The Debt Collection Sect, Suddenly Rich!

Qi Yuan looked at the information before him and read through it attentively. "Liu Ping, Commandery Princess Changyang, currently residing at Floating Cloud Tower in the capital of the State of Ning..." "Wang Xiaochuan, the richest man in Antan City of Jiangzhou, State of Ning, living in Anle Garden..." ... "Tu Jingshi, Third Young Master of the Tu family in Fengshan Commandery, Jining Prefecture, State of Ning..." Qi Yuan paused. "Isn't this the fellow who bought my lightsaber?" He had met Third Young Master Tu twice and had seen plenty of hidden information about him, so he recognized the name. "Seems he really is loaded. "Still, I don't want to let the richest man in Antan off the hook either. That's the wealthiest guy in town! "Too bad it's so far away!" Qi Yuan could not help sighing in regret. He felt as if all that silver was slipping right through his fingers. "Alas, I haven't fully recovered yet, so I can't go wandering around outside." "Young Master, this old slave can go in your stead!" Chen Kangbao offered at just the right moment. "You have a point." Qi Yuan's eyes lit up. Since it was inconvenient for him to travel, he could simply have someone else go on his behalf. "Looks like I need to craft some backup concealed energy reserves!" Pondering this, Qi Yuan set to work crafting artifacts once more. Roughly a day later, Qi Yuan felt everything was ready. Looking at the one hundred and seven drones lined up before him, he installed the concealed energy units into each one. "Done! They will go demand the money in my place!" Chen Kangbao's heart skipped a beat at the sight. *Am I out of a job? Am I being replaced by these lumps of iron?* He hurried forward and said uneasily, "Young Master, they don't know the way." "I know that. Originally, I thought of crafting a satellite to put into orbit. "But this place... isn't a damn planet, and besides... I'm broke. Too much hassle." Back on Blue Star, Qi Yuan's technical knowledge had been average. However, after reaching Arch Star, Zero-One had transferred the knowledge of Wan Dao to him. The knowledge of Wan Dao was astronomical, naturally encompassing blueprints and principles of all kinds of technological creations. It even included airships and the Eye of the Sky. Hence, constructing drones with ultra-long flight endurance was child's play for Qi Yuan. "Don't worry. This backup concealed energy isn't just for battery life; I've installed smart chips in them so they can ask for directions on their own. "That's right—they are the latest model of smart drone robots!" Qi Yuan introduced them earnestly. For the smart chips, Qi Yuan had mimicked the design of Zero-One's original chip. The resulting chips were cruder than even the oldest version of Zero-One. Nevertheless, asking for directions and demanding payment was well within their capabilities. Chen Kangbao felt an even greater sense of impending doom. "Young Master, aren't they drones? How are they robots now?" "..." Qi Yuan shot him a glare. "I need to name them." Qi Yuan thought for a moment, and an idea quickly came to him. "From now on, you belong to the Debt Collection Sect. You're Brother Crow; you go find Wang Xiaochuan. You're Black Cat; go find Huang Kan. You're Chicken..." After assigning special codenames to the drones, Qi Yuan used Myriad Transformations to reshape them into all sorts of bizarre animal forms according to their names. Watching this, Chen Kangbao grew exceedingly anxious. He had far too many competitors now. What if the young master didn't want him anymore? Then he remembered something and breathed a sigh of relief. *Fortunately, I have a clever brain. I can be the young master's strategist and make a living with my wits. Surely I won't be replaced, right?* Just as the thought crossed his mind, Qi Yuan's voice reached his ears: "Don't you make a living with your nose?" Chen Kangbao's eyes went wide. *He can even hear what I'm thinking inside?* *A Heavenly God truly is a Heavenly God!* *Young Master is so awesome!* ... Inside the ghost market, Fourth Uncle Tu and Zhan Lei had been lying in wait for several days, both wearing disappointed expressions. "It's been so many days, and we still haven't seen those two mysterious figures. It seems... those experts were merely passing through this place on their travels." "Such masters can only be encountered by chance. Who has the kind of luck Tu Jingshi had?" "His luck really was remarkable. Obtaining such a treasure for just ten thousand taels is truly enviable." While the two were busy discussing Third Young Master Tu's good fortune, Third Young Master Tu certainly did not feel fortunate at all. At this moment, his whole body trembled as he stared at the terrifying figure before him. It looked like a green snake, yet faint traces of human emotion could be seen in its slitted eyes. Third Young Master Tu clutched the lightsaber hidden in his sleeve, his heart in absolute turmoil. He was done for! The lightsaber was still on cooldown! This had to be someone from Thorn Blood. They must have discovered that he was involved in killing Elder Black Crow and Elder Winged Serpent, and now they had come for his life! He never should have gone out to the brothel to listen to music tonight! "The gods lose their minds, and thorns are dyed in blood. I am the Green Snake of the Debt Collection Sect," the green snake spoke, its voice carrying a mechanical cadence. This gave Third Young Master Tu a shock, followed by a wave of confusion. Hadn't it come to kill him? Why was it reciting the secret passphrase? "Tu the Third greets... the exalted envoy!" Regardless of what was happening, he dropped straight to his knees. "I require banknotes. All of your banknotes. The more, the better," the green snake said. Banknotes? Third Young Master Tu was dumbfounded. It wasn't here to murder him, but to shake him down for money? This was too bizarre. "Please wait a moment, Exalted Envoy. I will head back right now to fetch the banknotes." He only felt that his luck lately had been atrocious. Before Elder Black Crow had died, he had extorted a sum from him, and now another elder from Thorn Blood had shown up demanding money? Had word of his wealth spread so far that every Thorn Blood elder knew about it? Why else did they keep showing up one after another to shake him down? The green snake gazed at Third Young Master Tu, an uncanny spark of intelligence seeming to flicker in its eyes. "Undo your trousers." "Huh?" Third Young Master Tu was stunned, but under the cold stare of those snake eyes, he nonetheless unfastened his pants. With a whoosh, the green snake turned into a blur and darted straight into his trousers. Third Young Master Tu immediately felt a hard, rigid object resting inside his pants. He was scared out of his wits. This Thorn Blood elder had absolutely no decorum, completely casting dignity to the wind. "Elder, this lowly one is utterly loyal, with no second thoughts! I'll get the money right away! Please... please don't bite anything!" His future happiness depended on that! Thoroughly cowed, he did not dare act rashly. "Hmph," the green snake snorted coldly, offering no further words. "I'll return to the manor to get the money this instant!" At the same time, in every corner across the State of Ning, anyone paying close enough attention might have noticed strange creatures flying through the sky. "Mother, there's a black cat flying in the sky!" "Your eyes are playing tricks on you. Our family cat is scared of a fluttering moth. If it could fly..." "It's not ours!" ... "I just had a sudden idea. If I equip each of these drones with a storage artifact, couldn't I start a courier company and deliver takeout...? How much money could I make from that?" Inside Shen Manor, Qi Yuan was struck by a whimsical thought. Over the past several days, the drones had been returning one by one. The banknotes on him piled up higher and higher. Those Thorn Blood members were all timid as mice. Hearing Qi Yuan's drones recite the secret passphrase, they had dutifully handed over their banknotes. Because the drones had limited carrying space, Qi Yuan had demanded only paper currency. It pained him to leave the rest behind; it felt like losing a hundred million. Still, Qi Yuan chuckled and shelved the thought for now. For the time being, he was no longer short on funds. Apart from a few who were on the poorer side, most members of Thorn Blood were exceedingly wealthy. After all, who would join an unorthodox organization like Thorn Blood if they weren't filthy rich? "Brother Cleaver, I am quite curious. Just how many people are there in your Debt Collection Sect? "Could it be that you, like our Thorn Blood, are conducting experiments on augmented humans?" Inside the Divine Wood Token, the Thorn Blood operative sent a message. Providing those addresses to Qi Yuan had not been out of goodwill; he had wanted to track Qi Yuan's movements. Yet he never could have anticipated that Qi Yuan would dispatch drones to collect the debts, and that he would disguise those drones as animals. Some of the Thorn Blood members possessed secret communication channels through which they reported the incident. The Thorn Blood operative was rather astonished upon receiving the reports. "The brothers and sisters of our Debt Collection Sect are scattered across the myriad realms. Wherever someone has money—wait, no, wherever someone owes me money—they will come knocking on my behalf," Qi Yuan spouted utter nonsense. There was no real Debt Collection Sect, just a bunch of scrap metal. "Brother Cleaver really hides his depth. When the Divine Wood Abyss opens, you could bring all the brothers and sisters of your Debt Collection Sect along..." "Why? Does all of Thorn Blood owe me money?" Qi Yuan could not resist asking. "If you come bearing a Divine Wood Token, what harm is there in our Thorn Blood owing you money?" "You people really are generous benefactors! I've raked in well over a million taels of silver!" Qi Yuan remarked wistfully. "How about you give me the details of Thorn Blood members in other countries outside the State of Ning so I can send my crew to collect from them too?" "Brother Cleaver has quite the appetite." "Hey, why don't you give Brother Cleaver your headquarters' address and let him go collect there?" Ji Wuyun chimed in at just the right time. "Heh heh..." Naturally, the headquarters of Thorn Blood could never be exposed. ... Time flowed on, and half a month flew by in a flash. The drones returned one after another. Only one drone had collided with a guiling mid-flight, sustained critical damage, and gone missing, failing to return. Qi Yuan had steadily accumulated banknotes totaling two million taels. "Unfortunately, my strength hasn't fully recovered yet. I can't be using As My Divine Descent so recklessly in the future." Qi Yuan assessed his condition. Using As My Divine Descent back then had been magnificent, but the toll on his body had been immense. A full twenty days had passed, and he had still not recovered. "Still, that was probably because I was too weak at the time. If I were to use it with my full strength restored, the drain shouldn't be nearly as severe." Since he was still recuperating, Qi Yuan kept a low profile and rarely left Shen Manor. When purchasing materials from the ghost market, he simply sent his drones to make the purchases. Just then, Shen Lingfeng walked over. "Brother-in-law, are you going to Yeshan Lake?" Shen Lingfeng sounded somewhat reluctant to see him leave. "Mm. I'll see how Master Chen's test goes. If it works out, I'll go have a look at Yeshan Lake. It's about time I met your sister as well," Qi Yuan replied calmly. Over this period, implement masters from various clans across Jining Prefecture had been gradually traveling toward Yeshan Lake to attend the implement-crafting conference. Inside Shen Manor, the implement masters were also selecting suitably talented individuals to head for Yeshan Lake. Under normal circumstances, Qi Yuan might not have bothered going. However, the upcoming implement-crafting conference at Yeshan Lake would draw countless implement masters. Nearby, the region's largest ghost market would open, along with various trading meets and auctions tailored for implement masters. With two million taels in his pocket, how could he not go and stock up on crafting materials? Qi Yuan was even contemplating whether to craft something like an Armor Hero. After all, shouldn't a deity have some divine guardians? To craft such things, the materials from the Fengshan Commandery ghost market were simply not up to par. "Sigh, once you're gone, Brother-in-law, what am I going to do? Those dozen-plus women... I can't handle them." Shen Lingfeng revealed the real reason for his visit. "Brother-in-law, teach me one more trick for romance!" Shen Lingfeng looked up, gazing at Qi Yuan with an expectant expression. At that moment, Qi Yuan's expression abruptly darkened. "Apologize!" "Huh? Brother-in-law, what did I do wrong?" "Apologize!" Qi Yuan's tone turned even sterner. "I... Brother-in-law, I didn't do anything, did I? Is there a misunderstanding?" "I told you to apologize, did you hear me?" "Brother-in-law, I..." "Apologize first!" "I was wrong, Brother-in-law! Now can you tell me what I did wrong?" "There. You have mastered the single greatest technique in romance: apologizing in all sorts of bewildering circumstances," Qi Yuan shared his insight. "You are ready to graduate. But remember carefully: a boy must protect his self-respect out there and never surrender his body carelessly to bad women." "Ah..." Shen Lingfeng only half-understood. "Your words are so profound, Brother-in-law. There's just one thing I don't get: why would you surrender your body to women? Are they going to eat it?" Qi Yuan gave Shen Lingfeng a meaningful look and nodded. "Putting it that way... isn't entirely inaccurate." "When does your mother take a bath?" Qi Yuan asked once more. "About that..." Shen Lingfeng looked troubled, with a lingering hint of dread and terror. The trauma of being strung up from the ceiling beam last time had left quite an impression. "Let me teach you a method. Go persuade your parents that you want a younger sister. If you do that, they will definitely... heh heh..." Qi Yuan felt he was a genius. "Huh?" Shen Lingfeng remained thoroughly baffled. "Just do as I say!" Qi Yuan stated plainly. With someone like Shen Lingfeng, there was no need to explain; one simply had to tell him what to do. Seeing this, Shen Lingfeng quickly scurried away. At present, the role-play progression for the matrilocal son-in-law was also stuck. It remained halted at 56%. Qi Yuan felt that to make a breakthrough and obtain another Heart of Implement Crafting like last time, he needed to accomplish one of two things: pour bathwater for his mother-in-law or ride Shen Lingxuan. Unfortunately, when he had invited Shen Lingxuan last time, she had refused. *Should I... ride her on the sly? *Forget it, I am a gentleman of integrity, not some despicable scoundrel! *Mother-in-law, please, just take a bath!* Night fell in inky darkness. Shen Lingfeng tapped stealthily on Qi Yuan's door. "Brother-in-law, I did just as you said! I told my mother I want a little sister!" Shen Lingfeng said in a fluster. "How did your mother react?" "She... seemed to blush a little, and then..." Shen Lingfeng racked his brain to recall. "She glanced at my father, and my father got this bizarre grin on his face." "It worked!" Qi Yuan slapped his thigh. "Huh?" Shen Lingfeng was dazed, completely unable to follow. "Look at the hour... Come on, let's head to the kitchen to boil water!" Qi Yuan was in a rush. At long last, he could finally pour bathwater for his mother-in-law. "Brother-in-law, why do you want to pour bathwater for my mother so badly... Is there some profound meaning behind it?" "There are so many things happening in this world; does everything have to carry meaning? When you fart, do you write an essay reflecting on the experience?" Qi Yuan brushed the question aside. Roughly seven or eight minutes later, Shen Lingfeng was carrying a large wooden tub on his back, filled with steaming hot water and scattered flower petals. "Let's go find your mother." The two made their way toward the main courtyard. Outside the courtyard, the maids and servants saw them and hurriedly called out, "Young Master, Young Master-in-law, what are you doing?" "Ah, you cannot enter!" "Why are you blocking me? I brought bathwater for my mother!" "Stop blocking the way! What if the water spills and scalds the young master?" Qi Yuan fanned the flames. Sure enough, none of the servants dared stand in their way, allowing Qi Yuan and Shen Lingfeng to enter the courtyard. Qi Yuan, however, possessed great emotional intelligence and stopped right at the entrance. "Set the tub down right here!" Qi Yuan instructed. He couldn't go spoiling someone's good time, could he? The courtyard was vast, and this spot was far from the inner quarters. His mother-in-law likely had no idea what was happening out here. Shen Lingfeng quickly lowered the tub, sweating profusely and feeling somewhat guilty. "My mother won't blame me, will she?" "With a thoughtful son like you, she'll barely have enough time to dote on you, let alone blame you," Qi Yuan said casually.