A Fortune

A few hours later.

"Phew, it's finally done transferring. Looks like my transmission efficiency has improved a lot now that I'm stronger. It's also not as uncomfortable anymore."

Shi Fen let out a long breath and gently rubbed his temples, which felt faintly swollen. Now that the information transfer was over, his head felt a little swollen, but he had no other physical discomfort.

This time, he had even been able to inspect the information while it was being transferred.

As before, it began with a message from the mysterious being.

"I originally thought that before you turned eighteen, you would barely manage to learn one hundredfold mortal-transcending Treasure Refining technique. I never expected that by sheer luck, you would not only learn another fifty-two ninefold mortal-transcending Treasure Refining techniques, but even enter the 'Emperor of Artifacts Time' state once.

"Emperor of Artifacts Time is the optimal state for assisting with Treasure Refining. I never imagined that you, with your mortal body, would stumble into such great fortune.

"I cannot see the fate of a soul. Truly, you defy the heavens.

"Since you experienced Emperor of Artifacts Time, I'll tell you the truth: your soul is extremely unusual, and your fate is shrouded in Chaos. Your future holds countless possibilities, both good and bad.

"With other people, I can see the course of their fate at a glance. But no one can see yours—not even me.

"In this world, you don't need to worry about anyone's fate. You can do as you please, and their original paths won't change much. If you handle things well, you might even alter their original fates. As for what happens in the end, that's up to you.

"Having such an ability and not using it would be a waste. Go out there and be bold!

"Originally, your reward was a fragment of a golden sphere to strengthen your soul and help you complete the next stage of the trial.

"But you've worked so hard that I can't be stingy.

"I already used the Black Mirror to transform your body, completely remaking it. In a few days, once the energy has fully integrated with your body, you'll gain the ability to split your consciousness ahead of schedule.

"As long as you absorb enough life energy, the Life Gene Level of this body will increase a hundredfold, reaching a Gene Level a hundred times that of an ordinary human.

"Go to the Treasure Hall in the Treasure Refining World, and you'll find three more baskets of this world's World Rings. That's your material reward.

"The next stage of the trial is called Foundation.

"You need to fully understand the Basic Secret Patterns and learn 10,081 Basic Secret Patterns, as well as 360 Basic Secret Pattern diagrams.

"If you can't learn them, you won't be able to use anything in the Treasure Refining World. So settle down and study the Secret Patterns with undivided attention. Secret Patterns contain the truths of the universe. They're a Treasure Refiner's most important skill.

"Once you've learned them, you can do whatever you like with everything in the Treasure Refining World. I prepared far more for you than the little you've seen. Hahahaha.

"Devote yourself to comprehending the Secret Patterns. Once you've learned them, I'll give you the foundation you need to venture into the universe.

"With your soul having been transformed twice, three years should be enough, right? As before, if you finish early, you'll receive an extra reward. This time, the extra reward will be something special for you. Hahaha.

"One more thing, young friend: there's no need to give me some strange title.

"My name is Yi.

"I also started out as a mortal and overcame countless hardships before achieving what I have today. I've lived for countless ages, yet I've always kept my original mortal heart. Unlike those other fellows, who walk around with long faces and put on airs all day. What's the point of living so exhaustingly?

"Even the strongest began as the weak. Why do they have to act so profound, wearing a fake face every day?

"While you're undergoing the trial, just call me Teacher. If we meet someday, what you call me then will depend on what you've achieved.

"The path of growth is ever-changing. Never let your guard down.

"You have the legacy treasures I gave you, but they can't protect you completely. The universe holds too many wonders. Even I still have to be cautious and dare not act recklessly.

"Never forget that."

After reading the mysterious powerhouse's message, Shi Fen's expression turned rather strange.

This mysterious powerhouse was so approachable. His message sounded more like a friendly chat, and he had even reminded Shi Fen to be careful. Shi Fen had never imagined that.

Weren't "immortals" supposed to be lofty beings, detached from the mortal world?

"This mysterious powerhouse somehow became my teacher, just like that...." Shi Fen could only laugh wryly. The lofty, stern image of an "immortal" in his mind had completely crumbled.

"This is what it really means to stay true to yourself."

"Still, this is a good thing. At least my teacher is approachable and explained everything to me, so I don't have to worry. Looks like I'll have to work even harder and try to meet him as soon as possible. Someone so uninhibited must be pretty interesting."

Shi Fen's sixty-some years hadn't been wasted.

With such a great teacher, what was there to agonize over? The sensible thing was to get stronger as quickly as possible.

Shi Fen's consciousness left Image Space, and he hurried toward the Treasure Refining World.

The plaques above the three archways had all changed to simplified Chinese characters, just like the ones in the Image World.

From left to right, they read "Treasure Hall," "Library Hall," and "Meditation Hall."

"Hmm? Why are all the bookshelves in the Meditation Hall? If the books are in the Meditation Hall, what's the Library Hall for?" Shi Fen was baffled when he saw the plaques.

Thinking about his teacher's style, he understood. "Could it be that my teacher thought there weren't enough books to bother putting them in separate places?"

"Yeah, that must be it."

Shi Fen dashed into the Treasure Hall on the far left.

The moment he stepped inside, he saw three blue-green "woven baskets" in the middle of the hall, filled with World Rings. He went closer to examine the three baskets carefully.

All three "baskets" of World Rings were the same design, extremely simple. The World Rings were ordinary black metal bands, four or five millimeters wide and one or two millimeters thick, with a diameter of about two centimeters.

The "baskets" had been woven from tender branches of some unknown tree or vine. They were about forty centimeters tall and sixty centimeters in diameter. Countless black rings had been casually tossed inside.

The rings were piled up in the baskets like a bountiful harvest of grain, heaped into little mounds.

How "plain and unadorned."

What made Shi Fen feel they were truly rustic was that three sheets of paper were tucked into the backs of the three bamboo baskets. Each bore a black-and-white description of the rings.

The paper on the back of the leftmost "basket" read: "Super-large World Rings. Made from Space Black Gold. Internal space: 1 trillion kilometers long, wide, and high. Quantity: 100,000."

The paper on the back of the middle "basket" read: "Large World Rings. Made from Nether Vine Myriad Mansions. Internal space: 100 million kilometers long, wide, and high. Quantity: 100,000."

The paper on the back of the rightmost "basket" read: "Small World Rings. Made from Black Prison Gold Mother. Internal space: 10,000 kilometers long, wide, and high. Quantity: 100,000."

"Ah!!" Shi Fen only had to glance at them to take in all the information. He let out a shriek.

"My teacher is incredible!" Shi Fen completely forgot that he was nearly eighty years old. Excited, he bounced around the three "baskets" like a child.

It was no wonder he was so excited.

When he first arrived in this world and organized the information from the original story, he had learned the exact prices of World Rings. Shi Fen had always been extremely sensitive to numbers, so he remembered them clearly.

Under normal circumstances,

a World Ring with an internal space 10,000 kilometers long, wide, and high wasn't expensive. It usually cost around 0.5 Hunyuan Unit.

A World Ring with an internal space 100 million kilometers long, wide, and high needed several Hunyuan Units' worth of Universe Crystals to expand its internal world to that size. It cost around 10 Hunyuan Units.

In the original story, Luo Feng had commissioned an F10-type World Ring with an internal space 100 million kilometers long, wide, and high. Even after getting a thirty-percent discount, Luo Feng had still spent 7 Hunyuan Units.

Even at a low recovery price, 100,000 of them would still be worth hundreds of thousands of Hunyuan Units.

And that was nothing compared to the rest.

World Rings with internal spaces 1 trillion kilometers long, wide, and high were absurdly expensive. Their volume was one trillion times greater than that of World Rings with internal spaces 100 million kilometers long, wide, and high. A world with a diameter of 1 trillion kilometers consumed 1 trillion Hunyuan Units' worth of Universe Crystals.

A single World Ring cost around 1 trillion Hunyuan Units.

And there were 100,000 of them. What did that amount to?

One billion billion Hunyuan Units!

Who wouldn't go crazy?

Of course, Shi Fen wouldn't dare sell them all. If he sold all 100,000 identical World Rings, he would certainly become a prime target for "inspection" by the Human Race. If anyone took a malicious interest in him, he'd be finished.

He only needed to sell one. That would give him an unstoppable start!

Then he could buy a large amount of life-energy treasures and raise his Life Gene Level to a hundredfold.

A hundredfold Life Gene Level!

With that as the foundation for his cultivation, how many human powerhouses below the Universe Master level could reach such a Gene Level?

After celebrating wildly for a long while, Shi Fen reached out to pick up a World Ring worth a trillion Hunyuan Units and examine it up close.

"Hmm?"

Despite using all his strength and Spiritual Force, the ring didn't move in the slightest.

"Right. With my pathetic strength, how could I lift a World Ring made from such powerful materials?" Shi Fen immediately realized what the problem was.

So he tried to pick up one of the middle rings. It didn't budge either.

"Hey, I refuse to believe I can't even lift the cheapest one!" Shi Fen put all his strength into it and added his Spiritual Force, bracing himself.

"Up you go!" Shi Fen roared, then heaved with all his might.

The ring instantly lifted free of the pile. But because he had exerted too much force, the momentum sent him pitching rapidly backward. His head was about to hit the ground.

"Ow!" Sensing the danger, he hurriedly used his Spiritual Force to support himself. By the time he steadied himself, the back of his head was less than ten centimeters from the floor.

He scrambled to his feet, felt the cold sweat on his head, and muttered uneasily, "I got carried away. I almost killed myself."

Shi Fen sat down cross-legged nearby and began trying to calm himself.