Chapter 396: Chapter 314: Dealing Chapter 396: Chapter 314: Dealing After returning to the dormitory, Su Yuan took a good shower and then collapsed onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep almost immediately.
*This journey away from Great Flame had been a non-stop loop of traveling, fighting, and traveling again, leaving almost no time to rest.*
*Out in the world, he was constantly on edge, but within the academy, Su Yuan could relax completely.*
*So this time, he slept exceptionally soundly…*
By midday the next day.
In the darkness, Su Yuan felt something soft and squishy against his face, as if something was repeatedly nudging his cheek. A familiar little sound accompanied it.
Soon, Su Yuan opened his eyes and woke up.
The familiar dormitory bedroom came into view, filling him with a sense of calm and reassurance.
Beside him, Ruan Ruan was still energetically nudging his face.
“Squish, squishy squish! Squish, squishy squish!”
Su Yuan chuckled and gave Ruan Ruan a playful squeeze. “Alright, I’m awake now.”
This was something he had instructed Ruan Ruan to do—to wake him up at noon.
“Squish!~”
Seeing that it had successfully completed its task of waking him, Ruan Ruan’s eyes sparkled. It nuzzled against Su Yuan’s face affectionately before hopping onto his shoulder.
Su Yuan gave it another affectionate rub before standing up and making his way to sit at the computer desk nearby.
“Without realizing it, it’s already the new semester…”
He turned on his computer and checked the time—mid-March had already arrived.
*March also marked the beginning of the new academic term.*
Su Yuan opened the academy’s forum and browsed through recent announcements and updates.
“Oh? Xia Yue broke through to Silver High Stage a week ago? No surprise there—she was the only one who had already reached Bronze Middle Stage at the start of the semester.”
“There are a few other outstanding freshmen too. Yi Zishen, Reiji…”
“The Xuanji Valley Secret Realm has descended on Rongzhi City in the western Second Stage City. If the current situation holds, Demon City’s Ji Xuan and Demon Capital’s Xiang Dingqian may be the biggest winners…”
“The popular idol singer Yi Shengsheng is set to tour in Demon Capital.”
…
There was a wide variety of information—some about Demon Capital, others about the entire academy network.
Su Yuan skimmed through the posts and gained a general understanding of the events that had taken place during his absence.
*The Xuanji Valley Secret Realm, one of the most renowned in the Great Flame region, could appear anywhere and hadn’t been active for three or four decades.*
*It was a true inheritance-based Secret Realm, brimming with treasures.*
Judging by the posts, this time Xiang Dingqian looked likely to reap substantial rewards from Xuanji Valley.
Su Yuan logged out from the forum, pondered for a moment, and then opened up a communication interface to type a message to Xia Yue.
“A batch of new goods, requesting to trade.”
Not long after, a line of text popped up as a reply.
“Received, heading over now.”
Su Yuan chuckled to himself, then boiled some water and prepared two instant coffees.
Soon, Xia Yue arrived.
She wore a chic red dress, her black stockings neatly wrapping just past her calves.
Su Yuan placed a freshly made instant coffee in front of her. “Congratulations on advancing to Silver High Stage.”
“Not a big deal~ With my talent, this is exactly the pace I should be advancing!” Xia Yue crossed her arms and curled a corner of her lips into a smug smile, her pride evident.
She then glanced at Su Yuan, but as always, it was impossible to read him. Instead, her gaze shifted to Ruan Ruan perched on Su Yuan’s left arm. She greeted it warmly, exclaiming, “Ruan Ruan~!”
“Squish!”
Upon hearing Xia Yue’s call, Ruan Ruan immediately reverted to its true form and leapt onto the table.
“Long time no see, Ruan Ruan!” Xia Yue exclaimed happily and began to cuddle and knead it.
“Squishy squish squish (long time no see)!”
Su Yuan chuckled softly before retrieving two rings.
“I picked up quite a few things during this trip—could I trouble you to process them for me?”
“Let me take a look.” Xia Yue reached for the rings to inspect their contents.
Having dealt with similar items before, Xia Yue thought she was mentally prepared. But even so, the sight of countless rare treasures left her momentarily stunned.
“So many items, with dozens of blue star artifacts alone! Are you… planning to sell all of it?”
Xia Yue had initially wanted to ask, “Where on earth did you get these?” but changed her question at the last moment.
Su Yuan nodded and replied, “Yes, everything.”
His confirmation made Xia Yue even more astonished.
*The previous trade had been worth tens of thousands of Cent Star Stones; this time… it was bound to exceed a hundred thousand!*
*That wasn’t even the entirety of his gains. He had kept the most valuable Shining Star Level Star Core to feed Ruan Ruan.*
*Having failed to contribute during the earlier battles, Ruan Ruan had felt deeply guilty and committed itself to intense cultivation ever since returning from Black Wind Domain.*
*With the Devouring Law and an abundant supply of Shining Star Level Cores, Ruan Ruan was consuming them so rapidly that it was nearing its limit. If not for the strain on its body, it might have already broken through to Gold High Stage.*
*Once the remaining cores had been devoured, it wouldn’t just reach Gold High Stage—it might even hit the Gold Limit.*
*If cores ran out, switching to pure Star Stones was always an option.*
*Unlike others who needed the Star Mist Pool to convert Star Stone energy into usable Star Power, Ruan Ruan could absorb the pure energy directly and even faster than from Star Cores!*
Xia Yue took a deep breath and, without further delay, began identifying the star artifacts one by one right in Su Yuan’s room.
“Roughly estimated, the total is just over two hundred thousand Star Stones.”
After what felt like an eternity, Xia Yue finally exhaled and reclined against the chair.
*Su Yuan nodded quietly to himself—excluding the Shining Star Level cores, this matched his estimate of around two hundred thousand.*
“I’ll take these items back to Demon Capital’s regional division for recovery. Do you have any special instructions?” she asked.
“No.”
“Alright.” Xia Yue nodded and stored everything back in the rings.
Su Yuan spoke again. “Aside from these items, I do have one more thing I’d like you to help me exchange for something.”
“Exchange?” Xia Yue asked, visibly intrigued.
When Su Yuan flipped his hand to reveal a glowing Purple Card flexing with Star Power, her gaze instantly froze.
He placed the Purple Card carefully onto the table and slid it toward Xia Yue. “This is it. Have a look first.”
Xia Yue’s breathing grew visibly erratic. Her hands trembled ever so slightly as she carefully picked up the card, her attitude far more delicate than before.
On the surface of the card appeared a blazing Light Arrow striking straight at divinity.
“The Divine Destruction Arrow!”
Just the name alone caused Xia Yue to inhale sharply.
“Where did you even get this?”
*On Silver Stage, Purple Cards were exceedingly rare, and for Gold or Shining Star Level stages, they were precious treasures beyond imagination.*
*For Silver Stage cultivators, seeing one in person was already extraordinary.*
*Even as the daughter of the Beidou Consortium, Xia Yue had never personally handled an Epic Grade Star Card before.*
“Luck—it was a spoil from an enemy,” Su Yuan replied nonchalantly.
Xia Yue took another deep breath, gazing at the purple card in her hand. She couldn’t help but wonder what kind of terrifying opponent had possessed such a card.
*Clearly, they were on a far higher level than she was.*
*At that moment, the confidence and joy she’d felt from her recent breakthrough to Silver High Stage were rudely shattered by the young man before her…*
*Damn, this guy is a complete freak!*
Xia Yue couldn’t help but curse internally.
“What’s wrong?”
Su Yuan, oblivious to her inner turmoil, was puzzled by her slightly annoyed expression.
“Nothing.” Xia Yue quickly waved it off and asked, “You mentioned earlier that you want to exchange this card?”
“Yeah, I’m looking to trade it for Space Star Cards or other Fire Element ones. Epic cards are rarely available in the marketplace, but you major commerce networks should have specialized channels for high-end trades, right?”
“We do, but the success rate for such trades tends to be very low. The process starts by imprinting the card’s details into the system and listing it publicly on the platform.” Xia Yue explained.
“That works. I’m mostly trying my luck anyway.” Su Yuan replied.
Xia Yue nodded. “Alright, let me record it first.”
The earlier loot was one thing, but a treasure like a Purple Card of Epic Grade was no trivial matter.
*Regardless of whether Su Yuan trusted her, Xia Yue couldn’t possibly just casually pocket something of such immense value.*
She pulled out a blank “Model Card,” placing it on top of Divine Destruction Arrow. After a faint shimmer, the card’s information had been imprinted onto the model.
Handing the Divine Destruction Arrow back to Su Yuan, Xia Yue reminded him, “By listing it on the platform, whether during the public display or the final trade, there will be transaction fees—a few thousand Cent Star Stones, most likely.”
“Not an issue.” Su Yuan casually handed over another ten thousand Star Stones to cover additional costs. “Go ahead and list it now.”
Xia Yue clicked her tongue in disbelief. “You sure have deep pockets. Whatever’s left over will be returned to you along with the payout for the other items.”
“Thanks for handling it. Truly.”
Xia Yue crossed her arms. “Hmph. Words mean nothing! If you really appreciate me, you’d properly reward this lady.”
Su Yuan chuckled and gestured toward the pile of star artifacts on the table. “Then pick one of these as your reward?”
*Selling off such a vast haul was certainly time-consuming and inconvenient.*
*With Xia Yue taking over, he could save time, avoid hassle, and trust that she wouldn’t undersell the value.*
*Allowing her to pick one star artifact as her compensation felt entirely appropriate. Besides, Su Yuan wasn’t the least bit attached to these spoils.*
“Not necessary. Processing these items will still earn profit for Beidou Commerce,” Xia Yue replied, seemingly uninterested in taking a labor fee. Her eyes twitched mischievously as she added, “If you’re serious, how about treating me to dinner instead?”
“Done. That’s easy enough.” Su Yuan grinned. “You set the time.”
Xia Yue’s eyes lit up with joy as she considered her schedule. “I’ll be busy handling all this over today and tomorrow. Let’s have dinner the night after.”
“Alright.”
…