AZI Volume 3 Chapter 16

"…"

"…"

Deciding to meet the Tai Xuan Emperor again, Long Hua went back to sleep, and is brought back to the dreamscape.

"So? Why have you returned, young man?"

Despite saying these words with an unfriendly tone—beneath the light veil, the Tai Xuan Emperor couldn't be anything less than pleased.

"…You said, my shizun sent you to assist me. …What kind of assistance can you provide me with?"

Without a shred of remorse towards his earlier behavior, Long Hua asks this with a reluctant tone—while turning his head slightly to the side, as if he couldn't even bear to look at the Tai Xuan Emperor.

Towards this attitude, the Tai Xuan Emperor thought—

(The hell is up with that reluctant look in his eyes?! This difference in treatment between my vessel, and my actual self is as different as night and day…)

If there is an affection gauge over Long Hua's head at this time, then the number in it—is probably something in the negatives.

Clearing her throat subtly, the Tai Xuan Emperor replies—

"Cultivation resources, mainly magic treasures."

Hearing this, Long Hua straightens his face towards the Tai Xuan Emperor.

Cultivation methods, and divine arts aren't as much of a necessity to him, but magic treasures are a different matter.

"Can I see them?"

"Of course."

Waving her hand, the Tai Xuan Emperor causes a projection to appear in front of Long Hua.

Displayed in the projection is—

"This is…?"

An interface is displayed, and within it are three options. The first is a pull history section; the second is a single roll option, and the third is a ten-roll option.

No matter how anyone looked at this thing, what's being displayed is clearly—

"A gacha?"

Turning his head away from the projection, Long Hua stares at the Tai Xuan Emperor, as if trying to ask if this is a joke, to which, the latter bluntly replies—

"Young man, this isn't a joke. My contract with Dao He Tian Xue says—that I can only provide you with assistance at a price. This is merely the easiest way for me to do so."

(Shizun never did make things easy for me, I guess this is just another one of his trials for me?)

With this thought in mind, Long Hua asks—

"What's the currency used to do rolls?"

"1,000 spirit stones."

"For ten rolls?"

"Single roll."

"…"

If Long Hua had anything in his hands right now, he would have definitely dropped them. This price for a single roll is—

"This is a complete rip-off."

"Now don't say that. I have difficulties of my own to deal with."

"Difficulties?"

(For the sake of my future ambitions, I need as much resources as possible.)

Thinking of this, the Tai Xuan Emperor ignores Long Hua's question, and goes on to say—

"Since it's your first time using this gacha, there's a free ten-roll to try it out. You'll also be granted a free roll every day—which can be stacked over time."

"…"

With a light of suspicion in his eyes, Long Hua returns his attention to the interface, and presses the ten-roll option.

Immediately, the interface changes to display ten capsules—which burst open in the next instance.

"Oh? Six whites, three greens, and a purple."

Floating over to Long Hua's side, the Tai Xuan Emperor looks to the interface as well, whereas the former asks—

"…What rarity are these?"

"Normal, rare, and super rare."

Twitching an eye, Long Hua asks—

"…Not even a guaranteed SSR for the beginner rolls?"

"Unfortunately, not."

"Can I reroll?"

Putting up a thuggish look behind her veil, the Tai Xuan Emperor replies—

"Ah? Reroll? This is real life, not a game, young man. You can't just go deleting your account, and restarting."

"…"

Towards these words of logic, Long Hua had nothing to refute them with.

As the light around the items dissipates, the actual items are revealed.

Ignoring the normal and rare rarity items, the super rare item is—

"A talisman?"

"That's a physical strength boosting talisman. You can only use it once, and its effect lasts for 15 minutes."

Blinking his eyes, Long Hua looks towards the item, while contemplating—

(I see, so there's items like this in this stupid thing. Depending on how it's used, I can catch higher level opponents off guard.)

Although he sees value in this gacha system, Long Hua can't help but ask—

"What is up with the normal items?"

"Aren't they exactly what they are? Normal."

"…"

The items in this category are essentially what amounts to daily necessities from an ordinary looking hand fan to—

"Sweet and spicy flavored ramen with genuine jade-skinned bull meat?"

(Well, most of the items contained in this gacha system are my personal possessions from when I was the Tai Xuan Emperor. There being a few oddball items in the normal rarity pool isn't too unusual.)

Thinking of this, while suppressing her own embarrassment, the Tai Xuan Emperor asks—

"Well, how about it? A decent system if used properly, don't you think?"

"Decent only if you have good luck, is more like it."

The four remaining normal rarity items are a metal lighter, a can of hair spray, a pair of round-framed sunglasses, and a novel titled "Arrow to Her Heart Guaranteed, 100 Pieces of Love Advice."

(The hell is this book's title?)

As for the three rare rarity items, they are a fishing rod—that can be collapsed into a ten-inch stick, a bottle of perfume, and a bottle of something called "youth preservation cream."

(How the hell is a fishing rod, a bottle of perfume, and a bottle of whatever that cream is, considered rare…?)

As Long Hua thought of this, the Tai Xuan Emperor says—

"Come now, no need to make that face. Other than spirit stones, I also take rare metals, and minerals as pull currency."

"…How about NWDs?"

"Now what could I possibly use mortal currency for? Also, there's one free single roll, I think-"

Cutting the Tai Xuan Emperor off, Long Hua says—

"Don't care for it right now. Since it's stackable, let it stack."

"Then how about viewing some of the SSR rarity items?"

"Heh. Showing me your wares to get me addicted to pulling for more?"

"I guess I got caught then? What sharp eyes you have."

Knowing that Long Hua will be a difficult nut to crack, the Tai Xuan Emperor isn't in too great of a rush, as she puts some distance between the former and herself, and says—

"Well, regardless of what happens in the future, I do look forward to working with you, *-laoban."

"Hm? What did you call me just now?"

"Your true name is also something that I cannot reveal to you, so whenever I speak of it, my contract with Dao He Tian Xue censors it out."

(…Is your current face a mask?)

Recalling this question that Bai Wen had asked of him when they first met, Long Hua frowns, while thinking—

(If my current name isn't real, then what about my current face? Lao Bai, actually guessed correctly…)

As Long Hua is thinking of this, the Tai Xuan Emperor raises her right hand out to him for a handshake, to which, the former asks—

"What should I call you?"

"Feel free to call me, Qiě."

Taking "Qie's" hand, Long Hua shakes it, and immediately, he feels an odd sense of connection forming between them.

"You said, you're an acquaintance of my shizun's. What sort of relationship did you even have with him?"

Asking this, Long Hua releases the Tai Xuan Emperor's hand.

"Dao He Tian Xue, is the man I fear the most in this entire universe—so much so that I must refer to him by his title whenever I say his name. If he is able to overcome his greatest calamity, he would become one of the apex existences in this vast universe."

...…

Having sent Long Hua out, the Tai Xuan Emperor stands alone in the endless void.

"And so, it begins at last. No matter what, I mustn't fail this time."

Recalling the events that occurred to her in the Earthborn Elementals' Realm, a light of hatred, and confusion manifests in the Tai Xuan Emperor's eyes.

When she had lightheartedly mentioned to Long Hua—that she would take rare metals, and minerals as a pull currency, she wasn't joking; for that is her actual aim when she created this system—that is a massive resource sink.

"Attaining surnamed *'s body, and couple that with the upgraded Divine Weapon of Tai Xuan, so long as I have these two things… Even if I'm up against the four emperors, and the Aurora unit, they still won't be a threat to me then."

Due to Long Hua being the main owner of the Divine Weapon of Tai Xuan, he has the right to retrieve items from it.

However, as partial owner of the weapon, and serving as its weapon spirit, the Tai Xuan Emperor possesses the authority to veto the main owner's rights.

That being the case, this system was created to conduct randomized trading between them, while providing the Tai Xuan Emperor with the resources—that she needed to upgrade her divine weapon with.