First Pot of Gold

"Little Jiang, eat well and study hard. We aunties are leaving."

"Remember, if you run into any trouble, come to us. If anyone bullies you, we'll stand up for you!"

"I understand. Thank you, Aunties!"

Jiang Ran smiled as he saw the group of elderly aunties out.

These aunties were key members of the Pingjiang City Women's and Children's Association. The moment they heard about Jiang Ran's tragic circumstances, they had come to offer their condolences.

The main reason was that Tao Dapeng had embellished the story a little too much, making everything sound far more miserable than it was.

Something about being tortured by demonic cultivators for seven days and nights, going half a month without food, and being taken to the police station for three days of interrogation.

Jiang Ran's records clearly stated that he was an orphan without parents to begin with. He was already pitiful enough and considered a priority care recipient within the association, and now he had suffered one tragic, unfair incident after another.

The elderly aunties from the association were all worked up. If they hadn't seen that Jiang Ran's complexion was fairly good, they might have gone straight to the Pingjiang No. 3 Public Security Bureau to demand an explanation.

No matter what, their concern was genuine.

A warmth rose in Jiang Ran's heart.

"Da Peng, come inside. Let's talk."

The aunties hadn't come empty-handed. They had brought so many gifts that the middle of the already small room was nearly piled full.

"That's really a lot of stuff..."

The two brothers unpacked everything together, and Jiang Ran couldn't help smiling.

This world also had the custom of giving fruit and food as gifts, but these weren't ordinary fruits. Every item was a spirit fruit infused with spiritual energy.

Five bottles of Blood-Nourishing Supplement, three crates of fruit, two bottles of Qi-Gathering Powder, a bag of Pearl Spirit Rice... and even a full three thousand Tianlu Coins!

Every single thing was good stuff!

Speak of the devil—wasn't this his first pot of gold?

Three thousand alone could buy three Spirit Stones, and the medicines, fruits, and supplements were all worth a small fortune as well.

"The aunties really are good people."

"Hehe, praise me already!" Tao Dapeng looked even happier than Jiang Ran. "Officer Su from the police station told me you were fine, and I went straight to the association. Looks like I made the right call."

"Old Jiang, shouldn't you treat me to a meal?"

"Sure..." Jiang Ran looked up with a smile.

Though neither of them said it aloud, no one besides Tao Dapeng knew that Jiang Ran had shown up and been taken away by the police for questioning. The fact that Tao Dapeng had gotten the news so quickly could only mean one thing: this was a brother worth having.

If he hadn't truly cared, why would he have gone to the police station every day to wait for news?

He definitely had to treat him to this meal!

After putting everything away, the two headed in perfect unspoken agreement for the food street behind Pingjiang No. 1 High School.

There was no need to discuss what to eat. It had to be chicken hotpot!

The chicken hotpot place behind No. 1 High School was famously delicious.

It used carefully selected 912-day-old Azure-Feather Spirit Chicken, cooked with all kinds of spirit vegetables... For high school students, it was an absolute delicacy.

This kind of spirit food, rich in spiritual energy, was greatly beneficial for cultivation, so naturally it wasn't cheap. One meal cost more than three hundred Tianlu Coins.

Normally, Jiang Ran couldn't afford such a meal.

A child living on government assistance could barely complete the school's most basic cultivation assignments. How could he possibly afford food like this?

To put it bluntly, he could only visit this chicken hotpot restaurant so often because of Tao Dapeng.

"Boss, the usual. One chicken, four servings of rice!"

Tao Dapeng's family was fairly well-off. His father was the director of a cardboard factory and had made quite a bit of money from the talisman paper business in recent years.

To protect Jiang Ran's "self-esteem," Tao Dapeng often found all sorts of excuses to bring him out for a meal.

For example, getting punished by the teacher had put him in a bad mood, so they had to go eat something good.

Or maybe the goddess had glanced at him one extra time, putting him in such a good mood that they had to go eat something good.

"Da Peng, thank you." Jiang Ran raised his cup, utterly sincere.

He had no family or friends in this world. This little chubby fellow before him had already given him more than enough warmth.

"Ah..." Tao Dapeng looked deeply wary. "Why are you being so polite?"

"You aren't trying to make me pay, are you?"

"Of course not..."

Their friendship had actually begun very simply: they had both been at the bottom of the class.

Jiang Ran ranked last because he had no money, while Tao Dapeng ranked last because he simply had no talent.

"Da Peng, how's the transfer going? When are you leaving?"

If Jiang Ran remembered correctly, Tao Dapeng's father had prepared a large sum of money to send his son to Xiandu Changtai City to study. He had heard there was a cultivation technique there that suited him.

Cultivation placed great importance on aptitude, and every child had their spirit roots tested at a young age.

Around thirty percent of children developed Low-Grade Spirit Roots, while even more had no spirit roots at all.

But that didn't really matter...

Because as long as you had money, you could buy spirit roots.

The state had mastered highly developed spirit root cultivation technology, and every major hospital in Pingjiang City could perform Spirit Root Transplant Surgery.

For less than ten thousand, you could get a brand-new Low-Grade Spirit Root.

These surgically transplanted Low-Grade Spirit Roots had no side effects at all and were an excellent deal!

The Low-Grade Spirit Root in Jiang Ran's body had been acquired that way too.

Of course, he was on welfare and had a red card, so his Spirit Root Transplant Surgery had been free.

Tao Dapeng's family wasn't poor, so getting a spirit root transplant would certainly be easy for him.

Forget Low-Grade Spirit Roots—even Mid-Grade Spirit Roots or Superior Spirit Roots were well within their means.

But unfortunately, that path didn't work for him.

Tao Dapeng had a special physique. None of the common Five-Element Spirit Roots on the market could match him. The Tao Family had tried over a hundred times without finding a compatible spirit root.

In the end, Tao Dapeng had become Jiang Ran's fellow bottom-dweller.

Still, the guy had a good attitude and had never been discouraged.

"Mmph..." Tao Dapeng's mouth was stuffed with meat. "I'm not going."

"You're not going?"

"I'm not going!"

At that, Tao Dapeng perked up.

"My dad found me a new spirit root. I heard it's one of the rarest kinds, with compatibility over ninety percent."

"Haha, classmate Little Jiang, I'll surpass you soon enough!"

"A new spirit root..." Jiang Ran's heart stirred.

Having money really was nice. You could pick spirit roots as casually as you pleased.

"Then congratulations. When you make it big, don't forget to let your brother ride your coattails." He meant it sincerely.

If his good brother really inherited the family business someday, surely Jiang Ran would get a share of the benefits.

"By the way, what kind of spirit root did Uncle find for you this time? It sounds incredible. Don't tell me it's a Superior Spirit Root?" Jiang Ran asked curiously.

"I don't know. I asked my dad, but it probably isn't a Superior Spirit Root."

Tao Dapeng shook his head and kept tearing into his drumstick.

"Whatever. I don't care either way. As long as it works, that's enough."

"True..."

Spirit roots were also an extremely important part of cultivation resources.

Low-Grade Spirit Roots were the most widespread. At ten thousand, anyone could afford one.

Mid-Grade Spirit Roots were far more expensive, costing over a million and not necessarily being compatible. Superior Spirit Roots, meanwhile, started at tens of millions and were luxury goods to most people.

"I heard there are spirit roots even more powerful than Superior Spirit Roots." Jiang Ran's eyes were thoughtful.

"Superior Spirit Roots cultivate at least ten times faster than Low-Grade Spirit Roots. Those legendary spirit roots are even more unimaginable."

"Unfortunately, with my current situation, I can only dream about them."

"Making money—everything requires money..."

Jiang Ran's desire for money and Spirit Stones grew ever stronger.

A dazzling path to ascension lay right before him. He had to fight for it!