Chapter Eleven: A Promotion

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As a ray of sunlight streamed through the window into the shop, Chen Xuan slowly opened his eyes. He yawned and climbed off the sofa, stretching lazily. Everything that had happened last night remained vivid in his mind. He had been right there on the battlefield, fully immersed in a cold weapon war… though calling it purely cold weapons wasn’t entirely accurate—at least not for Joan of Arc. She was enveloped in a radiant glow, each sword strike cutting tens of meters ahead, scattering enemy ranks like fresh snow. Despite her opponents outnumbering her forces by more than tenfold, they were utterly defeated by her reckless, overwhelming charge.

Chen Xuan and this shop had become Joan’s temporary rear base. Wounded soldiers were continuously brought in for emergency treatment at the door. The shop indeed had hot water and strong liquor; Chen even found a first aid kit filled with gauze and tape in the cabinet. He could have ignored them all. The ability transaction was complete; their lives or deaths no longer concerned him. But every one of them looked at him with reverence. Wherever he went, at least five cavalry guards closely followed, as if afraid he might face danger. Their expressions made it clear: if enemies bypassed the front lines and attacked the shop, these guards would surely use their bodies to shield him from slashing swords.

Chen Xuan couldn’t remain indifferent, so he lent a hand. The scattered towels, bloodstains, and broken armor on the floor stood as evidence—he truly had participated in the war that altered the fate of the saintly maiden. Joan won without question. A hundred defeated a thousand, swiftly and decisively. She neither lost nor was captured; Compiègne would not be her end.

“Wait!” Chen Xuan suddenly slapped his head. History wouldn’t be changed just like that, would it? What would France look like if Joan still lived? He hurriedly searched online but found no changes—Joan still died at nineteen by fire, for the same reasons as before. He sighed in relief. It seemed he was overthinking; this Joan probably came from another world, and what happened there wouldn’t affect the present one. That made sense—over there, morale and combat power could be boosted by flags; the two worlds naturally had differences.

Chen Xuan opened his inventory and saw two new abilities had appeared. To obtain golden rarity abilities on his second shop transaction suggested he had quite a knack for business. Losing the Spirit Sword Technique was a pity, but it was only a common-level ability. Besides, at that moment, it was the only thing that could turn Joan’s situation around.

Still, he hadn’t expected that using Spirit Sword Technique on her was an entirely different experience than using it himself. In theory, it was the same ability, but the gap between their manifestations shouldn’t have been so great.

Setting aside this puzzlement, Chen Xuan transferred the two new abilities to himself and began to test them personally. After all, the descriptions on the trading software seemed highly unreliable.

“Hm… this golden ability is somewhat akin to causality. As long as your理念 (ideology) aligns with the other party’s, you gain favor and support no matter what you do.”

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He pondered quietly for a moment, then picked up his phone and scrolled through the contacts of former colleagues from a major company.

“Hey? Brother Xuan! Long time no see! Why the sudden call? Got a good job referral for me?”

“Nothing much. I’m just a bit short on cash lately. Can you lend me a—”

*Click* The line went dead before he could finish.

Chen Xuan shrugged; not every ideology would do. He wanted to make money, and his colleague wanted to make money too. In theory, their理念 (ideas) aligned, but the new ability didn’t activate, indicating it had certain limitations.

He closed his eyes, trying to glean usage insights from Joan’s experience, but no revelation came. He realized that a trader’s mastery of an ability wouldn’t exceed the original owner’s. Joan had never consciously known this ability; she used it instinctively, so Chen couldn’t draw any lessons from her.

This was unlike herbalism or Spirit Sword Technique, which Liu Shuyue knew well and had practiced diligently.

However, this wasn’t a major setback.

He could make a bold hypothesis.

Joan’s entire life was dedicated to fighting for her homeland’s liberation, and her soldiers and generals shared the same belief. Borrowing money, however, was a zero-sum game—everyone wanted more, but if one borrowed, another’s funds decreased. So even if理念 (ideologies) matched, it wouldn’t work.

Perhaps the ability required a理念 that didn’t harm either party’s shared interests?

That would significantly narrow the ability’s application.

Chen Xuan thought for a while but couldn’t find a suitable use. Although “The Liberty Leading the People” was a golden ability, personally it was probably less useful than many white-level abilities.

Next, he switched to “Voice of Trust” and called the same colleague on WeChat.

“Hello? Bad signal just now…”

“Don’t call me again. I just bought a house and was about to ask you for a loan.”

The call ended abruptly.

Checking his phone, Chen Xuan saw a prompt: “Please add friend first.”

Right, during the second conversation, he could sense rejection through the phone. If disdain and coldness counted as malice, he had felt it firsthand.

This ability… was practically an arch-nemesis of telecom scams.

*Ding dong.*

Suddenly, a mail icon popped up in the lower right corner of the screen. Chen Xuan clicked it open and saw his previous rating application had been approved—he was now a Level 2 Shop Manager.

He had forgotten about this entirely.

Switching back to the abilities page, he saw his colorful legendary ability had indeed reached LV2, with a new “Change Details” option. Hovering the mouse over it, several lines of text appeared:

—“You resemble more of a shop manager now; the shop looks more respectable.”

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“The second-floor housing area is now open, allowing customer follow-ups; ability synchronization limit increased to LV2.”

“Non-tradable, non-transferable. Shop manager status: still alive.”

What did that mean… second floor?

He had explored the shop thoroughly on the first day; there was only a shopping area and an employee restroom. Where was a second floor?

Chen Xuan stepped out from behind the counter, half in disbelief, and was immediately shocked. To the left of the counter, a staircase had appeared—something that had been a plain white wall before!

Now there really was a second floor.

When had this change happened? He hadn’t noticed upon waking earlier.

Could the stairs have appeared the exact moment he opened the email?

Curious, Chen Xuan ascended the stairs. The second floor was as exquisitely decorated as the first, with carpeted flooring and walls paneled in natural wood. Recessed ceiling spotlights bathed the space in warm light, creating a cozy atmosphere. The stairs led to a small resting area of three or four square meters, flanked by corridors and doors numbered 201, 202, and so forth.

This was basically a hotel setup.

Chen Xuan chuckled quietly—not out of amusement, but at the absurdity of it all. Residential buildings in the neighborhood were uniformly designed; only the ground floor was commercial. The floors above were strictly residential. It was impossible to squeeze such a large space between floors out of thin air.

If his shop manager level kept rising, would more floors keep appearing? The utilities bill would be a nightmare.

He approached a door, curious about the room inside, but couldn’t open it. The door was locked.

An electronic lock screen read: “Please swipe room card.”

The system was thorough.

Back on the first floor, Chen Xuan fiddled with the butler software but found no universal room card. He had to register guests as staying to obtain corresponding cards, and the software forbade the manager from registering himself as a guest—so he had no way to open the door.

It was a paradox.

If only guests could open doors, how would housekeeping manage? If furniture was damaged or stolen, how could he inspect the room?

Forget it… better not think too deeply; it would only cause trouble.

Chen Xuan chose to make peace with the mystery.

The other LV2 upgrade was easier to understand. Though he no longer had Spirit Sword Technique to test, he could guess that the vast difference between his own and Joan’s use stemmed from synchronization limits—the shop manager was level one, so the ability was capped at LV1, but Joan had wielded a real LV5, hence the gap in experience.

Therefore, upgrading his shop manager rank was crucial.

He didn’t forget to peek at the next rank’s requirements: 10 performance points. Clearly, the bar would only rise.

That was, if the shop didn’t go bankrupt first.