Swallowing the Stars: 100x Return for Teaching Apprentices

Chapter 95 The Tower of Fate

Red Leaf Star.

Not long ago, this was just an ordinary planet that had no presence in any star system, but recently it has been faintly showing signs of becoming the core of the entire Blue Bay Starfield.

In the outer space of Red Leaf Star, spaceships flocked together, including some extremely expensive D-class and E-class spaceships.

In various cities of Red Leaf Star, a large number of unfamiliar faces suddenly appeared.

Fortunately, the construction standards implemented during the initial transformation of Red Leaf Star were extremely high.

Those newly built, enormous cities could easily accommodate billions of people!

And there are no fewer than ten such cities on the entire Red Leaf Star!
In 'Red Leaf City', the largest city on Red Leaf Star.

More than ten young men and women strolled casually along the wide streets of Red Leaf City.

"This Red Leaf City is built to a very high standard; it looks almost as good as some of the major cities on our Emerald Feather Star!"

In the group, a handsome young man with dreamy, transparent wings on his back looked around at the surrounding buildings and kept sighing in amazement.

"Oh, look! Even a big company like Lingbao Pavilion has opened a branch here. It seems the owner of Red Leaf Star has a very strong background!"

"Ah, there's also the Virtual Universe Company and the Cosmic Galaxy Bank, they both have branches here! And it seems their branches here are just as high-level as those on our Emerald Feather Star!"

The young man looked incredulous.

"Tuva, can you stop yelling like that? It's not like we've never seen anything like this before. Why are you acting like a country bumpkin!"

Beside him, a white-clad, winged girl with a golden feather-like mark between her brows gave him an annoyed look.

"No, Auntie!"

The handsome young man shrank back somewhat sheepishly after being glared at, but still managed to explain.

"Don't you know? These behemoth companies have very strict standards for their outposts on different planets. On our Emerald Feather Star, the outpost standards are almost on par with those of the star region's capital star. That's a service standard close to the immortal level. But I heard that the Red Leaf Star Lord is only a domain lord."

"You think you know so much!"

The white-clad, winged girl slapped him hard across the head.

"Didn't you hear the ancestor's introduction on the way here? This master of Red Leaf Star is a very powerful figure in the Virtual Universe Company who is in charge of the Blue Bay Star Region. Whether we can successfully obtain the elite training quota of the Virtual Universe Company depends on his approval. Do you think his identity is simple? Also, don't talk about people behind their backs on their turf!"

"Cough cough, I understand, I understand," the handsome young man nodded repeatedly.

The group continued strolling around, and before long they arrived at a bustling area near the city center.

Here, the flow of people becomes so fast that it's almost shoulder to shoulder.

"Hey, what's that up ahead? Why are there so many people?"

The group's attention was immediately drawn to a distinctive building in a prominent location ahead.

It was a nine-story building, but it was nearly a hundred meters high and occupied an area of ​​twenty or thirty meters in length and width.

At this moment, the small building was surrounded by a dense crowd, with people constantly walking out of the building's entrance, followed by others eagerly queuing to enter.

In the group, the handsome young man immediately noticed the plaque branded at the entrance of the small building—

"The Wonderful Pavilion! Isn't this the place the person who greeted us mentioned before? They said that if we passed the test inside, we could get a gift. So this is it!"

This group of people were young people from the powerful 'Stuart' family, a powerful realm master family.

When they arrived at Red Leaf Star, the guides who had been instructed by Qi Yuan in advance naturally mentioned the existence of the 'Strange Fate Pavilion' to them.

However, these young people from families that controlled the realm were all well-off with the resources bestowed upon them by their families. Who would really care about something as trivial as a street game? So they almost forgot about it as soon as they turned their heads.

It wasn't until I got close that I suddenly remembered.

"Heh, they're probably all ignorant fools. What valuable stuff could they possibly have in such a simple game!"

In the group, a tall, thin young man with green hair and blue eyes curled his lip in disdain.

Although he spoke softly, he made no attempt to conceal his true intentions.

Upon hearing this, many people around them turned to look at them, their eyes filled with a pitying gaze as if they were looking at country bumpkins.

"Damn, what kind of looks are those?!"

Upon seeing this, the green-haired youth was immediately enraged and wished he could teach them a lesson on the spot.

"Hehe, you're new to Red Maple Star, aren't you?"

Just then, a fox-person boy who was nearby started chatting with them with a smile.

"I just arrived, so what?" the green-haired youth replied stiffly.

"I knew it."

The fox-person youth wasn't angry; he just smiled and explained, "You're wrong to say there's nothing good here. I arrived a few days earlier than you, and I personally witnessed a planetary-level expert who passed the third level of the test and successfully obtained a third-tier psychic weapon as a reward!"

"A third-tier telekinetic weapon!"

The dozen or so young members of the Stuart family gasped slightly in surprise.

Given their status, acquiring a Tier 3 psychic weapon would not be difficult for them, but it would be absolutely impossible for them to think that Tier 3 psychic weapons are worthless because of that.

Even the most ordinary third-tier psychic weapon would cost millions of Lanting coins. Even for some extremely powerful ninth-tier stellar-level beings, it would be extremely difficult to come up with such a sum of money.

However, judging from what this fox-person youth said, as long as one participates in the trial of this so-called Wonderful Pavilion and successfully passes the third floor, there is a chance to obtain a third-tier psychic weapon as a reward. This is just too unbelievable!

Just what they see now is at least several thousand people gathered here. Even if only one percent of these people have a chance to pass the third level, that would be dozens of third-tier psychic weapons, worth at least hundreds of millions of Lanting coins!

That's a sum that would make even many cosmic-level beings envious! The fox-human youth next to them, seeing their expressions, immediately knew that they were probably thinking the wrong thing.

"Hehe, you guys don't think the trials at the Wonderful Encounter Tower are too easy, do you?"

Seeing the expressions on those people's faces, as if to say, "Isn't that how it is?", the fox-person boy smiled and shook his head.

"I doubt you'd believe me even if I told you. If you have time, go try it yourselves. Hehe, I heard that if someone can pass the test of the ninth floor of the Wonderful Fate Tower, they can get an incredible opportunity. The third floor can get a third-tier psychic weapon, so you can imagine how incredible the opportunity of passing the ninth floor will be!"

"Hmm, this might be worth a try."

Upon hearing this, a group of young men and women from the Stuart family couldn't help but show expressions of great interest.

There's no harm in trying, and if you're lucky enough to pass one of the tests, you can get a very good reward. It's quite attractive to a group of young people who have nothing to do but cultivate.

"Let's go, let's give it a try!"

"Auntie, auntie, why don't you give it a try? I'll go sign you up and put you in the queue!"

"Hehe, another deal closed. Time to go ask my Uncle Qi for credit!"

Watching the group of young people's retreating figures, the fox-person youth's eyes flickered slightly, before he gracefully departed, concealing his achievements and fame.
In the Red Leaf Star God Temple, a quiet room decorated with exquisite elegance.

Besides Qi Yuan, the master, there was also a burly man in a golden robe, a refined old fox-human, a charming red-haired woman, and a very sunny, handsome blond young man staying here.

These individuals were Xing Zhan and several other key executives from the Lanting branch of the Virtual Universe Company, responsible for affairs in the Blue Bay Starfield.

"Hehe, Brother Qi Yuan, this Qiyuan Tower you set up is quite interesting. If I'm not mistaken, the so-called trials inside seem to be related to mystical rune masters, right?"

Xing Zhan scratched his golden beard and asked with considerable interest.

The company's rune masters are all incredibly good at making money. Even a high-level rune master at the realm lord level might earn just as much as an immortal god like him.

And this Qi Yuan brother seems to have some connections in this area.

"Lord Xingzhan guessed correctly, it is indeed something similar."

Qi Yuan didn't hide much, explaining ambiguously, "I happen to have a related inheritance, and I was thinking of finding a few talented disciples to inherit and carry it forward, so I came up with this idea."

"I see."

Xing Zhan smiled and nodded, but didn't ask any further questions.

"That's right, brother."

He looked at Qi Yuan and asked with a smile, "There are only three days left until the time I arranged with my friends. Do you have any ideas on how to allocate these spots?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Yuan looked at Xing Zhan with a slight headache and asked very frankly:
"Lord Xing Zhan, I think you're just trying to avoid offending anyone, so you dragged me to the front to take the fall. You're the department head, so you should just do what you say."

"Heh, ha, haha, that's not true, why would you think that!"

The burly man in the golden robe stroked his beard, scratched his hair, and finally laughed awkwardly.

Qi Yuan could immediately understand from his expression.

Well, it really is just as he thought!
"Ahem, Brother Qi Yuan, it's not entirely like what you said."

Xing Zhan organized his thoughts for a moment before explaining, "There are some things that are inconvenient to say in the virtual universe, but we can say them here."

"As you probably know now, the company allocates a batch of elite training slots to its various cosmic nation branches every era, but..."

He glanced around, then lowered his voice as if subconsciously, and said, "But of these spots, less than half will go to our various subordinate 'secondary branches.' The other half will go to that person, you understand?"

As he spoke, he pointed upwards.

"It's that Minister of the Armed Forces," Qi Yuan immediately realized.

"Hehe, so it's the same here."

Xing Zhan laughed, "I'll give you half of the spots that are allocated to me. I won't interfere with whether you distribute those spots to powerful families or recruit 'wild' elite talents. As for the other half..."

"Hehe, then you'll have to stay with me for now, so I can do you some favors and get you some benefits. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Understood."

Qi Yuan nodded. "You mean you want me to use some of the quotas I have to whet the appetites of those powerful families, make them dissatisfied, and then ask you for favors, so you can go along with it and try to gain some benefits while doing them a favor? Is that what you mean?"

"That's right! Haha, I knew I felt a connection with you when I met you. See, we were thinking the same thing!"

Xing Zhan clapped his hands with a smile, "Hehe, brother, don't feel pressured. This kind of situation is actually quite normal in all branches of the company. It doesn't violate any rules, and it can even bring some benefits to the brothers. It can be considered one of our hidden perks."

"Furthermore, those powerful families go to great lengths to get their clansmen into the company, and after the company invests a lot of resources to train them, these people are more inclined to serve their families than the company itself, and will try every means to channel profits from the company to their families."

Xing Zhan smiled and shook his head, "So, it's all about win-win cooperation; it's not a matter of who benefits whom."

"But...isn't this just making me a shield?"

Qi Yuan said somewhat helplessly.

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, thinking that this Lord Xing Zhan, who looked like a man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, was actually quite cunning.

"Haha, well, we're all too familiar with them, we just need a new face, and you just happened to walk right into our lives!"

Xing Zhan chuckled, "If you had agreed to let Soya join the elite training program back then, you might have already made it into the core secret realm. Once you were released, you would at least be on par with me, Old Xing. But, who told you not to choose? Hehe, brother, don't worry, I've got you covered. I won't make things too difficult for you!"

Looking at the unshaven, smiling face of the Executioner, Qi Yuan suddenly felt as if he had been tricked onto a pirate ship.

In short, this is a typical case of accepting bribes or kickbacks, or at least the outcome doesn't seem that serious, but that's basically the point. How can they allow themselves to do this, given the education they received?
"..."

"Forget it, we've already transmigrated anyway. Whether we educate him or not, our Lord Luo once said that 'water that is too clear has no fish.'"

(End of this chapter)