Once Luo Yunshuang completed the formalities of acknowledging her master, Qin Xiao accepted the teacup and drained it in a single gulp, completing the ritual.
[Congratulations to the Host for taking in a fourth Heavenly Spirit Root disciple. Unlocking new Supplies: Top Grade Spirit Stone Mine.]
[Top Grade Spirit Stone Mine: Produces one Top Grade Spirit Stone every month.]
[Spirit Stones increase by five thousand per second, Spirit Liquid increases by four per minute, Saint Origin Spirit Fruits increase by three per hour, Immortal Comprehension Fruits increase by two per day.]
This time, nothing new was activated; the system simply unlocked new Supplies.
"A Top Grade Spirit Stone Mine? It produces one every month?"
Looking at the newly unlocked Supplies, Qin Xiao was a little dumbfounded. What was going on? Didn't he already have Spirit Stones? Why unlock more Spirit Stones?
Qin Xiao did a quick calculation. With his current achievement boosts, he gained five thousand Spirit Stones a second, making it three hundred thousand a minute, eighteen million an hour, four hundred thirty-two million a day, and twelve billion, nine hundred and sixty million a month. If he converted all of that into Top Grade Spirit Stones, it would amount to almost thirteen.
And this so-called Spirit Stone Mine only produced one a month? Was this a joke? Did it think he was bad at math?
But Qin Xiao quickly realized something. The last time he used the exchange, there hadn't been an option for Top Grade Spirit Stones. Did that mean Top Grade Spirit Stones couldn't be obtained by exchanging lower-grade Spirit Stones?
"Damn, I thought there were just some special requirements for the exchange. Turns out it can't be exchanged at all? So that was the catch, huh?"
Now that he thought about it, Qin Xiao finally understood. They couldn't be obtained through exchange, so it was no wonder this Top Grade Spirit Stone Mine had been unlocked.
"Sister, is there something wrong with him? Why isn't he moving?"
Luo Yunshuang looked at Qin Xiao curiously and whispered to Luo Yunbing.
"Don't speak nonsense. He is now your Master as well."
Luo Yunbing hurriedly stopped her younger sister's careless words.
"Alright. Since you've formally acknowledged me as your Master, and your three Senior Sisters just received good things from me, you naturally won't be left out either. Take this."
Exiting the System Space, Qin Xiao tossed a Storage Bag to Luo Yunshuang.
"Taking a Master comes with gifts?"
Luo Yunshuang was feeling somewhat confused. Wasn't he demanding they take him as their Master just to humiliate them?
"Little sister, don't just stand there dazed. Open it and take a look, and you'll understand why I insisted you acknowledge him as Master."
Seeing her younger sister's lingering doubts, Luo Yunbing prompted her.
Spurred by her sister's words, Luo Yunshuang was also growing curious about what kind of good things Qin Xiao could give her.
"What? Am I seeing this right?"
Upon opening it, Luo Yunshuang was entirely stupefied. Were these all for her? Or had Qin Xiao given her the wrong bag?
She now had the exact same reaction Luo Yunbing had earlier. Was he absolutely sure he hadn't made a mistake? One hundred thousand Middle Grade Spirit Stones, one thousand drops of Spirit Liquid, and one Saint Origin Spirit Fruit?
"That's right, this is what Master gave. Now you understand, don't you?"
Luo Yunbing smiled as she looked at her younger sister's astonished face.
"Master, my good Master! I knew you might be wealthy, but I never imagined you were this wealthy! No wonder Sister agreed so readily and insisted I must acknowledge you."
Once Luo Yunshuang confirmed these things were all for her, she instantly changed her tune, turning incredibly enthusiastic as she sweetly called him Master this and Master that.
Qin Xiao hadn't expected Luo Yunshuang to change her tune so quickly, and couldn't help but tease her.
"Aiya, Master, it was all a misunderstanding, a total misunderstanding! You are my good Master."
Feeling somewhat embarrassed after being teased by Qin Xiao, Luo Yunshuang hastily tried to explain herself.
"Alright, since you've become my disciples, you can come collect a portion of cultivation resources every month. It will be the same Supplies as what's in the Storage Bag in your hands, one portion a month. Your Mysterious Yin Sect is a bit far from me, so you'll have to come pick it up yourselves. I won't be delivering it."
Since Qin Xiao had said this wouldn't involve their Sects, it naturally wouldn't. He wouldn't force them to leave their Sect, but they had to come collect their monthly disciple Stipend on their own. He certainly wasn't going to play deliveryman.
"What?"
"Every month?"
When the two Luo sisters heard Qin Xiao say they would get a bag every month, they were completely shocked.
Forget about this bag buying their loyalty outright—it could easily count as several years' worth of Stipend. And this was only a one-month supply?
"Yes, every month. As your Master, I treat everyone equally. Whatever your Senior Sisters have, you will have too. Of course, when it comes to extra rewards outside the regular Stipend, those go to whoever happens to be present."
Qin Xiao was now vastly wealthier than before. He didn't care whether his disciples could use it all; he would just set a standard and hand it out. If they couldn't spend it all, they could save it.
"Master, don't worry. Once my sister and I return to our Sect, we'll apply for a Disciple Exchange to the Tianyuan Sect. We'll just live at the Tianyuan Sect."
Luo Yunshuang already had a plan. They would apply as soon as they returned. After all, it was perfectly normal for disciples to visit other Sects for exchange every few years.
"Uh, if you do that, will the Masters at your Sect agree? Two precious disciples going to live at another Sect long-term?"
Qin Xiao hadn't expected Luo Yunshuang to be this direct, already planning an extended stay at the Tianyuan Sect.
"Master, put your mind at ease. Neither my sister nor I have a specific Master. Because we refused to be separated, the Elders of our Sect finally decided that we sisters would be jointly instructed by the Elders. We are directly subordinate to the Sect and are not the disciples of any particular Elder. So, strictly speaking, we don't have a Master, but every Elder counts as our Master."
Seeing Qin Xiao's hesitation, Luo Yunshuang explained their situation.
"They can do that? Though I suppose it makes sense. Any Elder would want to take in two Heavenly Spirit Roots at once, but the other Elders definitely wouldn't allow it. This sort of compromise isn't a bad idea."
After hearing Luo Yunshuang's explanation, Qin Xiao understood. Heavenly Spirit Roots were incredibly rare. With no one willing to back down, teaching them together was a reasonable solution.
"So Master can rest assured. Moreover, your Tianyuan Sect took first place this time, and your strength is clear for all to see. Our Sect won't refuse if we come as exchange disciples."
Luo Yunshuang had firmly made up her mind; she absolutely had to move into the Tianyuan Sect. If the regular disciple Stipend was already this generous, the extra rewards certainly wouldn't be lacking either. She wasn't about to miss out on that.
"Alright, you can decide for yourselves."
Qin Xiao didn't object. His Seven Stars Peak could still accommodate them anyway.
"Brother Qin, I have come."
Cang Chen had actually agonized over this for a long time. He knew that since he lost the bet, he had to acknowledge Qin Xiao as his Master, but he couldn't betray his Sect either. For a while, he hadn't known whether to come or not, but in the end, he showed up.
"Come in."
Qin Xiao knew it was Cang Chen.
Cang Chen then pushed the door open and stepped inside. Seeing both Luo sisters present, he froze in surprise. He had thought he was the first to arrive, never expecting the Luo sisters had arrived well before him.
"Don't just stand there dazed. Have a seat."
Seeing Cang Chen's bewilderment, Qin Xiao invited him to sit.
"Oh, both of you are here too, Senior Sisters."
Cang Chen didn't quite know how to broach the subject, so he decided to test the waters with the Luo sisters first.
If the Luo sisters shared his mindset, the three of them speaking up together might be better than him raising the issue alone.
"Junior Brother Cang, why have you come alone?"
Luo Yunbing glanced out the door, and finding no one else there, she directed the question at Cang Chen.
"Well, how should I put this... I sneaked away on my own. My Sect and Senior Brothers don't know I came here."
Cang Chen replied with visible embarrassment.
"Senior Sister Luo, how long have you been here?"
Not daring to speak directly, Cang Chen resorted to sending a voice transmission to Luo Yunbing.
"Junior Brother, if you have something to say, simply say it outright. It is inappropriate for me to use voice transmissions in front of Master; it would be disrespectful to him."
Upon receiving the voice transmission, Luo Yunbing didn't reply in kind, but spoke aloud for all to hear.
Before Cang Chen even had time to feel embarrassed, he caught the full weight of Luo Yunbing's words. She was actually calling Qin Xiao 'Master'?