Chapter 4: The leech

The negotiation with Yang Xin was swift. 


Ao Yetian had presented the inevitable, and she was a pragmatic woman. 


Within hours, a contract was drafted, signed, and countersigned. The Alchemist Association couldn't transfer two billion Spirit Coins immediately—the gold and spiritual materials had to be liquidated and secured—but an initial deposit of fifty million Spirit Coins was transferred to Ao Yetian in the form of high-grade spiritual gems.


Ao Yetian, the orphan who was broke yesterday, was now one of the wealthiest teenagers in Glory City. 


He secured the gems in a private, high-security vault, the key clutched in his hand.


Fifty million down. Nineteen hundred and fifty million to go, he thought, a grim satisfaction settling in his heart.


He retreated to his abandoned hideout to continue his cultivation. 


He felt the familiar, invigorating flow of Profound Energy cycling through his Evil God Meridians. 


Yet, as he settled, an unpleasant sensation began.


It wasn't pain, but a deep, systemic chill, as if an invisible siphon had pierced his Profound Core. 


The sheer, immense power he had acquired from the red crystal—the power that made him a god among men in this small world—was slowly but steadily being pulled away.


Ao Yetian pulled out the CEO credit card. 


It was glowing with the same faint, cold purple light it had used during their conversation.


He focused his mind on the card, mentally demanding an explanation. The cold, mechanical voice returned instantly.


[REALM-SPECIFIC LINGUAL CURRENCY IS REQUIRED FOR TRANSIT. SPIRITUAL ENERGY IS REQUIRED FOR STABILIZATION.]


[INTER-REALM TRANSIT SYSTEM REQUIRES CONSTANT ENERGY INPUT TO MAINTAIN CHANNEL CONNECTION.]


[CURRENT STABILIZATION RENDERED BY: USER PROFOUND ENERGY. RATE OF CONSUMPTION: 5% PER DAY.]


Ao Yetian's eyes went wide. 


"Five percent per day? Are you insane?"


The system did not acknowledge his alarm. It merely stated the cruel, mathematical truth. 


He had forcibly linked his essence to a multiversal system, and that system was now treating his unique ATG Profound Energy as premium fuel.


In twenty days, his powerful cultivation base would be completely depleted.


"Terminate the connection!" 


He demanded.


[TERMINATION DENIED. SYSTEM REQUIRED TO MAINTAIN USER IDENTIFICATION LINK FOR MEMORY RETRIEVAL AND TRAVEL ACCESS.]


The realization hit Ao Yetian with the force of a demon beast's claw: 


The card wasn't just a key; it was a shackle. It was draining him, forcing him to cultivate faster than he could possibly replenish, or else lose his power—and his only way back—in less than a month.


Ao Yetian slammed the card onto the ground, a wave of pure frustration making the surrounding rubble tremble. 


The card lay harmlessly, glowing a faint, mocking purple.


His goal wasn't just money anymore; it was survival. 


The ATG power was the only thing standing between him and the demon beast horde, and the card was stealing it.


He needed a stable, massive energy source—something to feed the card that wasn't his own flesh and blood. 


The spiritual gems he had acquired were potent, but they were not endless, and he couldn't afford to burn through his entire net worth just to stay alive.


He remembered the energy systems of the three worlds:


TDG's Soul Force: Too weak, like trying to run an airship on candlelight.


ATG's Profound Energy: Effective, but his own supply was being stolen.


MWIBC's Internal/Cultivation Energy: Perhaps the answer. If the card was linked to Yang Chen's world, maybe that world's power source could sustain it.


Ao Yetian picked up the card, his expression hardened with resolve. 


"If you need energy, then I will find you a furnace. A better one than me."


He had fifty million Spirit Coins, an impossible power, and twenty days until he was empty. 


It was time to stop being a hidden merchant and start being a resourceful tyrant.