The next day, after logging in, Jiang Yuan began his daily golden core tasks as usual. Although a few hundred golden cores a day barely increased his cultivation, as the saying goes, "Every little bit helps." Plus, with his routine check-ins, Jiang Yuan could still earn nearly a thousand Taiji Golden Cores daily.
After finishing the daily golden core tasks, Jiang Yuan headed to the Criminal Investigation Department to clock in for work. Recently, the celestial realm had been peaceful, with no troublemakers, so Jiang Yuan had no cases to handle. He endured until noon, collected his reward of 300 Taiji Golden Cores, and left the department.
"What should I do now?"
Stepping out of the Criminal Investigation Department, Jiang Yuan wandered aimlessly across the celestial realm map, pondering what to do next.
"Oh, right, I still have quite a few Soul Pearls in my inventory. I should turn them in to level up my soul."
Jiang Yuan rummaged through his backpack and found over ten thousand Soul Pearls. He then mounted his flying sword and flew toward the Eternal Life Sect map.
About ten minutes later, Jiang Yuan arrived at the Eternal Life Sect, found the sect's trial envoy, handed over all the Soul Pearls in his backpack, and raised his soul level to 7.
After breaking through to the First-Tier Earth Immortal realm, Jiang Yuan's soul level could now reach up to level 10, but he still needed over twenty thousand Soul Pearls. With nothing else to do, Jiang Yuan roamed the celestial realm, hunting wild monsters that dropped Soul Pearls.
After wandering near the Eternal Life Sect map for a while, Jiang Yuan discovered a monster called "Brutal Ox." Killing it yielded 1 to 3 Soul Pearls each time.
"Blood Covenant Scroll, summon the power of the stars to manifest as the Black Tortoise, bound to my will."
"Blood Covenant Scroll, summon the power of the stars to manifest as the Vermilion Bird, bound to my will."
"Blood Covenant Scroll, summon the power of the stars to manifest as the White Tiger, bound to my will."
With a thought, Jiang Yuan summoned three sacred beasts. To his delight, after breaking through his realm, his celestial energy had become more robust, and he could now summon two of each sacred beast!
Seeing the two Black Tortoises, two Vermilion Birds, and two White Tigers surrounding him, Jiang Yuan felt very satisfied. He commanded them to start clearing the nearby "Brutal Ox" monsters.
After the six sacred beasts cleared a round, Jiang Yuan picked up forty to fifty Soul Pearls from the drops. The monsters respawned every three seconds, meaning in a minute, Jiang Yuan could clear twenty waves, netting him nearly a thousand Soul Pearls.
He farmed nonstop for over half an hour, collecting nearly thirty thousand Soul Pearls. He then flew back to the Eternal Life Sect on his sword, handed them over to the trial envoy, and finally raised his soul level to 10!
"Yuanzi, something's up. Where are you?"
Just then, Jiang Yuan received a private message from his best friend, Ding Ye, whose tone seemed a bit panicked.
"I'm at the sect's functional area, by the trial envoy. What's going on?" Jiang Yuan replied to Ding Ye, asking.
"Arrogant Dragon Emperor is searching the whole world for you. No idea why. Should you lay low?"
"Why should I hide? I haven't broken any laws."
Reading Ding Ye's second message, Jiang Yuan found it both amusing and baffling. Arrogant Dragon Emperor wasn't a cop, and he wasn't a criminal. He couldn't understand why Ding Ye suggested he hide.
"Where is Arrogant Dragon Emperor now? Do you know?" Jiang Yuan quickly asked Ding Ye.
"He's in our sect's living area, hanging out with Brother Dominating the World."
"Alright, I'm on my way!"
Mounting his flying sword, Jiang Yuan flew to the living area's eastern wing, quickly found Dominating the World's room, and politely knocked on the door.
"Creak!"
Soon, the door opened. Jiang Yuan immediately spotted Arrogant Dragon Emperor and his lackey, "One Blade Breaks All Laws," sitting in the living room.
"Brother Jiang Yuan, come in and sit down."
Dominating the World welcomed Jiang Yuan inside, led him to the living room, pulled up a stool for him, and then gestured toward Arrogant Dragon Emperor and One Blade Breaks All Laws. "I don't need to introduce Dragon Emperor and One Blade, do I? You've dealt with them plenty back in the mortal realm, haha!"
"Alright, what do you want from me today?"
Jiang Yuan nodded at Dominating the World, then turned to Arrogant Dragon Emperor, cutting straight to the chase.
"Jiang Yuan, today I was personally appointed by Emperor Gou Chen as the new North Star Lord."
Arrogant Dragon Emperor stood up, showing off his title and the exclusive North Star Lord outfit, speaking to Jiang Yuan.
Jiang Yuan was slightly surprised. He glanced at Arrogant Dragon Emperor's head, checking his info.
[Character Name: Arrogant Dragon Emperor] [Character Level]: 142 [Immortal Position]: North Star Lord [Immortal Pet]: None [Character Realm]: Ninth-Tier Loose Immortal ...
"Congratulations, Brother Dragon Emperor."
Jiang Yuan looked away from Arrogant Dragon Emperor's head, speaking flatly without any emotion. He had already vaguely guessed why Arrogant Dragon Emperor had come.
"Thanks. Actually, I came to ask for a favor. Of course, name your terms."
Sure enough, Arrogant Dragon Emperor got straight to the point, still speaking with that rich-kid tone.
"I know what you want. My answer is just two words: no deal."
When Jiang Yuan saw the [Immortal Pet] slot in Arrogant Dragon Emperor's info, he knew he was here to demand Bei Luo Shi Men. He decisively refused!
"Jiang Yuan, now that I'm the new North Star Lord, Bei Luo Shi Men, as the exclusive immortal pet of the North Star Lord, should rightfully be returned to me. I'll offer you satisfactory compensation."
Arrogant Dragon Emperor looked at Jiang Yuan with an expression that said, "I'm in the right; you're in the wrong."
"Bei Luo Shi Men is a living creature, not an object I can just hand over. It's been with me for so long; we've bonded. I won't give it away to anyone. Besides, Bei Luo Shi Men won't go with you."
Jiang Yuan shook his head again, refusing to hand over Bei Luo Shi Men to Arrogant Dragon Emperor.
"Jiang Yuan, my boss is being polite to you. I suggest you don't be ungrateful!"
At this point, One Blade Breaks All Laws couldn't hold back, pointing at Jiang Yuan's nose and shouting.
"I'm discussing things with your boss. Who do you think you are?"
Jiang Yuan shot One Blade Breaks All Laws a disdainful glance, speaking coolly, making it clear he had no place to interrupt.
"You son of a..."
One Blade Breaks All Laws immediately lost his temper, cursed, and was about to make a move.
"One Blade, don't be impulsive."
Arrogant Dragon Emperor grabbed One Blade Breaks All Laws, who was on the verge of exploding, and continued, "Bei Luo Shi Men is the key to activating the North Star Lord form. I've worked so hard to earn this position. I hope you'll give me this face."
"Wanting Bei Luo Shi Men? Not happening."
Jiang Yuan was unmoved, refusing Arrogant Dragon Emperor's request again.
"So, there's no room for negotiation?"
The muscles around Arrogant Dragon Emperor's mouth twitched slightly as he spoke to Jiang Yuan, seemingly struggling to suppress his inner rage.
"No negotiation. I'm out!"
Jiang Yuan's tone was resolute. With that, he turned and walked straight out of Dominating the World's room.