The Arena Unveiled

"A hundred thousand spirit crystals?"

Old Bai stared at the price of Jelly Dew in disbelief.

Not because it was expensive, but because it was far too cheap!

For someone of his stature, while parting with a hundred thousand spirit crystals in one go was not painless, it was entirely manageable.

"Boss, I'm buying this Jelly Dew!" Old Bai declared with determination, taking a deep breath.

He placed a space ring brimming with spirit crystals in front of Luo Chuan.

Luo Chuan gave a slight nod, picking up the ring. Through his spiritual perception, he noted the crystals stacked inside, resembling small hills.

With a mere thought, the spirit crystals vanished into his storage space.

"Here, it's yours." Luo Chuan tossed the space ring back to Old Bai.

Unlike the previous compensation from the Heavenly Star Emperor, this spatial ring was Bai Lao's personal property. As the owner of Origin Mall, Luo Chuan wouldn't infringe on his customers' belongings.

Caught off guard, Old Bai fumbled to catch the ring. His expression was a mix of amusement and exasperation.

The ring, with its tens of cubic meters of space, was worth tens of thousands of spirit crystals. Old Bai had hoped to use it as a gesture to earn Luo Chuan's favor—a small price to gain the goodwill of a peerless master.

However, Luo Chuan's actions made it clear he couldn't be bought.

But this realization brought comfort. It meant the boss's integrity couldn't be swayed by others either.

Carefully securing the Jelly Dew, Old Bai decided not to consume it immediately. He wanted to prepare, ensuring his state of mind and surroundings were optimal before using it.

Later, Old Bai seated himself, donned his helmet, and followed Yao Ziyan's guidance to create a new account in the Tower of Trials.

As he entered, the hyper-realistic scenes, innovative weapons, and immersive combat experience left him utterly astonished.

Before long, he was deeply engrossed, exploring the virtual world with growing enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, Luo Chuan glanced at his now-bulging treasury and felt quite satisfied.

In just one day, including the fifty thousand spirit crystals from Ji Wuhui, he had earned over sixty thousand spirit crystals.

Of course, this figure was before splitting the earnings, but even so, the speed of income generation was enough to put 90% of merchants across Azure Continent to shame.

"System, can the spirit crystals I've earned on my own be converted directly into cultivation power?" Luo Chuan suddenly asked, recalling an important detail.

The system had once mentioned that spirit crystals from transactions could be converted into cultivation bases, but it hadn't clarified if this applied to crystals obtained through other means.

"No," the system replied tersely.

"I figured," Luo Chuan sighed inwardly, feeling a slight pang of disappointment.

If every spirit crystal could be converted into cultivation, opening a shop would hardly be the most efficient way to earn them.

Just as he was reflecting on this, the system's voice rang in his mind.

"Congratulations to the host for completing a hidden mission: reaching over ten players in the Tower of Trials!"

Luo Chuan froze for a moment. A hidden mission?

He hadn't expected such a thing to exist.

The disappointment in his heart vanished instantly, replaced by a spark of joy.

With an expression as calm as ever, he asked inwardly, "What's the reward?"

After all, task completion was meaningless without real benefits.

The system responded, "The Tower of Trials Arena mode will be unlocked tomorrow."

As the words registered, detailed information about the Arena Mode flooded Luo Chuan's mind.

A faint smile played on his lips. Something new was about to begin.