My Crazy Upgrade System

After everyone else had left, only Lu Feng and his men remained. The rest had fled immediately, not daring to stay a moment longer.

"Yi, you’re heading to the Netherworld this time. I wonder what your plans are? Would you be willing to share a few details?" Lu Feng asked.

"I have some business to attend to. Is there a problem?" Yi Tianyun said, looking at him.

"No problem at all. I’ve been staying around here and have never been to the Netherworld either. It would be great to have some company on the road." Lu Feng smiled. "I was wondering if I could join you?"

"That won’t be necessary for now. I have some personal business, so it’s not convenient at the moment," Yi Tianyun refused. He was heading to the Phoenix Nest; it was completely inconvenient to bring anyone else along, not even Ren Liangchen and his men.

To be precise, no one but him could go. The Phoenix Nest was extremely hostile toward humans to begin with. Too many people would likely cause conflict, so the fewer, the better. That would minimize potential clashes.

"Does that mean you’re somewhat familiar with the Netherworld, Yi?" Lu Feng immediately grasped the hidden meaning in his words.

If it were someone’s first time visiting the Netherworld, they wouldn’t have any specific "business" to attend to. Their first priority would be to get familiar with the surroundings before making any other plans. Since Yi Tianyun had said he had business, Lu Feng immediately understood there was more to it.

"I’m not very familiar with it. I just know of a matter that I need to take care of," Yi Tianyun said nonchalantly.

"Alright, then..." Seeing that Yi Tianyun didn’t want to elaborate, Lu Feng didn’t press further. "In that case, I won’t say any more. May we meet again if fate wills it!"

With that said, Lu Feng walked into the Teleportation Array and quickly vanished from their sight.

After he left, Ren Liangchen and the others stood up, exchanged a glance, and then looked at Yi Tianyun with determination. "Yi, we’ve decided to stick with you," Ren Liangchen said firmly. "Wherever you go, we’ll go! If it’s inconvenient for now, we can wait for you somewhere!"

The three of them looked at him with unwavering resolve, having clearly made up their minds to follow him.

"Why the change of heart? Didn’t you originally plan to go your separate ways after we got here?" Yi Tianyun asked with a small smile.

"That was the original plan, but things are different now. Your loyalty to us on the journey, never abandoning us, has moved us deeply. We’ve decided to follow you from now on and are willing to serve you!" Ren Liangchen said in a serious tone. "We’ve always been Loose Cultivators, drifting without a place to call home. That’s why we’re willing to work for you! More importantly, after what happened earlier, we feel you are more than capable of leading us—of being our leader!"

"That’s right! Your cultivation is the strongest, yet you never abandoned us or cared that we were holding you back! That alone is enough for me to commit to following you. With a leader like you, we are willing to obey!"

"Same here," Leng Hu said with a slight smile, once again revealing that awkward grin of his, showing that he felt the same way.

Their gazes were resolute; they were all dead set on following him. It was clear that Yi Tianyun’s actions during the mountain climb had deeply moved them. That alone was enough to make them choose to follow Yi Tianyun.

Yi Tianyun looked at them and smiled. "Actually, I’m the leader of a fairly powerful faction. I wonder, would you be willing to join it?"

They exchanged glances, and after a moment of silent communication, Ren Liangchen nodded and said to him, "That’s not a problem at all. I’m sure any faction you lead must be a good one!"

"Weren’t you afraid of being tied down before?" Yi Tianyun asked with a laugh.

"Well... as long as we’re following Boss Yi, I’m sure we’ll live well!" Yang Zhiwen chuckled, his form of address already changing. "Before, we were afraid of being screwed over by some sect. But with a brilliant leader like Boss Yi, how could that possibly happen? So, what’s the name of your faction, Boss Yi? Tell us, let’s see if we’ve heard of it."

"My name is Yi Tianyun. I’m the Mansion Master of Celestial Cloud Mansion, and the future Great Emperor who will establish the Celestial Cloud Empire. Heard of me?" Yi Tianyun said with a smile, revealing the truth.

"What!?"

The three of them stared at him, their eyes wide with shock. The news was so stunning that it took them a long moment to recover.

"The Mansion Master of Celestial Cloud Mansion? The future Great Emperor of the Celestial Cloud Empire? You’re that legendary expert who crushed the Netherworld Empire?" Yang Zhiwen exclaimed in disbelief.

"That’s right." Yi Tianyun smiled. ’Looks like my reputation precedes me.’

"I... I can’t believe it. A living legend, right here with us, and he’s our Boss Yi..." Ren Liangchen and the others were both shocked and overjoyed. It felt surreal. They had thought such a figure was completely unattainable, yet he had been beside them this whole time.

"So, what do you say? Willing to join?" Yi Tianyun asked with a smile.

"Of course, we’re willing!" they shouted in unison.

"Excellent. Welcome to Celestial Cloud Mansion." Yi Tianyun smiled, then tossed out three Low-Grade Sacred Artifacts. "Here’s a little welcome gift. Just don’t go showing them off."

"S-Sacred Artifacts!?" they gasped. To hand out Sacred Artifacts so casually... wasn’t he being a bit too generous?

These Sacred Artifacts were ones Yi Tianyun had collected and hadn’t gotten around to selling. He had intended to give them to his own people anyway. ’Rather than selling them for Madness Value, it’s better to give them to my subordinates and boost their strength.’

"We just joined and we’re already getting gifts like this! As expected of Boss Yi... This is fantastic!" Ren Liangchen laughed heartily, feeling that choosing to follow Yi Tianyun was the most brilliant decision they had ever made.

[Ding! Congratulations to Player Yi Tianyun for successfully recruiting the absolutely loyal general, Ren Liangchen. Commander Value +100. As your cultivation improves, you can continue to gain experience indefinitely. When killing enemies, you will receive corresponding rewards, including EXP, Madness Value, and Sin Value.]

[Ding! Congratulations to Player Yi Tianyun for successfully recruiting the absolutely loyal general, Leng Hu. Commander Value +100...]

[Ding! Congratulations to Player Yi Tianyun for successfully recruiting the absolutely loyal general, Yang Zhiwen. Commander Value +100...]

[Ding! Congratulations to Player Yi Tianyun for successfully recruiting more than three loyal generals. You have received a bonus reward: 100,000,000 EXP, 1,000,000 Madness Value, and one Divine General Summoning Order!]

[Divine General Summoning Order: Instantly summon your loyal Divine Generals to your side, regardless of distance! (Shatters after three uses. The number of generals summoned per use is irrelevant.)]

A series of system notifications popped up one after another. Recruiting individual generals didn’t offer many rewards, but there was a bonus for reaching a certain number. The Divine General Summoning Order was especially astonishing—the ability to summon them at any time, and in any number, was incredible.

’One day, when I have a large number of Divine Generals, I’ll be able to summon them all at once and unleash hell on my enemies!’