Luck-Based Advancement Ceremony

The endless Sea of Bitterness,

I can cross it.

Li Yao pursed his lips, wondering who made this couplet?

A bit arrogant.

But I like it! And it goes well with the name "Lost Tavern."

Lost in the maze, the endless Sea of Bitterness, I can cross it.

Perfect!

He looked at the owner, "I want this. How much do you want for it?"

The owner smiled, "Two hundred yuan. Take it if you like it."

This wooden carved couplet wasn't really worth much. The carving technique and skill could only be described as proficient. It was just that the words were a bit arrogant—yes, in the owner's opinion, it was arrogant. The owner shook his head and said, "This was actually carved by my Third Uncle in his later years. He believed in Buddhism his whole life, but in the end, I don't know how he became so..."

The owner shook his head and stopped talking.

Li Yao didn't ask. He paid the money and asked, "Boss, I'd also like to make a sign, using a log for carving and coloring. Can you do that here?"

The owner said, "Sure."

Afterward, Li Yao left the specific requirements and the name with the owner of the wood carving shop and took a taxi back with the two couplets.

Back at the tavern, Li Yao held up the two couplets for a while, feeling that they matched his tavern perfectly.

To match these two couplets, he even asked the tavern owner to make the sign a little older.

Li Yao was still gesturing when he saw an old man walking out of the late-night tavern next door. The old man was wearing a well-tailored suit, his whole body dressed meticulously. Seeing the couplets in Li Yao's hand, he immediately smiled and said, "What arrogant words."

"Old sir."

Li Yao put the couplets aside to greet him. The old man walked over and nodded, "Hello, young man. We meet again. My name is Lu Xingshen, the second in my family. People usually call me Second Uncle affectionately."

After speaking, he looked at Li Yao expectantly.

Li Yao: "???"

Why are you looking at me! My Second Uncle…

Oh, Li Yao doesn't have a Second Uncle. He's the only child in three generations!

But does that mean you can take advantage of me?

I'm a person with principles!

Li Yao shook the other's hand, "Mr. Lu, nice to meet you!"

Lu Xingshen's eyes revealed an undisguised disappointment. He said, "Well… I'm next door, so we'll be able to see each other often in the future. I have something to do, so I'll leave first."

Li Yao: "Take care, goodbye."

He turned around and took the couplets back into the house. Most of the things in the tavern were packed up. He was still contacting the liquor suppliers and food, and also recruiting service staff. Hotel management itself is a science. Li Yao studied business management and had some knowledge of it. There were quite a few things to consider when listing everything.

This made him even busier.

But looking at this tavern, Li Yao was very happy.

He finally had his own business.

When he was a child in the nineties, many people were poor, and his family was the same. His father was just a small staff member in a department at that time, and the whole family lived in a unit house of less than fifty square meters, living a tight life.

At that time, the reform and opening up was coming to an end, and many people who went into business had become rich.

Some people began to wear loose, ill-fitting suits, with slicked-back hair, carrying briefcases and mobile phones, walking through the streets, looking very busy.

The gap between people seemed to widen at that time.

At that time, some of his friends began to show off their new toys and new clothes.

Li Yao watched from the side.

To be honest,

He was a little envious.

He knew his family was struggling, and at a young age, he learned to be considerate of adults. His happiest moment each day was sitting on the balcony waiting for his dad to come home.

Because his dad would always bring him something sweet and delicious.

Later, his dad steadily climbed the ranks, and life got better and better...

But his Second Uncle and Second Aunt became unreliable! Recalling this, Li Yao couldn't help but cover his face: "Where the hell did things go wrong?"

Anyway, he had always envied rich people since he was a kid, and now he could be considered a small-time wealthy person himself.

That's great.

He took out his phone and sent a message to his best friend: "I bought a tavern in the Provincial Capital, call me boss from now on, and I'll teach you how to drink."

Before long, Lin Xiaowei actually replied: "Though separated by two realms, your grace is like rain and dew. I shall cherish this favor in my heart, never forgetting it."

Li Yao: "???"

He replied with a dark face: "Has your dog gotten too arrogant, or is your boss unable to wield the blade?"

Lin Xiaowei: "That's how it is! Daddy is your sugar daddy! You haven't even thanked me yet! I'm very disappointed in you."

Li Yao thought for a moment and said, "By the way, I recently felt that my exploration of the spiritual world has reached a new level. It seems I can perceive movements within a fifty-meter radius through my Spirit Sense."

Lin Xiaowei: "!!!"

Lin Xiaowei was shocked! This was unscientific! Lin Xiaowei: "Li Yao, did you secretly take some drugs behind my back? Or did you suffer a cultivation deviation? You've only been practicing the Meditation Technique for four months! How did you get to this level!?"

Li Yao: "I, Li Yao, am the Child of the World!"

Lin Xiaowei: (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻!!! Get lost!

Lin Xiaowei felt a sharp pain in her chest. Why?

She was a transmigrator with her own golden finger, yet she was surpassed by her best friend from Earth... It took her almost a year to complete the Spirit Sense capacity required for advancement!

Lin Xiaowei fell into deep thought.

Could that guy really be the Child of the World? Seeing Lin Xiaowei's strong reaction, Li Yao said gleefully, "You never told me what level to reach for advancement because you were afraid I'd surpass you, right?"

Lin Xiaowei said calmly, "Bullshit."

Li Yao was already immersed in his awesome fantasy: "Your reaction is so big, does that mean I can prepare for advancement?"

Lin Xiaowei: "Bullshit."

Li Yao was unhappy: "Then why are you so excited?"

Lin Xiaowei explained, "The power of the Meditation Technique lies in its ability to drive the entire Spirit Sense to operate. The stronger your spiritual power, the greater the benefits after each practice session. The minimum standard for advancing to a Formal Mage is to sense eighty meters around you. With your current Spirit Sense capacity, you should be able to prepare for the Luck-Based Advancement Ceremony soon."

Li Yao thoughtfully said, "Does that mean... the greater the Spirit Sense capacity, the easier it is to succeed in the Advancement Ceremony?"

Lin Xiaowei had said before that the Advancement Ceremony could fail.

And each failure would damage the soul.

After a maximum of three times, the apprentice would no longer be able to advance to become a Formal Mage.

Lin Xiaowei said, "Theoretically, that's the case, but no one can say for sure whether the Advancement Ceremony will succeed. You can only try to increase the success rate as much as possible."

In the history of that world, there had been miracles where people with a Spirit Sense of fifty meters succeeded in advancing.

There were also tragedies where people with a Spirit Sense of two hundred meters repeatedly failed to advance.

Of course, those were extreme cases.

They only had research value, not reference value.

In general, the Advancement Ceremony was a very luck-based adventure...

The second update is complete. The weather is getting colder, everyone remember to add clothes. By the way, the name Lost Tavern was really grabbed blindly from a book in a coffee shop, and the endless Sea of Bitterness was a plot point I had thought of in advance, but now it fits the scene perfectly, that's great.