Gu Fangchen looked at the new profession hovering over his head, raised an eyebrow, and quickly did the math in his mind.
His luck wasn't bad this time.
The Angler profession was one he'd actually considered before, a job that could prove quite useful in his current predicament.
It wasn't the best option, but it was a decent middle plan.
Among ordinary players, this class had a middling-to-good reputation; among strategy creators, it was rated even higher.
Because it wasn't hard to obtain. Unlike the Emperor class, which most players could never acquire even by the end of the story, Angler was simple to unlock.
All it took was one requirement, catch a single fish with a rod, and you could take the job immediately.
Even those hopeless at fishing in real life could easily meet that condition here, where the game had simplified the mechanics.
And both of the Angler's skills were genuinely practical.
The first skill, Keep Baiting the Spot, was pure gambler's gold.
The chance of drawing a high-quality item was low, but what made this skill a godsend was, there were absolutely no limits on the range or level of obtainable items.
That's right. It meant that even if you tossed in a low-grade gray item, there was still a one-percent chance of fishing up a top-tier rainbow-quality item.
So the correct way to use it was to gather as many low-grade items as possible, and start rolling the dice.
After that, leave the rest to fate.
Of course, that was how ordinary players tended to use it.
As for strategy creators like Gu Fangchen, what they relied on most was actually the much more stable second skill.
And that was the one he needed right now.
As long as you had enough money, it could turn a forgery into the real thing. If an item was necessary but too troublesome to obtain through normal means, there was no easier or more reliable path.
But it came with a condition.
First, you had to have a forgery.
So to make the most of this skill, there was one NPC every player had to befriend.
That NPC was known as the Nameless Toothsmith, a mysterious craftsman who spawned randomly on the map.
Despite the title "Toothsmith," this NPC didn't fix teeth, he could forge anything you desired.
Give him a complete blueprint, and he could make a real item. Without one, all you'd get was a useless counterfeit.
And to trade with him, you had to pay in teeth.
Human teeth, beast teeth, demon teeth, it didn't matter.
Gu Fangchen knew the most likely area where the Toothsmith would appear, but right now, he had no way to reach him.
The reason he still said the second skill would help him was simple,
Gu Fangchen himself was a forgery.
Not a metaphor, not a delusion, not some abstract concept turned literal.
The Angler's second skill didn't possess reality-altering power at the conceptual level; otherwise, it would be an overpowered class, not a mid-high-tier one.
The truth was that everything about Gu Fangchen, the clues, the fragments, the implications, pointed to one fact: he had been deliberately manufactured as a tool from the very beginning.
He was not the Northern Garrison Prince's heir. But he wasn't the son of the coachman who colluded with the Demon Sect, either.
If the player dug into the Northern Garrison Prince's mansion, uncovered the secret of the real and fake heirs, and then met a deranged beggar to take on the small side quest Moonrise, Sunset,
following the clues would lead to a well in the beggar's home, where the corpse of an infant boy, buried for many years, was found.
That eerie, incomplete little side story contained the biggest secret about the false heir.
Gu Fangchen and several other plot analysts once discussed it, and they all agreed, the mad beggar was likely the coachman who'd swapped the babies back then.
And the infant corpse, that was the coachman's real son.
But then, who was the fake heir that later died in the stables?
Since the side quest had no continuation, the answer was likely known only to the "Great Furnace."
That was why Gu Fangchen had once said there might be a crucial hidden thread tied to his character.
But because that character was already dead before the game's story began, the thread was cut off completely.
Even for a full-achievement player like Gu Fangchen, the truth was unknowable.
Now that he had crossed into this world as Gu Fangchen himself, he finally had the chance to investigate it properly.
Back to the point, who exactly was Gu Fangchen? There was still no definitive answer. But one thing was certain, he was not the Northern Garrison Prince's heir.
Back then, for the Demon Sect to swap the babies successfully, they had used the Art of Causality and Fate on Gu Fangchen and Gu Yuandao.
It not only severed Gu Yuye's blood-sense, it also tangled and confused the causal threads between the two.
And "causal threads" were not just metaphors in this world, they were real, tangible items that divine cultivators could grasp, alter, or collect.
Important point,
Causal threads were items.
Therefore, the causal thread attached to Gu Fangchen's body was something he possessed, an item of his own.
Which meant that his Not Bought, Definitely Real skill could affect it.
The causal thread on him still belonged to the forged identity of the Northern Garrison Prince's heir, a solid counterfeit.
Gu Yuye was a martial cultivator who specialized in formation and momentum, so even after a long encounter, he couldn't alter the causal thread on Gu Fangchen.
That was why he needed Gu Youren to act and "correct" the causality.
To expose Gu Fangchen's identity publicly before everyone, and then, from the repair traces on the thread, find proof of his contact with the Demon Sect.
Those traces had appeared about three years ago, precisely when Gu Fangchen met the coachman and learned of his origins.
So yes, Gu Yuye had told the truth there.
Gu Fangchen really had discovered his identity three years prior. That was why he'd been so hysterical and terrified when everything fell apart.
In the original plot, he had indeed been found guilty of colluding with the Demon Sect, doomed beyond redemption.
Even though Ning Caiyong saved his life, in the end he still died.
"You're spouting nonsense again!"
Gu Fangchen's thoughts spun rapidly before he reined them in. He blinked and looked toward the main hall, where Gu Yuandao had shot up in anger.
Gu Yuandao had changed clothes.
He'd taken off the scholar's robe of the top-ranked graduate and now wore a richly embroidered outfit, expensive, noble, turning his scholarly air into the calm dignity of a prince's heir.
Such a clear, upright young man stood poised in the stately hall of the prince's mansion, every bit in place.
Gu Fangchen's expression didn't change, but he recognized immediately that the new robe was the one Ning Caiyong had personally sewn for his original self two days ago.
Gu Yuye was certain he couldn't turn things around today, so giving it to his real son was nothing, but Gu Yuandao wearing it so naturally, that was peculiar.
This man, who should've lived poor and alone since childhood, looked far too comfortable in fine clothes.
A person's lifelong habits were hard to change.
Even if Gu Yuandao was brilliant, there was no way he could look this natural without having worn such garments for years.
Gu Fangchen strolled in with a grin, eyes narrowed.
"Well, well. Who would've thought the illustrious top scholar would be such a petty man in his own sister's eyes? Shocking, truly."
Gu Yuandao shot him a cold glance, flicked his sleeve, and replied with a faint smile,
"If you're trying to sow discord between us siblings, I advise you not to waste your effort."
"When I studied at Yaoshan Academy, I met the Grand Princess once. She knows my character perfectly."
"Such clumsy tricks, lies so bad they can't even pass as lies, are nothing but embarrassing."
He still felt humiliated from having been tricked into vomiting blood earlier, and now he wanted to regain face.
His retort was measured and elegant.
If Gu Fangchen really had been trying to drive a wedge between them, he'd have looked like nothing more than a petty clown.
But, facts spoke louder than words.
Gu Fangchen shrugged and turned toward the woman walking in behind, Gu Youren.
"Grand Princess, tell me, was I lying? Wasn't that exactly what you said just now?"
The beautiful woman, usually so composed and regal, pressed her lips together, face stiffening as she avoided his gaze.
Gu Fangchen sighed and said to Qingjian, who stood beside him,
"Ah, what a tragedy. I tell the truth, and I still get accused. Turns out the legendary first lady of the academy is this domineering, she can't even admit what she just said herself."
"Seems all that talk of integrity was just empty words."
Gu Yuandao sneered inwardly. This brat had lost his mind.
To insult even the Grand Princess, clearly a desperate man grasping at straws.
He leisurely prepared to watch Gu Youren chastise him, yet to his shock, his righteous elder sister bit her lip, her icy face flushing red.
She truly despised Gu Fangchen, held herself above his past misdeeds with innate pride.
So realizing she'd been wrong before him made it unbearable.
If she couldn't set an example herself, how could she lecture others?
Every word she'd ever spoken would bounce back like a boomerang.
If she denied it now, the shameless one would be her.
Gu Youren took a long breath, shame and anger twisting inside her, and said in a low voice,
"I... misspoke earlier, in a moment of haste."
"I knew the Grand Princess would, wait, what?"
Gu Yuandao froze. His confident expression collapsed into blank disbelief.
He turned toward Gu Youren, who pressed her lips again, face burning, unable to continue.
To admit she'd mistaken the situation, that she thought Princess Banruo had sent Xiyin to protect Gu Yuandao and so called Gu Fangchen a vile schemer,
That wasn't just an error in judgment; it was her own arrogance laid bare.
Shame turned to fury, and she glared at the smug Gu Fangchen beside her.
Few had ever provoked her emotions this deeply.
He used to fear her, never daring to talk back.
Yet now, he'd not only dared, he'd succeeded in baiting her.
When had Gu Fangchen grown so bold, and so clever?
Her uneasy silence only deepened Gu Yuandao's dismay. His face darkened, and he blurted,
"So that's how you see me, Grand Princess? To say such things, !"
"I am the newly appointed top scholar, soon to enter court. If you speak thus, how will others see me?"
He knew Gu Fangchen was behind it somehow, but Gu Youren's reputation among the civil officials was immense.
A single careless word from her, if spread, could destroy the image he'd worked so hard to build.
Thankfully, they were inside the Prince's Mansion. As long as the servants kept their mouths shut, it would go no further.
Gu Youren, guilty and speechless, frowned, his tone was too anxious.
So unlike his usual serene, unworldly self.
Still, he was young; caring for his career wasn't strange...
She convinced herself of that, but once the thought of inconsistency arose, it wouldn't leave her.
Ning Caiyong returned just then, having settled Ding Xingfeng in a guest room, and quickly tried to smooth things over.
"All right, all right, misunderstandings among family should be cleared up with words."
"Who's family with him?!"
A sharp voice snapped. A girl in red stormed in, Gu Lianqian, glared at Gu Fangchen and huffed coldly.
"What's fake can't become real, and what's real can't be fake. When Sister examines you in a moment, whether you've consorted with the Demon Sect will be plain to see."
Gu Fangchen smiled at the sight of yet another familiar face.
That's not always true... sometimes, the real can become false, and the false can become real.
Of course, there was still one critical problem left.
He looked at the glowing text before him.
Forged Heir Causal Thread: Ten Thousand Taels of Gold
He didn't have a single coin on him.
...
At dawn.
In the heart of Huangtian City stood the Purple Extremity Hall, the pinnacle of Great Wei's imperial power.
And at the city's northernmost point rose a colossal tower, almost piercing the heavens, a hundred zhang tall, called the Canliao Pillar.
At its peak, a woman of breathtaking beauty in wide Daoist robes stood expressionless before a water mirror, a crimson mark glinting on her forehead.
Ripples spread through the reflection of sky and stars, circles upon circles converging from every corner, like an invisible rainfall drawn toward one point.
No one knew how long it took.
Eventually, the countless droplets overlapped, condensing into a single spot.
Xu Fu opened her eyes, gaze fixed upon it.
Only one ripple remained to merge, and once it did, the range would narrow down to a single person.
"Got you... little thief."
Her tone was cold as she extended a finger toward the point.
In that instant, the vast sea of stars trembled.
Above Huangtian City, as the first ray of dawn pierced the clouds, a massive, unseen pressure descended. Every divine cultivator of fourth rank and above within the capital turned pale, hair standing on end.
To them, the sky itself had become a colossal hand pressing down.
Heaven and earth overturned.
The target wasn't even them, but the sight alone made them shudder.
Just as Xu Fu's fingertip touched the spot, the converging ripples abruptly froze,
Then vanished.
Xu Fu's hand stopped midair, pupils tightening.
The nation's fate, once stolen, had simply vanished? Impossible.
She stood silent for a long moment, then lightly touched the water's surface again. Ripples spread, parting the starry curtain and revealing what lay beneath.
A grand mansion came into view.
The Saint of Fate spoke, each word heavy as judgment:
"The Northern Garrison Prince's Mansion."