Pay-to-Win Tycoon

"Brother, do you know how I've spent these past seventeen years?"

In the dark space, Tian Hao digested the information flooding into his mind, feeling so aggrieved that even a resentful woman locked away in her chambers could not compare.

So this was his golden finger—perhaps even the true culprit behind his transmigration.

This thing had quite an impressive origin. It was a fragment—or rather, a speck—of the Jade Disc of Creation, the one belonging to Dao Ancestor Hongjun in Primordial Novels. In other words, the Primordial World really existed.

Then again, if even the Douluo World was real, it was hardly strange for a real Primordial World to exist as well.

This speck of the Jade Disc of Creation had a simple function: it allowed someone to enter a state of enlightenment, temporarily increasing their intelligence. It was like overclocking a computer's CPU, only on a far greater scale. Cultivation efficiency would also be much higher in that enlightened state.

However, this function was not free. It required pay-to-win spending, using fortune to sustain it.

"Why do I feel like I've entered Goose Factory and am about to get fleeced? Could Dao Ancestor Hongjun be a pay-to-win tycoon too?"

Tian Hao felt an odd sense of familiarity. At the same time, he seemed to understand why Dao Ancestor Hongjun had taken in three thousand Innate God-Demons as disciples and gathered fortune. So he needed massive amounts of fortune to pay for cheats!

Still, he had long since developed psychological trauma toward this sort of pay-to-win cheat. In his previous life, he had been a poor bastard who got screwed over plenty and looked down on even more. Compared to such pay-to-win cheats, he preferred the kind where he could add points to Deep Blue and reach the pinnacle of life purely through his own hard work.

"Gou Dan! Gou Dan!"

Just as Tian Hao pondered those strange questions, someone called out to him. Then his consciousness spun again, returning to his body as an aged face appeared before him.

"What's wrong, Gou Dan? Are you feeling unwell?"

Village Elder Li Tou stared at the dazed Tian Hao, waving a hand before his eyes with concern written across his face.

"I'm fine. I just suddenly remembered something. Let's continue the morning exercises. What song do you want to hear today?"

Coming back to his senses, Tian Hao smiled to show that he was alright.

He had just finished the morning exercises for the children and elderly. Now it was time for the adults, including the young and middle-aged villagers.

"Little Apple!"

An auntie with quick reflexes immediately answered, saying that she wanted to hear Little Apple.

"Alright, let's get the accompaniment going!"

Tian Hao gestured to several young villagers who had brought over the simple instruments he had made. Soon, familiar music began to play.

He knew this song far too well. Every day, before he had even fully woken up, this thing would blast him awake, forcing him to watch the lively dances of women who had once been beauties. There was no way he could not know it.

Of course, he had not worked in music in his previous life. He could only recreate part of the accompaniment from memory. As long as it had that feeling, it was fine.

They were amateurs. There was no need to demand too much.

"I planted a seed, and at last it bore fruit..."

As the incredibly catchy accompaniment sounded, Tian Hao led both the dance and the singing, once again becoming the most dazzling guy in the entire village.

Quite a few aunties and young girls even cast either passionate or shy glances his way.

After several rounds of Little Apple, that day's morning exercises finally came to an end. The villagers dispersed with smiles on their faces to handle their own affairs.

Those who needed to weed went weeding, those who needed to cook went cooking, and those who needed to beat their children went to beat their children...

Village Elder Li Tou walked over carrying a basket covered with thick burlap. Looking at the dispersing villagers, he sighed with feeling. "Your Square Dance really has some punch. It's much better than that Melon-Eating Fist!"

Ever since this child had come up with the Square Dance, the formerly oppressive and dreary atmosphere in the village had greatly improved. It was practically a complete transformation.

This thing really could liven up the mood. It felt as though the entire village had been filled with vitality.

"With those old arms and legs of yours, stop pushing yourself. Don't end up like me and break your leg in a fall."

Tian Hao teased him. This old village chief was already seventy years old. Although he was still fairly healthy, all aspects of his bodily functions had severely declined. He could not handle intense exercise anymore. Practicing the Watermelon Version of Tai Chi was enough.

As he spoke, he took the basket from the old village chief. Inside were three boiled eggs, four large steamed buns, and a serving of thin porridge in a bamboo tube. Covered by the thick burlap, it was still warm.

This was the breakfast the old village chief had brought for him.

"Wasn't it because you were so damned stubborn back then? If you hadn't gone to Spirit City, you wouldn't have become a cripple."

Old Li Tou lowered his head and looked at the thick sole on Tian Hao's right shoe. Making a sole that thick was not easy.

"I'm not crippled. I just have one leg a little shorter than the other!"

Tian Hao argued as he bit into a large steamed bun.

Back when he had been experimented on in Spirit City, his right leg had been trained beyond its limits, resulting in a comminuted fracture of his lower leg bone.

Although a Healing System Soul Master had treated and repaired it, it left lasting complications. Its growth had slowed, leaving it five centimeters shorter than his left leg.

"Tch! Stubborn to the end!"

Old Li Tou curled his lip, then sighed.

"Is the world of Soul Masters really that alluring?"

Back then, he had advised this boy not to waste his efforts. If it was not his destiny, he should not force it, or there would be no good outcome.

But the boy had been stubborn as a mule. In the end, he returned with a crippled leg, turning a perfectly fine young man into a disabled man.

"Alluring isn't the word, but it's fascinating!"

Tian Hao answered seriously.

As a transmigrator, he was unwilling to live his entire life as an ordinary person. That was why he had cultivated so diligently, forcibly developing Soul Power from almost nonexistent Innate Soul Power.

Now that he had awakened the essential golden finger of a transmigrator, and one with such an extraordinary origin at that, he had even less reason to give up.

He did not seek to become some supreme figure like Dao Ancestor Hongjun. He would be satisfied with becoming a Great Luo Golden Immortal whose lifespan matched the heavens.

"What the young man says is true. The world of Soul Masters may be dangerous, but it truly is fascinating."

At that moment, a soft and gentle voice came from nearby. The two turned to look and found one fat and one thin... no, two differently fat people slowly walking down the mountain path.

One was male and one was female. The man was built like an iron tower, exuding a steady and domineering presence.

The woman was slightly plump, but her chest was extraordinarily plump. The accumulation of fat there was downright alarming.

"Are you two Lord Soul Masters?"

Old Li Tou quickly came to his senses and hurried forward to greet them.

Their village lay deep within the mountains, and the roads were long and steep. It had rained only a few days ago, leaving some stretches muddy, yet these two had spotless shoes. They were clearly no ordinary people and were likely powerful Lord Soul Masters.

"We are unworthy of being called lords. We are merely travelers here for sightseeing. We were drawn here by the song just now and hoped to ask for a bowl of water."

Ah Yin smiled as she replied, her eyes involuntarily sizing up the ordinary-looking youth before her. She truly could not see how such astonishing wisdom could be hidden beneath such an ordinary face.

She had initially thought that one of her kind was being persecuted, so she had followed the sensation here, intending to simply take that clansman away. After all, it was not easy for a low-level soul beast like Blue Silver Grass to grow to a thousand years.

But after seeing that letter and notebook, she changed her mind.

Perhaps this youth could provide an opportunity to change the hostility between humans and soul beasts, or at least make him abandon that sinister and ruthless God Creation Plan.

"No problem. Please come into the village, Lord Soul Masters."

Old Li Tou was extremely welcoming. He did not dare offend Soul Masters like them. If they became angry and slaughtered the entire village, no one would even know.

Besides, they were only asking for a bowl of water. It was no big deal.

"Old sir, your village is so remote. The nearest city is over a hundred li away. Can you truly make a living here?"

As Ah Yin followed him toward the courtyard at the village entrance that belonged to the old village chief, she chatted with Old Li Tou.

This was the first time she had seen a village rooted so deeply in the mountains. If not for the guidance of that Thousand-Year Blue Silver Grass, she never would have imagined that such an isolated village existed here.

Most of the mountains in this range were barren stone peaks with little vegetation. It was nearly impossible to grow crops.

The roads were also blocked off, many of them ending in dead ends. Even Soul Masters might not be able to get here, let alone ordinary people.

"Our Sanba Village used to be prosperous too. Several hundred years ago, a mineral vein was discovered here. The kingdom's noble lords built a road to bring people in to mine it. But after the vein was mostly exhausted a hundred years ago, nearly everyone left, leaving only our village behind in this place.

Fortunately, there are still some scattered ores nearby. We can forge them into iron tools and sell them outside to make a living. It's just a shame that the road has fallen into disrepair, making it inconvenient to travel in and out..."

Old Li Tou did not hide anything, explaining the origins of Sanba Village.

(Ah Yin: Brat, I've got my eye on you. Hurry up and hand over your recommendation votes!)