When Words Failed, Burn the Paper Money!

On the way back.

Lu Chen kept mulling over Deng Jiajia's words.

If things were truly as Deng Jiajia had said.

If the academy began reforming its system starting with the upperclassmen of their cohort.

Giving them the right to accept missions in advance.

Then for Lu Chen, this was unquestionably tremendous news.

According to his original plan.

He would spend the next few years earning money in peace, worshipping a few lesser-known gods, and steadily building up his strength.

After graduation, he would begin accepting missions, earning rewards and military merit, and climbing step by step to the pinnacle of life.

But now, that waiting time would be drastically shortened.

Which also meant Lu Chen could waste fewer years struggling to get ahead.

The missions in the Mission Hall were dazzlingly varied and countless in number.

From entering dungeons to kill monsters and level up.

To taking all sorts of commissions and completing tasks.

In theory, as long as one was capable enough, there would always be missions to do, money to earn, and military merit to gain.

And such missions often required contact with all manner of deities.

That was why this world had given rise to so many support professions, such as the Fortune Conveyors mentioned earlier.

But working for someone else? No chance.

"I've got so many cold stoves to burn incense at! Why would I work? As long as the pay's right, I'd still crush the Four Emperors!"

Lu Chen narrowed his eyes. "The path of martial arts is great, but the Mission Hall gives me an even wider sky and vaster sea."

"And now that I have over two hundred thousand, I won't be short on Incense Fire money for a while. It's time to think about raising my combat strength. After all, Emperor Wenchang and Lord God of Wealth are both support-type deities. I should consider worshipping a combat-oriented deity too."

Lu Chen decided to visit the God Temple again.

But before that, he needed to prepare a few things.

More precisely, some offerings!

He wanted to see whether performing a ritual actually worked on these deities.

And while he was at it, he would fulfill the [wish] he owed Lord God of Wealth.

If one received a blessing but did not fulfill the vow afterward, not only would it greatly affect the chances of receiving another blessing, it could even lower one's Divine Service Rating.

No sooner said than done!

Lu Chen began preparing the offerings and remained busy until the afternoon...

Only after everything was ready did Lu Chen put on a backpack and return to the Zhao Clan Temple.

The God Temple was still filled with an endless stream of worshippers.

Lu Chen headed straight for the incense counter.

"Please get me one stick of Black Incense for Lord God of Wealth Chai Rong. Thank you."

Lu Chen scanned himself on the detector. 5%.

The purchase requirement for Black Incense was a Divine Service Rating above 5%.

Lu Chen happened to meet that requirement.

"Twenty thousand."

"Hiss—"

Lu Chen sucked in a breath. This Black Incense was actually two hundred times more expensive than ordinary incense.

Fine!

Twenty thousand it was.

After paying and taking the Black Incense, Lu Chen turned around and found that the worshippers around him were all looking his way, unable to hide their envy and jealousy.

"So young, and you can already buy Black Incense. Pretty damn impressive, kid."

One worshipper could not help praising him.

Lu Chen gave an awkward laugh, took the incense, and went to line up at the entrance.

Not long after he left.

At the incense counter, a staff member suddenly made a phone call, his eyes fixed on Lu Chen's receding back.

"Sir, that kid from yesterday came again. Looks like he's here to fulfill his vow."

"He came back so soon? That kid really is greedy. Fine, got it!"

But a cold laugh suddenly came from the other end of the call.

The rear courtyard.

Lu Chen lit the Black Incense and once again respectfully invited Lord God of Wealth with the [Incense-Blessing Divine Mantra].

Heavenly Court, Lord God of Wealth Hall.

Seated on his meditation cushion, Lord God of Wealth Chai Rong suddenly inhaled. An especially rich stream of Incense Fire flowed into his body.

Refreshing his spirit at once.

"It's that youngster again. Looks like he struck quite a windfall."

Lord God of Wealth savored the taste. "The quality of this Incense Fire is much better than before. At least he has some sincerity."

A flash of golden light.

Lord God of Wealth vanished from the meditation cushion.

The rear courtyard.

Lu Chen waited devoutly.

"Youngster."

That ethereal, sacred voice sounded once more.

Joy filled Lu Chen's heart, and he quickly cupped his hands. "This junior welcomes Lord Jun Cai."

Since Lord God of Wealth kept calling him youngster, why should Lu Chen stand on ceremony? He directly referred to himself as a junior.

Lord God of Wealth did not say anything about it.

An invisible ray of golden light shot from the statue, instantly circulated through Lu Chen's entire body, then returned to the statue.

Lord God of Wealth came to a realization and said with a chiding smile, "You are quite eager, aren't you? In just half a day, you've squandered all the fortune I bestowed upon you. So, how did getting rich overnight feel?"

Lu Chen inserted the incense into the burner and chuckled. "Your divine power is vast and mighty, my lord. With only the slightest move, you already reached the limit of blessings at this level. This junior's admiration for you is like the surging river, rolling on without end!"

"Youngster, yesterday you were still respectful and proper. Today, you've learned to sweet-talk. Since you still have some sincerity, I won't hold it against you."

Though Lord God of Wealth reproached him, he was not actually offended.

"However, I must still remind you of one thing. Windfall wealth comes easily and goes easily. Seeing your sincerity, I granted you a blessing, but you must not burrow into the eye of windfall wealth's money and become unable to pull yourself free."

Lu Chen nodded in agreement.

Lord God of Wealth Chai Rong was the Wealth God of merchants.

In other words, he was the Wealth God worshipped by those in business.

Commerce was proper wealth.

No wonder he looked down on this sort of windfall wealth.

Zhao Gongming, on the other hand, welcomed both proper wealth and windfall wealth alike.

Their customer bases were simply different.

As one waxed, the other waned. No wonder the latter had gradually become a cold-stove deity.

"My lord's teachings shall be engraved in this junior's heart. From now on, I will surely walk the righteous path and never allow windfall wealth to cloud my mind!"

"Very good."

Chai Rong accepted the Incense Fire and prepared to return to the Heavenly Court.

But before leaving, he thought it over and offered one more instruction. "If you are willing, come to this temple every few days and offer a stick of incense. Where sincerity arrives, fortune naturally follows."

Upon hearing that, Lu Chen nearly failed to keep a straight face.

Lord God of Wealth's meaning could not have been clearer. As long as Lu Chen came and offered more incense in the future, given enough time, he would naturally take the initiative to look after him and grant him blessings.

But he was a god. He could hardly just ask for it directly.

That was why he had said: Where sincerity arrives, fortune naturally follows.

"Looks like mortals love money, and gods love Incense Fire just the same. After all, they need to eat too!"

Lu Chen immediately nodded heavily. "Yes. This junior will remember Lord Jun Cai's kindness. But please wait a moment, my lord. This junior has an item I wish to offer you!"

Lord God of Wealth was just about to return to the Heavenly Court when he froze in surprise. "Offer something to me? What is it?"

Lu Chen took out something he had long prepared from the backpack beside him.

"What is that?!"

Lord God of Wealth looked at the yellow paper bundle in Lu Chen's hands, somewhat puzzled.

A smile rose at the corner of Lu Chen's lips. "In reply to my lord, this bundle contains some gold, silver, and valuables. I hope you will not find it lacking."

"Gold, silver, and valuables?" Lord God of Wealth laughed. "Youngster, I consume only Incense Fire. I cannot enjoy mortal items such as these. Take them back."

"Please do not rush, my lord. These gold, silver, and valuables are not ordinary gold, silver, and valuables. Allow this junior to try. If it succeeds, consider it a token of this junior's sincerity."

Worried that there were too many eyes around.

Lu Chen decided to burn the item first before explaining.

So no one would discover it.

He placed the yellow paper bundle on the ground and lit it with a lighter.

In Daoist traditions, this yellow paper bundle was called a [Gold-Threaded Box]. Inside were paper money and scriptures.

And this paper money was no ordinary paper money either.

It was called [Nine Gold], specially offered to the gods above.

If it was offered to those below, it was called [Great Silver], commonly known as spirit money.

Besides that, Lu Chen had also placed a [Dragon-Phoenix Robe] inside. This was not money, but an item.

Lu Chen had drawn several sets of clothing on it, to serve as Lord God of Wealth's everyday attire.

Finally, Lu Chen had copied out a Merit scripture to serve as the grand finale gift.

Those were all the preparations Lu Chen had made after leaving the lottery shop.

From buying materials and carving seals to copying the scripture.

For those four or five hours, Lu Chen had barely rested for a moment before finally managing to finish.

Fortunately, Lu Chen had done this sort of work plenty of times in his previous life. When it came to copying scriptures, he was ferociously fast.

Otherwise, for just one Gold-Threaded Box, someone else might not finish even in three days.

On the other side, Lord God of Wealth was utterly bewildered by Lu Chen's actions.

If you had something to say, just say it. Why were you suddenly burning paper money with such a bang-bang blaze?

Since ancient times, when mortals made offerings, apart from Incense Fire, they would sacrifice all kinds of offerings.

Yet as times changed, those offerings had long gone from fruits and pastries to all kinds of spiritual items containing immense Merit and great magical power.

But such spiritual items were extraordinarily precious.

How could they possibly fall into the hands of ordinary gods like them, who had achieved sainthood through Merit?

Those high-ranking gods born as innate spirits had long treated them as food on their plates.

But that aside, when had burning paper also become an offering?

Lord God of Wealth considered himself to have been a god for a long time, yet this was the first time he had stumbled into a blind spot in his knowledge.