3: Stay safe

Following Dragon Snow's dying wish, Zhu Deyuan, after simply handling his mother's funeral arrangements, continued to hide his identity as before. He never dared to use the supreme black ring, and in fact, he didn't need to, because the wealth Dragon Snow left him was more than enough to support his life and Cultivation without any problems. His days were quite easy and carefree. So, under such circumstances, why did he still encounter misfortune?

The reason still comes down to Dragon Snow's instructions: she wanted him to perform well at the Awakening ceremony when he turned 16, in order to gain immense wealth from the imperial family and turn his life around!

Truth be told, under Dragon Snow's upbringing, Zhu Deyuan's character was quite good. He didn't have the arrogant, extravagant, and wild temperament of a pampered young master. On the contrary, having been looked down upon in the Prince Fus Mansion since childhood, and later living an ordinary life in the Mortal district, his character was somewhat similar to those from the lower strata. He wanted to work hard to climb the social ladder, hoping to gain recognition from Prince Fu and the imperial family in the future. Therefore, he usually Cultivated very diligently, but unfortunately, he had Innate deficiencies, a weak Physique, and was generally an invisible presence at school. It was already extremely rare for him not to be at the bottom of the class. In order to perform well at the Awakening ceremony held by the school three days later, he decided to take another gamble. He spent a large sum of money to obtain a High Grade Blood Coagulation Pill. According to the shopkeeper, after taking this pill, the Bloodline Power would be stimulated, and all data measured by the Awakening instrument would increase by at least double; the effect was absolutely excellent. Zhu Deyuan was too naive and, after being misled by the shopkeeper, happily bought and took it. The result...

Long Yuan looked at the horrific bloodstains all over the floor, and the strong smell of blood on his own body, and could only sigh, saying, "Former self, may you rest in peace. I will definitely deal with that unscrupulous shopkeeper for you! As for a good performance at the Awakening ceremony, don't even hope for it. In fact, you don't understand how terrifying the imperial family is. Being detected with good Aptitude is not necessarily a good thing. It's better to just live your own small life as before..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly felt as if something had left his body. He felt an inexplicable lightness all over, his whole being became much clearer, and his mind was refreshed. He couldn't help but be stunned. Had his former self's Soul been watching him all this time? Did he only truly leave after hearing what he said?

He thought that must be the case. Long Yuan couldn't help but feel a chill. This Profound Qi World was too mysterious. Many things were probably beyond the comprehension of someone from the 21st century Earth like him. For example, if such a bizarre thing as his Transmigration could happen, what else couldn't happen?

In his previous life, he had read many web novels. Could he also truly experience flying to the moon, catching turtles in the sea, and achieving immortality like the Immortals in those stories?

Oh, no, that's not right. This seems to be a Xuanwu World, where the strong all Cultivate Profound Qi, and the existence of Immortals was only something his former self had encountered in ancient legends.

While he was lost in thought, a piece of music sounded. Long Yuan was startled, then realized it was his phone ringing. Phones in this world used Profound Energy and could be voice-controlled, and could also project a holographic display of the caller. Of course, this required the caller to enable and agree to it. So Long Yuan knew at a glance that it was Duan Hu, his best friend from Fengyang No. 1 High School. He said, "Connect!"

As soon as the call connected, Duan Hu's image and voice immediately came through: "Long Yuan, what are you doing? Why didn't you come to school today? I called several times and you didn't answer..."

"I played games too late last night and overslept this morning..." Long Yuan fabricated.

"Ah? You can do that? Didn't your mom call you? Tomorrow is the Awakening ceremony. Even if we're slacking off, we should at least put on a show now..." Duan Hu exclaimed.

"Cough... cough cough... Didn't you hear me coughing? My mom said health is important, so she let me stay home. Besides, isn't it just an Awakening ceremony? With our Physique, can a few extra days of class really Awaken some Heaven-Defying Aptitude?" Long Yuan said, feigning illness.

"I have to say, your mom is really understanding. My mom has been forcing me to come to class every day these past few days, I haven't even been able to play games. It's so miserable!" Duan Hu lamented.

"Haha, that's because your mom still has expectations for you. You should work hard and not let down her earnest hopes. As for me, I've long since given up... cough cough cough..." Long Yuan chuckled.

"Aren't I the same? Our 'Giving Up Duo' is famous in class... But your cough does sound quite severe. Can you come to school for the Awakening ceremony tomorrow? No matter what, this is a very important moment for each of us. Missing it might have bad consequences..." Duan Hu said worriedly.

"Don't worry, I know what's important. I will definitely attend the Awakening ceremony tomorrow, no matter what!"

"That's good! If you need me to pick you up, just call me!" Duan Hu instructed.

"Probably not needed!"

"Okay, see you tomorrow then!"

"See you tomorrow!"

After the call ended, a hint of suspicion appeared on Duan Hu's face. As best friends, they knew each other extremely well, but today's Long Yuan felt a little different from usual, though he couldn't pinpoint exactly how. He thought it must be because Long Yuan was feeling unwell and coughing...

"Oh, right, that kid didn't show his image when he answered the phone just now. Could he really be hiding something from me?" Duan Hu was quite suspicious and secretly decided to keep a close eye on Long Yuan, lest he really not come to school tomorrow and miss the Awakening ceremony, which would be troublesome...

After quickly dealing with Duan Hu, Long Yuan began to truly plan for the life he was about to face, and the first step was naturally tomorrow's Awakening ceremony!

His former self, in order to Awaken a better talent, secretly bought an expensive High Grade Blood Coagulation Pill to enhance his Bloodline Power, and even took a Bone Strengthening Pill before that to improve his Physique, showing how much he valued the Awakening ceremony. But such circumstances were different for him, a Transmigrator.

What was he most afraid of now?

Of course, he was afraid of being discovered as a Transmigrator. There were countless strong individuals in the Xuanwu World; who knew if someone could recognize him?

If his secret were truly discovered and he was captured for dissection and research, it would be all over!

After all, Transmigration to a great world was too miraculous. Probably anyone who encountered it would inevitably want to thoroughly study it, and he currently had no means of self-preservation. He could only be at their mercy, reduced to a lab rat for experiments. Thinking of the fate of those lab rats in his former life's laboratory, Long Yuan couldn't help but feel a chill. If he were stripped naked and studied from head to toe, then dissected and skinned to study every bone and every organ, and even every cell and molecule, then he would simply be the most tragic Transmigrator in history...

"No, under no circumstances can this be discovered. So the most important thing now is to keep this secret, to hide my true identity, otherwise, life will be worse than death! Unless... I become a top expert in this world, and no one can threaten my safety, but is that possible? With my current small body, how can I even talk about being a top expert? When my former self was just born, the experts of the Prince Fus Mansion already assessed him, saying he would never amount to anything in this life... Unless a miracle happens, but my Transmigration is already a huge miracle, and I even have a not-too-bad start. I shouldn't ask for any more miracles. After all, I've always been destined for the bottom. Becoming an astrophysics expert was entirely due to my relentless hard work from childhood, meticulously planning every minute for study and research. One could say I single-handedly changed the trajectory of my life. It's just a pity that just as my luck was about to turn, I was brutally struck by a meteor and sent to another world. Alas, if I'm going to give up, then so be it. Life in my previous life was too competitive; it's not bad to just lie flat in this life..."

Thinking of this, Long Yuan felt a burst of relief, truly letting go of his inner turmoil to face this unknown world. Giving up feels great, and always giving up always feels great...

Perhaps due to the Transmigration, he found that the injuries his former self sustained after taking the so-called High Grade Blood Coagulation Pill should have healed on their own. His body moved without hindrance, so he got up and tidied the room thoroughly, familiarizing himself with his house along the way. The result greatly surprised him!

This house was secretly bought by Dragon Snow herself, located in a Mortal area. Among the Mortals in Fengyang County, it was considered top-tier. Two floors stacked together formed a large duplex, connected by stairs, but without an indoor elevator like on Earth. In total, there were sixteen rooms and eight halls, each room with an independent bathroom and balcony. There was a large kitchen, and a very large terrace on the rooftop, from which one could see the community garden and a corner of Fengyang City. If this rooftop terrace was included, this should actually be a three-story duplex.

He lived in a large room on the upper floor, and the adjacent room had been converted into a Cultivation room by his former self. He had just been injured in that Cultivation room.

He never expected that after Transmigrating, he would become a homeowner, and even own a grand mansion he wouldn't dare to dream of. This was truly an unexpected surprise. Moreover, the house was quite elaborately decorated, with many Profound Energy products produced in this world. The energy they used was xuan stone. The Profound Energy contained in these xuan stones was much better than the electricity and fossil energy commonly used by ordinary Mortals, being both convenient and durable. It was also an energy that many ordinary people wanted to use but couldn't afford. These Profound Energy products were quite valuable if taken to the market, but here they were casually placed, showing Dragon Snow's financial power!

After cleaning the house, Long Yuan went to the bathroom to shower. A large mirror reflected a slender young man, which made him pause, then he realized he seemed to be ten years younger now!

"Not bad, not bad. This appearance is quite acceptable. I'm only sixteen now. If I grow a bit more, maybe even Song Yu and Yan Zu wouldn't compare... Strange, with this appearance, my former self didn't attract any attention at school. Are those little Immortal maidens all blind?" Long Yuan muttered to himself, admiring his reflection narcissistically.

However, he quickly realized that people in this other world valued martial Dao. While appearance was important, it was far less significant than martial Dao. Although his former self had a good appearance, he was thin, had poor martial Dao, and his liberal arts grades were also below average. Coupled with his hidden identity, no one even knew his mother had passed away. In others' eyes, he was an invisible presence. Under such circumstances, unless some brain-dead female fan fell for him, he was just a good-looking good-for-nothing...

Alright, since I need to keep the secret and hide my identity, then I'll be a good-for-nothing to the end!

The label of 'good-for-nothing' is my best invisibility cloak, because this world basically ignores good-for-nothings...

Thinking of this, Long Yuan's mind suddenly cleared. He knew what he should do next: be an invisible presence, focusing on the Dao of Gou (Gou), to survive among ordinary people. As the saying goes, 'the greatest hermits hide in the city.' I'm not going to contend for anything anymore, I don't care about face. What can you do to me? Are you really going to capture a good-for-nothing for research?

"Hahahahaha... From now on, I'll just do what I like..." Long Yuan let out a strange laugh, filled a large bathtub with warm water, stripped off his clothes, and jumped in, completely relaxing as he soaked...

......