"Vice Leader, please don't be so formal. Just call me by my name. I can't handle being addressed as 'Sir.'" Qian Ran sat down across from Feng Ling.
Feng Ling was not the kind of woman to be underestimated.
Even talents like Cai Mei'er and Xian Lin'er, powerful as they were, paled in comparison to Feng Ling.
"A master is one who surpasses others. While the world is full of strong individuals, people like you, Qian Ran, are exceedingly rare," Feng Ling said with a smile. To her, Qian Ran himself was like a treasure trove.
Ignoring everything else, she had investigated Qian Ran's background at the Sun and Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, where he had wasted medicinal pills worth astronomical sums.
Many of the resources Qian Ran possessed were things even the Holy Spirit Sect lacked.
As Feng Ling spoke, she prepared a drink and handed it to Qian Ran.
"Try my handiwork."
"Not bad." Qian Ran took a sip and glanced at Feng Ling.
Feng Ling was undeniably a stunning beauty, with a charm that was both captivating and full of contradictions. For some reason, the thought of her in a schoolgirl outfit occasionally popped into Qian Ran's mind—a peculiar notion he couldn't quite explain.
What would it look like if leaders like Ye Xishui or Feng Ling, who headed the evil soul masters, donned blue-and-white striped undergarments and school uniforms?
Qian Ran didn't understand why he had such bizarre preferences, particularly a liking for mature, accomplished women dressing youthfully.
Perhaps it was his pursuit of extreme contrasts.
However, Qian Ran wasn't in the mood for such musings now. This was his first meeting with Feng Ling, and he didn't want to expose his inner wolfish nature. Besides, he had just acquired the Sands of Time Bell, a powerful divine artifact, and he was eager to explore its capabilities.
Although Qian Ran had obtained several divine artifacts through the system, most of them were beyond his ability to wield effectively due to his current level of strength.
The only ones he could fully utilize were the Sumeru Ring, a spatial divine ring, and the Sands of Time Bell.
Qian Ran had just read up on the Sands of Time Bell. It only consumed energy from the small world contained within it and didn't burden Qian Ran himself.
Still, its actual effects required hands-on experimentation.
"Vice Leader, what business do you have with me?" Qian Ran asked directly.
"I'd like to purchase two pills from you—specifically, the ones the Grand Leader used to maintain eternal youth," Feng Ling said, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.
For men, such things might seem less important, but for women, these pills were treasures of immeasurable value.
Every beautiful woman dreads the day she might become an old crone.
"I'm willing to offer one-fifth of the annual revenue of the Xishui Alliance in exchange for these two pills," Feng Ling added.
"Miss Feng Ling, are you sure you didn't misspeak?" Qian Ran was startled.
The Xishui Alliance was one of the top three underground powers in Mingdu, and with the Holy Spirit Sect as its backing, it was virtually unstoppable. In the prosperous city of Mingdu, the Xishui Alliance amassed immense wealth.
In fact, much of the Holy Spirit Sect's expenses were funded by the Xishui Alliance.
For Feng Ling to offer a fifth of its annual revenue to Qian Ran seemed almost too good to be true.
Even just one-fifth of that revenue surpassed the combined wealth of someone like Zhongli Wu.
The Xishui Alliance was indeed lucrative, but much of its earnings were reinvested into sect development. Feng Ling herself wasn't particularly attached to worldly riches.
"No mistake. As long as you're interested in the Xishui Alliance, that's all that matters," Feng Ling said. As its leader, she could make such a decision without issue. The alliance itself was built under Ye Xishui's guidance, so she wouldn't object either.
"I have no objections. Here are the pills you wanted," Qian Ran said, handing over a bottle of pills to Feng Ling.
Qian Ran understood that Feng Ling's generosity was her way of fostering a connection with him.
For Qian Ran, refusing such a windfall would be foolish. With so many women to care for, he always had a need for more resources.
Feng Ling accepted the bottle, opened the cap, and inhaled the fragrant aroma of the pills. Immediately, she felt a sense of refreshing clarity.
Thrilled with her prize, she was eager to try the pills. Qian Ran, however, was focused on testing the Sands of Time Bell. After finishing his drink, he excused himself and left.
"Have I lost my charm?" Feng Ling thought, feeling dejected as Qian Ran left so quickly.
Qian Ran had been much more forward with Xue Lingxun.
Why hadn't he used the same flirtatious tactics on her?
She couldn't help but feel her allure was fading, which was a greater blow than any setback in cultivation.
Anyone familiar with women's fiction would know that while a heroine could assume any role—even becoming a man's subordinate—she must always be beautiful.
This thought made Feng Ling treasure the pills even more.
If Ye Xishui could maintain her looks, why couldn't she?
Surely, she was just as beautiful, if not more so.
Unbeknownst to Feng Ling, Qian Ran's casual actions had sparked a whirlwind of thoughts in her mind.
Returning to his quarters with Xue Lingxun, Qian Ran entrusted her to Juzi before entering the Sumeru Ring.
Taking out the Sands of Time Bell, he immediately sensed the dense flow of heaven and earth energy converging upon it. This divine artifact evidently relied on the world's energy to operate.
"About threefold," came a mental message from the bell.
While threefold might not sound like much, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well could already increase the growth rate of plant-based soul beasts tenfold. With the bell's effect, that became thirtyfold.
Moreover, this time distortion didn't just benefit plant-based soul beasts; it also affected soul masters.
Training for three years here would be equivalent to nine years outside.
It was, without a doubt, an extraordinary advantage.
However, this wasn't the bell's ultimate capability—it was the limit of the Sumeru Ring's small world. Despite its abundance, the world's energy wasn't infinite.
If all of the world's energy were funneled into the bell, the time acceleration effect could grow even more intense. But this would come at the cost of diminished cultivation gains, as ample energy was still required for meaningful progress.
"Qian Ran, what have you brought this time? I can sense the difference in this place," Xuedi and Bingdi approached Qian Ran, frowning slightly.
Though the accelerated time wasn't immediately apparent to them without a point of comparison, Xuedi's cultivation allowed her to perceive the subtle changes in the world's rules.
"There, take a look," Qian Ran said, pointing toward the Sands of Time Bell.
(Chapter End)