Heaven and Earth are not benevolent, they treat all things as straw dogs

On the imperial road, two luxurious carriages were moving at a leisurely pace.

The lead carriage was driven by Snake Lance Douluo, while the rear carriage was steered by Porcupinefish Douluo.

Li Taibai rode alone on a magnificent black horse, clearing the path ahead; the rhythmic "clop-clop" of hooves against the ground sounded steady and calm.

Not long ago, a notification sound for a system upgrade had suddenly rung out in Li Taibai's mind. Using "clearing the path" as an excuse, he had exited the carriage where Qian Daoliu resided, mounted his steed, and taken advantage of the bumpy ride to investigate this sudden development.

System, upgrading to the second version costs one million points? Li Taibai clicked his tongue in his heart, secretly grumbling, Are you planning to drain me dry in one go?

Over the past five years, he had struggled and fought tooth and nail to scrape together just over two million points.

Unlocking the binding slots alone had cost a fortune—the second slot cost ten thousand points, the third twenty thousand, and so on, doubling each time. By the time he reached the eighth slot to bind Qian Renxue, he had already spent six hundred and forty thousand.

Yet, he couldn't squeeze a single point out of Qian Renxue; her favorability remained frozen at absolute zero, making it a complete loss.

Fortunately, he had bound the seven Grand Elders in the first seven slots, and they now provided him with fifteen hundred points daily, with his teacher, Qian Daoliu, contributing the majority of that sum.

He hadn't expected the system to demand one million points for an upgrade.

"Host, the current upgrade includes a special offer: three additional binding slots will be gifted," the system's mechanical voice chimed in.

Three slots? Li Taibai's eyes lit up. This was far more cost-effective than paying to unlock them himself, considering the eighth slot alone had cost him six hundred and forty thousand.

Subsequent slots would only become more expensive, so three slots would save him at least seven million points. It's worth it! System, upgrade!

Following his command, one million points were instantly deducted from his account, leaving him with a pitiful five thousand three hundred and thirty-eight points.

Li Taibai felt a sharp pang of heartache, as if his very innards had been hollowed out.

"System upgrading... Progress 30%... 50%... 70%... 90%... Upgrade successful!"

A new interface popped up. Beyond the original functions, an option to "View Fortune" had been added.

The more prosperous the target's fortune, the higher their status, and the stronger their power, the more points would be earned through daily check-ins.

Even more surprisingly, a sub-system called the "Resentment System" had been added; the lower the favorability, the higher the check-in points would be.

Interesting. Li Taibai stroked his chin, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

Now, whether I curry favor or cause offense, I can earn points. The system truly lives up to its upgrade. As he guided the black horse, he studied the new features, the corners of his mouth curling upward uncontrollably.

At this moment, in the rear carriage, Qian Renxue sat cross-legged with her eyes closed, her soul power circulating slowly through her body; she was clearly in deep meditation.

Her breathing was long and steady, and her golden hair hung quietly over her shoulders.

However, within her Sea of Consciousness, the scene was entirely different.

Chen Qingxuan lay lazily on a rocking chair, his expression one of comfort.

Qian Renyou stood behind him, her slender fingers gently kneading his shoulders.

Although they were merely soul bodies, Chen Qingxuan was a Golden Immortal; even with only a wisp of his original soul remaining, his senses were fully intact, allowing him to clearly perceive the comfort.

"Use a bit more pressure... lower... to the left, yes, right there." Chen Qingxuan narrowed his eyes slightly, enjoying this rare moment of relaxation.

Qian Renyou adjusted her strength while smiling: "Master, those fellows from before were truly interesting. They don't rely much on soul skills and have their own ideas; they are quite different from others."

"They are transmigrators. If they didn't even have that much self-awareness, they would have lived their lives in vain," Chen Qingxuan said indifferently.

"What is a transmigrator?" Qian Renyou tilted her head, asking with curiosity.

Chen Qingxuan opened his eyes, his gaze profound: "So-called transmigrators are a group of self-important, unruly people who always believe they are the children of destiny, and that all the opportunities, romances, and connections in the world should belong to them."

"To put it nicely, they are plunderers; to put it bluntly, they are the parasites of the world, surviving by stealing the world's resources."

"Are they all that powerful?" Qian Renyou covered her small mouth, a flash of surprise in her eyes, clearly shocked by these words.

"Powerful is a stretch, but they are indeed interesting." Chen Qingxuan chuckled.

When Qian Renxue had sparred with those three geniuses of Martial Soul Hall earlier, Chen Qingxuan had idly probed their souls and discovered they all came from the same place, harboring a shared memory—memories regarding this Douluo Continent.

Qian Renyou's expression sharpened, a hint of coldness flashing through her eyes: "Master, then do you think I should keep them, or..."

"Keep them," Chen Qingxuan interrupted. "Their existence can transmit a false signal to the plane will of Douluo Planet, making it mistakenly believe that several peerless talents have emerged on Douluo Planet, with the hope of leading the plane to ascend."

"When that time comes, the plane will will decompose its own origin into fortune and continuously channel it toward them."

"The stronger the transmigrators become, the more fortune they receive, which in turn accelerates their growth."

He paused, then continued: "If Douluo Planet originally had a fixed amount of one hundred points of fortune per year, with them here, it might double to two hundred."

Qian Renyou suddenly walked to Chen Qingxuan's side, slowly crouched down, and looked up at him with clear eyes: "Master, do you need fortune very much?"

Chen Qingxuan raised an eyebrow: "Why do you ask?"

"Ever since you pulled that Li Taibai's Karmic Thread here, I have been able to clearly feel the flow of fortune."

Qian Renyou said softly, "I absorb Li Taibai's fortune, but after those fortunes linger with me for a moment, they eventually flow toward..." Her gaze landed on Chen Qingxuan, carrying a hint of certainty.

Chen Qingxuan looked at her and nodded candidly: "That is correct. I need fortune to recover my strength."

"I am a person from beyond the heavens; this world instinctively repels me, making it impossible to directly absorb the spiritual energy here. Only by converting fortune into origin can I replenish my missing power."

Ever since he attained the Dao, he had disdained lying to those he knew; only by treating others with sincerity could his heart remain clear.

As for strangers or enemies, that depended on his mood.

(Chen Qingxuan could alter the rules or forcibly invade the plane consciousness to refine it, but doing so would be detected by the Dao. In his prime, he was killed by the Dao's Immortal Tribulation, so he must keep a low profile now.)

Qian Renyou laughed upon hearing this, her eyes curving into crescents, looking incredibly happy: "Master didn't lie to me, that's wonderful."

She leaned gently against Chen Qingxuan's lap, her voice soft and sweet, "Master, if you need luck, I will bring you the luck of the entire world."

"Silly girl, do you have any idea how big the world is?" Chen Qingxuan chuckled, reaching out to ruffle her hair.

Qian Renyou blinked, saying naively, "Isn't the world just this big?"

In her understanding, the world was nothing more than this Douluo Continent; it couldn't possibly be any larger than that.

"Not even close." Chen Qingxuan shook his head, explaining patiently.

"Worlds are divided from high to low into Great Thousand Worlds, Middle Thousand Worlds, and Small Thousand Worlds. Even the smallest Small Thousand World contains countless life-bearing stars, nurturing all sorts of civilizations."

"There are those that rely on technology to fly through the skies and burrow into the earth, those that coexist with phantom beasts, those that can manipulate nightmares, cultivators who refine true essence, martial arts grandmasters who temper their physiques, necromancers who command the undead, mechanical civilizations that pilot mechs, as well as orcs, winged people, merfolk... all sorts, endless and infinite."

He paused, looking at Qian Renyou: "And this Douluo Continent is merely a tiny life-bearing star in the vast universe, no more than a speck of dust in the entire world system."

Qian Renyou was stunned, a flash of confusion crossing her eyes before being replaced by determination. She sat up, clenching her small fists: "Then I will first unify the Douluo Continent, and then venture out to bring the entire world under your command, gathering luck for Master!"

"Xiaoyou." Chen Qingxuan patted her head gently and said, "Prosperity leads to decline, and extreme adversity leads to recovery. If a force becomes too powerful, it will only accelerate its own decay and eventually head toward destruction."

"Why?" Qian Renyou looked at him, puzzled.

"Heaven and earth are unkind; they treat all things as straw dogs." Chen Qingxuan sighed, "Living beings are nothing more than the products of the world's instincts."

"The world nurtures life, which seems like a gift, but in reality, it is for the sake of destruction."

"Only through repeated creation and destruction can the world extract enough energy to complete its own evolution."

Qian Renyou was completely bewildered, staring at Chen Qingxuan with wide eyes: "Master, what are you saying? Creating and then destroying—isn't that just having nothing better to do?"

Chen Qingxuan countered with a question: "Let me give you an analogy. The world creates life and gives it one portion of power. After that life grows and eventually dies, the world can reclaim ten portions of power. In this way, hasn't the world's total power increased?"

Qian Renyou had a sudden realization and blurted out, "I get it, it's like raising pigs!"

Chen Qingxuan looked at her strangely upon hearing this, his mouth twitching.

Qian Renyou pouted, "What? Is there something on my face?"

Qian Renyou thought for a moment, suddenly realizing what she had said. Her face turned bright red in an instant, and she stomped her foot, "Master, you're a bad person! You're the little pig!"

With that, she turned and ran, her nimble figure quickly disappearing into the mist of the Sea of Consciousness.

Chen Qingxuan watched her retreating back and shook his head helplessly, though a hint of doting laughter flashed in his eyes.