Intercepting the Plot

The outer perimeter of the Star Dou Forest.

Xuan Xiao crouched in the canopy of an old locust tree, his entire body curled into a ball, his breathing suppressed to be extremely light and slow.

His eyes were locked onto the clearing below, where a blue-haired youth was locked in a fierce struggle with a Wind Baboon.

Huo Yuhao was truly a reckless fool; despite having so little Soul Power, he actually dared to venture alone into the depths of the Star Dou Forest's outer perimeter.

Xuan Xiao muttered to himself, his hand gripping a jade box tightly.

To obtain what was inside this box, he had spent two months scavenging corpses in the Star Dou Forest just to afford it; it contained none other than the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife.

Six years.

Xuan Xiao closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the bits and pieces of the last six years flashing through his mind.

When he was inexplicably dumped into this godforsaken place by the Hundred-ton King six years ago, he had been completely bewildered.

He woke up to find he had become a six-year-old child, lying in a desolate wilderness with nothing but a set of tattered clothes.

It took him three full days to figure out that he had transmigrated into the world of the Douluo Continent.

It took another month to understand what his so-called Golden Finger actually was.

The Deviation Value Store—the name sounded intimidating, but to put it bluntly, it was a junk shop.

The currency used to buy items was called Deviation Points, and to earn them, he had to alter the progression of the plot.

But damn it, his starting balance was zero!

The beginner's gift pack only provided one Martial Soul and two Soul Rings; other than that, there was absolutely nothing.

Xuan Xiao had nearly vomited blood from anger at the time; what kind of Golden Finger was this? Wasn't this just painting a cake to satisfy hunger?

But he had no choice; since he was here, he had to make the best of it. He had to survive.

Thus, he began to cautiously gather information to determine the timeline he was in.

When he heard that the Spirit Hall had been destroyed for ten thousand years, he knew where he stood.

This was the era of the Peerless Tang Clan.

Then, he went through all sorts of hardships to find Star Luo City and locate that blue-haired Huo Yuhao.

After confirming they were the same age, he silently kept track of the time, waiting for the moment the plot would begin.

Three months ago, he returned to Star Luo City, followed Huo Yuhao in secret, and eventually arrived at this Star Dou Forest.

He was not here to help Huo Yuhao.

He was waiting for the moment the plot officially started so he could earn his first bit of startup capital.

And now, that moment had finally arrived.

"Hum—"

An invisible mental fluctuation suddenly expanded, as if something had slammed violently into Xuan Xiao's head.

His consciousness began to blur, and everything before his eyes started to spin.

He knew this was the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm performing its sacrifice to Huo Yuhao.

The impact of that mental energy was simply too strong; even though he was hiding far away, he was still significantly affected.

Xuan Xiao gritted his teeth, desperately trying to maintain the last shred of his sobriety with trembling hands.

With a click, the jade box opened.

Inside lay a grey-black carving knife, its blade wrapped in a faint layer of black mist, emitting a cold, cursed aura.

The very moment he opened the jade box, a wave of immense drowsiness washed over him.

Xuan Xiao's vision went black, and he tumbled straight down from the tree canopy.

He hit the ground with a thud and completely lost consciousness.

It was at this very moment that the sky suddenly changed.

One moment it had been a clear, cloudless day, but the next, the entire sky darkened.

Boom—

A thunderous roar exploded in the high altitude, shaking the entire Star Dou Forest.

The sun's rays were completely blocked in an instant, and the world plunged into an eerie darkness.

Immediately following this, a massive pressure that made it hard to breathe descended from the sky, forcing the Soul Beasts within a radius of dozens of miles to lie on the ground, trembling in fear.

An illusory figure appeared out of thin air in the sky.

It was a white-haired old man wearing black robes, looking every bit like a transcendent being.

He looked down at Huo Yuhao, who was in the middle of receiving the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's sacrifice, and a satisfied smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"With my hands, I pluck the sun, moon, and stars; in this world, there is no one like me. I did not expect that I would still have a sliver of a remnant soul left to linger in this world."

His figure began to blur, transforming into a grey bead that drifted toward Huo Yuhao.

The bead traced an arc through the air, and it looked as though it was about to dive straight into Huo Yuhao's mind.

Halfway through the flight, the old man suddenly stopped.

He sensed an unusual aura.

It was a life energy so vast it was astonishing; although wrapped in a curse, the vitality remained rich enough to be startling.

The old man's remnant soul trembled slightly.

That was the aura emitted by the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife, carrying a powerful curse, yet the life energy hidden beneath that curse was enough to tempt any remnant soul.

The instinct for survival made the old man change direction.

The gray bead made a turn in mid-air and flew straight toward Xuan Xiao, who was lying on the ground.

With a swish, the bead submerged into the center of Xuan Xiao's forehead.

Not knowing how long he had slept, Xuan Xiao opened his eyes groggily, finding himself still lying on the ground of the Star Dou Forest.

His head ached as if it were splitting, and there wasn't a single comfortable spot on his entire body.

But he couldn't care about that; the first thing he did was shout in his mind.

"System, check my balance."

The moment the panel popped up, Xuan Xiao was completely stunned.

"One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand."

Five hundred thousand Deviation Points!

He rubbed his eyes hard and counted again, confirming he hadn't misread it.

Intercepting Electrolux had brought him from zero straight to five hundred thousand; it truly lived up to being the number one cheat under the Golden Finger.

"Hahahaha!"

Xuan Xiao grinned, laughing with pure joy.

Six years, he had finally waited for this day.

It wasn't that he couldn't open the shop before, but because he had no money, opening it would have meant he couldn't buy anything.

It was like a eunuch visiting a brothel; his heart was itching, but he couldn't do a thing.

That feeling was indescribably miserable.

Now it was different; with five hundred thousand Deviation Points in hand, he could finally take a good look at what kind of good things were in this shop.

Xuan Xiao sat cross-legged on the ground and began to browse the shop's product list.

The variety of items dazzled him; there were cultivation techniques, soul skills, medicinal pills, weapons, and even all sorts of strange and bizarre props.

However, he didn't get carried away; his mind remained very clear.

He knew what was most important right now.

Entering Shrek Academy.

Only by getting into Shrek could he more easily modify the script.

But Shrek Academy was notoriously difficult to enter, as it used a noble recommendation system.

Without a recommendation letter, there were only two ways to get into Shrek.

The first was that your talent was high enough—high enough that Shrek was willing to come looking for you, or they sent people to brainwash you into willingly becoming their dog.

The second was that the people at Shrek were blind, blind enough not to see through your background.

Neither of these paths was realistic for Xuan Xiao.

So, without hesitation, he searched the shop and found what he wanted.

A Shrek Academy recommendation letter, priced at one hundred Deviation Points.

One hundred Deviation Points for a recommendation letter; this deal was simply too good.

Xuan Xiao didn't say a word and clicked purchase.

A flash of white light passed, and a gold-embossed recommendation letter appeared in his hand.

The letter was printed with the Shrek Academy logo and stamped with a bright red seal; it looked exactly like the real thing.

Xuan Xiao satisfiedly put the recommendation letter into his Storage Ring, brushed the dirt off his body, and stood up, his Soul Power surging.

"Boom!"

Six snow-white wings unfolded from Xuan Xiao's back, and with a light flap, they carried him toward Shrek City.