Traveling Between Two Worlds: From Bread for Maids to Fantasy Overlord

The winds of Black Wind Ridge still carried the lingering stench of bandits' blood. Huang Yiming had just calmed the refugees when Su Qingyue's urgent call came again, her voice filled with exhaustion and anxiety: "Yiming, Zhao Lei has gone mad! He's colluded with several small jewelers, spreading rumors everywhere that our jade is dyed and our spiritual herbs are just ordinary medicinal plants. Now all our customers have cancelled their orders, payments are owed, and he's even sent people to seize the goods in our warehouse. Our company account is about to be frozen!"

Huang Yiming frowned, his knuckles clenched so tightly they turned white. The Urban Trading Company was the culmination of his and Su Qingyue's efforts, and the core channel for the exchange of goods between the two realms. If it collapsed, not only would the supply of modern equipment and nutrient solutions needed for cultivation be cut off, but the supplies for refugees and rogue cultivators would also be jeopardized. Meanwhile, the temporary stronghold at Black Wind Ridge was not yet stable, the refugees urgently needed resettlement, the spies of the Qingyun Sect had not been thoroughly investigated, and although Qin Yuling had returned to Qin Family Fortress to coordinate forces, the remnants of the Black Stone Sect were still secretly watching, and could launch a counterattack at any moment.

"Qingyue, stabilize the situation first. Don't fight Zhao Lei head-on. I'll return to the city as soon as I've made arrangements here." Huang Yiming's voice was calm, trying to reassure Su Qingyue. "Remember, protect yourself. We can find more supplies, but you can't get hurt."

After hanging up the phone, Huang Yiming immediately summoned Yang Xiu and Qin Hu. Yang Xiu had just finished using his hidden spiritual root to survey the surrounding area and confirmed that there was no trace of the Qingyun Sect. Seeing Huang Yiming's solemn expression, he quickly stepped forward: "Brother Ming, has something big happened in the city?"

"Yes, Qingyue is being maliciously suppressed and the situation is critical." Huang Yiming said in a deep voice. "Xiuer, I'm leaving this place to you. You lead the refugees to build temporary camps, train a few reliable guards, and keep an eye out for suspicious people, especially those with the aura of the Qingyun Sect. Once you find them, control them first and don't alert them easily."

Yang Xiu nodded emphatically, her eyes resolute: "Don't worry, Brother Ming, I will definitely guard this place well and not let you be distracted." Although her cultivation was still shallow, her hidden spiritual root had keen perception, and with the basic defensive techniques taught to her by Huang Yiming, guarding the temporary stronghold would not be a problem.

Seeing this, Qin Hu patted his chest and shouted, "Brother Ming, I'll go to the city with you! I'll teach that Zhao Lei a lesson, shoot him with a pistol, and see if he dares to be arrogant again!"

Huang Yiming glanced at him and said helplessly, "You can go, but you must listen to me. You're not allowed to move around or fire your gun recklessly. The city isn't a fantasy world; you can't do whatever you want." He knew Qin Hu's personality too well—reckless and impulsive. If he caused trouble in the city, he would only make things worse.

Qin Hu nodded vigorously, "Don't worry, Brother Ming, I'll definitely listen to you and won't do anything reckless!"

With everything arranged, Huang Yiming opened the interdimensional portal, taking Qin Hu back to the city. As soon as they stepped out of the portal, Qin Hu was stunned by the bustling traffic and towering buildings before him, muttering repeatedly, "My god, this is the city? It's more than ten times bigger than Qin Family Fortress! These metal boxes run faster than demonic beasts!"

Huang Yiming didn't have time to explain and pulled him towards the company. But as soon as they reached the intersection, the red light turned on, and Qin Hu stopped abruptly, staring intently at the red light, his face pale. He grabbed Huang Yiming's sleeve and said nervously, "Brother Ming, this is bad! There's a cultivation restriction! Is this red light the eye of a demon beast? We can't move when it's on, or we'll be attacked by the restriction!"

Passersby glanced at him, some even joking, "Is this guy an idiot? He doesn't even recognize a traffic light."

Qin Hu, enraged and about to lash out, was stopped by Huang Yiming. "Don't be ridiculous. This isn't a restriction, it's a traffic light. Red means stop, green means go. It's the city's rule. Follow me." He then took Qin Hu's hand and quickly crossed the street when the light turned green. Qin Hu remained tense the entire time, only relaxing once they reached the other side. He stubbornly retorted, "I knew this was the rule all along, I was just testing you to see if you understood the city's 'cultivation restrictions'."

Huang Yiming shook his head helplessly, deciding not to argue with him anymore, and quickened his pace to the company. Su Qingyue was sitting in her office, her eyes bloodshot, a pile of canceled orders in front of her. When she saw Huang Yiming come in, she couldn't hold back any longer, her eyes reddening: "Yiming, you've finally come."

Huang Yiming stepped forward, gently hugged her, and tenderly comforted her, "It's okay, I'm here, everything will be resolved." He picked up the cancellation contract on the table, quickly flipped through it, and listened to Su Qingyue explain the situation in detail. He already had a plan in mind. Zhao Lei was just a clown, and he probably had a wealthy family backing him. To completely resolve the crisis, he needed to expose the rumors and suppress the forces behind him.

"Qingyue, go and make preparations for a tasting event tomorrow. Bring out our best jade and spiritual herbs, and contact the media. I want to expose Zhao Lei's lies on the spot," Huang Yiming said in a deep voice. "Also, investigate who the powerful family behind Zhao Lei is. I want them to pay the price."

Su Qingyue nodded and immediately got up to make the arrangements. Qin Hu sat to the side, staring at the jade on the table. He picked it up curiously and weighed it in his hand, muttering, "This stone looks pretty shiny. Can it really sell for a lot of money? More valuable than the spirit jade in our fantasy world?"

Huang Yiming smiled and said, "This is glass-type jadeite, which is even more precious than low-grade spirit jade in the city. Once we've resolved this crisis, I'll buy you one so you can wear it and show off."

Just then, Huang Yiming's phone rang. It was Qin Yuling calling: "Yiming, something bad has happened! The remnants of the Black Stone Sect launched a sneak attack on Black Wind Ridge. Although we repelled them, several refugees were injured, and Yang Xiu was also grazed. They even said they would completely flatten Black Wind Ridge and take back the spiritual herbs and supplies."

Huang Yiming's expression changed drastically. He was caught between a business crisis in the city and a sneak attack from Black Wind Ridge; he was completely overwhelmed. "Yuling, you take Yang Xiu and the refugees to reinforce the defenses. I'll go back as soon as I've dealt with things in the city. Thank you for your hard work."

After hanging up the phone, Huang Yiming's eyes grew even sharper. Zhao Lei's suppression, the Black Stone Sect's counterattack, and the Azure Cloud Sect's menacing gaze—three pressures were mounting simultaneously, yet he did not back down. He knew that the more difficult the situation, the more he needed to stay grounded; otherwise, not only would he be doomed, but those around him would also suffer.

The following day, the appraisal event was held as scheduled. As expected, Zhao Lei arrived with a group of people to cause trouble, pointing at the jade on the stage and loudly mocking, "Don't be fooled! These jades are all dyed, and the 'spiritual herbs' are just ordinary medicinal herbs masquerading as genuine. They're just trying to make money off these fakes; they'll be exposed sooner or later!"

The customers at the scene were buzzing with discussion, their expressions hesitant, and many were beginning to waver. Su Qingyue's face turned pale, and she wanted to argue, but Huang Yiming stopped her.

Huang Yiming walked onto the stage, picked up a piece of jade, and took out a spiritual energy detector. He said calmly, "Everyone can see clearly that this jade contains a rich spiritual energy, making it ten times more precious than ordinary jewelry. Whether it's fake or not, a test will tell." As he spoke, he placed the jade on the detector, and the instrument instantly lit up with a dazzling green light, indicating that the jade had an extremely high concentration of spiritual energy.

Immediately afterward, Huang Yiming took out a thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum and placed it on the testing instrument, where the spiritual energy concentration immediately exceeded the maximum. "This thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum can quickly restore a cultivator's spiritual energy, and ordinary people can also improve their health by consuming it. Zhao Lei, do you have any evidence that this is fake?"

Zhao Lei's expression changed, his eyes darting around: "You...this testing device is fake, you can't trust it at all!"

"Fake?" Huang Yiming sneered, took out his phone and played the recordings and videos of Zhao Lei counterfeiting goods and spreading rumors. "Everyone, take a good look. This is Zhao Lei's true face. He deliberately suppressed our company in order to monopolize the jewelry and medicinal herb market in the city."

An uproar erupted as customers began to criticize Zhao Lei, and those who had previously cancelled their orders declared they would reorder. Zhao Lei turned pale and tried to flee, but was stopped by people arranged by Huang Yiming.

"Zhao Lei, you spread rumors, maliciously suppressed competitors, and intercepted our goods. It's time to settle this score." Huang Yiming walked up to him, his eyes icy. "Either compensate us for all our losses and issue a public apology, or I'll send you to the authorities and make you pay for your actions."

Zhao Lei was trembling with fear and begged for mercy repeatedly: "I was wrong, I will compensate for the losses, I will publicly apologize, please let me go."

After dealing with Zhao Lei, Huang Yiming contacted the powerful family behind him, using rare jade and spiritual herbs from the fantasy world to either win him over or suppress him. In just one day, he completely resolved the commercial crisis in the city and even expanded his business empire.

Just as he was preparing to return to Black Wind Ridge with Qin Hu, the system suddenly notified him: [Unfamiliar spiritual energy fluctuations detected at Qin Family Fortress, suspected to be infiltrating by a core disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect, targeting the Dual Realm Supply Warehouse]

Huang Yiming's expression changed drastically. Qin Family Fortress contained a large amount of modern equipment and spiritual herbs; if it were seized by the disciples of Qingyun Sect, the consequences would be unimaginable. Without time to think, he immediately opened the dual-realm passage and rushed to Qin Family Fortress with Qin Hu, thinking to himself: Qingyun Sect, in the end, couldn't help but make a move.