Chapter 31: The Value of a Yellow-Purple Day Selection Ritual

"Th-this, what is this..."

Shen Youran wondered if she was stuck in a dream. She pinched her thigh hard. A sharp pain flared, but the streak of purple amid the yellow light before her eyes remained.

What followed was a long, stunned silence.

As if frozen, she stared blankly at the tree shadow behind Yan Jing.

She only snapped out of her trance when Yan Jing waved a hand in front of her face. She grabbed his arm, her gaze suddenly sharp.

"Speak! Do you have some ulterior motive for approaching me?!"

"What motive?"

Yan Jing was a little bewildered.

"Like wanting my body, or coveting our Shen family's fortune! I know it! You definitely want to take advantage of my vulnerability. You'll wait until I pour everything I have into you, then you'll marry me, seize the Shen family estate, and get both the girl and the money!"

Shen Youran crossed her arms, muttering to herself with absolute conviction.

Yan Jing looked helplessly at the slightly unhinged woman.

"Wake up. It's still broad daylight out."

Shen Youran paused, then looked up and asked blankly, "Do you have any idea what a yellow-purple Day Selection Ritual means?"

"I probably... have some idea."

Yan Jing was a bit uncertain.

Based on what he had seen on the player forums, anyone who reached the Third Tier was considered part of the absolute apex in Ling'an City.

Among them, the majority had a ritual ratio of green, green, and yellow.

In a mid-to-lower tier city like Ling'an, a green-yellow-yellow ratio would make you a peerless existence within those major factions, capable of summoning the wind and rain.

Because of that, he had used the properties of the Fear Tree to disguise his Day Selection Ritual as yellow-purple.

Unfortunately, he could only lower its quality by half a tier at most.

Judging by Shen Youran's reaction, it was still too high.

"You don't know shit!"

Unexpectedly, Shen Youran cursed right in his face.

She pointed out the window at the sky, highly agitated.

"Under the sky of Yueyin, across the hundred-plus cities of the Fifth Ring Domain, out of all the young talents under thirty in every faction, there are absolutely no more than four thousand people with a yellow Day Selection Ritual!"

"But do you know how many have a yellow-purple Day Selection Ritual? I guarantee you, there are no more than fifty!"

Yan Jing looked thoughtful.

"That's still quite a few."

"You don't know a damn thing!"

Seeing his reaction, Shen Youran grabbed him by the collar in exasperation and roared, "Do you know how big the Fifth Ring Domain is? Ling'an City isn't even a pinky finger by comparison. Among all those factions, there are colossal giants that even the Third Ring Domain would fear."

"And even so, they have to pay a massive price just for a chance to obtain a yellow-purple Day Selection Ritual. The cost-to-benefit ratio is pitifully low. It requires the perfect alignment of time, place, and people!"

"For the Day Selection Ritual stage, purple is the absolute peak! The gap between yellow-purple and yellow is bigger than the gap between green and white!"

"Even though the purple halo in your Day Selection Ritual is faint, if you went out right now and told people you had a yellow-purple quality, more than half the factions in the Fifth Ring Domain would send people to Ling'an City. Do you understand now?!"

Yan Jing nodded calmly.

"I understand."

Seeing his calm demeanor, Shen Youran suddenly lost the energy to even be angry.

She looked into Yan Jing's eyes, her voice sounding especially weak after all her roaring.

"So why did you choose me?"

"Because, of course..."

Of course, it's because of that treasure you have on you.

Furthermore, compared to those major factions, the restrictions and risks here are pitifully low. I can run away at any time, making this a perfect stepping stone.

"Because I trust you, of course."

Yan Jing placed his hands on Shen Youran's shoulders, his eyes sincere.

"When I learned that you and the player you invested in heavily crippled the Mu Family a few years ago, you became my top choice. Now that you have experience, I think you'll definitely do even better this time."

Hearing his words, Shen Youran's fox-like eyes went blank again, though only for a moment.

"Give me a break."

Shen Youran rolled her eyes. "Are you really trying to coax me like I'm a newborn?"

Yan Jing wasn't surprised that his first tactic had failed. He sighed softly and changed his approach.

"You just said that if I exposed my ritual to the outside world, over half the factions in the Fifth Ring Domain would come to Ling'an. Is that right?"

He paused and smiled faintly.

"But I can only join one of them, right?"

Shen Youran fell silent.

After a long time, she sighed.

"You're very smart, Xiao Yanzi."

Yes, over half the factions in the Fifth Ring Domain would come to Ling'an, but there was no telling how many would come to recruit him and how many would come to destroy him.

In the eye of a raging storm, even a fledgling phoenix couldn't protect its tender feathers and would often simply lose its life. History was full of such tragedies.

And Shen Youran, hailing from the Third Ring Domain, understood this better than anyone.

Because once, she too had a Heavenly Prodigy with a yellow-purple Day Selection Ritual by her side.

A second later, she sprang to her feet, stomping on a trash bag as if injected with adrenaline.

"Alright! Since things have already reached this point, and you trust me so much, Xiao Yanzi, let's do this! We'll give it our all!"

Persuasion successful.

Yan Jing was about to ask a few more questions when he realized the fired-up Shen Youran wasn't just talking. Her sharp gaze swept over him.

"What are your plans for the afternoon?"

"I was originally going to give something to a friend, but it looks like those plans might have to change."

Yan Jing said, "If you could get news of me in my first Dungeon, others probably can too."

"Exactly, very vigilant!" Shen Youran nodded approvingly.

"Give me the item, Xiao Yanzi. I'll deliver it for you."

"Hurry home and memorize the files. Time is tight. Those guys outside should get the news about an hour after I did, so you still have time if you leave now."

"Okay."

Yan Jing brought out the yellow-green quality Pillow and handed it to Shen Youran.

"Give this to Xu Weizhou. You know Xu Weizhou, right?"

Shen Youran stared at the Pillow, an item that would cause violent fights on the outside. She was silent for a few seconds before looking up.

"He has something on you, doesn't he?"

Listening to her tone, Yan Jing actually detected a hint of killing intent.

This woman...

"He's a friend of mine. He did me a favor."

Yan Jing's expression was perfectly natural.

Shen Youran gave him a strange look but ultimately accepted the Pillow. She then asked, "Do you plan on selling that Badge? I have connections. Also, leave me your contact info."

"I was just planning to sell it."

Yan Jing guessed what Shen Youran intended, and it aligned with his own thoughts.

Once the Pillow and the Badge appeared in the outside world, outsiders would assume he no longer had any yellow-quality items on him.

They would assume he had definitely used the head for his Day Selection Ritual.

After he handed over the Badge and his contact info, Shen Youran pushed him right out the door.

"Go, go! I need to draw up a detailed schedule. I don't have time to chat, Xiao Yanzi. Unless it's absolutely necessary, don't contact me before tonight!"

Bang!

Yan Jing looked at the closed door and rubbed his nose.

This woman was even more frantic and fired-up than he'd imagined.

Chuckling softly, he turned and left. He would be entering the Inner World again tomorrow, so he needed to quickly review the files.

On the other side of the door.

Under the dim light.

With Yan Jing gone, the cramped room returned to its usual lonely, dead silence.

Shen Youran stared at the Badge and the Pillow on the table, feeling as if she were still stuck in a dream.

An hour ago, she had been fighting alone, desperately searching for an opportunity for revenge, without a single sliver of hope in sight.

And now, everything had changed.

She didn't know when it had started, but she had actually begun to accept the reality that she was doomed to fail.

She knew exactly what kind of colossal giant she was up against, and she understood just how hopeless her fate was.

The only reason she buried her head in searching for new players to invest in every day was to put on a show—to make herself look like she was trying, to numb herself.

She had walked the path of revenge alone for far too long, and her strength was nearly depleted.

But right at that moment, an unexpected windfall had dropped right into her lap.

Even if that windfall was a little too hot to handle.

She was a starving lone traveler forced to gnaw on wild grass to fill her stomach, so no matter what, she would hold onto it tightly.

If anyone tried to snatch it away, she would use every last ounce of her strength to bite their throat out!

Wiping her face with both hands, she sobered up and rolled up her sleeves. She moved the trash bags aside one by one, revealing a door hidden in the corner.

Opening it revealed a clean, tidy bathroom. Various cosmetics crowded the small sink.

Hiss—

Before long, white steam billowed out, blanketing the bathroom like thin gauze.

Shen Youran undid her hair tie, letting her hair fall free to soak under the running water.

The mirror was nearby. The steam obscured most of it, but she could vaguely see her pale face without her glasses. Stripped to her true appearance—with her faint eyebrows, thin lips, and bewitching eyes—she truly looked like a fox.

"Youran, if I reach the Summit one day, my title will be Zhou, and you will be my Daji."

In her memories, the figure that always descended upon her mind alongside the night emerged.

Bathed in sunlight, his well-proportioned silhouette was outlined as he spoke those youthful, ignorant, laughable words. His face had long since blurred into obscurity.

So how exactly did Xiao Yanzi pull it off?

Shen Youran couldn't help but wonder again.

Back then, she and the man in her memories had nearly died in a Dungeon, exhausting the entire foundation her father had left behind, just to secure a yellow-purple Day Selection Ritual.

That man had used it as his capital to rise step by step, and now he had gone somewhere very, very far away.

Yet Yan Jing somehow possessed a yellow-purple Day Selection Ritual all on his own.

It was utterly baffling.

Judging by his expression, he probably still didn't understand the terrifying foundation a yellow-purple Day Selection Ritual laid, or what kind of path to the Summit it would pave.

"Since you chose me, I will..."

The sentimental murmur faded away amidst the suds and steam.

She had sworn in her dreams long ago: whoever could pull her out of the darkness, she would push them onto the throne of this world, even if it cost her life.

Drip, drop...

The sound of the shower stopped.

Next came tracing her eyebrows, painting her lips, and applying makeup.

Her faint eyebrows were surprisingly suited for makeup, and her thin lips gradually looked fuller. When the steam dissipated, the woman in the mirror looked like a completely different person. She was breathtakingly radiant, her gaze bewitching.

After quickly cleaning up, Shen Youran placed the Pillow and the Badge into her Inventory, then stepped out the door in twelve-centimeter heels.

Right now, outside her door, the entire Investor building was caught up in noisy discussions.

The subject of their discussions was naturally just one person: Yan Jing.

Watching the crowd frantically investigating Yan Jing's whereabouts, the corners of Shen Youran's mouth curled up.

Sorry, but the man is already mine.

And he's far more well-endowed and capable than you could ever imagine.

Stepping out of the building, she found that her reserved car was still a few minutes away.

As she was mapping out her next steps in her head, an argument between two women nearby caught her attention.

If she remembered correctly, one of the women was Gu Qingqing, a rising star currently being promoted by the neighboring Star Orbit Investment Bank, and the other was her best friend, Zhou Mei.

They were arguing fiercely. The ice cream in Gu Qingqing's hand had fallen to the ground.

Shen Youran listened closely and faintly heard Yan Jing's name.

Hah, another one coveting her man.

She ignored them. When her car arrived, she got straight in and left.

...

For the entire afternoon, Yan Jing memorized documents until his head throbbed.

"This won't do."

Yan Jing put down the documents and rubbed his temples.

The Day Selection Ritual had indeed comprehensively enhanced his physical attributes, including his mental fortitude, and the boost to the latter was not insignificant.

But memorizing all the material in a single afternoon was still somewhat difficult.

He couldn't spend three days memorizing these things because he had to dedicate most of his time to entering the Inner World and figuring out how to get into the Sun-Swallowing Tower as the Cameraman.

There were only thirteen days left before the Dungeon began.

"Right... maybe I can do it this way."

He took out his phone, which he hadn't checked at all, and saw several messages from Shen Youran.

[I met the guy.]

[But the kid refused to take the item.]

[He's decent enough, got some spirit, but he's not suited to be a teammate in a Dungeon.]

[His lack of talent is a fatal flaw, and he isn't exactly quick-witted either.]

[Xiao Yanzi, if you really treat him as a friend, you should convince him not to enter the Inner World again.]

[We both know full well the Inner World isn't a place he belongs. Chasing unrealistic dreams will likely get him killed. Using an item like a Dungeon Extension Scroll to stay alive is his best option.]

[Also, I heard Lin Mian and An Ranran both died in the Dungeon.]

[That should show you just how dangerous the Inner World is!!]

[Please memorize the files well!]

[The training schedule begins in five days. Contact me if you need anything, anytime.]

Yan Jing read the messages with a neutral expression.

He wasn't sure if staying out of Dungeons would be better for Xu Weizhou, but he knew this friend of his—with whom he shared a gentleman's friendship—had always been looking for an opportunity.

Being able to lend a hand right when a friend needed an opportunity was a kind of blessing.

Since Xu Weizhou didn't accept the item, he likely had his own considerations.

He sent a few replies to Shen Youran, then shifted his gaze downward to the contact requests sent by his second brother.

[Jingzi, Mom and Dad miss you a bit and want you to come home for a meal. Where are you? I'll come find you.]

[Jingzi, why aren't you answering? Your second brother misses you too.]

[Jingzi, don't think you can break away from the family. We share a bloodline connection, it's not something you can just sever.]

[...]

Dozens of verification messages had come in a row, and Yan Jing simply didn't have the patience to read through them all.

He stood up, packed a few clothes into a bag, grabbed his computer, and walked out the door.

Given the Yan Family's influence in Ling'an City, finding their own child wouldn't be difficult.

He had to enter the Inner World tomorrow, so he couldn't stay here for the time being.

Relying on his memory, he found an unregistered hotel nearby that didn't require ID. Within twenty minutes, he had checked in with his bag.

He spent the evening memorizing the files for a while longer, then slept through until dawn.

Opening his eyes, he washed up quickly.

[Historical Archive]

[Yi Ji]

[Entering the Inner World]

It was the familiar, sparse room. Sunlight, devoid of much warmth, filtered through the drawn curtains.

In the mirror was a head crowned with a camera.

Yan Jing inspected himself in the mirror for a moment and nodded.

"Excellent. Looking very energetic."