Immortality Starts With Investment

Ye Chen had brought seven female cultivators to Heavenly Evolution Holy Land. Lu Jing, Lin Ke’er, Sun Ruoxin, Caidie, and Yun Qianyue had relatively poor aptitudes.

Though Ye Chen was sentimental and intended to nurture them, it would take time. For now, they remained at Ascension Peak as his maids. An Miaoli and An Yuyi, however, seamlessly became Holy Land disciples. Lin Qingtan and Li Feihuang also moved to the peak that same day. Lin Qingtan was Ascension Peak’s sole Deity Transformation elder.

As for Li Feihuang, Ye Chen felt indifferent—neither fondness nor dislike. He agreed to accept her as a disciple. While her personality wasn’t to his liking, her strength was undeniable. With an Earth Spiritual Root and Moon Phoenix Body, she was above average in the Holy Land and could secure a respectable ranking in the Holy Land’s quinquennial competition.

Mo Yuzhu, the newest addition, didn’t hold much of Ye Chen’s attention. He viewed her as a fallback option for gifting if no better candidates were available. Without prior bonds or history, her 300-fold multiplier was barely worth his notice.

…

A week passed since joining Ascension Peak. Mo Yuzhu remained anxious, half-expecting the half-volume immortal scripture to be a dream or a show, fearing the Holy Son might send someone to reclaim it. But her worries never materialized, solidifying her resolve to follow him loyally.

Early that morning, she arrived at the Holy Son Hall at the peak’s summit, bowing respectfully. ”Holy Son, today is the day Ascension Peak opens its gates to recruit disciples. Two hundred disciples have expressed their desire to join. Here is their list and aptitudes.”

Ye Chen emerged from the hall, glancing calmly at the list before nodding. At Ascension Peak, he focused solely on gifting and recruitment. The Holy Land’s resources? He didn’t care. No matter how generous the Holy Land was, could it compare to his system’s feedback? His approach was simple: quality over quantity.

With a grand wave, divine light shimmered as Ye Chen, accompanied by Mo Yuzhu, soared to a large plaza halfway up Ascension Peak. This was where the 200-plus Holy Land disciples hoping to join the peak had gathered, waiting eagerly. Among them were prodigies far surpassing Mo Yuzhu, brimming with confidence that the Holy Son would select and nurture them.

At the forefront stood a female cultivator with striking blue hair and a confident smile. Her Heavenly Spiritual Root and Merfolk Demon bloodline made her certain of catching the Holy Son’s eye. Behind her, several prodigies—male and female—stood in order of strength, equally self-assured.

In the Holy Land’s competitive environment, peaks relied on performance, like rankings in the quinquennial competition, to secure resources. These prodigies believed their voluntary pledges would guarantee acceptance.

After receiving their salutes, Ye Chen scanned the crowd, his brow furrowing slightly. His gaze settled on a white-robed female disciple at the early Golden Core stage. ”You may join Ascension Peak. I grant you this spiritual liquid—consume it to break through to mid-Golden Core.”

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With that, he presented a vial of Star Essence Water from his Star Pool. The female cultivator’s eyes widened with joy, and she bowed deeply. ”Thank you, Holy Son!”

The crowd erupted in murmurs. A spiritual liquid that could propel someone from early to late Golden Core was rare even in the Holy Land. Though not as valuable as the half-volume immortal scripture, it was still a top-tier resource, and the Holy Son had given it so casually? It was astonishing.

Her Heavenly Spiritual Root and 500-fold multiplier barely met Ye Chen’s standards. He continued scanning, ignoring the expectant prodigies at the front. His eyes landed on a blue-robed female disciple, also at the Golden Core stage, with a fuller figure.

”You’re already a perfected third-grade array master?” he asked.

Suppressing her excitement, she nodded eagerly. Despite her Earth Spiritual Root, lack of physique, and mere 200-fold multiplier, Ye Chen nodded approvingly. ”You may join Ascension Peak. This contains insights from a fourth-grade array master, obtained from Elder Wu of Array Peak. May you soon break through to fourth grade.”

He tossed her a jade slip. The blue-robed disciple caught it clumsily, overwhelmed with joy. Fourth-grade array master insights were typically reserved for direct disciples of elders. For the Holy Son to gift it so freely? She bowed deeply, her voice trembling. ”Disciple thanks the Holy Son for this gift!”

Ye Chen nodded, pleased by the system’s notification. His own third-grade array mastery had advanced to fourth grade upon gifting the insights. The past week hadn’t been idle—Ye Chen had visited other peaks, leveraging his Holy Son status and gifts to request insights.

The Holy Land’s wealth of talent meant no one refused him. In just a week, he’d collected fourth-grade insights for all six cultivation arts and was close to securing fifth-grade ones. With a bit more gifting, his mastery would soar.

This reinforced his appreciation for the Holy Land’s advantages: abundant talent and resources. With his status and spirit stones, he could acquire treasures unattainable in Divine Will City. It was the perfect place for him.

Scanning the crowd again, Ye Chen selected two more female disciples. Both had modest 200-fold multipliers, but one was a perfected third-grade refiner, the other a perfected third-grade alchemist. Though he didn’t gift them anything, the two were overjoyed, bowing on the spot.

…

As for the others, especially the prodigies at the front, Ye Chen had no intention of accepting them. The men were irrelevant, and the women didn’t trigger his system—utterly useless to him. With a wave, he declared, ”This recruitment is over. Please leave.”

The remaining disciples erupted in shock, especially the leading prodigies, who couldn’t accept their rejection. Though they didn’t voice it, resentment simmered within. They felt humiliated, convinced the fourth Holy Son was being reckless.

The four chosen disciples were all women, the best among them merely possessing a Heavenly Spiritual Root. Win a ranking in the Holy Land competition? Fat chance. Worse, all four were strikingly beautiful. This wasn’t disciple selection—it looked like he was building a harem!

Was the fourth Holy Son giving up, neglecting Ascension Peak’s development to turn it into his personal pleasure palace? If so, Ascension Peak would undoubtedly become Heavenly Evolution Holy Land’s most pathetic peak, bar none.

As the rejected disciples left, grumbling, rumors about Ye Chen spread rapidly through the Holy Land. Many cautious female disciples, who’d planned to wait a year before deciding, felt a pang of regret upon hearing the gossip. To think their dashing, elegant fourth Holy Son was that kind of person! Had they known, they would’ve flocked to Ascension Peak today.