[Ding! Final words received!] [Obtained relic: "Merchant Knowledge"!]
A faint golden orb drifted unsteadily out of the old Ash Urn.
[Ding! The great profiteer Lin Qing had reached the end of his life, satisfied and without any final wishes.]
"No final wish?"
Lin Qing scratched his head, finding it rather novel.
This was the first time he had encountered another version of himself from a Parallel World who had left behind no lingering regrets.
He had come into the world as an ordinary man and left it as an ordinary man.
His life had been full and complete, without a single regret.
"That's good too."
Lin Qing was genuinely happy for this "great profiteer."
In a place like the Douluo Continent, being able to live safely and happily into old age was better than anything else.
He stretched out a finger and lightly touched the orb.
"Buzz—!"
A massive flood of information surged into his mind like water bursting through a dam.
Good heavens!
How to read the market, assess risks, control capital, squeeze out profit... all those tricks of doing business became crystal clear.
How to assign people, evaluate work, motivate employees, and resolve problems when they arose... those management methods became equally clear.
There was also how to read people during negotiations, how to spar with them mentally, when to take a step back, and where to hold the bottom line at all costs... countless negotiating techniques, along with countless vivid examples of success and failure, all flooded in.
Lin Qing's eyes lit up at once.
"This stuff is incredibly useful!"
He was delighted.
Not only would it help with his future plans, it would also be perfect for teaching Er Ni.
He had long planned to get Er Ni a shop to manage.
First, it would give her a career she could rely on and stand tall in.
Second, places with people constantly coming and going were where information traveled fastest.
The knowledge sent over by that "great profiteer" was truly timely aid in a snowstorm, solving an urgent need.
At the same time.
Inside the shabby dormitory of Shrek Academy on the outskirts of Suotuo City.
Ma Hongjun lay sprawled on his bed in a daze.
His eyes were vacant, and his face was pale as paper.
He had changed out of the pants he had wet.
Yet he still felt as though the stench of urine clung tightly to him, impossible to wash away.
"Fatty!"
The door slammed open, and Dai Mubai swaggered in, tossing his head of golden hair.
His mismatched eyes gleamed with their usual wicked light.
"Come on, let's have some fun. I got hold of a pair of twins today. They're smoking hot!"
He leaned in with a suggestive grin, lowering his voice enticingly.
"Spring Breeze Pavilion just got a few new girls too. I heard they're so tender you could squeeze water out of them. Aren't you going to give them a taste?"
Normally, Ma Hongjun would have leaped up like he had been pumped full of adrenaline upon hearing that. There was no way he could have hidden that lecherous expression.
But today, he was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He jolted violently and curled into himself.
"N-No! I'm not going! Boss Dai, you go by yourself!"
He shook his head like a rattle drum, his voice trembling.
"Hm?"
Dai Mubai eyed him suspiciously. Had this fatty taken the wrong medicine?
"You okay?"
He pointed at Ma Hongjun's face.
"You look awful, like you've seen a ghost."
"N-Nothing..."
Ma Hongjun buried his head between his knees and muttered, "I just don't feel well all over. Boss Dai, I'm really not going..."
Dai Mubai frowned but did not think much of it.
"Fine, get some rest, then. I'll go enjoy myself."
He turned and headed out, grumbling to himself.
Had this damn fatty changed his ways? The sun must have risen in the west.
But then he thought of those twin sisters... Heh heh. Better not let that lecherous fatty touch them anyway. He would only ruin the mood.
Thinking of the delightful prospect, a smug smile curled across his lips as he sauntered away.
Ma Hongjun was left alone in the dormitory again.
He hugged his legs tightly.
That terrifyingly real "nightmare" once again churned before his eyes.
A black-robed figure whose face he could not see.
A cold, gleaming, blood-soaked blade.
And that sensation... of being cut apart bit by bit, the piercing agony that gnawed at his bones like a thousand cuts.
It had felt too real!
So real that whenever he recalled it, his calves cramped up, while his lower body still ached faintly.
It seemed like an illusion, yet it also seemed real.
Even Lin Qing probably had not expected that the illusion he had casually created would leave such a deep psychological scar on Ma Hongjun. It would likely haunt the fatty for many years to come.
The days passed one after another.
As quickly as light slipping through one's fingers.
In the blink of an eye, two years had vanished.
On the busiest Central Street in Suotuo City stood an imposing five-story wooden building.
With carved beams and painted rafters, its gleaming signboard read—"Qinglin Restaurant."
Carriages and pedestrians crowded its entrance, and business was booming.
It was lunchtime, and the restaurant was packed to the brim, with not even an empty seat to be found.
The servers carried trays piled like small mountains, weaving nimbly between the tables and chairs.
Their loud calls rose and fell, filling the place with lively warmth.
"Sir, your braised lion's head meatballs! Careful, they're hot!"
"One serving of steamed sea bass! Please make way, coming through~!"
"Our signature Qinglin Drunken Chicken is here! Please enjoy!"
The aromas of food and wine mingled together, constantly drifting into people's noses and making their mouths water.
"This place's cooking is truly top-notch!"
A regular customer raised a thumb in endless praise.
"Especially that drunken chicken—it's incredible! If I don't come eat it every couple of days, I feel off all over!"
"The wine is fragrant too. I heard it's the owner's exclusive secret recipe. You can't drink it anywhere else."
The diners wore satisfied expressions as they toasted one another, chatted, and laughed.
This was the restaurant that had suddenly emerged in Suotuo City over the past two years before sweeping through the whole city like wildfire.
Now, it sat firmly at the top among Suotuo City's restaurants.
And its mysterious owner was none other than Lin Qing.
Within a quiet little courtyard in the southern part of the city.
Lin Qing sat cross-legged on his bed and slowly exhaled a long breath.
The invisible fluctuations of Soul Power around him gradually settled.
Over the past two years, he had grown noticeably taller and sturdier. Much of his childishness had faded, replaced by the handsome bearing of a young man.
But the greater changes were within.
He had devoted considerable effort to Soul Tools.
A Mental Martial Soul, a soul skill that could "slow down" movements, the ability to control metal, and the Soul Tool Knowledge he had obtained from Sun Moon Lin Qing...
Put together, these gave him an enormous advantage in studying Soul Tools.
By now, he was a genuine Level 3 Soul Engineer.
Crafting a Level 3 Soul Tool was effortless for him.
"What is Er Ni doing right now?"
After finishing his meditation, he rose and pushed open the door.
The sunlight in the courtyard was just right.
Er Ni sat on a stone bench beneath the grapevine trellis, her head lowered as she studied something intently.
Over the past two years, Er Ni had undergone what could truly be called a complete transformation.
The fourteen-year-old girl had fully blossomed.
There was not the slightest trace left of the timid, scrawny village girl she had once been.
Her skin had become fair and radiant, while her delicate features looked as though they had been painted.
Her figure was slender and graceful, and every movement carried a quiet, gentle elegance.
Especially her eyes—clear and bright, lively whenever they shifted, as though they could speak.
She had become a true beauty of remarkable grace.
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