Selling Divine Abilities, I Lost My Way to Becoming the Richest Man

It took a while for the uproar to die down. Only then did the atmosphere in the Jing Family Restaurant return to normal.

Only then did Old Song, the storyteller, reveal the name of the divine ability.

It was the illusion-type divine ability [Mathematics: Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage], created by Anonymous.

After revealing the name, Old Song promptly fell silent. He knew nobody wanted to listen to him ramble on now. The divine ability was what mattered.

After waiting a moment, Old Song looked around.

Sure enough, the diners had all turned their gazes away from him. Their eyes were vacant, unfocused. They had probably already immersed their minds in the Heavenly Dao Virtual Network.

About ten breaths later, a young man in fine clothes came to. Excitedly, he cried, "It really is an illusion divine ability! And it uses so little energy. Even with my cultivation only at two stars, I can use it more than ten times in a row. No wonder it made the Demon Race suffer such a huge loss."

The other diners gradually came to as well, and all of them seemed shaken.

One diner heard the young man's exclamation and nodded in agreement. "That's right, it uses very little. I can use it, and I'm only a One-Star Cultivator."

"Low energy consumption means it can be released quickly, which makes it easier to seize the moment in battle. It's also more useful on the battlefield. No wonder we won such a great victory in the border war this time."

As soon as he finished speaking, a young master holding a folding fan chimed in. "Exactly. A quick release can catch the enemy off guard, and it can even interrupt someone else's divine ability.

"Take the Starlight Lion's Starlight Divine Escape, for example. Didn't it keep getting interrupted because it took too long to release?

"In that respect, [Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage] is much more useful than the Confucian School's [Encouraging Learning]. You have to reach four stars to bear the cost of [Encouraging Learning], and it takes so long to release. Even if it could be used in battle, I doubt there'd be many suitable opportunities."

The moment the young man with the fan finished, the scholar in blue beside him retorted, "You can't put it that way. [Encouraging Learning] is clearly meant for studying, not fighting or competing. How can you compare the two?"

Clearly, the scholar in blue also believed that when it came to fighting, [Encouraging Learning] couldn't compare with [Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage].

But when it came to studying, [Encouraging Learning] was the clear winner.

The scholar in blue had spoken up because he admired the Confucian School and very much wanted to join it. So when he heard someone seemingly disparage a Confucian divine ability, he felt compelled to argue back.

Hearing this, the young man with the folding fan said no more.

The people who had been talking were regulars at the Jing Family Restaurant. They ran into each other from time to time and were fairly familiar with one another. The young man with the fan, who had criticized [Encouraging Learning], didn't want to keep arguing and sour their relationship over something so trivial.

It might strain their friendship.

The restaurant fell inexplicably quiet for a while. Once the atmosphere had grown less tense, the diners resumed their discussion.

"Speaking of which, a divine ability this good is only selling for 100 Qi Luck Points. Isn't that way too cheap? Do you think Anonymous is taking a loss?"

Everyone thought about it. Indeed, how could such a good divine ability be selling for so little?

If they had made it themselves, they wouldn't sell it for less than ten thousand points. Anything less wouldn't do justice to all their hard work.

Just then, a sharp-eyed woman in a plain dress glanced at the person who had asked the question and chuckled. "Taking a loss? Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong. The creator is clearly making a fortune."

Seeing that most of the diners still looked confused, the woman in the plain dress continued explaining. "Let's do the math. Just those twenty-five formations of ten thousand people each add up to 250,000 people. At 100 points per copy, if each of them buys one, that's 25 million Qi Luck Points. Even if Anonymous bought the Divine Ability Stones, he'd still be making a fortune."

"Twenty-five million Qi Luck Points? Holy crap, and that's a loss? I wish I could lose money like that. I'd keep losing every day until I went completely broke!"

"Exactly, he's already made a fortune! And this divine ability is all the rage now. Maybe he'll sell even more in a few days. I reckon selling a few million more copies will be a piece of cake."

"A few million more? Then he'll be a billionaire in no time! If he loses a bit more, he'll lose his way to becoming the richest man."

"Lose his way to becoming the richest man? I wish I could lose like that too. I'm Shen You, a dignified Three-Star Cultivator. Even if I don't spend a single point all year, I can only save a little over a thousand Human Luck Points. Meanwhile, he can earn tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions, in just a few days. The gap between us is way too big."

"No wonder people say that sometimes the gap between two people is greater than the gap between a person and a dog. Now I see how true that is."

"I can understand why he chose the name 'Anonymous.' He's obviously trying to keep himself hidden. If his identity got out, he'd be a fat lamb for the slaughter. People would probably come asking him for a handout every day."

Lu Mingyuan glanced at the speaker, puzzled. Had he really thought that way at the time?

Just then, a young girl asked the question on her mind. "A handout? You mean robbing him, right? Qi Luck Points in the Heavenly Dao Virtual Network can't be traded face-to-face, so how would anyone rob him?"

Looks like we have a little newbie here.

The person who had said "a handout" continued to explain. "You don't know? Qi Luck Points in the Virtual Network can't be traded face-to-face like Earth Luck, but you can buy and sell divine abilities and books in there. Since you can buy and sell things, there are ways around it.

"For example, I could upload any random book and set the price at ten million points. Once you buy it, wouldn't I have ten million points?

"And it's a free-market transaction, not outright robbery. The law can't even convict you. Isn't that much safer?"

The little newbie—or rather, the girl—was left dumbfounded. There was actually a trick like that?

You people really were something else.

Nope, not getting involved. No way.

Many of the people around them looked just as shocked. It was the first time they'd heard of such a brazen scam.

After hearing about it, they quietly committed the method to memory, just in case they got swindled in the future.

"I just checked the Virtual Network. This really does happen. And they're all garbage books, but they're ridiculously expensive."

"Yeah, let me see. This one's selling for fifty thousand?

"Sixty thousand?

"One hundred thousand?

"What are these supposed to be? Is there nothing normal?

"Let me look. Finally, I found one... This—well, all right, I suppose this one counts as normal."

"I only just realized there are books like this. They're downright painful to look at."

"I used to wonder how books like these could possibly cost so much, or how anyone could buy them. Now I see what they're for. What a bunch of geniuses."

"Exactly. The Four Books and Five Classics and the classics of the Hundred Schools only cost a few points. Those people are probably charging so much to scam others."

"Probably? I'd say they're definitely doing it."

Just then, someone in the crowd sighed. "Thank goodness the creator of [Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage] chose to remain Anonymous. Otherwise..."

He didn't finish, but the others understood what he meant.

After a moment's silence, someone asked another question. "Hey, why didn't anyone come up with a divine ability that could be used in regular combat before? I just checked, and [Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage] seems pretty simple."

When he heard someone ask, the scholar in blue quickly said, "I know this one."

The scholar in blue had asked his teacher the same question before. He'd also discussed it with others himself, and in the end, the answer had of course been that it couldn't be done. Otherwise, Anonymous's [Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage] wouldn't have caused such a sensation—or achieved such spectacular results on the battlefield.

The scholar in blue recalled the past and gathered his thoughts before speaking. "To use an illusion in combat, and make it effective against the Demon Race, you can't test people using our traditional culture. So things like the Four Books and Five Classics or literary classics are completely useless."

He paused, then continued. "Of course, they could work if you wanted them to. But first, you'd have to teach the other person the literary passages you wanted to test them on. In other words, you'd have to give them the answers in advance. If you give them the answers, they'll solve the questions in an instant. What use would that be?

"For example, if you wanted to test someone by having them fill in missing passages from the [Tao Te Ching], you'd have to instill the entire original text in them first. Only then would it work. But by that point, the test would be pointless."

At this, someone immediately asked, puzzled, "Wait, then [Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage] doesn't give the answers either. How does it work?"

The scholar in blue glanced at him. That was a fair question.

"That's what I admire about this creator."

After saying that, the scholar in blue didn't explain further. Instead, he steered the conversation in another direction. "Everyone knows that literature doesn't have fixed answers.

"You say one interpretation makes sense, and I say another does too. It's the classic case of the wise seeing wisdom and the benevolent seeing benevolence.

"Since there are no definitive answers, you have to give people the answers first if you want to test them. Otherwise, the divine ability won't work—or, at least, it won't make them lose focus. They can refuse at any time and leave whenever they want."

"That's true!"

"I see!"

Nobody present disagreed with what the scholar in blue had said.

In this world, it was practically common knowledge that literature had no definitive answers.

Unless...

Unless the standard answer had been decided by someone.

If the standard answer was decided by someone, you couldn't expect your opponent to agree with it. As soon as they disagreed, your divine ability would no longer work on them.

After about three or four breaths, the scholar in blue saw that no one had any objections and slowly continued, "Are you all curious why [Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage] can work despite not providing the answers?"

Everyone was listening with great interest, but then the scholar in blue hit them with that. They immediately grew unhappy.

If you wanted to explain, just explain. Why ask us questions?

Don't you know we don't understand?

Whose kid was this? So inconsiderate.

"Stop teasing us and get on with it."

"I bet you're Old Song's star pupil. You've even learned to leave us hanging. Watch out, or we'll send you razor blades."

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

He cleared his throat before saying, "That's what makes [Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage] different. It approaches things from another angle. First, it lays out a set of rules. Then, those rules make it easy to deduce the answers to the later questions—and there's only one possible answer. That's why the divine ability works, and people can't refuse it."

As soon as the scholar in blue finished speaking, someone suddenly understood. "No wonder the divine ability can take effect without the other person's consent. The rules are instilled in them before they answer the questions.

"Those rules let them work out the answers to the questions that follow.

"And the rules are simple. They just explain what numbers mean, and what legs and heads mean. Anyone with a mind, human or demon, can understand them. That's why it works on the Demon Race too."

After hearing the other person's analysis, the scholar in blue agreed. "Right! There's one more thing: there aren't many rules. Fewer rules mean less Spiritual Qi is needed. So even a newly awakened One-Star Cultivator can release this divine ability with ease."

"So the way forward for illusion-type divine abilities is to use a small number of rules to deduce more questions and their corresponding answers. Is that right? People in the past were going in the wrong direction?"

"Probably. And, like [Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage], they have to test something that seems intangible, like reasoning or calculation. That's why Anonymous chose arithmetic."

The others had no objections to this explanation.

After all, there were plenty of illusion-type divine abilities in the Heavenly Dao Virtual Network that were ridiculous enough to make you laugh and cry.

For example, there was a maze-type illusion. It gave you a starting point and an endpoint, then asked the person under the spell to travel from one to the other. Reaching the endpoint counted as passing.

But since it was an illusion, people inside it could do practically anything. So the person under the spell could flatten the maze immediately, teleport straight to the endpoint, or simply move the endpoint to their feet.

The test might as well not have existed.

Some other illusion-type divine abilities set up things in the illusion that looked powerful and intimidating, like demons and monsters or powerful weapons.

But once people entered the illusion, they could make all those things disappear with a single thought.

That was why these illusions had never taken off on the Tianyun Continent. Instead, they had languished in the Heavenly Dao Virtual Network, gathering dust at the bottom of the box.

Now it seemed their creators simply hadn't found the right thing to test with an illusion-type divine ability.

If you couldn't test other aspects of someone, then you could test nothing but their logical reasoning and intelligence. That way, they couldn't sabotage the test or cheat, right?

And arithmetic had one other advantage: either you knew how to do it, or you didn't.

If you didn't know how, then even if you could make anything you wanted happen inside the illusion, you still couldn't work out the answer.

From this perspective, arithmetic really was the best fit for an illusion-type divine ability.

It was no wonder [Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage] had become so famous and effective. It had chosen arithmetic.

Just then, the young master in green muttered under his breath, "Wait, Anonymous has already solved all these problems. If I use his work to build a new illusion-type divine ability, wouldn't it be easy?"

At the thought, the young master in green was filled with excitement. He furtively glanced around.

Suddenly, the delighted look vanished from his face. Only then did he notice that something felt off about the atmosphere around him.

He saw that his friend, the scholar in blue, and several people nearby were all looking at him. Their eyes were full of surprise, but beneath it lurked a hint of excitement.

The young master in green thought, Oh no. How did I say that out loud? And they heard me.

"I've got something to take care of at home. I'll be going. You all carry on!"

Leaving those words behind, the young master in green didn't even bother with the breakfast on the table. He hurried out of the restaurant and rushed home.

After he left, the people who had been looking at him exchanged meaningful glances, then stood up in perfect unison and quickly left the restaurant.

Their unexpected behavior left the other diners utterly bewildered. They'd been having a lively discussion, so why had everyone left without even touching the breakfast on their tables?

About fifteen minutes later, Lu Mingyuan remembered he still needed to go to the academy to look up some materials. He went to the kitchen to tell Jing Zhi's parents before taking his leave.

The way people improved their cultivation in this world was rather unusual: they simply had to keep thinking and produce results.

So for Lu Mingyuan, researching materials to create a divine ability could also count as cultivation.

In fact, the reason the human race called the milky-white mass of energy in the Soul Space Talent Qi was that only by constantly studying and creating new knowledge could you increase your Talent Qi, and thereby improve your cultivation.

Lu Mingyuan had to do the same if he wanted to improve his cultivation.