“How would that work, exactly?” Han Sen looked at Exquisite in shock.
“What’s strange about it? Since you’re already being watched by one person, being watched by another is practically the same. You just need to share your experiences with one more person. It won’t be detrimental to you in any way, and you can double the benefits you receive. You will receive the same amount of resources from me and my little sister. Effectively, you’ll be receiving double what others receive. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?” Exquisite said to Han Sen with a beaming smile.
“I suppose you’re correct, but I still think there might be a problem with this plan,” Han Sen quietly said.
“What could go wrong? Aren’t you happy about being able to receive twice the resources?” Exquisite thought about it a bit, and then said, “If you become Li Keer’s silkworm, you can even receive more star fruit.”
“But the elder is no longer here. I thought the star tree would stop giving out fruit,” Han Sen said.
“I’m just giving you an example. There are many more resources like the star tree on the path ahead, and you will be receiving a double portion,” Exquisite said. Then, she clapped a hand on Han Sen’s shoulder and teleported away. They went straight to the altar where Han Sen had signed his contract with Exquisite.
Han Sen signed another contract to become Li Keer’s silkworm.
Because Exquisite was there, though, Han Sen kept his mind carefully blank. He waited until he was alone, out of Exquisite and Li Keer’s range of connection, before thinking things over some more. He was in a bad situation.
“I wonder if the small jade figure can absorb two marks. If it can’t, I’m going to be exposed.” Han Sen quickly brought out the small jade figure as he mulled over his situation. He moved to transfer Li Keer’s branding onto the small jade figure.
Fortunately, Han Sen’s biggest worries didn’t come to fruition. The mark was successfully applied to the small jade figure.
“Since the jade figure managed to absorb the additional mark, this situation is a good thing, I suppose. It makes little difference if I’m watched by one person or two. And if it means I can earn double the resources, where is the harm in that? I guess this is a lucky turn of events?” Han Sen still couldn’t convince himself that this was a good thing, though. He felt as if there was something dangerous about the situation, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was exactly.
“Exquisite has been talking a lot about these rewards that I’ll be earning. I wonder what they are? I hope I can get my hands on some deified xenogeneic genes,” Han Sen thought to himself.
In the meantime, Exquisite and Li Keer were standing in a hall, signing Han Sen up for the silkworm bouts. That was the rewards Exquisite had been talking about.
The silkworm fights provided many resources to the victor, but the silkworm had to earn them. The higher rank they were, the more resources they would receive.
There were 13 Very High students and 12 silkworms. If someone ended up outside the top 10, their rewards would be practically nothing.
Ranks five to ten weren’t much better. Their rewards were fairly small, but things got much better for those in the top five. Going up sequentially, each rank gave double what the last received.
The prizes had been structured in that way to inspire the silkworms to work their hardest in battle. The Very High wanted them to bring out everything they had.
It was important for the young Very High to feel the life and death fights of their silkworms. They needed to feel every ounce of emotion such battles could draw out. And they could do it all from the comfort of their seats. They could experience the dire straits of mortal combat without ever putting themselves in danger. Only the Very High had a system that allowed their students to do such a thing.
The Very High were surprised to find out that Exquisite and Li Keer were sharing the same silkworm. It had happened before in the history of the Very High, but it was a very rare occurrence.
The Very High that practiced the Very High Sense didn’t comment on the arrangement, but the Very High like Liyu Zhen were less reserved with their opinions.
“Li Keer and Exquisite are using the same silkworm. That Han Sen is quite lucky. He has benefitted from our people yet again,” Liyu Zhen said coldly.
Li Xue Cheng laughed and said, “Being the silkworm of two Very High masters won’t be good for him, all things considered. Although he can earn double the resources, his responsibilities will also be doubled.”
After pausing, Li Xue Cheng went on to say, “Plus, once he causes many of the Very High to lose their wagers in the silkworm fights, it will be very difficult for him to gain resources anyway.”
“You collected the bets?” Liyu Zhen laughed.
“I collected them all before it was announced that silkworms wouldn’t be able to use treasures in the battle. I won’t let the gamblers bail now.” Li Xue Cheng’s eyes sparkled. “Han Sen just needs to not get first place in the silkworm fights. Then, we will be rich. The resources we gain will be enough to make us deified. They will take us to larva class, at least. And some of the treasures are so rare that we couldn’t have bought them with all the resources in the world. But if we lose, there is no way we can pay it all back.”
“How could we lose?” Liyu Zhen said with a laugh. “Every single silkworm is at least half-deified. They are half a level higher than Han Sen. And if push comes to shove, the born-deified will be mopping the floor with him. No matter how strong Han Sen is, he will never get any further than number two.”
“You are right. No matter how strong a ninth-tier King is, they cannot beat a deified. Plus, that born-deified is very talented. He isn’t much weaker than the Very High students themselves. He is very good when compared to our members at the same level. Beating a mere King will be a trivial task for him,” Li Xue Cheng said with assurance. He was confident he was going to win this bet.When Exquisite and Li Keer finally explained the “rewards” that they’d been promising, Han Sen shook his head. “This is the ‘good stuff’ you’ve been talking about? I will have to fight for my life in there. And I can only join as a single person. Why would there be double benefits for me?”
“You will have both of us to support you. Isn’t that twice the benefits?” Exquisite said flatly.
Han Sen and Li Keer looked at Exquisite, gobsmacked. Han Sen didn’t know if Exquisite was just fooling around, but Li Keer was especially surprised by seeing how Exquisite was behaving. It was hard to believe this was the same Exquisite she had grown up with.
“Why are you looking at me like that? If you have the time, read the files I’ve sent you about your opponents. And remember, the higher the rank you achieve, the more resources you receive. If you can reach second place, you will get a deified treasure amongst many other resources,” Exquisite said calmly.
“What about becoming number one?” Han Sen kept looking at the information he was giving while he asked.
“There is a born-deified participating in this fight. He will probably secure first place. You just need to try your best to be second,” Exquisite said with a small shrug.
“A born deified is joining? And I can’t use treasures? I suppose I will have to settle for second, then,” Han Sen said with a nod. If he couldn’t use his peacock king soul robe and the Six Core Snake Bow, he didn’t think he could beat a deified elite. Not even a primitive one, which was the lowest tier of deified.
