Chương 2: This Is Investment!

Gift-Offering Bonding System? The name alone felt off. The details about the system's target gift recipients, with its tenfold return and other such descriptions, seemed even stranger. Was it saying that if he gave Lin Ke'er a gift, the system would return ten times the value to him? Was this some kind of simp system? Ye Chen immediately accessed the system's full details. Soon, the system's description appeared before him.

"This system is the Gift-Offering Bonding System."

"As long as a suitable gift is given to the appropriate recipient, a return will be granted."

"The recipient must meet the following criteria: beauty over 90 points, physique over 90 points, must possess spiritual roots, be a cultivator, and be a maiden."

"Based on the recipient's specific qualities and cultivation level, the system will provide a different multiplier of gift return. …"

"The return may be a quantity increase or a quality improvement, determined by the system and based on the host's needs."

"Gifts cannot exceed the cultivation needs of the female cultivator. If the gift is deemed unsuitable, the system will reject the transaction and not provide any return."

"If the gift holds significant importance to the recipient and causes a strong emotional reaction, an additional reward may be granted."

"Only one gift return may be triggered per week." Upon reading this, Ye Chen was utterly confused. This system was quite something. Gifting items would result in a return, and if the gift was something the female cultivator desperately needed, there could even be an additional reward. Wasn't this just the path of cultivation for the ultimate simp? Even the system was trying to turn people into simps…. What the hell was going on in this world?

But with this system, Ye Chen realized that he might not need to give up on cultivation after all!

"Fellow Daoist Ye?" Lin Ke'er noticed that Ye Chen was staring at her face, lost in thought, instead of responding. She raised an eyebrow in slight confusion. In truth, Lin Ke'er had little regard for Ye Chen. His cultivation was weak, and although he had the backing of a small family, he was only at the third level of Qi Refining. But there was a crucial difference: Lin Ke'er was a loose cultivator.

Ye Chen had family resources, yet here he was, lagging behind in cultivation, which only meant one thing: His aptitude was poor, and he most likely possessed a low-grade spiritual root. The only thing Ye Chen could offer was his alchemy talent. But Lin Ke'er doubted even that. The pills he made were mostly low-grade Qi Gathering Pills, with not a single mid-grade one to his name. A cultivator like him had no future.

Unless he somehow earned a spot in the Qingyun Sect, he was destined to be just a passing figure in her life. He was certainly not the ideal Dao partner. However, Lin Ke'er didn't let any of these thoughts show on her face. After all, to her, Ye Chen still had some use. Even if his pills were of poor quality, they were still pills. Twenty low-grade Qi Gathering Pills were equivalent to a low-grade spirit stone. Her monthly salary barely amounted to three low-grade spirit stones.

So she simply smiled lightly, hoping to snap Ye Chen out of his daze. This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Ye Chen, hearing her voice, snapped back to reality. As he looked at Lin Ke'er, his gaze had completely changed. He hated being a simp. But what irked him even more was Lin Ke'er constantly taking without giving anything in return. A typical green tea attitude. However, if there was something to gain, and that too with a tenfold return. …

Whether she was a green tea type or not didn't matter anymore. As for gifting being a simp's behavior? Nonsense! If you gave gifts and received nothing in return, that was simping. But if you gave gifts and got a tenfold return, then it would be an investment. With this Gift-Offering Bonding System, the problems Ye Chen faced seemed easily solvable. So, Lin Ke'er was no longer the irritating green tea in his eyes. She was a shining, glittering gold mine.

Unless he encountered a female cultivator with a higher return multiplier, Lin Ke'er could have anything she wanted from him. The more precious, the better, since the more he gave, the more he stood to gain. In the path of cultivation, what mattered most was wealth, partners, skills, and land. With the System, he was certain to gain endless opportunities. Becoming an immortal and a patriarch would no longer be a distant dream. Ye Chen looked at Lin Ke'er with his smile wide and eyes gleaming.

"Why so modest, Fairy Lin? At such a young age, you've already cultivated to the third level of Qi Refining as a lone cultivator. Your talent is extraordinary, and your future is certainly promising. I've just come out of closed-door meditation and have managed to refine a batch of pills. These are for you." Ye Chen turned to head back to his room. The truth was, he didn't even own a storage bag. Lin Ke'er, hearing this, quickly waved her hands in polite refusal.

"Fellow Daoist Ye, there's no need. Those pills are your hard work, and you still need to hand them over to the shop. If I were to hinder your task, I would feel terrible…." Ye Chen couldn't help but sneer inwardly. She was already rejecting the offer, but her lips were curled up? Go on, why don't you refuse more resolutely? Did you want me to beg you to accept? How typical. But Ye Chen wanted exactly that from her. If she really felt bad about accepting them, things wouldn't be so easy for him.

So Ye Chen smiled and reassured her, "Fairy Lin, you're overthinking. The success rate of my Qi Gathering Pills is quite high, so I'll end up with more than I need. Taking a few won't affect my tasks." Upon hearing this, Lin Ke'er no longer refused. Her gaze softened as she lowered her head, a blush on her cheeks.

"Then, thank you, Fellow Daoist Ye! You're truly kind." You're the kind one, your whole family is kind. Ye Chen inwardly mocked, though his steps remained steady. He swiftly returned to his room, collecting the pill bottles his predecessor had crafted. There were two bottles containing only twenty pills in total. Ye Chen quickly calculated: If he gave all twenty at once, it would result in a return of at least two hundred pills. If he gave two hundred pills next week, he'd get two thousand in return.

With just Lin Ke'er alone, he could practically open a pill shop. He could even mimic the tactics of businesses in the modern world, engaging in low-price competition and driving all the other merchants in the Silvermoon Market to bankruptcy. The profits would be astronomical! But just as he grabbed the bottles, the system chimed in.

"Gift-giving of pill-type items: A maximum of ten pills per gift. Any excess will not be returned!" Ye Chen's dreams of becoming a business mogul ended before they could even begin. He pouted, but picked up a bottle and walked out.

"Fairy Lin, please accept this." Lin Ke'er's eyes sparkled with delight, though she still looked somewhat shy as she carefully accepted the gift.

"Your kindness is overwhelming, Fellow Daoist Ye. Thank you. Once I break through, I will surely repay you." Lin Ke'er lowered her head to glance at the bottle, her heart swelling with joy. There were exactly ten pills, even more than she had expected! Ye Chen smiled and nodded, but inwardly, he couldn't care less. Having lived two lives, he had never seen a green tea character who actually repaid simps. Well, maybe it wasn't entirely impossible. He'd heard of simps getting babies from their green tea "lovers."

But none of that mattered now. Because in his mind, the system's notification was already ringing clear and sweet….