My Crazy Upgrade System

Because of Zi Yuwei’s good relationship with Yi Tianyun, Celestial Rain Tower’s headquarters would definitely let her continue as Pavilion Master. They might even grant her more authority to ensure she could fully assist Yi Tianyun. But this was all meaningless now. Yi Tianyun’s cultivation was so powerful that he could suppress even the Celestial Phoenix Tower, so he had no need for their help.

Helping him now would merely be icing on the cake, not the lifeline he once needed. The significance was completely different.

"Young Master Yi, you’re here..." Zi Yuwei didn’t know what to say. She had thought Yi Tianyun would never come here again.

"Yes, I’m here to buy some materials," Yi Tianyun said with a smile. "Any chance of a discount?"

"Yes, yes! Of course, there’s a discount. We could even give them to you for free," Zi Yuwei replied hastily.

"That won’t be necessary. The normal price is fine." Yi Tianyun gave a faint smile and followed Zi Yuwei to purchase the Artifact Refining Materials. After a quick look around, he asked, "Don’t you have any materials for refining Soul Artifacts?"

"Soul Artifact materials..." Her eyes flew wide, and the elder following behind her stared in disbelief as well. This was incredible.

’To ask such a question, Yi Tianyun can most likely already refine Soul Artifacts. How old is he? To have already reached this level...’

"That’s right. Do you have any?" Yi Tianyun inquired.

"We don’t... Not even the main Celestial Phoenix Tower has those kinds of materials. But if you want them, we can purchase them from elsewhere. It would just take a while," Zi Yuwei said, recovering from her shock.

One had to be at least a Fifth-Grade Artifact Refiner to even attempt to create a Soul Artifact, and even then, the success rate was abysmally low. Realistically, it required the skills of an Artifact Refining Master. The Celestial Phoenix Tower didn’t have a single refiner at the Master level, so there was no point in them stocking materials for Soul Artifacts.

Just having an Artifact Refiner capable of crafting a peak-grade Spiritual Artifact was already impressive, to say nothing of an Artifact Refining Master. That was a caliber of talent only found in Third-Grade Factions and above.

"Alright then. I’ll just buy some other materials."

Yi Tianyun had no choice but to drop the matter. ’This region’s overall level is just too low,’ he thought. ’The resources are hardly abundant. Only the territories of Third-Grade Factions and above are more developed. Sects aren’t built just anywhere; their location is determined by the surrounding environment.’

’All the good locations have already been claimed by powerful factions, leaving none for the likes of them.’ Yi Tianyun then selected some other materials, all of them suitable for refining peak-grade Spiritual Artifacts, which in itself was shocking enough to the others.

"Bring all of these out. I’ll take your entire stock," Yi Tianyun said with an air of immense wealth.

"Yes, right away."

Zi Yuwei immediately ordered her subordinates to fetch the materials. After they took inventory, Yi Tianyun was somewhat disappointed. The quantity wasn’t very large—only enough to craft twenty or thirty weapons. It wasn’t that the Celestial Phoenix Tower was poorly stocked, but that such materials were universally scarce. Materials for refining peak-grade Spiritual Artifacts were quite precious and extremely rare in this region.

"Is this all you have?" Yi Tianyun asked.

"Yes, this is all for now. But we can have more transferred from headquarters..." Zi Yuwei added hastily.

"Hmm... alright. Bring me whatever you can get, no matter the quantity. That includes Elixir Pills, too—the higher the grade, the better. I probably don’t have enough money to buy it all, but I can offer a service in exchange. I’ll refine items for you. For every weapon I successfully craft, my fee will be two sets of the required materials. How does that sound?" Yi Tianyun continued, "This offer applies to peak-grade Spiritual Artifacts and Fourth-Grade Elixir Pills. So, do we have a deal?"

Upon hearing this, they were stunned. Their minds reeled as if struck by a tidal wave. This deal was an absolute bargain! It meant that for every three sets of materials they provided, they would receive one peak-grade weapon. For them, these were incredibly attractive terms.

Most refiners capable of crafting peak-grade Spiritual Artifacts would fail four or five times before succeeding once. Yet he was only asking for two sets of materials as payment. It was an unbelievably good deal. The same went for the Elixir Pills. Needless to say, Fourth-Grade Elixir Pills required at least a Fourth-Grade Alchemist to create, making his proposed fee extremely reasonable.

"N-No problem!" Zi Yuwei stammered, nodding.

"Excellent. In that case, I’ll purchase this current batch of materials first. You can ship the rest to Merak Palace for me to work on. Once I’m finished, just send someone to pick up the final products," Yi Tianyun said nonchalantly. "I’ll take whatever you can get your hands on. I refuse no one."

The money he currently had was only enough for this one batch—and besides, this was all they had on hand anyway. ’If I want to refine more later, I definitely won’t be able to pay in cash. This time, I’m not planning to sell the finished weapons like before. I’m converting them into Madness Value instead.’

"Alright. Young Master Yi, please accept this first batch. We’ll deliver the rest of the materials to you as soon as they arrive," Zi Yuwei said, thrilled. This was a massive business opportunity. It meant they would soon have a steady supply of peak-grade Spiritual Artifacts and Fourth-Grade Elixir Pills, all of which were incredibly valuable. How could she not be excited?

"Good, that’s the plan then. Here is your payment." With a wave of his hand, a dazzling heap of Gold appeared before them.

’This is all loot from killing monsters; I’ve never had a use for it. I originally planned to convert it into Madness Value, but after seeing the exchange rate, I realized it’s not worth it at all. One hundred Gold for a single point of Madness Value? This stuff is practically worthless to the system.’

After Zi Yuwei and the others accepted the payment, Yi Tianyun prepared to leave. Zi Yuwei opened her mouth as if to say something, but no words came out. She could only let out a deep sigh. ’He’s leaving so soon, without even staying for a moment. How are we supposed to mend our relationship like this?’

But she didn’t say a word to stop him.

"Master Yi, please wait!" the elder beside her called out, swallowing his pride.

"Yes?" Yi Tianyun asked, turning to him.

"Well... about what happened last time, we at the Celestial Rain Tower failed you. We actually wanted to step in and help, but our foundation is... rather weak. So, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive us." This was the very same elder who had previously stopped Zi Yuwei, telling her not to speak out, let alone intervene.

When Zi Yuwei had spoken out anyway, he had shot her a fierce glare, furious with her actions. Now, it was clear that he had been the fool all along.

"Oh, you’re talking about that matter. I’m not bothered by it," Yi Tianyun said with a casual smile. He genuinely wasn’t. "If there’s nothing else, I’ll be on my way."

"The Honored Guest Elder position..." the elder asked anxiously.

"Honored Guest Elder? I agreed to become one for you before, and so I am." Yi Tianyun smiled. The elder’s face lit up with joy, but Yi Tianyun immediately added, "However, I doubt I’ll have any time to visit in the future, so I’ll be a rather neglectful Honored Guest Elder. My apologies for that."

With that, he gave Zi Yuwei a small smile, turned, and left without a moment’s hesitation.

The elder’s face went pale. ’This is basically a polite refusal. He’s never going to come back, so what’s the point of him being our Honored Guest Elder? It’s meaningless!’

"Purple Pavilion Master, quickly, go talk to him! Don’t you have a good relationship with him...?" the elder urged, his heart filled with anxiety.

"Elder, the fact that he even came back here to buy things was already a great courtesy to me," Zi Yuwei said. "Do you really think our Celestial Rain Tower is the only option in a place this vast? Sometimes, an opportunity missed is an opportunity lost forever. There’s no way to make up for it."

Zi Yuwei sighed deeply. This was precisely why she hadn’t asked him to stay. His willingness to even come here to make a purchase was a sign of immense respect. Otherwise, he would have never set foot in this place again.

The elder was sick with regret. That whole excuse about their "weak foundation" was just bullshit. If they had truly chosen to protect Yi Tianyun, it would have been perfectly fine.

At the very least, they could have sheltered him and kept him from immediate harm. But instead, they had immediately distanced themselves, offering no protection whatsoever. Was that how you treated an Honored Guest Elder?

Yi Tianyun might understand their reasoning, but it didn’t change the outcome: a close relationship was now impossible. If Zi Yuwei hadn’t disregarded her own safety to call out to him as he fled, he never would have returned. This visit was exactly what they suspected—a gesture of respect for Zi Yuwei. But that was all it would ever be.