78: Sky-high investment

Qingyun Sect.

Mountaintop.

In the deepest part of Lu Yuan’s pupils, an image was frozen and magnified.

The fleeting gray mist in front of Ye Chen.

Every detail was captured, dissected, and analyzed by his Divine Soul.

That aura… chaotic, primal, filled with the essence of predation, yet it followed some ancient trading logic.

It originated from the same source as the power of the Great Dao Options Exchange.

One was an orderly, strictly regulated modern financial center.

The other was a wild, unregulated Chaos black market.

The opponent was also a “player.”

This realization exploded in Lu Yuan’s Sea of Consciousness.

All this time, he had been the sole chess master.

The entire world, in his eyes, was an asset with a clear price and a contract awaiting delivery.

This absolute asymmetry in information was his greatest reliance.

Now, another chess master had appeared on the board.

A… madman who didn't play by the rules.

The wind on the mountaintop seemed to carry a chill, making his robes flutter.

He didn't move.

He just stood quietly.

Just then, a figure appeared three zhang behind him without warning.

Silently.

As if he had been standing there from the beginning.

The Qingyun Sect's mountain protection array did not give an alarm.

The layers of Restrictions Lu Yuan had set up were as good as nothing.

Lu Yuan slowly turned around.

The newcomer wore a dark Xuan-colored robe, his hood covering most of his face, revealing only a distinctly outlined chin.

His aura was completely restrained, so ordinary that one would subconsciously ignore it.

But it was this extreme ordinariness that represented extreme danger.

“Mr. Yuan.”

The newcomer spoke, his voice flat and devoid of emotion.

“We, the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, have been observing you for a long time.”

“Heavenly Secret Pavilion?”

Lu Yuan repeated the name, his mind’s [Market Scan] function operating at full speed, but the feedback was a blank.

This meant that the other party came from a level far beyond his current authority to investigate.

“An investment firm.”

The Xuan-robed guest explained in a matter-of-fact tone.

“We specialize in investing in ‘variables of the era,’ or rather… ‘candidates’ like you and Ye Chen.”

Candidates.

Lu Yuan caught this keyword.

“It seems you still have a superficial understanding of the so-called ‘All Heavens Rookie Competition’.”

The Xuan-robed guest seemed to have seen through Lu Yuan’s thoughts.

“The ‘Rookie Competition’ is just a milder term. Its essence is a ‘battle royale’ set up by higher-dimensional civilizations to select their agents in this world.”

“All selected ‘candidates’ must prove their worth by devouring each other.”

“There will only be one ultimate victor.”

The Xuan-robed guest’s words peeled back the veneer of warmth covering the world, revealing the bloody truth beneath.

Lu Yuan remained silent.

The turmoil in his heart was firmly suppressed by his absolute rationality.

“Ye Chen’s ‘Demonic Corruption Flow,’ centered on devouring and corruption, grows rapidly and has strong destructive power. But the model is crude, with huge risk exposure, and is prone to direct intervention from this world’s Heavenly Dao.”

The Xuan-robed guest’s voice continued.

“And your ‘Financial Cultivation’ model, using rules and leverage as weapons, has high concealment, is good at leveraging power, and is more sustainable. After our Heavenly Secret Pavilion’s comprehensive evaluation, your long-term investment value is higher than Ye Chen’s.”

He spread his hand.

A scroll made of light appeared out of thin air, slowly floating towards Lu Yuan.

“This is an ‘angel investment’ contract.”

“The Heavenly Secret Pavilion can provide you with detailed intelligence on Ye Chen and other hidden candidates. If necessary, we can even provide a one-time protection at the rule level.”

“In return, if you ultimately win, you will need to deliver three-tenths of the ‘World Authority’ you control to our Heavenly Secret Pavilion.”

Lu Yuan looked at the scroll of light.

In his eyes, there was no greed, no excitement.

Only cold valuation and calculation.

The price offered by the other party was high, but what they demanded was equally astonishing.

“World Authority.”

These four words, he was hearing for the first time.

But his intuition told him that this was the true ultimate reward in this “battle royale” game.

“To show our sincerity.”

The Xuan-robed guest did not seem eager for an answer.

“I can disclose a piece of intelligence in advance.”

“Inside the Burial God Abyss this time, besides you and Ye Chen, there are three other hidden ‘candidates’.”

He extended a finger and lightly tapped the air.

Three names and corresponding light images appeared before Lu Yuan.

One of them was surprisingly Yun Yao, the Saintess of the Hundred Flowers Palace.

Lu Yuan’s last glimmer of hope vanished.

This so-called treasure hunt was, from the very beginning, a carefully designed gladiatorial arena.

A bloody stage forcing all “candidates” to enter the race early.

“How do I trust you?”

Lu Yuan finally spoke.

“You don’t need to trust.”

The Xuan-robed guest’s answer was full of the cold logic of capital.

“This is just a transaction. You assess the risk, I provide the consideration. The contract is notarized by the ‘Great Dao’ at a higher level, and neither you nor I can bear the cost of breach.”

Lu Yuan reached out and touched the scroll of light.

The terms of the contract transformed into a massive stream of information, pouring into his Sea of Consciousness.

He quickly browsed through it.

The framework was watertight, filled with exquisite definitions of the rights and obligations of both parties.

But in an inconspicuous corner, he discovered a vague clause regarding “revenue recognition.”

The corner of his mouth curved into an almost imperceptible arc.

He neither refused nor immediately agreed.

His Divine Thought began to make extremely subtle modifications to that scroll of light.

He grafted that vague “revenue recognition” clause with another clause regarding “information value assessment.”

And added a “performance-based betting” prerequisite defined by him.

The entire process was completed in a flash.

From the surface, not a single word of the contract had changed.

But its underlying legal logic had been completely subverted by him.

“I agree.”

Lu Yuan looked up and said.

The scroll of light split into two, merging into him and the Xuan-robed guest respectively.

“Pleasant cooperation.”

The Xuan-robed guest nodded, seemingly unsurprised by this outcome.

He turned, preparing to leave.

Just before his body was about to merge into the Void Realm, he suddenly paused.

“Finally, a bonus piece of advice.”

“That Fairy Qingyue of Qingyun Sect, Han Yuexi, is also on our observation list.”

“But her investment rating is ‘not recommended for contact’.”

Lu Yuan’s gaze narrowed slightly.

“Her Dao injury is related to a failed individual from the previous era who attempted to deceive the Heavenly Dao.”

“Getting too deeply involved with her will contaminate your ‘credit rating’.”

As his voice fell.

The Xuan-robed guest’s figure completely disappeared.

The mountaintop returned to silence.

Lu Yuan stood alone for a long time.

He raised his hand, looking at the light dots on the light screen representing various forces within the Burial God Abyss.

His gaze bypassed Ye Chen, who was struggling to advance on another S-rank track.

Finally, it landed on a light dot emitting a soft white glow, protected in the center like stars surrounding the moon.

The Saintess of the Hundred Flowers Palace, Yun Yao.

In his mind, the massive Sandbox Simulation model began to operate wildly.

A new hunting plan, targeting “peers,” was rapidly taking shape.