Lin Jichen never expected that the last Earth Grade battle blade would fetch a sky-high price of 150,000 spirit stones.
After the auction ended, Lin Jichen looked at the earnings and exclaimed, "Goodness, a profit of over 1.3 million spirit stones!"
This was several times more than last time.
Lin Jichen happily thanked Jiang Luoyu before logging off to eat.
A few days passed in a blur.
During these days, Lin Jichen had been searching for the remaining three types of treasures. He had already found one, and today, unexpectedly, someone was selling another at the auction.
With this, he only needed one more, the Nine-Colored Lily.
Once he obtained this treasure, he could break through to the Golden Core Realm.
The Nine-Colored Lily could only be found on the Soul-Reaping Ghost Emperor, who resided in the Howling Ghost Ridge in the eastern part of Huafeng Province.
It would take several days to get there, but Lin Jichen had no complaints and traveled day and night on his sword.
However, tonight, Lin Jichen didn't continue his journey, nor did he log into the game.
Because today was Tang Tang's birthday, and Qin Xiaowei had invited him and Gu Qiuxue to her house for dinner.
Lin Jichen dismantled Tang Tang's gaming pod from Gu Qiuxue's room and carried it upstairs with her before knocking on the door.
The door was opened by Niu Naitang, who was wearing a beautiful new outfit today—a mini Tang Suit that made her look festive and cute.
"Hello, Brother Lin~ Hello, Sister Gu~"
Seeing Lin Jichen and Gu Qiuxue, Niu Naitang smiled happily.
When she saw the gaming pod at the door, her eyes lit up like light bulbs.
"Is this Tang Tang's gaming pod?" Niu Naitang ran out excitedly, examining the gaming pod she had longed for.
She had wanted to play with her gaming pod so much, but her Auntie wouldn't let her bother Lin Jichen or sleep at his house anymore.
She had to secretly play for an hour or two with her gaming ring before bed every day, which was far from satisfying.
"Yes, how about it? This gaming pod is a birthday gift from your brother. Do you like it?" Lin Jichen asked with a smile.
Niu Naitang nodded her little head vigorously. She didn't just like it; she loved it!
This was her most satisfying birthday gift ever!
"But will Auntie agree..."
Niu Naitang was a bit worried that Qin Xiaowei wouldn't let her play.
Recently, she had been staying up late playing games, always oversleeping and lacking energy in class, which had gotten her scolded by the teacher several times.
She was afraid that if Qin Xiaowei found out, she would be even more forbidden to play.
Lin Jichen smiled confidently and patted Niu Naitang's bun hairstyle, saying, "Don't worry, your brother has a way."
"Tang Tang, is it Brother Lin and Sister Gu? Why haven't you invited them in? That's rude."
Qin Xiaowei's voice came from the kitchen.
"Got it, Auntie." Niu Naitang quickly stepped aside.
Lin Jichen carried the gaming pod inside with Gu Qiuxue and entered the house.
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Qin Xiaowei, busy cooking, didn't know that Lin Jichen had brought such a big gift. She hurriedly called out, "Little Lin, Qiuxue, you two sit down first. I'm cooking, so I can't greet you. Tang Tang, pour some water for your brother and sister."
"No need to be so formal, Sister Xiaowei. We can manage ourselves."
Lin Jichen replied, sitting on the sofa with Gu Qiuxue to watch TV.
They had just started watching when they smelled something burning from the kitchen.
Lin Jichen immediately remembered Qin Xiaowei's "astonishing" culinary skills and his expression changed.
The next second, a thick cloud of smoke billowed out from the kitchen, and Qin Xiaowei came out coughing.
Seeing Lin Jichen and Gu Qiuxue's surprised expressions, she smiled awkwardly and said, "Uh... the food got a bit burnt. No worries, I'll redo it."
She quickly retreated back into the kitchen.
Lin Jichen, looking horrified, said to Niu Naitang, "Tang Tang, how are you not scared when your aunt cooks?"
Niu Naitang giggled and said, "Tang Tang has cake today, no need to eat dinner."
Lin Jichen broke into a sweat. She might not need to eat, but they couldn't just sit there without touching their food.
Lin Jichen immediately suggested to Gu Qiuxue, "Sis, why don't you go to the kitchen and guide her a bit? I'm afraid we'll end up in the hospital with food poisoning tonight."
Gu Qiuxue laughed, "Is it that serious?"
"Trust me, I don't want to be throwing up all night. Sis, please go help her." Lin Jichen pleaded.
He was genuinely afraid of Qin Xiaowei and Ren Lan's cooking. It was as if these two women were born without any cooking skills.
Their dishes were each more terrifying than the last.
"Alright, I'll go take a look." Gu Qiuxue, slightly scared by Lin Jichen's words, quickly went to the kitchen to check.
When she entered the kitchen, she saw Qin Xiaowei almost in tears and hurriedly went in to guide her.
Gu Qiuxue's arrival was like a savior to Qin Xiaowei.
Soon, the kitchen stopped emitting burnt smells and started to smell delicious.
Seeing that everything was fine, Lin Jichen said to Tang Tang, "Come on, let your brother help you set up the gaming pod first."
Niu Naitang was overjoyed and led the way with her short legs.
Lin Jichen moved the gaming pod to Tang Tang's room and started setting it up.
After a while, the doorbell rang, and Niu Naitang immediately went to open the door.
"Haha, Little Lin, you're really good at making decisions without asking. Aren't you afraid Sister Xiaowei will blame you for spoiling Tang Tang?"
A woman stood at the door, teasing him with a laugh.
Lin Jichen looked up from his work and saw that it was none other than Ren Lan.
He hadn't seen this Miss Frenzy for almost a month, and seeing her suddenly made Lin Jichen smile involuntarily.
"What brings you out today? Finished with school stuff?"
Ren Lan sighed, "Don't mention it. The new semester just started, and I have a ton of classes. Plus, I'm the student council president, so there's a lot to handle. I want to resign, but my dad won't let me. It's driving me crazy. I even have to organize orientation activities on weekends. I'm busier than the emperor."
Lin Jichen gloated, "Your cultivation must be falling behind now, right?"
"Yeah, I've regressed a bit, but I still squeeze in three hours of gaming before bed every day. It's not too bad. Once the orientation rush is over, I'll be more relaxed."
"Give me a hand here, lift this." Lin Jichen called out.
Ren Lan walked in and lifted the gaming pod with one hand.
Lin Jichen's eyelid twitched. Yep, still the same strong girl.
They chatted while setting up the gaming pod.
"By the way, why didn't you reply to my message that day?" Lin Jichen teased.
Ren Lan rolled her eyes at him, "It's all your fault for making me laugh. I got caught by the lecturer, Old Li, the strict Marxism teacher. You know how he is."
Lin Jichen thought for a moment but couldn't remember. It had been so long since he left university, who could remember the lecturers?
"What happened after he caught you?"
"He asked me if his class was that funny and told me to explain what was so funny."
"I casually said he looked funny..."
Lin Jichen couldn't help but laugh out loud. Classic Ren Woxing!
（Proofreader：Ren Woxing is a character from The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, a famous wuxia novel by Jin Yong. He is one of the main antagonists of the story. Ren Woxing is known for his extreme arrogance and ruthless personality. He believes himself to be above all others, ruling both the martial world with unparalleled power. His behavior is domineering.）
Proofreader & Editor: Lotas