The Me Who Sold Supernatural Powers Became the Richest Man at a Loss

After some time, the bustling crowd gradually subsided, and the atmosphere in the Jing Family Restaurant returned to a calm level tone.

It was only then that the storyteller, Old Song, revealed the name of the supernatural power.

It was an illusion-type supernatural power created by Anonymous, titled [Chicken and Rabbit in the Same Cage].

After revealing the name of the supernatural power, Old Song fell silent. He knew that at this point, no one would want to listen to his rambling anymore; the supernatural power was more important.

After a brief pause, Old Song scanned his surroundings.

As expected, the diners had withdrawn their gazes from him. Their eyes were now vacant, unfocused, as if their minds had already sunk into the Heavenly Dao Virtual Net.

About ten breaths later, a young man in brocade clothes woke up. He exclaimed excitedly, "It really is an illusion supernatural power! And the consumption is so low. Even with my cultivation at only two stars, I could use it over ten times consecutively. No wonder the demon race suffered such a great loss."

At this moment, the other diners also gradually woke up, their expressions filled with a hint of shock.

Someone heard the brocade-clad young man's exclamation and nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, the consumption is truly low. I can use it even at one star."

"Low consumption means fast release speed, allowing one to seize combat opportunities more effectively, making it more useful on the battlefield. This is likely why such a great victory was achieved in the border war."

As soon as this person finished speaking, a young master holding a folding fan chimed in, "Indeed, a fast release speed allows one to catch the enemy off guard and even interrupt their supernatural powers. Just like the Star Lion's Star God Escape mentioned earlier, wasn't it constantly interrupted because its release time was too long? From this perspective, [Chicken and Rabbit in the Same Cage] is much more useful than Confucianism's [Encourage Learning]. [Encourage Learning] requires promotion to four stars to afford its consumption, and its release time is so long. I doubt there would be many suitable opportunities to use it in combat, even if it could be used."

As soon as the folding fan youth finished speaking, the blue-robed scholar beside him retorted, "You can't say that. [Encourage Learning] is clearly meant for studying, not for combat or duels. How can you compare them?"

Clearly, the blue-robed scholar also believed that in terms of combat, [Encourage Learning] couldn't compare to [Chicken and Rabbit in the Same Cage].

However, in terms of learning, [Encourage Learning] was vastly superior.

In fact, the reason the blue-robed scholar said this was because he greatly admired Confucianism and wished to join it. Therefore, as soon as he heard someone disparaging Confucian supernatural powers, he couldn't help but retort.

The folding fan youth, hearing the other party's words, no longer spoke.

In fact, the people who had been speaking were all regular customers of the Jing Family Restaurant. They were somewhat acquainted with each other and likely knew each other's general circumstances. Therefore, the folding fan youth, who had spoken ill of [Encourage Learning] earlier, didn't want to dwell on the matter further, lest they fall out over such a trivial issue and damage their relationship.

The restaurant fell into an unusual silence for a moment. Later, when the atmosphere was no longer as tense, the surrounding diners continued their discussion.

"Speaking of which, such a good supernatural power is only selling for 100 Luck Points. Isn't that too cheap? Do you think Anonymous is losing money?"

Everyone thought about it and agreed. Such a good supernatural power, selling for such a low price? If it were in their hands, they wouldn't sell it for less than ten thousand points, considering their hard work.

Just then, a shrewd woman in a plain skirt glanced at the person who had asked the question and chuckled, "Losing money? I say, stop worrying about things that don't concern you. They're clearly making a huge profit."

Seeing that most of the diners still looked puzzled, the plain-skirted woman continued to explain, "Let's calculate. Just the twenty-five Ten-Thousand-Man Formations alone involve 250,000 people. Each portion costs 100 points. If 250,000 people each get one portion, that's 25 million Luck Points. Even if Anonymous bought the Supernatural Power Stone, they've already made a huge profit, right?"

"25 million Luck Points? Damn, and you think they're losing money? I wish I could lose money like that, every day, and lose it all quickly."

"Exactly, they've already made a fortune! Moreover, this supernatural power is now incredibly popular. It might sell even more in a few days. I think selling a few million more copies would still be easy."

"Sell a few million more copies? Then won't they quickly become a billionaire? I think if they lose a bit more, they'll become the richest person."

"Become the richest person by losing money? I wish I could lose money like that. Consider me, Shen You, a dignified three-star cultivator. Even if I don't spend a single cent, I can only save a little over a thousand Luck Points annually. Yet, they can earn tens of millions or even hundreds of millions in just a few days. The gap between us is too vast."

"No wonder they say: the gap between people is sometimes greater than the gap between a person and a dog. Now I truly feel how reasonable that saying is."

"I finally understand why they chose the name 'Anonymous.' They clearly want to hide. If they reveal themselves, they'll be a prime target. People will probably be begging them for money every day."

Lu Mingyuan glanced at the person somewhat inexplicably. Did he really think that at the time?

At this moment, a young girl asked the question in her heart, "Begging for money? You mean robbing, right? Luck Points in the Heavenly Dao Virtual Net can't be traded face-to-face, so how can you rob?"

"It seems we have a little newbie here."

The one who mentioned "begging for money" continued to explain, "You wouldn't know about this. Although Luck Points in the virtual net can't be traded face-to-face like Earth Luck, you can buy and sell supernatural powers and ancient texts within it. Since you can buy and sell, you can manipulate the system. For example, I could upload a book and price it at ten million points. After you buy it, I would receive ten million points. And this is free trade, not outright theft, so the law can't punish it. Isn't that much safer?"

The little newbie, or rather, the young girl, was dumbfounded after hearing this. There was such a way to operate?

Seriously, you guys are too much. I can't afford to mess with you.

Many people in the crowd showed similar expressions. This was also the first time they had heard of such a "sao operation." After listening, they secretly noted down this method, just in case they were scammed in the future.

"I just checked in the virtual net, and this situation does exist. And they are all trash books, but they are sold at exorbitant prices."

"Hmm, let me see. This one is selling for fifty thousand points? Sixty thousand points? One hundred thousand points? What is all this? None of them are normal. Let me see, finally found one... this~ well, this can be considered normal."

"I just discovered that such books exist, it's simply eye-searing."

"So that's why these books are so expensive and sell so well. They're for this kind of thing. Truly brilliant."

"Yeah, books like the Four Books and Five Classics, or the collected works of the Hundred Schools, only cost a few coins. They must be charging so much just to rip people off."

"Must be? I'd say it's a sure thing."

At this moment, another person in the crowd sighed, "Thankfully, the creator of 'Chicken and Rabbit in the Same Cage' chose to remain anonymous. Otherwise..."

He didn't finish, but everyone understood his meaning.

After a moment of silence, someone voiced another question, "Sigh, why has no one ever come up with a divine ability that can be used in regular combat? I just looked at 'Chicken and Rabbit in the Same Cage,' and it seems pretty simple."

Hearing the question, the blue-robed scholar quickly chimed in, "I know the answer to that."

The blue-robed scholar had asked his teacher the same question before and had even discussed it with others. The conclusion was always that it was impossible. Otherwise, this anonymous 'Chicken and Rabbit in the Same Cage' divine ability wouldn't have caused such a stir, let alone achieved such significant results on the battlefield.

The blue-robed scholar recalled the past, organized his thoughts, and then said, "Actually, to use illusion realms in combat, and for them to be effective against demons, we can't rely on our traditional culture to test people. So, things like the Four Books and Five Classics, or literary classics, are all useless."

He paused and continued, "Of course, it can be useful. But you'd have to first instill the text you want to test them on into the other party beforehand. In other words, you'd have to give them the answer first. If you give them the answer, won't they get it instantly? What's the point of that?

For example, if you wanted to test someone on filling in the blanks for the 'Tao Te Ching,' you'd have to first implant the entire original text of the 'Tao Te Ching' into them. Only then would it work. But at that point, the test itself is meaningless."

As the blue-robed scholar spoke, someone immediately asked with confusion, "Wait, so 'Chicken and Rabbit in the Same Cage' didn't provide the answer either? How did it work?"

The blue-robed scholar glanced at the man. His question had indeed hit the nail on the head.

"That's precisely what I admire about the creator."

After saying this, the blue-robed scholar didn't elaborate further. Instead, he shifted the topic, "Everyone should know that literature, in general, doesn't have a fixed answer.

You might think something is reasonable, and I might think something else is also good. It's a classic case of 'the pot calling the kettle black.'

Since there's no precise answer, if you want to test someone, you must give them the answer first. Otherwise, this divine ability won't work. Or rather, it won't achieve the goal of making the other party lose focus. Because they can refuse at any time, or leave at any time."

"That's absolutely true!"

"I see!"

No one present disagreed with what the blue-robed scholar had said.

In this world, the idea that literature has no precise answers was practically a consensus.

Unless...

Unless the standard answer was artificially created.

And if it was an artificially created standard answer, you couldn't expect your opponent to agree with it. If the opponent didn't agree, then your divine ability would be useless against them.

After a pause of about three to four breaths, seeing that no one had any objections, the blue-robed scholar slowly said, "Aren't you all curious why the 'Chicken and Rabbit in the Same Cage' divine ability, which also didn't provide an answer, was still effective?"

The crowd was engrossed in his explanation, and when he suddenly posed this question, they became a little impatient.

If you want to talk, just talk. Why ask a question?

Don't you know we don't understand?

Whose child is this, so ill-mannered?

"Stop beating around the bush and just tell us."

"I bet you're Old Song's personal disciple, aren't you? You've learned to play coy. Be careful, or you'll get a blade in the mail."

Seeing this, the blue-robed scholar thought to himself, Can't you just cooperate a little? Why are you all so short-tempered?

He cleared his throat and then said, "This is where 'Chicken and Rabbit in the Same Cage' is different. It approached the problem from another angle. It first established the rules, and then, based on these rules, the answers to the subsequent questions could be easily deduced, and they were unique. That's why this divine ability works, and others can't refuse it."

As soon as the blue-robed scholar finished speaking, someone exclaimed in realization, "No wonder this divine ability takes effect without the other party's consent! It turns out it instilled the rules into the other party before they even started answering the questions.

From these rules, they could deduce the subsequent answers.

And these rules are very simple, just explaining the meaning of numbers, and the meaning of legs and heads. I believe anyone, human or demon, can understand them, which is why it's effective against demons too."

After hearing the other party's analysis, the blue-robed scholar agreed, "Exactly! There's actually one more thing: the rules are few. With few rules, less spiritual energy is required. So, even a newly awakened One-Star Cultivator can easily release this divine ability."

"So, the development direction for illusion realm divine abilities should be: use a small number of rules to deduce more questions and their corresponding answers. Is that right? Did people in the past go in the wrong direction?"

"That should be it. And it must be like 'Chicken and Rabbit in the Same Cage,' testing things like reasoning ability or calculation ability, which seem very abstract. That's why this 'Anonymous' chose arithmetic."

The crowd had no objections to this statement.

Indeed, the Heavenly Dao Virtual Net contained many illusion realm divine abilities that were both laughable and frustrating.

For example, there was a maze-type illusion. It provided a starting point and an ending point, and then the user had to travel from the start to the end. Upon reaching the end, they would pass.

However, because it was an illusion, the person inside could do anything. So, the user could instantly flatten the maze, teleport directly to the end, or even move the end point to their feet.

Therefore, this test was as good as no test at all.

There were also some illusion realm divine abilities that set up many impressive-looking and intimidating things within the illusion, such as demons, ghosts, and powerful weapons.

But, after entering the illusion, the user could make all these things disappear with a single thought.

That's why these illusions didn't shine on the Heavenly Luck Continent and instead remained dormant in the Heavenly Dao Virtual Net, gathering dust.

Now it seemed they hadn't found the truly suitable projects for illusion realm divine abilities to test.

Since they couldn't test other aspects, they would purely test your logical reasoning ability, your IQ. Now, surely you can't sabotage it or cheat, right?

And regarding Arithmetic, there's another point: if you know it, you know it; if you don't, you don't.

If you don't know it, even if your wishes come true in the Illusion Realm, you still can't calculate the answer.

From this angle, Arithmetic is indeed the most suitable for Illusion Realm Type Supernatural Powers.

It's no wonder that Chicken and Rabbit in the Same Cage gained such fame and effect by choosing Arithmetic.

Just then, the Young Master in Green Robes suddenly muttered, "Wait, Anonymous has already solved all these problems. If I just recreate a new Illusion Supernatural Power based on his work, it should be very simple."

Thinking this, the Young Master in Green Robes was filled with joy. He secretly glanced around.

Suddenly, the joyful expression on the Young Master in Green Robes' face vanished completely. At this moment, he suddenly realized that the atmosphere around him was not right.

It was only then that he noticed his good friend, the Blue-Robed Scholar, and several people nearby were all looking at him. Their eyes were filled with astonishment, but also a hint of pleasant surprise.

The Young Master in Green Robes thought to himself, "This is bad. I actually spoke my mind, and someone overheard me."

"I have some urgent matters at home, I'm leaving now. You guys continue!"

With that, the Young Master in Green Robes, not even bothering with his breakfast on the table, hurriedly left the restaurant and rushed home.

After the Young Master in Green Robes left, the few people who had been looking at him exchanged meaningful glances. Then, with unspoken understanding, they got up and quickly left the restaurant.

Their sudden actions baffled the other diners. They were having a good discussion, so why did everyone leave? And why didn't they even touch their breakfast?

About fifteen minutes later, Lu Mingyuan, considering that he still needed to research materials at the academy, informed Jing Zhi's parents in the kitchen before taking his leave.

Because the way to improve cultivation in this world is a bit special: as long as you keep thinking and achieve results, that's enough.

Therefore, Lu Mingyuan's act of researching materials to create supernatural powers could also be considered a form of cultivation.

In fact, the reason why the Human Race calls the ball of milky white gas in their Soul Space "Talent" is precisely because only by constantly studying knowledge and creating new knowledge can Talent be improved, thereby increasing cultivation.

If Lu Mingyuan wants to improve his cultivation, he must also do this.