Ling Shuang

【“Persona” is equivalent to a high-grade avatar mechanism. Once activated, they are indistinguishable from independent individuals and will never betray the host.】

【The specific functions are as follows:

Custom Appearance Customization: The host can design the Persona's appearance, personality, and even tone of voice. You only need to split off a wisp of divine sense and inject it into the Persona. After that, you do not need to control it personally; the Persona will automatically act according to your settings.

Memory Sharing: The Persona and the original body share memories. You can view the Persona's experiences at any time, and the Persona can also inherit your combat experience and knowledge reserve.

Damage Sharing: When the host encounters fatal danger or suffers a heavy blow, the Persona will automatically trigger a master-protecting mechanism to bear 50% of the damage for you. Even if the Persona is destroyed, the original body will not suffer a backlash, and your life will never be endangered.】

Hearing the system's explanation, Luo Qingyu's eyes lit up like two stars.

“In other words...” she murmured to herself, her mind already spinning rapidly. “I can customize a cold, beautiful sword cultivator powerhouse to protect me from the shadows.”

“And even if I encounter an enemy I can't defeat and get hurt, they'll bear half the damage?”

【In theory, yes. However, please note, Host, that while a Persona is useful, you must not over-rely on it. If you expose your strength in an inappropriate situation, it may cause unnecessary trouble.】 007 poured a bucket of cold water on her enthusiasm at just the right moment.

Luo Qingyu waved her hand dismissively. “Don't worry, don't worry, I know what I'm doing! This is my life-saving amulet and ultimate tool for showing off!”

She rubbed her hands together impatiently. “Then what are we waiting for? Let me customize the face! I want to make... hm... a cold, beautiful sword cultivator who is dressed in snow-white robes, has features as exquisite as a painting, and is cold on the outside but warm on the inside! Her name will be... Ling Shuang.”

【Generating the "cold, beautiful sword cultivator" appearance template for you... Generation complete. Would you like to activate it immediately?】

“Activate! Activate it right now!”

As soon as Luo Qingyu's voice fell, a soft buzz rang out. A blinding white light flashed before her eyes, forcing her to squint instinctively.

Once the light dissipated, a figure stood quietly in her place.

The figure was very tall and stood straight. Just by standing there, she exuded an aura that warned others to keep their distance. Luo Qingyu had to tilt her head up just to see her face.

Luo Qingyu stared in a daze, instinctively holding her breath.

The woman before her had snow-white hair cascading down. Her expression was as cold and indifferent as frost, lacking even a shred of warmth of a living person.

Her eyes were hollow and deep. She was like the snow on the celestial peaks—flawless and pure, yet completely devoid of a soul.

【Host, please drip a drop of blood on her.】 007's voice rang out timely, breaking the eerie silence. 【At present, she is just an empty shell. She needs your blood as a catalyst to be able to speak.】

Luo Qingyu snapped back to her senses and took a deep breath. Following the system's guidance, she carefully pricked a small cut on her finger and slowly let a drop of blood fall onto the hand of the white-robed beauty.

The moment her divine sense touched the other's forehead, those hollow, empty eyes suddenly flickered with a ripple of emotion.

Immediately afterward, an extremely cold and refreshing aura awakened within her.

The white-haired beauty lowered her eyes slightly. When her gaze fell upon Luo Qingyu, although it remained cold, it gained a touch of the vivacity and respect belonging to a “human.”

She knelt on one knee, lowered her head, and spoke in a chilly voice:

“Your subordinate, Ling Shuang, greets the Master.”

Luo Qingyu was startled by this sudden kneel and hastily reached out to support her.

“Get up, get up quickly!” Luo Qingyu pulled her up in a bit of a flurry, a faint, unnatural blush on her face. “Um... you don't have to kneel to me in the future. Let's... let's just be more casual.”

Ling Shuang obediently stood up, her posture still perfectly straight. She lowered her eyes slightly, her gaze revealing no emotion as she softly replied, “Yes.”

Looking at her aloof, keep-away-from-me appearance, Luo Qingyu felt a mixture of novelty and nervousness.

This was a mid stage Nascent Soul cultivator! Out there, which sect wouldn't revere her as an old ancestor? Now, she had actually become her “subordinate.”

“Um... Ling Shuang?” Luo Qingyu cleared her throat, trying to muster up some of a master's authority. But looking at the other's gorgeous yet cold face, her momentum inexplicably deflated by half.

“Can you feel me? I mean... do you have memories of me in your consciousness?”

Ling Shuang raised her eyes slightly to look at Luo Qingyu, seemingly in thought. After a moment, she nodded gently. “Answering Master, my mind contains all information regarding you. You are my creator, and my only master.”

Saying this, she paused, her gaze resting on Luo Qingyu. Her tone was flat yet earnest. “As long as Master gives the order, Ling Shuang will go through fire and water without hesitation.”

Luo Qingyu felt a warm rush in her heart and couldn't help but grin. “Good, good, good. There's no need to go through fire and water. First, why don't you help me change my clothes? I'm way too dirty.”

Hearing this, Ling Shuang showed no doubt. She merely cast a faint glance at Luo Qingyu's dusty clothes, then waved her hand.

A soft white light flashed. Luo Qingyu felt her body lighten. When she looked down again, she was wearing the white male robes that had been prepared on the stone table.

As the clothing change was completed, an invisible Cleansing Spell silently fell. Luo Qingyu felt her entire body lighten as the sticky mud and sweat were instantly stripped away. Even her hair became clean and fluffy.

Luo Qingyu couldn't help but let out an exclamation of awe. She looked down at her outfit, then raised her hand to touch her clean, refreshed cheeks. She felt much more energetic.

She turned around and flashed Ling Shuang a brilliant smile, her eyes curving into crescent moons, full of sincerity:

“This is so comfortable! Thank you, Ling Shuang, you are so thoughtful!”

Ling Shuang still stood quietly to the side. Hearing the thanks, she merely lowered her eyes slightly, her tone flat yet respectful. “Serving Master is my duty.”

Luo Qingyu spun around in satisfaction, feeling the freshness and comfort of her new clothes. She was in a great mood.

Suddenly remembering her business, she said to Ling Shuang, “Oh right, I have a vacant shop in Cloud City called Anecdote Bookstore. Go find someone to renovate it nicely and make it look beautiful.”

Saying this, she stroked her chin and added, “By the way, go visit a tailor shop and buy a few more sets of male robes. I feel this set is a bit too plain. Buy a few different styles so I can rotate through them.”

Just as her words fell, Luo Qingyu retrieved the Floating Light Sword—her novice reward from earlier—from her spatial pocket.

“This Floating Light Sword is for you.” Luo Qingyu handed the sword to Ling Shuang, her tone casual. “My cultivation is currently too low, so keeping it would be a waste of a good treasure. It's better to give it to a Nascent Soul powerhouse like you to make the most of it.”

Looking at the precious sword before her, a ripple seemed to flash through Ling Shuang's hollow eyes. She did not decline, but respectfully extended both hands to receive it.

“Thank you for bestowing this sword, Master,” she said softly, her voice still cold but carrying a hint of solemnity.

Seeing Ling Shuang accept it, Luo Qingyu thought of something else. With a thought, she silently asked the system, “007, what is the total amount of rent and profits from the other nine shops under my name right now?”

【Answering Host, after system calculation, the sum of the rent and profits of the other nine shops under your name is: 8,800,000 high-grade spirit stones.】

“Eight million eight hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones?!”

Luo Qingyu's jaw nearly dropped to the floor, her eyes widening like brass bells. She had originally thought that making tens of thousands of spirit stones a year from those nine shops would be pretty good, but she hadn't expected the system to directly report an astronomical figure that made her head spin.

This was way too exaggerated! This wasn't collecting rent; this was practically daylight robbery! No wonder the original novel mentioned that prices in Cloud City were incredibly high.

But on second thought, these were all assets that truly belonged to her. The shock in Luo Qingyu's heart instantly transformed into sheer ecstasy.

She took a deep breath, trying hard to calm her excitement, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up wildly.

“007, quick, withdraw twenty thousand high-grade spirit stones first,” she urgently ordered in her mind.

【Ding—20,000 high-grade spirit stones have been withdrawn.】

Luo Qingyu retrieved a heavy storage bag from her spatial pocket and turned to look at Ling Shuang, who was standing nearby.

“Ling Shuang, take this.” Luo Qingyu handed the storage bag over, her tone carrying a trace of grandness. “This is your budget. Aside from buying clothes as I mentioned earlier, you can decide what to do with the rest. If it's not enough to renovate the bookstore, I'll give you more.”

Ling Shuang lowered her eyes slightly, her gaze sweeping over the storage bag, and then she respectfully held out both hands to receive it. “Yes, Master. Your subordinate will get to it immediately.”

Watching Ling Shuang accept the spirit stones and depart as a flash of white light once more, Luo Qingyu stroked her chin, happily plotting in her mind: This is great. Not only do I have a personal bodyguard and housekeeper, but I don't even have to worry about daily expenses anymore.

“The remaining millions of high-grade spirit stones... hehe, that is absolutely a massive fortune!”