In the morning mist by Moon Lake in Yunyang, a scream shattered the quiet dawn.
"Someone's dead!"
"Someone hanged themselves!"
The shrill cries sent the birds roosting nearby fluttering in alarm, their wings beating as they flew into the night sky.
Beside Moon Lake, on a crooked willow tree,
a corpse swayed in the wind, like a dried salted fish.
An old man with white hair sat on the ground, staring at the hanging corpse, terror filling his eyes.
Suddenly, a white shadow darted through the woods like a ghost.
When it was twenty or thirty meters from the corpse, it waved a hand and sent a streak of white light flying.
The rope snapped, and the corpse fell from the tree.
The white shadow followed like its own shadow, reaching the corpse in an instant and catching it.
"G-ghost!"
The old man cried out. His eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the ground.
The first light of dawn appeared. Moon Lake shimmered, sunlight spilling over the white shadow.
This was no ghost, but a peerlessly beautiful woman.
Her skin was as fair as snow, her features as lovely as a painting, and her bearing cool and aloof. Now the morning light fell on her white clothes, casting a faint glow around her, making her look like a celestial maiden from the moon palace.
The woman glanced at the old man, a trace of awkwardness flashing across her face.
Then her gaze fell on the corpse's face. It was a frail youth, no more than eighteen or nineteen years old.
"So young, and he hanged himself?"
Her delicate brows furrowed slightly. She placed a hand on the young man's chest, her eyes lifting a little.
"He's still alive!"
A soft white light shone from her palm as she pressed down gently.
The young man's body shuddered. He coughed out a breath and slowly opened his hazy eyes.
The woman suddenly looked up, her gaze sharp as lightning, and turned toward the shadowy woods.
A dark figure darted out, then vanished after a few quick flashes.
"A Hua Jin martial artist," she murmured, a glint of keen alertness in her eyes.
Suddenly, the woman's body stiffened.
A cold hand touched her face. She slowly lowered her head, and met his dazed, delighted gaze.
"So beautiful!"
"Have I reached the immortal realm? How could a woman this beautiful exist in this world?"
The young man gazed at her in a daze, his fingers unconsciously giving her a gentle squeeze.
The crisp crack of a slap rang across Moon Lake.
Fang Mo came to his senses in an instant, but then his vision went black, and his last conscious thought sank into darkness.
"Galactic Federation News Flash: The Fourth Interstellar Expeditionary Force has discovered the largest known deposit of Blue Crystal Ore in the Wild Wilderness of Zhiyuan Star, the Third Colony Star. The deposit is sufficient to supply the Federation for hundreds of years. The Federation has decided to establish a new city base and will recruit pioneering companies and large numbers of martial artists to take part in its construction and defense..."
"Yunyang Morning News: According to reliable sources, Luo Jiangyan, the super-genius of Ningjiang City's Higher Martial Academy and Yunkong Martial Academy, has secretly arrived in Yunyang. Known as the youngest Dan Jin martial artist, she is here to take part in Yunyang Martial Academy's June entrance examination and select martial arts talents for Yunkong Martial Academy..."
"Yunyang Entertainment Morning Post: 'Wealthy Young Master, Found Hanging at Moon Lake at Dawn.' Fang Mo, eldest young master of the Fang Group, hanged himself at Moon Lake in the early hours today. Known as Yunyang's useless young master, he has no talent for martial arts. Recent reports say his grades were so poor that his school recommended he withdraw, cementing his reputation as a wastrel. A source revealed that he may have taken his own life after being dumped by Qin Muxue, the genius girl of the Qin Family, one of Yunyang's Martial Arts Families..."
Fang Mo turned off the television.
"I actually made the news!"
He touched the bandage wrapped around his neck, then looked at the frail body reflected on the television screen. A faint smile appeared on his face.
"But you really were a wastrel!"
Floating in his mind was a massive ancient bronze mirror, radiating a majestic divine light. Huge golden words appeared across its surface.
[Innate Divine Ability: Practice Makes Perfect, Dao Achieves Itself] Of all the skills in the world, none held any arcane mystery. Nothing more than practice, practice, practice! Cooking: Beginner (30/100) Calligraphy: Beginner (80/100) Painting: Beginner (20/100) Dance: Beginner (10/100) Eight Brocades: Beginner (20/100)
After Fang Mo woke up, he discovered that he had transmigrated into—
He also discovered that an ancient bronze mirror he had picked up on the day he transmigrated had appeared in his mind, becoming a mysterious divine treasure.
It had even granted him an Innate Divine Ability.
Whether calligraphy, painting, or martial arts, all he had to do was practice to increase his proficiency and improve. It had nothing to do with his natural aptitude or his ability to comprehend!
And the world he had transmigrated into was one where technology and martial arts flourished side by side.
Human technology had already left the planet and begun interstellar colonization.
Martial arts were just as prosperous.
For martial artists, smashing stone tablets and splitting boulders was ordinary. The strongest could sever mountains and rivers with a wave of their hand.
Everyone practiced martial arts, and martial arts reigned supreme.
Originally, he had been a martial arts fanatic on Earth. When he tried to save a girl, he stepped forward bravely, only to be sent to this world by a knife-wielding criminal.
But the body he had transmigrated into was a useless weakling, unable to lift a finger against anyone, dull-witted, and hopeless at both books and martial arts.
Though he was the eldest young master of Yunyang's richest family, the Fang Group, his father didn't love him, his kin disliked him, his mother had died young, and his stepmother was vicious.
He had been expelled from the academy and then dumped by his fiancée, so he'd drowned his sorrows in liquor.
Somehow, he had ended up hanging himself from a tree by Moon Lake.
By any reckoning, he was a tragic figure!
Just then, the hospital room door opened, and two people walked in.
The man in front was a thin, dark-skinned elder in his fifties. His short gray hair was neatly groomed, and he wore a black Chinese-style jacket. A faint smile rested on his face, along with the arrogant air of a wealthy man.
Behind him followed a middle-aged man in a black suit, carrying a black briefcase.
Fang Mo knew them both. The elder was the family's steward, Uncle He, and the other man was the lawyer who handled legal matters for the family.
"Young Master, how are you feeling?" Uncle He asked with a smile.
Fang Mo looked at him calmly. Though Uncle He called him Young Master, he had never truly respected him.
"Not bad," Fang Mo replied indifferently.
"That's good." Uncle He didn't seem to mind Fang Mo's attitude. He smiled slightly. "I came today to check on you, Young Master. There are also some documents here for you to sign."
The lawyer stepped forward, took some documents from his briefcase, and placed them in front of Fang Mo.
"This is a statement in which you voluntarily relinquish your inheritance rights to the Fang Family." Uncle He folded his hands behind his back, his voice calm. "And there's another document. It's for a hotel owned by the family. Sign it, and the hotel will be yours."
"So you're kicking me out?"
Fang Mo looked at Uncle He calmly.
Uncle He was a little surprised. Fang Mo wasn't angry at all; he seemed almost too calm.
It seemed this latest blow had hit him hard. He was bent on dying!
"If that's how you want to understand it, there's nothing wrong with that."
Uncle He looked at Fang Mo, his smile fading. With a regretful expression, he said:
"Young Master, you went too far this time and brought shame on the Fang Family. The Family Head and the old madam are both furious. Getting this hotel is already more than enough for you!"
Fang Mo took the hotel share-transfer document and glanced at it, a mocking smile appearing on his face.
The hotel's total investment was no more than a few million.
The Fang Group was Yunyang's richest company, worth tens of billions. He was the first in line to inherit it, yet now all he was getting was a hotel worth a few million.
And with a stepmother like his, would she really give him a hotel worth a few million?
There had to be some catch waiting for him with this hotel!
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