Chapter 31 : Rapid Rise in Strength
31: Rapid Rise in Strength
Dai Jingni took out a pad, which had the Underground Fighting Alliance's proprietary software installed on it. With a few swipes of the page, icons for Secret Arts, Alchemical Pills, Weapons, Special Items of Interest... one after another, large, simple, and unique icons appeared.
"Of course, you can also buy some items not in circulation through the alliance's app, but the truly good things can only be seen here with me," Dai Jingni said in a soft voice.
Just a moment ago, Yuyin had remained impassive at the mention of a one hundred thousand appearance fee, but now her eyes lit up, her chest rising and falling deeply.
"How about it? Will you sign? If you sign now, this match can be calculated according to the contract amount. And by the way..." Dai Jingni took out her phone and glanced at it for a moment, "For your match with Tang Menglong, a total of two million six hundred and thirty thousand Spirit Marbles were bet on the global pools. That means, according to the contract, you can receive twenty-six thousand three hundred Spirit Marbles."
Yuyin looked at the signature line in the corner of the contract, then glanced at the golden pen Dai Jingni had placed to the side. She read the contract carefully one more time.
Dai Jingni could only smile helplessly; this girl was truly cautious.
Looking at it from the text and the logic, Yuyin truly couldn't find any traps or problems. The constraints on her were limited to confidentiality and not signing with other companies in the Underground Fighting Alliance, which were reasonable clauses. There were no restrictions on her freedom or time.
If there were still problems with a contract like this, then Yuyin feared she would be unable to independently judge any contract in this world.
"The contract is fine. I'll sign."
Having made her decision, Yuyin said briskly.
"Then I look forward to your performance, oh Goddess Xia."
Yuyin signed her name, and each party kept a copy of the contract.
"Oh, right, Goddess Xia. I have a set of clothes here that is very suitable for a female fighter. Ah, don't misunderstand, it's not an additional clause, and it's not at all revealing. It's just, if you'll do me a personal favor, I hope you'll wear it next time," Dai Jingni said, taking a large paper bag from a cabinet.
"If it's not the kind of clothing unsuitable for wearing in public, I'll consider it," Yuyin said.
"Hehe, since Miss Xia is so straightforward, I can't be without a gesture of my own. A small welcoming gift, to give you a small permission. From now on, when you spend Spirit Marbles with me, all Secret Arts will be half price, and Alchemical Pills and weapons will be at cost. Consider it a gift between friends." Dai Jingni gently extended her hand across the desk.
Yuyin also extended her hand and shook Dai Jingni's, but her delicate palm was groped by Madame Butterfly, who took the opportunity.
"A pleasure doing business with you." An unfathomable, bewitching glint flashed in Dai Jingni's eyes. "Please wait a moment. I'll transfer the money and Spirit Marbles to you right now."
Yuyin hadn't expected it to be so fast. It seemed that while Madame Butterfly appeared elegant and particular, she was a very straightforward woman in business.
Dai Jingni directly transferred one hundred thousand yuan to Yuyin with her phone and had Yuyin install the Underground Fighting Alliance's app. Her account was activated as a contracted fighter, and the twenty-six thousand three hundred Spirit Marbles arrived immediately.
One hundred thousand yuan. Although Yuyin suppressed her emotions, she felt a little light-headed inside.
"So... may I ask, Madame Butterfly, can I make a purchase now?" Yuyin said. The Spirit Marbles were just a number in her hand; it would be better to use them now to buy some Secret Arts she needed from Dai Jingni.
"Of course. After all, I'm very busy, so I might not always be available."
Dai Jingni tapped on the pad. "So, what would you like to see, Miss Xia?"
"For now, let's just look at the Secret Arts. I wonder if you could make a recommendation?" After all, this app was from their company; whether something was good or bad was up to them, so she might as well let her recommend.
"Of course, but it depends on your needs."
"I want a foundational Primordial Energy cultivation secret art, something that starts from the very beginning," Yuyin said.
"Oh?" A light flashed in Dai Jingni's eyes. "Seeing Miss Xia's skill, I would have thought you had long since succeeded in your cultivation. You are truly not an ordinary person..."
As she spoke, Dai Jingni opened a secret manual.
"Then I'll recommend this one, Yuan Shixi. It's considered a top-tier Primordial Energy cultivation secret art within our alliance. At the very least, it's better than what most small and medium-sized sects and ordinary Source Martial Academies have. Its cultivation style is gentle and solid, suitable for women to cultivate. The price is thirty-six thousand Spirit Marbles, so for you, it's eighteen thousand."
Eighteen thousand Spirit Marbles... this would almost bleed her dry...
Yuyin looked at the picture of an ancient book, but for a moment, she couldn't make much of it.
"What do you think? Do you want to look at anything else? But the others probably aren't as good as this one."
"No need. I'll take this one."
"Miss Xia, this secret art is an e-book, but only you can read it. It absolutely cannot be leaked or copied. Each one has a unique technical means for us to track it. Once a leak is discovered, the entire underground alliance will punish you." Dai Jingni's voice turned cold.
"Understood." Yuyin had no intention of leaking it anyway.
After a few operations from Dai Jingni, the Yuan Shixi was downloaded to Yuyin's phone. It was a standalone app with an icon of an ancient secret manual.
"Do you want to see anything else? For example, Alchemical Pills. We have pills here that can temporarily boost your Primordial Energy by ten points for a short period."
"No need. This will be all for now. Thank you for your trouble." Yuyin had the White Apes in the God-Devouring Chess, so her need for Alchemical Pills wasn't that urgent. She could just buy more White Apes later. Besides, she didn't have many Spirit Marbles left.
"Miss Xia, shall we add each other on WeChat?"
"Okay." Yuyin nodded.
They chatted for a few more moments, and Dai Jingni personally escorted Yuyin to the office door.
"By the way, call me Sister Dai from now on. Don't be so formal," Dai Jingni said, taking Yuyin's hand, but still not letting go.
Yuyin unhurriedly pulled her hand back. "Then you should call me Yuyin too, Sister Dai."
Since they had signed the contract, Dai Jingni naturally knew Yuyin's identity and, of course, promised to keep it confidential for her.
After bidding farewell to Dai Jingni, Yuyin couldn't wait to grab a taxi home. For the Yuyin of today, taking a taxi was no longer something she was reluctant to spend on. After all, wearing a short skirt and stockings on a crowded subway was still inconvenient.
Back home, Yuyin immediately opened the Yuan Shixi cultivation secret art.
Although Yuyin could rely on the God-Devouring Chess to cultivate quickly, it was one thing to know how and another to know why. Her own cultivation was an absolute necessity.
The beginning of Yuan Shixi stated:
"No one knows when, but an energy called Source began to appear in all things. Source is the origin of all things, sleeping within them, awakening in the silence.
Source Spirit, Primordial Energy, Source Water, Source Light, Source Crystal are all carriers of Source."
And Yuan Shixi was a breathing technique, the main idea of which was to use this unique breathing method to absorb the external Primordial Energy to cultivate oneself. Breathing techniques were also the most common Primordial Energy cultivation method used by the vast majority of practitioners.
"I wonder how the cultivation effect of this breathing technique compares to my God-Devouring Chess?"
Yuyin browsed through it repeatedly. After some deliberation, she began to breathe according to the method described in Yuan Shixi.
At first, it was quite difficult to master. She even experienced shortness of breath, chest tightness, and discomfort.
But gradually, as the night deepened, Yuyin began to adapt, and it became more and more comfortable.
So this was how it felt to breathe with this secret art; it was something that emptied the mind and pleased the body. Only when the mind was empty could the body fully integrate into the perception of the Source contained in the air.
According to Yuan Shixi, perceiving the existence of Source for the first time required a long period of practice and enlightenment, and it varied from person to person. Some people might never perceive the existence of Source in their entire lives.
However, Yuyin had already begun her Primordial Energy cultivation through a Source Spirit. Primordial Energy had already become a part of her body's functioning. Naturally, this bottleneck did not exist for her. After grasping the trick to the breathing technique, she quickly perceived the external Primordial Energy.
"This..." Only after perceiving it did Yuyin have a sudden realization, "The external Primordial Energy is actually so... so sparse?"
If the Source Spirit she absorbed was the essence, then the outside air was like mixing a drop of that essence into a space as large as a football field. It was an extremely slow process to absorb that incredibly thin Primordial Energy from breathing.
Slow... too slow.
Yuyin's comprehension was excellent; she had mastered the basic breathing technique in one night. But even considering future improvements, it was still too slow.
But slow as it was, her body, for the first time, began to actively absorb Primordial Energy. Gained an extremely tiny benefit from her own cultivation.
Yuyin felt that even if she mastered this breathing technique, the Primordial Energy she would gain in a day would probably not be more than the production of a single Night Patrol Little Ghost.
But... as midnight approached, as Yuyin's cultivation of the breathing technique deepened, as her body began to actively absorb Primordial Energy, she made a major discovery!
That was, the efficiency with which she absorbed the Spirit Source from within the God-Devouring Chess had greatly improved.
The body she was actively cultivating was the foundation. With a solid foundation, her body's adaptability to Primordial Energy was better, and the efficiency of absorbing the Spirit Source also followed suit, rising dramatically.
"It seems I was right to insist on cultivating myself as well."
This night, Yuyin achieved minor success in her breathing technique, absorbing only a very small amount of Primordial Energy. But the Primordial Energy brought to her by the Source Spirit within the God-Devouring Chess was improving at a flying speed!
The night passed. Yuyin's Primordial Energy value had already reached 105.
"105? An increase of over seven points in one night." Yuyin, her long hair cascading down, confidently thrust out her chest. Wearing a white short-sleeved top and small white panties, she sat cross-legged on the bed. "There's still one month until the college entrance exam. The minimum passing score for Lingdu Source Martial Academy last year was 150."
With Yuyin's current cultivation speed, considering the boost from her own active cultivation, she finally smiled faintly, "Lingdu Source Martial Academy... it might not be so out of reach after all."