Chapter 24: I Sell My Life to You

"I want to become a bloodline enhancer. Do you have any high-grade fire-element Blood Crystals? Preferably of the Earth rank," Tang Yan said, taking a deep breath as he looked at Yu Yan. "If you can make me a high-grade fire-element bloodline enhancer, my life will be yours from now on. As long as you don’t harm my daughter, I’ll do anything you ask!"

Anything, even if it meant kneeling to put shoes on Yu Yan and her daughter.

Tang Yan had thought that after surviving this cursed copy world, his heart had been tempered enough. He believed nothing would ever move him again, but he realized how wrong he was.

Staring at the woman before him, her eyes reddened, Tang Yan could never doubt that her love for Yun Duo’er surpassed even his love for Tang Siqi.

No, on the contrary, Yu Yan's love for her daughter was a thousand, a hundred thousand times stronger than his own.

He loved Tang Siqi, sheltering her tightly beneath his wings, thinking he was doing it for her own good. In truth, it was pure selfishness. He couldn’t bear to watch his daughter suffer, couldn’t stand the pain it brought him. It made him feel utterly useless as a father—unable even to protect his own child.

All he had ever truly satisfied was a vain wish to be the omnipotent father, not the true needs of his daughter.

True love, he now saw, was what Yu Yan offered—even with the power to shelter her daughter completely, she still had the heart to lead her out beyond the nest, to let her face the winds and storms, the threats of life and death.

And through it all, she stood by her daughter's side, watching her grow and mature.

And what had he done? He had stripped his daughter of the chance to grow.

If only he were powerful enough—like Yu Yan, almost omnipotent—then perhaps it wouldn’t matter; his daughter would be a little useless but could still live a carefree life. But he was weak, barely able to fend off a few scorpions, nearly stung to death.

Tang Yan only had to imagine what might have happened if Yu Yan and her daughter hadn’t appeared. His own daughter would have been left behind after his death, lacking even the most basic survival skills. Even without the terrifying monsters outside, how long could she last? The thought filled him with shame. Now, a golden opportunity was before him.

If he failed to cherish it, he would truly deserve to be struck by lightning.

He would learn from Yu Yan. He would no longer coddle and spoil his daughter. He would teach her all the survival skills he knew, including the martial arts he learned in the army! Tang Yan cast a look of envy at the mark on Yun Duo’er’s brow.

That was the unique imprint of a spiritual vein cultivator. If all went well, perhaps he, too, would possess one someday.

As for Tang Siqi, he was too ashamed to ask Yu Yan to give his daughter such a mark.

But he was determined to create one for her himself. If that proved impossible, he would at least secure a high-grade spiritual treasure, giving his daughter a chance to become an ability enhancer. Tang Yan made this vow in his heart.

"Very well, it’s a deal!"

"Duo’er, send your Jinjin outside to bring in two second-tier scorpions."

"Okay, Mom!" Yun Duo’er replied cheerfully.

With a flicker of consciousness, the Golden Spirit slithered nimbly and silently to the cave entrance like a flexible vine snake. In no time at all, the two second-tier blue-tailed giant scorpions that had so thoroughly beaten Tang Yan and his daughter were delivered to him, tightly bound by the Golden Spirit.

The scorpions vainly waved their upraised stingers, but they were powerless against the toxin-immune Golden Spirit.

"Kill them," Yu Yan said, tossing Tang Yan a leaf from the Feather-Leaf Banyan.

Ever since all the kitchen knives, fruit knives, spring knives, and even the folding and parang knives Lin Zhe had left at her house were ruined in the advanced copy, Yu Yan’s weapon of choice had become the ninth-grade Feather-Leaf Banyan leaves.

Each mature leaf was over thirty centimeters long, its serrated edges sharp enough to cut through metal and stone. Best of all, at ninth grade, the leaves allowed Yu Yan to slay even advanced monsters without fear of her "blade" snapping against their tough hides. Of course, the leaf she gave Tang Yan was not of the ninth grade.

She only had a few ninth-grade leaves herself, all accidentally dropped when she was carefully chopping branches from the ninth-grade boss. She even had to bribe the ninth-grade powerhouse with several sixth-grade fire rhino corpses, fearing the boss might unleash a devastating "Hundred Feathered Leaves" attack if displeased—which would have left her in tears.

The leaf Yu Yan handed Tang Yan was seventh-grade—a little extravagant for killing two helpless scorpions.

Tang Yan stared in confusion at the dark green leaf, unsure how to use it as a weapon, until his thumb inadvertently brushed its edge and was instantly sliced open.

Tang Yan: … Very well, anything from a powerhouse is indeed extraordinary.

How dare he doubt the expert’s words—his arrogance was getting out of hand!

Carefully gripping the stem, he brought the leaf down in a single effortless stroke, cleaving the blue-tailed giant scorpion cleanly in two. With a brief pause, he quickly dispatched the other scorpion.

"Congratulations, your team has met the conditions for departure. Would you like to leave the copy now?"

The abrupt voice in his mind explained Yu Yan’s earlier actions.

A look of realization flashed across Tang Yan’s face.

"You received the prompt, didn’t you? Let’s go," Yu Yan said, not wasting words. She silently recited the command to exit the copy, quickly choosing team departure. Soon, the four of them found themselves in Tang Yan’s living room, facing one of the entrances to the C-class copy, "Eagle Sorrow Ravine."

During their days inside the copy, it had clearly expanded outward. The entrance that had been on the balcony was now almost at the living room television. This expansion would only accelerate with time, becoming harder and harder to guard against. Yu Yan frowned.

No one knew how long it would take for Yun Duo’er to refine the Earth-grade unicorn rhinoceros meat.

Tang Yan’s home was clearly no longer safe.

"You can’t live here anymore. We need to find a new place," Yu Yan said, not waiting for any answer from Tang Yan or his daughter, and strode ahead.

"Um… Mom Duo’er, could you wait a moment? Just a moment, please. I want to take something with me," Tang Siqi said timidly.

Yu Yan paused in irritation. Tang Yan was about to pick up his daughter, not wanting to trouble the expert, when Tang Siqi ran quickly to her room and returned with a picture frame—a photograph of the three of them, all smiling happily.

It was taken before Tang Yan’s wife had left, their last family portrait.

Tang Yan felt a sharp ache in his heart and could not bring himself to scold his daughter.

Yu Yan’s irritation eased a little. The fact that her daughter now had to refine unicorn rhinoceros meat was reality; she mustn’t let her emotions sway her or lose her composure. Such a mindset was a deadly mistake in the copy world… Yu Yan took a deep breath.

With a thought, a small piece of the illusory lotus root appeared in her palm.