Oh no! My grandmother made me shoulder the responsibility for eight households!

Chapter 261 Annual Sign-up Rewards

In the study.

Zhuge Liang and Li Chunfeng were already waiting.

Lin Chen pushed open the door and entered. The two men stood up and bowed, "My lord."

"Sit down, sit down, don't be so formal."

Lin Chen waved his hand, plopped down behind the desk, picked up the teapot, and took a swig straight from it.

"How's the North?"

Zhuge Liang, waving his feather fan, slowly said:

"Everything is going smoothly. General Zilong has completely taken control of military and political power."

Liang and Master Li set up eight large formations at key points in the mountain range, interconnected, which would ensure the northern border remained impregnable for five years.

Li Chunfeng, standing to the side, flicked his whisk and interjected:

"My lord, the feng shui in the northern border is truly excellent. The dragon veins are showing signs of rising. I even performed a divination on it—"

Lin Chen raised his hand to interrupt him, "Stop, Lao Li, how many times have we said this? Just give me the conclusion directly, don't give me all that 'secrets must not be revealed' preamble."

Li Chunfeng choked for a moment, then coughed twice.

"Ahem... The conclusion is that the world is changing much faster than I originally anticipated."

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow slightly. "How much faster?"

Li Chunfeng counted on his fingers.

"I originally thought there would be a three-year grace period, but now it seems that there will be at most one year."

It will take at least a year, or at most a year and a half, for the rules of heaven and earth to become completely chaotic, until a new cycle of reincarnation begins.

The study was quiet for a few seconds.

Lin Chen put down the teapot, tapped his fingers lightly twice on the desk, and then smiled.

"Okay, got it."

One year.

That should be enough.

Zhuge Liang gently waved his fan. "My lord, how is the situation at Dongshan?"

"We've been waiting for you." Lin Chen leaned back in his chair.

"The land on the mountaintop has been leveled, and the craftsmen have started digging the foundation. Stones and timber are also being transported up the mountain... but the formation part needs to be handled by the two of you professionals."

Li Chunfeng chuckled and nodded, "Rest assured, my lord, Mr. Zhuge and I have already discussed it in our spare time."

Zhuge Liang picked up the conversation,

"Based on the Eight Trigrams Formation, and combined with the mountain's terrain and the direction of the earth's spiritual energy, we set up an enhanced version of the Hunyuan Heluo Grand Formation."

The outer layer is encased in a maze array, while the inner circle is reinforced with defensive formations and several lethal restrictions.

This will ensure those scoundrels can't get their hands on us, and even if they do, they'll be badly hurt.

Lin Chen nodded. "Alright, you guys go to Dongshan tomorrow to take a look. If you need anything, just ask Yuan Tiangang to arrange for people and supplies."

The two exchanged a glance and smiled in agreement.

Zhuge Liang rose to take his leave, then paused for a moment.

"My lord, I've heard that quite a few suspicious people have recently arrived in the capital?"

Lin Chen waved his hand, "Yuan Tiangang is handling it. You guys take care of Dongshan first. Don't worry about those things."

The two nodded and were about to leave when Lin Chen gave them a word of advice:

"You two just got back, get some rest tonight, and go up the mountain tomorrow. It won't make a difference if you stay one more day."

Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "My lord is very understanding. I thank you on behalf of Daoist Li."

Li Chunfeng curled his lip. "What do you mean, 'you on my behalf'? Can't I thank you myself?"

The two bickered as they left.

Lin Chen sat in the study for a while longer, and only after the footsteps outside had faded into the distance did he get up and return to the backyard.

……

night.

Lin Chen was eating in Zhao Mingyue's courtyard when he suddenly heard a "ding" in his mind.

System notification: [Congratulations, host, on your first anniversary of transmigrating! Your annual sign-in reward has been issued. Please check your account.]

Lin Chen paused, chopsticks in hand.

Seeing that Lin Chen's expression was off, Zhao Mingyue quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

Lin Chen snapped out of his daze, put down his chopsticks, and casually pinched Zhao Mingyue's cheek.

"It's nothing, I just remembered something urgent, I'm going to the study."

"You haven't finished eating yet!"

"Save this for me, I can have it as a late-night snack when I get back."

As he spoke, Lin Chen darted out the door.

……

In the study.

Lin Chen closed the door, locked it, took a deep breath, and opened the system panel.

Golden light unfolded before my eyes, and three lines of text appeared.

[Annual contract bonus:]

[1. Celestial Immortal Trial Card (One minute of trial use possible, each activation consumes at least one second, peak Celestial Immortal level combat power, cannot be transferred to others)]

Lin Chen's eyelids twitched.

A celestial being at the pinnacle of immortality.

In this world today, the strongest old monsters are only at the peak of the Heavenly Immortal realm.

The realm above Celestial Immortals is already a legendary existence.

A minute may not sound long, but it's a minute for a peak-level celestial being.

If a fight really breaks out, this minute is enough for him to wipe out a first-rate force three times over.

【2. Summoned Characters: Eighteen Arhats (All are mid-stage terrestrial immortals, proficient in combined attack formations; all eighteen together can fight against celestial immortals)】

Lin Chen stared at the words for a full five seconds.

Then he laughed.

Eighteen mid-stage terrestrial immortals?

They can even combine their forces to fight celestial beings?

What does this mean?

Currently, there are only a few hundred terrestrial immortals who have made their public appearances in the entire Central Plains.

Did he just parachute eighteen people into his place?

Or are they organized as a unit?

In addition to Yuan Tiangang and his group...

Lin Chen couldn't help but mutter, "They're leaving no way for others to survive!"

【3. Item Reward: 18 Shaolin Great Rejuvenation Pills (High-level martial arts enhanced version, one pill can create a Celestial Realm expert, no side effects, direct empowerment)】

Lin Chen stared at the last line of text and fell completely silent.

There was a three-second silence.

Then he suddenly stood up from his chair and paced back and forth in the study twice.

One Great Rejuvenation Pill is equivalent to a Celestial Realm cultivator.

Eighteen stones represent eighteen Celestial Realm experts.

In addition, there are eighteen Arhats at the mid-stage of the Land Immortal realm.

In addition, there's my one-minute celestial experience card.

Lin Chen stopped, clenched his fist, and his face was full of excitement.

How to describe that feeling...

It's like being stuck on a level in a game for a year, and then suddenly receiving a system email telling you that 100 million has been deposited into your account, along with a set of max-level divine equipment.

Cool.

It felt so good it almost felt unreal.

Lin Chen stood by the window, looking at the old locust tree under the moonlight outside. Suddenly remembering something, he opened the system panel again to check.

That's right.

The Eighteen Arhats are all mid-stage terrestrial immortals.

Eighteen Great Rejuvenation Pills, each one representing a Celestial Realm expert.

A peak celestial being in one minute...

Lin Chen turned around, leaned against the windowsill, and suddenly laughed out loud.

He was initially worried that those dormant old monsters might suddenly jump out and cause trouble.

Now?

Come on.

He wanted to see who could withstand the combined attack of eighteen mid-stage Earth Immortals.

If all else fails, he'll go up for a minute himself.

Lin Chen stood in the study for a while to calm himself down before pushing open the door and leaving.

After taking a couple of steps, he suddenly remembered something and whispered something to the system panel:

"Thanks, bro."

The system did not respond.

Lin Chen didn't mind and turned to walk towards the backyard.

As I walked, my steps became lighter.