"As for how I earned it... heh, guess!"
The ticket seller, having just finished showing off, abruptly cut the conversation short, leaving Chen Dalei thoroughly teased yet clueless.
Chen Dalei: "......"
If you don’t want to say it, fine—but why cover your butt while chuckling like that?
People could easily misunderstand, you know?
After a moment of contemplation, Chen Dalei, having clawed his way up from the bottom of society, might not have the most impressive worldly knowledge, but his understanding of human nature was razor-sharp.
Times might have changed, the environment might be different, and the rules might have evolved, but the fundamentals of human transactions remained the same.
The ticket seller’s butt-covering chuckle was just a misdirection, a smokescreen to obscure the real secret behind his earnings.
After all, this was his livelihood—why would he spill it so easily?
No one teaches others how to make money. Silent wealth is the true king, but what’s the point of striking it rich if you can’t flaunt it? That’d be like wearing fine robes in the dark!
But since you’ve just put on a grand performance in front of me, it’s my turn to steal the show.
Chen Dalei pieced together the clues and quickly arrived at an answer.
With a knowing smirk, he said, "Quit covering your butt and grinning at me. If I’m not mistaken, you’re a scalper, aren’t you? Running a shoddy stall, slapping inflated prices on junk, all thanks to a little abuse of power?"
The moment these words left his mouth, the ticket seller stiffened, his eyes flashing with menace. "What are you talking about? I don’t understand!"
The area was deserted. He was at the eighth layer of Foundation Establishment, while Chen Dalei was at the third revolution of Golden Core. If he acted swiftly, no one would notice.
Should he strike?
But something about this man felt off—like attacking him would lead to irreversible doom.
"You really shouldn’t have shown off for no reason," Chen Dalei sighed, shaking his head. "I’m just here to buy a ticket. You still haven’t told me why Foundation Establishment eighth layers can’t purchase one."
The ticket seller’s expression flickered between unease and calculation. Under Chen Dalei’s amused gaze, he finally suppressed his panic at being exposed and dropped the bravado, explaining honestly:
"The reason we discourage low-level cultivators from buying tickets is for your own safety. And to understand that, we have to go back eight years..."
"Rainfall Pavilion, as a divine ruin, is something you’re probably familiar with. The one who fell here was none other than the Rain God of the Celestial Court!"
"Of course, that’s just a rumor. In truth, the Rain God, Yuan Qiyue, didn’t perish. She served the Celestial Court with merit and bloodshed. Though she committed a grave mistake, she was merely stripped of her divinity and cast into the mortal realm to atone."
"So, the rampant rain-based laws within Rainfall Pavilion are just remnants of her scattered divinity. The true Rain God herself now lives in seclusion on Rainfall Mountain, thirty miles west of here!"
Lowering his voice, the ticket seller added, "Some things shouldn’t be said outright—it’s bad for unity—but the Rain God did fall in love with a mortal and bore a child."
"That child is monstrously gifted. Carried for three years, born with celestial omens and a congenital strange fire, named ‘Ember’—utterly formidable!"
"At one year old, he reached Qi Refining. At three, Foundation Establishment. At five, he achieved Harmony with Heaven and Earth, forming a Golden Core. Now, at eight, he’s already a Nascent Soul sovereign—standing over eight feet tall, utterly formidable!"
"That little demon is ruthless and cold-blooded, plundering treasures without hesitation and setting fires without remorse. Since Rainfall Pavilion is his mother’s legacy, he treats it as his personal property. Even if he doesn’t need it, he won’t let others use it, often causing chaos—stirring up tidal waves, capsizing boats, drowning passengers. That little demon is utterly formidable!"
"Due to certain... historical complications, and because the brat has enough sense to only cause trouble without killing, the City God can’t take extreme measures against him. The best they can do is guarantee rescue operations, but injuries and trauma are unavoidable..."
"Once or twice is manageable, but when it keeps happening, tourists stop coming. That’s how Rainfall Pavilion, once a thriving third-tier cultivation attraction, fell into decline."
Chen Dalei pointed at the lake. "I see a few boats still operating out there. Aren’t they afraid?"
"Those are Nascent Soul cultivators. Even if the little demon shows up, the worst they’ll suffer is a mouthful of water—no real harm. But you..." The ticket seller hesitated, then forced himself to continue:
"Not to discriminate, but this really isn’t a place where just having spirit stones gets you in. If that brat suddenly shows up, at your Foundation Establishment eighth layer, you’d likely get internal injuries from the waves—and his fire would singe off all your body hair, leaving you bald as an egg..."
"Enough. Just give me a ticket." Chen Dalei slapped a simple storage pouch onto the counter.
Truth be told, he could cross Rainfall Lake with any trinket Yi had given him. But here’s the thing—
Yi’s gadgets were too overpowered. He could use them, but controlling them perfectly was another matter. The slightest misstep could erase the entire lake from existence.
So, to preserve this well-known third-tier cultivation attraction, he’d stick to the boats.
As for this ticket seller running black-market deals amid the chaos... once Chen Dalei dealt with the main variable, the Central Discipline Inspection Team of the Mortal Divinity Ministry would sweep in.
If a mere ticket seller dared act this brazenly, how deep did the local City God’s corruption run?
In the early days, due to a lack of talent, Yi had no choice but to enlist corrupt elements from the Divine Land faction to build the basic incense governance framework. Now, under the influence of variables, the backlash had begun. It was time to discard the knife after killing the donkey.
The Destiny Calamity Squad?
No—the Destiny Accounting Squad!
Under Chen Dalei’s penetrating gaze, the ticket seller shivered, a foreboding sense of impending doom creeping over him.
"Tch. Can’t save those hell-bent on dying. I’ve warned you. If you insist, here’s your ticket. Enjoy the ride!"
"Ugh—my stomach’s killing me! Just head to the pier, pick any boat with a poleman, show them the ticket, and you’re set. But avoid the one named Liang Hui..."
With that, he hastily fished out a ticket stamped with a unique incense seal, tossed it to Chen Dalei, then bolted for the outhouse like he was fleeing a plague.
A Golden Core cultivator with a stomachache? Fine. But why cover your head? Did the pain migrate?
"Tsk tsk tsk. You can run today, but you can’t hide forever."
Shaking his head, Chen Dalei pocketed the ticket, clasped his hands behind his back, and strolled leisurely toward the pier.
Only three small ferry boats were docked there. Two polemen were embroiled in a heated debate, while the third sat at the bow, fishing.
"Dongmu! I’ll bet five jars of Drunken Immortal Brew—tomatoes are absolutely fruits! Sweet and tangy, bursting with juice when you bite in. Last time I had one was... well, last time. There’s this shaved ice shop in Stargate Pass, their new sugar-preserved tomato shaved ice is all the rage. Tell me, what kind of vegetable gets sold as a fruit?!"
"Niu, don’t take this the wrong way, but have you forgotten your farming roots after just a few years of cultivation? You think tomatoes are fruit? Then let me ask you—tomato and pork, tomato and chicken, tomato scrambled eggs, tomato egg soup, tomato congee, tomato rice, tomato stir-fried noodles, tomato fried rice noodles, stir-fried rice, stir-fried water, stir-fried..."
The heated argument between the two ferrymen sent ripples across the water.
Watching the scene, Chen Dalei hesitated for a moment before deciding not to interrupt. Instead, he turned and handed his boat ticket to the last angler in sight.
"Mind rowing the boat? I need to get to the Rain Pavilion."
The angler looked up in surprise.
"Ah, this customer’s got a sharp eye! Out of all these boats, you picked mine—and I’m famous for being the fastest!"
"Really?" Chen Dalei suddenly felt a twinge of unease.
The angler only smiled mysteriously, pulling him aboard without another word.
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
