Looking at the Green Cloud Token in Ye Chen's hand, Sun Ruoxin nearly couldn't resist snatching it from him. She wanted it; she wanted it so badly. But she had to stay calm. She couldn't rush it.

  Sun Ruoxin forced herself to calm down, her face showing a look of surprise.

  "Ye Chen, you actually have a Green Cloud Token!"

  After the initial excitement, as if remembering something, she quickly added: "I didn't know you had obtained the entry quota to Green Cloud Sect…. You can't do this. I can't accept it. Besides, after the flying boat incident, I already owe you so much. How could I take your Green Cloud Token now?"

  Ye Chen had no patience for such back-and-forth. He simply grabbed Sun Ruoxin's small hand. Her hand was exquisitely pale, delicate, with skin as soft as silk, cool to the touch. It felt better than the hands of any of the famous pianists from his past life. The sensation was exquisite.

  Ye Chen shoved the Green Cloud Token into her hand. "Clearly, you need this more. Take it."

  Sun Ruoxin's fingers clenched around the token, her palm sweating with excitement. The coveted entry into the sect, something she had dreamed of, had now been handed to her like this. At that moment, she almost felt like crying. She had come here with little expectation.

  After all, the Green Cloud Token was something hard to come by. Not to mention the previous issues with the flying boat. In this situation, for Ye Chen to give her the token….

  Sun Ruoxin, even with all her schemes, couldn't help but be deeply moved. Ye Chen truly loved her.

  "Now that you've taken the Green Cloud Token, how will you explain this to your family? And if I enter Green Cloud Sect, what will happen to you? This... this doesn't seem right."

  Sun Ruoxin couldn't help but ask with concern.

  Ye Chen merely rolled his eyes. The corner of his lips was almost twitching with the effort to suppress his amusement. What was she acting like? Did she think I couldn't see through her?

  Ye Chen nodded, pretending to worry. "You're right. How will I explain this to my family? This...." He turned his gaze back to the Green Cloud Token in Sun Ruoxin's hand.

  Hearing Ye Chen's words, Sun Ruoxin's heart tightened. She mentally cursed herself for speaking too soon and hastily tried to cover up.

  "You don't need to worry about that. After all, the token was given to you. You have the right to do as you wish with it. Your family shouldn't interfere."

  Ye Chen's eyes flicked over to where she gripped the token tightly, a smirk tugging at his lips. The family's assets could be distributed however they liked internally, but giving them to outsiders would surely result in punishment. But this woman? She likely didn't care about the consequences.

  Luckily, Ye Chen didn't care either. He nodded, as though coming to an epiphany. "Right, it's mine now. I can give it to whoever I please. Take it, Senior Sister."

  Sun Ruoxin nodded vigorously, her face shining with gratitude. "Junior Brother, you are too kind to me. When I break through to Foundation Establishment, I'll do everything I can to repay you."

  However, the system prompt echoed in Ye Chen's mind at that moment. He didn't bother to respond to her flowery words, instead urging her to leave. "Hurry and go. If my family sees you, things will get complicated."

  Sun Ruoxin, too, felt a bit of unease. If any of the Ye family members caught sight of her, it would be all for nothing. So, with a final word of thanks, she and Sun Ye hurriedly left the vicinity of the Ye family residence.

  Sun Ye was overjoyed, his voice full of excitement. "Daughter, now that we have the Green Cloud Token, we don't need to worry about Master anymore. Master, after all, still cares about his face. He might have taken the money without doing anything, but he won't keep targeting us. You've finally entered the Green Cloud Sect. With the possibility of Foundation Establishment in your future, we have hope! Where shall we go next?"

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  Sun Ruoxin tightened her grip on the Green Cloud Token, without hesitation replying, "We're going straight to the Green Cloud Sect now. If the Ye family finds out, they'll definitely come after the token. The Ye family's patriarch has reached Foundation Establishment. Once they realize what's happening, we won't have a chance to enter the sect. We must go now, before it's too late."

  Sun Ye nodded in agreement. Yes, they had to go right away. As for what would happen when the Ye family found out that Ye Chen had given their family's entry token to an outsider, neither of them mentioned it.

  Because even if Ye Chen's fate turned out terribly, she would never give the Green Cloud Token back. She had to seize this chance to enter the Green Cloud Sect. Once she became a disciple, she might visit Ye Chen and make amends, but for now, her path was set.

  The Green Cloud Sect was located at the edge of Green Cloud City. Or rather, Green Cloud City had only been established because of the Green Cloud Sect's presence.

  After leaving the city, Sun Ruoxin immediately summoned her flying boat and, along with Sun Ye, sped toward the sect's entrance. The Green Cloud Sect loomed closer and closer.

  As they neared their destination, Sun Ye, while happy for his daughter, couldn't help but ask, "Daughter, about what you said to Ye Chen before.... Did you mean that after reaching Foundation Establishment, you plan to repay him by offering your body?"

  Sun Ruoxin immediately shook her head. "I understand Ye Chen's feelings. But our statuses are only going to grow further apart. I'll soon be a disciple of Green Cloud Sect, while he's just a member of a small family. Even if I break through to Foundation Establishment, Ye Chen might not even reach the late stages of Qi Refining.

  “The gap between us will be too great. If he were to become my Dao companion, I would only be harming him. Once I reach Foundation Establishment and become an Elder, I will find a way to bring him into the Green Cloud Sect as a disciple. Then, we'll both have repaid each other, and we'll be free of any debts."

  Sun Ye paused, taking in her words with a frown.

  This…. It didn't sound quite right. Even if she broke through to Foundation Establishment, how old would Ye Chen be by then? By that time, entering the Green Cloud Sect would hardly matter. How could it really be called a mutual repayment?

  But Sun Ruoxin was his daughter, and Sun Ye still wanted the best for her. Now that she was about to become a disciple of the Green Cloud Sect, it was clear that Ye Chen, with his background, wasn't suitable for her.

  Sun Ye continued to advise his daughter earnestly, "Once you enter the sect, focus on cultivating diligently, and make sure to stand out. If you can earn the favor of one of the elders and become their disciple, your chances of breaking through to Foundation Establishment will increase significantly. Back when I was young, among my group, three people were taken in as disciples by elders. Two of them eventually broke through to Foundation Establishment."

  Sun Ruoxin listened attentively, but then asked with some curiosity, "What if I'm taken in as a disciple by a peak master? Wouldn't that be even more promising?"

  Upon hearing this, Sun Ye immediately shook his head, a look of caution in his eyes. "The peak masters are all great cultivators in the late stages of Foundation Establishment. They wouldn't look at ordinary disciples. If they take on a disciple, it would have to be a true genius, someone with at least a ninth-grade spiritual root, or even a rare exotic root! Don't waste your time thinking about it."

  Sun Ruoxin felt a bit disappointed upon hearing this. It would have been wonderful if she could become a disciple of a peak master. She couldn't help but wonder what the peak master's disciples were like. Surely, they must be the sect's top geniuses, wouldn't they? But she quickly shook off the thought, refocusing on the immediate future.

  ...

  Meanwhile, Ye Chen leisurely made his way back to the Ye residence, a smile on his face. The feedback from the system had far exceeded his expectations.

  "Gift-giving successful!"

  "Gift: Green Cloud Token."

  "Processing feedback…."

  "Fifteen-fold feedback in progress…."

  "Detected that the gift given by the host is extremely important to the recipient, and exceeds their expectations. This caused a massive fluctuation in their emotional state, triggering a critical hit reward!"

  "Reward: Token of the Sword Peak Master."

  "The Sword Peak Master, Gu Yunyu, once faced a life-threatening crisis during her growth and was saved by a swordsman. As a result, she gave him a token. When this token is crushed in Green Cloud City, she will sense it and come to repay the favor!"

  After reading the system's notification, Ye Chen's joy was palpable. It wasn't just another handful of Green Cloud Tokens or some entry pass that he'd never be able to use. No, it was the token of the Sword Peak Master, Gu Yunyu.

  Even though Ye Chen wasn't a disciple of Green Cloud Sect, he knew the structure of the sect well. The elders in the sect were divided into three categories: ordinary elders, peak masters, and the sect leader.

  The peak masters were all cultivators in the late stages of Foundation Establishment. Becoming a disciple of such a peak master would grant access to resources and teachings far beyond what an entry-level disciple could ever dream of. Not to mention the various perks and privileges that outsiders couldn't even imagine.

  The Green Cloud Token he'd given away? It had been so worth it.

  Without hesitation, Ye Chen took out the token. The token was a wooden sword, only about ten centimeters long. He crushed it without a second thought. A strange surge of power rippled outward.

  ...

  At the entrance of Green Cloud Sect, a woman dressed in red, her figure elegant, felt the sudden surge of energy. Her eyebrows arched slightly, and a glint flashed in her eyes. She slowly rose to her feet.