No Investment, No Return?

Chapter 12: No Investment, No Return?

"Sis, is this Huang Shang you mentioned really that strong?"

"Stop with the cheeky memes. If you have time, spend it brushing up on the history of various dynasties, domestic and foreign, so you don't make a fool of yourself with 'My Lord' jokes again."

"Oh, come on! We aren't actually living here, so just speaking casually is fine. Why worry so much about it?"

"Absolutely not. When we make contact with Huang Shang, you must maintain immersion!"

"I get it! I get it!"

The woman was named Xu Yue, and the man was Xu Feng; they were siblings.

At this moment, they sat across from each other at a table, their faces flushed with excitement.

Huang Shang!

He was one of the most formidable figures in the Jin Yong novels; only a handful of others could compare to him.

It was said that some reincarnators, being die-hard fans of the Jin Yong books, had specifically visited every world in the series and concluded that there were only five two-star powerhouses.

The Sweeping Monk, Xiaoyaozi, Dugu Qiubai, the Yue Maiden Ah Qing, and Huang Shang.

Among them, the Sweeping Monk was the most refined, Xiaoyaozi the most learned, Dugu Qiubai the most eccentric, Ah Qing the most pure, and Huang Shang the most mystical.

Five words summarized the lives of these five peerless experts.

However, after the initial excitement, Xu Feng grew doubtful: "But the current Huang Shang is still just a scholar, without the strength to truss a chicken. He's not the grandmaster he becomes later. Are we really going to make contracting him our goal?"

Xu Yue rolled her eyes: "A grandmaster who can break through to two-star in a low-martial arts world has terrifying potential—even higher than those 'Children of Destiny.' If we wait until Huang Shang actually creates the Nine Yin Manual, it won't be our turn anymore."

Xu Feng nodded: "Understood."

Xu Yue said decisively: "If Heaven gives you something and you don't take it, you will be blamed for the consequences. There are over a million people in the Eastern Capital Kaifeng Prefecture, yet I happened to run into Huang Shang. What kind of luck is that? If I let this go, I won't be able to sleep at night!"

Xu Feng asked: "Then what should we do?"

Ever since the siblings arrived at the Main God Temple, his sister Xu Yue had been responsible for planning, while he handled the execution—a clear division of labor.

Xu Yue thought for a moment, then extended her left hand, from which a light began to rise.

A three-dimensional map of the Eastern Capital Kaifeng Prefecture appeared.

Xu Yue said: "Our main mission is to retrieve the Coiling Dragon Staff of Zhao Kuangyin from the secret imperial vault."

As she spoke, her slender fingers traced a small circle on the map, marking the area of the Great Song imperial palace.

In terms of size, the Song dynasty palace was not particularly large, far inferior to the Daming Palace of the Tang dynasty in Chang'an.

It had to be said that the Song emperors were the most approachable among all the dynasties.

After Zhao Kuangyin founded the nation, the palace was not built with extravagance. Later, when Zhao Guangyi ascended the throne and planned to expand it, he was forced to abandon the idea due to opposition from the local commoners.

To have "stubborn nail-households" standing up to an emperor—wasn't that something?

The small size of the palace was, naturally, good news for Xu Yue and Xu Feng.

Xu Yue added several points of light to the imperial city: "I have already scouted the palace's visible guards and the internal experts; they aren't hard to deal with. However, the secret vault is likely located in the Wuying Hall, which is very difficult to approach."

Xu Feng immediately buttered her up: "As expected of my sister, truly amazing!"

Ignoring him, Xu Yue continued: "The key lies in why the Main God Temple wants the Coiling Dragon Staff. This weapon is merely a mundane item, not even reaching star-level; it is only hyped up because Zhao Kuangyin was the founding emperor."

Xu Feng nodded: "True. It's just like the Grand Ancestor Long Fist—if Xiao Feng hadn't used it, it would just be a crude martial art."

Xu Yue said: "That is why I suspect the Coiling Dragon Staff is merely a symbol of imperial power. What the Main God Temple truly wants is the intangible power of the Great Song's national destiny and dragon qi. This is no small matter. If we show our faces to seize it, will we be stopped by reclusive experts like the Sweeping Monk?"

Hearing the name of the Sweeping Monk, Xu Feng's expression darkened: "Other plot characters are manageable. Even against the Three Elders of Xiaoyao, I have the confidence to hold my own. But the Sweeping Monk, a two-star powerhouse—I am definitely no match for him."

Xu Yue dared not take it lightly: "Such unknown dangers are the most terrifying. Regardless, we have plenty of time. I originally intended to use some martial artists to test the waters, but now it seems we can do both at once!"

Since the space allowed reincarnators to enter the Heavens, it would not let them leave in a hurry.

In fact, it preferred they stay as long as possible, ideally digging three feet into the world's resources to bring everything back.

Therefore, time was very abundant.

With Xu Yue having said this much, Xu Feng understood: "Huang Shang can also help us obtain the Coiling Dragon Staff."

Xu Yue smiled: "Yes, this is a new experiment!"

Xu Feng pondered: "Then, to improve Huang Shang's strength, should we teach him some martial arts?"

Xu Yue had already considered this along the way: "Huang Shang is a self-taught grandmaster. If we force martial arts upon him, even if his strength improves rapidly at first, we would be wasting this raw gem."

"He is a scholar, and Hong Yi, the protagonist of Yang God, is also a scholar. While we don't have the most suitable cultivation system for Confucianism—the Sage of Confucianism—you can give him the methods for soul cultivation and see if it inspires him to forge his own path!"

The cultivation path in the world of Yang God was divided into two major systems: Martial Arts and Soul.

Martial Arts involved tempering the flesh, tendons, membranes, bones, organs, and marrow, exchanging blood to become a Martial Saint, opening apertures to become an Immortal, and ultimately shattering the vacuum.

The Soul path involved stabilizing the spirit, leaving the body, night wandering, day wandering, manipulating objects, manifesting, possessing, seizing bodies, and surviving the nine lightning tribulations to achieve the Yang God.

If one could combine the Yang God with the shattering of the vacuum and fulfill a Great Vow, one could reach the Other Shore.

That was a world with an extremely high ceiling, and neither Xu Yue nor Xu Feng were qualified to enter it.

They had spent a great price to purchase the cultivation techniques from high-star reincarnators.

At the time, they had purchased both paths: the Martial Dao up to the Organ Refining stage, and the Divine Soul up to the Object Manipulation stage.

However, this "buy one get one free" deal wasn't actually a benefit, but rather a way to inflate the price.

Xu Feng had initially thought about cultivating both martial arts and spiritual arts simultaneously, but later realized he was just daydreaming.

Unless you're the protagonist of the plot, wanting to be proficient in everything is just wishful thinking!

Still, the power of the Divine Soul cultivation method was self-evident. Xu Yue had a long-term vision; since they had contracted Huang Shang, this character card would help them all the way, so they naturally had to lay a solid foundation.

Xu Feng felt a bit reluctant when he heard this: "But the Divine Soul cultivation method is worth at least two thousand Samsara Points if sold. Is it really not a waste to just give it to Huang Shang like this?"

Xu Yue shook her head: "Without investment, where would the returns come from? I don't like using malicious contracts, and we can't force Huang Shang either; otherwise, we'd just end up with a walking corpse that serves no purpose."

After a pause, she added: "Of course, Huang Shang has no plot reference, and we don't know his specific personality. What if he's an ingrate? A person's martial arts achievements have nothing to do with their personal morality. We must observe him first to see how high the possibility of a contract is!"

Seeing that his sister had already considered everything, Xu Feng knew there was no room for change. He took the Dao Scripture from his bosom and stroked it longingly.

After a long while, he let out a mournful sigh, slumped onto the table, and buried his face in his arms. His muffled voice drifted out: "My Dream of the Other Shore..."

(I didn't expect the fan ranking to reach nearly fifty people in just one day. Thank you all very much for your support. Regarding bonus chapters, since my new book was released right after the old one, I have very few drafts saved, so I'll need to wait a bit. Rest assured, they will definitely come.)

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