Chapter 298: Ultimate Grandfather
After having advanced to Nascent Soul and beaten back the Jade Chameleon Sect, Benton felt a lot less pressure on him to work hard every single minute possible, so he took most of the night off. He napped for a couple of hours, vegged for a couple more, and feeling guilty, made Time aspected greater spirit coins for even more hours.
As morning approached, he made a mental list of what he most needed to get done that day. First up was obviously to craft the only remaining qi source that he had all the materials for—Nature. The thought of crafting led him to a bit of reminiscing.
Benton’s favorite thing about being a grandfather back on Earth was, of course, spoiling his grandkids. Which usually meant buying them something expensive from a store. He never considered himself remotely rich, but he’d worked all his life and done well for himself. The family finances held enough discretionary funds that it wasn’t hard for him to justify whatever cost was required to make whichever grandchild smile.
The situation in his new life was quite a bit different. As far as he could tell, he wasn’t just well off; he was downright loaded. He could literally make money out of thin air, and considering how much a single one of his swords sold for, there was nothing he couldn’t afford to buy for his disciples.
In a complete reversal from his previous life, though, nothing for sale was nearly as good as what he could make with his own two hands. Had he given one of his grandkids something he’d personally crafted in his backyard workshop, they would have politely thanked him, of course—all his kids had been taught proper manners—but at best, the object would hold sentimental value to them after he passed. The kid certainly wouldn’t have been excited about the gift.
As a cheating cheater who cheats, however, everything he made was leagues better than anything else available. It was like the stores all stocked only the most lousy, knockoff gaming system possible, and he made the one that all the gamers camped out overnight simply for a chance of purchasing.
And while seeing how much strangers from other sects and organizations valued his handmade goods at the auction was gratifying, it was nothing compared to having his actual grandkids—well, not actual. Pseudo grandkids—show their sincere appreciation for receiving something he made.
Even better, he wasn’t even really spoiling them all that much. Instead, those items were necessary, either to complete missions or for protection. Or, more likely, both.
With all the cool stuff he could create for them, he was basically the ultimate grandfather.
Benton liked that role. He liked it a lot.
By the time he’d finished the Nature source, Zou Tian and Yang Xiu were almost finished with their morning sessions, so he popped over to the new Time Hall for a brief wait. Having started a few minutes before, Zou Tian exited first, and they both waited for Yang Xiu to finish.
Benton again checked their cultivation and found no problems. If anything, they were each flourishing under the intense concentration of appropriately aspected qi.