Chapter 15: Fishing

“Who’s making a promise with you? Let’s talk about it in the next life!”

“With the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes, the worst that happens is I take the *Ten Thousand Chariots Dragon Ascension Treasure Scroll* in this life, and the *Nine Transformations Dragon Ascension Art* in the next. They’ll still all be mine.”

From the very beginning, Lyu Yang had never believed Zhao Xuhe.

Sharing Daoist books was nothing more than a temporary expedient. Lyu Yang was certain that as soon as Zhao Xuhe escaped with his life, he would find a way to kill him.

To make matters worse, Zhao Xuhe was stronger. Lyu Yang had no absolute certainty of killing him to eliminate the threat forever; if they truly fought to the death, he might be the one who died.

Coupled with the fact that his loan was about to expire and he had no way to repay it, his time in this life was running out. Thus, the moment the Daoist book was in his hands, Lyu Yang simply self-detonated.

【You have daringly self-detonated and died.】

【Remaining pages in the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes: 97】

【Restarting a new life. You may choose one of the following from your previous life's gains

1. Treasures. 2. Cultivation. 3. Lifespan. 4. Forfeit all gains to randomly awaken a talent based on your previous life's experiences.】

"Those whose names are called, step forward."

As his consciousness cleared, Liu Xin's familiar, loathsome voice rang out from the stage. Lyu Yang turned a deaf ear and said in his heart, "I choose cultivation."

*Rumble!*

In the next second, Lyu Yang felt a surge of True Qi erupt from his dantian, rapidly flowing through his limbs and bones, beginning to madly reshape his essence, spirit, and vitality. However, he gritted his teeth and circulated the Qi-Concealing Art he had obtained from the three men in black, compressing all the commotion beneath his skin.

A moment later, Lyu Yang exhaled a long breath of turbid air.

"I'm back!"

Qi Refining Stage, Fourth Layer, Mid-stage!

Lifting his head to look at Liu Xin on the stage, Lyu Yang no longer felt the fear he had experienced upon their first meeting. At this moment, Liu Xin was only at the sixth layer of Qi Refining!

Once Liu Xin selected a registered disciple and refined them into Primordial One Qi, he would be able to break through his bottleneck to the late stage of Qi Refining. Only then would he be able to see through Lyu Yang's Qi-Concealing Art. Until then, even if Lyu Yang stood right before him, he would only see him as an ordinary person.

"But there are unexpected surprises..."

Lyu Yang inspected his dantian internally, only to see a wisp of misty white Qi floating within. It was the Primordial One Qi from his previous life—it was actually still here in this life!

"I understand... the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes doesn't reset to the original anchor point, but to my previous life!"

This was undoubtedly a good thing.

It meant that the treasures, cultivation, and even the lifespan he chose in every life could be preserved into the next, rather than having to start from scratch every time.

Lyu Yang's subsequent actions proceeded as usual.

Go on stage, get assigned, enter the Hehuan Hall.

Counter-kill Yu Suzhen.

Lurk silently, break through after three months, and unobtrusively become a formal disciple.

"In this life, according to my plan, besides the remaining volume of the *Nine Transformations Dragon Ascension Art*, there are two other major events worth attempting."

The first was, naturally, the "Merit Lottery."

Lyu Yang stayed in his cave dwelling for a few days before heading to the Merit Hall to accept a "Accumulate Merit" task. Immediately after, he rushed without pause toward the Merit Pool.

"2025113!"

Standing amidst the crowd surrounding the Merit Pool, Lyu Yang coolly ran a hand through his hair, beginning to envision how he would spend his winnings if he hit the jackpot.

A billion! A billion! I won't be able to spend it all in one lifetime!

Goodbye, poverty. I shall miss you...

In the next second, a commotion erupted within the crowd. Countless people looked at Lyu Yang in shock, as well as the Merit Fish drawn from the number he had chosen.

"Brother, you're lucky."

Someone approached Lyu Yang, their tone envious. "A purple Merit Fish. Although it's only slightly better than white and blue, it's still a rare find."

"...What?"

Lyu Yang's head tilted, a row of question marks appearing above him.

A purple Merit Fish?

Not a rainbow one?

Lyu Yang hurriedly looked at the Merit Fish he had drawn; it was indeed glowing with a purple light. He checked his chosen number again—it was definitely 2025113.

Why didn't he win?!

Could the lucky man from his previous life, Xiao Shiye, have been lying? But there was no way he could have known someone could restart a life; he had no reason to lie.

If that were the case...

"It's a scam!"

Lyu Yang's hands shook with rage, his face turning bright red. He finally realized: what "lucky man"? That Xiao Shiye was clearly a plant!

"Forget it, at least it's a Merit Fish..." Lyu Yang could only comfort himself. Purple was still rare, second only to gold and rainbow. Although he missed out on the billion-credit jackpot, consuming a purple Merit Fish would likely allow his cultivation to quickly reach the fifth layer of Qi Refining.

Thinking this way made Lyu Yang feel much better.

To be safe, he did not take the Merit Fish back to his cave dwelling. Instead, he consumed it on the spot in front of everyone, then began to meditate to refine it.

Once finished, Lyu Yang felt the several gazes fixed upon him dissipate.

The result was as he expected: the essence of the purple Merit Fish allowed him to successfully break through to the fifth layer of Qi Refining, even touching the threshold of the sixth layer.

"This was only purple. If it were a rainbow one..."

Lyu Yang felt a sense of longing. After all, in his previous life, after Xiao Shiye consumed a rainbow Merit Fish, he had jumped from the first layer of Qi Refining to Great Perfection overnight.

"Forget it, I won't force it."

Lyu Yang quickly regained his composure. The first task was a bust, but the second one was still an opportunity: the "Substitute Yin Puppet Price Bubble Incident."

Wang Bairong, an elder of the Library Pavilion, had nearly lost his entire fortune because of this, only to be deceived by Zhao Xuhe and become cannon fodder for Dragon Spiral Island. But ultimately, that was because Wang Bairong entered the market too late. Lyu Yang was different; he knew exactly when this price bubble would shift.

"The upward trend has actually already begun."

Lyu Yang opened his disciple token to check the price of the Substitute Yin Puppets and found that there indeed was some fluctuation. Clearly, someone with inside information was manipulating the market.

"To enter the market, I'm still lacking enough capital for a decent share..."

Lyu Yang thought for a moment, then turned and headed toward the Merit Hall.

As expected, to the eyes of the veteran disciples, he was just a little fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered. Before long, Zhao Xuhe proactively approached him.

"Junior Brother, you don't look well. Are you encountering some difficulties?"

Hearing this, Lyu Yang looked up and gave a bitter smile. "What difficulties could there be? It's just a lack of money. I wonder if Senior Brother has any tasks that can earn contribution points?"

"So it's a lack of money... I understand. As your senior, I've been there. At your age, I was also worrying about contribution points, working myself to the bone every day. My Dao companion even looked down on me and broke up with me... Sigh, every day is just endless tasks. It feels like there's no hope in life."

Zhao Xuhe spoke with a sigh, acting as if he and Lyu Yang shared the same plight.

After speaking, he patted Lyu Yang on the shoulder and said, "I wasted half my life before finally summarizing a truth that applies everywhere."

"And that is: money is dead."

"Therefore, you must make money work for you. Use contribution points to earn more contribution points. Only then will you avoid becoming a slave to the Sacred Sect and escape this fate of being a beast of burden!"

Lyu Yang immediately showed a look of admiration. "Your words are worth ten years of study!"

However, Lyu Yang quickly lowered his head in disappointment. "But Senior Brother, I don't even have any contribution points right now. How can I use them to earn more?"

"Small! Your vision is too small!"

Zhao Xuhe's expression became even more friendly as he grinned. "Even if you don't have money now, you can borrow it! Once you make money, you can just pay it back, right?"

"But..." Lyu Yang still looked hesitant.

Seeing his commission within reach, Zhao Xuhe was not about to let it go. He quickly said, "Tell you what, I see that you and I are destined. I'll lend you a sum!"

Lyu Yang's eyes instantly lit up. "Really?"

Seeing his ravenous expression, Zhao Xuhe was certain: the fish had taken the bait!

"Of course it's true!"

While patting his chest in guarantee, Zhao Xuhe produced the sign of the so-called Three Rivers Society, then asked Lyu Yang, "How much do you intend to borrow, Junior Brother?"

After a moment of silence, Lyu Yang held up two fingers.

"Two hundred?"

"Two thousand!"

Lyu Yang looked determined. "To be honest, I haven't used my Cultivation Technique Loan yet—that's worth 1,000 contribution points. Plus my newcomer benefits: the White Bone Flying Sword, Blood Vitality Pills, Human-Faced Owls... I'll use these as collateral. Senior Brother Zhao, can you lend me 2,000 contribution points?"

Zhao Xuhe was stunned.

Are the young people these days always this reckless?

I only gave you a few words of persuasion, and you're going all-in?

Before Zhao Xuhe could react, Lyu Yang said something even more shocking: "Senior Brother Zhao, I plan to go all-in on buying Substitute Yin Puppets."

"What!?"

Zhao Xuhe was first shocked, but then, as if realizing something, he quickly lowered his voice. "Junior Brother... you wouldn't happen to know some inside information, would you?"

"Please enlighten me, Senior Brother," Lyu Yang whispered back. "When I was selecting cultivation techniques in the Library Pavilion earlier, I overheard Senior Brother Wang Bairong at the door. He mentioned that the situation in the south is unfavorable and that the Ten Thousand Man Pit, which produces the Substitute Yin Puppets, has fallen. It's just that the Sacred Sect has secretly blocked the news..."

*Hiss!*

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhao Xuhe drew in a sharp breath of cold air. Immediately after, intense greed surfaced in his eyes; clearly, he had also caught the scent of a business opportunity.

If the news was true, a chance to strike it rich had arrived!

Looking at the uncontrollably excited Zhao Xuhe, Lyu Yang sneered inwardly.

The fish has taken the bait!