Chapter 195: Platinum Box

"Who's knocking?"

Yan Jing looked at Shen Youran.

"Wrong door," Shen Youran snapped.

Yan Jing smiled. "They're certainly persistent, then."

Outside, the knocking continued—neither louder nor softer, maintaining the exact same rhythm.

Seeing Yan Jing's smile, Shen Youran's face fell. "Fine, it's Fan Jue."

"He actually tracked us down?" Yan Jing blinked. "Let him in."

"But your condition..."

"I'm fine. We're in Ling'an; it shouldn't be a problem."

"Oh..."

Shen Youran trudged lethargically to the door and pulled it open.

"Hello, Ms. Shen." Fan Jue stood there smiling, his eyes crinkled shut.

"I'm not well." Shen Youran looked utterly drained. "What do you want?"

"I have some business with Mr. Yan," Fan Jue replied, his smile unwavering.

"Hmph." Shen Youran sneered.

What had she said? What had she just said?

"Our Xiao Yanzi isn't feeling well," she said, planting her hands on her hips. "Are you really visiting empty-handed?"

"Mr. Yan is ill?" Fan Jue stared blankly for a second before patting his pockets. He genuinely hadn't anticipated this.

He had only rushed over because his contacts keeping watch at the Public Security Association reported detecting Yan Jing's communication signal.

"Well..." He paused for a moment before fishing out a bank card. "There's over a hundred thousand on this. Just a small token of my regard. As for a thank-you gift for Mr. Yan saving me last time, I've already prepared it. I'll have someone send it over shortly."

"Come in."

Shen Youran pocketed the card.

Fan Jue walked to the guest bedroom and looked at Yan Jing lying in bed. "Mr. Yan."

Yan Jing offered a warm smile. "Mr. Fan. A pleasure to meet you for the first time."

Seeing Yan Jing's pallid face, Fan Jue knew Shen Youran had been telling the truth.

"A pleasure to meet you for the first time, Mr. Yan." Fan Jue nodded. Since Yan Jing didn't want to admit to saving him, Fan Jue naturally wasn't foolish enough to pierce that veil.

"Mr. Yan, my main reason for visiting today is to make a friend," he said. "I have a friend named Xu Weizhou. He mentions you often."

"Mhm." Yan Jing nodded. "Thank you for looking out for Wei Zhou."

Yan Jing offered nothing more. Seeing the atmosphere threaten to sink into an awkward silence, Fan Jue hurriedly added, "I'd also like to invite you to the upcoming Surface and Inner Worlds Summit, Fifth Ring Domain chapter."

"What kind of summit is that?" Yan Jing asked.

Relieved to see Yan Jing's interest piqued, Fan Jue explained, "The connection between our Surface World and the Inner World is actually far deeper than the facade presented to the public. Because of this, the relationship between the two worlds has always been a key focus for Yueyin."

"Over the past decade, relations between the Surface and Inner Worlds have steadily deteriorated. Because of this, the higher-ups convene a summit every three years to discuss our next steps."

"And this year, the Fifth Ring Domain summit is being held in Rainbow City."

It was such official-sounding drivel that Yan Jing hadn't caught a single concrete detail.

But Yan Jing saw Shen Youran blink at him, so he nodded. "All right."

"That's wonderful." Fan Jue's eyes lit up. "I'll arrange for someone to pick you both up later."

"There's no need for the trouble," Yan Jing said with a smile. "Teacher Shen and I can make our own way there."

"Understood. I'll take my leave, then. I'll text you the time and location, Mr. Yan."

Fan Jue wasn't one to drag things out; he left promptly.

"Teacher Shen, is this summit important?" Yan Jing asked, looking at Shen Youran.

Shen Youran nodded. "Every Surface and Inner Worlds Summit is held for two purposes."

"First, to disclose recent developments in the Inner World. The fact that they chose a remote place like Rainbow City this time is likely due to the Super-Large Dungeon. They'll almost certainly reveal information about it."

"Second, to take a portion of the Yueyin Federation's reserve items and reward Players for outstanding performance."

She scoffed. "But honestly, it's rigged every time. The major factions made their backroom deals ages ago. It's just passing things from their left hand to their right."

"For the Third Rite, what's the highest-tier reward they've ever handed out?" Yan Jing asked.

"Black-purple," Shen Youran said.

It wasn't particularly high, then.

Yan Jing nodded. "Then let's just go see what they say about the Dungeon."

With his current personal value and raw strength—at least here in Ling'an—he no longer needed to keep his head down.

It worked out perfectly. His current mental state wasn't fit for entering the Inner World anytime soon anyway, so he might as well get out for a bit. He was also curious to see how the two worlds were viewed from the outside.

"Mhm." Shen Youran nodded.

"And what about that leaderboard you mentioned earlier, Teacher Shen?" Yan Jing asked, steering the conversation back.

"The Inner World System ranks Players who hold a Player Title to filter out the ones with potential," Shen Youran explained. "Xiao Yanzi, you remember the Hidden Moon Leaderboard, right? That list is actually just something the Player forums use to guess who has the potential to make the official Inner World rankings."

"If you check the System now, Xiao Yanzi, you should be able to see your own rank."

"The ranking isn't based purely on combat strength, so your rank shouldn't be low. Each region has a total of ten thousand people on the list. With your astounding performance, I'd guess you're around the five-thousand mark, maybe four thousand—"

"Thirty-seven."

"What?" Shen Youran felt as though her ears were acting up.

"Thirty-seventh place," Yan Jing said, his expression calm.

"..."

Shen Youran felt herself go numb.

A purple-quality Day Selection Ritual and a black-purple Calming Rite. Advancing to the Second Tier in only his third Dungeon. Possessing Third Tier combat strength while still at the Second Tier. Obtaining a Personal Title and entering the Player leaderboard at the Second Tier... and landing in thirty-seventh place, at that.

Thirty-seven... What did that even mean? This leaderboard encompassed every single Player in Yueyin. It included Venerables, marquises, and kings. It included peerless innate physiques, centuries-old monsters, and natives born directly into the Inner World...

It was absolutely staggering!

"Xiao Yanzi, who is ranked just ahead of you?" Shen Youran asked numbly. She could barely feel her own brain.

Every time she meticulously drafted a bunch of plans, they turned into wastepaper in less than a month.

"Someone named Ghost Slasher," Yan Jing replied.

"..."

Shen Youran took a deep breath. "That's a newly ascended marquis from the Fourth Ring Domain. He achieved the marquis rank at only fifty-three."

A marquis—a Sixth Tier powerhouse—was ranked just one spot above Yan Jing.

"And the one behind me?"

"Someone named Gentle Poet."

"..."

Shen Youran took another deep breath. "Ninth place on the Inner World Pathway wanted list, and the leader of one of the top three Inner World teams in the Fifth Ring Domain."

"He achieved Venerable rank at barely thirty years old."

A Venerable. A Fifth Tier powerhouse.

A thirty-year-old Venerable was even more terrifying than a fifty-three-year-old marquis.

"This list might be a bit inaccurate," Yan Jing said. Recalling something, he manifested a predominantly white box bordered with gold trim in his palm. "Teacher Shen, let's open the box."

If anything truly excited him after finishing a Dungeon, it was opening boxes.

Looking at the box on the table, Shen Youran rubbed her eyes, and then... rubbed them again, hard.

But the box remained exactly the same.

It was the Platinum Box she had mentioned last time—the kind obtained by someone from an ancient superpower during a Super-Large Dungeon.

She had tried to brace herself after Yan Jing told her about killing Wei Nantian, but she never imagined the results would be this absurd.

It meant the Fate of this Domain had veered in a completely different direction, all because of Yan Jing.

"I'll open the first one." Yan Jing pulled out the Peach Wood Charm Shen Youran had acquired for him and smiled. "This is the box Commander Wei traded his life for. I hope he didn't realize it in the end, so he could leave some luck for me."

"..."

Shen Youran pursed her lips.

Since Yan Jing had begun recounting the story, this was the umpteenth time he had mentioned Wei Nantian.

Knowing Yan Jing, she could tell that killing Wei Nantian hadn't brought him any peace of mind.

She ought to have told Yan Jing that the Inner World and the Surface World were, ultimately, two different worlds. For Players, it was fine to just treat the Inner World as a mere Dungeon.

But she couldn't bring herself to say it.

Because just moments ago, Yan Jing had been sitting on the bed looking at her. In the murky light filtering through the bed curtains, his usually smiling eyes had been incredibly clear.

"Teacher Shen, I actually thought about giving up at the time. The risk was too great."

"If he hadn't come over in the end, the others besieging Wei Nantian would have shifted their attention to me. If that had happened, the mission's rating might have been entirely different, and I could have even been in danger."

"But at that moment, I just inexplicably felt that he would definitely come."

"He would definitely come, because Wei Bufan was next to me."

"Even though I know perfectly well that if it were my father standing there, he definitely wouldn't have come."

"So why did I subconsciously feel that he would?"

"Why do you think that is, Teacher Shen? I just don't understand."

She hadn't answered that question at the time.

It was true. Why would someone who had never experienced a father's love believe that a man he had only known for seven days would brave any danger for his child?

She couldn't provide an answer.

Those eyes had been smiling, yet they looked so profoundly sad.

"Teacher Shen, I'm opening it."

Yan Jing opened the box. An aura of Chaos seeped out from within, revealing a number:

3

There were only three items in this box.

Yan Jing reached in and pulled out the first one.

In an instant, white light bathed the entire room.

White-quality? Shen Youran stared blankly. This was a Platinum Box; there was absolutely no way something like that should appear.

Finally, the blinding light faded.

In Yan Jing's hand rested a fist-sized, completely unadorned white stone.

But Yan Jing broke into a smile.

Because he had seen this before, and he possessed one himself.

A White Stone.