Chapter 17: The Privileges Ye Xuan Possesses, the Deity Who Values Contracts

The facts indeed bear this out.

For others, the benefits Su Mengyao mentioned about joining the Tian Shu Bureau might be appealing, but to Ye Xuan, they held no attraction whatsoever.

First, he was not short of money; though his parents had divorced and each formed new families, they had never neglected him financially—he received no less than a million per month as allowance.

If needed, he could obtain even more.

Second, because he was wealthy, housing allocation, medical insurance, and other such benefits meant nothing to him; as for family care, except during rare special periods, the wealthy generally lived well enough without Ye Xuan needing to worry.

The only thing that piqued his interest was the scientific academy’s research on Qi, and he looked forward to the possibility that Great Xia might one day develop a complete cultivation system for pill refining, artifact forging, and talisman crafting—but again, that was beside the point.

Possessing a system, he would never lack celestial treasures in the future; in other words, he could fish them up himself, without needing the state.

“If you’re unwilling to join the Tian Shu Bureau, you may instead choose to cooperate with us.”

“After cooperation, we will still provide you with basic benefits—housing allocation, medical insurance, even special care for your family—but funding must come from yourselves.”

“We will release tasks daily; you may accept and complete them to earn points, then exchange those points for items you desire from the Tian Shu Bureau.”

“Currently, there aren’t many items available for exchange—only some modern technological products—but more will certainly be added in the future.”

“Pills, magical artifacts, even cultivation techniques and Devil Fruits—these celestial treasures—may also be placed among them.”

On this front, Su Mengyao was quite confident.

After all, the speed at which a nation gathers celestial treasures differs vastly from that of an individual; they cannot obtain certain high-difficulty items, but for low-difficulty ones like Devil Fruits, they can still acquire them—though at a higher price.

Of Great Xia’s twenty-three Devil Fruit ability users, ten were members of their Tian Shu Bureau.

The price of Devil Fruits varies according to ability; excluding those that cannot be identified, the lowest price is one hundred million.

This is not cherry blossom currency—it is genuine Great Xia currency.

Even so, other departments frequently snatch them away, shamelessly disregarding the Tian Shu Bureau’s importance.

“Cooperation is acceptable.”

“But I will not surrender the corpses of mutated creatures, and I won’t take any points.”

“Is that acceptable?”

Ye Xuan had no interest in Su Mengyao’s grand promises, but he was very interested in mutated creatures.

Because someone online had claimed that the flesh of mutated creatures tasted excellent, and consuming it gave a distinct sensation of the body being nourished.

Currently, Qi concentration on Blue Star is low; even with the Wang Quan Baye template’s cultivation method, progress is slow.

If the flesh of mutated creatures could accelerate cultivation, he certainly would not let it go.

But Hangcheng is vast—no one knows where mutated creatures might appear; if the Tian Shu Bureau could provide locations, that would be ideal.

He could simply forgo the points—after all, they were useless to him anyway.

“.”

“Agreed.”

What could Su Mengyao say? Did Ye Xuan really hold their Tian Shu Bureau’s offerings in such low regard?

The flesh of mutated creatures does contain considerable Qi and can nourish the body to some extent; but since the Qi Tide has not yet begun, and Blue Star’s current Qi concentration is so low, the effect is minimal—why refuse points entirely?

After signing the contract, Su Mengyao exhaled in relief; at least now, Ye Xuan had some connection to their Tian Shu Bureau—her mission was accomplished.

Then, as if remembering something, she reminded Ye Xuan:

“Regarding school, you may choose whether to attend or not.”

“We do hope those with talent seize every opportunity to grow stronger, but we also understand the importance of knowledge.”

“Therefore, we leave the choice entirely to you.”

“As for university, you need not worry—any institution you wish to attend is open to you.”

“As a holder of a celestial role template, you have privileges in this regard.”

When the Qi Tide will arrive remains unknown; before it does, the Tian Shu Bureau hopes all qualified individuals strengthen themselves as much as possible, so they can protect themselves when it arrives—and helping nearby victims would be even better, though they do not require it.

But they also understand the importance of knowledge.

Whether it’s psychic abilities or celestial treasures, becoming stronger requires developing one’s capabilities, which demands not only creativity but also knowledge.

So they did not know how to decide—better to leave the choice to the individuals themselves.

But in Su Mengyao’s view, unless one had exceptional talent for learning, there was little point wasting time on formal education; as for ability development, they could simply ask the Tian Shu Bureau to hire relevant professors to design personalized training.

If they could not absorb the material, it would only waste time without strengthening them.

Even if they did learn, with average talent, they could never reach the level of the professors they hired.

If one merely valued diplomas, that was fine too.

They could arrange for appropriate schools to grant diplomas—after all, as psychic ability users, they were special in any institution, and no one would refuse them.

Especially after the Qi Tide.

“I understand.”

Ye Xuan nodded; he had already considered this the moment he acted.

Though it was a pity he had just made his presence known at school after gaining the system, he could no longer attend—yet forcing himself to attend classes, do homework, and take exams day after day? Over time, he might not want to either.

If he truly wished to learn, studying at home was just as good.

High school and university courses were plentiful online; if it was too troublesome, he could hire tutors to come to his home.

It was merely a matter of his choice.

Su Mengyao left with the contract; though both she and Ye Xuan knew the contract could not bind a powerful individual, this nation had a deity who valued contracts.

This was a good thing—for both Great Xia and Ye Xuan.

In the face of an impending chaotic future, maintaining stable order was extremely difficult—but thanks to Zhong Lao’s existence, Great Xia had solved it.

This was likely why Zhong Lao had been thrust into the public eye and nearly all information about him revealed.

Great Xia needed someone who could hold all psychic ability users and celestial treasure holders in check.

(End of Chapter)