Chapter 228: Basic Education Must Be Universal!

An Miaoli stood gracefully before the gate, her figure poised and elegant, lingering for a long time. The jade slip in her hand loosened and tightened repeatedly as her thoughts churned. Finally, a faint glow flickered from the red mole on her brow, as if she’d come to some realization. She turned and drifted away, her white robes flowing.

No one knew what conclusion she’d reached. But those who observed closely might notice that An Miaoli, who once seemed otherworldly, as if she might ascend on the wind at any moment, now carried a subtle trace of human warmth.

…

Meanwhile, Ye Chen had flown tens of thousands of miles from Divine Will City. The system’s silence didn’t faze him. If An Miaoli truly refused to accept the gift, he’d simply return to the Divine Will Sect and retrieve the Eternal Cosmos Sutra fragment. No big deal.

But in the next moment, the system’s prompt finally chimed in his mind.

“Gift successful!”

“Gift: Eternal Cosmos Sutra Golden Core Chapter Fragment…”

“Return in progress!”

“Two-hundredfold return in progress…”

“Detected that the gifted item triggered a critical hit return…”

“Reward: Eternal Cosmos Sutra Golden Core Chapter (Complete), Eternal Cosmos Sutra Nascent Soul Chapter (Complete), Eternal Cosmos Sutra Deity Transformation Chapter (Complete)!”

Ye Chen’s eyes widened. A single Golden Core chapter fragment had triggered a critical hit, yielding the complete Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Deity Transformation chapters? He was soaring!

An Miaoli was truly remarkable. All his painstaking efforts, the back-and-forth of gifting, had paid off. What a woman—truly exceptional. Once he broke through to the Golden Core stage, he’d definitely gift her again.

His mood buoyant, Ye Chen glanced ahead, only to raise an eyebrow. Streaks of light suddenly converged from all directions. In an instant, four cultivators blocked every possible escape route. Below, an array surged to life, enveloping him and the four in its glow.

This… Was he being ambushed?

Ye Chen remained utterly calm, curiously sizing up the four cultivators. All were early-stage Golden Core cultivators, their auras muddled and impure—likely bearing low-grade, turbid Golden Cores, not even comparable to that old monster Wang, who’d been on her last legs. Probably rogue cultivators, he figured.

The four, seeing they’d successfully cornered Ye Chen, lit up with greed, their eyes gleaming with avarice. They were rogue cultivators from beyond the Divine Will Sect’s domain, here for the auction hoping to fish in troubled waters. They hadn’t found a suitable target until one of them spotted Ye Chen appearing suddenly in a corner of Divine Will City—right during the auction. Tracking him, they uncovered his identity: the top prodigy of the Divine Will Assembly, owner of a thriving shop. His appearance coincided with the end of the third auction item, hinting at immense wealth.

The potential profits set their hearts racing. They didn’t dare act in Divine Will City or too close to the Divine Will Sect, so they bided their time, waiting for Ye Chen to head back to Green Cloud Sect. Now, their moment had arrived.

“Kid, you’re the one who snagged the Thunderbane Bamboo Core, right?” one sneered. “Nineteen thousand high-grade spirit stones for it—such extravagance! You must be loaded with even more. And that Ye Boutique, it’s raking in gold daily. A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator richer than us Golden Cores? Why should you have it all?”

Stolen novel; please report.

The four unleashed their Golden Core auras, their oppressive pressure suffocating, their eyes brimming with killing intent. They knew Ye Chen was strong—topping the Divine Will Assembly meant he could likely rival a Golden Core. But they were four against one. No matter how talented, he’d fall.

Ye Chen, surrounded, didn’t flinch. He glanced around, confirming no one else was nearby, then casually tossed an array disc to the ground.