about it, all these costs are basically ’military expenses’?

Du Yu blinked, and as he figured all this out, he actually started to feel much better inside.

"Sir?"

"Ah." Du Yu snapped back to attention and, following Wang Dabao’s cue, quickly produced his ID for the scanner.

"Hm?" Wang Dabao looked at his screen and was stunned.

Next to Du Yu’s name, three rings were displayed, neatly lined up like they’d been Photoshopped on!

Bronze and Dark Silver Rings he could just about accept. But Dark Gold Ring?

He clicked the icon for the Dark Gold Ring, checked its background, and suddenly understood: "Since this is a Bottomless Ring issued by Bookstore Headquarters, you guys don’t need to pay a deposit. Just take the equipment and go."

But, Du Yu."

"Here!"

"With your current Stage, you’re only allowed to go up to the first three floors."

Fu Jianzhou spoke up: "We’re fellow disciples of the same master, here to complete a sect mission. Is there any chance..."

"Master Qing’s disciple." Wang Dabao glanced at the student profile, his heart full of envy. A master like that—the name alone is legendary, "Please wait, I’ll check with my superiors."

Fu Jianzhou: "We don’t need much, just allow us on floors 3 to 5."

"Okay." Wang Dabao picked up the phone and nodded.

Fu Jianzhou patiently waited while the soldier reported upstairs. By chance, he saw Du Yu staring blankly at the mission board.

"What’s on your mind?"

Du Yu suddenly blurted out, "How much is the price per square meter at Xishu Garden?"

"Never really paid attention." Fu Jianzhou couldn’t help but laugh, "Why, thinking of buying a house at such a young age?"

Du Yu just shrugged, not answering.

It’s true, I am young, but I’ve been without a home longer than you have...

If others can get this "military expense," why can’t I, Du Yu?

I’ve got advantages others can only dream of!

Other people’s Demon Breath is a one-time deal—in the Bottomless Pit, they’re on edge the whole time, terrified the Cold Qi will get inside, never at peace.

But I’m different—even Cold Qi avoids me.

I cannot just top up my Demon Breath and repair the Shadow Gu Tower here, more outrageously, I can even cultivate in this place!

Mm... Very nice, very nice!

The promise I made to Xiaoyan in the past, looks like there’s finally hope I can fulfill it.

Let’s just use today as a warm-up. When I reach Demon Tamer level, let me teach young Great Xia a proper lesson!

Two lifetimes—this king’s first house, first real home, is coming right out of Great Xia’s military expenses!