Lü Yang had never trusted Zhao Xuhe.
Sharing the technique? A temporary lie. If the man escaped, he'd hunt him down. Killing him was possible, but risky—he might drag Lü Yang down with him.
And his loan was due. Time was up.
The moment the Ten Thousand Chariots Dragon Ascension Scroll was memorized, Lü Yang made his choice.
He focused his will and detonated the Killing Curse.
Who made a deal with you? We'll settle it in the next life.
With the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes, he'd claim the scroll this life. The Nine Transformations Dragon Art would be his in the next.
[You have recklessly self-destructed.]
[Pages remaining in the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes: 97]
[Begin a new life. Choose one reward from the last:]
Treasures.
Cultivation.
Lifespan.
Abandon all. Randomly awaken a talent.
"The disciple whose name is called, step forward."
Liu Xin's detestable voice echoed from the platform. As his consciousness snapped back, Lü Yang ignored it.
"I choose… Cultivation."
BOOM.
True Qi—vast and familiar—erupted from his dantian. It flooded his meridians, transforming flesh and spirit in a violent, glorious surge. He gritted his teeth, invoking the Art of Concealing Qi stolen from the men in black, suppressing every ripple of power.
A moment later, he exhaled.
I'm back.
Fourth Level of Qi Refining. Mid-Stage.
He looked up at Liu Xin on the platform. No fear. Only cold calculation.
Liu Xin is only at the sixth level now. He needs to refine a disciple into Primordial Qi to break into the late stage. Until then… he can't see through my concealment.
Then, a shock.
A wisp of pristine white Qi floated peacefully in his dantian.
The Primordial Qi from his last life had carried over.
A fierce grin spread across his face.
The Book doesn't reset to zero. It anchors to my previous self. Everything I gain… stacks.
The script played out again.
Receive the assignment. Endure Hehuan Hall. Be taken as a disciple by the Lustful Form Jade Physique. Lie low for three months. "Break through." Quietly become a formal disciple.
Now, for the plan. Three objectives this life.
First: The Merit Lottery Jackpot.
After settling in, he went to the Merit Hall, accepted the "Accumulate Merit" task, and flew straight to the mist-shrouded Merit Pool.
Amidst the crowd of hopeful disciples, he confidently called out his number.
"2025113!"
He preened, already mentally spending the Ten Billion Contribution Point jackpot. Goodbye, poverty.
A murmur ran through the crowd. People looked at him, then at the Merit Fish that appeared. Their eyes held… mild envy.
"Brother, lucky draw," someone said, clapping his shoulder. "A Purple Merit Fish. Not the best, but way better than White or Blue. Rare find!"
"…What?"
Lü Yang's triumphant pose froze.
The fish shimmered with violet light, not rainbow.
He checked the number. *2025113*. Correct.
No jackpot.
Xiao Shiye hadn't lied. He had no reason to. So…
"It was rigged."
The realization hit him like a physical blow. His hands trembled.
That 'lucky new disciple'… he was a plant. A pre-arranged winner.
Anger boiled, then cooled into icy resignation.
A purple fish is still valuable. It should push me to the fifth level, maybe sixth.
He ate the fish on the spot under watchful eyes and began refining. Suspicious gazes lingered until the last of the essence faded.
As expected, he broke through to the fifth level of Qi Refining, touching the threshold of the sixth.
If a purple fish can do this… a Rainbow Fish… He crushed the fleeting greed.
One goal failed. On to the second.
Objective Two: The Substitute Puppet Bubble.
He checked his disciple token. The price of Substitute Yin Puppets was already creeping up. The insiders were moving.
To play this game, I need capital.
He headed to the Good Deeds Pavilion, the very picture of a naive, struggling new disciple.
As predicted, the shark smelled blood.
"Junior Brother, you look troubled. Difficulties?" Zhao Xuhe appeared, his face a mask of brotherly concern.
Lü Yang offered a bitter smile. "Difficulties? Just poor. Does Senior Brother have any tasks that pay well?"
Zhao Xuhe sighed, the picture of shared misery. "Ah, I remember those days. Worrying about points every day." He leaned in, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "I've learned one universal truth, Junior Brother."
"Oh?"
"Money is dead. You must make money breed. Use points to earn points. Only then can you escape being the sect's beast of burden!"
Lü Yang's eyes widened with feigned awe. "Senior Brother's words are wiser than ten years of study!" Then he let his shoulders slump. "But I have no points. How can they breed?"
"You think too small!" Zhao Xuhe's eyes gleamed. "No points? Borrow them. Earn, then repay!"
"But… the risk…"
"Junior Brother!" Zhao Xuhe seized the moment, pulling out the insignia of the Three Rivers Society. "Seeing we're fated, I'll lend to you myself! How much do you need?"
Lü Yang hesitated, then held up two fingers.
"Two hundred?"
"Two thousand."
Zhao Xuhe's breath hitched.
Lü Yang pressed on, voice low and urgent. "I haven't used my new disciple cultivation-method loan yet. That's 1,000 points. Plus my starter assets—the White Bone Flying Sword, Qi-Blood Pills, the Human-Faced Owl. I'll pledge them all as collateral. Can you lend me 2,000, Senior Brother Zhao?"
Is the youth today this reckless? Zhao Xuhe was stunned by the all-in bet.
Before he could reply, Lü Yang delivered the masterstroke.
"And Senior Brother… I plan to pour it all into Substitute Yin Puppets."
"What?!" Zhao Xuhe jolted, then instinctively glanced around. "Junior Brother… you have inside information?"
"A little." Lü Yang mirrored his secretive tone. "When I was in the Library Pavilion, I overheard Senior Brother Wang Bairong muttering at the entrance. Something about… 'the situation in the south turning bad, the corpse-refining grounds for the puppets being lost, but the upper sect secretly suppressing the news.'"
"Hiss—"
Zhao Xuhe drew a sharp breath. A fierce, greedy light ignited in his eyes.
If this is true… the fortune to be made…
Looking at Zhao Xuhe's barely contained excitement, Lü Yang smiled coldly inside.
The hook was set. The fish was biting.
And this time, he wouldn't be the one on the line.