Chapter 655: New Weekly Tasks
For the next thirty minutes, Lin Mo held her gaze as their conversation continued. They talked about all the little things, bridging the gap between what they knew of each other.
In one way or another, no matter how much he hoped that the Sword Fairy’s intention was different from the other women close to him, it became undeniable as she shifted closer.
The wet silk of her robe brushing against his arm and the sense of distance between them disappeared. It was neither the covert affection under the guise of business dealings of Yu Qingyan, the predatory claiming of Venom Master Xun, nor the comfortable, domestic reliance of Wu Meiyu.
What Jiang Jianxin showed was like a calculated strike of affection and gratitude, executed with the same flawless precision she used to sever illusions.
Although she was presenting herself as a sword he could rely on, a partner to walk the path was also implied.
And for Lin Mo, he had no idea when exactly her view of him changed. After all, there were only a few occasions that they interacted with each other. He did help her with resetting the Anchor they discovered but that shouldn’t be enough, right? What other deeds did he accomplish that made her attracted to him? He had no idea and perhaps, only Jiang Jianxin could answer that.
"I am not a complicated man, dear customer," Lin Mo finally said, deciding that honesty was still his most efficient policy. He relaxed slightly as his gaze dropped to her small lips, glistening slightly under the simulated starry sky. "My priorities are the store and ensuring this realm doesn’t get swallowed by the entities beyond those Anchors. Everything else... takes a backseat. As for personal attachments, I’m afraid I might not be as virtuous and saintly as many patrons think. I’ve already been entangled with not just one but multiple women. There might not be a tacit agreement between us but there had been mutual understanding."
After laying that out, Lin Mo started expecting that Jiang Jianxin would distance herself again. To his surprise, there wasn’t even a change in her expression. And with their current distance, the relieved smile that momentarily flashed on her face didn’t escape his notice.
"I am aware," Jiang Jianxin replied, her voice remaining serene. "A sword must have a purpose before it has a master. Your purpose is vast. I do not ask you to abandon it. I am simply stating that my path of the sword has aligned with your path of convenience. Where you direct your intent, my blade will follow. The rest... can wait until the sky is clear."
It was a profound concession. She wasn’t demanding a declaration of love but offering absolute solidarity. She’s letting him know that regardless of his decision, she’ll be there to support him.
At this, Lin Mo couldn’t pull back anymore. Just like the other three times, after his careful aversion at first, bold determination swelled in his chest.
He’s a man, there’s no way he’d keep being passive when the woman before him courageously expressed her intention despite being aware of his circumstances.
"Mhm. A highly favorable partnership," Lin Mo murmured, a genuine smile finally breaking his cautious facade. He turned his hand, lightly intertwining his fingers with hers beneath the warm, amber water. "I look forward to our continued cooperation, Jianxin."
"Un. Lin Mo. Jiang Jianxin’s eyes crinkled in a rare, breathtaking smile. The tension in the suite dissolved, replaced by a comfortable, quiet companionship that lasted until the artificial stars above them began to fade, signaling the approaching dawn.
—
[Weekly Tasks - 7 days left]
[Register New Viewing Jade Users: (0/50000)]
[Attract New Customers from outside the Eastern Abyssal Domain: (0/25000)]
[Hold a Celestial Duel Tournament: 0/1]
[Spread Convenience to all five regions of the Central Continent: (5/5 Completed)]
[Deploy Store Beacons in another region: (0/3)]
After almost a week of silence since the completion of the previous Weekly Tasks, Lin Mo found himself staring at that panel soon after escorting Jiang Jianxin out.
He completed the previous task during Day 22. And it took until now, Day 34, for it to refresh. And surprisingly enough, one of the five tasks listed was already completed.
"Is this in preparation for the tier up? After today’s operation, it’ll finally reach the requirements." Lin Mo mused as he glanced at another panel showing him the current progress of the store.
[Tier Progression: Renowned Store (95,323,022/100,000,000), Golden Card Patrons (1422/1000)]
The past six days netted the stores an average of eight million intermediate-grade spirit stones per day. The surge in revenue was contributed to by the Celestial Hot Spring and the new Distributors.
The hot spring proved itself to be a great source of income and with its increasing number of patrons who would specifically visit it every day, the store was positively affected. After all, those patrons wouldn’t just go home after relaxing in it. On top of the additional revenue for the shuttle hubs, they’d also take their time to shop in the store, play in the arcade, use the cultivation rooms or even bet on those competing in the Divine Arena.
As for the Distributors, Jin Cheng had been diligently restocking one every two days, allowing him to raise his Distribution Rank quite quickly. At the moment, apart from the territory of Violethaven Temple and its allies, where he explicitly banned trading due to the temple’s status of being banned, almost every major Cultivation Lands in the Western Sacred Lands had already caught the spread of ’convenience’.
In the Inner Abyssal Region, the Poison Demon Cult’s Venom Masters that the High Priest sent out had also started expanding their ’convenience outposts’ within the territory of other unorthodox factions within the region.
Unlike Jin Cheng’s methodical networking or Yu Qingyan’s diplomatic negotiations, the Venom Masters operated like aggressive pharmaceutical representatives in a plague zone.
They targeted the minor sects and independent villages struggling against the poor conditions of most areas in the Inner Abyssal Circle. They would arrive, offer a miraculous dose of [Fruity Healing Tablets] or [Five-Phase Harmonizing Tea], and watch as desperation morphed into absolute dependency.
Once the locals were hooked on the relief, the cultists would introduce the Viewing Jades, pulling these isolated factions directly into the store’s digital ecosystem.
It was an efficient and ruthless market penetration, but it was bloodless. In the context of the Inner Abyssal Circle, that was a miraculous improvement.
"Spread Convenience to all five regions of the Central Continent," Lin Mo read the completed task again, nodding slowly. East, West, North, South, and the Inner Abyssal Circle. His supply lines had officially touched every major sector of the known landmass. It was a satisfying milestone, validating the efforts they put into it for his first month in this realm.
But the mention of the Central Continent weighed on him... It seemed to say that there were more continents beyond the landmass where five known regions were located.
How large was this realm, exactly? But then again, he thought about all those novels that would always have absurd landmasses in every place they would introduce. And it seems the Realm of Nine Heavens wasn’t any different.
Since it was probably inevitable for him to also expand to the other lands in the current First Heaven before setting his sights on the Second Heaven, he should start inquiring about the state of those places. After all, anchors and towers will also appear there. If many Anchors ended up stabilizing, the invasion of the four Outer Realms would truly put them in a precarious situation.
Upon thinking of that, he decided to entrust that task to the Shadow Veil Clan.
After sending a message to the Clan Leader, he shifted his focus to the other pending tasks.
The requirements had scaled drastically. Fifty thousand new Viewing Jade users and twenty-five thousand external customers meant the system was pushing for total market saturation.
"The numbers are high, but manageable given the current momentum," Lin Mo analyzed. "But this... ’Hold a Celestial Duel Tournament’."
"Is the Divine Pantheon about to release an expansion? Or do they just want to see how the patrons are adapting to it since its introduction?"
The initial 500 daily stacks of the [Celestial Duel Bundle] had already tripled to 1500, allowing more reservations for those wanting to equip their disciples with it.
Furthermore, with the Red Lotus Academy offering the curriculum, even sect disciples would enroll for it, fostering the first generation of Celestial Duelists who are well-versed in both standard Celestial Duel and the Awakened Celestial Duel.
"But for this Celestial Duel Tournament... The standard one will ensure fairness, considering it’ll simply be like a game where the Celestial Duelist’s cultivation stage would have no effect in it. But every patron knew that the wonders of the Celestial Duel were the Awakened Celestial Duel, where they could deploy Celestial Field and fight alongside their summoned units."
He tapped his chin. The [Celestial Duel Arcade Zone] was consistently the loudest and most crowded section of the first floor. The patron-created ’Tier Lists’ and strategy guides dominating the Bulletin Board proved the demand was rabid. An official, store-sponsored tournament would not only confirm its success but also promote it further.
