How Could You Get Strong Without Paying? Unless You Shave...

"Here, take this manual!" Shadow B pulled out a manual from somewhere and placed it in Lin Fan's hand. Then, he took out a POS machine and three manuals from his crotch, asking Lin Fan, "Young man, would you like the Golden Time Ring Ritual Manual worth 28,999, this Silver Time Ring Ritual Manual worth 18,999, or this ordinary Time Ring Ritual Manual worth 8,999?"

"Wait a minute, didn't the Newcomer's Guide say that the ritual manual was a free gift? It even included materials for the first ritual!" Lin Fan felt increasingly cheated. He flipped through the manual in his hand. This manual, titled "Crow Sits on a Plane," was just a comic strip, as if it was teaching a terrible martial arts technique.

"That's because you're too young. Our secret techniques are completely different from those flashy, pretentious ones out there. They're so pure and unpretentious. Think about it, can something for free be good?" Shadow B said earnestly, "Think about it, how can you become stronger without spending money?"

"But the problem is, even your ordinary ritual manuals sell for 8999!" Lin Fan said, pointing to the ordinary manual in Shadow B's hand.

"Ahem, even if this is just an ordinary manual, it's one that I, Shadow B, personally copied. It's enough to make you feel truly special. So what if it's ordinary?" Shadow B said seriously, as if he had a lot to say.

"A photocopy?" Lin Fan's lips twitched, increasingly sensing that this was unreliable, so he used his ultimate weapon. "I have no money!"

"Clang..." Shadow B dropped the POS machine from his hand, staring at Lin Fan in disbelief. "You have no idea how much of an opportunity you've missed. Since that's the case, I have nothing more to say. You're still young, you don't know I'm doing this for your own good. Since you insist..."

As they spoke, Shadow B pulled out a razor from who-knows-where, his eyes gleaming. "I have no choice but to pass on my secret to you!"

"What do you want to do?" Lin Fan retreated in a panic. It seemed like a psychopath could kill someone without breaking the law.

"Since you don't want to take the path of spending money to become stronger, then you can only take another path!" Shadow B howled and pounced. A few minutes later, a fresh little Wu Ke appeared.

"Although it was created by humans, it will greatly increase your strength. This is your secret manual. Don't call me if you don't have money in the future!" Shadow B threw the razor aside, his figure slowly fading away, leaving Lin Fan rubbing his bald head, of course, with that damned candle still standing on his head.

"Damn it, I forgot to ask him about the candle." Lin Fan realized this only now. If the other party could see the candle, then he must know something about it. Asking him was better than staying here in fear.

Lin Fan opened room B, wanting to privately message Shadow B, but received an automatic reply saying "No money, no conversation."

"So what's all this about?" Lin Fan sighed. He felt like he had sighed more today than he had in the first half of his life. Looking at the two manuals in his hands, one was an extremely cringe-worthy "Crow Sits on a Plane, and the other was an equally cringe-worthy " Time Ring Ritual Manual (Bald Version)".

"Never mind, let's start cultivating." Lin Fan picked up the Time Ring Ritual Manual, opened it and saw that it was indeed a photocopy, but some key parts had been altered. The manual also stated at the beginning that only bald people could cultivate this manual, and that one should use their own shaved hair as material for the first cultivation. After cultivating, the cultivator's hair would never grow back.

"What the hell is this?!" Lin Fan looked at the hair all over the floor and had no choice but to gather it up, place it on the table, and frantically arrange it into a circle. After several attempts, he finally bit his finger and dripped blood into the circle of hair.

"Great Ring of Time and Space, gaze upon this place beyond!"

"Time revolves, forming Ring of Truth, shielding me from the gaze of the past."

"I will turn back the clock, witness the past, and change myself..."

Blue light spread, and when Lin Fan opened his eyes, he found himself in the company, his fingers tapping incessantly on the keyboard. Most importantly, he had lost control of his body.

It was as if an extremely powerful force was pressing down on Lin Fan, making it difficult for him to move. Under this suppression, he could do nothing and could only exist as a spectator.

"Is this time suppression?" Lin Fan was extremely shocked. Although the magic loaded into the knowledge made him believe everything in it, he still found it hard to accept when the real supernatural power happened in front of him.

"Is this the past me?" Lin Fan, like an observer, resided in his past self, following his actions. However, the past was already determined, and everything was within the constraints of time and could not be changed unless he entered an undetermined time period.

Lin Fan followed his past self and enjoyed another day of work. The entire day was spent under the gaze of others, belonging to a past that was already established and could not be changed.

When Lin Fan got up to use the restroom, Lin Fan was in a Schrödinger's cat state, using the power of the great Ring of Time and Space to steal power from his past.

"Control, control your past... 1s... 2s... 3s..." Lin Fan kept strengthening his belief, using his future self to connect with his past self, in order to steal his past self's time. If this were a game, then Lin Fan should have a + something symbol above his head.

However, with the sound of a door opening, the circle formed by the past and the future was broken. When Lin Fan opened his eyes again, he was back in his rented room. Touching his shiny bald head, he felt more exhausted than ever before, and at the same time, he felt dizzy and wanted to fall asleep.

"Fortunately, Extraction three strands of time power this time..." Before Lin Fan could finish speaking, he felt that two of the three strands of time power he had obtained through his connection with his past self had vanished.

"Holy crap, is this the mentor taking a tax? Wasn't it supposed to be half? This is already two-thirds!" Lin Fan pulled out the Time Ring Ritual Manual and saw the last note: When time is less than a fraction of a second, it will be rounded up and attributed to the mentor. The final interpretation right belongs to the Ring of Time and Space.

Lin Fan felt an unprecedented sense of unease. Before he could even catch his breath, he discovered that another wisp of temporal energy had been absorbed by the candle above him. Touching the candle wick, he found that it had actually warmed up. At the same time, a surge of power flowed into Lin Fan's body, rapidly restoring his exhausted state and even giving him a slight boost.

"It also has functions. Is this candle really a treasure?" Lin Fan was taken aback, looking at the hair-shaped circle on the table, and began the ritual again.