Chapter 85: A Joyous Division of Spoils and Shopping Spree (Fifth Update)

“First, the secret manuals and techniques—those that can be copied, everyone gets a copy.” Jiang Chen took out several manuals, including the thunder technique of Lord Kabu. There were also some methods that, while not top-tier, were rare and precious within the universe. The quantity wasn’t large, just a few types. After Jarvis scanned and copied them, everyone received their own set.

“Next are treasures. As agreed previously, Hong, you get the ‘Godpiercer Spear’, and Thor, you get the ‘Heavenly Thunder Blade.” Jiang Chen produced two origin force weapons. Both were grade five origin force weapons, though fairly ordinary among their class. Of course, value wasn’t important—suitability was. Among the 312 treasures, these two weapons were the ones best suited for Hong and Thor.

“What a fine spear!”

“What a fine blade!”

Hong and Thor took their weapons, unable to restrain their admiration. Grade five origin force weapons were more than sufficient for a domain lord’s primary weapon, and for those at the star level, they couldn’t even unleash the weapon’s full might. Still, even if they couldn’t draw out its full power, as long as they could barely wield a grade five weapon, their combat strength would be terrifyingly enhanced. Both Hong and Thor had mastered domains; though their origin force foundations were lacking, they could just manage to use grade five weapons.

“Luo Feng, these are yours.” Jiang Chen presented a pile of treasures—including the ‘Fruit of Life’, ‘Heart of the Stars’, and so on. As for Jiang Chen himself, he kept only a single ‘Fruit of Life’ and three ‘D6-class orbital cannons’.

“Your share—once the Universe Star River Bank sells the treasures, I’ll transfer the funds directly to you,” Luo Feng said to Jiang Chen. The division was for the remaining treasures, apart from those given to Hong and Thor—their total value. Within this range, distribution was based on need. Luo Feng had more use for the treasures left by Lord Kabu, whereas Jiang Chen had little need for them, so he chose to sell them for money instead.

In the universe, as long as you have money, most treasures Jiang Chen could use at this stage could be bought. Even strictly controlled items could be acquired at special auctions or through black market channels.

The bulk went to Jiang Chen and Luo Feng, while Hong and Thor received only one weapon each, aside from the secret techniques. Thor, however, received more—he gained Lord Kabu’s entire legacy. But Thor promised to copy the legacy and share it with Jiang Chen, Luo Feng, and Hong.

About half a month later, Luo Feng received the last payment from the Universe Star River Bank. The treasures consigned for sale were finally all sold. After deducting 100 units of the ‘handling fee’, 102 units remained. Adding the value of unsold treasures, Luo Feng finally transferred 72 units to Jiang Chen.

Along with the funds, Jiang Chen received an email from the Universe Star River Bank, notifying him of his promotion to ‘three-star client’—now eligible for more privileges, including ‘consignment trading’, ‘auction participation’, and so forth.

Unfortunately, during the opening of the Realm Within a Realm, the ‘Qianwu Universe Nation Auction’ had just ended. Jiang Chen and Luo Feng missed it and could only wait for the next session in three years. Still, the ‘consignment trading’ privilege was valuable. In the future, if he acquired more treasures, he wouldn’t need to rely on Luo Feng’s mentor Huyan Bo’s five-star account to handle them.

Of course, even within consignment trading, the bank’s commission rates differed for three-star and five-star clients. If the treasure was truly high in value, it was more cost-effective to sell through a five-star account. For example—the slumbering insect queen on Earth.

Back when Jiang Chen had just acquired the system, he’d decided his future path would center on building a mechanical legion. The emergence of ‘alchemy technology’ and ‘arcane technology’ had introduced some unexpected changes to his plans, but the core concept never wavered: utilizing vast resources to build a formidable, utterly loyal army.

To achieve this, he needed not only advanced technology, but also astonishing wealth. Earth’s treasures provided a convenient shortcut.

Of course, before that, Jiang Chen needed to continually improve his own technical foundation.

After staying on Qiong Jade Star for over a month, the group repeatedly confirmed they weren’t being followed, then cautiously departed for Earth.

Not long after returning, Luo Feng made another trip into the universe, bringing back several slaves at universe level nine. Universe level nine was the strongest that a bio-chip could control. Once someone advanced to domain lord, having no traditional physical vulnerabilities, they could destroy the bio-chip in their brain and break free from control.

This strength made them a force to be reckoned with in the universe—on most planets, they could easily sweep all opposition.

Jiang Chen also deployed three ‘D6-class orbital cannons’ within the solar system, forming Earth’s core defense network. With these three cannons, regardless of whether the Noranshan family’s expedition had relayed Earth’s existence, there was no need to fear their threat anymore.

However, Jiang Chen hadn’t touched the funds acquired from his adventure in the Realm Within.

Time passed.

After returning, Luo Feng, Hong, and Thor would occasionally embark on cosmic adventures. Jiang Chen, though, never left again. Upon his return, he immediately declared a period of seclusion.

This retreat wasn’t long—just over two months before he emerged, then quickly boarded a spaceship for the universe.

This didn’t escape Babata’s attention. The solar system’s ‘defense surveillance system’ was jointly funded by Jiang Chen and Luo Feng; both Jarvis and Babata had equal access. A C-class ship couldn’t possibly evade this D-class surveillance network.

“Huh? Jiang Chen’s headed into the universe?” Luo Feng received Babata’s notification, puzzled but unconcerned. Occasionally venturing into the universe was normal. Besides, Jiang Chen had plenty of ventures out there—like the mech factory on White Orchid Star, or the mines on Aurora Star and Raven Star.

Luo Feng himself operated an interstellar transport company, providing logistics for Jiang Chen’s businesses. Though these ventures were trivial compared to the treasures gained in the Realm Within, their profits were negligible. The universe crystals mined alone were worth tens of billions of universe coins; a business earning a few hundred billion black dragon coins a year would take decades to match that.

Still, since they didn’t need to manage them personally, Jiang Chen and Luo Feng kept the businesses running, leaving them to their slaves.

————

Twenty days later, White Orchid Star.

After paying over four trillion black dragon coins, Jiang Chen bought the ownership of White Orchid Star from its previous lord. Clearing out companies and residents cost several hundred billion more. Altogether, he spent over five trillion black dragon coins to gain complete control.

For a planet with a very low habitability rating, this price was anything but cheap. Yet, its proximity to Earth made the expense worthwhile in Jiang Chen’s eyes. Compared to the gains from the Realm Within, a few trillion black dragon coins weren’t even a fraction.

Due to its frigid climate, White Orchid Star was always sparsely populated. After Jiang Chen relocated the residents to other life planets, leaving only his controlled slaves, the planet grew even quieter.

But that was exactly his intention—he meant to use White Orchid Star as a transfer base, and fewer people made management easier.

A spaceship bearing the Universe Star River Bank insignia landed on White Orchid Star. Jiang Chen, notified in advance, awaited eagerly.

The hatch opened, and an elderly man with white hair disembarked, carrying a gleaming silvery case. The planetary monitoring system instantly detected his aura, assessing him as a domain lord, third tier.

Facing Jiang Chen, a mere star-level being, a domain lord was immensely powerful. Yet the domain lord smiled warmly and bowed respectfully. “Honored guest, the goods you ordered through Universe Star River Bank have arrived. By procedure, I need to verify your identity first.”

“No problem.” Jiang Chen understood the bank’s protocol and cooperated smoothly, completing a series of uncomplicated verification steps.

Identity confirmed, the domain lord handed Jiang Chen the case, smiling. “Identity verified. Here are your goods. Please inspect them and sign for receipt. Count them now—later, we bear no responsibility.”

“Just a moment.”

Jiang Chen opened the case, revealing a ring of exceptionally rare material.

A world ring—these could only be crafted by domain lord-level experts. After opening a world through domain lord techniques, special materials were used to forge a vessel capable of holding that world. Normally, villas or houses were the most common world containers, being cheapest. The smaller the vessel, the higher the requirements and the steeper the cost.

A world ring’s price was calculated in primordial units, varying from one to a dozen units depending on the internal world’s size.

Jiang Chen had purchased one with dimensions of ten million kilometers in length, width, and height, at a price of ten units.

More important, though, was what lay inside.

Jiang Chen picked up the ring and scanned its interior with his consciousness.

As specified, the world ring contained a vast plain, devoid of special terrain. In the center, a mountain of assorted materials was piled.

Thousands upon thousands of different materials, neatly organized and sorted.

But their sheer quantity formed a massive mountain.

Even with Jiang Chen’s ninth-tier star-level mental power, it took him quite some time to complete the inventory.

“The goods are correct.” Jiang Chen nodded to the domain lord.

The domain lord waited patiently, not the least bit impatient. Once Jiang Chen finished, he produced a device, operated it, and brought up a receipt. “Please sign here, guest—signature, fingerprint, or spiritual imprint, any will do.”

Jiang Chen complied, completing the receipt. The domain lord bowed again, “Then, honored guest, this transaction is concluded. I’ll take my leave. Wishing you a pleasant life.”

Jiang Chen watched the spaceship depart, then lingered a moment.

“Master, their ship has entered the dark universe,” Jarvis reported.

Jiang Chen finally spoke, “Jarvis, have you mastered the schematics I sent you?”

“Master, among the 9,178,439 schematics you provided, I’ve fully mastered most. I’m confident I can mass produce them after a few tweaks. However, 219 ‘magical construct’ schematics are beyond my comprehension.”

Jarvis’s voice was flat, but Jiang Chen sensed a hint of…aggrievement? The feeling vanished as quickly as it came.

In truth, Jarvis’s functional modules didn’t include an ‘emotional module’; no matter how much data he acquired or how many years he operated, Jarvis couldn’t evolve into a true intelligent lifeform—unless Jiang Chen added such a module.

Alternatively, Jarvis might undergo some extraordinary change and awaken emotions on his own.

For now, Jiang Chen had no such intention. Intelligent life was powerful, but Jiang Chen hoped Jarvis would enter that realm with a better foundation.

After all, not all intelligent lifeforms are equal. Top-tier intelligence, and ordinary intelligence—once both evolved into intelligent life, the difference in capability and potential would only grow wider.

Until Jarvis was upgraded to a sufficiently perfect and powerful level, Jiang Chen would not permit him to evolve into intelligent life, as that would limit his future potential.

Jiang Chen shook his head, clearing away the distracting thoughts.

He asked, “Is it all ‘arcane technology’ content you can’t comprehend? But you gave me plenty of help when researching the extraordinary systems of alchemy technology.”

“Not all ‘arcane technology’ is incomprehensible—only the parts involving ‘laws’. The ‘construct’ schematics you provided all involve laws,” Jarvis explained.

Intelligence cannot comprehend laws? Or is it just Jarvis?

Jiang Chen noted the question, resolving to ask Babata when he returned to Earth.

“In that case, I’ll handle the ‘construct’ aspects myself. The rest you can deal with, correct?” Jiang Chen reassigned the tasks.

Jarvis responded promptly, “No problem, Master!”

(End of chapter)