"Who agreed with you? Let's talk about it in the next life!"
"With the Centome in hand, at worst, I can claim the Imperial Dragonrise Scroll in this life and the Ninefold Dragon Metamorphosis in the next. They're both mine!"
From the very beginning, Lü Yang never believed Zhao Xuhe.
The talk of sharing the Daoist Scripture was nothing but a stopgap measure. Lü Yang was convinced that once Zhao Xuhe escaped, he would definitely find a way to kill him.
Unfortunately, Zhao's cultivation was higher, and Lü Yang didn't have the absolute confidence to kill him. If they really fought to the death, he might be the one who lost.
Moreover, with the loan coming due and no way to repay it, his days in this life were numbered. Therefore, the moment he obtained the Method, Lü Yang chose to detonate himself without hesitation.
.....
[You have detonated yourself and died.]
[Available Leaves of Centome: 97]
[Reopening a life, you may choose one item from your previous life's harvests:]
A: Artifacts.
B: Cultivation.
C: Lifespan.
D: Trade all your harvests for a random Talent Skill based on your past life experiences]
"Those whose names I call, come and stand before me."
As Lü's consciousness regained clarity, Liu Xin's familiar, detestable voice sounded from the stage. Ignoring it, Lü Yang decided in his heart, "I choose Cultivation."
Rumble!
In the next second, Lü Yang felt a surge of Qi erupt from his Dantian, rapidly flowing throughout his body, frantically transforming his body and mind. He gritted his teeth tightly, using the Qi Concealing Technique he learned from the three men in black to contain all movement within him.
Moments later, Lü Yang exhaled a deep breath.
"I'm back again!"
Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, Mid-phase!
Looking up at the stage where Liu Xin stood, Lü Yang no longer felt the fear he had the first time they met. At this moment, Liu Xin was merely at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining!
After he refined a Registered Disciple into Primal Qi, he could break through the bottleneck and reach the Late-phase of Qi Refining. By then, he might be able to see through my Qi Concealing Technique, but now, he would just regard me as an ordinary person even if I stood right in front of him.
"But there's an unexpected surprise....."
Lü Yang glanced inward at his Dantian and saw the Primal Qi still floating there!
"I see now… the Centome doesn't return to the anchor point of the very first lifetime, but instead to the anchor of the most recent past life!"
"This is undoubtedly a good thing."
"Because it means the Artifacts, Cultivation, and even Lifespan I choose each life can be retained in the next, so I don't have to start from scratch every time."
Lü Yang's actions proceeded as usual:
he took to the stage, received his assignment, and headed for the Yin-Yang Unity Hall.
Then he would kill Yu Suzhen, lay low, make his breakthrough within three months, and quietly advance to become an Official Disciple.
"According to my plan for this life, besides the volume of Ninefold Dragon Metamorphosis, there are two other significant things worth trying."
The first is naturally "Merit Gambling."
After spending a few days in the Cave Mansion, Lü Yang went to the Good Deeds Tower, took on the task of "accumulating merit", and then headed straight for the Merit Pool without delay.
"2025113!"
Standing amidst the crowd around the Merit Pool, Lü Yang stylishly slicked back his hair, thinking about how he would spend the grand prize from the Merit Pool.
A billion, a billion, I couldn't spend it all in a lifetime~!
Goodbye, poverty, I will miss you.....
The next second, a commotion erupted from the crowd, countless people looked at Lü Yang in surprise, as well as the Merit Fish drawn by his chosen number.
"Brother, you're quite lucky."
Someone approached Lü Yang, envious, "A purple Merit Fish, although only slightly better than white and blue, is still quite rare."
"...What?"
Lü Yang tilted his head, a string of question marks hovering over his head.
Purple Merit Fish?
Not colorful?
Lü Yang hurriedly looked at the Merit Fish he had drawn. Indeed, it emitted a purple glow, and the number he selected, 2025113, was correct.
Why didn't he win!?
Could it be that the lucky winner from the previous life, Xiao Shiye, lied? But there's no way he could have known someone could restart a life; there's no reason to lie.
So, it seems.....
"There's something shady going on!"
Lü Yang was so angry his hands were trembling, and his face flushed red before he realized: What lucky winner? That Xiao Shiye is clearly an inside stooge!
"Never mind, at least it's a Merit Fish..." Lü Yang could only comfort himself this way. Purple is considered rare too, right after gold and colorful. Although he missed the billion jackpot, eating the Purple Merit Fish might rapidly advance his cultivation to the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining.
Thinking this way, Lü Yang felt much better.
Then, to be safe, he didn't take the Merit Fish back to the cave mansion but ate it on the spot in front of everyone, then started to regulate his breath and refine it.
After finishing everything, Lü Yang noticeably felt several gazes on him dissipate.
The result was as he expected, the essence from the Purple Merit Fish helped him smoothly break through to the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining, and even touched the threshold of the Sixth Layer.
"And this is just purple, if it were colorful..."
Lü Yang's mind wandered dreamily; after all, in a previous life, that Xiao Shiye ascended overnight from the First Layer of Qi Refining to the Final-phase of Qi Refining by consuming a Colorful Merit Fish.
"Forget it, no need to be greedy."
Lü Yang quickly calmed down. The first matter was a bust, but he still had a chance at the second: the "Death-Warding Skeleton Bubble".
Wang Baifeng nearly lost his entire fortune over this and was deceived by Zhao Xuhe, becoming cannon fodder for Panlong Island. But in the end, it was because Wang Baifeng got involved too late, unlike him, who knew the timing of the burst of the bubble quite well.
"There's actually an upward trend now."
Lü Yang opened his Disciple Token and checked the price of the Death-Warding Skeleton, discovering indeed some slight fluctuations, which indicated some insiders were manipulating the market.
"To get in, I still need a fund substantial enough for shares..."
Lü Yang thought for a moment and then turned towards the Good Deeds Tower.
As expected, as a newly admitted disciple, he appeared as easy prey in the eyes of the veteran disciples, and soon enough, Zhao Xuhe approached him voluntarily.
"Junior Brother, you don't look well. Are you facing any difficulties?"
Lü Yang raised his head at the words, letting out a bitter laugh: "What difficulty can there be, it's just a lack of money. Does Senior Brother know any tasks to earn contribution points?"
"So it's a shortage of money..... Of course, Senior Brother has been there. At your age, I also worried about contribution points, was always frantic, and even my Dao Companion despised me and broke up with me... Ah, the endless tasks with no hope in sight every day."
Zhao Xuhe spoke with a sigh, showing deep sympathy for Lü Yang.
After that, he patted Lü Yang's shoulder and said, "Senior Brother, I've wandered aimlessly for half my life and finally concluded this universal truth."
"And that's: Money is a tool."
"So, make money work for you! Use contribution points to earn more contribution points; that's the way to escape the life of a sect slave!"
Upon hearing this, Lü Yang looked impressed: "Listening to you is worth more than ten years of study!"
But soon, Lü Yang lowered his head again, looking defeated: "But Senior Brother, I don't even have contribution points now, how can I earn contribution points?"
"Small! Small-minded!"
Zhao Xuhe appeared increasingly friendly, grinning: "Even if you don't have money now, can't you borrow some? Pay it back once you make money?"
"But....." Lü Yang still looked hesitant.
Seeing the chance, Zhao Xuhe wasn't about to let it go."How about this," he said with a smile, "I think you're worth trusting—so I'll lend you some."
Lü's eyes lit up immediately: "Really?"
Seeing his eager expression, Zhao was convinced—the fish was on the hook!
"Of course it's true!"
Zhao Xuhe pounded his chest in assurance while presenting the so-called "Sanhe Association" badge before asking Lü Yang: "Junior Brother, how much are you planning to borrow?"
After a moment of silence, Lü Yang held up two fingers.
"Two hundred?"
"Two thousand!"
Lü Yang looked determined: "To be honest, I haven't used my Cultivation Technique Loan yet, which is equivalent to 1000 contribution points, plus my awards like the Flying Sword, Qi Pills, Human-faced Owl... I'll use these as collateral. Senior Brother Zhao, can you lend me 2000 contribution points?"
Zhao Xuhe was stunned.
Young people these days, do they always act so daringly?
I just said a few words, and you're all in?
Before Zhao Xuhe could react, Lü Yang spoke words that shocked him even more: "Senior Brother Zhao, I'm planning to go all in on buying Death-Warding Skeleton."
"What!?"
Zhao Xuhe was shocked at first, then thought of something, quickly lowering his voice: "Junior Brother... you wouldn't happen to know some insider information, would you?"
"Senior Brother, you see clearly." Lü Yang also whispered: "When I was choosing my cultivation technique in the Library Pavilion, I eavesdropped on Senior Brother Wang Baifeng at the entrance. It seems the southern battles are unfavorable, and the Mass Grave producing the Death-Warding Skeletons has been lost, but the Stain Sect has secretly sealed this information...."
"Hiss!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xuhe drew a sharp breath, and his eyes immediately filled with strong greed, clearly scenting a business opportunity too.
If the information is true, then... there's a chance for a fortune!
Seeing Zhao Xuhe's excitement, Lü Yang laughed coldly inside.
The fish was on the hook!