First Income.

Without hesitation, he packed everything into his spatial pouch and left the refining room, full of excitement and anticipation.

He was eager to sell his creation immediately but had no idea who would be interested in such crudely made items. Apart from that, he didn't have any friends in the sect.

"Senior Brother, you're leaving already?" The girl behind the counter asked in shock.

Mao Jin looked at the girl and nodded. "Do you know any disciple rich enough to buy something from me?" he asked.

"Hmm!" The girl was confused for a moment but nodded.

She didn't know what the sect master's son wanted to sell, but she had a disciple in mind.

"Senior Brother, I have someone in mind. Please wait a moment, I'll send for him."

"Thank you."

Ten minutes later, a fat boy walked toward the refining hall with confidence and pride. He glanced at Mao Jin once before completely ignoring him.

"Senior Sister, I heard you have a business deal for me," Zhao Tian said with a bright smile.

"Yes, the sect master's son wants to sell something. Go and ask him about it."

"Really?!" He turned and looked at Mao Jin, flashing a smile.

"Senior Brother, what do you want to sell? If I like it, I'll buy it." Zhao Tian announced confidently.

"Good, follow me," Mao Jin said and led them to a secluded area.

"Senior Brother, where are we going?" Zhao Tian asked, already losing interest in whatever Mao Jin wanted to sell.

As the son of a supreme elder, he loved to show off and enjoyed buying extravagant things to display his wealth.

Now that they needed to hide like criminals just to make a deal, he figured the item couldn't be anything worthwhile.

Unaware of Zhao Tian's thoughts, Mao Jin brought out his creation and showed it to him.

"What are these…?" Zhao Tian frowned. It was the first time he had seen something like this.

With his experience, he could tell the items were crudely made but chose not to comment on it as he looked at Mao Jin.

"These are my new inventions. With them, you can talk to four of your friends anywhere in the sect," Mao Jin explained calmly, pointing at the palm-sized jades.

"I call them Spirit Links. You activate them by channeling your spiritual energy and mentioning the name of the person you want to contact. It will then link directly to that person."

"As for this…" He pointed at the conical device. "This is the Spirit Relay Hub. It connects all the Spirit Links and only requires a single low-grade spirit stone to function."

Zhao Tian stared at Mao Jin with wide eyes. "These are like voice transmission talismans," he remarked.

"Yes and no. Voice transmission talismans can only communicate for a limited time and with only one person at a time, but this allows five people to communicate simultaneously—and it has no time limit."

"Really?"

"Yes. If you don't believe me, you can try it."

Seeing the confident expression on Mao Jin's face, Zhao Tian couldn't help but waver.

Could it be true?

Everyone knew Mao Jin was trash, so how could he possibly create something like this?

Although skeptical, the idea of talking to four of his friends anywhere in the sect was too tempting to ignore.

Quickly, Zhao Tian rushed to call four of his closest friends. When the four arrived and saw Mao Jin, they were confused. Still, they paid their respects and stood beside Zhao Tian.

"Senior Brother…" Zhao Tian called, his voice laced with anticipation.

Mao Jin nodded and explained how to use the Spirit Link. Within five minutes, everyone understood how to use the device for communication.

"Zhao Tian, are you sure this thing is going to work?" one of his friends doubted.

"We're about to find out. Everyone should go to a separate location. Go as far as possible."

Quickly, the four disciples departed, filled with doubt. After waiting for ten minutes, Zhao Tian looked at Mao Jin and decided to make the first call.

Unbeknownst to them, this moment would change the future of their sect—and the world—forever.

Sending his spiritual energy into the palm-sized jade, Zhao Tian watched as the jade glowed. He was shocked but reacted quickly.

"Call Green Snake," he said softly.

Instantly, the jade vibrated, and after a second, he heard his friend's voice.

"Boss, is that you?!" Green Snake shouted, his voice filled with amazement.

"Y-Yes… Can you hear me? Where are you?" Zhao Tian could hardly believe what was happening.

A mere jade could allow them to talk to one another as if they were standing face-to-face.

"I'm at the sect gate. I can hear you clearly as if you're right in front of me!"

"Sect gate?!" Zhao Tian swallowed the lump in his throat, excitement surging through him.

"Good, good! Stay there. Let me call the others." He ended the call and quickly contacted the other three.

To his disbelief, everything worked smoothly and perfectly.

"What do you think?" Mao Jin asked, his face brimming with pride.

"Magical!" Zhao Tian shouted. He had bought many things in his life, but this was the greatest of them all.

"How much are you selling them for? Even if they cost a thousand spirit stones—no, ten thousand spirit stones, I'll buy them!"

Mao Jin's pride shot through the roof, but he tried to remain as calm as possible. "Because you're my first buyer, I'll give you a discount. Five hundred spirit stones."

"Ah! Thank you. From today onward, I, Zhao Tian, acknowledge you as my Senior Brother," he announced solemnly.

He handed Mao Jin the five hundred spirit stones before eagerly carrying the Spirit Relay Hub away, unable to wait to show off his new gadget to the world.

For Mao Jin, the moment he received the five hundred spirit stones, a notification appeared in his mind.

[Congratulations on your first income. Your journey to greatness has begun.]

[You have earned 100 influence points.]

[System unlocked.]