Chapter 431: Day 20 Completed
Lin Mo had a grin on his face as he read the most recent message by Liu Tianfeng. It detailed the result of his interrogation of the captured Vindicator leader. It not only included their objective, but Liu Xiaoyu’s grandfather also managed to extract a wealth of information about their power system and the political structure of their Outer Realm, the Argent Covenant.
"Aether-forging... a civilization where your armor is your cultivation core..." Lin Mo recalled those games he played back on Earth, where everything rested on equipment. "It was inconvenient if you lost your gear but terrifyingly effective in a unified army. No wonder they fight in perfect formations. And it seems that every piece of equipment they have can be upgraded. A growing artifact like that was rare in the Realm of Nine Heavens."
This was invaluable intelligence. It explained the Vindicators’ resilience and their collective energy fields. It also revealed a critical weakness: their power was external. Unlike cultivators, whose strength was an intrinsic part of their being and artifacts were mostly only supplements, a Vindicator stripped of their gear was likely just a well-trained soldier.
He quickly replied to Liu Tianfeng, giving him some of his insights too. He could confirm some of it. That way, when it’s time for the patrons to enter the Anchor, they will already be equipped with strategies on how to deal with the Vindicators they will encounter inside.
After sending the message, Lin Mo spent the next few hours watching over the store.
As the last of the customers left the door, he had Liu Xiaoyu and Wu Meiyu direct the staff for closing preparation. Meanwhile, he sat behind the counter where Pan Ruo was reviewing her experience for the day.
She stood with a perfect straight posture with her hands folded neatly before her. The exhaustion that had once defined her was gone, replaced by a quiet, focused energy. Her cultivation had already stabilized at the peak of the Spirit Gathering Stage, a feat that should have taken a normal person with her background months, if not years. The dormant immortal within her was clearly beginning to stir, influencing her very bearing.
"How was your day, Pan Ruo?" Lin Mo asked, breaking the silence.
She looked up with her eyes now holding a depth that seemed far beyond her years.
"It was... enlightening, Shopkeeper. I have learned the names and functions of three hundred and twenty-seven different products. I have also observed that customers are 30% more likely to purchase a beverage if it is recommended alongside a spicy snack. The data is... fascinating."
Lin Mo almost choked on his own saliva. Data. She’s a reincarnated immortal, alright. Even he would not boast about that. At most, he’d just recall an item by searching it through the system.
This was the mind of a former Heavenly Immortal, and it was being applied to the retail patterns of a convenience store. The thought was both terrifying and incredibly amusing. Xiaoyu should be wary or she’d be dethroned by this young woman.
"Excellent work," He managed to say while putting on a genuine smile on his face. "That kind of insight is exactly what we need. Keep it up. You’ll be managing your own branch before you know it."
A faint, almost regal smile touched her lips. "Really? I will not disappoint you, Shopkeeper."
As she turned to join Xiao Ya for the end-of-day inventory check, Lin Mo leaned back and closed his eyes, calming his mind through the effect of the [Everflowing Serenity Sutra] before falling into a short meditative state.
Unfortunately for him, his thoughts were interrupted by the familiar, gentle chime of the day’s evaluation. It was another record-breaking day, the influx of cultivators preparing for the Divine Lecture and the various expeditions driving sales to new heights. But Lin Mo’s eyes scanned past the revenue and user counts, his focus now on the future.
[Weekly Tasks - 5 days left]
[Register New Viewing Jade users: (8507/10000)]
[Attract New Customers from outside the Eastern Abyssal Domain: (3119/5000)]
[Entice Customers to rent the Training Rooms: (1102/2000)]
[Earned Dimensional Essence from Celestial Shuttle Network: 615200/1000000]
[Deploy Store Beacons: (1/3)]
—
[Day 20 Evaluation: Excellent]
[Sales Summary: 4892 Transactions]
[Revenue: 2705621 Intermediate-grade Spirit Stones]
[...some lines omitted...]
[Store Bulletin Board User Count: 24118 users]
[Dimension Essence Balance: 2,897,412 DE]
[Tier Progression: Renowned Store (10274401/100000000), Golden Card Patron (282/1000)]
The Divine Lecture was tomorrow. It was the centerpiece of his current strategy, the event that would solidify his new political order. But what comes after?
He pulled up the holographic map of the domain, the glowing icons of his network now looking like a famous landmark and the map of the entire First Heaven was becoming full for him.
The Southern Wilderness was now semi-stable, with Chi Yang handling the store, the Poison Demon Cult temporarily helping Akasha’s tribe in handling the aftermath of the battle. The next task for the Branch Manager is to successfully attract more customers and maybe let the patrons native to the region find that breached Anchor before the Emberfall Tribes get annihilated.
Before setting off to integrate the Anchor that the Flash Raid had just secured, Lin Mo took a moment to reflect.
To look deeply into his strength.
He had achieved a Perfect Foundation, but that was just the beginning. To truly stand at the center of this growing storm, to face Void Refinement experts and whatever lay beyond, he shouldn’t be satisfied with what he currently achieved.
Accessing the Divine System Interface, he bypassed the store management tabs and went straight to his personal profile to review the reward from his tribulation.
[Reward for achieving Perfect Foundation: One ’Divine Favor Token’ has been deposited in the system’s inventory.]
He tapped on the item, a new, detailed description appearing.
[Item: Divine Favor Token]
[Grade: Divine]
[Description: A single-use token representing a direct favor from a member of the Divine Pantheon. It can be used to request one of three services:
- Divine Forging: Commission a divine craftsman (like Zhenren Chuang) to forge a single, personalized Immortal-Grade artifact tailored to your cultivation path.
- Divine Tutelage: Request a one-hour, one-on-one tutelage session with a relevant divine being to solve a major cultivation bottleneck or gain profound insight into a specific Dao.
- Divine Intervention: Call upon a divine being to intervene in a single, localized event in the First Heaven, providing a powerful, one-time ’convenient’ solution to a critical problem (Note: Power of intervention is limited by the laws of the First Heaven).]
He read through the options. Each one was incredibly valuable. A personalized Immortal-Grade artifact could become his new trump card. But he knew it wouldn’t be delivered easily, considering Heaven’s Will had already set its eyes on the store after the three immortal-grade artifacts were sent down and on him, during his Minor Tribulation.
A one-on-one session with a divine being could save him years of painstaking cultivation but according to what he heard from Taihao and Yangyang, he wouldn’t need to worry about bottlenecks or lack of enlightenment because of his Celestial Providence. And the ’Divine Intervention’ was a get-out-of-jail-free card of epic proportions.
Not deciding to use it yet, he closed the interface and stood up, ready to depart to that new Anchor.
But then, a private message notification chimed on his Viewing Jade. It was an encrypted message from the ’Shadow Commission’ channel.
[Shadow Scythe - Final Report]
[Target: Soul Lure Array - Dismantled. Impervious Flare Sect remnants have fully retreated. The Violethaven Temple has withdrawn all assets from the region. The northwestern front is secure.]
[Additional Intel: Intercepted communications suggest Elder Bing Xin’s report to the temple has caused... significant theological distress. They may start re-evaluating their entire strategy regarding the Eastern Abyssal Domain. They are now classifying the Divine Convenience Store not as a regional power, but as an ’anomalous divine-backed entity’. They will not act rashly for the time being.]
[Mission Complete. Awaiting payment and access to the Divine Lecture.]
Lin Mo’s lips curved into a satisfied smile. The Violethaven Temple had been scared straight. The combination of losing one allied Void Refinement expert, the easy foiling of their plan, and the sheer spectacle of his own tribulation had been enough to force a strategic retreat. ’Theological distress’ was a beautiful way of phrasing it. It meant they were questioning their own divine backer’s competence in the face of the Pantheon’s power.
"The board is clear, for now," he murmured. He quickly drafted a reply.
Shopkeeper: "Payment and token have been delivered to your Clan Leader. Your work was exemplary. Welcome to the lecture, Shadow Scythe. Your convenience has been well-earned."
Right after that, he also sent a quick message to Chi Yang, congratulating her on her first day at the job. He was expecting the system to notify him of it but it looked like it wouldn’t be automatic. He still had to check it himself through the [Convenience Nexus Hub].
"That’s good too. I’ll just tell Chi Yang to report a summary to me every day. And if she has a question, I’m only one message away." Lin Mo nodded as he murmured to himself.