Chapter 15: Fishing
"Who agreed to anything with you? Talk about it in your next life!"
"With the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes, at worst I'll just take the Myriad Chariots Dragon Ascension Treasure Scroll this lifetime and the Nine Transforming Dragon Art next time—they'll both be mine eventually anyway!"
From the very beginning, Lü Yang had never trusted Zhao Xuhe.
All that talk about sharing the Dao book was merely a temporary expedient. Lü Yang was certain that if Zhao Xuhe managed to escape alive, he would definitely find a way to eliminate him.
The problem was Zhao Xuhe was stronger. Lü Yang had no absolute confidence in killing him to remove the threat permanently. If they truly fought to the death, Lü Yang might be the one who died.
Moreover, his loan was about to come due, and he couldn't possibly repay it. Time was running out in this lifetime. So the moment the Dao book was in his hands, Lü Yang decisively self-detonated.
...........
[You resolutely self-detonated and died.]
[Remaining pages in the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes: 97]
[Restarting a lifetime, you may select one of the following rewards from your previous life:
1: Treasure.
2: Cultivation.
3: Lifespan.
4: Abandon all rewards and randomly awaken a talent based on your past life experiences.]
"Those whose names are called, step forward."
As his consciousness cleared, Lü Yang ignored the familiar, detestable voice of Liu Xin from the platform and silently declared, "I choose cultivation."
Boom!
In the next instant, Lü Yang felt a surge of true qi erupt from his dantian, rapidly flowing through his limbs and bones, wildly transforming his essence, energy, and spirit. Gritting his teeth, he activated the Qi Concealment Technique obtained from the three black-robed men, suppressing all fluctuations beneath his skin.
After a moment, Lü Yang exhaled deeply.
"I'm back again!"
Qi Refining fourth layer—mid-stage!
Raising his head, he looked at Liu Xin on the platform without the fear he had felt during their first encounter. At this point, Liu Xin was only at Qi Refining sixth layer!
Only after Liu Xin selected a registered disciple and refined them into Primordial Qi would he break through his bottleneck and advance to late-stage Qi Refining. Only then might he see through Lü Yang's concealment. Until then, even if Lü Yang stood right before him, Liu Xin would perceive him as nothing more than an ordinary person.
"But there's also an unexpected surprise..."
Lü Yang inspected his dantian and saw a wisp of hazy white qi floating within—the Primordial Qi from his previous life. It had persisted into this lifetime!
"I understand now... The Book of a Hundred Lifetimes doesn't reset to the initial anchor point but to my previous life!"
This was undoubtedly good news.
It meant that every treasure, cultivation level, and even lifespan he chose could carry over to the next lifetime, sparing him the need to start from scratch each time.
Lü Yang proceeded as before.
Stepping onto the platform, receiving his assignment—the Pleasure Hall.
Outliving Yu Suzhen.
Lying low for three months before breaking through and quietly becoming a formal disciple.
"In this lifetime, aside from obtaining the remaining volume of the Nine Transforming Dragon Art, there are two other major events worth attempting."
The first was naturally the "Merit Lottery."
After staying in his cave abode for a few days, Lü Yang headed to the Merit Hall to accept the "Accumulate Merit" mission before rushing straight to the Merit Pool.
"2025113!"
Standing among the crowd around the Merit Pool, Lü Yang slicked back his hair and began envisioning how he would spend his winnings after hitting the jackpot.
Ten billion! Ten billion! More than enough for a lifetime~!
Goodbye, poverty—I'll miss you...
The next moment, an uproar erupted among the crowd as countless gazes turned toward Lü Yang and the Merit Fish drawn by the number he had selected.
"Brother, not bad luck," someone said enviously, stepping closer. "A purple Merit Fish—though only slightly better than white and blue, it's still rare."
"...What?"
Lü Yang tilted his head, a row of question marks appearing above him.
Purple Merit Fish?
Not multicolored?
He hurriedly checked the fish he had drawn—it emitted a blue glow. The number he had chosen was indeed 2025113.
Why hadn't he won!?
Had that lucky disciple from his previous life, Xiao Shiye, lied? But how could he have known someone could restart their lifetime? There was no reason for him to lie.
In that case...
"It's rigged!"
Lü Yang trembled with anger, his face flushing red as he realized: That so-called lucky disciple Xiao Shiye was nothing but a planted shill!
"Forget it, at least it's still a Merit Fish..." Lü Yang consoled himself. Purple was still rare, second only to gold and multicolored. Though he had missed the ten-billion jackpot, consuming the purple Merit Fish would likely boost his cultivation to Qi Refining fifth layer.
With that thought, Lü Yang felt slightly better.
To be safe, he didn't return to his cave abode with the fish but consumed it on the spot before sitting cross-legged to refine its energy.
After finishing, he distinctly felt several lingering gazes on him disperse.
As expected, the essence of the purple Merit Fish propelled him smoothly to Qi Refining fifth layer and even brought him to the threshold of the sixth.
"And this is just purple. If it were multicolored..."
Lü Yang's mind wandered, recalling how Xiao Shiye had soared from Qi Refining first layer to perfection overnight after consuming a multicolored Merit Fish in his previous life.
"Forget it, no use forcing it."
Lü Yang quickly regained his composure. The first plan had failed, but the second opportunity remained—the "Substitute Death Yin Puppet Price Bubble."
The old man Wang Bairong from the Library Pavilion had nearly bankrupted himself over this and was later deceived by Zhao Xuhe into becoming cannon fodder at Coiling Dragon Island. But ultimately, Wang Bairong had entered the market too late. Lü Yang, however, knew the exact timing of the bubble's fluctuations.
"The prices are already starting to rise."
Lü Yang checked the current price of Substitute Death Yin Puppets on his disciple token and confirmed a slight upward trend—clear signs of insider manipulation.
"To enter the market, I still need a substantial amount of capital..."
After some thought, Lü Yang turned toward the Merit Hall.
As expected, in the eyes of senior disciples, a newcomer like him was nothing but a plump lamb ready for slaughter. Before long, Zhao Xuhe approached him.
"Junior Brother, you seem troubled. Are you facing difficulties?"
Lü Yang looked up with a bitter smile. "What else? Just short on funds. Do you have any missions that pay well in Contribution Points, Senior Brother?"
"Ah, money problems... I've been there," Zhao Xuhe sighed sympathetically. "At your age, I was also struggling with Contribution Points—endless tasks, my Dao companion left me out of frustration... Every day felt hopeless."
He patted Lü Yang's shoulder. "After wasting half my life, I finally learned one universal truth."
"Money is dead."
"So you must make money breed money—use Contribution Points to earn Contribution Points. Only then can you escape being a slave to the Saint Sect and break free from this oxen-like fate!"
Lü Yang's face lit up with admiration. "A single conversation with you is worth ten years of study!"
But soon, he lowered his head dejectedly. "But Senior Brother, I don't even have Contribution Points now. How can I earn more?"
"Narrow-minded! You lack vision!"
Zhao Xuhe's expression grew even warmer as he grinned. "You may not have money now, but you can borrow! Earn first, repay later—simple!"
"But..." Lü Yang still hesitated.
Seeing his chance slipping away, Zhao Xuhe pressed on. "How about this? I feel a connection with you, Junior Brother. I'll lend you some myself!"
Lü Yang's eyes brightened. "Really?"
Seeing his eager expression, Zhao Xuhe was certain—the fish had bitten!
"Of course!"
Slapping his chest emphatically, Zhao Xuhe produced the emblem of the so-called Three Rivers Association before asking, "How much do you need, Junior Brother?"
After a brief pause, Lü Yang raised two fingers.
"Two hundred?"
"Two thousand!"
Lü Yang looked resolute. "To be honest, I haven't used my cultivation manual loan yet—it's worth 1,000 Contribution Points. Plus my newcomer benefits: the Bone Flying Sword, Vitality Pills, the Human-Faced Owl... I'll mortgage them all. Senior Brother Zhao, can you lend me 2,000 Contribution Points?"
Zhao Xuhe was stunned.
Were youngsters these days so reckless?
After just a few words of persuasion, he was going all-in?
Before Zhao Xuhe could react, Lü Yang dropped another bombshell: "Senior Brother Zhao, I plan to go all-in on Substitute Death Yin Puppets."
"What!?"
Zhao Xuhe was first shocked, then seemed to realize something and quickly lowered his voice. "Junior Brother... Do you have insider information?"
"Senior Brother sees clearly." Lü Yang also whispered. "When I was selecting a cultivation manual at the Library Pavilion, I overheard Senior Brother Wang Bairong at the entrance. Apparently, the southern warfront is unfavorable—the mass grave producing Substitute Death Yin Puppets has fallen. The Saint Sect is secretly suppressing the news..."
"Tsk!"
Zhao Xuhe inhaled sharply, his eyes gleaming with greed as he immediately sensed the opportunity.
If this was true... a fortune awaited!
Watching Zhao Xuhe's barely contained excitement, Lü Yang sneered inwardly.
The fish had taken the bait!